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“Unlike most conventional curses, there is not necessarily any physical disfiguration associated with this kind of curse. Deadly curses are more associated with causing pure mental anguish by means of dreams or unpleasant feelings. They also do not always leave any unique marker on their victims upon death like normal curses.

“The source of these kinds of curses are unknown. Older records seem to indicate that nameless cults are the primary user and invokers of these kinds of curses. It has also been reported that certain artifacts from ancient civilizations past have deadly curse\'s placed on them and activate when disturbed. Unfortunately, none of these claims has yet to be sufficiently substantiated as of the publishing of this book.”

—”Advance Knowledge of the Dark Arts” by Archmage Dakka Vinko.

The office that most investigators worked at was busy with activity. Officers were working at their desk and dozens of others were walking around with folders of documents. There was a constant stream of people entering and leaving every few minutes.

Joe was sitting at his desk within the police headquarters reading "Advance Knowledge of the Dark Arts”.

Joe: “Well fuck me. Wren was right. It might very well have been a curse that killed Rob.” he said to himself.

Since the run-in with Wren the cultist, Joe and his team had been doing a bit of research into his claims. One of the first things he did was to get Mike to see if the Putrid Rot cult was on the black list for cults. They also did a background check of Wren and didn’t find anything strange. They found that he had lived in and operated that store for over fifteen years without any notable incident.

Joe had also looked into the rumors Wren mentioned, but didn’t find anything interesting about the rumored “Keeper”.

He did, however, just discover the validity of Wren\'s suspicion of a powerful curse on Rob.

"Advance Knowledge of the Dark Arts” seemed to confirm that these powerful curse’s do exist and have some of the same properties he felt when Rob died, specifically the “unpleasant feelings” the book mentions. It was starting to look like Joe had found the murder weapon. Now he just needed to figure out who.

As he was reading, Dan approached Joe’s and placed a heavy stack of papers on top of his work desk. There was an audible thud from the papers being placed on his desk. It brought Joe out of his reading, and placed his focus on Dan.

Joe: “Um, what’s all this?”

Dan: “This is a letter from the Witch Hunters forwarded by the Hand of Light, Crowley,” he said, as he took the letter off the top of the pile of paper and handed it to Joe. “Me and Mike already read it, and unfortunately it seems they\'re too busy and won’t help us.”

Joe: “Ughhhh,” he moaned, as he received the letter.

His happiness at discovering the method of Rob’s murder was short lived, as Joe knew that he would now have to consult experts about this deadly curse. Without the assistance of the Church of Light and the Witch Hunters, who were probably the biggest experts on curses, that meant he had to go to the university. Something he wanted to avoid at all cost.

Joe: “Sigh, so what’s with the other papers?”

Dan: “Well, I cross referenced all of the former members of the Skull Crushers you had on file. I then created a comprehensive list of all possible former members that may want to kill Rob and who was the most likely to—”.

Joe: “Throw it in the trash.” he said, cutting Dan off.

Dan: “What?!”

Joe: “I’ve factor in the possibility of it being former gang members already, and determined it was not likely any of them that murdered Rob. To murder Rob in the holding room here at the headquarters, would require a level of expertise that none of the former Skull Crusher members would have. And, to hire someone with the expertise to do that, would require an immense amount of money and or influence. Something that most of those former members don’t exactly have a lot of.”

Dan: “B-b-but i put so much effort into this,” he said disheartened.

Joe: “Well, maybe you should have asked before you decided to do this yourself. I assume Mike didn’t ask you to do this. So, I can only guess that you did this thinking you would impress me. Well, congratulations. You managed to do the opposite of impressing me, and wasted your time.”

Dan looked so awkward and uneasy. Joe imagined that if Dan was a turtle mutant, he would have crawled back into his shell right now. Even a few other onlookers in the office felt sorry for the poor recruit.

There was a briefly awkward silence between them until Mike\'s voice cut in.

Mike: “So Joe, about that black list…What the fuck did you do? Did you berate Dan like I told you not to!\'\' he half yelled out, as he walked into the office and towards Joe.

Joe: “I only promised that I wouldn\'t admonish without reason. Dan here just created a bunch of useless information, and I was just pointing out his mistake,” he said, while pointing to the stack of papers that was placed on his desk.

Mike: “How do you know it’s useless?”

Joe: “Oh, trust me. Based on what Dan told me he was working on, it’s definitely useless.”

Mike: “C’mon man. Even if it really is no good, you don’t gotta say it. You could’ve just taken the papers and said you\'ll look at it later, or something.”

Dan started to look even more dejected. Mike’s words were clearly not making him feel any better about the effort he wasted.

Joe, who was now frustrated, picked up the stack of papers and then turned to Dan.

Joe: “I’ll look at this later,” he said, before placing them in the trash bin by his desk. He then turned back to Mike.”Happy now?”

Mike: “What the fuck crawled up your butt. You\'re acting like more of a jerk than you normally do.”

Joe: “I just discovered that I have to put in a request with the university. So, prepare yourself Mikey.”

Mike: “Light no! Please, not that!” he begged.

Dan: “Is it really that bad?”

Mike: “The last time we asked for something from the university, it quadrupled our paperwork. There were just…so many…forms,” he said with a quiver in his voice and a look that was similar to someone suffering from PTSD.

Joe: “Yeah. I expected that reaction. Well anyways, now that everyone is upset, let\'s go blow some steam off at the gun range. We have to see how Dan handles a gun anyways”

Joe stood up from his desk and headed to the indoor gun range near the headquarters. Both of them followed behind Joe.

♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦

In a world of aether and magic, guns were not nearly as effective in a fight. The bullets would just bounce off the wards combat mages used. However, it wasn\'t completely useless. Guns could still damage and wear down wards, and when mages were not actively using their magic to protect themselves, they were just normal human beings.

A bullet through the chest of a mage without protection, is just as lethal as it would be for anybody else.

Firearms used in combination with magic had historically proved to be extremely effective. Even when a mage runs out of aether, they could still continue to fight with their weapon. It also could be used to help conserve aether in certain situations, as someone could use the firearm to fight other aetherless people instead of expending aether.

For those reasons, most mages working in the police and military were expected to know how to use weapons such as guns. Joe and Mike were no different. They both knew how to handle a gun and practiced with it regularly. They had some understanding of each other\'s skill in handling the weapon, but knew nothing of Dan’s ability.

They had planned on going to the gun range with Dan and testing out his skills sometime this week. Joe decided that today would be the day they did it. The reasoning being simple, it was fun firing off guns in a gun range.

Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

After hearing about the witch hunters and having to deal with university, Joe just wanted something to take his mind off the investigation for a little while.

Joe and crew had traveled to a building beside the police headquarters that was an old warehouse converted into an indoor shooting range.

Upon first entering, they were greeted by a caged armory with an officer standing in it who was handing out guns and ammunition to other officers. Mike went to grab some rounds while Joe and Dan headed to the gun range.

The shooting range had a long table for people to place their guns on that was sectioned off with dividers to the left and right. In between each divider was a large piece of hanging paper with an outline of a person with a target on the chest area. It was attached to a track system on the ceiling, allowing one to adjust the distance between the table and the target.

Joe: “So tell me kid. How do you feel about your shooting skills?”

Dan: “Probably just average. I wasn\'t really expecting to do much combat when I joined the investigation unit.”

Joe: “Hmm. We’ll see just how average you are.” he said, as he waited for mike to get the rounds.

Joe\'s comment was followed by an awkward silence between the two of them, along with the sound of gunfire from others practicing echoed in the range. Dan couldn’t stand the awkward silence between them and spoke up.

Dan: “Um, Joe? Do we really have to deal with the university?”

Joe: “Scared of paperwork.”

Dan: “No, ah. It’s just that Mike seemed like he really didn’t want to ask for their help.”

Joe: “You\'re going to learn real soon why we don’t deal with those pencil pushers. We don’t have much of a choice. I really need to consult an expert about curses. Since it doesn\'t look like I can rely on the Church of Light, we have to go to the university. Unless, you have a better idea.”

Dan: “Well, in all honesty, it was only the Witch hunters that refused to provide us assistance. We could still ask the Light Scholars.”

The Light Scholars were a branch of the Church of Light that kept record of its history. Any knowledge the church may have acquired on deadly curses over its existence, would likely have been recorded and stored by them. They also were not that difficult to deal with as the university. They would freely share information with law enforcement when requested. The only problem was that they were slow.

Joe was weighing in his mind if it would be quicker to ask the Light Scholars or the university. They would both be slow, but he knew there would definitely be less paperwork if he went the Light Scholar route.

Joe: “I guess that is something to consider,” he said, not willing to directly acknowledge Dan for his suggestion.

Mike came from around the corner and approached both Dan and Joe, holding a small cardboard box full of rounds for their revolvers.

Mike: “Ok, I got the rounds.”

Joe: “Good. Dan, you go first. Do twelve shots and set the target at 75 feet (22.86 meters). Let’s see what you got.”

Dan nodded. Mike handed him the rounds and he then took his position in front of the table. On the divider on his right side was controls to set the distance of the target. He pressed the button to set it at the distance Joe told him to. The electronics in the track system hummed and the target quickly zoomed out from in front of him and moved into position.

The young officer then took out his six barrel revolver carefully from his holster. He checked to make sure it was loaded. Then he turned the safety off and began to aim at the paper target.

Mike: “Hey Dan! There’s no time limit, so take your time and aim.”

Dan took Mike’s advice and carefully aimed.

He squeezed the trigger, with a loud bang, he fired the gun and managed to hit the target. His first shot was about a foot away from the center from where he was aiming. He noted this and corrected his aim for the next shot.

Both Mike and Joe carefully examine Dan’s form and accuracy. They were gauging and trying to get a sense at how good he was with a gun. Without looking away, Mike started talking to Joe.

Mike: “Do we really have to go to the university?” he said, while he continued to watch Dan fire off two more shots.

Joe: “Wren was right. Deadly curses are a thing. I need to talk to an expert.”

Mike: “Are you sure? That Wren was also going off on a lot pseudomagic when we talked to him.”

Joe: “Even if you don’t want to believe in the words of someone practicing the old ways, the book I read was accredited and talks about this kind of curse. Some of the features the book described also match up with how Rob was behaving before he died.”

Mike: “Hmm, I don\'t know. I feel like we’re missing something.”

Joe: “That’s why I need to talk to an expert. Anyways, did you ever figure out if that Putrid Rot Cult was on the list” he said as Dan fired off his last shot.

Mike: “I couldn’t find the name of that cult on the list. Honestly, it would be easier if they made a list of approved cults, because that prohibited list is really long.

Joe: “Huh. That just gives more legitimacy to what Wren told us.”

Dan took out the empty shells in his revolver and popped six more shots from the box of roads he was given. He then took aim and fired his gun like before.

Mike: “You know, you could be a little nicer to Dan.”

Joe: “Why?”

Mike: “He actually said he looks up to ya.”

Joe: “You’ve been telling him weird stories about me.”

Mike: “Nothing weird. Just telling him about some of the cases you did before Rob. Told him about how you managed to get the head boss of one of those smaller gangs behind bars.”

Joe: “Did you tell him about all the work I did, including the ones I failed?”

Mike: “You\'re not still beating yourself up about that one operation, the one with the drug deal,” he said, turning to Joe.

Joe didn’t move at all. He was placing all his focus on Dan and didn’t want to respond to Mike.

Mike: “You are. You\'re carrying too much baggage. You were young and inexperienced back then, just starting out. It was an accident.”

Joe: “Someone still died. I killed him. Just like I killed Blake and Jeff.”

Mike: “Those two were not your fault either, it was Rob’s. You gotta stop beating yourself up, no one’s perfect.”

Joe: “Yeah…well imperfection seems to end in a lot of death.” he said, without ever facing Mike.

Dan had finished firing his final shot. He then safely put his gun away.

Joe walked up behind and pressed the button on the side, bringing the target up close. The target was sprinkled with holes all over the chest area of the silhouette. Joe counted the bullet holes and looked at how far those holes were from the bullseye.

Dan: “So what do you think?”

Joe: “Hmm, you scored 77 out of 120. Not terrible.”

Mike

: “Not terrible? Come on Joe, that’s above average. Dan did great. You wouldn’t do that much better yourself.”

Joe: “Oh, really?” he said, before walking over to another shooting setup and hitting the button to move the target into place.

He pulled out his gun then turned his head towards Dan and Mike with a cocky smile. He raised his arm and unloaded his gun without looking at the target. After a loud series of bangs, his gun was empty. He hit the button again and the target zoomed back to in front of Joe to be examined.

Dan looked over at the target and saw that every shot was a perfect bullseye. Dan had a look of pure awe on his face from the display of skill.

Dan: “That was amazing!” he said, incredibly impressed.

Mike: “Yeah, yeah. Very impressive, now do that without magic.”

Dan: “Oh, that was magic?” he said, with his amazement being quickly snuffed out.

Mike: “Yup. Remember, Joe’s a vectromancer. He can manipulate the magic fields around bullets in a way that makes them hit their targets.”

Joe: “Had to rain on the kids parade. Anyways you can go next,” he said, directed at Mike.

Dan: “Wait, before we continue this. Can we talk about the case we’re working on briefly?”

Joe looked at Mike, expecting him to respond.

Mike: “Yeah, sure. What did you want to talk about?”

Dan: “I was thinking, if asking the university was so bad, why don’t we look into that lead on St Vaal street instead. Who knows, maybe we’ll find what we\'re looking for and won’t have to rely on the university.”

Mike: “I’m against it. It’s too dangerous. We can’t afford running into the Nighthounds.”

Joe: “Actually, maybe the kids got a point.”

Mike: “Joe, are you nuts? I purposely delayed us doing any investigation into Vaal street cause of how dangerous it was. We just can’t go into the east end.”

Since an officer went missing near the east end recently, Mike was more cautious at the idea of going anywhere near there. He really didn’t want to go. Mike had been purposely delaying Joe on investigating the lead on St Vaal street. He even threatened to tell Murdock about Joe\'s intention of investigating on the east end, trying to get him to give up on that lead.

It was frustrating for Joe, but he was seeing an opportunity to convince Mike otherwise with Dan’s help.

Joe: “I don’t think we need to do that much planning. We\'re just going to ask around. If you’re worried about the kid\'s safety, we can leave him behind and just you and me go.”

Dan: “Don’t leave me behind. I-I can help.” he said, insistent to go with them to Vaal street.

Mike: “No one here is going to Vaal street.”

Joe: “Tell you what, why don’t we do some democracy. Those who want to investigate Mark\'s home on Vaal street, raise your hand.”

Joe immediately raised his hand. Mike just stared intensely at Joe intensely with his arms crossed. With some hesitation, Dan slowly raised his hands.

Mike had a completely shocked face that Dan was going along with Joe.

Mike: “Dan, you don’t know what you’re saying. The Nighthounds are ruthless.”

Joe: “C’mon, Mikey. It’s not like we’re going to the red-light district, where we know that’s where the Nighthound main base is. St Vaal street isn\'t even that far into that gang\'s territory. We just leave our police badges behind and don’t wear our uniform, and no one will know we’re cops.”

Mike: “If we start asking questions around Vaal street, people are going to get suspicious. Which will make the Nighthounds suspicious.”

Joe: “We just tell them we’re private investigators looking for someone. People go into hiding on the east end all the time. No one will bat an eye at us then.”

Dan: “If we’re careful, I\'m sure it will be OK.”

Mike had a stern look of refusal to go to St Vaal street, but Joe could feel his partner\'s resolution being ground down. He knew Mike just needed a little bit more of a push and he would be onboard.

Joe: “Mikey, think about it. Dan could be right. We might find a really good lead or some evidence. Then we wouldn’t have to go to university, and you wouldn\'t have to fill out all those forms. Remember last time, we had to fill out fifty different papers, and that was years ago. I can only imagine it has only gotten worse with those pencil pushers now.”

Mike had a slight shudder at what Joe said. He looked at the ground with his arms crossed in deep contemplation. He was weighing if it would really be worth investigating Vaal Street. Between Dan and Joe, Mike was starting to lean towards doing it. After nearly a minute, he let out a very long sigh.

Mike: “If it starts to feel dicey, we bail. Got it?”

Joe: “OK. It\'s settled. Tomorrow we’ll all meet up at Benny’s early morning before we head out to St Vaal street. And, make sure you both leave anything that could be used to identify you as an officer at home.”

Mike and Dan nodded.

Joe and his team then continued to practice their marksmanship for the rest of the work day.