Chapter 26: Didd

Chapter 26: Didd

Might be better that way. Ill look forward to the experience. Yeo rubbed his hands together. Anyway, is this the house?

One of them, Bella confirmed. Nathanial Didd is the contact.

Lets go chat with him, then, Chance said. Did the scroll say how hes involved in this?

His pet was seriously injured, Bella replied. A young Scorchhound. I didnt realize people kept those as pets.

Im going to go out on a limb and guess its kind of like a Soothound?

Stronger version of one with the ability to use some basic fire Essence, Bella said. Theyre fairly weak monsters overall, but theyre still stronger than a Soothound. A big one shouldnt have had much difficulty with a Lesser Imp, though.

They approached the fine wood door and Chance rapped on it. A few seconds passed before it swung open, revealing a stern faced man well into his middle age. His hair was starting to gray and thin, but was still brushed neatly.The inaugural upload of this chapter took place via N0v3l-B1n.

He wore dull purple clothes trimmed with white accents. It wasnt extravagant, but it certainly wasnt the outfit of a pauper. The man cocked a thin eyebrow.

I believe you may have the wrong address.

This is the Didd Estate, right? Bella asked. Were the Shikari team assigned to your job request.

Ah. Yes, this is my house, the man said, speaking with the slightest hint of distaste. You arrived sooner than I had expected. Thrilling. Please, come inside. I will do my best to answer any questions you may have.

He opened the door wider, then stepped to the side so they could enter. A plush rug covered the floor and made Chance glance around to see if they were meant to take off their shoes, but Nathaniel was wearing shoes as well.

A large wooden table sat in the center of the room, surrounded by cabinets full of expensive plates and silverware. Once theyd entered, Nathaniel sat down in the chair at the end of the room. They all sat down on the other side.

Your job posting says that you believe it was an Imp that attacked your pet Scorchhound, Bella said, reading off the scroll briefly. Do you know exactly where the attack occurred?

Yes. It was in the main street, just a short trek down, near the Graywall district park, and it happened at night, somewhere around three hours after sunset. I was not present during the attack, but I was able to determine the aggressor by the wounds on Maggies fur. I tracked the trail of blood back to the park.

That will make things a lot easier for us. Thank you, Mr. Didd, Bella said. Do you have any inkling why your pet who I presume to be Maggie was attacked?

Nathaniels eyes narrowed. Maggie, just like the rest of my pets, are incredibly well trained. None of them would ever attack another being without provocation.

She didnt mean to imply anything like that, sir, Chance said. My teammate was probably trying to figure out how aggressive the Lesser Imp is.

They flickered faintly, like slideshows from an old movie that constantly repeated themselves. The karmic debt between Nathaniel and the monster was mostly composed of scenes of the man feeding it.

The second largest line showed Maggie lunging at a little boy, knocking something from the childs hand. The next slide was the boy on the ground, crying. Several of the other lines were similar scenes, but nothing looked like a serious injury or fight.

Not a single one of them had anything to do with an imp. Chance shook his head, allowing the golden eye to fade away.

Thank you. Thats all I need. I appreciate your help.

Just deal with the Lesser Imp, Nathaniel replied curtly, herding them back to the door and closing it without another word.

Well? Yeo asked. I didnt know you had a tracking ability. You should have told us!

I only just found out about it, Chance replied. It was just a suspicion I had, really. Come on, lets walk a bit. I see a bench over there.

They headed down the street and plopped down in the bench that Chance had indicated. In addition to getting them a little farther from Nathaniels house, it also gave him a moment to rest his aching feet, which he certainly wasnt going to complain about.

Somethings wrong, Bella said.

What? Where? Yeo asked. Or do you mean with Chance?

If Chance had found something good, I dont think he would have had us walk away, Bella said. Did the Scorchhound attack the Lesser Imp?

Its hard to explain everything, but Im not sure, Chance replied. There was no karmic connection between Maggie and any kind of Imp.

So you think hes lying? Yeo asked.

Im not sure, Chance said. He chewed his lower lip, trying to remember everything he knew about how his Essence worked. There are a lot of reasons why there might not be a karmic connection, but the biggest one that comes to mind is if Maggie was the aggressor. Everything is allowed to defend itself, and a lot of the other bonds Maggie had were actually her basically knocking over or scratching children.

Thats really petty, Yeo said with a chuckle. If youre implying Maggie attacked, wouldnt there be some kind of bond because Maggie was the aggressor?

Not sure about that either, Chance admitted. Im still trying to fully understand how things work. I dont think that attacking something is necessarily bad in the eyes of Karma. It depends on the situation. Also, even if Maggie did start the fight, the wound the Imp inflicted on her might count as enough to pay off the debt.

I see, Bella said, scrunching her nose. But, either way, it does kind of seem like the Scorchhound probably isnt completely innocent here.

Probably not, Chance agreed. But we had more people we could talk to on this street, right?

Yeah, Bella replied, pointing to a house across from them. It was smaller than Nathaniels house, but it was still two stories tall and beautiful in its own drab, gray way. Just over there. The house owner is Maria Smit.