Holden, Sable, and Atticus parted ways with Spat, then made their way to the manhole leading up to Caster Street.


    Like Holden had said, Caster Street was the old entertainment district of Chrimoria before the newest one over on the east side of town was built around a decade ago. Caster Street was filled with taverns, an indoor theater, an outdoor theater, a few gambling halls, and a couple of night clubs. The most popular of these clubs was a place called the Middows.


    The Middows was the first nightclub ever built in Chrimoria. It had a reputation for being a spot full of music, alcohol, and a place where you could score some recreational drugs, if you knew who to talk to.


    Atticus had decided to stay behind in the sewers while Holden and Sable went to the surface. He wouldn’t have been able to get passed the bouncer in the Middows anyway, so Holden didn’t complain.


    Even though Holden and Sable were finally out of the sewers, they still reeked of it.


    “Bleh,” Sable said when he smelled the two of them. “Atticus definitely wouldn’t be let into this club. But I doubt we will either smelling like this.”


    Holden reached into his coat and pulled out a wand. He then made a circular motion with it activating the spell inscribed on it. This wand was inscribed with a spell called cleanse. Cleanse was a cantrip that would essentially clean everything in a five-foot radius.


    Wands such as these were commonplace, and easy to make. As long as the one making the wand knew the spell they were inscribing. Wands that used cantrips were easily accessible to everyone, allowing even those who couldn’t use magic to benefit from the spell. There were limitations on the number of times the spell could be used before it had to be recharged with magic, though. There was a total of thirty uses on the wand Holden was using, and it had been recharged recently, making this one out of thirty uses.


    “There,” Holden said, stuffing the wand back into the inside of his coat where there were multiple pockets for carrying wands. “Smell that? We’re clean now.”


    Sable sniffed the air and scowled. “If we’re clean, then what is that wretched smell?”


    Holden sniffed the air. He proved the foul odor of a rotting corpse. The two of them followed the smell to a nearby alleyway where they found Inspector Alwin and a few other officers standing around a dead body.


    Inspector Alwin looked up at Holden, shaking his head in irritation. “You being here can’t be a good thing.”


    Holden tipped his hat at the inspector. “Good to see you, too. What do we have here?”


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    “You know I can’t tell you that.”


    “Doesn’t matter.” Holden then looked at the face of the dead body. They were male, and had pale red skin. His eyes were dilated, and there were little blisters all over his skin. “Overdose,” Holden said. “Looks like someone took too many fire crystals.”


    Fire crystals were a type of narcotic made by using the ashes from a creature called a fire beetle. These fire beetles were a beetle the size of a human hand that could breathe fire using a flame sack in their stomach. They would also combust, burning to ash upon death. These ashes would be mixed with a few other select ingredients to make small crystals that people would snort, hence the name Fire Crystals.


    “Pretty obvious,” Alwin said. “And it looks like he was coming from the Middows. That means this case will be another dead end.”


    “What do you mean?” Sable asked. “Can’t you go in there and find out who sold to this guy?”


    “We could. But we’ve never been able to prove that the Middows is selling people drugs, even though we all know they are.”


    “What? How is that possible?”


    Alwin put his hands on his hips in irritation. “Who knows. Either the owners are somehow acquitted whenever they''re taken to court. Someone else confessed to the crime. No evidence can be found. Or it somehow goes missing. You name it. It’s likely connected to Leudox.”


    “Leudox?” Sable asked with a quizzical gaze. “You mean the criminal organization.”


    “What else?” Alwin said bluntly. “We don’t know much about how far their power and influence goes in Chrimoria. We just know that they have their hands in every type of crime imaginable. Best be on your guard if you plan on snooping around the Middows.”


    “Shouldn’t we be saying that to you?”


    “They won’t bother with an inspector snooping around. A couple of PI’s are a different story. You guys don’t play within the rules. Last thing you want to do is get caught. And I’m assuming the reason you’re here is because whatever you’re investigating relates to them.”


    Holde didn’t confirm or deny Alwin’s claim. He just bid him farewell, then left with Sable.


    “Where are we going?” Sable asked, seeing that Holden was in a hurry.


    “Back to talk to Atticus,” Holden explained. “We’re going to check out Undercity. Then tonight we’ll check out the Middows.”


    “Why not ask around about the drug runners?


    “That’ll get us killed. Plus, the Middows is going to be more guarded now that the police or here, and someone OD’d. We’ll come back tonight when things have died down.” Holden opened the manhole and started climbing down.


    “Bleh! That smell,” Sable said, gagging from the sewer stench. “This place is going to be busy at night.”


    “Don’t worry. I got a plan that’ll use a large crowd to our advantage.”


    Once Holden was off the latter, Atticus came running up to him. “Did you find the dragon?” Atticus asked, rolling up his sleeves to scratch his arms.


    It was obvious Atticus hadn''t bathed in days. Holden took potty on the man and used the wand of cleansing on him. Atticus still looked disheveled, but at least he was clean.


    “There was no dragon,” Holden said as he started to walk off into the sewer toward Undercity. “There was a dead guy. Died from overdose. Police are on the scene. We’ll come back later. Also, it looks like Leudox might be involved.”


    Atticus’s flinched at the mention of Leudox. “Oh. That’s complicated. Though it makes sense. They are involved in every kind of crime imaginable. Will my pocket watch still be rough? All I want is for you to find the dragon anyways.”


    “Just find it. Not save it?”


    “Yes. Finding it will be enough.”


    Holden gave the man a confused look, but decided not to ask his motive. “If you just want me to find this thing, that watch will be enough. Wasn’t looking forward to taking on Leudox anyways.”