Vertin: Why do you want to go to Stefen's room exactly? Is it related to our investigation?
Argus: Of course, boss.
Argus: I'm here looking for Kayla, just as you're looking for that sheep-headed ...
She falls into an unusual silence.
Vertin: What is it?
Argus: That arcanist you're looking for, is her name Barbara?
Vertin: You know her?
Argus: Yup, we met.
Argus: On Route 77.
Argus: I'd just got done asking two men about Kayla's whereabouts, and saw that it was getting dark.
Argus: My sight ain't so good at night. And the nights are long these days.
Argus: So I was in a bit of a hurry, hoping to get somewhere with proper lights as fast as I could.
Argus: That's when I saw her, Barbara—all alone by the road. Some jerk of a driver dumped her there, and she asked me for a ride.
Argus: I turned her down. Heck, I could hardly see. She'd have been better off waiting for the next driver than riding with a blind bat like me, you know?
Argus: But as I drove away, I changed my mind. She was too young to be left out there all by herself.
Argus: So I turned back to get her. But when I arrived, she was already gone. There was nothing but a trail of hoofprints in the dirt.
Argus: When I got to the motel, I saw those hoofprints again. I gotta say, I was kinda relieved to see them. At least she made it here safely.
Vertin: And is she still here?
Argus: Well, I've never seen any hoofprints leaving the motel.
Argus: But that don't mean she's still here. You gotta be mindful of what your mind picks up and what might slip you by. It's easy to ignore other evidence when what you've seen already fits your hypothesis.
Argus: That being said, it's still likely that she's somewhere in the motel.
Vertin: Alright. Then let's look for her.
Argus: It seems we're in agreement. To room 214.
Vertin: 202, 203 ...
She counts the doors as they walk down the hallway.
Vertin: Mm?
Out of the corner of her eye, a flash of red catches her attention.
Argus: I've checked those two. Ain't much in them.
Vertin: Argus, did you see a red door just now?
Argus: A red door?
Vertin: Nothing. Must've been my imagination.
As they approach the end of the hallway, they spot room 214. The door is slightly ajar—clearly Stefen left in a hurry.
They enter. The thick curtains are pulled shut, blocking out almost all the light from outside. They're hit with the stale, sour smell of old alcohol.
The glow in Argus's eye flickers like a light with a faulty circuit.
Vertin: Are you alright? Can you still see?
Argus: Don't worry about it. Ain't the first time this has happened.
Argus: This eye issue runs in the family. It's the price we pay for having our arcane power.
The mercenary glances around the room, a slight frown on her face.
Argus: Now, what are we looking for, boss?
Argus: People leave all kinds of evidence behind all the time. It'll be like wandering around in the woods without a compass if we don't know what we're looking for.
Argus: So, if you don't wanna be inundated with meaningless clues, you need to give me some directions.
Vertin: Alright. First, I'd like to know what happened to Barbara.
Vertin: Second ...
Fleeting images surface in her mind.
Vertin: Whether Manus Vindictae has been here, or anyone from that Order of Enlightenment. And last ...
Vertin: About Mr. Stefen. The pistol he used was a Zeno military weapon, and he seemed to know about my relation to the vacuum bomb operation. It's likely that he once held a high rank within the Zeno military.
Vertin: I want to know why he came to this motel and what happened to make him lose his mind here.
Argus: "Lose his mind here"? What makes you think he wasn't crazy already?
Vertin: Zeno pays much more attention to its soldiers' mental well-being than any conventional military organization.
Vertin: It's because quite a few of them are arcanists. They're both Zeno's strength and weakness.
Vertin: So I'm inclined to think Mr. Stefen developed these mental health issues after entering the motel.
Argus: Huh, is that so? I gotta say, I don't know much about all this military institution stuff.
Argus: Right, so here's the plan: first, locate Barbara; second, look for any signs of Manus Vindictae or the Order of Enlightenment; and third, find out how poor old Stefen lost his marbles.
Argus: And, of course, I've got my own business to deal with—tracking down Kayla.
She starts to meticulously search the room.
Argus: Hey, boss! I've got something.
There's a series of small but clear traces imprinted in the dust.
Argus: These footprints are from a spider. Looks like the little guy went back and forth along here quite a few times. I know this might not seem pertinent to our investigation, but it is worth noting. You ever seen a spider make a phone call?
Vertin: I'm afraid I'm not interested in the movements of spiders right now.
Argus shrugs.
Argus: Come on, boss, loosen up a little.
*drip-drip*
Vertin: ...
The sound of dripping water echoes nearby.
Vertin: Do you hear that? Sounds like dripping water.
*drip-drip-drip*
With every drip, a water stain grows larger and larger on the wallpaper.
Argus: I'm sure it's just the motel plumbing.
Vertin: But ...
The stain gradually takes the form of a hand, its five fingers all clearly defined.
Vertin: Watch out!
Suddenly, the hand pulls itself from the wall and slams down.
COMBAT
Vertin: This place is definitely more than meets the eye.
Argus: I'm with you on that.
Argus: There's just too much arcanum-related weirdness going on here. Never seen so many arrays in a motel before.
Vertin: But we've only found one.
Argus: In your room, yeah.
Argus: But there are a load more. One room has them drawn from floor to ceiling.
Argus: Looked like some kinda transformation array to me. I ain't no expert, so, I can't say for sure.
Vertin: What are they trying to do, I wonder?
Argus: Who knows.
She brings the conversation to an abrupt end and continues searching the room.
Argus: Oh, boss, you might be interested in this.
She peers under the bed.
Argus: It's another one. Just like the others.
Vertin: ...
A huge array lies beneath the bed. It's scattered with dark crystals.
The design is familiar.
Vertin: I've seen this before. It was also drawn in that parchment notebook.
Vertin: This is indeed a transformation array. But it's not in its full form.
Argus: They were trying something. Check it out.
She plucks a hair from the carpet.
Argus: This is hair from the mane of a howler lion, and there are some other materials around it, too. Not exactly sure what they are, though. They're too finely ground.
Argus: But one thing's for sure: Someone held a ceremony here, and for some reason, it didn't work out for them.
Vertin: This is important. The Foundation needs to know about this.
The air is silent.
Vertin: Argus?
The mercenary doesn't respond. She's still staring at the strand of hair between her fingers. It's chestnut colored.
Argus: This is Kayla's hair. She was here! In this room!
Argus: Or at least someone who came into contact with her.
The phone rings, cutting her off.