Return to Sender

You’ve got mail. A message has been delivered for you to read. You are the recipient to a missive that you must witness.
You can try to throw it away, hide it under the couch, but it will reach you sooner or later. You’ve got mail.
==One - Singular Case of Trouble==
The old device sprang to life when he flipped the switch. A disk whirred as the screen lit up with the familiar words that they'd programmed in, so long ago.
 Loading...
 /||
 //||
 // ||
 //ΔϜ|| - Tempora v1.44
 Welcome, Maintenancekeeper.
 --------------------------¬
 checkfor Ϝ direction
 ...
 Checking directional signature for 'Ϝ'
 Warning: no consistent signature found.
 Estimated divergence exceeds nominal tolerances.
Useless as it was, this was something he could not stop himself from doing. This had been one of the first functions he had researched and built with Perdax, also providing the framework for their later communication equipment to work in. This was not merely about satisfying his own demons, however: a task even heavier befell them right now.
 checkfor Π disturbance
 ...
 Checking disturbances for 'Π'
 Warning: a known rogue instance has been found.
 Label: ✉ (MAIL)
 Origin: INCONCLUSIVE
 Interference: MULTIPLE
 Note: Still haven't figured out how he's connected to you.
 Don't recommend engaging directly, the usual. -P
This was most dire. He plucked on his moustache while contemplating the headache that was bound to stem from all of this.
"What didya find? Good news?"
"No, Valenz. He has not disappeared permanently. The only good that came out of our work is that we have located him again. I will admit that this is a step forward, but the outcome is not what I would have liked."
Valenz moved closer to check the screen, and clacked her tongue. "Ah, jeez. Sure knows to pick ‘em. Want me to go scout it out, or too spicy for Log Smoke-nots?"
"You are clear for scouting, but keep in touch with Perdax. We know little about his capabilities as of yet, only that he manipulates his situation with trick items."
The Maintenancekeeper rose from his chair, gazing out of the building into the emptiness of Artemus. After a moment, he shook his head and stepped outside.
Valenz chuckled to herself, though she knew she shouldn't, really. He was always so concerned with everyone's safety that he forgot where they had all come from. She appreciated it, though, even when he was moody like he was now. Neither him nor Perdax were willing to let loose much about the "connection" with this Postbringer guy. Valenz knew not to push it if it was a cosmic top secret thing between them only.
"I like it there. Hot Sauce is less jumpy and he writes his wife, at least."
==Two - Steckenburg's Best Administration==
Delinius calmly sat down behind his desk and looked at the employee sitting on the other side. In addition to his administrative duties, Baxter had seen fit to add employee disputes and complaints to the list of tasks for Delinius to handle. He suspected it was both due to his aptitude towards speaking, and due to his notoriety among the regular workers.
"Thank you for coming into my office. What would you like to address?"
The worker sighed, frustrated about the situation. "I'm absolutely sure that I saw something dusty creeping around in that archive section I wrote about. I've seen it, but nobody else believes me. It looks like a dust monster like... what were they, the ones hopping around, right? The ones that duplicate. It wasn't one of those, though."
The Soul Flame simply nodded, not unfamiliar with the reports of an infestation of some kind in some of the less frequently used areas of the I&Q headquarters. "I see..."
He rose from his seat. "I'm afraid "something dusty" is not much for me to go by. Where exactly was this?"
"Uh... I think it was the thirty-fourth floor."
Delinius looked at him with mild surprise. "You think it was on that particular floor?"
"I was just going to get some coffee. I was tired and I wasn't really looking at my surroundings. I wish I could tell you for sure, I really do." The man's face expressed sincere regret about his inability to recall his precise whereabouts at the time. 
Rather than responding, Delinius opened a cabinet and pulled out a floor plan. "The relevant floor doesn't actually have any archives, based on this document, at least."
"I swear there was at some point..." Delinius shook his head. Even though some of the interior of the building seemed to shift constantly, Delinius had a map of most floors. That part of the building that did appear haunted was fairly limited in scope.
Of course, he'd also found a means to create a map that shifted in accordance with the changes, although it would take anywhere between a few dibs and a whole day before the change showed on his documentation. He resumed his explanation.
"The original floor plan did involve archive cabinets. That idea was abandoned, eventually. The floor you mentioned does contain a storage unit of some kind, but it's sealed with a door to which I do not have access as of right now."
Rummaging around, Delinius eventually found a floor plan several spaces up which appeared to qualify. "There appears to be a floor only a handful further up which contains an archive section. Perhaps it is the one you were thinking of?" He carefully placed the old leaf paper on his desk for his colleague to see.
"I guess it must have been over there?" The tired worker scratched his head. "Makes sense that it's not too far from where I thought it'd been."
He paused for a moment before continuing.
"Does this mean it's going to get solved?"
Delinius smiled. "At the very least, I shall look into it. I will let you know when I have done so."
This seemed to reassure the worker a great deal. "Thank you so much. I've been losing sleep over if I'm just going mad in here. The building is so many floors..."
He stood up, nodded at Delinius and left the office, stumbling over several stacked boxes of documents that had been sent there for 'reviewing'. Not surprising, considering the fact that Baxter and Zachary had agreed to gather most of the company's archiving on this very floor, converting it into Delinius' domain as well as the repository of undesirable files that needed sorting out in some fashion, whether that be through their disappearance or an action that they could not carry out themselves.
Now that he was alone in his speaking office, Delinius decided to pick up one of the boxes that had been placed here recently. A note was on top of the stack of folders inside.
 Hello Delinius,
 These are those files we talked about.
 Please take care of them.
 -ZI
Putting the note aside, he delved into the first folder of files. Immediately, he knew where to file this away once he was done. These were reports on concerned Ludusians of Steckenburg that were questioning I&Q's practices once more. The last time this had happened, the persons in question had some far more concerning details to their names, but as Delinius flipped through the files, no name particularly stood out. This would require a bit more informing, and less intimidation.
He let the files rest and wrote a note, cursing the cheap leaf sheets he'd committed to using for temporary notes such as this.
 Greetings, Zachary.
 I have received the files as mentioned. They seem mundane citizens of Steckenburg;
 are you certain this requires my specific knowledge? I won't mind handling this, but
 perhaps there are others in the company who would be better for an information
 campaign, if we would like to put people's worries to rest.
 - Delinius R. Langton, Administration & Disputes
Delinius sat back. Were the words too numerous? Perhaps, but that had little relevance. He would leave it with Zachary at some point. He could go for a warm drink, perhaps. Getting up to leave the room, he was met with the only intern operating on this floor. Few people were sent to work here, more as a means to fire them without firing them - the sheer volume of paper alone was usually enough to scare all but the most intrepid workers, and explaining the filing system typically did the rest. She had not been so impressed, however, and was already here for a few weeks by this point. Nat was her name, second oldest from a nest of five.
"Oh, sorry! I didn't mean to get in your way. Mind if I come in?"
Conveniently, she happened to hold two beverages in hand - one exactly the one Delinius had intended to collect.
"Actually, I was headed out for a drink, but it would appear you have already collected the one I would have chosen."
Returning to his seat with the drink in hand, Delinius took a sip while Nat seated herself opposite. "What did you need?"
"Looking for the old mess-up with owners swapping where we sent out a whole team to collect them. Where did you store the files again?"
Ah, from the earlier days. He'd just gotten into Isles & Quint, as a matter of fact. At the time, Baxter had not yet made the discovery that Delinius' talents really did extend to a broad range of subjects, and so this was resolved through other means not involving Delinius directly. The mix-up had been somewhat amusing, however.
"I would expect I stored it in the third room on the left, fourth cabinet, top drawer. If it cannot be found there, perhaps I kept it in the notable cases archive, although I would imagine I already moved such an old case out of there."
Nat smiled. "That's helpful. I need to check something before I finalise a request for you to approve."
When she rose from her seat, Delinius offered the note for Zachary. "Ah, Nat? Could you get this to Zachary's desk today? I would have done it myself, otherwise."
"Sure thing. Have a nice evening!"
After she exited the room, Delinius was alone once again. Checking the window, it looked to be nearing the end of his day at Isles & Quint. Packing up his belongings, he slung his bag over the shoulder and got into his coat.
As he descended the stairs, he pondered the comparatively short time he had been working here. Somehow, it was richer in events than many of his years on the run. Perhaps, he thought, it was more the fact that he was involved with others in these endeavours, whereas those years had been primarily alone.
A few floors later, Delinius considered the elevator as he passed by its doors. Something had always felt off about it.
==Three - Building Plan Inspection==
The next day, Delinius departed a bit earlier than usual. On the one hand, Ina had her day off and so he would leave some space to rest and study as she pleased, on the other he wanted to look into this "something dusty" that he had been informed of.
Upon entering the building - standing tall now, much taller than when he had started - it was not his own floor for which he pressed the button, but quite a few floors lower. He would enlist the help of one he had brought into the company himself.
Immediately after Delinius exited the elevator, Lugas waved from his chair, feet resting on his desk as always. "Ahey, Delinius! What’s going on?”
"I would like you to help me inspect an old archive room further up the building. You have something else to do, as usual?"
Lugas’ broad mouth full of similarly broad teeth opened into a wide smile. "Weeelll, technically I think I might. You know the drill."
While superficially trivial, this was a handshake of sorts between the two of them. Baxter had been extremely hesitant to approve the hire of this seemingly useless, lazy fellow, but Delinius had implied in few words what Lugas was capable of and the kind of crowds he knew. Despite Baxter grudgingly giving his approval, he was not to know what Lugas actually did do around here.
"Splendid. Let us proceed."
Lugas got out of his seat, large feet leaving heavy footsteps as he did so. Truth be told, even Delinius wasn't sure what kind of creature he was. Skin somewhat like a Norfae's was combined with moss-like growth on his head and the fractured remains of what could have been horns or similar protrusion in the past. His body was short and stocky - much more so than even a stout Norfae would be. He was also utterly evasive about it, to everyone asking.
That being said, he was quite strong, and a great asset when objects needed moving or individuals required a little restraining.
"Aight. Which floor?"
"It is quite a few up. We had best take the elevator."
Without further ado, the two ascended to the floor in question and stepped out. Little stood out. Several floors were what one could expect from an office building nowadays, this being one of them. Desks were separated by cheap boards to create the illusion of individual spaces without bothering with proper walls, but also to facilitate a change of layout and purpose, something that was still happening on occasion and gave Delinius his share of headaches.
Of course, Delinius hadn't thought to create a copy of the blueprint this morning, or yesterday, and so he did not remember exactly where this archive was supposed to be. This only left him with the option to ask one of the workers here. With his height, he leaned over one of the boards.
"Excuse me? Could you inform me where the archive room of this floor is located?"
The worker in question looked up, almost fell over on their chair, but then recomposed themself.
"Oh, Jia! I'm so sorry, Mr. Langton, you appeared so suddenly. The archives are... actually, I could show you, if that's alright?"
Ah, the chain of command. "Certainly. Please lead the way."
"Let's do this."
The three of them proceeded towards the archive room of this floor in silence, passing a few other workers along the way. Few looked up, and the ones that did were quick to resume their work when they caught wind of Delinius. Not that he was the strictest of the IQ staff, really - others were much more likely to administer any sort of disciplinary action or verbal reprimand - but rather Delinius' reputation in public making him somewhat notorious here, too.
"Here it is. Did you need a key, or..."
"Thank you, but that will not be necessary. We have come prepared."
The worker's face lit up with something approaching a realisation.
"Wait, is this about the thing that moves around in there? I'm pretty sure it's nothing. Hopefully you didn't come here for no reason."
"If it was nothing, we'll just say it was sightseeing."
Lugas snickered, and the worker smiled. "I'll leave you to it then, I guess."
After they'd walked away, Delinius took his keyring from a pocket on his bag, and opened the door. Dim light poured into the dusty archive room, partially blotted out by his silhouette. As both of them stepped inside, Lugas reached around for a light switch, only to find that it was not functioning, judging by the repeated sounds of it switching. "Ah, clips. Light's down."
"No matter. One moment."
Being a gifted and learned user of magic was never a wasted skill, no matter where one went. Delinius put away the keys and concentrated on conjuring a small orb of light to guide them through the room, set to hover just ahead of him and just overhead. It bobbed up and down slightly after he was finished. "There we are. Let's see what we can find."
They continued further, pacing along shelves lined with boxes and small bins packed with folders. Delinius couldn't recall in the slightest what was supposed to be archived here that couldn't be merged with his administration further up in the building. Perhaps it was outdated, redundant? Come to think of it, he hadn't ever read much about the archive of this floor - that was quite odd. What was being done on this floor, anyway?
In the adjacent path, Lugas came to a halt suddenly. "Ey, somethin' ain't right."
Ducking to look in between the shelves, Delinius saw what he meant. It looked like something had eaten through several boxes, scraps of paper indicating what had happened to their contents.
"Well, whatever it was, it seems to have a taste for dusty, crumbling paper." He picked up the pace to get around this block of shelves, and come closer to inspect the damage more closely. Before he turned around the end of the shelf, however, he picked up a faint rustling.
"Do you happen to hear the sound of shuffling papers, perhaps?"
"Where at?"
As he came towards Delinius, Lugas stumbled over something, followed by the sound of appendages skittering away. "Ow!"
The creature briefly halted when it encountered Delinius' orb of light. In the brief moment Delinius could lay his eyes on it, he could note several characteristics by sight alone.
It was clearly not related to the ongoing rumours of the multiplying dusty creatures; it was exceptionally quick, its appendages giving it an advantage on flat surfaces; it looked to be small enough to navigate this room, yet too large to be missed so easily. Lastly, its head imitated the shape of a sheet of paper, particularly in the shape of an envelope.
Delinius didn't get to react, however, as the monster screeched and tried to make off to another corner of the archive, presumably to munch on more papers.
"Not so fast, you!"
He took after it to prevent it from escaping or hiding somewhere, but in the narrow corridors it was difficult to keep up with it without knocking into shelves or stumbling over boxes that stuck out of them. Lugas was not having much more luck, especially not with his stocky build.
"C'mon, little thing, stop running! We ain't eating you."
He made a dive towards it, only to slide headfirst into a box and a good portion of dust while he was at it. "Pfuh! Pfff! I don't want dust for lunch!"
"Ah, wait. There is one thing we can do."
Delinius had read some of the early research on the myriad of variety in monsters, and monsters such as this one were not typically able to climb obstacles well, their physiology only enabling them to thrive in environments that were relatively flat.
With a few boxes moved around strategically, they would be able to herd the creature into a dead end and capture it thus.
"There is work at hand. Pick up one of those boxes and follow me!"
"Got it. Some plan?"
Delinius could not bother to explain, but Lugas followed his instructions regardless. The two got to work placing boxes along pathways in order to create a maze that had several entrances, but only one final destination where multiple boxes had been stacked to ensure victory.
Next, they had to find the creature itself.
==Four - Critter Discomforts==
"Pardon, passing through."
Delinius passed by Zachary in a corridor of the building as he made his way towards the facilities for taming and training monsters, with the envelope creature firmly held between his arms and his chest. It had a certain heft to it that couldn't be explained by its size.
"Oh, hey Delinius. Where did you get that?"
"I looked into some rumours about "something dusty" on one of the office floors, and encountered this critter nibbling on some papers. I intend to send it for the standard taming and training schedule. Perhaps you'd like to meet it personally, instead?"
Zachary pondered surprisingly long on the answer, more so given his lack of trust towards Delinius.
"Thanks, but I probably shouldn't. You're almost there, though."
With no mention of the note that he had left with Nat to be sent to Zachary, Delinius assumed that he hadn't yet seen it, so he let it be for now and continued to the training wing.
Once there, he encountered the company's least conspicuous but most productive worker - tied perhaps only with Maxine. Hankvi was filing something away, though he looked to be partially asleep once more.
"Hello?"
Looking up, Hankvi recognised him immediately and nodded. "Ah, Delinius. Hello..." He looked at the monster that was still in Delinius' hands. "You brought in a monster, I see. Would you like to give it a place in this section?"
"Yes, please, that would be wonderful. It was found - by me, and a colleague - in a redundant archive section. It has a preference for paper and cardboard as far as its diet is involved."
Hankvi tilted his head very slightly. "Strange... does it normally eat wood?"
"I have not been able to test that, no, but that is a good observation. Where can I place it?"
Delinius followed his fellow staff member towards an open enclosure, where the two of them released it and took care of locking the gate. Hankvi grabbed a card for the description placard on the outside of the enclosure.
"Does it have a name?"
----
 NAME: Postulans
 GENOTYPE: ♀
 DIET: Paper/cardboard, any
 FOUND: Archive section floor 22
 NOTES: Travels on ground. Cannot climb obstacles.
==Five - ΔϜ's Coldest Case==
"This isn't the first time we've been over this."
The Maintenancekeeper only plucked his moustache in response, which only made this more annoying.
"Your suggestion, at the core, is just handing over some tech to the Hot Sauce in question and hope it all works out. I'm not wrong, am I?"
Finally, his companion spoke up, after raising a finger. "Now, now. That is not entirely true. It was merely one of my suggestions, not the one I particularly prefer. With what we know, we cannot approach and engage the Postbringer directly. He is intimately familiar with our methods, so my next idea was to-"
Perdax sighed in frustration. "That doesn't answer my question. I'm not keen on handing over a bunch of toys to someone who doesn't understand the consequences of using 'em. And you really think it'll work?" He got no immediate response, only a persistent stare. "I know what that look is."
"As I said, Perdax, it need not be the technology itself. He can count the Quint among his allies. As most of them, this one has a way around technology. They have already come into direct contact with Negative-based technology, while we're at it. So perhaps, if we provide them..." He stopped as Perdax stood up.
Blueprints weren't much better. One - there was no guarantee they could build that in their native timeline. Two - if they did, they would also understand how it worked. But Perdax knew that Delinius was not going to be swayed from this idea so easily. It was Perdax' own fault for emphasising that the Postbringer and he could not meet under any circumstances.
Not because something bad was guaranteed to happen. In fact, they weren't sure what, if anything at all, would happen. They could become one and the same, or vanish, but there was no telling. 'Nothing' was still a possible result, but that was not a risk he was willing to take.
"Forget this. If you really want to share something with them, tools or how to build them won't work. I've fought this trickster. No matter how many gadgets you throw at him, he finds some stupid grin or unremarkable trick to weave himself out of them. I'll try to draw something up that I can tell him."
That seemed to satisfy both of them. The Maintenancekeeper gave a small nod. "Do I need to notify Valenz?"
"Nah. I'm doing this myself."
Perdax retreated to prepare his little talk, without a further word. From everything they knew, gathered by himself and Valenz, he would create a profile of the Postbringer. He chose to go to his personal workshop. Not just because the notes were already there - this was as close to an 'office' as he had. Valenz knew not to disturb him when he was here, and even the Maintenancekeeper usually reconsidered if he found Perdax here.
Lastly, despite never lingering in any one space for long, he was able to work on projects here for many cycles without feeling unease. Artemus was not particularly hospitable, but Perdax made do with what he had.
==Six - Cardboard Monster Infestation==
 The Steckenburg Office of Investigation expresses its concerns with recent reports regarding a swarm of monsters that appears to be infesting areas of the city. Based on accounts of bystanders, the monsters dispense large volumes of paper from an unknown source, targeting those nearby. So far, the swarm has evaded capture, despite the efforts made by several units tasked to intercept them.
 
 Due to the disruption of public order, and the elusive nature of these creatures, the City Council requests that any citizens with information about the swarm's behaviour and whereabouts report this immediately to the Steckenburg Office of Investigation. The creatures are recognisable by their blue carapaces and boxy appearance, one reminiscent of an enlarged paper envelope.
While the Steckenburg paper was not exactly his primary concern, Delinius had been forwarded a copy of yesterday's edition by Baxter, with this particular statement circled. He could not tell if Baxter was hoping to capture this swarm through IQ's expertise with monsters, or if he was concerned that the office might suspect him of orchestrating such a phenomenon. Reading it now, however, the blatant similarity to the creature that Delinius had captured within the premises of Isles & Quint was impossible to overlook.
"I'm afraid I must cut our quiet time short today, my dear."
His partner, busily scribbling on a large, crumpled sheet of leaf paper, looked up, before stepping over to lean on his shoulder.
"Whatcha reading?"
"Baxter brought this item to my attention. At first, I was unsure of its relevance. I believe I have mentioned the critter that haunted office workers around a dusty archive room, haven't I?" He kissed Lyka on the cheek as she leaned closer.
"Oh, the little thing that ate up the papers? I remember. These... you mentioned the monster looked much like the things they're talking about. Wellll... okay. But you're giving me a good hug first."
A small price to pay, no price at all, in fact. For a few moments, Lyka wrapped herself in his arms, surrounded by the chaos of her apartment. The sofa was the only piece of furniture that was not overtaken by any schematics, components or tools. Delinius made a mental note to help her organise it every time he was here, yet each time either of them found reasons to postpone it.
"Okay, inspector. Tell me everything you've found next time."
She got up together with him and resumed her work. He studied the complete concentration that radiated from her expression, in stark contrast to the disorganisation all around.
From the balcony, with his bag secured and his coat closed, Delinius took to the sky. The flight was far from tedious, but Steckenburg was a large area to cover in an investigation.
----
"Anyone here?"
Nat looked up from her filing work. Baxter was here, no doubt seeking Delinius. She sighed. "Just me! If you're trying to track down Delinius, you can forget about that for the rest of the day. He's already gone out to investigate. Or, well... interrogate-battle-destroy, knowing what the two of you usually mean by investigating."
She could hear Baxter suppress a groan of some kind before poking his head around the door.
"Any idea what he's gone to investigate?"
This she could answer, if only because her superior had left extensive instructions and notes about what was going on. Rather than explain, she held up the loosely bound stack of sheets. "Your answers are all found here in this hastily-scrawled manual. Boss' instructions, if you will. From what I've caught, yes, it's about the mail monsters."
"Yes, that's-"
"Exactly what you came here for. He was half expecting you to come here first." Nat chuckled. "You seem surprised, but really it's a miracle that nobody has-"
Baxter almost ripped the documents from her hands. "No, no. This is bad. I need to find him. People are going to have questions for us." He seemed somewhat frantic - perhaps the questions were already on the company's doorstep.
"Alright, alright, let me think. No, actually, you have one chance to find him, because he's meeting up with Lugas. And I know exactly where you can track Lugas down."
Pulling out a floor plan with the floor numbers on it, she pointed at the three locations where her friend could always be found doing... something. "I know you don't like him. Ha, nobody really does. But he can bring you to Delinius. Just this once?"
Although sour-looking, Baxter nodded. "Alright. I hope he actually knows." He exited the room in a hurry.
----
"Sir, I need to to stay back. There's an ongoing situation and-"
"I work for Isles & Quint. This is our field of expertise. While I appreciate the efforts that the city council are making on this, I implore you to step aside and let me observe. We can - and will - assist once we have enough information."
The official refused to budge, nor did the peacekeepers in their employ, all this despite Delinius brandishing his axe for this occasion. "They are very dangerous creatures, despite what you monster-tamers might think. I've already lost four good people trying to-"
"Hey. Sorry to interrupt, but what he says is right, y'know. Monsters are our thing. So..." The ring of Baxter's voice in the middle of the commotion caused Delinius to swivel in place. There he was, surprisingly together with Lugas.
"Delinius, I had to look all over the city to find you. Could you just, give me a heads up?"
Lugas only gave a shrug and a nod towards Baxter. What this could mean, he could hardly guess. Regardless, between the three of them, they were now matched in number against the city council's peons. Delinius pressed the matter once again.
"Right, yes. I think I have been reasonable in explaining why you need to let us pass. Should that not be satisfactory to you... I'm afraid we will have to make you reconsider by other means."
"Fill in the blanks, man. See what the blanks tell you back. Just let us pass and deal with it."
Right on queue, they could all hear a scream in the distance. Baxter took initiative by pushing the official aside. "That's it, we're heading in. I really hope for you that it wasn't your fifth good worker lost today."
"Hey- wait, stop! You can't just-"
Delinius stepped in front of the official, glaring. "As I have said, we can assist, and we will. Whether or not this is agreeable with your protocol is not our concern. Please, stay where you are."
With that, the matter was settled. Few people seemed willing to draw his ire, even if they had no idea what that ire would manifest as. The three of them hurried down the streets that had been cordoned off, towards the source of the noise.
"Baxter, I expect we will need additional assistance. Once we know what we are dealing with, I will need you to-"
"We need to talk about this stuff beforehand. You can't just run off and-"
"With all due respect, I have been working on this since you handed the newspaper fragment to me. Today was the first day I was anywhere near the office."
"People are already asking questions. We need-"
"Questions to which we're currently finding the answers, my dear Quint! You can't expect them to accept something so flimsy as a statement of investigation, especially not as things currently are."
Lugas interrupted their discussion with some urgency. "Hey uh... you should probably look this way."
A variety of smaller creatures were strewn about, upside-down or otherwise incapacitated, but further ahead was a massive beast by comparison.
Its faded yellow carapace shone in the afternoon light as if a beacon for its smaller brethren. Streams of paper came forth from its maw, bearing down on the Steckenburg workers that were holding up shields to ward off the assault.
"That's a big monster."
"So it is. To return to the point I was making, we need-"
"What you need to do first is get this thing away from here!"
"Apologies. The task at hand seems clear."
"There's an empty place couple blocks from here. You remember. I'm gonna clear the way for us, meet me there!" Lugas bolted down one of the streets as they advanced.
"Remember what empty place?" Baxter shouted.
Delinius was too busy running now that they were approaching the beast to respond fully. "Not a story for now, Baxter. Watch your footing!"
Just in time, Baxter avoided tripping over a pile of papers, possibly covering one of the Steckenburg officials. Once he'd found his balance again, he revealed a pair of capsules - ones Delinius did not immediately recognise.
"These little numbers should help us distract it, but we need to get its attention before they can." He nodded at Delinius.
Understanding the idea Baxter had in mind, Delinius leapt and took off, quickly soaring over the defensive line of the city workers. The creature seemed unfazed, until Delinius torched some of the paper avalanche it was spewing. Turning its gaze up to the Soul Flame, it bellowed and began stomping in his direction.
"That's it. Come, avenge your precious papers!" He lit more of the surrounding paper debris as a demonstration.
"Alright, I've got it!" Baxter's capsules revealed a pair of floating drones with some kind of eye, or light. Briefly flickering before turning on, they began orbiting Delinius. "Try to hold still for a bit?"
Despite the monster's best efforts, all it could really do was spit streams of envelopes, which fell to the ground after a pathetically short flight, so Delinius was able to hover in place without too much movement. Before long, the drones retreated slightly.
"Here comes the fun stuff." Baxter pressed a button on a small remote.
The drones began emitting light. Rather, they began projecting an image. Initially fuzzy and indistinct, it rapidly took on the exact appearance of Delinius while in flight. "Impressive. The fidelity is-" Delinius swerved to avoid a street light - "not quite on par with higher-complexity illusions, but impressive from such minuscule devices."
"Go see about that empty place and make sure there's nowhere for this thing to go. I'll handle this."
Delinius acknowledged the order with a quick nod before heading on. He found signs of Lugas passing through - hastily erected barricades out of almost everything that he could move, including a small pedalcart, arrows painted on buildings - and followed the path to the former site of a large building, now a barren plane of dirt strewn with a few stones. He found Lugas there, waiting.
"Where's suitjacket?"
"Using afterimages of me as a lure. He should be here soon."
This seemed to interest Lugas, initially, but his expression changed. "...who's this guy, though?"
Turning around immediately, Delinius was at a loss for words.
==Seven - The Double in Blue==
Just who was this man? Delinius studied the features he thought could only be his own. The man was slightly shorter and lankier, but in every respect he looked like a more youthful version of Delinius himself - although, by that measure, there was no way to tell if that were accurate.
"Finally, we meet, and at such an opportune moment." Delinius scowled at the amicable tone. This prompted a smirk from the one before him. "You seem to disapprove. Allow me to introduce myself."
He took a theatrical, exaggerated bow. "You are speaking to The Postbringer. Deliverer of Envelopes and Parcels. Bringer of Mail and Messages. First of the knowledge-bringers. My grand schemes will bring all that is known under Lux' light into view. Forever exchanged, forever passed around. Forevermore united under a single purpose."
This Postbringer figure claimed to be responsible for the ongoing problem. Whether or not this was true, it seemed counterintuitive to announce oneself and one's plans in front of their opponent. What concerned Delinius most was the description of that which he wished to achieve. There were distinct similarities in his choice of words. No, there was direct overlap with some of the things he understood about Dwineanism as it had once been - long before any of his known ancestors.
Even if the Postbringer's goals were even a fraction of what Delinius feared they might be, he could not allow this deluded visionary to gain a foothold, here or anywhere on Ludus.
"You shall do no such thing. I know not whence you came, and it is no concern of mine. If these creatures are your responsibility, I demand that you cease this disruptive intrusion and return to whatever address you departed from."
The Postbringer chuckled, seemingly unimpressed with Delinius' words. "Why, what a preposterous idea. Is not the noblest goal to illuminate all for the Radiant? Surely, out of everyone you should understand this."
"Nah. You heard him. You can illuminate your papers when this is done."
"I see that you refuse to resolve this matter through more refined manners. Very well then." Delinius stepped forward, brandishing his axe. "With all that I have at my disposal, I shall make it my task to bring you down."
Heavy footsteps in the distance and lighter footsteps close by indicated that Baxter had arrived, his drones still luring the great creature towards this site.
"We're the only ones around here who still handle monsters. That's our job, and nobody else's."
 ROUND 1
 Delinius engages the Postbringer in combat.
 A flurry of envelopes halts and temporary blinds Delinius. The Postbringer calls additional monsters to his aid.
 Lugas engages the monsters that arrive over land.
 The monsters in the air start closing in on Baxter.
 
 ROUND 2
 The large envelope monster arrives, stomping towards Baxter.
 The Postbringer stops focusing on reinforcements and brandishes a detached mailbox!
 Delinius steps in front of the Postbringer, equipped with his axe.
 Baxter deploys several more airborne drones. They begin whirring as they fire sparks and beams of light at the monsters around them!
 After dealing with the monsters on the ground, Lugas storms towards the large monster to distract it.
 
 ROUND 3
 Delinius and The Postbringer clash. Delinius is gaining the upper hand!
 The Postbringer retreats and slows Delinius down by summoning stacks of paperwork and boxes. A few monsters jump out!
 The big monster spews a flood of papers at Lugas! Lugas trips, but quickly gets back up.
 Baxter's technology has thinned out most of the smaller monsters aiding The Postbringer.
 
 ROUND 4
 Lugas calls out to Delinius to focus on The Postbringer while fighting the big monster.
 Baxter's drones turn on the new monsters that have hopped out of the boxes.
 Delinius pursues The Postbringer as he tries to parry Delinius' attacks.
 After blocking another strike from the big monster, Lugas injures the monster's legs, causing it to topple over.
 The impact on the hard ground incapacitates the big monster!
Once the large beast landed with a thud, Baxter and Lugas watched as Delinius repeatedly struck The Postbringer's weapon. Although The Postbringer was repelling his attacks each time, he no longer launched counterattacks of his own. Suddenly, he lunged and managed to hit Delinius in the chest, causing the latter to stagger backwards. "Aha! Your techniques are not as flawless as you think."
"Your insult falls on the same deaf ears as your injury. Ignite and perish, return to your sending address!"
With a furious roar, Delinius launched towards his foe. It was difficult to tell if the exhaustion from the skirmish was causing an optical illusion with his shirt, or if Delinius was genuinely emitting an orange glow. The force of his attack was not aimed at the Postbringer so much as it was directed at the weapon in his hands, which promptly escaped from its owner's grip. The two stood in silence as the mailbox journeyed through the sky, landing somewhere next to the dazed large monster.
The Postbringer scoffed, but his soured expression only lasted a few moments. "Your coordination is impressive. Ah, well! You may have proven yourself a formidable opponent with capable allies, but you are ill-prepared for the full might of my delivery network. Every Ludusian will be informed, and they will know what it means to be filled with wisdom. When next you see me, you shall not be so fortunate."
Raising a fist, a bright light began enveloping The Postbringer's figure. "Pray that you and your friends steel your minds and hone your weapons. Every doubt, every weakness that you exhibited in your life, is already known to me." He laughed as envelopes and sigils began circling him.
Delinius reached out in an attempt to apprehend The Postbringer. "I will halt you before-" His hands touched nothing, and The Postbringer disappeared, showering Delinius in envelopes and papers.
==Eight - Paperwork, Forever==
All notable (and some less notable) staff of Isles & Quint were standing or seated here, some leaning against cabinets or stacks of papers. Delinius cleared his throat before beginning his explanation.
"While you have all taken notice of the events that plagued Steckenburg recently, I want to elaborate on the implications of this "Postbringer". Two matters concern me: The Postbringer himself, and his entourage of monsters. Maxine was kind enough to help me draw up the information that has been gathered on the monsters. If you will?" He nodded at Maxine, who turned on the projector that had been set up in the middle of the office. No small effort, considering the sheer amount of administrative paperwork located on this floor. Once the projection was glowing on the wall, she took position in front of it.
"Thank you, Mr. Langton. While a full study is still underway, the results of our initial examination of the monsters are truly fascinating." Nat operated the projector, showing those present a variety of charts, sketches and findings as Maxine continued.
"They are monsters, but their shared biological features suggest that they were bred or artificially created on a large scale - larger than any party in or around Steckenberg could even begin to undertake. This does not yet cover the fact that the technology to do so is not yet available or known, and could not produce results this consistent or in these numbers. In addition to the study of the creatures themselves, I have drafted several research proposals that might allow us to discover the underlying principles and requirements to create similar results." She was practically levitating with excitement at the potential for discovery. "My apologies, I am steering this presentation away from its original purpose. Please continue, Mr. Langton." Maxine stepped aside, inviting Delinius to resume his discussion.
He merely smiled - if anything, he was used to tangents like these from his partner. One difference was that he had to stop her himself, rather than let the train of thought run its natural course. "Thank you, Maxine. I am certain that you and others will make important discoveries by examining these monsters more closely. With that, I would like to highlight the first observation that Maxine and her team have made: Isles & Quint is the only organisation currently engaged in handling Ludusian monsters for the purpose of capture, training and sale as companions, with no known organisations or businesses explicitly seeking to create life artificially. While it has been theorised that it can be done, our own research on this front is still in its earliest stages. This makes it particularly strange that my adversary had access to large numbers of identical, artifically made monsters with specialised purposes and matching physiology. In addition to this, we do not know from where he procures them. The particularly large specimen that we incapacitated entered Steckenburg completely unnoticed - a ridiculous notion that should be impossible yet proves to be a reality." Not only was it highly unlikely that either Isles & Quint or his sibling Ina would have missed this development - it was difficult to imagine the population at large overlooking a monster of this size. The looks and expressions of his colleagues had gradually changed from curiosity and confusion to concern and alarm, exactly as he had intended.
"On this basis, we must assume several things about The Postbringer, whoever he truly is. That he has access to means technological or otherwise to artificially create life forms in large numbers and tailored to his whims; that he is capable of either concealing these life forms and their manufacture, or transporting them across large distances unseen; that he intends to disrupt Steckenburg, and subsequently other communities, by means of invasion with these monsters."
A hand shot up - a question, perhaps, or a remark. "Yes, Delbin?"
"So, uh, what exactly is he going to do? Shoot papers at people until they can't move? Seems like a bad way to take over the planet..."
A question, if a very plain one that lacked the seasoning of a more informed guess. It was a valid question nonetheless, as Delinius had yet to elaborate on The Postbringer or his motives. "That is an excellent point - I am getting ahead of myself. In the process of engaging The Postbringer and his monsters, he openly discussed his intentions. Myself, Baxter and Lugas each confirmed what we had seen and heard in the aftermath. Although highly abstract, I was able to identify elements in his delusional speech that overlap with... dubious stories of Dwineanism as it was in a distant past. While I cannot go into the specific nature of this, I can assure you that his plans do not benefit Steckenburg, or Ludus as a whole. Most concerningly, however..."
Delinius took a deep breath. Even to him, it still seemed surreal. "The Postbringer appears to be a close copy of myself, differing only in his choice of attire, and his more youthful appearance in contrast to myself. While we may draft theories on the origin of his monsters, I cannot plausibly explain his appearance and presence."
While Baxter, Lugas and Nat did not look particularly shocked, others were visibly disturbed by this news. "The Postbringer must be stopped, brought down, and questioned. One can imagine my sentiment towards the only alternative, should we be unable to capture him alive."
Category:Pi Timeline
Category:Stories