Chapter 380: Ares Is on the Case

Ares and Massai were led into the deepest part of the sect, going even further in than where the sect master himself resided, and eventually came across a large gateway with a heavy industries sort of vibe. It was carved into the middle of a canyon entrance and completely covered in metal from the ramp, for vehicles to move in and out, all the way back to the checkpoint and retractable poles to stop anyone from charging in unannounced. There had been a few such attempts but this was as far as they got because security here was tight and there was no other way into this place. Sure the canyon was scalable on either side but there were sentries up there twenty four seven scouting the desert below. It could get a bit dicey during stormier conditions, as the sand would obscure vision, but if anyone was dumb enough to try and climb a canyon wall completely blind then the guards probably didn't have to worry about dealing with them as they'd fall backwards to their death in due time without an external push. Long story short, you weren't getting in without permission or an army. Even getting through the core section of the sect would be an nightmare but this? Never happening! Unless your name was Ares! He could do it if he really wanted to. Speaking of Ares, as it turns out, he was right to wait for Drai earlier because someone started walking over to him the second he arrived. Drai stepped forward from around the corner just in time for the worker to get the message so Ares gave the world at large a smug grin and a middle finger. The worker thought this was directed at him and couldn't help but think this guest was incredibly rude! A slight misunderstanding but not one that would have any real meaning going forward... Hopefully... If Ares ever came back here on his own there was a non-zero chance this guy was going to give him trouble. Oh well, maybe the guy would find out who he was at some point and drop the petty plans.

Guided through the checkpoint, Ares entered a rather busy encampment that had been built around the square quarry in the centre so that everything was conveniently laid out for maximum efficiency. The work flow her was well rehearsed and objects were passed around on conveyor belts with minimal shouting. One single call from across the camp, on the other side of the quarry, and the requested item was being delivered the very next second without any fuss. There were various designated spots for different jobs such as ore collection, waste disposal, excavation machinery upkeep, etc... Each of them were staffed by a large number of elders from the sect but some were completely empty right now which likely had something to do with the temporarily ceased operations. The elders here were fulfilling very different roles compared to normal such as using binoculars to spy in the quarry for any pop-up weasels, analysing the corrupted fine grind ore, and dissecting a dead weasel they managed to catch to try and identify the root of this blackish grey miasma. Unfortunately there was no luck on all three fronts currently so the mood around this place was rather sour. It did improve a fair bit, though, when everyone saw Massai show up.

Massai had been their knight in shining armour last time and they were hoping for yet more miracles this time. Even if he could remove the miasma for just a little while, to give everyone a break both physically and mentally, that was good enough! They'd been working day and night shifts consecutively for what felt like aeons now and the stress was setting in. Chatter was at an all time low and the idle hum of machinery was enough to drown out the tired commands from various overseers on the different projects. Still, they all soldiered on with determination to fix the problem, because everyone here cared about either Xasca or the sect and both were at stake, so they felt energised in spite of everything. There were also some experts on fine grind and animal biology from other places in Xasca who'd been given express tickets on sand boats to come and take a swing at this issue. There was naturally no luck on their end either so it was currently a camp full of stumped individuals meandering from one project to the next like overworked zombies.

Drai led Ares and Massai over to the nearest edge of the quarry and stood to the side so they could peer in. They could jump in if they were feeling feisty but Drai could not guarantee their safety as he had no idea what was happening down there! Plus it was a decent way down and they would be better of using the life off to the side if they weren't in a hurry. Actually, Drai was really hoping Ares wouldn't go anywhere near that stuff. For all he knew Ares might as well have been a walking explosive, ready to burst at any point, and would only make the situation infinitely more volatile....

Luckily for Drai, Ares didn't decide to go down and take a look because he didn't actually need to, just peering down from above with his Omniscience was revealing all sorts of juicy information. He'd taken a lay of the land, although there really wasn't much to see, and now understood the rough layout of this place. It was a rectangular, downward shaft that was constantly being excavated vertically and not horizontally. Smack bang in the middle was a giant crystal that was presumably shaped like a diamond but the bottom three quarters of it, give or take, were still buried underneath yet more earth and sand that had to be carefully dug out. This led to a sort of mini, cone-shaped mountain forming that any peckish weasels could easily climb up to nibble away at the tip of the crystal. There were bite marks around the tip so it seemed like Ares' conjecture was correct but that wasn't the only place they'd been getting their meal from. There were a few small holes in the sandy mountain ramp as well so they must have dug underneath it to get to the core of the fine grind mountain sooner. The fine grind diamond was originally supposed to be a light bluish colour but it was completely dipped in the blackish grey miasma and now looked more like a dull and sickly blue like that of an aged bruise. It was dark and unwelcoming down there and somewhat foreboding, like the pit had become some kind of satanic spawn point that would open up a portal straight to hell once a ritual of some sort was completed, one that probably involved tossing corpses in as some sort of sacrifice.

There currently weren't any weasels running about so Ares was a tad disappointed on that front. He wanted to see these stocky weasels because it honestly sounded both hilarious and ugly as sin and Ares wanted to know which descriptor suited them more. Also it would make addressing the root cause of this problem a lot easier but, even still, Ares had an answer already to give to these people. Omniscience was just too good at what it did but, also, the answer wasn't actually that complicated. Maybe a little technical but the simple version of the summary was easy enough to follow. How these lot hadn't found it yet Ares didn't know but maybe they were just looking at it the wrong way?... Actually, hiring all these thin and wiry researchers might have backfired. The original workers here could have very well potentially given Drai an answer if they'd been allowed to continue working here for a few days more. Even if a single worker went down into that pit, and took in the miasma for a respectable period of time although obviously no one was willing to risk such a thing, there was a respectable chance they'd recognise it as it was a manual labourer's best friend in the cultivation world. Put simply, it was bare fist aspect mana.

Most forms of bulky magic and body tempering arts came under this pillar because they all directly or indirectly benefitted a cultivator's fists... Usually. There were some exceptions that primarily targeted legs but it was all under one umbrella and people didn't nit-pick. There wasn't really a body tempering pillar and so this was about as good as it got. There were some people with unique aspects tailored towards such a thing but, for the most part, anyone interested in making gains and improving their physical strength could look to the bare fist aspect. Actually, this miasma having something to do with bare-fist aspect made a lot of sense because it tied in nicely with why the weasels, specifically, wound up being the plague spreaders. They were bulky!... Apparently anyway. Chances are, Xascan weasels developed an affinity for the bare fist aspect a while ago and evolved thanks to it so that would explain where the energy for this miasma was coming from. Normally the mana wouldn't look like this but there must have been something wrong with the weasels themselves causing this mana mutation / corruption. Again, if the workers, most of whom had likely increased their physical strength via this aspect so they could increase their work prospects as potential hire-ees, were allowed down there they would feel right at home! They couldn't stay there long, obviously, as that miasma looked corrosive, but they would feel their muscles burning and becoming sturdier by the second while they stood within the foggy pit.

As for the researchers... To be this unfamiliar with bare fist mana wasn't too surprising given their field of expertise but really? Not even one of them even somewhat recognised it? Maybe the corruption was hiding it well and Ares' omniscience was simply that powerful? Was he taking for granted how incredible the Prisms were or was there a weasel up here living amongst the humans? Someone redirecting everyone's attention to other possibilities... Would have to be an overseer? Someone who could give everyone reasonable enough sounding tasks that would never give the correct answer to this predicament? The Firestarters back on the Federation were collaborators with the Torchbearer so would it really be out of the blue for more collaborators to be stationed somewhere in Xasca, maybe even right next to where all the action was happening? It couldn't have been easy getting them into this position but these lot were a group that tried to expend an enabler to destroy a country so it was clear they had resources and motivation to pursue something as valuable as a mole.

Ares gave it some thought and used his divine sense to peer at the surrounding researchers without getting caught. He was looking for anyone shady to question with his bloodline lie detector but he had to be subtle about it. There were a few key targets that were behaving in a rather strange manner as their attention was solely on Ares even though they should have been working hard to figure things out regarding the miasma. Maybe they were worried he was some country bumpkin who'd mess everything up, maybe they were just curious about who Drai brought over to help, or, more likely, they were hoping Ares wouldn't recognise the cause of the miasma and have to leave everyone here dejected... Ares was going to stop peering at the quarry and explain some things to Drai when he noticed something skitter around the corner of his vision down below. He traced the movement and finally caught sight of a weasel dashing about, looking for the nearest chunk of ore to feast on. "Those things are hideous!" Ares pointed down at the creature with a hint of repulsion in his voice which garnered a bit of attention from everyone else who quickly realised the weasels were back... Well, thankfully only one this time for whatever reason. The elders who were responsible for tackling the invasion were well organised so a squad put on some protective gear, attached a harness so they could descend quickly, and dove face first into the mist with nets and poisonous candles and incense to smoke the critters out if they hid in holes. This rarely went well, and mostly resulted in the weasel leaving rather than being captured, but it was still better than doing nothing... 

As for the weasel... It looked like a naked mole rat! Weasels could be cute normally but these things were about twice the size of a regular weasel, had incredibly pale and thin skin, and their veins were bulging with every step they took during their mad dash to the fine grind ore. They had enough power to stand on their hind legs and flex their fore limbs if they really wanted but that was honestly a disgusting sight and Ares really wished they wouldn't do that. Chances are, if they stood up and flexed, their third leg down below would also get some blood flowing to it and that was a pretty nasty sight that didn't need describing. These creatures would definitely be decently strong but they'd completely obliterated their cuteness in the process and just looked like roided out squirrels with a fleshy paint job and cartoonish muscles. Put simply, they were freaks of nature and Ares would never feel bad about dealing with them... Just look at the way that thing's teeth drilled into the ore down there! It was literally making a whirring noise with its teeth for crying out loud! No wonder the elders were having trouble catching them... They were twice as fast as even some of the quicker elders here and catching them in a net was impossible because they would just flick it off and punch their pursuer in the nuts! Rude, ugly things! Plus, to top it all off, they snickered at their victims before turning tail and jumping into the tunnel systems that were buried underneath the sand... Though they were carrying the plague they didn't seem too affected by it? If anything, it seemed to spur them on and give them energy... Energy that would require a decent amount of intake to keep under control which would explain why they were obsessing over this fine grind blue mountain. If they didn't eat regularly then they would starve rapidly given how much energy they were exerting. They didn't understand the complexity of blowing up the country, they just wanted to go to sleep with a full belly. Feeding their young was admirable but they were still ugly so it was no dice on the mercy front! Try being cuter next time damn rodents!

"Um, So Ares... Do you thin you can help us with this?" Drai noticed Ares' lack of concern with the weasel running about and thought he was giving up already.

"Hm? Sure. The weasels might be the tricky part but I'll figure something out. Right now there are bigger concerns. First of all, let me guess, those weasels come in somewhat regularly scheduled waves, right?"

"Yes?" Drai wasn't sure how Ares could have know that as he'd never mentioned it to him before. He was right though as the timing of their attacks was frequently predictable, it's just that nothing could be done about it. As for this lone weasel, they'd probably gotten hungry and snuck away from their pack to come take a bit on their lonesome ahead of the next raid. It was actually just a coincidence but a handy one because Ares could finally piece together the puzzle by observing the weasel with Omniscience. He knew about the bare fist mana, he knew what was causing it to flair up and get 'corrupted' like this, he knew why the mana was affecting the fine grind, and he had a rough idea of how this was all happening so consistently without any hitches for the involved party. Before he went full on detective mode and outed the perpetrators though, not that he'd really done any of the sleuthing himself as he owed everything to the Prisms Omniscience', he wanted to make sure he was going after the right people.

"Do you mind if I go around and ask the people here some questions? It'll be quick and I ought to be able to give conclusive explanations about pretty much everything if you give me five minutes." This statement shocked everyone who was close enough to hear it, other than Massai who seemed to expect as such and simply headed down to the pit to start clearing out the corruption, and there were gasps aplenty. Either Ares was bragging to kingdom come or he was actually every bit the cultivation genius the news had painted him as. Time would tell so Drai nodded and gave him his five minutes to go and ask people whatever he wanted. There was a sort of stillness now as a lot of people were trying to listen in on his conversations but Drai wasn't tolerating this because he didn't want the direction of the talks to be shifted thanks to all the ears listening in on it. If Ares wanted to ask a more sensitive question, regarding where people were on certain days or so on so forth, it would be awkward to interrogate people with so many others watching. If he asked the wrong person the wrong question, and the real perpetrators heard the troublesome question in advance, they could come up with a potential alibi while he was off dealing with others.

As such, Drai took charge of the workers and personally dispersed them, sending them off to do various tasks as he understood the implications of Ares' actions. There was a traitor here somewhere so he had to manually take control over literally everyone until they were rooted out. If he left the person responsible for this mess in charge of a division or two they would delay progress by amounts that would matter in the long run as well as maybe create trouble here and now in the short term. Drai informed the guards not to let anyone leave but to act subtle about it because it seemed Ares was also doing the same. This just looked like a routine check to see what people knew but Drai could tell it was more like a bloodhound searching for the real criminal amongst all the others. He wasn't taking stock of the situation, and would leave the quarry and come back with a result after investigating more at a later date, he was going to out them today and that was a relief to Drai.

Ares moved between multiple people but there were only really three he was interested in and so he paid them the most attention by leaving them 'till last. He'd already thrown out random questions to other workers just to make it look like he was approaching anyone and everyone indiscriminately but now it was time to pay the real suspects a visit. First up was a tall lady wearing goggles with a few empty vials dangling out of her lab coat pocket precariously. She seemed perfectly willing to co-operate so Ares got the ball rolling with a few questions that all sounded harmless enough. "You work with chemicals often given your job here, I take it?"

The woman nodded. "Pretty much constantly, yes."

"Where did you learn about the properties of chemicals and how they react?"

"I had a sensei of sorts who funded my education as he saw potential in me to become a great scientist. He passed away a while ago, regrettably, but he died doing what he loved and broke a few last barriers in the realm of science before fading away into the history books. It was thanks to his legacy, and my status as his disciple, that I had doors open for me all on their own when I set out looking for work. I was invited to work in many great places that furthered my knowledge, allowing me to follow in that sensei's footsteps and continue with his research to this day. Currently I'm trying to work on the mist and understand what about it exactly is causing the fine grind ore to explode "

"I see. I'm pretty certain I know what I need to know but I'll ask just in case. Have you ever heard of the 'Blacklist'?"

the woman tilted her head and shook it soon after. "No. Is that some kind of set of illegal chemicals or something?"

"You're not far off, actually. It's related to alchemy primarily, though, so don't worry about it too much. It's just a list of illegal pills, essentially. Your knowledge is derived from science and not alchemy so you're not who I'm looking for... Don't say that out loud though, yeah?" Ares waved goodbye to the confused woman but didn't explain anything any further as he could do that later when he rounded everyone up. He moved onto the next person, a panthera with a cigar in his mouth and an unfriendly attitude worn on his rolled up sleeve. His clothes were neat and tidy, meaning he probably wasn't doing any kind of hard work and mostly just directing everyone about as he saw fit. 

"Hello, mind if I as you a few questions or are you too busy slacking off?"

"Hmph, go fuck yourself. You can ask all you want but I'll only answer what I feel like answering. I'm not gonna be bossed around by some young twerp who hasn't even grown whiskers yet." 

... Whiskers? This guy was getting his wires crossed and his phrases too as a result. Ares understood the general gist of what he was trying to say though and it seemed he wasn't going to be an easy witness to speak too. "What do you actually do here, if anything at all?"

"Hmph, need to know basis."

"Ok, calm down secret agent puss in boots." This snide comment caused the worker to kiss his teeth and kick some dust at Ares' shins... With his boots... Which just made him more irritated.

"If I answer some of your questions properly will you get lost, kid?!"

Ares shrugged. "We'll only know if you try really hard." Ares didn't give the worker time to fight back with his pointless words and carried on with his original purpose here. "Are you a bodyguard? you look decently strong enough to be one. You know, prevent any spies from taking out key researchers etc..."

"Tsk, nah. That would be an easier job for me though and I wouldn't mind it compared to this. Used to be in the Xascan military before it was disbanded, I did. We made a truce with our neighbouring countries a while ago though so we're completely safe from all directions currently. Even if something goes wrong we have talented enough cultivators all around the country to hold the line so a military was kind of unnecessary. It wasn't well run either as different folks from different tribes were always butting heads with one another. You can kinda guess that nobody was happy as their superiors could be someone from a tribe they had a blood feud with and refused to listen to them. I got strong by working out during my time there otherwise I'd just get beaten up anyone with a grudge against my old tribe. I did a few escort missions here and there so, yeah, I'd much prefer being a bodyguard... But I'm stuck working as a damn foreman. I was the leader of a squad near the end of my time in the military so my supervising talents were worth bringing aboard for this quarry, apparently, and the pay is good. I'm not slacking off, I'm just making sure nobody else is. of course I can also double as security if need be or give advice on how to fight the weasels."

Ares was thankful this guy was finally answering the damn questions so he didn't insult or mess with him any more and kept asking away. "I've heard rumours that militaries around Sheryashka have occasionally used 'hollow victory' pills in secret... is it true? Not anything to do with the investigation, mind you, I'm just personally curious." Ares was keeping his voice hushed and acting secretive about the conversation.

"Hollow victory pills?" This oblivious, idiot foreman, on the other hand, blurted the name out like the comedic relief in a fantasy novel during a stealth mission. Ares had foreseen this level of stupidity, thankfully, and used Quietus Edict underneath his breath to drown out the noise and prevent it from flowing beyond the scope of his own hearing. "Never heard of 'em but I'm guessing they're something shady? We really don't do that, it's all blood sweat and tears behind closed doors. We use a lot of healing pills though. That and mana shot pills are by far the most commonly consumed pills in an average army."

"Ah, I was just wandering. Spooky things those pills are. Will make you all hyper and then cause you to crash and burn, becoming feeble for potentially even the rest of your life when the effect wears off. You can delay the crash by taking more pills but the second you stop? If you've taken more than one, you're almost guaranteed to die. There were stories about old tribes in the Akarala region using such pills to assure victory in war a long time ago but all their soldiers died the night after they won, making them sitting ducks for the next conquerors in line to easily swoop in and take the throne... Though there are plenty of stories about dumb decisions in Akarala, that's kind of their thing actually... Anyway, like I said, just rumours. Keep on keeping on... Between you and me... I definitely don't think you're the suspect because you're knowledge is more practical than technical so setting something up like this isn't in your wheelhouse... Don't tell anyone I told you that, though! Gotta keep everyone on their toes!" Ares bid the foreman adieu and walked over to the third and final person on his list, a normal human in just about every sense of the word. They looked busy but Ares didn't give a toss as what he was doing was more important!

"Excuse me." Ares waited for a response but the guy ignored him and kept on tinkering with some kind of dispenser looking item. "Excuse me..." Ares was a bit more forceful which netted him a 'shoo' gesture from the pre-occupied individual who must not have known who it was bothering him. "Excuse me." Ares swiped the dispenser of the table, breaking it on the floor as he glowered down at the the man with a kind of look in his eyes that made it clear there would be repercussions if he were ignored again.

"Who the hell are..."

Slap

"Your superior in every way. I have questions and you will answer them or I will personally feed your innards to the weasels." A quick and heavy burst of pressure seemed to clue in this idiot that he wasn't going to worm his way out of this and that Ares was for real. He'd looked around to see if anyone was going to rescue him from this 'unprompted' assault form the madman but, to his dismay, everyone was working harder than ever thanks to Drai's instruction. "First question, what the hell are you doing?"

"I WAS doing, you mean?! Tsk... Ow ow ow ow ow!" Ares dragged the guy by the hair until he was being held aloft over the pit. "Fine fine I'll answer! Don't throw me down there for crying out loud! That fall will break my spine damnit!" It was a decently long fall so he wasn't exaggerating. Ares pulled him back over and tried again.

"What were you doing."

"Working on a prototype for dispensing chunks of fine grind. The dispenser has... Had temporal magic in it that stopped time, preventing the fine grind samples from detonating before they were put to use. Whenever a researcher needed a new piece to analyse, because their old one exploded, they would be able to get one without having to hassle anybody else as they'd all be stored in one convenient place. It would lead to an increase in work flow so I thought it would be handy to make it in what little spare time I have."

"Tsk, nobody gives a crap about your glorified soup container!... Actually, scratch that, it seems like it's a tea container instead!" Ares noticed a cup of tea, homebrewed if the nearby kettle and leaves were anything to go by, and assumed this guy was lying! He was totally creating a thermos to put food and drink in! "Are you really being helpful, like, at all?" This dude was about as real a researcher as Massai was a monk! Slacker extraordinaire! 

"Hey! Don't mock the tea! I worked hard on making it to help keep everyone's energy levels up damnit! Go ask just about anyone, they've all wanted it for these long work shifts! I'm perfectly useful!... Even if I've yet to discover anything regarding that pit... Sometimes moral support goes a long way, you know?"

"Fantastic..." Ares punctuated his sarcastic response with a sigh and kept going. "What's your line of work here, exactly?"

"When not working on miscellaneous inventions or brewing tea to make everyone's life easier, I'm typically studying the weasels. I've always had a fascination for odd creatures which led me to do all sorts of experiments in labs here and there for pharmaceutical companies primarily. I've pretty much worked everywhere in Sheryashka at this point and travelled the globe so I'm confident there isn't a creature I haven't heard of! On that note, it's a shame... What happened to Hunter, I mean. I'm a huge fan! I heard he was going to work here and was looking forward to it. He's a bit of a brute, and takes more physical measures, but I admire his boundless knowledge of Sheryashkan creatures! I've read a good few of his notebooks you know? They were reprinted just about everywhere because of how valuable they were to understanding rarer species for up and coming biologists like myself! Aww, I would have loved working alongside him and not, well, you know... You... If you're curious about my actual work here, I've been studying the weasel's bodies. Currently, specifically their tails. Maybe they can store that miasma inside there? It has to come from somewhere, after all, and the rest of the body hasn't yielded any interesting results worth mentioning."

"Nothing anywhere else at all? Really?"

"Mhm. The only thing we happened across was back when we were investigating the stomach region... Because there was still some fine grind in there that blew up when we tried checking... They'd recently eaten the stuff, after all, so it hanging around in their bellies wasn't too surprising... Well I say that but it did cause everyone to freak out the first time it happened and the mess was not pretty... Weasel guts everywhere... Ew."

"... You really are useless... Have you even contributed anything other than that damn tea? How do you get through life on a day to day basis? You look like the kind of moron who would tie his shoes together. Can you walk straight in a gale without falling over? Can you pee without sitting down? Can you even tell the damn time?! I wouldn't be surprised if you got the little hand and the big one mixed up!"

"Hey! Rude! For your information, it's five minutes to twelve! So there, punk! I've been co-operative but that doesn't mean I like you! Scram brute! Shoo!" The man pushed Ares along and Ares gave one final remark before leaving.

"Whatever, it couldn't possibly be you. You might be the dumbest person here and I don;t think you could pull it off even if somebody gave you a damn manual for success. Go learn how to count to ten, and tie your shoe laces up properly while you're at it, instead of getting in everyone else's way!" Ares harumphed as he walked off while the guy double checked his shoe laces only to find out they really had come undone.... He could have sworn they were fine! maybe Ares was right about him after all...

Ares had now visited the three key targets and assured each of them that he wasn't suspicious... But that was a blatant lie! One of them had given Ares every single clue he needed. His lie detector was useless here, actually, because everyone had told him the whole truth and nothing but the truth. Thankfully Ares had enough information about the miasma to put everything into perspective so it was time to round everyone up and point out the baddie before they clocked on to the fact that Ares was nipping at their heels! Ares walked over to Drai, gave him a wink, and asked him to assemble the workers and the security!.. Although the latter were unnecessary. Ares could deal width the culprit but, just in case things went wrong, they would be helpful. Ares didn't elaborate on what he meant by, 'if things went wrong', so Drai simply did as was asked of him and summoned everybody. He'd ordered the guards to stand near the pit, as Ares had requested they take up positions there specifically for some reason, and was now handing over the floor to Ares.

Ahem

"There's not really much time for theatrics as I've gotta wrap this up in five minutes or less. I'll keep it nice and simple so you bozos can follow along so let's get down to business yeah? I'll point out the traitor, explain everything from start to finish, and then we can all fight for our lives against an army of weasels! Who's with me!?"

...

...

...

What?

An army of weasels? 

...

What?