Creative Corner

So, this is something that's been in my head for probably about a year, now. A lot of it is narrated by DePero, himself. If you're trying to figure out what he sounds like, imagine an announcer on a radio from the 40's, but often speaking in near-monotone, and being a little sharp on the syllables. That's what he sounds like. Anyway, I hope you enjoy this little multi-part short story.

Also, I am not subbed to this thread, so if you want me to see your post here, (unless I'm obsessively refreshing or something) please ping me.



It was another dreary day in the Hewn City. The rain fell like the hopes and dreams of so many dragons in this crime-afflicted world. Crime, which like a pox, spreads and destroys without heeding the once-happy lives it has devoured. My name is DePero. And I have devoted myself to seeking out and destroying that pox wherever it shows its oozing blisters.

I was younger, then. Young, fresh out of the academy...and such a fool. I thought I was wiser than I really was. But an academy can't prepare you for life's cruel sorrows. Only experience can do that. And that day, experience came knocking.

Literal knocking. So, I went to the door. I didn't have my own office yet. I was just filling in while I waited for a response to my inquiry. And there, standing at the door, huddled under the eves for protection from the rain was...her.

Her name was Lillian, and she was one classy lady. Her feathers were dark, rich, and thick. Her eyes were light, and wet, shining beautifully. She was so distraught. I didn't even think twice.

"Come in," DePero hurriedly ushered the Coatl into the office, and into a chair. "Is there anything I can do for you? Coffee? A blanket?"

"Oh, yes, please, Detective. You- you're very kind," Lillian shakily agreed, practically leaning on the Pearlcatcher as he moved her to the chair.

"Right, right -- you just stay right there; I'll be back with some coffee," he hastily informed as he hurried to the back of the office.

He returned with a towel, which he wrapped around the Coatl's shoulders, then went back for the coffee. After handing the mug off to her, she uttered her quiet thanks, and he pulled up a chair for himself. Hunching forward and loosely folding his claws, DePero looked intently into Lillian's face. "Now, Ma'am...would you mind telling me what the trouble is?"

She practically burst into tears right there, but she managed to get her story out. Evidently, a group of thugs had kidnapped her sister, and were threatening to do the same to her if she didn't come up with five thousand gems before the week was out. She didn't have that kind of cash, and she couldn't go to the police or her sister would come to harm. So, a detective was her only recourse.

"Please, Detective Jonas, I'm begging you. You're the only hope my sister and I have," she pleaded.

"I'm sorry, Ma'am, but you have the wrong dragon," I clarified. "Jonas is out of town on business. I'm Detective DePero. I've been filling in for him while he's been away."

Fear dashed across Lillian's face, and she turned it away. "O-oh no..."

"What's wrong?" DePero asked, concerned.

"I... I shouldn't have said anything. Now you're in danger, too. Please, Detective. I can't tell anyone else about this, and now that you know... I'm so sorry, Detective, but please help us!"

How could I say no?

"Don't worry, Ma'am. Detective DePero is on the case!"

Lillian told me that she didn't know much about the scum who kidnapped her sister, so we had no choice but to visit the drop-off point where she was supposed to deliver the ransom. It was a dock at the edge of the Tangled Wood. We were going to scope out the area. But there were miscreants already waiting to collect the five thousand gems.

DePero watched quietly from behind a stack of abandoned crates as Lillian advanced towards a group of burly dragons, loitering by a ship. He'd tried to stop her, but she'd said she had a plan, and revealing himself now would doom them both.

"Well, look who we have, here!" one of them said, alerting his fellows to the Coatl as she walked up to them.

"Please... I have the gems. They're...they're on their way." It was a lie, DePero and she both knew. But the week wasn't up yet. She still had time. They needed more information, though, if they were going to rescue Lillian's sister. "I... I just came to make sure my sister was alright. Please, may I see her?"

A Guardian among them laughed. "Sister?"

"She's not here," a Mirror sneered. "But if you'd like to see her, we'd be happy to take you!"

Lillian screamed as the brutes took hold of her, and began dragging her onto their ship. Without thinking, I leaped over my cover.

"Stop, you scum!" I shouted as I ran after them.

"It's a trap!" the Mirror exclaimed.

"You weren't supposed to tell anyone about this!" the Guardian growled into Lillian's terrified face.

"Forget the gems! We're just going to have to take the dame and shove off! The boss'll know what to do with her!" a Fae among them shouted, clearly frustrated.

The pirates hustled aboard their ship, Lillian screaming and crying out for help as she was carried along.

I was too late. They pulled up the loading plank and set out to sea before I could reach them. I could have flown after them, but they had the advantage out there. I grit my teeth and glared after them as I watched them go, listening to Lillian's screams fade away. I would not give up. I could not. And time was against me.

Lillian... Some detective I was turning out to be. She was counting on me. She had put all of her hopes on me. And now... Now, she was in the clutches of pirates, after only our first attempt to locate her sister. What hope did she have now?

I was afraid for Lillian, and angry, and disgusted with the pirates...and with myself. But I could not give up. I was a detective, and I had a responsibility to end these kidnappers' schemes, and rescue Lillian and her sister. So, I set to doing what detectives do: I immediately began sleuthing.

I carefully searched the ground where the pirates had been loitering. At first, I did not find anything. But then, my eyes caught the glimmer of something I originally thought was just a stone. After picking it up, I realized that it was a piece of some kind of shell. I bagged the evidence and began searching again, this time looking into the water. I was no expert in sea life, but there was something floating in the water. So, I pulled it up and looked for the nearest seafarer.

I found an old Guardian resting at a customs station. I normally would not have disturbed her sleep, but this was, in all likelihood, a matter of life and death.

"Ehh? What issit ye want?" She slurred.

"Excuse me, Ma'am, but this is very important. I need some information on a ship that was docked here," the detective somewhat hurriedly informed.

"Well, a lot of ships dock here. What was the vessel's name?" she asked.

"I-" I hadn't seen the ship's name. In my frantic state, I hadn't thought to look for a name. What a novice fool I was! "I don't know. But I found these where the ship had been."

I showed her what I found. She carefully peered at the items, and even smelled them. To me, they both just smelled like salt, but perhaps this old salt could tell the difference that a dragon like me couldn't.

"Oh, yes, I know where these come from," the old dragon informed, "What you have there is a piece of Turkeywing Seashell, and some Giant Kelp. The ship you're looking for must have come from Redrock Cove."

Redrock Cove. I finally had a lead! "Great. Are there any ships going that way soon?"

"Now, hold on, there, boy. Redrock Cove is a dangerous place, filled with all kinds of deadly sea creatures." That certainly sounded like a good place for pirates to hide. "Not to mention the Maren that live around there. You shouldn't go unless you have a team of strong dragons with you."

I didn't have time for that. I needed to head off the pirates before it was too late for the pair of sisters. Whatever dangers I ran into, I would just have to escape them on foot or on wing.

"Please, Ma'am, this is important. Lives are in danger."

The old dragon sighed. "A'right, a'right... I'll see what I can do for you, er..."

"DePero. Detective...DePero."

There was a small ship setting out from the port that could take me near Redrock Cove, but wouldn't sail all the way to shore. If I wanted to leave port that same night, I would have to use my wings. So, I paid the captain his fare, and a little extra to speed things along. We immediately set out.

It was difficult, but I took a nap while we sailed. I needed my energy. Our ship was smaller and lighter than the pirates', but it had a large sail. I was fortunate to find such a fast ship on such short notice. I was awoken when we reached the point I would be flying from. I thanked the sailors, and was pointed in the direction of Redrock Cove. After another warning about the Maren and other dangerous sea life, I took off for Redrock Cove.

The trip was exhausting. When I finally landed at Redrock Cove, I took what shelter I could upon a large rock formation to rest, with the sea on the other side of its peak. Unfortunately, I fell asleep -- just what I had been trying to avoid by taking that nap earlier. My slumber did not last long, however.

I was awoken to the sound of rough speech above me and the feeling of rough claws gripping me. I started, and gave some feeble, instinctual attempt to free myself, but they already had me. The curs gave shouts and laughter, noting my wakefulness. I was still recovering from my slumber, but fast-awakening. I recognized the Mirror and the Guardian from before. Before I could ask anything, however, they flew me down from my perch and onto the deck of their ship.

There, they tied my wings together, and bound my legs to my tail. My wrists were tied in front of me, and they took my pearl. I began to protest, but my voice stopped in my throat when I saw her. She sauntered victoriously into view, and my pearl was passed into her claws. I could barely speak because of my surprise.

"Lillian?"

I still remember it so clearly. That satisfied grin, tainted with conceit. That vile humor in her narrow eyes. The way her voice grated against my ears, despite its alluring tones...

"Detective DePero. How good of you to come."

I saw the truth. I saw it then, but it was then too late. I had fallen right into her claws -- her clever, poisonous scheme.

"I see, now. You were never in any danger! There's no sister, no ransom... 'Lillian' is probably not even your real name!" DePero harshly responded. "You just wanted to lure Jonas out here. Why?"

"Very clever, Detective," Lillian replied, a condescending note in her tone. "Yes, the pirates work for me. All of them. That includes the sailors you purchased passage from to get here. I had them drop you off where they did so that you would tire yourself out to get here. You were so concerned for me... Did you even come up with a plan to defeat my pirates, or to return to the mainland?"

The fact that she was right about how little planning I put into my efforts only made her words sting even more. I had been desperate to save Lillian and her sister, and the urgency of the situation had put to death my caution. I didn't answer her. She and her crew laughed at me.

"How noble!" she exclaimed. Then, she sneered maliciously at me. "But stupid."

She began pacing the deck before me, and motioned to a sailor near me. As she spoke, he picked up a black quill or thorn of some sort, and stabbed it into my arm. At the time, I had no idea what it was. Now, I know that it was a quill picked off of a Mirage Puffer: a kind of fish that lives in Redrock Cove. A poisonous fish...

"You are right: I wanted Jonas, not you. He's come too close too many times to discovering my identity. Following our movements, thwarting some of our plots... There have been far too many narrow escapes from his investigations for me to ignore him any longer," she replied, contempt clear on her tongue.

I was beginning to feel dizzy, and see double. Every time she moved, an afterimage would trail behind. She turned her face back to me.

"So, I created a case for him to take: one he wouldn't ignore. He would come after me, right into my trap, and then I would kill him. But you stumbled in the way!" she snapped. Her anger abated some and she loosed a sigh. "But, at least not all is lost. You were watching Jonas' office for him, so you must mean something to him. I will simply have to draw up a real ransom this time." The witch gave me an unnerving smile. "Tell me, DePero... Do you think that asking for a ransom in gems would be overreaching, or fool him into thinking that all I want is the money?"

I became so angry that I began struggling against my bonds as her laughter rose, and her crew joined in her mirth. There was no way that I could put up any kind of fight against them, even if I hadn't been poisoned. But I struggled all the same.

"What do you hope to accomplish by doing that?" jeered the Coatl. Then, she turned to one of her crew. "Bring me the chisel, won't you, dear?"

The pirate agreed, and left. When he returned, he carried something like a side table with a bowl built into it, and some sort of machine built on top of that. What its true purpose was, I could not have imagined...but that night, damage was done to me that I have never recovered from.

"Even though you aren't the detective I wanted revenge on, you did get in my way. And that annoys me. I should keep you relatively unharmed, though, or you won't make good leverage against Detective Jonas," she explained. I could tell she was just stalling out of malice. Then, she smiled evilly at me. "So I will punish you differently, instead."

That was... That was when, she... She...placed my pearl into that...machine. And she turned it on. It struck my pearl again and again, cracking it, chipping it, and breaking pieces off of it. I...I think I was screaming. I think I screamed for her to stop. It just kept pounding and pounding... Any pieces that would fly off, the pirates would throw into the sea. And all they did for my pleas was laugh harder...

But then...I heard a voice. I was so disoriented by that point that I couldn't tell what it said. And I had to close my eyes because of all the shapes that were suddenly rushing around me, confused with their afterimages from the fish's toxin. Everything became jumbled and confused...and then I passed out.

When I awoke again, I was no longer on the pirate ship. I was resting in a clinic of some sort. The sun was shining in softly through the window. I heard something flutter. A tail was just disappearing out the door. I didn't know it at the time, but it was a Fae, who had been my nurse. The next dragon I saw come in through the door, however, was Jonas.

I sat up in surprise, but as he sat down next to me, he rested his claws on my shoulder and eased me back down.

"You did a good job, DePero," he told me. "We apprehended the pirates, thanks to you."

"What do you mean?" asked DePero, quite confused.

Jonas sighed. "I heard about a plot forming against me from a contact in the Tangled Wood. I had to disappear for a while to protect myself. But I also knew that this was a good opportunity to learn more about the pirates I had been investigating. The trouble was that I needed a decoy to run my office. Someone who I could trust to do what needed to be done if something came up. I chose you. And you, DePero, did not disappoint me. I laid low and kept an eye on my office. I followed you to the Tangled Wood, and had a word with that seafaring Guardian you spoke with. She cleared up the last pieces of the puzzle for me. I called in reinforcements and we hurried to Redrock Cove to rescue you."

DePero's voice was a little shaky as he quietly asked, "And...my pearl...?"

Jonas' face filled with regret. "I'm sorry, DePero. We couldn't save it."

He offered me more condolences, talking about how awful he felt that a trap meant for him destroyed my pearl instead. I told him the truth: that I was happy that the criminals were captured, and that Jonas was safe. Even so, I felt lost. That, I knew was plain enough that I didn't have to say it. My pearl was destroyed. I didn't know how I would continue on without it. Jonas gave me his condolences again and began to walk away. Just before he left, however, he told me something more.

"Even though you had only just graduated, I knew that you would succeed. It's what you have inside of you that makes you unique, DePero: You have the Icewarden's love of justice, the Lightweaver's love of truth, and you care about others. Those values are so strong in you that I knew that they would guide you to the right conclusions. After all, that's what a detective strives to be...and you have it naturally within you. All you need now is experience."

Then, he left. I pondered his words throughout my recovery. By the time I was home again, though I would always feel the loss of my pearl, I had decided that I could still be a detective. My pearl, which existed outside of me, was gone. But my inner spirit was still there. I still loved truth and justice above anything else. I could not be anything other than a detective and be happy.

At home were two letters, and a box. The first letter was attached to the box. It was from Jonas. He was on assignment somewhere else, and he could not say where, but he had commissioned a gift for me. I opened the box, and inside, the same shape and size as my pearl, was a glass ball with a brass ring around it. Fixed to the brass ring were smaller rings for my talons to go through. Furthermore, the ball acted as a magnifying glass. Jonas must have known what I was thinking, and what conclusion I would come to. I still smile at my glass ball when I think about it.

The other letter was the answer to my inquiry. There was a little town in the Southern Icefield called Eightleaf Town, and the bureau thought that a detective's presence would be beneficial there. The office was already paid for. I suspected that Jonas had something to do with getting me this position, too, and I deduce that my involvement in apprehending the pirates only strengthened his recommendation. I owe a lot to that dragon, wherever he is. I accepted the position, and am now the local detective at Eightleaf Town: my new home.

But crime lives on in the world. Whether lurking or overt, petty or grand. I will ever hunt it down and overcome it. For I am a son of truth and justice, and I will ever fight for their cause.

@Gilamon Aww, thank you so much for the compliments! They really make me happy. ^_^ I'm glad you enjoyed it so much! And sure, I'll ping you if I write any more of these. As for more short stories I've written on here (as of today), there's only [url=http://www1.flightrising.com/forums/cc/2035780]1 more[/url], though I've also written several bios (mostly mine, but I've gifted some to a [url=http://flightrising.com/main.php?p=view&tab=userpage&id=265229]friend[/url] of mine on here, too.) If you're interested in reading those, just look through my lair. Speaking of my lair, I figure I should put this guy in here somewhere, since this is his story. Here's Detective DePero! [url=http://flightrising.com/main.php?dragon=32284477] [img]http://flightrising.com/rendern/350/322845/32284477_350.png[/img] [/url] Edit: There was another person who really enjoyed the story. ^_^ I love it when people like what I write. (He's also talking about another story I wrote, one about Detective Jonas.) [quote name="BruseRuby" date="2020-07-17 12:21:32" ] Love it It was a very nice story of almost his life. I loved the detail and story involving the police. The job he has also was very fitting to the look. I really loved it. The color blind part also was a very fun part to put in. Then the A Son of Truth and Justice - Short Story was great. I really love how you went with this and it seems like I am reading about someones life. I really love it. It also sounded like you where writing a script for a series about this dragon which I really enjoyed. Great job. Love the headlines as well. Man it is like a series I really love this I am very impressed. Really this is amazing how watch thing leaded to another action into another story. What a fantastic dragon with a huge life I have to say. It would be great if you tipped me though I do not do lore that much and I am very blown away but what you did. I really loved the ending line "But crime lives on in the world. Whether lurking or overt, petty or grand. I will ever hunt it down and overcome it. For I am a son of truth and justice, and I will ever fight for their cause." So powerful yet true [/quote] [quote name="Poltergeiist" date="2023-08-01 01:45:15" ] I just finished the first story and it’s so good! I have a special place in my heart for old crime novels / things like Nancy Drew and your story embodied that exact feeling (also, I’m so sad for the Detective’s pearl ;-;). I’m really looking forward to reading the other two stories, so thank you so much for sharing them! [/quote]