The veins and pathways were marked and prepared for any ritual, but now I had to do it the old way by hand.
Starting in the relative center of the house, I began drawing runes in a spiral-like pattern, with each next rune around 1.618 from the previous, forming a spiral. Next, I placed an empty mana crystal in each of the runic nodes of the spell circle and activated it. Looking closely at the mana crystal, I could see a bit of energy seeping into it.
Nice, it worked. Holy shit, it actually worked.
It was a simple gathering-charging circle, but it was probably the first one operating in a long time, and I made it on the first try. After patting myself on the back for the excellent rune work, I started on the second part.
Taking out some finely crushed mana crystals, I spread the mist-like powder around the house. Looking closely, there it was. The mist moved alongside the movement of mana. With the small vein, the movement was minuscule, but it was there. I followed it and finally found its origin. Sure enough, it was in the hallway, probably right where the guy died.
I drew a summoning circle, swearing at the number of crystals I had to use to summon a small bug with this low magic concentration. Taking a bunch of moon powder, an alchemical ingredient made during a full moon, I kneeled in front of the vein and started to chant in the arcane speech, tracing runic shapes in the air with one hand while pointing my staff at the opening with the other.
After a few minutes, I finally threw the powder into the middle of the circle under the vein, finished the chant, and waited.
For a second, I thought that I might have messed up. But then I could feel something akin to a reverberation, a wave traveling through the vein like a string being pulled and then released, and after a while, pop.
A weird creature showed up.
A Moonhunter Dragonfly. Similar to a dragonfly in shape, the creature was all white with a black head and two large eyes, looking like two moons replacing eyes in the eye sockets. The craters and colors of the moon-eyes didn't align with the moon in our orbit.
The creature hovered over the circle, looking curiously around, only to freeze a bit when it noticed the moon through the open window.
I whistled at it from the lack of things to do to get its attention. How do you call over a Moonhunter Dragonfly from another dimension? Should I have gone with pstpstpst?
But my musings were cut short as the creature turned to me. I took out more of the powder from my pocket, and the thing made for it as I quickly pulled my hand back as if taking a dog's bone right from underneath its nose.
The bug froze in the air now, with a bit of hostility behind its strange eyes. The feisty little thing was probably judging if it could take me on. I locked eyes with it, raising slightly from my knees, making myself look hostile, and the bug moved back a bit.
Now it was time to bargain.
I took out a photo of the CEO's daughter and laid it on one side, with a bit of the powder next to it. The offer was clear, and the creature probably was used to bargains, as it moved back a bit without thinking.
I increased the powder. It was still a reasonable offer, but the creature moved back again. Now I started pulling the photo to myself as the bug moved toward the offering, but kept its distance.
I added a pinch to the powder already on the ground, and the summon landed on the photo. The bargain was made. Now, it was time for the creature to work. I could see it turn its head towards the night sky, and the bug's moon-like eyes began to spin faster and faster.
I waited with bated breath. If I could find the girl on the first try, it would be a fantastic, quick job.
But the ability of the fly to hunt was not that great. The catch was that the fly could hunt anything that was currently lit up by the moon as it looked through the moon's light itself, so if my target was inside during the night and away from windows, like a kidnapping victim in a hideout, for example, it wouldn't do anything. I was hoping that at least one of the people on the list was currently next to an open window.
The eyes stopped spinning, and the summon started to gorge itself on the powder. There was no reaction.
I sighed.
After the meal was done, I laid out the next photo with the same amount of powder.
It was one of the possible so-called "cleaners" working for a corporation that seemed to disappear after the kidnapping.
Nothing again, I breathed out as the creature started to gorge itself on the powder. I repeated the process with three more photos, swearing at my crumbling amount of powder, and finally, on the third photo, the creature froze.
I locked onto the bug's gaze and felt a tug on my subconscious, similar to the one made by the spawn, but not hostile.
Looking through the eyes of a bug was a pain, and getting anything from it would be hard, but I had to try. I focused on the tug, allowing it to enter my mind, and concentrated as hard as possible.
I saw the world from the moon, with a vision that was almost 360 degrees, like I was looking through some weird camera. The unnatural way of seeing was beamed straight to my brain, and I could feel a headache coming on.
My vision quickened as I flew from the moon with the light, everything turning to a blur as I gritted my teeth to avoid puking from the ride. Finally, I could see a man. He was apparently on the job, dressed in black, in the garden of an apartment complex. I assume someone was about to have an accident.
But now came the most challenging part. I needed to get the address. I could see everything around me, but getting letters through my distorted vision was a pain. I desperately scanned my surroundings as the vision began to slip away.
There was a number, I think 44. But 44, what street? The number was big enough to read, but deciphering the distorted letters was another thing.
The vision was ending, and the image was becoming blurry. Now, I couldn't even make out the letters. I strained my mind to get something, to cling to the image with all the mental strength I could. But no such luck, the distortion was getting worse and worse.
Finally, with my last thought, I looked up towards the horizon, and there it was. This had to be Manhattan, and the thing in the distance would be the Freedom Tower, so this was an apartment complex on the right bank.
The vision ended, and a sharp headache assaulted me.
I looked at the bug, considering whether I should risk attempting the vision again to get more info, headache be damned. But the summon, now visibly rounder, was apparently full as the creature slowly and lethargically made its way towards the vein.
I chuckled a bit as it got stuck at the entrance. It was now rounder from the powder, barely fitting through. Finally, after giving it a bit of a push, the summon was gone, and I fired up the Maps app to look through the street view, after a few moments localizing the apartment complex.
I hoped to get more substantial info, but the night was young. Whatever job the guy had, he would do it later in the night when everyone was asleep. I should have around three hours before he was gone, and I could get there in one.
I think I have some time for the judgment ritual before I have to leave.