"We found someone - a man. He's... not quite right, and he's got this weird costume on.
Said he knew about the explosion. Thought you'd want to try talking to him." The kid said. Cameron exchanged a look with Kim and pulled the cigarette from her mouth, sighing. It would have to wait.
"Alright, where is he?" Kim said.
"Over talking to the paramedics, they're saying it's dementia, uh, maybe caused by
shock or something. I'm not a doctor."
"That's what we pay them the big bucks for. Good work, uh..." Cameron inspected
the officer's name badge, "Officer Winsley. Off you go." Cameron nodded to him and patted him on the shoulder as she blew past him, heading for the ambulance. The 'costume' Winsley had reported was actually a set of long, flowing green and gold robes that draped off the man. A heavy cloak was set about the man's shoulders, and he spoke calmly to one of the paramedics as they asked him questions.
"My eyesight is perfectly fine, madam. This is the third time you've put that
lightstick into my face - I kindly request that you cease immediately." The man said, and the paramedic looked to the detectives with a shrug.
"He checks out. No signs of drug use that I can see, physically healthy, just..." The
paramedic made a spinning motion with her hand, one finger pointing at her head. "He's all yours." She said.
The man stood as the detectives approached, his head bowing to them so deeply it bent his
shoulders and torso towards them. "I know not who you are, but please allow me to thank you for getting that... vulture, away from me. Poking and prodding with her..." he waved a hand, instruments." The man was strikingly handsome, and Cameron couldn't help but notice how focused and intense his blue eyes were as he regarding them. His black hair was slicked back with some sort of gel, and it was cut close to his head - just long enough to be styled and flare out slightly behind his ears and along the back of his neck.
"That's her job." Kim said as Cameron took the time to light her cigarette, puffing on
it as Kim continued, "She's a paramedic. She wanted to make sure you were okay."
"Ah, a healer! I beg pardon, I did not understand her ways, and this word...paramedic'. It is foreign to me," he said, a look of worry crossing his face. "Please, assure her I am quite alright. Perfect in all of my faculties," he paused as Kim and Cameron shared another look, "Well,
except, I cannot seem to find my staff, but it will turn up sooner or later I suppose."
"Alright, cut it out. Enough of the jokes," Cameron said, and the man frowned at her
in confusion, "How about we start from the beginning. Who are you, what are you doing here, and what do you know about the explosion?"
The man's face brightened some, and he swept into a low bow, leg forward and one hand on his chest as the other swept out to one side. "I am Mathias, Lord of the House of Relain, personal magician to His Majesty King Lerrad Olmsith of the Kingdom of Draeca, and..." Mathias frowned, "Well, that is who I used to be. I am now an outlaw by decree of King Lerrad, but I suppose that is not what you are inquiring about. I brought myself here as I was fleeing from his soldiers -
you understand I am sure, it is difficult to corner a magician," he finished with a wink at Kim.
Cameron put a hand on Kim's arm as she took a long drag from her cigarette, stopping Kim from decking the wacko. "Alright, let me get this straight. You're, what, some sort of wizard? And you want us to believe that you brought yourself here, using..."
"Magic, yes, of course. The signs are evident," Mathias said, nodding towards the
warehouse. "My apologies about the, ah, building there. An unintended side effect of my hastily constructed spell. I believe in my haste I may have made a mistake in the incantation. It would also explain the disappearance of my staff..." He said, his tone turning thoughtful as he spoke.
"Can you give us a moment?" Cameron asked.
"But of course," Mathias said, bowing his head towards them again.
The detectives stepped away from the man and Cameron dropped her cigarette, smashing it into the pavement with her shoe. "Okay. What the hell." She said.
"He's clearly lost his mind. The explosion knocked him into something and he snapped," Kim said.
"He didn't have a mark on him, Kim. No dust, no ash, nothing," Cameron pointed out.
"Well, okay, but - wait, you're not saying you actually believe him?"
"No, of
course not! Magic and spells and kings... Ridiculous, of course. Okay, how
about this: He sets a bomb, gets clear, and then the shock of what he's done
makes him conjure some crazy fantasy."
"What, like repression or something?" Kim said, glancing back at Mathias - if that was
even his name. He was standing patiently, watching them with his hyper-focused eyes and his hands clasped behind his back.
"Yeah. Maybe it started before he even knew what he was doing. Got caught up in his
fantasy and doesn't really know what's going on."
"Okay. Works for me. How do we handle him?"
"Play along, for now." Cameron said, frowning towards Mathias. He returned her
frown with a wide, toothless grin. She looked back at Kim and sighed, pulling another cigarette from her pocket. "It's gonna be a long night."
