The warrior ran past Baset and the rest of us to the elders. He looked totally panicked and out of breath and collapsed to his knees when he reached their feet. Abra'bo was the first to jump to his feet and rush over to the warrior. The rest of his detachment was by his side a few seconds later.
"Child, what is wrong?" Abra'bo asked. The warrior gasped several times, desperately trying to catch his breath. After a few moments he looked up at Abra'bo frantically.
"It's Warden Geryo, he's disappeared!" The warrior finally managed. The elders and the warriors all gasped and shared frantic looks. Baset pushed past Jane and the rest of us and rushed over to the warrior, pushing past several of the men in his detachment to get closer to him.
"What do you mean he disappeared!" Abra'bo demanded.
"He's gone! No one knows where he disappeared to!" The warrior reiterated.
"You didn't just miss him somewhere did you?" The seasoned warrior asked his subordinate. The young warrior shook his head vigorously.
"When I reached the barracks to get him there were already people looking for him. He was supposed to help organize another watch of the wells but he disappeared after the outsiders arrest."
"Fuck…" I muttered under my breath in universal standard. Iris, Jane and Astrid all turned to me.
"What happened?" Astrid asked. Just then Dwarm'moo turned and pointed at Baset and the rest of us with one of hos bony arthritic fingers.
"THEY HAD SOMETHING TO DO WITH IT!" He cried. I sighed and shook my head.
"Geryo's missing." I said in universal standard. All of the girls eyes narrowed in annoyance.
"He's blaming us?" Jane asked.
"He's blaming us." I confirmed.
"How? My students were either locked up or in the healers hut under guard and Elder Luna and I have been interrogated by you Elder Dwarm'moo." Baset said.
"Honestly Dwarm'moo this is starting to get tiresome." Elder Luna said crossing her arms.
"Yes. Quite." Abra'bo said pointedly. "But one can't understand how much of a coincidence it is that he should suddenly disappear soon after you all are arrested…"
"Well it's not like kidnapping him is going to do us any favors right now!" Iris griped after I finished the translation.
"All his disappearance does is bring suspicion on us!" Astrid exclaimed. Elder, Abra'bo, Imani, and Ndila all shared a suspicious glance then looked to Dwarm'moo once Baset finished her translation.
"They are right Dwarm'moo. Were this news to reach us before your testing of the star keeper we all would have been suspicious of the outsiders." Ndila said then crossed her arms over her chest. Dwarm'moo noticed all eyes was on him and was set aback.
"Are you seriously thinking that I had something to do with the warden's disappearance!?" Dwarm'moo exclaimed.
"Well I certainly am." Abra'bo said. Dwarm'moo looked like he just got slapped in the face.
"You would suspect me? A elder!" He gasped.
"Why not? You had us suspecting Luna'lana?" Imani said.
"I don't think Dwarm'moo had anything to do with this." Elder Luna said. "We need to figure out what he was doing before he went missing."
"Knowing Geryo he was probably looking into the attack." Baset said. Abra'bo nodded in agreement then looked to the seasoned warrior.
"Are there enough warriors in the village to start a investigation into Warden Geryo disappearance?" Abra'bo asked. The warrior shook his head.
"Most likely not. As soon as my detachment is done with supervising the prisoners we're needed to help with cleanup and guarding the well system." He said.
"Don't forget brother that the Warden is the main investigator for the village. The rest of our warriors don't really have the training or experience." Imani said.
"My class can." Baset said. All of the Torapos speaking eyes turned for Baset. "My class can investigate, we might be outsiders but at this point you have assume that the person who is targeting the village is from the village."
"Impossible! It has to be you and your class!" Dwarm'moo exclaimed. The rest of the elders shared a look then Ndila placed her hand on Dwarm'moo's shoulder and shook her head.
"The rest of us have come to the same assumption." Ndila said. "As far as I know our tribe is the only one in the world that creates Dr'idi'saiyo. While There is a version that is used world wide fron the corpses of the Dr'idi'saiyo we've checked they are definitely made by a member of the village."
"The fact that you preached that you had evidence that Luna'lana was helping the star keeper and the rest of the outsiders with the attack was the only reason we even entertained the idea that they were responsible for the attack." Imani said.
"But I can't splice evos." Elder Luna said.
"You can however instruct them all on how to splice Dr'idi'saiyo in your stead." Abra'bo said.
"Solid reasoning." Elder Luna said with a nod.
"Wait why can't you splice evos?" Baset asked.
"Luna'lana learned the mana-nana manipulation spell at a young age and didn't learn the spells it takes to splice." Ndila explained. My eyes widened.
"Wait You know the mana-nana manipulation spell?!" I exclaimed, then pointed to myself. "That's the first spell I learned!"
Elder Luna smiled softly then looked to the rest of the elders.
"I believe that Baset's class is the best choice to find Geryo and the real culprit behind the attacks. Prior to coming here none of them aside from Baset had any connection to the village and can be much more objective than any of the warriors can. Also Baset's connection to the village is Geryo." Elder Luna argued.
"I agree with Elder Luna." Imani said.
"Same." Ndila said.
"I know better than to go against my sister." Abra'bo said with a shrug. "By majority vote I authorize Baset Paragon and her class of students to investigate the disappearance of Warden Geryo and the recent attacks on the village."
"You didn't even ask my opinion!" Dwarm'moo snapped.
"Majority vote. Your opinion wouldn't change anything." I said. He turned and glared at me then looked at the other elders.
"Fine do what you want! Don't come blaming me of when they destroy the village!" Dwarm'moo snapped then stormed out of the room.
"I'll have to have a talk with Dwarm'moo later." Abra'bo said then turned to the rest of the room. "In the mean time we will find that all allegations against Baset, her students, and Elder Luna'lana are false. The five of you! Please get to the bottom of this attack and Geryo disappearance! The village has suffered enough."
Baset walked over to Jane, Astrid, Iris and myself and stood beside us then nodded at the Elder.
"We will find Geryo, alive and well." Baset said. The elders all nodded then looked to me specifically.
"Star keeper, I'm sure you have a lot of questions as do we. But they will have to wait until after this crisis has been resolved." Imani said.
"I understand." I sighed. "But I hope you guys have plans the next day when this does calm down cause you have no idea how many questions I'm filtering right now."