Ritzrub in the daytime was an entirely different beast to the nighttime variant, Tedros noted with some flavor of gratitude. The main light now was the sun, and the neon lights advertising nightlife activities were drowned out, if they were even on. The four slipped into the crowds, each looking a different direction for any sign of this mystery player.
"Okay, where would we start?" Tedros whispered.
"I'd say we check a bar if we can get in?" Leon asked.
"Do you three have ID with you?" Ines asked.
"Damn. Okay, I have a backup plan."
Tedros led them into a corner store. It was a normal size as opposed to the monuments next to and across from it, making it look casually dropped in in comparison. On the outside was a single neon sign in the shape of the word 'lottery' but it wasn't on. Whether it was just off or stopped working was anyone's guess. But Tedros went in. A group of four looking for information could give the wrong idea about them being a gang or something, and the last thing they needed was more issues from the police. So Tedros fished in his pocket for any money he had, and all he got was seven smacks forty. So he bought a cheap looking pack of candy, the stuff that looked like each piece took a week off your lifespan, and went to the counter when it was just him and the middle aged guy behind the counter. Brown skinned guy in a grey shirt.
"Is that all, sir?" He asked. Thick accent, clearly an immigrant of some sort.
"Well, you hear anything about a guy hanging around here? Young guy, I wanna say…twenty years old?"
"Homeless man?" The shopkeeper asked with a puzzled expression.
"Not homeless…well, maybe." Tedros replied with a stroke of his chin. "But…how do I say it…strange things start happening around him?"
"He is a…magician?" The shopkeeper asked as he leaned in. There was almost no chance of this conversation having anything productive, so Tedros just gave him the money and walked out. Still, if a man as entrenched in the local community as a corner shop owner didn't hear anything, chances were he wasn't hanging around here.
"You get anything?" Mateo asked as Tedros sauntered out.
"Nah, just some candy in compensation."
He held out the open packet, and Ines took out several pieces. Ines felt Leon and Glyle look at her for taking basically half the packet out the gate.
"What? I need to keep up my…blood sugar. Glyle, can you eat stuff?"
"Me? Nah, I think I only feed on your blood. Regular blood, not the, uh…monthly kind."
And with Ines blood sugar supposedly maintained, the four ran around looking for any sort of lead on this guy. Ines copied Tedros strategy of going into stores she wouldn't be kicked out of, and was able to describe Ramon in more detail without Leon hearing anything.
Regardless, there was no luck. Granted, it made sense the more Ines thought about it. Ramon's main skill was keeping what he already had in good condition, like his old headphones and phone, which after five years had no cracks or signs of slowing down. Heck, she wouldn't be surprised if he still had them. So him hanging around in the rich people area was unlikely, at least during the day.
The other option was to ditch Ritzrub entirely and check somewhere like Privis, when Leon perked up at two guys across the road.
They looked around a year younger than Tedros and Ines, and one was on the phone. When the conversation seemed to have ended, they looked at other and nodded, and ran through a crowd.
"You know those guys?" Tedros asked.
"If I remember right, they were members of the spades." Leon muttered. But as he was thinking, he got a call.
Valerie.
"Valerie?" Leon asked.
"Yeah, it's me." Valerie confirmed. "Look, where are you right now?"
"Ritzrub."
"Okay, cool. So our guy might be in the junkyard."
"What, your hideout?"
"Yeah. Noises are being heard from inside that sound human, and it's none of us."
"Could be a homeless guy."
"Look, I'm not risking going it alone. If you come in with your powers, you could help with any twists the gods got cooking up."
"I'll be over."
Leon hung up, and already knew the plan. If he could help kill the god, great. If not, she and Elijah push him into the line of fire. Regardless, he had a small team to help him out behind him. So he gave the details, and they ran to the warehouse.
When they went into the junkyard, nobody looked at them. None of the spades acknowledged Leon, and the four were just allowed to saunter in towards the old warehouse in the back. When Leon was in the spades, nobody really went inside it. It seemed older than everything else there, unfinished and built on shaky ground. The only reason people went near it was to slap it as hard as they could and cause the metal behemoth to wobble, until Elijah would tell them to knock it off. But today, Elijah, Valerie, and for whatever reason, Ulysses, were closer to the warehouse than before, just staring at it.
"So, you bring other guys?" Elijah asked.
"I had allies." Leon replied, his voice dripping with much more contempt then just a moment ago.
"Eh, more the merrier."
"Correct." Ulysses chimed in. As usual, he looked like he was on the verge of death, but with an uneasy smile. Guess the acting skills were being put to some kind of good use.
"Can I see the proof the guys in there?" Leon asked.
Without a word, Elijah kicked the warehouse with all the force he could muster. Sure enough, the thing wobbled for what seemed like a minute straight, and something could be heard inside it, what sounded like feet trying to stay attracted to the ground.
"And we're sure that's our guy?" Tedros asked.
"It's the most likely." Valerie sighed. "Look, I'm gonna open the door, got it?"
"Sure."
Valerie took a deep breath and stepped inside, being followed by the rest. Ulysses stood in place, but Elijah dragged him in.
Valerie looked around the warehouse, and on the top floor, someone was standing, observing. He had the same skin tone as Ines, with unkempt black hair and a fringe that almost covered his right eye.
"Sup?" He asked casually at the seven people beneath him.
"Ramon?" Ines asked, pushing past Valerie to the front, stumbling on the way up.
His demeanor changed as soon as he saw Ines to one of concern. He looked around, and only then noticed Mateo's frame.
"Ines, Mateo…how's it going?" He asked casually, leaning over the railing slightly.
"Where were you?!" Ines asked as she got upright with Tedros help.
"I was…around." Ramon replied.
"All can be explained after the next stage?"
"Next stage?" Ramon asked, looking around and almost falling over at Halford when he appeared next to him.
"Who the heck is this guy!?"
"Consider me your new boss." Halford said calmly. "Now then, as I said, let's begin the next round."
He raised a hand, and the barrier appeared outside the warehouse. A second barrier appeared behind Ramon, pushing him down to the others, the only thing stopping him from the floor being Mateo's dive to catch him.
"Now then, you probably know how this is going to work. Once someone dies, including me, the barrier will be lifted. Now then, may everyone here fight to their best ability!"