Shadows of Valderia: An Urban Fantasy Detective Noir

Three days had passed since Nairo had been removed from the Diamond case. She had been placed on desk duty and even worse she had found out shortly after that Conway had been suspended pending further investigation. That was enough for every officer to give her a wide berth. Those who cared about their careers knew she was damaged goods now and those who were true blue working class officers felt she had betrayed Conway and got him suspended to save her own neck. She hadn’t heard from Ridley since the alleyway.

Nairo sat miserably at the back of the precinct floor at the desk usually reserved for the corporals while the Cap’n began his debriefing. This had become a daily debriefing as the streets were coming apart at the seams. To compound their misery, the Elvish Investigative Force had arrived and taken over the upper floors of the headquarters. Even the Cap’n had been removed from his office so they could set up their own headquarters.

“Right, sit tight and shut up!” The Cap’n barked gruffly.

Despite Nairo’s feelings towards him, she felt a pang in her gut to see how dishevelled he looked. The diminutive Captain looked like he hadn’t slept in days. His usually well groomed beard was a tangled mess and his eyes had dark bags underneath them.

The precinct fell silent as similarly exhausted looking officers hunched over coffees and sat or leaned anywhere there was space.

“I don’t need to tell any of you this has been… a troubling few days. But we need to pull together and hold the line or we risk the city descending into lawlessness.” The Cap’n began. “Two more brawls erupted last night. We believe it was between Human and Goblin gangs but we’re still waiting for confirmation. That takes us to a tally of seven in the last three days. Morley and Morecomb are dealing with the fall out, I need two officers to support them in gathering statements. Fester and Goreby I need you down on Marilyn Avenue sharpish. A string of Goblin businesses have been ransacked overnight. And…” the Cap’n took a deep breath. “The bodies have started dropping. A Goblin was found murdered out by the Foundries, bludgeoned to death. As far as we can tell he was a civvie. A working Goblin on his way home from a late shift. He had his tusks snapped off. We are treating this as possible retaliation for the murders in the Iron district. Worse, two Human hoodlums were found dead only an hour ago. So far, we have nothing to suggest it was Goblins but the papers don’t need any evidence to start whipping up an inter species conflict. I don’t need to impress upon any of you what this means.” The Cap’n scoured the room, his eyes dark. “We could be looking down the barrel of an all out war between Humans and Goblins on the streets if this continues.”

“Serves those green fuckers right,” a voice snarled from the crowd.

“Who said that?” The Cap’n snapped.

“We saw those bodies Cap! It ain’t right what they done to them boys!” Another voice shouted.

“Those Goblins ‘ave been gettin’ away wiv it for too long!”

“Yeah!”

“This is our city!”

There was a deep murmur of agreement from around the precinct. Whether they wore blue or not, the majority of the force were Humans, and most of them were working class lads themselves. If there was going to be species violence, the boys in blue were certainly not about to back Green.

“Enough!” The Cap’n roared at them. “I don’t give a damn who you are or where you were dragged up as! Once you put that uniform on you lost any rights to pick sides!” He glowered at his men. “You don’t like it? Then leave your badge here and get lost! I don’t need any of my men feeding into this bullshit!”

The precinct fell quiet but the resentment was palpable. The Cap’n stared down as many of them as he could before continuing.

“We have no evidence to suggest the Goblins had any involvement with the bodies in the Iron district…”

A visceral snarl escaped the body of officers as they derided the Cap’n’s words forcing him to shout over them.

“And right now we have citizens paying the price for all of this Anti-Goblin hysteria! And it will be the law-abiding people of this city that end up paying the toll if this thing explodes!”

That got the officers to quieten down.

“There are reports all over the city of violence. People are afraid to leave their homes. Kids aren’t going to school. Old mums aren’t even going outside to hang out their washing. Goblin Town has pretty much put up the barricades already. We are the only thing stopping our city turning into a damned warzone!”

The officers grumbled but didn’t protest.

“I need every one of you out on the streets keeping the peace! No one speaks a damn word about Goblins and if I catch any of you speaking to the press about any of this I will personally rip your heart out through your assholes! Do I make myself clear?”

Again there was a grumble of mild agreement.

“Sergeant Cole, I need homicide working double time on these murders. Find me the killers and find them today!”

“Yessir,” Sergeant Cole said.

“Every one of you is working a double today…”

More groans.

“Every one of you! Sergeant Errol,”

“Yessir?” Sergeant Errol barked from near the back of the room.

“There is still no sign of De Woolf. I need twenty more corporals seconded to the EIF as part of the manhunt.”

“Yessir!”

“Who’s the duty Sergeant today?” Cap’n Mallory asked.

“Me sir,” a thin, wispy man said, waving his hand above the rabble.

“Who’s that? Lenny?”

“Yessir.”

“Right. The Elves have arrested twelve more Goblins overnight. The cells are starting to get full. I need some extra space cleared… somewhere for the overspill. See they’re fed and processed as quickly as possible. Try and get clearance to sling yesterday’s lot out on the street by lunch.”

“Yessir.”

Mallory sighed and looked up at the briefing board which had become such a jumbled mess that it was hard to decipher anymore. The Cap’n kneaded his eyes and turned back to the officers.

“There’s a city wide dispersal order in place. If you see groups of more than four anywhere you have the full power to break them up and shift them on. The wagons are gonna be out all day. Anyone who wants to play silly buggers can do an afternoon in manacles. Errol, I want the majority of corporals in the Western and Southern neighbourhoods. Look after yourself boys, I want everyone making it home tonight. Is that understood?”

“Yessir!”

“Then get to it!”

The precinct floor slowly cleared out under the barked instructions of the Sergeants. Homicide were first out of the door followed by a steady stream of corporals. Soon enough, there was only Nairo and the Cap’n left in the room. He looked up and saw her sitting at her desk. Just as quickly, he looked away and marched out of the room, leaving Nairo to stare blankly at the pile of papers in front of her. With a heavy sigh, she pulled another folder towards herself and began reading.

*

“This ain’t fair!” Wally whimpered as he watched the wagon trundle away leaving him and Timmy further South than he’d been in his whole life. “Why ‘ave we gotta do the Goblin neighbourhoods!”

“Would you rather be out West and risk running into the Landlord again?” Timmy hissed back at him.

“I’d rather be in the pub wiv my feet up, waiting for all this to blow over.”

“Yeah… me too.”

The wagon had left them on the corner Broadbank and Makers Broadway. At this time of the day the area should have been bustling with activity, but it was a ghost town. There was no one on the streets and most shops had their shutters down and their doors firmly locked. If you looked closely, you probably would have noticed that half of them had been barricaded from the inside. There was the faint smell of smoke in the air; never a good sign in a city.

Sergeant Errol had gleefully dispatched his two most junior, and loathed, corporals right to the heart of Goblin Town. He had been even more gleeful when he had supplied them with heavy leather jerkins and steel helmets, that he assured them would prevent them from getting stabbed. Although, the various cuts and holes in the leather didn’t leave Timmy with much confidence. They had been given heavy truncheons and told to patrol and keep an eye out for anything suspicious. Well… everything had a tinge of suspicion about it today. Every now and again, Timmy swore he saw curtains twitch and they made his heart thud in his chest every time.

“We’re gonna get killed out ‘ere,” Wally moaned, hunching so close to Timmy he almost tripped him up.

Timmy wanted to say something brave, maybe even something cavalier, like ‘I dare them to try’ but his mouth was unusually dry and his armpits were dripping wet. Instead, he just nodded dumbly and kept putting one boot in front of the other. Slowly, they plodded down the Broadway until they came to Goblin Town proper. Its official name was Halloway Market, but everyone in the city knew it as the hub of all Goblin culture and life in the city. Goblin Town was one of the nicest areas in the whole city. The Goblins had demolished all the old run down buildings and rebuilt them out of sumptuous white stone. There were arches, pillars, and statues of Goblin folk heroes everywhere. The old, uneven cobbles had been replaced with thick white paving slabs that were meticulously clean. There wasn’t even any pigeon droppings anywhere which was unheard of in the city. The beating heart of Goblin Town was its market. Here a Goblin could find every luxury and necessity from the mountains that their hearts could desire. Despite being a bustling centre of commerce, there was also no crime in Goblin Town. Not even a pickpocket would dare to operate in the market.

Goblin Town was a thumb in the eye of every Human who grew up rag tag in some crime ridden nook of the city, wondering why these Goblins had it so nice. Of course, it was because it was all funded and maintained by the Goblins themselves. The Goblin’s naturally strong sense of community meant they had always looked after their own and they deeply valued anything that served their community. Goblins looked at service to their community almost reverentially. While most Humans in the city loathed their neighbours and took any chance to screw over the next man if it meant they could gain from it. Of course, no Human wanted to hear that. They just assumed it was because Goblins were all criminals and their dirty gold funded Goblin Town. Or that the city gave it all to them at the expense of hard working Humans. Not that anybody in those nooks was particularly hard working. In fact, quite a large swathe of them worked hard to not be hard working. But still, it was their city and that was their right. Who were these Goblins to come in and dare to live better than them?

Today however, Goblin Town was almost empty. As Timmy and Wally rounded the corner they were met by at least a dozen hefty looking Goblins. Timmy swore he could hear the rattle of weaponry as they moved. All but two of them were dressed in dark tailored suits. The two closest to the gate had heavy chainmail and breast plates, openly brandishing halberds. The Goblins in the suits were set out casually, some sitting, others leaned against posts, but they were all ready and on guard. When he saw them, Wally tried to turn and scarper the other way. It was only bumping into Timmy that stopped him. The Goblins eyed them coldly as they walked up to the closed gates of the market.

“G-good morning,” Timmy said to the Goblins, waving his hand foolishly.

A few of them snarled coldly and a few smirked openly at the two young corporals but none of them said a word.

“I hope… ummm… everything is well,” Timmy tried again only to get another dose of silence. “We’re policemen. And… ummm… we’re supposed to be patrolling this area.”

“No thanks,” one of the Goblins said. “We’ve got it handled. Why don’t you just keep on down the road.”

“Oh umm… well… we…” Timmy looked at Wally who just shrugged and started walking away. “Well you see this is where we were told to go and-and make sure everyone was safe.” He finished lamely.

The Goblins burst into raucous laughter and Timmy turned bright red.

“Listen mate, I doubt you could even keep yourselves safe,” the Goblin said.

“Why don’t you two run along before it stops being funny,” another one growled, his clawed hand reaching into his jacket.

“C’mon Tim!” Wally hissed at him, tugging at his elbow.

“Well… if something happens, we’ll be here.” Timmy tried to give them a confident smile, which probably looked more like he was constipated and then allowed Wally to drag him away. When they were only a few steps away the Goblins burst into more laughter.

“Wot you wanna go and do that for!” Wally snapped at him when they were safely down the road.

“We’re supposed to be patrolling Goblin Town!” Timmy said. “What if something happens!”

“Not with that right pack of villains there! No one would dare! And anyway, wot if something did ‘appen? Wot are you and me gonna do about it?”

Timmy looked at him and then deflated. Wally was right. They would be useless.

“Listen Tim, I get your all about the badge and law and all that stuff. And that’s all cool and stuff, but right now, the streets is dangerous. Don’t matter if we’re coppers or not. Right now, we’re just two Humans on the wrong side of town. Best fing we can do is keep our nuts down and get through the day wivout getting shivved.”

“I suppose you’re right,” Timmy said, acknowledging that when it came to surviving the city streets, Wally was an expert.

“There you go,” Wally said, patting his friend on the shoulder. “Even better, if we can get off these streets. Find a nice cosy little pub or cafe where we can really keep our heads down.”

“I wouldn’t mind a bit of breakfast,” Timmy admitted. “I didn’t get a chance to have anything this morning.”

“Perfect. There’s gotta be somewhere we can grab a decent ‘ot meal round here.” Wally threw his arm around Timmy’s shoulder. “Trust me mate, we’ll sit tight, ‘ave a bit of nosh, a nice cuppa, and wait for all this to blow over.”

*

Corporal Charlie Nelson walked his beat with his hands clasped behind his back, his head high, and his barrel chest puffed up. Charlie had been a copper for so much of his life he was sure his first toy was a truncheon. His old man had been a copper, his old man had been a copper, his old man had been a wactchman, and his old man… had been a goat thief, but every family tree has a rotten branch here and there. Charlie had stomped these cobbles so long he could tell where he was anywhere in the city by the sound his truncheon made tapping on the brick work. Charlie had been a copper long enough to have seen, not quite all of it, but most of it. He’d been a copper the last time there had been proper gang warfare on the street almost a decade ago. He’d been a copper when The Landlord stole the West. He’d been the first through the door when they arrested the Taverly Twins for attempted murder. He’d been a copper when the Baker Street riots had kicked off. He’d been first on the scene when the Maybul bridge had collapsed and crushed two dozen creatures and brought the city to a screeching halt for three days. He’d seen the city on its knees and he’d seen the city when it was sharpening its knives. Walking the streets today, all he could hear was the scraping of unsheathed weapons. It was like a taste in the air. Or a smell. Something… not quite tangible but most definitely there. Whether it was his copper instincts or the instincts of a lad who had grown up on the streets, he knew these were delicate times.

Charlie had grown up on Mulberry lane and he knew a face on just about every road west of Drury Bridge. Despite the crackling tension in the air, Charlie still smiled warmly at the old mums and patted the little nippers on the head. He asked after grannies and stopped to talk about the weather they were having. The West was very much like that. The rest of the city could be gearing up for war, battening down the hatches, and vacating the streets, but the West was determined, pig headed almost, to carry on with daily life. That was how the Landlord liked it. Afterall, there couldn’t be a problem if everyone was still going about their daily business, could there?

Charlie hummed tunelessly as he made his way through Funderson Avenue to the main square on the Broadway. It was also a hive of activity here, but today there was an altogether nastier atmosphere than usual. The square was full of shaven headed youths, in sleeveless shirts and heavy boots. They were drinking, chanting, and being generally as obnoxious as they could be. In the centre of them, stood a youth with dark stubble on his head and a black shirt emblazoned with some sort of symbol Charlie didn’t recognise. He was shouting over the din, his every phrase met with more roaring and cheering.

“Now is our time!” he roared. “This city was snatched from under our feet by these hordes of animals!” His audience cheered their approval. “Now we take back the city!” Another roar. “Now we wipe these scum from our streets! No more will Humans be second class citizens in our own city!” The crowd stomped their boots. “We organise, brothers! We march through OUR streets and stomp on the heads of anyone who gets in our way!”

Charlie arched an eyebrow as he looked around at the exhilarated, and half drunk, faces in the crowd. He recognised many of them, although they had a lot more hair the last time he’d seen them. Most of them were just bowery kids. Little urchins that had been running around and causing a nuisance since they were knee high. They weren’t bad kids necessarily and they certainly weren’t the types to go round stomping on heads. A stiff clip round the ear hole and a quiet word with their mums was usually enough to send ‘em home smarting.

“Humans First!” The speaker roared and the chant was taken up by the crowd.

Charlie rolled his eyes. He had grown up only a spit from here and he’d been hearing that same crap his whole life. As a youth he even believed it. He believed the Goblins, and the Gnomes, and the Dwarves, and whatever else, were somehow making lives harder for his people with just their mere presence. He would never have been able to explain how a poor Gnome family dozens of miles away was making his life tougher, but everyone believed it and therefore Charlie did as well. However, years as a copper had set him straight. Charlie learned very quickly that whether they were Human, Goblin, Troll, Gnome, or anything in between, every creature was capable of being a downright dirty bastard. And the reality was most creatures wanted the same thing, to have enough to eat, somewhere safe to sleep, and to be left alone. Charlie had learned there wasn’t much difference between poor folks no matter their species.

Scanning the crowd, Charlie saw a group of older men sitting on the steps to a pub, watching the crowd with much the same sardonic expression as Charlie. The man sat in the middle had a shaved head, and a face that had been used as a punching bag more than once. His nose was crooked, and one of his eyes had a nasty droop to it, as if a fist had shut it once and it never quite recovered. His arms and hands were covered in faded tattoos, proudly displayed by his rolled up sleeves. Charlie skirted around the crowd and made his way towards the group when he was spotted by the speaker.

“And here we have the biggest traitors of ‘em all! The Human pigs that protect those fucking toads and all the filth that plagues our streets!” The crowd turned to Charlie and hissed and swore at him.

Although, those closest had clearly felt the heavy hand of Corporal Nelson, because they kept their curses soft and quiet. Charlie eyed the youth cooly.

“Son, why don’t you come off that box and talk to me within arms reach.”

The speaker looked unsure of himself for a moment. He looked at the group of older men sitting on the steps. The one in the middle flashed a golden toothed grin at Charlie.

“Now, now Charlie, that would be police brutality,” he said, still grinning. “And I wouldn’t bet on your odds if it did go that way.”

Charlie stood tall and impassive, his hands still clasped behind his back.

“Only one way to find out.”

The two groups stood poised. Half of the youths looked ready to pounce, the other half looked ready to run. The golden toothed man scratched the stubble on his scalp and thought for a moment.

“Go on piss off,” he said to the youths.

They stood around for a moment before one of the other older men stood up and barked at them. They dispersed, muttering under their breaths. Charlie stayed where he was and watched them go before walking up to the group of men. He stepped over the legs of one and sighed as he sat down on the steps next to the golden toothed man. He unclipped his helmet and placed it down next to him, before wiping his brow.

“Morning Golden,” he said to the man.

“Morning officer,” Golden replied, flashing his golden teeth at Charlie. “To what do we owe the pleasure?”

“Been a bit of trouble I’m afraid.”

“Has there?” Golden replied innocently. “Wot a shame.”

“What’s all that about then, Golden?” Charlie said, nodding his head at the milling youths. “I haven’t heard that sort of tripe in years.”

“Young ‘uns are angry, can’t blame ‘em can ya?”

“But that’s not what your lot are about anymore,” Charlie said. “I mean in the day of your dad and the Regiment boys, you could take that sort of talk seriously, but Bill’s not about that rubbish.”

“How would you know what Mr Graves is about?” Golden asked, his eyes narrowing.

“Because I still remember when Billy used to stomp around these streets with you and all his little mateys play acting soldiers.”

Golden sucked his teeth and spat on the cobbles.

“Is that what you come all the way down here for? A cuppa and a chat about the old days?”

“Not quite. But I wouldn’t say no to a cuppa.”

Golden looked at the men around him.

“Grab the officer a cuppa would ya? Two sugars, Charlie?”

“Just the one. Trying to keep trim.”

“One sugar. And the rest of you clear off. You’re making the place look untidy.”

The men stood up and melted away into the throng, although Charlie knew they would be watching. The two of them sat in silence watching the street until Charlie’s tea arrived. He took a noisy slurp and let out a satisfied sigh.

“That Goblin civilian that got clipped last night, was that your lot?” Charlie asked, staring off into the street.

Golden, still leaning back on the steps on his elbows, spat again.

“You think we’d do a civvie? Even if he is a toad. That was just some young ‘uns.”

“Not like Bill to let things get so out of hand. Killing civilians of any species is bad business, Golden.”

“Well, Mr Graves is rather aggrieved at the moment.”

“About those boys in the Iron district?”

Golden made a movement halfway between a nod and a shrug.

“So they were your boys?”

“No chance,” Golden snorted. “They weren’t with us. Just some little outfit who done a couple jobs here and there. But that ain’t the point is it?”

“Ain’t it?”

“No. The whole city thinks they were ours, which means Mr Graves can’t let that slide, can he?”

“Is that Bill’s official word on it?”

Golden ran his tongue over his teeth while Charlie sipped his tea.

“No. You can tell your midget boss that the Accord still holds. Mr Graves ain’t sanctioned nothing… yet. But Chaw’drak and your captain need to right this ship and quickly. Only so long Mr Graves will keep the boys on the leash.”

“And this lot?” Charlie nodded his head at the shaven headed mob of youths.

“Let’s call them a bit of motivation, to make sure you lot act swiftly.”

“We can’t be having civilians getting caught up in this. You know that’s not how it works.”

“Don’t you worry. Once the dust settles, your captain will have a few necks for his nooses. ‘Specially for the civvie toad.”

Charlie nodded and sloshed the remainder of his tea on the cobbles.

“I’ll make sure the message gets relayed.”

“From wot I hear though Sam’sun’s in a spot of bovver right now. Heard those Elves have got a real hard on for anything green.”

“Once the dust settles that will all be righted too.”

“Better be. ‘Coz a truce only makes sense if both parties rather it to war. But, if the Elves take care of our Goblin problem, who’s to say how that would shake out on the streets.”

“Is that Bill’s official word?” Charlie said, arching his eyebrow at Golden.

“Naa, that’s just between two old mates. Taa taa Charlie.”

Charlie stood up, collected his helmet, and straightened his tunic.

“You tell that little mongrel over there that I’ll be back in a couple of hours. If he’s still here spouting that nonsense, I’ll personally crack his cannister.”

Golden looked away from Charlie and smirked. Charlie nodded and marched away. It was only after he’d turned the corner that the smile dropped from his mouth.

These were delicate times indeed.