Chapter 524: Land o Dream (2/2)
”Let's go, driver,” ordered Mr. Amsey. The Adventuring grew distant on the rear-view mirror. Heavy clouds atop felt more of a curse. How would he have known that the day he left; things wouldn't be the same ever again. The tension of those in the shadows had Leko and Haru bound to no ends. Lady Elvira's help was requested.
”Where are we headed?”
”To Odgawoan, the land of cinema and entertainment empire of Scaica.”
”Wasn't Melmark the center of attention?” wondered he.
”No, at one point yes… tis not that clean-cut. The growing market of entertainment needed a town of their own. Thus, rich businessmen laid claim to a small village a few decades ago and build tall buildings. More and more production companies, idol agencies, you name it, and most moved to Odgawoan. Tis mostly because of the independent rule – the town is its own state. Money talks, and here, it ordered.”
”Alright,” seeking no further information, Éclair took matters into his hands and researched the particular town. It went as far as to dig up a shady past;
”Odgawoan, nestled near the Fuda Mountains, was previously thriving mining village that suddenly stopped about thirty years ago. The reserves were exhausted as stated by officials. The village remained dormant for the bitter part of two years until clever businessmen adventured deep into the Fuda Mountains. Many came and went; most were interested in easy money and bidden adventuring farewell. Not until estate agents wanting to reclaim the ghost village wandered about, traversing the forest and arriving at a valley. A gentle slope cut itself up the mountain, a pathway into a land of unknown. Stood at the peak, what they saw couldn't be described nor showed. A land of utter beauty, the trees were unlike anything they'd seen – some village's folk referred to it as the land of fairies. Then and there, the land was claimed and built to be a private refuge for the wealthy. So on and so forth, things led to another and Odgawoan became a place of pleasure and gamble. The elusive Cimier ruled the town for a decade until the rise of the entertainment market. Musicians, actors, directors, moviemakers, all needed a place to call home – Melmark did but few things, and thus, the gambling den evolved into the town of dreams. Active Raven Pictures, Golden Media Films, and Ecliprises were a few of the major names who did the first move.
The cruise from the Adventuring Academy passed through the Azure-pass and northward. The more ground gained, the farther seemed the cloudy weather, and after a while, the weather came to a steady grey hue. The closest airport was one at Rosespire, a drive that would take more than 12 hours. Instead, the car pulled into a curving road off the highway. Here, the roads were narrow filled with overhanging trees. The latter was so overly present the road seemed as if a triangular tunnel. Long story short, a detour led to a small village where waited a helicopter. The journey took shy of one and a half hours. A private jet bearing Phantom's crest waited on a vacant airstrip. Numerous passenger planes were about, some landed and some taking off.
”Here we are,” said Amsey taking off headphones, ”-the journey back to Alphia's going be in style.”
”Phantom's sponsoring the trip?” wondered Igna.
”Obviously,” he laughed, ”-as the sponsor of Cle, they tended to our needs. I must say,” he smiled, ”-the arm's company is friendly and accommodating,” a red-carpet stretched to the jet.
”Anything to comment?” wondered Igna to Lia.
”Yes,” she snapped out the dream-like gaze, ”-I've called someone to be the liaison in Alphia. Since Lord Asmey's decided to have you become a model, you'll need assistants to help score jobs and stuff. Going on interviews per thy behalf, someone capable.”
”I see,” he smiled.
They were off the grounds in mere minutes, the long trip to Alphia began. Igna decided to sit farther back to enjoy private time. The duo up front didn't ask why or how, the boy being there sufficed.
'Let's get to work,' thought he pulling out a laptop, '-thanks a bunch Anna for letting me borrow this.' The keyboard had heart-stickers and bunnies scattered around.
”Good,” commented Éclair, ”-I'm connected to the laptop. What's the order.”
”I'd like to know more about Odgawoan, the idyllic land of dream comments isn't doing it for me. I smell a dark underlying truth.”
”Well-spotted,” countless files and reports flashed onto the screen – all of which were deleted after Igna finished reading. Copies were stored on the phone instead. 'Murders, mysterious killings, a lack of integrity by the officers and unheard witness testimonies. The case file of Blair Riley, isn't that the movie Aceline was supposed to do?' further digging showed up a few interesting details, '-the production company went broke at 90% completion. Ecliprises decided to oust the directors and producers on drug-abuse charges half-way across. Not many people knew of the project. The last message ever sent by the director was, '-we've done it, it's a wrap. I'm coming home to celebrate, dearest baby Bella', kind of a weird thing to say.'
”Any more reports I can examine?”
”No,” said Éclair, ”-I've dug deep into the police report, nothing came up. Not even a missing person's case. I did find a thing,” a new article from a lesser-known publication stated, '-The Case file of Blair Riley, myth or truth?' The subheading read, '-is the world of the dream as innocent as it seems?'
”Éclair, how's the underworld faction of the town?”
”Cimier ruled from the shadows for a decade, they could well still be controlling the town. Police officers are corrupt.”
”I see,” he paused, ”-who's in charge of drug distribution in Alphia?”
”Lerado; they're only importers.”
”I see,” more he thought, the cloudier grew the picture. 'What could have happened to the filming crew. I remember the script went into details about Luna and the crimes done by the Patek's I think. People seem to think Aceline was murdered. I know she's alive, or was alive since we revived her… maybe leaving her alone here was a mistake. Six years is a long time, gathering information's going to be hard.'
”I found a hidden report,” voiced Éclair, ”-it's not related to Aceline.”
”Go on,” said he.
”It reads that on May 7th XX96, the body of a starlet Nesse Williams was found dead in her apartment on Huston Boulevard. The cause of death was ruled as natural. What's interesting is the investigation led by a private investigator named Engn Codd. He soon found the cause of death wasn't natural, instead, drugs were found in her body. The coroner, closely tied to the police and the underworld, most likely kept quiet. At some point, after following a very damning lead, brought Ecliprises under scrutiny. The evidence went on to show the leaders were in cahoots with Gyo Tune, a notorious mob-boss who's still prowling the streets. The investigation ended shortly as Engn Codd would die the same death as did the starlet. The case is closed, nothing more can be done, officially. Codd had a son, Odgar Codd, who's also a private investigator working in Melmark.”
”Where did you get this information?”
”Odgar Codd was a member of Lerado's family. He'd hope to go against Gyo Tune using force as he believed they killed his father.”
”Did he say that?”
”Yes, he bluntly stated why he wanted to join and was welcomed by the family. The mystery of Odgawoan is thicker than you might accept.”
”Lord Amsey, where are we landing?” he asked thinking it'd be Melmark.
”Odgawoan.”