//------------------------------//
// The Conspiracy Hunters 
// Story: The Olden World 
// by Czar_Yoshi 
//------------------------------//

A door clattered above the Immortal Dream's library, where Sirena and the others were sitting around and trying to stay in good spirits while dancing around the subject of what to do next. A rapid, thumping descent on the staircase followed, and Jamjars hit the bottom, more tumbling than running. She sat up and shook out her short mane, looking thoroughly trounced by the storm and earning quite a few perked ears.

"Jamjars?" Maple blinked, surprised. "I thought you were in your room! What were you doing out there?"

Jamjars sneezed. "What would I be doing in there when... nngh..." She rubbed her wet nose. "When you've got Sirena on board and Melia ran off somewhere? Obviously, I was helping the search! Everyone they've got for it right now is incompetent, so they needed me."

"You don't look like you've had a very good time of it either," Gerardo remarked, lifting a talon. "If you don't mind me saying, you're quite soaked, and miss Melia is not accompanying you."

Slipstream shivered as well. "Good to know the storms here are just like they are in Ironridge," she murmured, wrapped in her signature sweater. "Must be proximity to the mountains..."

Gerardo grinned. "Oh, there's one very big difference that will kick in should it grow a little fiercer, I assure you. You'll know it when you see it, and it's something you won't want to miss."

Jamjars huffed. "I wasn't looking for Melia. Everyone else was already doing that, and I like Sirena more anyway. I was-"

Whap! A hardened sheet of magenta telekinesis slapped her cheek so hard she nearly fell over, and Sirena was standing, breathing heavily and eyes thunderous. "Never say that," she hissed, tail lashing. "She and I are equals! Pretending anything otherwise is what started all this!" She started to droop, realizing the rest of the room was staring. "I thought... I thought... sorry. I knew I hadn't known your group long enough to have a full impression. I should go..."

"No, stay, please!" Maple got up too, eyes wide in alarm yet completely ignoring Jamjars. "That's not what any of the rest of us think! S-She..." She swallowed, hesitant to throw Jamjars under the cart. "Her upbringing was very... on her own. Please forgive her."

Sirena halted, at least, not leaving but instead looking at Jamjars on the ground. The filly was petrified with wide eyes by a mix of outrage at being hit and shock at who had hit her, and didn't move.

Then Sirena slumped. "I just hit a foal," she whispered, horn going out. "I'm supposed to be a school principal! I hate this fight more than anyone, and even I'm getting caught up in it! What's wrong with everyone here...?"

She slumped further, collapsing to the ground with all four legs beneath her and trying and failing not to cry. "I'm sorry," she hissed as Maple and Shinespark ran back to her sides. "I shouldn't have done that..."

Jamjars sniffed disdainfully, getting back up so she could look down on her poster idol. "What I was going to say," she growled, "is that I was following Chauncey instead to see if he was doing anything suspicious, and he was. So do you want to know if he was sabotaging you or not?"

Sirena sucked in a very sharp breath and opened her eyes. "He what?"

The broken earpiece hit the floor, landing in the puddle that was still spreading from Jamjars' soggy form. "I followed him behind the hospital building," she muttered. "He thought he was alone, so he took that off and threw it away and started talking to it or his reflection or someone I couldn't see." Her orange eyes narrowed. "He called them Stanza, I think, and he blamed them for making you hate him, for starting a riot somewhere and for ruining your career. He was furious, and said he created them and something about banishing them during the second tournament round, and also mentioned something about them having a song. Then he smashed this and walked away. Interesting?"

Everyone blinked, especially Sirena. "I don't think I've heard a word about any of that," Maple murmured. "Stanza... That has something to do with music, right?"

"...What are you saying?" Sirena demanded, hardly looking ready to believe what she had been told. "That Chauncey has some... thing that's responsible for all the chaos that's happened with our concerts? He was our biggest advocate! And..." She slowed down, stumbling. "And also our producer, and manager, and he came up with the idea for the contest concerts in the first place..." Her eyes widened as she started to connect possibilities. "What are you implying?"

Shinespark gave a grim smile. "She's implying that someone's up to no good, and I've seen enough conspiracies to wonder if you have one in Izvaldi too. That said, you're the local, so you'd know more than us. Does that name ring any bells? Stanza?"

"I wish my life would go back to normal," Sirena whispered, ignoring the question. "I wish I had a normal to go back to..."

Gerardo puffed out his chest, stepping in to take charge. "I, as the other semi-local, can say I don't recall any historical figures within immediate Empire lore by that name, though I'm well-prepared for the task of researching."

"This is just a thought, but..." Slipstream hesitated, looking outclassed. "You don't suppose windigoes have names, do you?"

Everyone looked at her in surprise and vague alarm. "That's impossible," Sirena replied. "You're talking about Puddles, right? Morena's daughter? They're trying to heal her!"

"As much trust as you have in your institution..." Gerardo sighed. "Understand that we are but newcomers on the Izvalden scene. With the singular exception of Wallace Whitewing and his team, every last person here we have only just met, and do not have years of relationships to judge and understand them by. Thus, all are equally suspect to us. If we are hunting a conspiracy, it is our duty to do it with every lead available to us!"

"Including this one." Maple scooped up the crushed device Jamjars had dropped. "Shinespark? Do you think there's anything you can learn from studying this?"

Shinespark shook her head. "If it's an audio player, I doubt it. I can check it if you want, but there are plenty of other things for me to look at, too."

The excitement in the room continued to grow as plans were formed and it was decided upon that Puddles would be visited again... until Valey loudly and crossly cleared her throat, bringing everything to a standstill. "Yes?" Gerardo asked, giving her a raised eyebrow.

"Hold up, slow down. Not so fast." Valey strolled out into the middle of the group, frowning. "Aren't you forgetting like three really huge things?"

Everyone blinked at her.

"First." Valey made a tick on her wing. "We're currently not involved in anything that's going on here. Maybe there's something, maybe there isn't... My money's on there is, but we're not obligated to do anything. You remember how hard you got stuck in something you couldn't back out of in Ironridge, right? This meeting right here is your warning. Stick your noses any further, you might be in all the way. But you could also bail and just say you were giving Sirena a place to hide out right now, and leave everything at that."

She sucked in a breath. "Second, not only are we under no obligation to help out, but Izvaldi already has a team of professional adventurers who are supposed to deal with exactly these kinds of lemons. Y'know, Wallace? They're literally being hired to do this. We could either tell him all that or even trust he knows it and is already working on it, unless you think he and his pals are somehow in on it so far that they're bad guys and we'd be up against them... and I hate to admit it, but they've got us outclassed. And third."

Her gaze met Nyala, and she gave a reassuring smile. "We literally just started something we said we were gonna do because this seemed like the most stable things were going to be in a really long while. You guys want to hunt ghosts because the yellow sponge here heard a senile old bat yelling at a puddle? Sure thing. But... my priority list is already full. One thing at a time, and there's someone else who needs my attention."

"Thanks, Valey," Nyala breathed, sounding relieved. "I had been feeling kind of forgotten. I don't want to say anything because it sounds like what you all are doing is super important, but I really could use your help."

"Nah." Valey walked over and hoof-bumped the armor's shoulder with a reassuring smirk. "They can chase Stanzas and windigoes and whatever else. You and me, we got this."

Sirena was the first to speak up, looking slightly in awe of the decision-making process. "Huh. Here I was thinking you all knew exactly what to do with problems like this, but you're just like my school board. It's kind of endearing!"

"Decide whatever you want," Jamjars grumbled, nose already turning red. "I'll listen around for more things when I can. I need to go dry off..."

Sounding stuffy, the filly waddled away, leaving everyone else staring uncertainly. "Perhaps we should put this to a vote?" Gerardo suggested.

"I vote no vote," Maple declared. "Valey's right, and I really should pay more attention to her because I get way too carried away and excited with things like these. Thank you for slowing us down, Valey." She exhaled, grateful. "Here's what I see: there are a lot of us." She did a quick count, moving her hoof. "...Four, five, six... Nine of us counting Sirena and Jamjars. That's a lot of bodies, and we don't all need to be doing the same thing, or even anything at all. I'm not sure me and Starlight will be good for anything in terms of investigation or fighting, but if Sirena wants to stay here and Nyala does too, we're happy to stay and cook and keep company. Valey, you want to stay with Nyala too. I doubt Jamjars will listen to me, but that leaves Gerardo to research and Slipstream to help him if you want, right? And then Shinespark. You're really the only one of us who has too much to do..."

Shinespark shrugged. "I could spend time tinkering on the armor, but I think talking to Chauncey would be a lot more productive. I at least want to ask him what he knows about harmony magic from recording the sisters' songs, because that could give me an avenue to pursue if he's doing anything suspicious and could also tell me something that would help with Nyala if he's not."

"And Melia?" Sirena asked. "It sounds like you want me to live here for a while, but the town will be worried if I disappear too. I could just go about my usual life in public and keep the school running?"

"You could," Gerardo agreed. "But I thought your brand ceasing to function was a concern."

Sirena's eyes widened, as if she had forgotten that completely. "You're right...!" She deflated slightly. "But you also didn't know why..."

"Suppose what Jamjars overheard has something to do with it," Shinespark suggested. "It sounded like even if Chauncey is involved with something going on, he wasn't happy about how it went. Maybe we should just ask him directly and see if he has any way to help, or knows what could be causing it?"

"I wish we knew something about his true intentions," Gerardo muttered. "There's quite a difference between him being in on something, yet on our side, and being an enemy agent or even kingpin."

"Well, we'll have to figure out," Shinespark sighed. "For now, let's just wait for the storm to blow over. For all this suspicion, the only hint of a timer we have is something about the tournament's second round, and that's a month away."

Gerardo nodded. "Indeed. I, for one, well remember what occurs when we rush things..."