Case No. 8
BARISTA: THE AUDITOR
CAFE: NONE
DATE: LATE DECEMBER
RECEIPT ID: FOTF-01
I arrived at Silenus to a truly horrific scene. What was described to me as a "minor fly infestation," in reality is a plague. A swarm. An outright outbreak. Hell on earth… Even worse than the Buzzing Planes of Beez's home. Thousands upon thousands of horrid, pale, dipteras darting about every blink of the eye. And Silenus seems to be dealing with this with all of the urgency of Tesseract. From what I've seen thus far, they have been lazily swatting away these little foul winged beasts like a pack of disinterested cats. Dan hasn't even been bothered to do that much and the only three who seem at all engaged in this current conundrum are Miranda, Brent, and Charlotte. And of those three, only Miranda seems to want the flies gone. How can they live like this?
Silenus is one of the newer Cafes alongside Testament and Sunshine. It was opened in September of 2020 by Jack and Beez for two reasons. First, and most importantly, to safeguard the Bell of Fate. Naturally. Each Cafe has a Sponsor and each Sponsor is there to safeguard one of the various Pieces of Fate controlled by the Cafe and Diner Network. However, there was a specific reason Jack and Beez chose Point Pleasant and Dan Hamilton for Silenus: the Lanes Between. Though I personally don't enjoy adding drink after drink to the Cafe's menu, I suppose an exception could be made for those who walk the twisted back roads of the hotbed of the Coffee Trade. Let's say… those who primarily reside "in between" enjoy a Flat White. And while I am bothering to expand the menus, Bloodglass' unique region of customers enjoy a… Cafe au Lait. Tesseract's unique customers might enjoy a… mm… London Fog (not to be confused with a Double Shot…) and… I think that covers the exceptional customers the Cafe serves. At least, for now.
Anyhow, with Beez as Silenus' sponsor they are no strangers to flies. In fact, in their most recent operation, the "Salvation of the Flies," Silenus dealt with their fair share of, well, flies. However, these flies are clearly different. These aren't the fat, iridescent blowflies of the Beez. These are small, white-eyed, and… surgically clean. They don't land on food… they land on people. Baristas in particular, it seems. So far none have landed on me, thank… whatever is out there… but, regardless, it's time someone dealt with this mess.
Caffeinated Report: CD-FOTF-02
"Ptera()pretP"
Word Play | 1 Word
Caffeinated Report: C-FOTF-03
"1. Water Bear, 3. Classical Woodpecker Cousin, 4. Olivia Benson"
Music Trivia | 3 Words
Caffeinated Report: C-TMH-01
"<NH3></NH3>"
Toxicology Trivia | 1 Word
Caffeinated Report: C-TMH-02
"Been thinking a lot about water lately."
Anatomy Trivia | 1 Words
Caffeinated Report: C-FOTF-04
"TKAM, TF2, BSA."
Abbreviation Trivia | 1 Word
Caffeinated Report: CD-FOTF-05
"ree Fiv net net One wen Nin Fif een."
Cipher | 1 Word
BARISTA: AUDITOR
CAFE: NONE
DATE: EARLY JANUARY
RECEIPT ID: FOTF-06
Ah, the Twice Third Temple.
A vile and insidious fast food chain, thus a competitor to the Cafe and Diner Network, which has so far been lurking in the shadows outside of our view. I wasn't sure if they were going to pop up, but I suppose it was only a matter of time. Though, I can't possibly say how long the Twice Third Temple has been in operation or even who is currently employed there; except for, of course, its owner: Lyle Crow. Yes, that Crow, brother to our very own Arthur Crow. The Crows as a family are well enough known in the coffee trade. They reside on Dracula Drive in New Canaan, Connecticut and have always been eager to explore… shall we say… "unethical" means of customer satisfaction and food and drink offerings.
When Arthur was first offered a job at his family's fast food establishment he was excited to finally be part of his family's business. But then, as it always is with fast food joints, he saw how the sausage was made, the mold in the ice machine, and the buckets of reused oil. He fled. He has been completely out of touch with his family since which would explain why he was up until now unaware of his brother Lyle's continuation of their father, Alfred "Al" Crow's work.
I suppose next, Silenus will need to uncover where exactly "Dr. Crow" has set up his first establishment and who he has on his payroll. I have a few guesses, though I would hate to speculate so early on. Thankfully, it seems Tyler, Agatha, and Warden have a hypothesis on how to utilize Mr. Felt and Mr. Evenhuis, with the help of Madeline's unique talents, to locate the Twice Third Temple. Mr. Felt, though his tab was paid in full by his very nature, had some "good ideas" as to where the Temple must be and Mr. Evenhuis is quite the locator according to Tyler and Warden's continued efforts to serve him.
Caffeinated Report: C-FOTF-07
"δ♒︎→"
Astronomy Trivia | 2 Words
BARISTA: THE AUDITOR
CAFE: NONE
DATE: EARLY JANUARY
RECEIPT ID: CAD-11
And that is why I have put off working with Silenus thus far. They always seem to be neck deep in some sort of disgusting horror, be it body, mind, soul, or otherwise. Mild fly infestation… ha! Well, at least they now have a direction even if their sense of location is perpetually phantasmal at best. Mr. Felt had his tab paid in full and his customer satisfaction survey should now be in Arthur's hands. And Mr. Evenhuis' tab has also been paid in full. The infestation is cleared, er, crushed, but their Bell remains silent.
Warden even went so far as to take the Bell to Wichita and still—nothing. Whatever Dr. Crow has done to silence their Piece of Fate (assuming Dr. Crow is the one to blame) it is not a matter of mere proximity to Silenus' local Lanes. It's an issue to be sure, but not mine, I believe Beez will have to make nice with his Cafe if he intends to continue his sponsorship. No Bell, no need for Beez, and no access to the Cafe and Diner's contributions to his everlasting feast.
As for my next move, I need to pay Bloodglass a visit. They have a… mm… a component that CaDence has requested for our side project. Additionally, the twins could use some help with their familial feud concerning their evil and estranged aunt. Though, in the meantime while I sort out CaDence's components and audit what can be done at Bloodglass, I think it is finally time to revisit my earlier October trip to the Cafe and Diner: Testament in lovely Las Vegas, Nevada. Deciding whether or not to publish this case was… difficult. But I would rather keep transparency than to hide behind a swarm of secrets.