All around you, the hisses and chirps of locusts fill the musky air. The earthen floor of…

All around you, the hisses and chirps of locusts fill the musky air. The earthen floor of the shack has been shaped into mounds of mud dotted with little holes for windows.

Like skyscrapers, spires of dirt and sand rising. Accommodations for their insectoid inhabitants?

"Well, detective, it appears you've solved the case..." The lieutenant looks around, writes something in his notebook, and turns to you...

"Of the locusts. For the missing locust case, which is a sub-case of the imaginary insect case. So at least that's going well."

"Stop being so sarcastic, Kim."

"Oh, I'm not being sarcastic at all. We are making real progress here."

When someone says they're not being sarcastic, it's usually a good sign that they're being very sarcastic.

"We should talk to the kid outside. It was probably him. Get him to stop." [Leave.]

"I'll let you handle that side of things. You're doing just fine."

"We should talk to Cuno about this. Get him to stop." [Leave.]

"I'll let you handle the Cuno side of things. You're doing just fine."

"You think the Insulindian phasmid is nearby?"

"If anything, the presence of the locusts points to the opposite -- the phasmid did not take the bait from the traps. It was Cuno. The phasmid doesn't exist..."

He shrugs. "But what do I know?"

Use your powers of deduction! You knew the magic bug was nowhere near here. The phasmid is impairing your judgement.

"Yes, precisely what I was thinking!"

"Yes." He nods. "I feel we are nearing a real breakthrough."

Sounds like you found the locusts, detective.

What is this?

Heaps of leaves are rotting among the mud-cake towers. Dozens of little locusts feed on them, buzzing away with vicious joy. Cuno has really outdone himself here.

It's an ode to self expression.

It's the work of a self-taught visionary.

I should go and ask him to stop then. [Finish thought.]

Heaps of leaves are rotting among the mud-cake towers. Dozens of little locusts feed on them, buzzing away with vicious joy. The kid in the yard has really outdone himself here.

"Well, detective, it appears you're on the way to solving the case..." The lieutenant looks around, writes something in his notebook, and turns to you...

"The missing locust case, which is a sub-case of the imaginary insect case. So at least that's going well."

"Wait -- could this mean the Insulindian phasmid is nearby?"

"If anything, the presence of the locusts points to the opposite -- the phasmid did not take the bait from the traps."

"Instead, it was a kid's prank." He shrugs. "But what do I know?"

Use your powers of deduction! You knew the bug was nowhere near here. The phasmid is impairing your judgement.

"Yes. We need to tell Morell about this immediately."

"Of course. I'll leave that to you. You seem to have a handle on the phasmid-trap-insect situation."

Sounds like you found the locusts, detective.

I need to tell Morell...

As you turn away, heaps of leaves are rotting among the mud-cake towers. Dozens of little locusts feed on them, buzzing away with vicious joy...