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Message: <blockquote data-quote="talien" data-source="post: 4547418" data-attributes="member: 3285">Silence, Silver, and Secrets: Part 4a – Tale of the Body ThiefSebastian led them northward through the Trade Quarter and toward the Street of Green Tiles. He led them through the park, which held the Shrine of Swift-Winged Salvation, and continued north, into the Barren Hills Quarter. The homes were much less affluent than those of the upper Trade Quarter and seemed to have an air of quiet efficiency. Von Grebel’s family lived a modest home, unornamented, but clean and in good repair. Sebastian knocked on the door.A man answered with the look of a smith, with a strongly built frame despite his graying hair. A woman stood behind him, older still, her hair unkempt and tangled, her robes frayed at the edges. “Yes?”“We have news about Haron von Grebel,” said Sebastian gravely. “I am Yehumik Hatar, who are you?” “Sebastian Arnyal, but that is not important. We’d like you to identify a body.”“You have it with you?”Sebastian indicated the figure in sackcloth draped over Beldin’s shoulder.“Bring it in, please.”Ilmarė snorted.  To walk around with a corpse was inconceivable to elven sensibilities, but then they were in Nishanpur, where corpses walked the streets.They entered.  A young girl, not more than fourteen years of age, quietly seated herself on a stool next to the man.Beldin gently lowered the corpse to the floor.  He cleared his throat, indicating the women. “It’s fine.  If it is Haron’s body, his fiancée and mother have the right to see it.”Beldin arched a busy brow in surprise.  The older woman had to be von Grebel’s mother.  Which meant the young girl was his bride to be. With a shrug, he peeled back the sackcloth from the body.With lamps at hand, they could clearly see the extent of the injuries Von Grebel sustained before his death. Von Grebel wore the undertunic, boots and trousers that belong to his uniform, but his overtunic and any armor, including his rank markings, was missing. There were no weapons on the body. Covered in bruises, von Grebel appeared to have been beaten, or perhaps to have fallen from a height. He also had gashes on the inside of his arms, stretching from wrist to elbow. “Bruising all over the body indicates that he was badly beaten,” said Sebastian. Von Grebel’s wrists had two long, crooked slashes. “The wounds on his arms imply he tried to kill himself and succeeded.”“But why would someone dump his body in the canal?” asked Ilmarė. “The cuts are jagged, not clean, as they would be if they were made with a dagger.”“That’s definitely him,” said Yehumik.  “Thank you for returning him to us. Please, feel free to stay until after his body is consigned to the flames of Nier’s Judgment. A bat flapped in through the open doorway and landed on Sebastian’s shoulder.  It squeaked in his ear.Sebastian nodded.  “I’m afraid we cannot stay.  We have other business to attend to.”Yehumik walked them out.  “If you find his killers,” he said in low tones, “make them suffer for what they did.”Sebastian’s nostrils flared.  “They already are.”</blockquote>

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