Drusilia Nailo
First Post
C'mon, post already! I'm dying to read about me. Er, us. 
drnuncheon's Freeport Story Hour - Book II: Inheritance
- Thread starter drnuncheon
- Start date
drnuncheon
Explorer
Session Two, Part Four: Back Alley Brawl
"I wonder if she's some sort of wizard or sorcerer who became trapped?" Di'Fier mused as his partner relayed the session with Echo and Glunnyn to him.
"I'm not sure," said Dru, watching the girl. "What happened with your investigation?"
"Well, the foreman and some of the workers were loading certain boxes onto a cart behind the warehouse. I followed that cart to the Beggar's Market in Scurvytown. There wasn't any, ah, 'unusual' packing material though." Di'Fier paused. "You say she repeated the words of the spell?"
Dru nodded. "Like she was casting it at the same time."
Di'Fier frowned. "Let's try it again." Raising a hand, he made a minor incantation - which Echo repeated. The young mage struggled with the bizarre effect, but the simplicity of the spell was enough to keep him focused. Echo lapsed into silence a moment after he did.
He waited for Dru to come out from under the effects of the daze spell. "Well...it was hard to cast with her echoing like that...but I definitely did it. It didn't seem to have any other effect though."
Dru shook her head. "Right. Let's get her some better clothes. Then we should go visit Roth at this club of his."
"We'd better wear our dress uniforms. They're pretty exclusive."
The two Watchmen followed the doorman into the main hall of the Gilt Club. Lined with marble pillars, trimmed with rare woods, decorated by the work of some of the most famous artists of the city, the club put all other buildings in the city to shame - including the Sea Lord's Palace.
The room they were left in was comparatively sedate, but still more opulent than any they'd been in before. Dru immediately dropped into one of the elaborately carved chairs and propped her boots up on the table, while Di'Fier tested the quality of the carpet by pacing repeatedly around the room.
Eventually, the door opened. Dru hurriedly pulled her feet from the table and stood to greet Torsten Roth, head of the Freeport Merchant's guild. Behind him, she could see the form of Arlan Tarjay - a merchant nearly as successful - walking away, his face wracked with worry. Interesting.
"Guildmaster Roth," Di'Fier began. "We're very sorry about what happened to your warehouse, and your men."
The guildmaster held up a hand. "They were not my men. From what I've heard they were engaging in illegal activities, and they were doing so without my sanction."
The Watchman nodded. "Of course."
His partner picked up the train of thought. "We had no idea there were so many unknown wizards of such power in the city."
Torsten leaned forward eagerly. "You're certain they are not known then?"
"It seems almost like this was supposed to send a message," Di'Fier mused. "But to who? You?"
Roth sat back, shaking his head. "No. While I have enemies - anyone as successful as I am would - they are hardly the type to try to set warehouses on fire. Merchants usually tend to a more economic form of revenge."
Di'Fier nodded. "Of course. It does seem like a bit of overkill just to send a message to you. You will let us know if anything else happens?"
"Of course."
As they left the club, Dru unbuttoned the collar of her uniform. "Can't believe we got dressed up for that," she grumbled. "Did you see Tarjay? He looked like he was waiting to find out if his breakfast had been poisoned or not."
"I wonder if your father's got something on him, too."
The rest of the evening passed slowly. A widespread investigation in the Docks district by the entire team had turned up no new information - either there had been no witnesses, or they were all keeping quiet.
Dru and Di'Fier collected Echo from Spruce in the Records Department, who had been watching her for them, and headed out across the Old City to their homes.
Suddenly, Dru raised a hand. Shouts echoed down an alleyway - and then the unmistakable liquid tongue of spellcasting. As one, she and Di'Fier whirled and charged towards the sound.
"What is this?" Dru shouted. "Break it up!"
The fight hardly paused: a trio of cloaked figures dodged the blades of the two elves that attacked them. A third already lay crumpled in a corner of the square. One of the humans looked up and Dru's words and snarled, spitting eldritch words. Two glowing bolts spiralled from his hand, burning into Dru's chest. His companions treated their elven opponents in the same way, and another elf dropped.
Di'Fier, his blade drawn, reached out with his magic and gave time a twist. The rest of the combat seemed to slow, and as soon as he'd finished he gave the mage that had attacked his partner a taste of his own medicine, the trio of manabolts searing through clothing to burn unprotected flesh.
"That's it," Dru gritted through clenched teeth as she charged. "You. Are all. Under. Arrest!" To punctuate her pronouncement, she dropped the spellcaster who had dared to attack her with a single blow, straight through the heart.
The eyes of one of the humans went wide with fear. He spun, calling out a word that seemed to lift him gracefully through the air in an arc that landed atop a low building. His companion's spell sent a sizzling green bolt slamming into the chest of the last elf, who dropped with a scream. The mage turned to run.
Di'Fier watched him crawl along in slow motion, the magic of the haste spell thrumming in his veins. With a wave of his hand, he summoned a sphere of fire and sent it rolling towards the fleeing killer, and then charged after it himself. The blade arced through the air, and as it hit, Di'Fier's second spell pulsed through the blade. A rime of frost formed momentarily on the steel, and the edges of the wound blackened with frostbite.
It actually worked! thought the young mage, as his opponent spun and stepped back. He twisted out of the way of a second acidic missile, and at his command the flaming sphere arced through the air and slammed into the criminal from behind.
Di'Fier pulled another spell to the forefront of his mind and let it spill from his lips, the glowing sigils erasing themselves as he did so. Now he could feel power surging through his muscles as well as speed. The bastard sword danced lightly in his hands as he took a step forward and delivered a final blow to the mage. Leaving the body where it lay, he walked back to Dru, the flames flickering out behind him.
She looked up from the body of one of the elves and shook her head. "It's too late. They were with my father's organization, though. I recognize one of them. It looks like they got ready in a hurry - they knew a fight was coming, but they had a little time to prepare. Not that it did them much good." In her hand, she held a rolled scroll, which she handed to Di'Fier. "One of the humans was carrying this."
"I wonder if she's some sort of wizard or sorcerer who became trapped?" Di'Fier mused as his partner relayed the session with Echo and Glunnyn to him.
"I'm not sure," said Dru, watching the girl. "What happened with your investigation?"
"Well, the foreman and some of the workers were loading certain boxes onto a cart behind the warehouse. I followed that cart to the Beggar's Market in Scurvytown. There wasn't any, ah, 'unusual' packing material though." Di'Fier paused. "You say she repeated the words of the spell?"
Dru nodded. "Like she was casting it at the same time."
Di'Fier frowned. "Let's try it again." Raising a hand, he made a minor incantation - which Echo repeated. The young mage struggled with the bizarre effect, but the simplicity of the spell was enough to keep him focused. Echo lapsed into silence a moment after he did.
He waited for Dru to come out from under the effects of the daze spell. "Well...it was hard to cast with her echoing like that...but I definitely did it. It didn't seem to have any other effect though."
Dru shook her head. "Right. Let's get her some better clothes. Then we should go visit Roth at this club of his."
"We'd better wear our dress uniforms. They're pretty exclusive."
The two Watchmen followed the doorman into the main hall of the Gilt Club. Lined with marble pillars, trimmed with rare woods, decorated by the work of some of the most famous artists of the city, the club put all other buildings in the city to shame - including the Sea Lord's Palace.
The room they were left in was comparatively sedate, but still more opulent than any they'd been in before. Dru immediately dropped into one of the elaborately carved chairs and propped her boots up on the table, while Di'Fier tested the quality of the carpet by pacing repeatedly around the room.
Eventually, the door opened. Dru hurriedly pulled her feet from the table and stood to greet Torsten Roth, head of the Freeport Merchant's guild. Behind him, she could see the form of Arlan Tarjay - a merchant nearly as successful - walking away, his face wracked with worry. Interesting.
"Guildmaster Roth," Di'Fier began. "We're very sorry about what happened to your warehouse, and your men."
The guildmaster held up a hand. "They were not my men. From what I've heard they were engaging in illegal activities, and they were doing so without my sanction."
The Watchman nodded. "Of course."
His partner picked up the train of thought. "We had no idea there were so many unknown wizards of such power in the city."
Torsten leaned forward eagerly. "You're certain they are not known then?"
"It seems almost like this was supposed to send a message," Di'Fier mused. "But to who? You?"
Roth sat back, shaking his head. "No. While I have enemies - anyone as successful as I am would - they are hardly the type to try to set warehouses on fire. Merchants usually tend to a more economic form of revenge."
Di'Fier nodded. "Of course. It does seem like a bit of overkill just to send a message to you. You will let us know if anything else happens?"
"Of course."
As they left the club, Dru unbuttoned the collar of her uniform. "Can't believe we got dressed up for that," she grumbled. "Did you see Tarjay? He looked like he was waiting to find out if his breakfast had been poisoned or not."
"I wonder if your father's got something on him, too."
The rest of the evening passed slowly. A widespread investigation in the Docks district by the entire team had turned up no new information - either there had been no witnesses, or they were all keeping quiet.
Dru and Di'Fier collected Echo from Spruce in the Records Department, who had been watching her for them, and headed out across the Old City to their homes.
Suddenly, Dru raised a hand. Shouts echoed down an alleyway - and then the unmistakable liquid tongue of spellcasting. As one, she and Di'Fier whirled and charged towards the sound.
"What is this?" Dru shouted. "Break it up!"
The fight hardly paused: a trio of cloaked figures dodged the blades of the two elves that attacked them. A third already lay crumpled in a corner of the square. One of the humans looked up and Dru's words and snarled, spitting eldritch words. Two glowing bolts spiralled from his hand, burning into Dru's chest. His companions treated their elven opponents in the same way, and another elf dropped.
Di'Fier, his blade drawn, reached out with his magic and gave time a twist. The rest of the combat seemed to slow, and as soon as he'd finished he gave the mage that had attacked his partner a taste of his own medicine, the trio of manabolts searing through clothing to burn unprotected flesh.
"That's it," Dru gritted through clenched teeth as she charged. "You. Are all. Under. Arrest!" To punctuate her pronouncement, she dropped the spellcaster who had dared to attack her with a single blow, straight through the heart.
The eyes of one of the humans went wide with fear. He spun, calling out a word that seemed to lift him gracefully through the air in an arc that landed atop a low building. His companion's spell sent a sizzling green bolt slamming into the chest of the last elf, who dropped with a scream. The mage turned to run.
Di'Fier watched him crawl along in slow motion, the magic of the haste spell thrumming in his veins. With a wave of his hand, he summoned a sphere of fire and sent it rolling towards the fleeing killer, and then charged after it himself. The blade arced through the air, and as it hit, Di'Fier's second spell pulsed through the blade. A rime of frost formed momentarily on the steel, and the edges of the wound blackened with frostbite.
It actually worked! thought the young mage, as his opponent spun and stepped back. He twisted out of the way of a second acidic missile, and at his command the flaming sphere arced through the air and slammed into the criminal from behind.
Di'Fier pulled another spell to the forefront of his mind and let it spill from his lips, the glowing sigils erasing themselves as he did so. Now he could feel power surging through his muscles as well as speed. The bastard sword danced lightly in his hands as he took a step forward and delivered a final blow to the mage. Leaving the body where it lay, he walked back to Dru, the flames flickering out behind him.
She looked up from the body of one of the elves and shook her head. "It's too late. They were with my father's organization, though. I recognize one of them. It looks like they got ready in a hurry - they knew a fight was coming, but they had a little time to prepare. Not that it did them much good." In her hand, she held a rolled scroll, which she handed to Di'Fier. "One of the humans was carrying this."
drnuncheon
Explorer
Session Two, Part Five: The Message
Chirr looked up as the door to Sehanoarun's opened. She's here again? That's the second time today, he thought, as Dru strode over to his table, her cloak shedding the remnants of the rain. Without preamble, she sat.
"What's going on with Papa?" she demanded.
Chirr's mouth hung open. "I...ah..." He couldn't meet her eyes. I shouldn't be telling her this, but... "He's worried, Dru. These attacks are aimed at him, and none of us know who or why."
"I just got done finishing off two of them. They killed Talis and two others. Someone will need to tell their families. And tell my father no more avoiding me - I must talk to him."
Di'Fier helped lift the last of the bodies onto the cart, and with a wave from the driver it rumbled off to the morgue. The Watchman stared after it until it vanished in the night. There, that's done. Now, all I have to do is find Echo, and wait for Dru. "Echo?" he called out. "It's all right now, you can come out."
The only answer was the sound of the rain.
"I can't make heads or tails of it," Dru complained. She leaned back in her chair and tossed the message back onto the desk she shared with Di'Fier. "I don't even know which way is up."
Her partner nodded. "It's no alphabet I've ever seen. Still, tomorrow I'll just prepare my spell of translation...hmmm."
"Hmm?"
"I wonder if Glunnyn is still around."
The gnome was. In fact, he had set up a cot in the small room he had claimed for an alchemist's lab, which he used for his frequent catnaps. Now, however, he was overseeing the reaction of a pair of reagents whose purpose seemed to be solely to make a foul odor reminiscent of burning brimstone.
"Glunnyn. Can you read this for us?"
The gnome's hand shot out impatiently, seized the note, and brought it back in front of his face - all without looking up from the alembic he was studying. An instant later, it thrust the paper back at Di'Fier. "Not a bit of it. Complete gibberish."
Dru cleared her throat. "Could you cast a spell?"
The gnome turned to her and blinked, as if the possibility had not occurred to him. "Ahhhh...let me see." Taking the paper from Di'Fier - more gently this time - he smoothed it out on an unused stretch of table and spoke a word, then studied it again. Frowning, he rotated the paper, his expression changing from displeased to puzzled as he did. "How odd."
"What does it say?"
Glunnyn handed the paper back. "No idea. It seems to be resistant to spells of translation." He thought about it for a moment, then added, "Since the spell operates partially by psychometrically discerning the communicator's intent, it is vulnerable to giving an incorrect translation - or no translation at all - when the writer's intent is to conceal information."
Dru looked blank, but Di'Fier nodded. "So it's a cipher."
"Most probably."
Dru threw the stick of charcoal down in disgust and wiped her hands on a rag. "Stupid criminals...why couldn't they write their secret messages in plain language?"
Di'Fier looked up for a moment, as if he were about to explain the matter, but then thought better of it. "If we can just figure out a few of these letters..."
An elven finger stabbed at the page. "That one's an 'e'."
"How do you know?"
"It's there all the time. All over the place."
"I guess we can try it..."
Di'Fier sat back and read over the translation. "We have the girl and the b-tch is a hellion - she and her friends wounded...er, someone...when we grabbed her. We got the one you wanted and two others but one got away in the fight. We'll have her tracked down soon enough."
"Great. Just great." Dru threw up her hands. "Does anything on this case fit in with anything else?"
- End of Session 2 -
Next Session: Two brutal murders for the price of one - and a choice no Watchman should ever have to make. Don't miss it!
Chirr looked up as the door to Sehanoarun's opened. She's here again? That's the second time today, he thought, as Dru strode over to his table, her cloak shedding the remnants of the rain. Without preamble, she sat.
"What's going on with Papa?" she demanded.
Chirr's mouth hung open. "I...ah..." He couldn't meet her eyes. I shouldn't be telling her this, but... "He's worried, Dru. These attacks are aimed at him, and none of us know who or why."
"I just got done finishing off two of them. They killed Talis and two others. Someone will need to tell their families. And tell my father no more avoiding me - I must talk to him."
Di'Fier helped lift the last of the bodies onto the cart, and with a wave from the driver it rumbled off to the morgue. The Watchman stared after it until it vanished in the night. There, that's done. Now, all I have to do is find Echo, and wait for Dru. "Echo?" he called out. "It's all right now, you can come out."
The only answer was the sound of the rain.
"I can't make heads or tails of it," Dru complained. She leaned back in her chair and tossed the message back onto the desk she shared with Di'Fier. "I don't even know which way is up."
Her partner nodded. "It's no alphabet I've ever seen. Still, tomorrow I'll just prepare my spell of translation...hmmm."
"Hmm?"
"I wonder if Glunnyn is still around."
The gnome was. In fact, he had set up a cot in the small room he had claimed for an alchemist's lab, which he used for his frequent catnaps. Now, however, he was overseeing the reaction of a pair of reagents whose purpose seemed to be solely to make a foul odor reminiscent of burning brimstone.
"Glunnyn. Can you read this for us?"
The gnome's hand shot out impatiently, seized the note, and brought it back in front of his face - all without looking up from the alembic he was studying. An instant later, it thrust the paper back at Di'Fier. "Not a bit of it. Complete gibberish."
Dru cleared her throat. "Could you cast a spell?"
The gnome turned to her and blinked, as if the possibility had not occurred to him. "Ahhhh...let me see." Taking the paper from Di'Fier - more gently this time - he smoothed it out on an unused stretch of table and spoke a word, then studied it again. Frowning, he rotated the paper, his expression changing from displeased to puzzled as he did. "How odd."
"What does it say?"
Glunnyn handed the paper back. "No idea. It seems to be resistant to spells of translation." He thought about it for a moment, then added, "Since the spell operates partially by psychometrically discerning the communicator's intent, it is vulnerable to giving an incorrect translation - or no translation at all - when the writer's intent is to conceal information."
Dru looked blank, but Di'Fier nodded. "So it's a cipher."
"Most probably."
Dru threw the stick of charcoal down in disgust and wiped her hands on a rag. "Stupid criminals...why couldn't they write their secret messages in plain language?"
Di'Fier looked up for a moment, as if he were about to explain the matter, but then thought better of it. "If we can just figure out a few of these letters..."
An elven finger stabbed at the page. "That one's an 'e'."
"How do you know?"
"It's there all the time. All over the place."
"I guess we can try it..."
Di'Fier sat back and read over the translation. "We have the girl and the b-tch is a hellion - she and her friends wounded...er, someone...when we grabbed her. We got the one you wanted and two others but one got away in the fight. We'll have her tracked down soon enough."
"Great. Just great." Dru threw up her hands. "Does anything on this case fit in with anything else?"
- End of Session 2 -
Next Session: Two brutal murders for the price of one - and a choice no Watchman should ever have to make. Don't miss it!
drnuncheon
Explorer
Thorntangle
First Post
So many loose ends. It's great to see a mystery get untangled and come together. Keep up the good work Doc!
drnuncheon
Explorer
Session Three, Part One: Theories, Hunches, and Wild-*ss Guesses
Dru growled as the ink dripped from her pen onto the paper. She despised paperwork at the best of times, and after the fight last night there was plenty to be filled out. And Di'Fier wasn't around to do it - he had to sleep in to be able to compose his mind to prepare his spells. I wish I had that excuse, she thought.
As if the thought of her partner had conjured him, Di'Fier stepped into the room and sat down across their shared desk. He picked up the partially completed paperwork. "You forgot about the elf that was down when we got there. And they're called magic missiles, not 'godsdamned magic da-'" he cut himself off at the low warning growl from the elf's throat, and set the paper down carefully. "Did you talk to the Captain yet?"
Dru nodded. "Nothing on the missing persons angle. I showed him the cipher, but we still have nothing to go on to figure out who this 'hellion' is. Or how it connects to the warehouse. If it even does."
Di'Fier nodded. "I've been thinking about it a lot," he admitted. "Does your father deal in narcotics at all?"
"...probably." She knew he did, but decades of training not to speak of her father's business still had a powerful hold over her.
Her partner continued on. "What if the foreman works for your father? He's got the access...we already know he's crooked. Here's where it gets rough. If your father has something on Roth, maybe Roth is trying to get back at him. Maybe he's hired these wizards to go after your father."
"It's a possibility..." Dru said grudgingly. "I hadn't thought Roth would view the workers as just assets. It could be the foreman is trying to play both sides, too." She thought for a moment, then brightened a bit. "We could kill him and see if things stop."
Di'Fier chose his words carefully. "I think he's a minor player, all things considered."
"You're probably right. But where does the girl fit in? We've assumed that she was from a rich family...they could be poor, or homeless."
"Or they have a note saying 'Don't go to the Watch,'" Di'Fier replied. "But you're right, we should check with the beggars - maybe they know what happened to Echo, too."
"Dru. Di'Fier." It was Captain Donnach. "They've found the body of the third wizard from last night's fight. By the city wall near Scurvytown. Get your team together and check it out. It's no ordinary killing. The heart's gone."
The rain had washed away any evidence that might once have been on the body. Now, fish-pale and bloodless, it leaned against the Old City wall, ribs gaping and face frozen in a rictus of pain.
"Looks like he fought back," Dru commented, standing over the corpse. "Look at those cuts on his arms."
Di'Fier did. Privately, he thought they looked a lot like the thin white web of scars that spread in a network across Dru's arms. "Looks like this was the death-wound, though. Single stab, severing the artery coming from the heart." He sat back a bit. "Somehow I'm glad to know we aren't dealing with something that's ripping the hearts out of people while they're still alive."
"Is there a magic spell or something that would use a human heart?"
Di'Fier shook his head. "Not that I know of. Some potions use the heart of an animal - say, a bull or a tiger, to give you their strength." He looked over at the broken body. "I wonder if this was punishment for failure?"
"Or maybe revenge." As the other Watchman prepared to load the corpse onto the cart, Dru noted something else odd. "Look at the legs. They've been broken."
"That's new. Then again, this one was sitting up, too."
Dru pulled back her hood and studied the scene. There - higher up on the wall. She pointed. "There's some kind of stain above where the body was. Almost washed away by the rain. Drag marks or something."
Di'Fier studied the wall. "I wonder if the killer dragged him down the wall as he was trying to jump away."
A check of the other side of the wall revealed nothing, and so the team haded back to Watch Headquarters. Before long, Dru and Di'Fier found themselves in the Rusty Lantern over a pair of hot lunches. As they ate, the door opened to admit a slight figure, hunched against the weather, and carrying an oilskin-wrapped package. Forcing the door closed, the figure threw back his hood to reveal the face of Lucius. The older man smiled when he saw that Dru and Di'Fier were present, and he crossed to their table.
"Lucius!" Di'Fier exclaimed. "How is the job going at the Guild?"
"Oh, quite well. The other librarian - well, as a librarian he's a pretty good wizard. I've already begun plans to reorganize the guild's library to something more along the lines of the Temple's - as it stands there's almost no organization at all."
"Why do you think so many Guild members came to the Temple for their research?"
Lucius turned to Dru. "Actually, it's because of you that I came here. Word has gotten around the Guild about the spellcasters, and the warehouse." As he spoke, he was unwrapping the bindings on the package to reveal a small stack of thin books. "I thought it might be helpful for you to know a little bit more about what you're up against. Anything in Di'Fier's library is probably a bit beyond the layman, but I've found these books to be quite helpful in explaining things in terms we non-wizards can understand. I don't think they'll be missed from the library, but -" he glanced at Di'Fier "- please keep it quiet all the same."
"Of course," said Dru. "And thank you, Lucius."
Dru growled as the ink dripped from her pen onto the paper. She despised paperwork at the best of times, and after the fight last night there was plenty to be filled out. And Di'Fier wasn't around to do it - he had to sleep in to be able to compose his mind to prepare his spells. I wish I had that excuse, she thought.
As if the thought of her partner had conjured him, Di'Fier stepped into the room and sat down across their shared desk. He picked up the partially completed paperwork. "You forgot about the elf that was down when we got there. And they're called magic missiles, not 'godsdamned magic da-'" he cut himself off at the low warning growl from the elf's throat, and set the paper down carefully. "Did you talk to the Captain yet?"
Dru nodded. "Nothing on the missing persons angle. I showed him the cipher, but we still have nothing to go on to figure out who this 'hellion' is. Or how it connects to the warehouse. If it even does."
Di'Fier nodded. "I've been thinking about it a lot," he admitted. "Does your father deal in narcotics at all?"
"...probably." She knew he did, but decades of training not to speak of her father's business still had a powerful hold over her.
Her partner continued on. "What if the foreman works for your father? He's got the access...we already know he's crooked. Here's where it gets rough. If your father has something on Roth, maybe Roth is trying to get back at him. Maybe he's hired these wizards to go after your father."
"It's a possibility..." Dru said grudgingly. "I hadn't thought Roth would view the workers as just assets. It could be the foreman is trying to play both sides, too." She thought for a moment, then brightened a bit. "We could kill him and see if things stop."
Di'Fier chose his words carefully. "I think he's a minor player, all things considered."
"You're probably right. But where does the girl fit in? We've assumed that she was from a rich family...they could be poor, or homeless."
"Or they have a note saying 'Don't go to the Watch,'" Di'Fier replied. "But you're right, we should check with the beggars - maybe they know what happened to Echo, too."
"Dru. Di'Fier." It was Captain Donnach. "They've found the body of the third wizard from last night's fight. By the city wall near Scurvytown. Get your team together and check it out. It's no ordinary killing. The heart's gone."
The rain had washed away any evidence that might once have been on the body. Now, fish-pale and bloodless, it leaned against the Old City wall, ribs gaping and face frozen in a rictus of pain.
"Looks like he fought back," Dru commented, standing over the corpse. "Look at those cuts on his arms."
Di'Fier did. Privately, he thought they looked a lot like the thin white web of scars that spread in a network across Dru's arms. "Looks like this was the death-wound, though. Single stab, severing the artery coming from the heart." He sat back a bit. "Somehow I'm glad to know we aren't dealing with something that's ripping the hearts out of people while they're still alive."
"Is there a magic spell or something that would use a human heart?"
Di'Fier shook his head. "Not that I know of. Some potions use the heart of an animal - say, a bull or a tiger, to give you their strength." He looked over at the broken body. "I wonder if this was punishment for failure?"
"Or maybe revenge." As the other Watchman prepared to load the corpse onto the cart, Dru noted something else odd. "Look at the legs. They've been broken."
"That's new. Then again, this one was sitting up, too."
Dru pulled back her hood and studied the scene. There - higher up on the wall. She pointed. "There's some kind of stain above where the body was. Almost washed away by the rain. Drag marks or something."
Di'Fier studied the wall. "I wonder if the killer dragged him down the wall as he was trying to jump away."
A check of the other side of the wall revealed nothing, and so the team haded back to Watch Headquarters. Before long, Dru and Di'Fier found themselves in the Rusty Lantern over a pair of hot lunches. As they ate, the door opened to admit a slight figure, hunched against the weather, and carrying an oilskin-wrapped package. Forcing the door closed, the figure threw back his hood to reveal the face of Lucius. The older man smiled when he saw that Dru and Di'Fier were present, and he crossed to their table.
"Lucius!" Di'Fier exclaimed. "How is the job going at the Guild?"
"Oh, quite well. The other librarian - well, as a librarian he's a pretty good wizard. I've already begun plans to reorganize the guild's library to something more along the lines of the Temple's - as it stands there's almost no organization at all."
"Why do you think so many Guild members came to the Temple for their research?"
Lucius turned to Dru. "Actually, it's because of you that I came here. Word has gotten around the Guild about the spellcasters, and the warehouse." As he spoke, he was unwrapping the bindings on the package to reveal a small stack of thin books. "I thought it might be helpful for you to know a little bit more about what you're up against. Anything in Di'Fier's library is probably a bit beyond the layman, but I've found these books to be quite helpful in explaining things in terms we non-wizards can understand. I don't think they'll be missed from the library, but -" he glanced at Di'Fier "- please keep it quiet all the same."
"Of course," said Dru. "And thank you, Lucius."
