The Scene

“Ah, there you are. That’s some nice armor. No wonder the wait was so long,” said Jenkins, shifting awkwardly.

“Sorry about that. Lead on,” I said, adjusting my cloak.

“Right this way, everyone. The crime scene isn’t too far now,” said Jenkins. We followed the guardsman further down the street before turning into an alleyway. After a few turns through the back alleys, we arrived upon a gruesome scene.

The walls of the alley were covered in blood, to the point of dripping. The floor was covered in scorch marks, save for a round spot in the middle. A heavily mutilated corpse sat crumpled against one wall.

“Fuckin hell,” I muttered. Sofia nearly gagged. Alice wrapped an arm around her and pulled her out of the alley. Flora looked down away from the body.

“I presume you’ve done a preliminary investigation already?” asked Lucille.

“Yes ma’am,” said Jenkins. “Victim was identified as Phillip de Gascoine, son of minor nobleman living in the upper quarter.”

“How’d you identify him? The body’s been brutalized,” I said, crouching down in front of it. There were multiple cuts and stab wounds across the chest. The face was burned beyond recognition, and the right arm was shriveled up like it had been drained of all life.

“His signet ring. Bears the family sigil, one of a kind,” said Jenkins.

“Wait, they didn’t take the ring?” asked Flora.

“Nope. Still there on his hand,” Jenkins said. Sure enough, there was a ring on his left hand pointer finger.

“I thought this was a botched robbery? Why would they leave behind a signer ring if they were going for money?” I asked.

“That does seem out of place,” said Lucille, inspecting the burns on the floor.

“Maybe they just didn’t see it? Must’ve been one hell of a scuffle. Maybe they forgot about it?” Jenkins said.

“Not possible. They’ve been mugging people for a long time. Checking for jewelry would be second nature to them by now. Especially if the mugging escalated like this. No way they’d commit a **** and not get what they came for. No, there has to be some reason why they couldn’t take the ring,” I said.

“Yeah, maybe,” said Jenkins.

“These burn marks. Looks like magic to me,” said Lucille. She stood and went to the edge of the alley. “Sofia! Can you give me a hand?”

“Y-yeah,” said Sofia weakly. She and Alice rejoined us in the alley.

“You’re the expert, Sofia. These look like the work of magic to you?” I asked, gesturing to the burns on the ground and the corpse.

“Hmm...” she said, crouching over the marks. She closed her eyes and ran a hand along the ground. “It definitely was magic, but...I can’t sense any traces of mana from it like I normally can...”

“What does that mean?” I asked.

“When someone casts a spell, they have to draw on mana from their environment in order to fuel the spell. When that happens, it leaves behind traces of mana that experienced mages can sense. Those traces aren’t here. All the physical signs of a fire spell are present, but...no mana,” she said, scratching her head.

“Well, what can cause something like that?” I asked.

“Well, I don’t know. I’ve never seen anything like it,” she said.

“What if they used something besides mana to power the spell?” asked Flora.

“Is that a thing?” I asked.

“Hmm...maybe that’s it. There is one possibility, but...” Sofia trailed off.

“But what?” asked Lucille.

“It’s like, super illegal and really advanced,” she said, standing up.

“Huh? What is it?” I asked. She sighed, brushing the soot from her hands.

“Really dark magic, Flynn. The kinda thing that uses people’s souls as the fuel for the magic,” said Sofia. “It turns people into husks. No more free will. No going to the afterlife. Just...gone. I don’t think we should get involved in something like that...”

“If that’s true, and there’s somebody out there killing people like that...you know we can’t leave him to go about his business. Who knows how many he’ll kill if we don’t put a stop to him,” I said.

“I-I know, but...I just...” she mumbled, a tear in her eye. “I’m scared, Flynn.”

“Hey...” I said, putting a hand on her shoulder. “It’s okay to be scared. Hell, I was terrified when you all got taken. Terrified of what might happen to you, terrified of getting killed, terrified of being all alone again...but...I faced my fears. That’s what courage is. The power to help others, even when you’re afraid.”

“Y-you’re right,” she said, wiping her tears aside.

“Besides, ya never know, it could’ve just been some thug with a firebomb,” I said, patting her on the shoulder.

“Thanks,” she said, giving me a quick hug.

“So, maybe you should take Alice and check out your theory with somebody at the university. They’d probably know more there, right?” I asked. She nodded, letting go of me. “There’s a possibility that this wasn’t done by the muggers.”

“What do you mean? They took his coin purse and valuables. Looks like a robbery gone wrong to me,” said Jenkins.

“Then why go so far? Surely a single stab would suffice? Why so many, and the burns, and whatever the hell’s going on with his arm? Why didn’t they take the signet ring? There’s a lot of questions unanswered. We need to remain open to the possibilities. Lucille, could you and Flora go talk to the father? He might know someone who’d wanna kill his son.”

“Of course. If the father knows anything, we’ll find out,” she said, giving me a reassuring pat on the back.

“Then, Jenkins. If this was our muggers, they must’ve sold off what they found somewhere. Know a place?” I asked. He sighed deeply.

“Well, there is a guy in the slums. A fence, er, a guy who buys and resells stolen goods,” he said.

“I know what a fence is,” I said.

“Just making sure. Come on, I’ll show ya to it,” said Jenkins.

“Wait, we’re just gonna leave the body unattended?” I asked.

“Eh, the cleanup guys are already on their way. No harm in leaving early,” he said, already walking off.

“If you say so,” I shrugged, following after the guardsman.