Re: Book 2, Chapter #1: Murder Most Foul
Cato surveyed the scene in front of him, trying to divorce the memory of the Katrine from the carnage in front of him. The wizard closed his eyes, taking a few deep breaths, and reopened them, seeing not the remains of an acquaintance any more, but simply clues to a murderer he'd have to stop, lest anyone else he knew end up slaughtered in a similar fashion.
Cato turned first to Banny, examining the terribly desecrated body with a clinical eye, still marveling at the Sihedron carved into his chest. His hands reached out, though stopped short of actually touching the star, and he shook his head.
"I have no idea why someone would carve this into a murder victim. It has to be the result of a madman. It's the symbol of Thassilonian magic, but there's no reason to carve it into a murder victim. Or no reason to murder someone at all. We've tangled with leftovers from that ancient empire. My best guess is that another of those survivors is still out there. Maybe some mortals have met them, and been driven insane? And this is how they're reacting?"
Cato pondered Pisca's question for a bit. "Read the doctored letter to spread false information? The only one who really suspects him right now is Jubrayl, right? Anything false would have to start with his thugs. Maybe one of them? But maybe spreading false rumors and engaging in this kind of counter-planning isn't what we want to be doing right now. We should concentrate on finding and ending this threat as quickly as possible, I think. Nothing will exonerate Kerr faster than finding who's truly to blame and seeing them face justice."
Cato closed his eyes, whispered a word, performed a brief gesture with his fingers, and opened them, along with his arcane sight. He studied the body of Banny and the Sihedron, looking carefully for signs of arcane influence. When that observation was finished, he turned to the other victim, trying to ignore the identity of Katrine as he looked for clues.
"You might be right, Kellan. Unless the killer was someone they both knew, who took them by surprise. Or just took them by surprise? If there's magic here, I'll see it. The problem is how long they've been here, though. Unless there's very powerful magic at work, or still at work, I can only detect traces of it for maybe an hour, at the very most. And by powerful, I mean stronger than almost anything I'd ever heard of. Like direct intervention by a deity. The most powerful mortal spells could have done anything at midnight, and I wouldn't be able to detect any trace of it."
Cato shook his head, his survey complete.
Cast Detect Magic