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“What was that? Who goes there?”
The dark elf leaves his post, moving toward the sound of my voice.
I silently curse my imprudence, scrambling to find someplace to hide.
If I’m discovered, there’s no mercy about it. Via Mellara’s own bylaws, I will be put to death as an exile breaching the city walls.
There’s a statue of Goran, whose stone karasu perches on the statue’s arm, but it’s far too obvious.
There’s a spell I think I remember, but it only lasts a few seconds and it would leave me slow and exhausted.
I sprint quietly away, hiding behind a nearby market stall.
Carefully, I try to control my breathing as I see the guard’s feet enter my vision. But I realize that I’m far too loud, and his face enters my vision, peering out over the top of the stall.
I run through options about how I might take out this dark elf despite everything I’ve ever vowed when the situation immediately changes.
“Hey, Gray,” a nearby dark elven voice says from a distance. “We found another cold one!”
“What? Who was it?”
I hear their footsteps patter as the actual body of Gray and the other guard dash away, clearly looking into the site of a murder.
With this much disturbance, things are bound to escalate fast. I get my bearings, bringing myself to full height before rounding the corner toward the council hall.
It’s eerie, being here in the evening. As I breach the front arch, noting the fruit that remains lying on the ground, I move as silently as possible, determined not to cross any potential wards or traps.
Dritz was always deeply paranoid, so it wouldn’t surprise me if he took extra precautions.
But to my surprise, as I scan every inch of the main room as expediently and thoroughly as possible, I find nothing. There are no stationed guards, and no unnecessary surprises.
It almost feels too easy.
I find a door on the side of the main room and turn the handle. I follow the stairwell up, getting a view of a door leading to an outside balcony and several rooms in a long hallway.
From the balcony, I can hear the commotion outside escalating, as seemingly some of the midnight stragglers discover the murder site.
If I got caught now, it would be really bad. In the eyes of the council, I’m not sure how I could defend myself.
The first room on the right is a bath chamber that doesn’t look like it’s been used in weeks.
But the second of the four doors contains exactly what I’m looking for. Shelves and shelves line the walls of the large room, filled with books and scrolls. Along the walls are five desks, each belonging to one of the council members.
“They’ve got to have some sort of organizational system,” I say to myself.
My mind drifts back to the monster in the woods, and I try to flush the thoughts out of my mind because they make no sense to me.
The lights outside aren’t nearly bright enough, so against my better judgment, I cast a spell, and a small blue light flies from out of my fingers.
“If I were murder files, where would I be?” I whisper.
I can imagine Dritz coming in here and discovering me, even though I know he probably went to bed hours ago. I can see the smug smile on his face as I seem to confirm what he already thinks he knows.
I sigh.
“He had a pretty detailed account of the murders,” I whisper. “Maybe he’s got the files.”
I look over at the shelves beside his desk, rifling through scrolls and books about town censuses and dark elven histories. There are several tomes here, too, but I know that if I take anything from the offices, they will know and I’ll only attract undue attention to myself.
