Drummond Stronghold felt the first signs of hope as he answered the questions from Detective Bruno as well as surprise at their knowledge of magic.
“You acquired the Topaz Star ring from an estate sale and didn’t know what it was until 3 months later?”
“That’s correct. It was among a selection of bulk jewelry from the sale and looked somewhat gaudy, to be honest, like a piece of costume jewelry. As you know it takes time and money to analyze items for magic and curses, so one normally farms it out to a divination wizard who works his way through your items, starting with the obviously important items first. In this case, because of the number of items and not wanting to waste a lot of money on junk, it took 3 months before its true value was discovered.”
“What happened then?”
“Have you heard of the Red Dragon Incident?” Drummond asked.
Bruno smiled. “Yes, we have a source who is quite familiar with it. But how does this relate?”
“As you know while higher level mages can affect large areas, in most cases, an average battle mage only has a range of about 120 feet. More than sufficient in places such as dungeons and buildings, but easily exceeded by a good longbowman in an open outdoor area. Also, most battle spells use lightning, fire or magic missiles when facing dexterous or partially concealed opponents. So, what defenses do you think mages like myself value?”
Wilma spoke up. “The Blade Ward cantrip and Mage Armor spells for physical or ranged attacks. The Shield spell to stop auto targeting spells like magic missile as well as decrease the chance an attack will land and spells like Absorb Elements to reduce fire and lightning damage.”
“Very good detective. That’s correct. And until the Red Dragon Incident, very few mages worried about any spells cast from further than 120 feet away, assuming the only thing they needed to worry about from snipers were physical attacks, which Blade Ward and Shield do an admirable job negating and reducing. Besides, unless you were an undead or from the lower planes, radiant spells were something you cast rather than worried about being hit by.”
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“But the Red Dragon Incident changed all that.” Drummond continued, a small sense of uneasiness even now going through him as he remembered the fear he felt once he understood the consequences. “Now we know at least one mage who has learned how to create an attack so devastating that it could damage a dragon with a range so long that none of us would have known we were targeted until it was too late. Needless to say, the value of an item that could provide protection against radiant damage went through the roof as there are so few of them. I immediately contacted Adjuster Boneduster, as his company has insured other items I own and made sure the ring was both insured and placed in a safe place.”
“And where was that sir?” Bruno continued the questioning.
“On my hand, of course.” Drummond smiled. “But it is still gaudy and sometimes rubs against my finger. I haven’t had time yet to get an enchanter to resize it. You can’t use a normal jeweler for such a thing if you don’t want to risk damaging the enchantment. In those cases where it was inconvenient to wear and I didn’t feel threatened, I would either hang it on a chain around my neck or place the chain and ring in one of my jewelry boxes if I was taking a bath or the like. It was when I got back from my bath this morning that I noticed the ring and chain were missing.”
“At which point you sealed your estate and contacted Adjuster Boneduster who brought us in. Correct?”
“Exactly. I’m hoping your group will be able to find the ring and culprit before they have a chance to sneak off the estate. So, what can I do to assist you?”
Detectives Bruno and Wilma went off into a huddle and then pulled out a scroll with a sketch of the ring on it they had been given by Boneduster. Spreading it out, they carefully examined the picture for several minutes, tracing the various markings on it and making notes. After about ten minutes, they suddenly gave each other a smile and rolled the scroll back up.
That’s strange. Drummond thought. It’s almost like they were somehow using the picture to find the ring, but they didn’t cast a spell and I would have felt any magic being cast in this room. He watched them saunter back over where Bruno answered his last question with a smile on his face.
“Just confirm the identity of the ring and the person who was found with it. My team has already recovered it and apprehended the thief.” Bruno chuckled inwardly at the astonishment of his audience. “Now if you’ll follow me, I will lead you to both.” With that he stood up and headed out the door.
Drummond looked at his wife and son seeing the same expressions of surprise on their faces as were on his. If their team has already apprehended the thief and they are here, then who else is around I don’t know about? Getting up, he eagerly followed looking forward to finding out.