Lady von Ekko’s Glorious Adventurer Brigade got their money. Normally they would be expected to pay for any unreasonable damage to a client’s property; however, it was determined that the merchant had been neglectful in failing to inform the Guild about the arachne’s presence. Of course, starting a fire after being deliberately hit with a charm spell would be considered an act so irresponsible that such an adventurer would be liable for the damages, but Lady von Ekko’s Glorious Adventurer Brigade left that detail out when making their report.
Finding and defeating a demon spy in the capital meant a lot of attention for the party. Suddenly their status was elevated, and higher-ups in the Guild and even in the government took notice of this new team. Even the normally-morose Marian seemed pleased with their success. Their first job was more of a triumph than any of them had expected and each of the adventurers found themselves looking forward to the next one.
A few days later, Andra gathered her allies and led them to a local restaurant favored by many adventurers for its variety and affordability. Once everyone had ordered their food and settled in, Andra took a breath to speak, only to have Kaylen interrupt her.
“Is that vegetarian?” she asked, eyeing Riven’s curry.
“Yeah, I went with the veggie option today. Why, you want a taste?”
Kaylen licked the sauce off her own fork and used it to sample one of Riven’s potatoes. Almost immediately she started squealing in pain, her face turning bright red. She reached for her water, spilled it, then took Fiona’s instead and started drinking it. Riven laughed in response.
“Tops can never handle spicy food.”
“What makes you think she’s a top?” Andra asked.
“Something about her foolhardy confidence. I can’t imagine her not trying to take charge in bed, even with another top,” Riven explained.
“What about Andra?” Kaylen asked, her voice rasping. “She’s all cocky and arrogant.”
“Yeah, but she comes across more as a bratty sub,” said Riven, smirking. “I bet she’s just waiting for one of us to push her against a wall. Is that right, Andra?”
Andra huffed defiantly. “I’m an expert in all sexual roles.”
Kaylen giggled with delight. “Okay, well we all know you’re a sub, but what about Fiona?”
Riven gave Fiona an appraising look. “Hard to say. She certainly acts like a bottom, but she strikes me as the sort who could surprise you.”
Fiona looked down at her food nervously, unable to meet Riven’s eyes. “I… I…”
“Okay, enough teasing Fiona, we need to get ready for this job,” said Andra.
“There’s a new job?” Kaylen asked.
Andra nodded. “Yep. And it’s a juicy one. It seems that a nobleman, Orrin Prospero, has been murdered. His son, Deri, wants a group of adventurers to look into it.”
“Scandalous,” Riven said sarcastically.
Andra rolled her eyes. “Anyway, I wanted to stop for lunch first to give us some time to prepare.”
“What’s to prepare for? It sounds like a boring one,” said Riven, taking another bite of her curry.
“Being a noblewoman myself, I already know how to behave around the new Lord Prospero. You three, however, have no idea how to behave around the nobility.”
“Please, I bet you’re going to treat him with the same pompous attitude that you do everyone else,” Kaylen said, rolling her eyes.
“Maybe we should listen to the boss,” Fiona interjected, looking to Andra in hopes of approval. “Since she is a noble, she would know best.”
Fiona’s attitude had taken an interesting shift since the events in the warehouse. It seemed that she was the only member of the party who recognized Andra’s incredible feat of single-handedly killing a demon, and she had started looking up to Andra, following her around the Guild’s halls and calling her “boss”. Andra relished it, but both Kaylen and Riven felt differently.
“I wish you would stop calling her that. She’s not our boss,” Riven said, pinching the bridge of her nose in exasperation.
“Plus, is she even really a noble?” Kaylen asked. “I mean, I’ve met nobles before and most of them don’t act like the nobles you see in satirical plays.”
“Okay, fine, act like your usual idiot selves,” said Andra, growing frustrated. “We’ll see how well that goes.”
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Rampart City was said to be the largest city on the northern continent. Of course, this was a highly contested title. Several densely-packed Starfal cities had higher populations over a smaller area, and the city-state of Temple Station considered much of its surrounding farmland and forest part of the city, leaving it much more sprawling than Rampart. However, since Rampart was the largest country on the continent, in most people’s minds its capital was the largest city. It was possible that there were larger cities on the demon-controlled southern continent, but with limited contact over the last thousand years, no one could be sure.
The city was said to be divided into several districts, however they all bled into each other so much that no one was quite sure where one began and another ended. For example, House Prospero, was in a part of the wealthy district that seemed to jut into the religious district, with hospitals and temples just a few blocks away on three sides. However, the immediate surroundings, like House Prosepero itself, were all huge, ornate mansions with gardens that flourished through even the deepest drought.
When the party arrived, Andra ringing the bell, they were met by Deri himself, who explained that he had dismissed the servants for the day. He was a young man immaculately dressed in an expensive-looking suit, though his dignified appearance was ruined by his constant sneezing.
“He was working in his study, two days ago,” Deri explained as he led the party up the stairs. “He always kept the door locked, because he hated being disturbed. When it came time for dinner, a servant knocked on his door and went unanswered. The servant fetched me and when we still couldn’t get an answer, we were forced to break down the door.”
“A locked room mystery!” said Kaylen. “How exciting!”
At that moment, the party reached the room in question. Someone had indeed taken an axe and chopped through the door, which lay in ruin on the floor. The study itself was beautiful. Two of the walls were covered with huge bookshelves packed with tomes. Near the window was an ornate wooden desk, and a comfortable-looking reading chair occupied a corner close to the door. There was no body present, just a pile of dust in the center of the room.
“I left everything as we found it. I thought it might help the city guard, but they did little more than shrug and declare it a suicide, which is utterly ridiculous. How could he have done this to himself?” Deri said, gesturing to the pile of dust.
“Wait, those are his remains?” asked Andra.
Deri nodded, looking grim. “That’s all that’s left of him.”
Riven knelt down to examine them, trying to ignore the sound of Deri having a sneezing fit. “Yeah, not exactly easy to do that to yourself.”
Kaylen looked around. “But the question is, how did the killer get in?”
Andra rolled her eyes. “The killer was a member of the Thieves’ Guild, obviously. Thieves handle assassinations all the time, and some of them know magic. Just looking around, I can think of at least six ways the killer could have gotten in.”
“Really, boss?” asked Fiona, wide-eyed. “That’s so amazing. How would you do it?”
“Th-that’s a trade secret,” Andra stammered. It wasn’t really a lie. Methods of breaking into buildings really were considered a trade secret. Andra just wasn’t entirely sure what they were. “Anyway, it doesn’t really matter how, as long as we know that the killer did it. So there’s no point in focusing on it.”
“Could be a potion,” Riven suggested. “There are some that can turn someone into dust. Though I’m not sure why a killer would choose it over a traditional poison.”
“Then there’s no point in dwelling on it. We’ll head to the Thieves Guild and find out who the assassin is and who hired them,” Andra said.
“No, that’s not how you’re supposed to do it,” Kaylen whined. “In stories, they always figure out all the steps the killer took and stuff. They don’t just go and… ask someone who did it.”
Riven shrugged. “I mean, I know an alchemist, Maxim Nobody. I was going to suggest taking a sample of the dust to him to see if he knows what kind of potion did this. I figured that might be helpful somehow.”
“Yes! That’s the kind of thing we should be doing,” said Kaylen.
“I know it’s not really my place to tell you how to investigate,” said Deri, “but is there a point in doing that? If you can find the killer in the Thieves’ Guild, why bother looking into the potion?”
He finished with a sneeze, which he wiped into his hand.
“I guess it can’t hurt to look,” said Andra. “Raven, you go talk to this Nobody person. And Fiona, go with her and make sure she doesn’t do anything weird. It’s not like either of you would be helpful at the Thieves’ Guild, anyway.”
“Come on, we’re just investigating a murder. What weird thing could I even do?” Riven asked as she carefully swept some of the dust into a handkerchief, which she tied in a knot.
“I’ll keep her in line, boss,” Fiona said.
“Good. Kaylen and I will head to the Thieves’ Guild. We’ll find an answer for you quickly, Lord Prospero.”
“Thank you,” Deri said, holding out his hand.
“Uh, I’d rather not,” Andra said, looking down at his snot-covered fingers.
“Funny,” said Deri, “the woman at the Guild said the same thing when I tried to shake her hand.”
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The existence of the Thieves’ Guild was an open secret. While there were some who doubted, most people agreed that somewhere in the city there was a place where thieves gathered. It was not, however, an official organization recognized by the government. As a result, its members were expected to at least keep up the veneer of secrecy, by insisting that the Thieves’ Guild wasn’t real. As a result the refrain of “There is no Thieves’ Guild” from arrested thieves had become something of a joke amongst the city guard. Andra, of course, didn’t care about any of this. After all, what was the point in pretending it wasn’t real if everyone knew about its existence?
“Look, even if you really are a member of the Thieves’ Guild, which I still doubt,” said Kaylen as Andra led her through a series of twisting alleys in one of the seedier parts of town, “aren’t they going to be unhappy about you investigating one of the other members for an assassination?”
Andra shook her head. “Thieves’ Guild rules are pretty complicated, but basically it works like this: Since I’m a member of both the Thieves’ Guild and the Adventurers’ Guild, I’m expected to be loyal to the Thieves’ Guild first. However, thieves are expected to keep themselves from being caught. If I catch a fellow thief as part of a job for the Adventurers’ Guild, that’s the thief’s own fault.”
“Okay, but that means you’re allowed to use Thieves’ Guild resources to catch a thief?”
“Oh, absolutely not.”
As she said this, Andra removed a small card from an inside pocket of her jacket and offered it to a filthy-looking beggar dressed in rags who was sitting against a wall. The beggar examined the card and offered it back, nodding silently. Kaylen snatched the card away before Andra could take it and looked at it herself. It was printed on expensive-looking paper with a raised seal displaying a hand reaching for a coin. Within a fancy brown border it stated the name of the thief who owned it.
“Slurg Sneerbrook?”
Andra took the card back and continued down the alley. “It doesn’t really matter what the name says. If you manage to steal a membership card from a thief, you must be a talented enough thief to deserve membership in the Thieves’ Guild.”
“So, let me guess, you convinced a drunk Slurg to sell it to you?”
“Th-that’s not even close to how I got it,” Andra stammered, her face growing red. She had, in fact, bought it from a pawn shop.
Andra led Kaylen through a nondescript door not far from the beggar and into what looked very much like an ordinary tavern. It wasn’t especially clean or dirty, not especially busy or quiet. It was just… plain. If the various patrons were thieves, it wasn’t obvious to Kaylen.
“This is the Thieves’ Guild?” she asked.
“Yeah, what were you expecting? A bunch of offices like the Adventurers’ Guild?”
The duo’s presence seemed to be drawing the attention of the patrons, who were looking up from their mugs and their conversations to examine the newcomers. Kaylen wasn’t sure if it was her own vestments or if perhaps Andra had as much of a reputation here as she did in the Adventurers’ Guild. Andra seemed unbothered by the looks, however, and she walked straight up to the bar and sat down next to a well-dressed man with a long beard. As Kaylen took the stool next to her, she tapped him on the shoulder.
“Hey, Forthright.”
The man looked up at her, annoyed. “I’ve told you it’s Frostwait.”
“Yeah, I don’t care. I’m looking for someone who recently assassinated a nobleman,” Andra replied.
“Wow, real subtle,” Kaylen commented.
“Let me guess,” said Frostwait, “someone hired you to find this assassin and you think you can use your connections with the Thieves’ Guild to get information.”
Andra reached into her jacket and pulled out a coin which she toyed with, twirling it between her fingers. “Not at all, not at all. It’s just that this is a big job and I want to keep track of whoever’s moving up the ranks.”
Frostwait shook his head. “Forget it. I’m not turning against another thief like that.”
Andra reached into her jacket again and pulled out a second coin, playing with it and the first simultaneously. “Ah, so you do know something. Although I have to say I don’t really understand why you care whether or not the killer gets caught.”
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Frostwait had his eyes on the coins. “It doesn’t make a lick of difference to me whether or not he gets caught.”
Andra added a third coin to the pair she was toying with, stacking and unstacking them in the palm of her hand. “Then why not just tell us? We’re just going to bother you until you do, now, so you might as well just say who it is.”
Frostwait considered this for a moment, staring at the coins. Finally, he said “Fizzman was here a little while ago, bragging that he had finished a big assassination job. He bought a round of drinks before announcing that he was going to Fate and Fortune. Probably going to lose it all before the sun goes down.”
Andra grinned. “Excellent. Thank you.”
She pocketed the coins and stood, walking toward the door. Confused, Kaylen got up and started to follow her.
“Wait,” Frostwait called after her. “You’re supposed to give me the money.”
Andra paused to look back at him. “What money? I never said I would give you any money.”
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Maxim Nobody lived in a lovely-looking brick townhouse with a small garden out front which grew several types of herbs. Fiona wasn’t surprised to see that he dwelled in such a nice neighborhood; alchemy was said to be a lucrative business.
Riven knocked on the door. A moment later, the door crept open and Fiona jumped as she saw an uncanny grinning face peering out. It was a wooden mask carved with exaggerated features, painted in a myriad of bright colors, and worn by a short man covered head to toe in what appeared to be several layers of drab clothing. Riven had neglected to mention that Maxim owned a collection of strange masks, and was never seen without one.
As he examined Riven, he gripped the door frame with one gloved hand as if to deny entrance.
“Oh, it’s you,” he said. The mask did little to obscure the annoyance in his soft voice. “What do you want?”
“Geez, that’s how you greet people?” Riven replied dryly. “I was just hoping you could help us figure out what kind of potion was used to kill a guy.”
Although it wasn’t visible, somehow both Riven and Fiona knew that Maxim was rolling his eyes. “Typical mage. You expect to get paid for your expertise, but since ours doesn’t consist of throwing fireballs at monsters you think you’re entitled to get it for free.”
Riven gaped at Maxim. “Seriously? You alchemists are so arrogant. You act like every piece of knowledge you have is some amazing treasure that should only be bought with the finest gold. I’m just asking you to look at something and tell me what it is? You seriously think you should get paid for that?”
“Yes,” Maxim replied.
Riven glared at Maxim’s mask, which stared back at her.
“You know, you actually owe me a favor,” Riven said finally. “Remember when we had to find that rare mushroom for you? We got attacked by a griffin.”
“You got your pay for that job,” Maxim replied. “Besides wasn’t that, like, two parties ago for you?”
The two stared at each other for another few seconds. Somewhere in the distance Fiona heard a bird chirping.
“Fine, I’ll take a look,” Maxim said finally, and he stood aside, allowing Riven and Fiona in. Fiona, feeling relieved that the argument was over, let out a breath she hadn’t realized she had been holding.
Inside, they found themselves in a living room decorated with strange artwork depicting confusing, violent scenes in twisted worlds that seemed to defy physics. A strange, lightly chemical smell permeated the room. Maxim led the group through the room and into another, this one a lab. It was exactly as one would expect. All strange tools that Fiona didn’t recognize and flasks full of mysterious liquids. The chemical smell was even stronger here.
“Please be careful with my equipment,” Maxim said. “While, unlike magic, alchemy benefits the whole world instead of just the practitioner, it is unfortunately rather delicate work and the slightest disturbance could break something. Or set it off.”
“How exactly does alchemy benefit the whole world?” Riven asked.
“It has revolutionized the medical field, for one thing. And transportation, too, thanks to the alchemical rail. Magic hasn’t done anything that can compare to that.”
“What about Magi-net?”
Maxim gave a snorting laugh. “Magi-net is a perfect example of how magic only helps mages. What has it done for anyone else?”
“Are all of these explosives?” Fiona asked, trying to change the subject. She gestured at a random potion on a shelf full of multicolored flasks behind her.
“Not at all. In fact, that one’s a love potion,” Maxim explained.
“I thought those were illegal,” Fiona said, cocking her head.
“Illegal to sell. Not illegal to make. You see, love potion is uniquely effective at neutralizing the negative effects of certain poisonous ingredients. Thus, a few drops of love potion are an essential ingredient in a number of different medicinal potions. For example, if you wanted to cure—WHY ARE YOU DRINKING IT!?”
Fiona spun to see that Riven had slipped the potion off the shelf behind her and was now guzzling it down. She grabbed the potion, easily taking it from Riven’s grasp, but she had already nearly emptied it. Riven looked up at Fiona, eyes wide.
“Oh, wow.”
Fiona could feel herself starting to panic. What was she going to do? “Shit, the boss is going to kill me. This is exactly the kind of thing I was supposed to prevent.”
“You think you’re in trouble?” shouted Maxim. “What about me? The sale of the ingredients of love potion is carefully monitored by the International Society of Alchemists. If they catch me buying more right after the set I bought to make that potion, they’ll become suspicious.”
“Can’t you just explain what happened?” asked Fiona, trying not to glance at Riven, who was staring at her very intently.
“I’ll still get audited,” Maxim moaned, grasping his head behind his mask. “Even if they understand about the potion they might—”
He cut off suddenly.
“Might what? Might find out that you’re doing something else that you’re not supposed to?” asked Riven.
“That’s not important,” Maxim said. “What matters is that now I have to spend extra money buying the necessary ingredients from the black market.”
“Well, maybe we could pay you to make up for it,” Fiona suggested.
“Absolutely not!” Maxim replied sharply. “Selling a love potion is a huge breach of ethics, no matter the circumstances. Just let me look at whatever you wanted to show me so I can get you out of here.”
Fiona moaned softly. She felt terrible for having caused this poor man so much inconvenience. At her sad sound Riven looked up at her, her expression nervous.
“Fiona?” she asked timidly. “You aren’t mad at me, are you?”
Fiona looked down at the mage. Ever the people-pleaser, she couldn’t bear the thought of causing her any distress. “No, I’m not mad. It’s okay, just get out the sample.”
Riven gave a small gasp as her expression became excited. “Oh, right. I have it right here.”
She pulled the knotted handkerchief from her pocket and offered it to Fiona. Sighing, Fiona took the handkerchief and offered it to Maxim, who carefully untied it on a table and examined the contents.
“Stone,” he said after a moment.
“That’s strange,” said Fiona. “Lord Prospero said those were the remains of his father.”
“There are a few potions that can turn a man to stone if drunk or applied to the skin. It’s kind of a strange choice, though. You can get a traditional poison for much less money since poisons, unlike love potions, actually have a practical use and are legal for alchemists to sell. A stone potion requires a rare ingredient whose purchase is monitored, so not only would it be extremely expensive, it would be very easy to track down the alchemist who made it and by extension find the killer.”
Fiona could feel herself growing excited. It was starting to look like Riven’s approach to the mystery really was the right one. “How would we find out who made it?”
“Stoneflower petals aren’t used for much, and it’s only sold locally by one company, the Prospero Trading Company. Their records are public, so you just have to go to their office and find the record of the last purchase of stoneflower.”
“Hey, I did pretty good, right, Fiona?” Riven asked, eagerly.
“Oh yeah, you did amazing,” Maxim replied dryly. “All it cost was a bunch of my money. Now get the Hell out of my lab.”
----------------------------------------
Fate and Fortune was considered a high-class casino. Since gambling was banned in her religion, Kaylen wasn’t sure what the exact difference between a high-class casino and a low-class one was. Maybe it had to do with how the dealers dressed, since they did all look rather fancy in their matching suits. It certainly didn’t seem to have anything to do with the clientele, who seemed just as grubby as the patrons at any illegal gambling hall.
Andra waved away the host who tried to greet them and began searching for Fizzman. The pair passed a variety of card games and roulette wheels. A middle-aged man cheered as he collected an impressive stack of chips. His excitement was enough to make Kaylen wonder if there was something to this gambling thing. After all, if someone only put down a bet once or twice and won, they would come out ahead. And if they lost, well, they’d have to win eventually, right?
Kaylen was awoken from her contemplation by Andra tugging at her sleeve and pointing. It was impossible to tell which patron Andra was pointing at, but Kaylen followed her, slipping past a waiter balancing a tray full of drinks. Finally, Andra was able to point out a man with a patchy beard at a blackjack table, quickly losing his money. She gestured for Kaylen to stand off to Fizzman’s right and then approached the thief’s left side and tapped him on the shoulder in much the same way she had Frostwait.
“So, I heard you killed a guy,” said Andra when Fizzman looked up.
Fizzman leapt away, stopping very near Kaylen to draw a dagger in a smooth motion. The other patrons collectively gasped and started backing away. The entire mood of the room was suddenly different.
“Yeah, I guess I did. Want me to show you how I did it?” said Fizzman.
“Kaylen, restrain him,” Andra said, calmly.
Kaylen drew her mace and shouted “Die, murderer!” before bashing him on the head, sending him crumpling over the blackjack table and sending cards spilling everywhere.
Andra rushed to his side, checking to see if he was still alive. From his collapsed skull, it was clear that he was not.
“What the Hell was that, Kaylen? You were supposed to restrain him,” she shouted.
“I stopped him from moving, didn’t I?” Kaylen replied.
“We needed him alive to find out who hired him. Why didn’t you use your powers to...bind him in chains of divine judgement or whatever?”
“I was saving them,” Kaylen stated, as though it were the most obvious thing in the world.
Andra stood.
“Well, what are we supposed to do now? Lord Prospero is going to want to know who hired this jerk.” She gave the corpse a kick.
“Yeah, plus are we even sure he’s the real killer? That whole ‘want me to show you how I did it?’ line makes it sound like he stabbed whoever he killed,” Kaylen added.
Just then a dealer approached the pair, flanked by two burly-looking bouncers. “Excuse me,” he said, “but we have a strict policy against killing our patrons, and as such we’ll have to ask you to leave.”
----------------------------------------
The records office of the Prospero Trading Company was stuffy and cramped, and run by a bored-looking man with small glasses that very much resembled Riven’s. Since Riven was too busy staring at Fiona, Fiona was the one to explain exactly what was needed.
“Yeah, sorry, those records aren’t available to the public,” the man explained.
“Are you sure about that?” asked Fiona. “Our friend seemed certain that they were.”
The man sighed. “It’s a recent change in policy.”
Fiona and Riven looked at each other, troubled. “You want me to use a mind control spell on him?” Riven asked. “It’s kinda gross using them on guys. But I’ll do anything to get you what you want.”
“What? No. We aren’t doing that,” Fiona replied.
The man sighed again, sounding more exasperated than ever, and fanned himself with a sheet of paper. “Seriously? You want this record enough to threaten me for it?”
“No, we aren’t threatening you,” Fiona explained firmly. “I want to make it absolutely clear that as badly as we need this information, using a mind control spell on you is not on the table.”
“Yeah, yeah, I get it,” said the man, holding up his hands in a placating gesture. “Just wait here. I’ll get what you want. There’s no need to do anything that’s on the table or off the table or whatever.”
He vanished into the sea of filing cabinets behind him. Feeling her face growing red from embarrassment, Fiona selected one of a pair of chairs that occupied the small space between the door and the desk. Riven sat in the other.
“You know, you’re really cool,” said Riven. “You’re so good at fighting, and so good at threatening people.”
“I didn’t threaten anyone,” said Fiona. “And you’re just saying that because of the love potion.”
“Nah, I don’t think that thing even had an effect on me,” said Riven. “Probably because I already had a crush on you before I drank it.”
Fiona felt another wave of embarrassment. “Wh-what? Seriously?”
“Oh, yeah,” said Riven, matter-of-factly. “You’re all muscular and badass and you have those cool scars. Probably about half the people you meet have crushes on you.”
Fiona groaned, putting her hands in front of her face. Was the room getting even hotter? “I can’t wait for that potion to wear off.”
A few moments later the man returned to his desk holding a stack of papers. “It appears that the only order of stoneflower to arrive within the last few weeks went to someone by the name of Maxim Nobody.”
Fiona blinked. “What? That doesn’t make any sense. Maxim made the potion that killed the former Lord Prospero?”
Riven shook her head. “I don’t think so. Maxim’s all about ethics and stuff. He wouldn’t make something for an assassination. Besides, we would have believed anything he told us; why would he lead us right down the path we needed to take to catch him?”
“What do you think we should do next?” asked Fiona.
“Whatever you want to do,” Riven replied.
Fiona sighed. “I guess we should meet up with the others. Maybe they found something useful.”
----------------------------------------
The two groups arrived back at House Prospero at the same time. Deri let the adventurers in and led them to the drawing room to ask them about the investigation. Riven had taken to wrapping her arms around one of Fiona’s, and made sure to pull Fiona to a couch so that she could continue to cling to her when they sat down.
“How did it go? Did you manage to find anything?” he asked.
“Sort of,” Andra explained. “We found the killer, but Kaylen the Fool bashed his head in before we could find out who hired him.”
“You… killed him?” Deri asked, stunned. “Without finding out who was behind the assassination?”
Andra shrugged. “But we got the actual killer. So, I mean, we did our job. The fact that we didn’t find the person behind him shouldn’t have any bearing on our reward.”
“I will pay you nothing,” said Deri, raising his voice. “Unless the person behind him is caught, they could just send another assassin after me.”
“Hey, it’s okay,” Kaylen replied in a soothing tone. “Maybe Riven and Fiona found something.”
“That’s right. They were following up on a very promising lead that—” Andra paused, staring at the pair. “Why are you clinging to Fiona’s arm?”
“Because I like Fiona,” Riven replied, grinning.
Andra’s eyes narrowed. “What is going on?” she asked firmly, directing her glare at Fiona.
“Oh, uh,” Fiona stammered. “You see, she sort of drank a love potion, boss.”
Andra rolled her eyes. “I guess that could work to our advantage. If she’s actually loyal to you now, she won’t be jumping in front of charm spells any more.”
“Oh, there’s an idea,” said Riven, looking up at Fiona. “Have you ever thought about learning magic? I bet you’d be really good at it. Especially charm spells. I mean, you’re already so charming as it is.”
Despite her mood, Andra was actually starting to grin. “How long does this last? Is this forever?”
“Gods, I hope not,” said Fiona.
“Did you find anything, at least?” asked Kaylen.
“Nothing that made any sense,” Fiona admitted.
“Just some evidence that someone tried to frame Maxim, of all people,” Riven added.
Andra thought about this for a moment. “Your alchemist friend? That doesn’t make any sense.”
“Hey, it’s okay,” Kaylen said soothingly. “We aren’t even sure if our guy is really the killer.”
Deri gaped at Kaylen. “Are you saying that you might have murdered an innocent man?”
Kaylen waved a hand dismissively. “Oh, no he definitely killed someone. It’s just that he stabbed whoever he killed.”
“He was definitely the killer,” Andra said firmly. “The timing, the fact that he got paid so much, it all fits. If he said anything about stabbing, it’s just because he was panicking and trying to come up with a good line.”
Riven gasped suddenly and everyone turned to look at her. “What if he did stab Lord Prospero? And then later someone else came and used the potion to turn his body into stone dust.”
“That seems highly unlikely,” said Deri. “It would mean that a second person would have broken into my father’s study.”
Suddenly Fiona realized where Riven was going. “You mean someone who would have been able to purchase the ingredients quickly. Someone who would have been able to change the records at the Prospero Trading Company when he realized the potion was being investigated.”
“Right, but he needed to change it to the name of an alchemist, and the only one he could think of was one whose name had been mentioned in front of him today.”
As one, the party turned to face Deri.
“This is ridiculous,” Deri sputtered. “What reason would I have to desecrate my own father’s body?”
“I’ve got it,” Kaylen said suddenly. “He’s the one who hired the assassin.”
“That doesn’t make sense,” Andra said, idly tracing the pattern on the arm of Deri’s couch with a finger. “He hired us to find the killer. Why would he do that if he hired the killer in the first place?”
“So he wanted us to find the assassin, but he also destroyed a bunch of evidence?” Fiona asked. “Why?”
“You must have been trying to hide something,” Riven concluded, eyes not moving from Deri’s face. “Something on your father’s body.”
“Like a tattoo marking him as a member of a hidden society that secretly runs the world?” asked Kaylen, eagerly.
“More like a mark showing his allegiance to a demon,” replied Riven.
Andra grinned viciously at Deri. “Looks like we’ll be getting paid after all. And we might even be getting a bonus for our amazing investigative talents.”
Deri scowled at Andra. “You can’t prove any of this.”
Andra sighed in feigned resignation. “I suppose we can’t. I mean, Riven’s theory makes sense but it’s all just guesses. And if there were any evidence, you would have destroyed it already.”
Deri nodded. “In that case, I think you’ll be leaving, now.”
Andra stood, gesturing for the others to do the same. “I suppose we will. It’s a shame that you weren’t marked by a demon like your father, otherwise we could just have the guards search you.”
Deri stared silently at Andra from his chair.
“Of course, it’s not like the guard is paranoid or anything after discovering another demon spy. Otherwise, we’d be able to have them over here in less than an hour.”
There was another tense silence while Deri stared first at Andra, then Riven, then Andra again, desperately trying to think of a way out. Finally, he made a frustrated noise, then took a deep breath and sat back. “Fine. I think we can come to an arrangement that will satisfy all of us.”