—The news resonated throughout the kingdom —said Mr. Romano—, as it affected two renowned professionals. At first, I thought it was a very unfortunate coincidence, but it turned out that the circumstances of the murder pointed back to us. The professors had been beaten, decapitated, and mutilated, leaving a very characteristic cauterization in the wounds from a particular weapon."

—Saber with fire seals —said my master.

They had no conclusive evidence, as in the previous case, but the authorities already seriously suspected their involvement. They didn't take action against them, but they began to feel cornered, not to mention that rumors were already affecting their reputation.

The guild continued working despite everything, but fate would bring them more misfortunes. Four days later, Hermes, a Rodaruk Usshyer specialized in traumatizing wounds and trained in the use of knives, was assigned to a client as habitual for the guild as special. It was Lieutenant Gormel d'Elker, tasked with driving back the creatures lurking on the northern road to the capital. He had a mobile camp where he attended to his wounded soldiers after battles, which is why he needed Rodaruk personnel to heal his people. Hermes left the guild in the morning towards the location of the camp, did his job alongside other Rodaruk, and returned at dusk. He did this for several days until the end of the campaign. On the last day, Hermes returned at dusk to report the success of his mission, only for Lieutenant Roldus to come the next morning to announce Gormel's death. He had been murdered in his home while sleeping. The weapon used, as you can imagine, was knives, of the same type used by Hermes.

Mr. Romano paused as he rubbed his forehead, acknowledging with that gesture the absurdity of his situation. Even I felt offended that he was there asking for help from my master, as it seemed to me that he was pretending like the vilest of thugs.

—There was also a robbery, and although Hermes couldn't know about his belongings or his home, suspicions fell on him because of the history of his colleagues.

—What was stolen? —asked my master.

—Just a pile of romular stones that the lieutenant kept in a box next to his bed. Nothing that could make anyone rich, but still had considerable value.

—His military attire is more expensive —said my master—. I know there are criminal groups that specialize in killing soldiers to sell their clothing. It's curious that they only took some romular stones.

Mr. Romano took a few seconds before continuing. The authorities didn't have solid evidence against the guild or its members, but not even their great reputation could withstand a situation like that, and the public was already beginning to judge them as guilty.

Mr. Romano admitted that the next tragedy followed the same script as the previous ones. Bruno, Warkber, double swords, sent on a mission with Mr. Domes, a regular client dedicated to collecting unique resources in the Celso Valley. He went, did, finished, and came back. Then, the next morning, Lieutenant Roldus came to the guild to announce a tragedy. Client, night, murder, same weapon, robbery. Mr. Romano summarized that using the same monosyllables, visibly worried about how all the crimes seemed to be related to his guild.

The next victim of circumstances —as he pointed out— was Roben, whose assigned client was a noble who wanted to be escorted from the port of Durkmon to Elker. This event had happened a week ago, and Mr. Romano was heavily besieged by the stress of his situation. Rumors of what had happened had spread like plagues throughout the kingdom, and they had already stopped getting jobs as frequently as before. It seemed to put an end to the possibilities of any other tragedy touching their doors, but Mr. Romano was only becoming even more paranoid about what might bury the guild that had cost him so much to build.

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My master had listened attentively, asking some questions in the middle of his speech to clarify certain details of his story. In the end, he left him a few moments of silence before proceeding.

—I see that Lieutenant Roldus has taken charge of the matter —he said, looking at the man's wrist.

—That's right —Mr. Romano responded while revealing a hadrial bracelet that shone under his sleeve.

Hadrial bracelets serve as power limiters. They are difficult to install, as they need several metal needles embedded in the wrists to seal the shyvian flow. It was normal for them to be used on dangerous criminals or citizens being investigated for a crime.

—The lieutenant has forced us to use these limiters while the investigations continue. I know how terrible we look in the face of so many coincidences, but I have insisted on our innocence from the beginning and will continue to do so until the end. Lieutenant Roldus had little respect for my position, as we are guilty in every way. He granted me the benefit of the doubt only by seeing my unwavering faith, but he did so reluctantly. He muttered that only you could help me, then left my office.

—I suppose he didn't say it in a good way.

—No, sir. It was more like a mockery towards us, but I decided to take it as advice and went to ask him for information about you. At first, he refused, at which point I wanted to inquire among the street people who handle all the rumors in the city to tell me how to contact Asmodeus, but a few days later, the lieutenant himself shared his location with me. And here I am now. If you can help us clarify the situation that afflicts us, we are willing to compensate you generously with an amount equivalent to the earnings of an entire year from the guild.

Mr. Romano signaled outside, rubbed his hands, and then touched the door. It was one of his employees —a servant as far as I could see— who brought a large leather bag that jingled with the sound of coins inside. Both men then bowed their heads and clasped their hands in a submissive gesture.

It seemed to me a most lamentable spectacle, as it was not the first time that criminals came to my master to twist his good intentions for wicked purposes. I acquired an indignant expression, already prepared to hear how my master would politely kick them out, camouflaging any insult with his elegant vocabulary and asking them to leave as soon as possible. He remained silent for a while, taking longer to respond than I expected, then nodded as he smiled.

—It costs me nothing to look into it —he said in a friendly tone—, especially if I can prove that Lieutenant Roldus was mistaken and make a fortune with it. I have only one condition. Put the money you offer me in a reward contract in the name of "whoever finds the culprit or culprits of the murders related to the Aventus guild." Yes, "culprit or culprits," it's a mere formality.

The man with the bag looked at his boss. Mr. Romano nodded a bit puzzled, and the man left our house.

—I'll start working as soon as possible —my master said as he stood up, inviting the man to leave—. I only have one last question. You mentioned five of your associates, but there are only four involved as far as I could count. What about Isela?

—She hasn't been related to any crime, fortunately.

—She's the newest one, right?

—Yes —said Mr. Romano, a little confused by my master's interest—... I mean new, but I'm talking about four years old. I trust her as much as the others.

—Of course —said my master—. She must be a very competent Orkarus.

—How do you know? I haven't told you she's an Orkarus.

My master remained silent for a few seconds before answering.

—Orkarus are never lacking in any group —he said, smiling—. I'll look into it, and hopefully, I'll find some loose ends that the authorities haven't bothered to examine. That way, we can clear up the doubts about you, or better yet, find the real culprits. I'll start immediately. Have a good day.

I wanted to ask my master about his true stance, as I was surprised that he had accepted such a ridiculous assignment, but he didn't hear me at all. He disappeared into the basement for a while, reappeared dressed in his discreet defensive outfit, and barely noticed my presence before touching the doorknob.

—Do you need anything from the city? —he asked, stopping under the door frame and locking his gaze on me—. I'm going to be away all day, as you can imagine. I hope to sleep here, although better not count on it.

And so began that event whose outcome didn't intrigue me at all but would turn out very different from what I was imagining.