• PM To Join • Seeking Motive

[Qaerris]

The smile had been quite genuine, and it continued to remain throughout the woman's entire retort. It was so amusing to not only watch the female expression turn to that of ecstasy, but to watch it turn to outright surprise and indignation. However, the latter was also the case with whomever the Mortalborn was not actively seeking to sway to his favour. To constantly curtsy and flatter the mortals who came before him on a regular basis was a thing he quite resented, for with their fleeting nature those that lived in Qaerris' world were destined to become nothing more than rotting wastrels filling the earth. Though they had their uses and their pleasures, they were ultimately going to fall away and leave nothing behind to show for their existence. What reason did he have to lower himself for them? However, in the spirit of 'cooperating' with both of them, he let a hand rise to his temple, as if he were concentrating very hard. Still rather intoxicated, Qaerris was having a time at trying to piece together the past few hours of his time.


"What was he wearing? Pardon, sir, I don't usually spend my time trying to pay attention to the fashion trends of my fellow townspeople when I'm juggling a drink between both of my hands. All that I can say for sure is that he was wearing some kind of tunic or robe."

Qaerris spent a moment longer snapping himself out of another stupor he had seemed to have fallen into. His gaze kept falling to the table, as if some fascinating object had fallen upon it. It wasn't the case, unfortunately.

Turning towards the woman, Qaerris let a smirk cast upon his lips,

"Did I see him leave? Well, he clearly isn't here anymore. And if he's dead, then I would assume he at some point left. Presumably while he was alive. In any case, I didn't watch for which way he went, exactly. But if you look outside, maybe you'll find some footprints."

Qaerris motioned to the floor, where tracked mud and blood seemed to pool together. The fight had apparently been rather messy for some, and as no other patrons had really come in after the ruckus had ended, it stood to reason that the prints, caked in mud, would lead at least far enough to point a general direction.

A smirk caught upon the man's lips for a moment before he spun around. It seemed that he was quite out of booze, and the conversation at hand was a rather downtrodden, sorry affair. It was a moment before he realized that little by little, he was sobering up. What a tragedy.

"Is there anything else you need, friends?"

[Malcolm]

A wise guy, Malcom thought to himself, they were always fun to deal with. "Just your name for the record, in case this goes to trial," the knight didn't smile, he wasn't amused or above letting others know exactly what he thought of them, especially if they weren't quite cooperating to the best of their ability.

One thing he could be sure of though was that Elyna had lost her cool and obviously hadn't been involved in very many investigations before, hence her training day with the Knights no doubt. Whatever the case, Malcolm had decided it was time for them to leave, and that if need be, he would return to the tavern later to speak again to the owner, Rufus Hemlock.
The muddy scuff marks on the floor and dotted specks of blood was helpful, but there was no telling how old it was or if it indeed belonged to their dead guy. All the same, it was worth following, and Malcolm would leave Elyna to wait for the name of their informant, if she hadn't already learned it, and headed outside where he decided would be the better location for him to pull her up on her little outburst. It would seem even that would have to wait, however, as Heath rounded the corner with Madeline in tow, "You learn anything?" He chirped.
"Looks like our guy was here last night," Malcolm divulged.
"Well he must have a twin then because there is no way our dead guy has only been that way a couple of hours."
"What you mean?" Malcolm asked, skin knotted at the centre of his brow.
"You smelt him," Heath smiled and Malcolm could tell her was doing his best not to laugh about it, "been dead for at least three days, or that's what the examiner currently at the scene told us."

Malcolm looked between Madeline and Heath, surprised by the information, though it was easy enough to believe, the guy really did smell bad. The knight looked down at the ground then and remembered the tracks they had been informed of, which led south of the tavern while the body had been discovered to the north. Something was amiss, Malcolm thought and stood with arms folded across his chest, waiting for Elyna to join them.
"We are due back at the scene if you care to join us?" Heath offered.
"We will be right along," Malcolm promised.

[Elyna]

Elyna raised a brow, chewing on her bottom lip to stop herself saying anything else that she would later regret. But she wasn’t buying his memory retrieval. She felt as though he were toying with the both, mainly with her. What was worse? She deserved for this to be difficult. She shouldn’t have lost her temper. Usually it came at the end of a long fuse and it was rare anyone saw it flash. But the young man before her, had gotten under her skin as easily as drawing nails down a chalkboard. She set aside her frustration once more and concentrated on the information given, committing it to memory.

Malcolm made his departure and she also stood, waiting for the name to be provided, “thank you for your help,” she said quietly. Her gratitude was genuine. He hadn’t needed to tell them anything after all.

***

She stepped out into the light, blinking quickly as her eyes adjusted back to the sunshine again. Catching up with Malcolm she pushed her hands into her pockets and nodded as Heath and Madeline left them alone once more. She inhaled slowly and turned to her companion, “I’m sorry,” she spoke quickly. There was a thousand other things that she could say, that the man inside had been an ass, that she’d found it difficult to go into the bar itself, that she knew she’d possibly cost them useful information, but she held her tongue. It didn’t matter what the reasons were. She lifted her chin and waited, determined not to look like a sulking teenager as she was admonished. It was deserved.

[Qaerris]

They wanted his name?

The Mortalborn stifled yet another laugh before it escaped from his lips. The absurdity of their request was tantamount! Even Qaerris' clientele were rarely given a real name to work with, with the exception of the more personal relationships that he had. To give his identity to an investigation team seemed quite absurd. Nodding in understanding, Qaerris' lips at last parted to speak, his features no longer looking to Elyna, who for the time until they left, would be ignored, but rather the other. The knight.

"My name, good sir, is Quentin Alvina."

Slowly, Qaerris enunciated each syllable of the name, even spelling it out for his questioners before he rose from his chair. A hand rose to sift through his hair, the other quickly snatching his knapsack from the floor. He'd make his way towards the exit, making sure to direct his gaze towards Malcolm as he stated,

"Surely, the knights can cover the tab of someone who's spent a good portion of their evening cooperating with their investigation. I appreciate it, good Sir." He'd turn to the skyrider next, a smirk caught upon his lips, "And good luck to you, madame."

Qaerris did not wait for an answer, seeking to make haste. He had no intention of further involving himself in a murder investigation. It was not that the harlot had anything to hide, but it was bad practice for him. It'd look bad and cause unnecessary stress upon his psyche. Though Qaerris did not age, the idea of adding a wrinkle to his perfectly flawless visage was akin to sacrilege.

[Levinia]

The fact that Levinia was desperate for work was obvious and was the reason why she accepted such a thing as investigating a dead body. She had gone with her father on a couple of investigations but he did the work and she mainly took notes. It was not her favorite thing to do, but desperate times called for, well, any work that you can get. The request was not for her primarily but it was passed down to her and as a novice it would be a good experience. Besides her work would be double checked so she would just have to do her best and hope that she didn’t make any grave mistakes.

Once again, this kind of work called for breeches. Skirts seemed to trail around the ground too much and there would be much scooping down. The last thing Levinia wanted was to leave a trail of disgusting stuff on the rim of her skirts. Dirting her boots, however, could not be helped. Fortunately, it was a quiet day and bright enough to see what she was doing.

As she arrived she noted the body on the ground with guards posted around it. Of course there would be guards and they glared down at her as she approached. Obviously they would not let her near the body. “Who’s in charge?” Levinia asked and tried to make herself look taller and a bit more sure of herself. She probably looked like a child to these men, but she lifted her chin and gave them her most astute look. “I’ve been summoned to inspect the body.” The smell was already rising and she swallowed hard as her mouth filled with saliva, a sure sign that she would throw up soon. That would be unfortunate and very embarrassing. Luckily she brought something for that.

Her blue eyes left the guards and went to the body which was laying down on the cobble ground. She tried to gather as much information as she could visually but it would definitely take hands on the body to really say what happened. “I suppose.” Levinia’s attention returned to the guards, “I can wait for whomever is in charge.” She took out a small bag containing a strong smelling jar of ointment that when rubbed under the nose would block the stench of a dead body. It was the smell that would often get to a person and Levinia was still not used to it. She opened the small vial, which was all she could get from her father and sniffed it. It was still strong, but she’d wait until nearing the body to rub some one. In the meantime she waited for permission to inspect the body.

[Malcolm]

The man had a pair on him, expecting Malcolm to cover his tab, one of which, for all Malcolm knew, might exceed his daily pay ten fold, "No I think I'll leave it," Malcolm called out after the man, "I've heard a lot about Hemlock's reputation concerning customers who don't pay their tabs," he smirked then; everyone knew about Hemlock, he was one of the baddest ex-crooks in town, "My guess? Yours will be the body we don't find," a sinister thing for a Moseke Knight to say, but Malcolm wasn't your typical knight. He put his hand in his pocket and went in search of a gold coin, only to pluck out some silver, "Last one was on me," Malcolm flicked the coin in Qaerris' direction and watched as it rattled against the street.

He turned to Elyna then, who was already apologising for her outburst. Malcolm led the woman up the street headed north and closed his left hand over the hilt of his long-sword, the thumb of his right hand latched to his belt as he walked, "You can't let them get under your skin like that," he told her, "in this line of work you have to keep your head at all times," the man's tone was stern, but gentle, he was going easier on her than he had first imagined he would, perhaps because of her apology; Elyna acknowledged she had been in the wrong, but that didn't make her actions inside the tavern any more acceptable than it would have been for Malcolm to pay for Qaerris' drinks. "Remove yourself from the situation if you must, but never endanger a fellow officer by showing weakness."

With his piece said, Malcolm had little more to say, instead listening to anything Elyna had in reply, if not otherwise spending the rest of their journey to the steps of the monastery in silence. There were a few nosy residents standing about the crime scene when they returned, though Heath was hurriedly sending them on their way. Malcolm didn't recognise the white haired woman who sat examining the dead man, and left Elyna's side to check in with his comrade, "How much longer do they need us here?" He inquired.
"Back up, on your way, move along!" Heath bellowed to the crowd before acknowledging fellow knight, "Woman there says there isn't a mark on his body."
"No stab wound?" Malcolm lowered his voice.
"Nothing."
"Strangulation?"
"Not so much as a bruise."
"Poison?"
"We are hoping she can tell us that," Heath gestured to the young lady.

Malcolm returned to Elyna's side and folded his arms, the leather of his jerkin sighing with the movement, she seemed to recognise the girl looking over their dead guy, and brow perked, he was forced to ask, "A friend of yours?"

[Elyna]

Elyna nodded and remained quiet as he spoke. It was the rebuke she had expected and unfortunately it wasn’t the first time she’d heard it. What could she say? She still wasn’t going to forward a string of excuses and he was right. The man had gotten under her skin as easy as breathing and she’d jeopardised their safety, “it won’t happen again,” the young Skyrider informed him quietly. It was all there was to say really.

She was grateful that the journey back was quick as the silence stretched out. Levina’s pale hair was a surprise sight, but a welcome one and she smiled, lifting her fingers in a small greeting if her friend cared to glance in her direction, “she is,” Elyna’s smile lingered on her friend before she looked up at Malcolm, “and a true friend at that, is Levinia."

Peering around Malcolm she watched Levinia at work, fascinated, “has she been able to tell us much? Is there anything to go on?” She side stepped a member of the public who was being moved along and hooked her thumbs into her pockets.

“Is there any way I can assist you further..?” It was doubtful, but she hoped there was a way to make up for her blunder.

[Malcolm]

Malcolm wouldn't remember the name, hundreds of years on this earth had taught him that not all names were worth remembering, it was impossible to hold on to them all. He watched the pale haired woman at work and stepped closer to Elyna so that there was barely a hand's width between them, forcing people to go around, some of which he pointed in the right direction. "So far we know that he wasn't stabbed which makes the blood stained knife even more of a puzzle. Heath says he wasn't strangled either so we are waiting to see if your friend can tell us whether or not he was poisoned."

The knight nudged Elyna's hip and went forward to get a closer look at their victim, quietly, Malcolm wondered to himself if the dead man had been drowned, but neither his clothing nor hair appeared waterlogged. "Captain Malcolm Krom," he greeted the doctor examining the dead man, "Any idea on time of death? We have reports of a man that fits our victim's description, placing him at The Blacksmith Arms late last night, but my comrade and I believe he has been dead a good while longer than that. Is there anything to your knowledge that might speed up the decaying process?"

It was important for Malcolm to determine whether or not the man on the ground in front of them was the same that had been at the bar last night, and if not, he would need to go back and follow that blood trail, or at least question Rufus Hemlock again in search of more leads. Having caught a sudden whiff of the man caused Malcolm's stomach to turn, and he took a measured step backwards in order to try and get some fresh air. Again the notebook was retrieved from his pocket and with pen at the ready, he waited for any information that might help their investigation but not before scratching down the words blood trail south.

[Levinia]

The guards let her pass, but kept an eye on her as Levinia crouched down next to the body and examined it. She had rubbed the smelling solution under nose and although it didn't cut out all the smell, it at least made it less potent. The guards watched as the young woman first inspected the man's face. Her fingers prodded the muscles as she had seen her father do and when she had asked him he said that one could tell how long a body had been dead when they tense up. The man's neck was impossible to move as rigo had set in and his skin had the tell tale signs of being dead for at least thirty six hours.

Once again Levinia had opted for tying her hair back with a bandana which was a good thing being that the next thing she had to do would be too gross to have her hair suddenly get stuck in the dead man's body. Her fingers inspected the man's neck and she leaned in further and found something interesting. However, she was interrupted by the approach of more people and the guard's alertness and shift in demeanor. Levinia turned and watched as a tall dark haired man approached with none other than Elyna herself.

Levinia jumped to her feet, happy to see a friendly face and she waved back then gave her attention to the man that introduced himself as Captain Malcolm Krom. "Levinia Black." She curtsied, though it was awkward with her breeches on. The man didn't seem to care, he was all business and she couldn't blame him. She took his questions one at a time and responded as expertly as she could although she knew that she looked and sounded very young.

"He's been dead for at least thirty six hours, although I'd say two days." She motioned Malcolm to come closer as she crouched next to the body and then pointed to his skin. "The skin has the mark of someone dead that long." She tried to push the man's head but it was stiff in place. "The muscles mark someone that has been dead that long." Levinia chewed on her bottom lip in thought. Even a farmer could tell how long his animals had been dead so she was not revealing anything too intellectual. In her novice opinion the man had been dead for that long.

"I'm sorry, sir." She remained crouched and placed her hands on her thighs to keep balance. "My knowledge of those things is limited. Perhaps you should visit an apothecary or an expert in poisons? But there is an easy test to see if he has been dead for that long. I can show you if you'd like but before that, I'd like to show you something I found." Levinia went back to the body and began to unbutton the man's shirt, then pointed to a thin red line on his neck. "It looks like he was choked by something very thin, but not strong enough to cut the skin...see, no blood." She stood up and dusted her hands, although the would need a good washing after this. "Of course I could be wrong." Levinia's forehead wrinkled in concern, "The best thing would be to strip the body and check for wounds and bruises."

[Elyna]

Elyna almost took a step away as she closed the distance between them, but she resisted, just. Tension threaded down her back and her fingers twitched. Stupid, she scolded herself, stop being so stupid. It was the gesture though, Malcolm hadn’t meant anything by it, but it was oddly protective and it had caused an emotive reaction. So naturally the Skyrider wanted to bolt, not matter how ridiculous. Fighting was different, someone trying to land blows or break her skin was different, safer somehow. When he nudged her to move forward she flinched before forcing one foot after the other and trailing after him, reminding herself how irrational this was. This fear…and fear of what exactly? Friendship? A mild acquaintance with a male? Stupid.

She hung back as he knelt down beside Levinia, offering another smile at her friend as she went over the details again and again, rehearsing them till she was confident she could recite them later. They didn’t mean much to her, not while her mind was racing and battling with irrational panic, but she refused to let the past win over the present. So mental repetition, so she could recall it later and make sense of it all. Her eyes scanned the small note book Malcolm held, that was a good idea. Some words did stick however, Captain Malcolm Krom. Now she really was embarrassed.

The Skyrider lent in as Levinias genuine interest caught her attention. She bit back a playful remark, she wouldn’t tease her friend about trying to undress men at any opportunity, not when they were both working and especially as she’d just been reminded of the importance of being professional, “could it be….embroidery thread?” she wondered aloud, “it’s stronger than string but it’s thin…”