>>6191660“Let’s focus on the facts, hmm?” Interjects Inspector Otzi as she takes a few steps forward! “Fellick was an accomplished sorcerer with more enemies than I have hairs on my head! Did the mages sniff out any sign of his protective wards or magic being inhibited?”
Irya shakes her head while you recover your composure! “You’d think so, but no… his door wards were perfectly intact when we began investigating his office.”
You blink. Is she suggesting the perp <span class="mu-i">climbed</span>? That’s short for ‘<span class="mu-i">perpetrator</span>’, by the way!
The High Bellcounter gives you an appreciative smile before shifting back into ‘Professional Mode’! “We haven’t ruled it out–the exterior of the tower’s warded as well, but the balcony door was open on our arrival.”
“Oh-ho~” Tzah-Tzie remarks, hiding a toothy grin behind her claw, “A lover’s spat, perhaps? Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned!”
Hey, yea, you nod! If Fellick let someone in he totally could have lowered the defenses and turned ‘em back on again… right?
“It’s certainly possible…” Irya sighs as her gaze shifts skyward. “But if it was, it would leave the killer trapped in an enchanted office.”
Not if they could teleport, you suggest! Or fly! <span class="mu-i">THAT</span> gets the Bellcounter’s attention!
“If they did, our mages would surely have located some magical residue…” Frowns the Gnok! “Unless the murderer utilized a construct of some kind… or a more traditional means of flight like a glider… hmm…”
Questions come down like raindrops… each pitter and patter leaving you more and more confused! To confirm, you begin as you follow Irya’s eyes upward, Fellick fell from his balcony? Is that right?
“That’s correct, sir,” She replies, “A fatal fall for anyone, really, but a bit surprising for the Chairman.”
“Right,” The Durher Detective remarks with wide eyes, “He was a mage–why didn’t he just levitate?”
Irya’s armor clanks. A shrug. “Our leading theory is that he was surprised, miss. It’s a long shot, but if the Chairman’s killer was quick enough-”
“Surprised?” Interrupts TT with a scrunched-up expression, “A paranoid guy like Fellick? That <span class="mu-i">IS</span> a long shot…”
“W-well we didn’t want to rule it out!” Irya counters, clearly trying to cover her bases! “J-just a possibility, that’s all! And with the body pulped by the fall no one was able to speak to his spirit, if it even lingered long enough, that is!”
Might be worth asking Oti later, you think to yourself as you make a show of stroking your chin! It IS pretty fishy though…
>CONTD. 