The Guardsmen made very productive use of the time spent waiting for the medic to arrive and the time he needed to examine the body. First and foremost, they thoroughly searched both the courier's office and the basement. Unfortunately, before his death, the local agent had behaved in an almost textbook manner – apart from the encrypted logbook, he had destroyed all documents and important items. Other than items related to the courier's work and everyday life, they found nothing of significance.
The second matter they addressed was the tunnel, which, as it turned out, led almost right up to the barrier surrounding the city. The entrance to the passage was well concealed and protected by several spells. They quite easily found traces of blood on the floor and walls there, so it wasn't too difficult to deduce that this was the route the dead Guard had taken to reach the underground. Essentially, the sheer volume of blood pointed to an almost monstrous haemorrhage, and it was hard to believe that anyone could have mustered the willpower to cover such a distance, let alone professionally prepare a hiding place for their own death.
The surgeon was also impressed, but unlike Darius, he was struck not by the victim's willpower, but by the injuries inflicted upon him. The cuts were obvious, and everyone suspected them to be the direct cause of death, or rather the profuse bleeding that followed as a result. However, Oxern surprised them by removing the dressings from the hand and revealing strange changes to the skin. It looked as though in places it had sagged, with nothing to hold it in place. The medic cautiously tried to move it and nearly jumped back when the flesh beneath the deformity rippled, turning a pulsating purple, the skin swelling like an abscess, before fading again a moment later.
'A curse,' said Shehed, taking off his gloves with undisguised revulsion and flinging them aside. 'Or perhaps several. It doesn't look good, and it must have been even worse when he was alive.'
The medic took a pair of thick gloves from his bag and returned to examining the body, still muttering something under his breath. Further examination revealed even more surprising injuries. The right side of the chest appeared to have been burnt by acid or frostbitten. Around the cuts on his abdomen were unusual discolorations ranging from bright yellow to iridescent green, and across the entire width of his back ran a gash resembling the claw mark of some huge beast.
'I don't know how he ended up here,' Oxern finished, standing beside Darius. 'Even just one of those wounds should have killed him, or at least incapacitated him.' He sighed deeply and wiped his forehead.
'Are you able to determine the cause of death?' Rex had also joined them.
'Pin it down to one with so many wounds?' Shehed snorted. 'Besides, I've only just had a look at him, and I've no experience with curses, poisons or unusual forms of magic. If it were just the wounds themselves, or some sort of illness, I might attempt a preliminary diagnosis. In this case, I won't take the risk.' He shook his head without taking his eyes off the corporal. 'You'll need a specialist in curses and magic. All I can say is that he died about a week ago.' He looked at Darius, as if expecting questions from him. 'About two or three days after that lad from the inn. I don't see any similar injuries either, so I wouldn't really link the two, but that's your call.'
'Is there anything else we should know?' Bleist shifted his gaze to the body, already keen to end the conversation and leave the place. He felt as though he'd become so steeped in the stench of decay that he wouldn't be able to wash it off for the next month.
'You'll need to be careful.' The surgeon followed the colonel's gaze. 'I've no idea what might happen if a curse is still active. If you want to take him away from here, I'd advise casting protective spells over the body and placing it in a metal coffin, though the latter might be difficult to come by in Bushtabhar.' He shrugged. 'Before anyone touches him, I'd also advise you to put on something protective yourselves.' Shehed stretched his arms and yawned. 'Do you gentlemen need anything else from me?'
'No, that's enough.' Darius shook the medic's hand. 'Thank you very much for your help.'
'I haven't done anything worth thanking me for.' Oxern shook the outstretched hand. 'It's a shame he ended up here and didn't manage to reach the temple or the citadel. Perhaps then there would have been cause for gratitude.' He sighed heavily and began to gather his things. 'I hope you find the answers to your questions, Colonel. If there's anything else I can do to help, please send for me.'
'Thank you all the same,' said Earl with a faint smile. 'I'll send someone with you so you don't have to walk back alone after dark.' He beckoned over one of the Guards who were still bustling about the room, trying to check thoroughly that they hadn't overlooked a hiding place or some small object.
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'What do you think of that?' Darius broke the silence as he and Rex emerged from the basement and sat down in the living area of the courier office.
'Whatever happened, it didn't take place in the city.' The corporal shook his head. 'One person couldn't have used so many different types of magic. According to Oxern, there were a few curses as well.'
'The question is, where did the fight take place?' Bleist opened the manuscript found near the body and examined the notes. Although he was unable to decipher them, he could roughly tell that it was a diary. It was possible that, before his death, the Guard had been observing a target or making brief notes about the days that followed. 'The tunnel leads south-west, so I assume it's somewhere in that direction.'
'But how far outside the city will we have to look?' Rex stood up and walked over to the window. It was clear he was troubled by the situation with the slain Guard, though it was hard to say whether this was caused solely by a sense of brotherhood in arms, or perhaps something more. 'On the one hand, there are sentries on the towers, so it should be somewhere out of their sight; on the other hand…'
'He was so badly wounded that the surgeon couldn't fathom how he'd managed to go anywhere at all,' Bleist finished for the corporal. 'I reckon we'll find plenty of answers here.' He waved the manuscript.
'We'll have to ask headquarters to decipher it, and that'll take a while.' Rex let out a long sigh. 'The paperwork alone will drag on, not to mention decoding the document.'
'Unless Leigher orders it,' Darius said, tossing the book lightly onto the table. 'Maybe we can sort it out in a couple of days.'
'It's our only lead anyway, and searching blindly for some hole in the savannah will take forever.'
'And that's just one case.' Bleist sat up straight and began tapping his fingers on the tabletop. 'The Rocha murder case has hit a dead end. We've no idea what's going on with it, and the number of questions that have piled up around it far exceeds what I expected. Now we don't even know who the deceased actually was.' He shook his head, weighed down by the sheer number of problems that had come crashing down on him. 'If we don't find anything in the City Watch archives, our only option is to comb through the entire enclave in search of clues. Ugh, and then there are the Quel-naza, who, according to reports, are running rampant all over Bushtabhar, yet nobody's seen them here. We've got nothing on them.'
'Could it be that someone's tampered with the reports, just as they did with those relating to the murder?' suggested the corporal.
'A one-off attempt to delay any external response is one thing, but regularly falsifying documents is a serious matter that would quickly come to light.' Bleist couldn't understand how, in the files of the Azure Guard, which operated under very strict rules and relied on cross-checking data, so much incorrect, even falsified, information had suddenly appeared.
'Do you think that's what it was all about?' Rex turned round with a sombre expression.
'A delay? Yes, that's the only thing that makes sense.' The tapping on the table quickened. 'The only question is what someone hoped to achieve by it. I doubt it was to give the murderer time to escape, because he appeared and vanished without leaving a single trace behind. We might just as well have passed him in the inn without realising it. Given what we've discovered about Rocha's identity, I'm beginning to wonder whether we're dealing with some sort of organisation, or a spy ring operating in Atlantis.'
'In the City Watch?'. The doubt in the corporal's voice was by no means unfounded. 'And not even in some senior position, but right at the bottom, and in an ordinary residential neighbourhood where there's nothing of importance?'
'Perhaps it wasn't about the City Watch itself?' Bleist tapped the tabletop lightly with his open hand. 'To establish his identity? Why not. Rocha had a clean record, a good reputation, and was well-liked. After all, his sudden transfer to Bushtabhar didn't arouse any suspicion. In fact, they even threw him a farewell party. It's just that our victim didn't anticipate that his friends would want to drive him home.'
'Indeed, when they described Rocha's reaction to their travel plans, it struck me as a bit odd. Sure, he might genuinely not have wanted them to subject themselves to the hardships of a long round trip and waste such precious holiday time, but it was peculiar all the same.'
'Don't forget that it turned out someone in the village did know our deceased friend after all,' Darius emphasised, tapping the table. 'And he must have known full well that Rocha's identity was a fake, since he paid boys of a similar age to him in gold to pretend to be friends he hadn't seen for ages.'
'Except that there's no trace of that vampire either. According to what we've managed to find out at the citadel, there aren't any vampires serving in the army stationed in Bushtabhar.'
'And yet one was posing as a soldier.' Darius ran his fingers through his hair, looking slightly nervous. 'They had a row at the market… Perhaps it was because Rocha turned up in Bushtabhar with company?'
'And was the whole charade with the fake childhood friends just a cover?'
'So far, that's the only explanation that springs to mind.' Earl shook his head and rose from his seat. Not particularly pleased with the progress on any of the matters, he looked thoughtfully first at the manuscript lying on the table, and then at Rex. 'I'll take both bodies to the capital so our medics can examine them. Oxern might have overlooked something important; it's better if the post-mortem is carried out by someone better qualified. I'll take the diary to Leiger and ask him to decipher it quickly. I'll submit a report to the very top and look into the City Watch archives.
'You want me to stay and snoop around a bit more, don't you?' The corporal didn't seem surprised or unhappy with the decision that was hanging in the air. Darius could have sworn he'd been thinking the same thing himself.
'Yes, you'll stay with our people whilst I take the Rubins and all the evidence to Atlantis. As soon as I find out anything useful, I'll come back here and we'll wrap this all up.'
'I hope the Colonel really does manage to find something.' Rex gave a faint smile. 'Otherwise, we'll be spending the next year here, and I don't think anyone would want that.'
'Don't even mention it.' Darius sighed resignedly. 'I've had enough of all the problems that crop up here at every turn.' He shook his head as if to chase away the dark thoughts. 'While I'm away, try and look for the other agent as well. I think only one of them lived here, though they might both have used the underground hideout.'
'I'll try to find something, but there aren't many places left we haven't checked.' The non-commissioned officer fell silent for a moment. 'Perhaps I'll manage to find out something about the Quel-naz as well. It seems they're not in Bushtabhar, but maybe I'll turn something up anyway.'
'Fortunately, that's the least of all the worries that have come crashing down on us.'
'Are you setting off soon, Colonel?'
'First thing in the morning, as soon as we manage to find a cart and pack up the bodies.'
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Darius stepped out of the courier's office into the darkness. Although a bright quarter-moon hung low in the sky, the slums were plunged into darkness. It seemed rather unnatural and a little frightening, but he had no choice if he didn't want to spend the night in a building reeking of a corpse. He was accompanied only by the Ruby Guard, as Rex had offered to stay behind to organise transport for the body.
Bleist lit a few more flares, stoking their glow to such an extent that even the alleyways they passed were briefly illuminated. He had to admit it to himself, but without the presence of the two heavily armed guards, he wouldn't have felt very confident walking through this part of the city.
For a moment, he tried to take his mind off everything that had happened since he'd left Atlantis and focus on something more pleasant. He knew that Draco must have already received the letter informing him of his acceptance into Solvein. Darius had known from the start that the dragon was incapable of failing his exams, but the boy had been terribly nervous about it the whole time. The acceptance letter must have helped him calm down at least a little, although another problem was looming. Bleist knew full well that his protégé did not have the fondest memories of his peers. Although that was an understatement. The wizard couldn't begin to imagine the traumas his pupil was actually carrying, and yet Draco seemed to pay no attention to most of them. It was hard to understand, though he was certain he should try, so that he might later be able to help the dragon in any way he could. This challenge was becoming increasingly real and, with every passing minute, more urgent. And yet he needed time for it. He could only hope that, in his absence, Draco had found something to do that had completely taken his mind off his first day at the new school. Perhaps Matheo had found more time for further attempts? He thought, and a shy smile tugged slightly at his lips. Or were he and James up to something again? He almost snorted, remembering how the boys were always fiddling about with something.
Suddenly, Darius stopped and looked around. The hairs on the back of his neck stood on end and a cold sweat broke out. He had no idea why he'd reacted like that, but he quickly scanned the well-lit area. They were already close to the exit from the slums, so it was a bit better here, but you could still sense that repulsive and depressing aura hanging in the air. He didn't spot anything alarming, nor did the Guards following him. He took a few deep breaths, putting it down to exhaustion and the unsettling sights of the last few days. He turned back in the direction he'd been heading and was just about to carry on when he noticed something.
To his left, literally a few metres away, someone was standing at the mouth of a dark alley. However, the light from the magical lanterns seemed not to reach the figure, leaving them shrouded in darkness. Despite this, Darius was certain that whoever it was was looking directly at him. He could feel a piercing, penetrating gaze upon him. It sent a chill down his spine. By the time he was able to move again, the figure had vanished. Bleist took a few deep breaths and looked around once more. Empty. Dark. Silent. The slums still immersed in their nocturnal lethargy. Without giving it much thought, he set off towards the citadel. I've had enough of this place, he thought, trying to shake off the feeling that someone was still watching him.