The Shattered City: Chapter Two

[DocBeard]

"Captain." Tomas greets, ripping a sheet of paper from his notebook and pinning it against the wall(He is not going to risk setting the library on fire.). He marks a center dot as "Library", and turns to Celeste. "Now, can you mark the way we took from here to the cell, please?"

[Rock of the Fraternity]

"Captain Cedolin," Lia greets the man. "I hope you are doing a little better now?" She spreads her hands in an apologetic gesture. "I am afraid that I have nothing conclusive to report as yet."

[Kaitou Kage]

Cyrus dug through the chest, quickly pulling papers and books out. Despite his swift, almost haphazard action, the mess he made around himself and the chest was very neatly organized.

The dommer looked as though he saw something and reached for it. His fingers toyed it loose and then he held it up.

It was only a comb.

The priest frowned and tossed it back into the chest.

"Ingenting," he growled and began shoving things back into the chest. "Nothing worth finding."

[Nerit]

Nerit watched and shook her veiled head. "Somehow a dead man's belongings seem more precious. If only we knew him, dommer."

The comment, obviously, was a reflection of the priest's unceremonious pawing. She laughed and turned toward the door.

[Nathan of the FoS]

Darius glances at the departing priestess and mutters, "I only understand about half of what that woman says."

He helps Cyrus pile the books and papers back in the box, then picks out the comb again; turning it over idly, he says, "Maybe we should take it, eh, brother? I've been wanting a new comb."


He pantomimes combing his scalp for a few strokes, then tosses the comb back in the chest, closes the lid, and walks out after the Ezran.

[The Whistler]

"Now, can you mark the way we took from here to the cell, please?"

“Certainly, good sir!” Celeste has been quiet following her typically effusive greeting to Cedolin, but you got the impression that she could barely suppress a salute at this request. With no small air of purpose, she rose from her chair, approached the paper, produced a pencil from somewhere in her handbag, and proceeded to sketch out the route, marking the various tunnels and doorways they had passed on the way. It was a pretty good sketch from an aesthetic standpoint, all told, though one gathered that blueprint-drawing was not her particular artistic forte. After a minute or so, she gave a satisfied nod and sat back down, obviously rather pleased with herself.

20 on a Dungeoneering check…Celeste has a pretty good idea of the route, but it’s not anything particularly clue-ridden—more or less just tunnels, according to Neo.

[NeoTiamat]

Main Library, Ste. Mere des Larmes, Quartier Publique, Port-a-Lucine; March 24th, 770
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"Captain Cedolin," Lia greets the man. "I hope you are doing a little better now?" She spreads her hands in an apologetic gesture. "I am afraid that I have nothing conclusive to report as yet."

"Well enough to get back to work, and that's all that matters," Cedolin whispered. He paused for a moment to massage his throat and swallow hard before continuing. "By all means, report your inconclusive findings as well! I can guarantee you, it will be more than what we have now..." The captain sat down and removed his cap, running a hand over his forehead and through his patchy hair.

[DocBeard]

"This might help." Tomas offers a sheet of paper to Celodin. "Lecanu had a lot of hobbies-or rather one hobby that changed a lot. Books. He'd buy and store all the books he could get on a given topic, and then a few weeks later, change what he was collecting. We're not sure where he got the money to be so extravagant with his purchases, but there's a list of whom he bought from, and how much he spent."

"Its an interesting coincidence Miss Viardot noticed-our man's particular interest coincided with the exhibit of note at the late gallery at that given time." Tomas's look says that he plainly does not consider it a coincidence, but cannot exactly prove it.

[yalenusveler]

"Celeste, didn't you say pretty much every major book purchase he made corresponded to whatever was the current exhibit at the museum?" Kerrian asked, trying to put the pieces together in a way that didn't turn into blame the potential victim.

"He also had tools for what I think was restoring books...I've got a list of what I saw, but it's not exactly the most technical. It could explain how he got the money to make so many purchases...but I'm not certian."

[Kaitou Kage]

Cyrus had been quietly listening to the others explain since his approach. Finally he piped up with his group's findings.

"Our discovery was less mundane," he stated. "We noticed an oddly out of place mirror in the Warden's room. When we attempted to remove it, the glass showed us a vision of a gray plain with large, gnarled tree. The Warden -- or perhaps a facsimile of him -- hung from that tree by his neck. His dead gaze looked directly at us, then the mirror twisted and shattered." Cyrus pursed his lips. "Odd that he seemed to see us because his eyes had been carved out of his face."

The dommer folded his arms over his chest. "Whatever the significance of the vision seen in the mirror, the Warden is dead. Whatever killed him likely has seen us." Cyrus's mouth twisted in revulsion. He did not like that thought. "And it is clear some kind of sorcery is at work in this. Though neither my brother nor the nun detected active magic."

Cyrus shrugged and pulled the bundle of love letters out from under his arm and handed them to Cedolin. "We did find," he continued, "that the Warden held someone or something in high regard. He was composing love letters. Terrible love letters, but romance nonetheless. Curious, though. He does not leave many hints that identify the target of his affections."

[Nathan of the FoS]

"He was very careful to hide them," Darius notes, pointing to the letter. "They were hidden behind the glass of the mirror. More care than one would ordinarily take to conceal love letters."

Shrugging, he continues, "Of course, he hid his comb at the bottom of his foot locker."

[Cronax]

Agale nodded at his companions' recountings. "W. Lecanu's habits in borrowing from the library followed a similar tendency for excesses. "You mention that he did not appear to have a source of income sufficient to the demands of his exorbitant hobbies." Agale steepled his fingers at this. "No financial records I take it? If we know where he purchased his materials, we may be able to uncover how he covered the expense. Be it gold or promisary notes, the nature of money a man uses says a lot about its sources."

[DocBeard]

Tomas ahems, assuming that Agale didn't hear him. It is kind of crowded. "No, we do, I was just telling the captain. He kept track of where he bought each book and how much he paid for it. We wrote the information down for ease of reference."

[The Whistler]

"His literary interests were quite pertinent to the Museum's exhibition schedule, yes!" Celeste seems to appreciate the opportunity to contribute something halfway substantial to the conversation. "I was just commenting to M. Eisenwald and M. Mauganson upon the deep concern that Warden Lecanu must have maintained in that august institution--though whether that fact is a pertinent one, I admit I do not know"

[NeoTiamat]

Main Library, Ste. Mere des Larmes, Quartier Publique, Port-a-Lucine; March 24th, 770
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The dommer folded his arms over his chest. "Whatever the significance of the vision seen in the mirror, the Warden is dead. Whatever killed him likely has seen us."

"Damn," Cedolin sighed, rubbing his temples. "I suppose it was too much to hope for that we might remain unnoticed. Even more to hope they might still be alive... Damn!" The captain hunched forward in his chair, folding his arms across his chest.

"He was very careful to hide them," Darius notes, pointing to the letter. "They were hidden behind the glass of the mirror. More care than one would ordinarily take to conceal love letters."

"One wonders if he's ever had such a letter to conceal," Alice murmured aside to Sister Doherty, an amused smile on her face.

Captain Cedolin took the letters, examining them, then opening one and reading it. The progression of expressions across his face was fascinating to watch. His eyebrows raised at the content, then furrowed at the terrible prose. All and all, Cedolin looked like he had a more mundane theory for why the author would never want these to see the light of day. "You believe these letters may have to do with our culprit?" he asked the twins.

"Depending on what, what vows he took, the letters themselves might, might be worth hiding very well," Richard mentioned, glancing towards Nerit and running his fingers down the sides of his holy symbol.

"I was just commenting to M. Eisenwald and M. Mauganson upon the deep concern that Warden Lecanu must have maintained in that august institution--though whether that fact is a pertinent one, I admit I do not know."

"The Guigol Musuem?" Captain Cedolin whispered curiously. "It seems like that place was the start of all our troubles. Still, I hope it isn't a pertinent one, because not two hours ago Lord Simon de Casteele forcibly evicted every single employee of the state from the University premises. Unless the Council of Brilliance intends to rally the militia and storm the place - and there is talk they may do exactly that - but until then, the gendarme will not be investigating anything there." The captain heaved a heavy sigh, the days of sleeplessness weighing heavily on him.