The Secrets of Tyrrus

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Kara contemplated the words of the Guard, biting on her lip in place of toying with her hair. Miribelle asked her question of either the Guard or Stardust directly, she couldn't tell, but it was a good thought. Still..."Does this Harbrook have any prior combat experience? If not, how did she have the ability to take out two Royal Guards and other members of the Ministry before being stopped?" She asked her question in a low voice, not comfortable with directly addressing anyone outside their group unless she was using her other charms.

 

Someone with no combat experience managed to take out two royals guards and three minsters. The ministers were understandable to a degree, he doubted that any of them had combat experience when it came down to it. The Royal Guard on the other hand were the real tricky part. He thought about this, thinking over what Kara had said. What if the ability was given to her? On that thought he glanced to the gloves that he wore, once completely ordinary and now enchanted to react to his own magic. "What if someone else gave her the ability for long enough to murder her victims." Zephyr proposed in an equally as low voice as Kara's. In theory it made sense, but in actuality there were a lot more questions to be answered.

 

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"I've no idea what she said as she surrendered, ma'am" Constable Johnson replied to Mirabelle "Only the royal guard were there. But a moment ago, while she was being dragged out, she mentioned something about 'not having control'" as Johnson explained, Dylan's eyes narrowed. Although Kara and Zephyr were speaking quietly, Dylan was paying attention to their musings. What if someone gave her some sort of ability to kill those guards? Magic. Such a nuisance. Great to have, terrible to be up against. No distinct magical presence was making itself known to the detective's supernatural eyes, only the occasional flicker of the natural magic that suffused the world itself, the kind of the thing Dylan had learned to ignore lest he go mad. He needed to get closer.
"I need to get into the ministry. Or to Miss Harbrook. Where are they keeping her?" he asked abruptly
"Uh... in that wagon. She's being interrogated at the moment... you probably shouldn't interrupt" Johnson replied warily
"I'll try not to" Dylan ignored the constables concerns and turned to his proteges "Royal guard are annoying. I - We - , need to get past them. Unfortunately, I've never been very good at dealing with people who annoy me. Kara, you're good at sweet talking, Mira you're a noblewoman, Zephyr... I'm not entirely sure what it is you do. Can any of you three get any more information from the Royal Guard or, better yet, let them allow me - us - into that wagon or the ministry building?"

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Lynda parted ways with Ulrich as they rushed into the HQ. Taking the first set of stairs she could find and rushing up them, two at a time, she hurried to the Lord-Marshall's office. She finally arrived, caught her breath briefly, and knocked on the door. There was a pause from within.
"Who is it?" came the voice of Lord Marshall Harvey Hogfeld
"Officer Lynda Rochester Sir" she answered dutifully. Another pause.
"Oh. You may enter". With that Lynda opened the door and stepped inside. The Lord Marshall was sitting at his desk, staring out the large window, which gave an impressive view across the local district. Savior Spire could be seen from that window, a stark shape against the backdrop of the sky, a monument to the progress and industriousness of the city. Lynda strode up to the desk. The Lord Marshall seemed to have a thoughtful expression on his face, as far as she could tell.
"My Lord. I have come to request access to the ministry building to aid our investi-"
"No." the Lord Marshall interrupted. The word caught Lynda by surprise and she stammered. After another pause, she looked at him with and inquisitive expression
"Well... Why ever not, my lord"
"Why do you need to? This is an open-and-shut case as far as I can tell. Lilian Harbrook is guilty, she was caught literally red-handed"
"But My lord, I feel like there's more we're missi-"
"I can't for a second imagine what alternative solutions there are to this case, Miss Rochester. Woman found, weapon in hand, surrounded by dead bodies. Locked room. No mages. It's foolish to even be considering a meticulous analysis, and it will only hamper the Ministry and the Royal Guard. Are you aware of how much bureacracy and paperwork we would have to sort through to even permit an investigation? It's not worth our time, especially when the streets are filled with crime that actually needs solving" The Lord Marshall stared her in the eyes with a deadpan expression, and she was unable to get a word in edgeways.
"You're not listening to me,-" Lynda objected indignantly
"And you're not listening to me. Let it go. The Royal Guard have it sorted" He stated, putting the proverbial foot down. Lynda held back a retort about how the Royal Guard were about as useful in an investigation as a group of monkeys with machine guns.
"Very well, my lord" Lynda spoke through gritted teeth. The Lord Marshall was being unusually stubborn on this point. She turned abruptly and left, seething with frustration below the surface.

Lilian Harbrook
Lilian panicked at the sight of the steel blade, eyes wide with fear. With Lucian's continued threats she grew ever more agitated "You can't kill me! That's illegal!" she protested. She turned to Jebediah in hysterics "I told you I didn't want to do it! I'm not working for anyone! I barely remember what happened! Please you have to believe me! You have to help me! The voice! The voice told me to do it! Ididn'twanttodoanythinghetoldmetodoeverythingand Icouldn'tstopmyselfohgods..." Lilian's voice trailed off into incomprehensible sobs.

Ulrich
Your search through old case files takes a while. After a few minutes you still haven't found anything fruitful. You haven't learned anything yet, you're just looking around.

 

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It finally happened, she snapped, Jebediah halted Lucian "Alright that's enough!" Jebediah instructed to Lucian "This poor woman's been through enough..." As Jebediah began to turn back to face her he began to think, his eyes shifting as if reading invisible notes hanging on the walls... A Voice? In her head... Insanity? That wasn't impossible, He was half way through his rotation now, Could refer to a recording, threatening order? but that would be her working for someone which she denied and she wasn't lying. A complete turn; Jebediah now was facing Lilian, He'd read something like this before, one of the old books on his shelf at home "Chronicles of..." It wasn't important right now. He breathed in, Mind control? Hypnosis? It couldn't be, its been outlawed for centuries and unobserved for generations in Eradan, now wasn't the time to jump to conclusions, Jebediah contained this thought within a single exhale as he relaxed and looked over the now weeping Lilian, he'd seen people lying to him with crocodile tears before but this wasn't that, it was time to close off this chat with one final question "Lilian. I don't believe you wanted any of this, and I'm going to keep you safe, but this voice? Where did it come from? Do you know who or what it was? ... Can you still hear it?".

 

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Kara raised her eyebrows at Zephyr, giving him a side long glance. Well, Blondie has some brains in between his ears. But if magic that powerful was able to take hold of someone in order to do such a thing, it was a frightening thought. What would stop something like that from repeating itself, and taking one of them next time? Kara didn't want to think about what could happen, there was no point. So she turned her thoughts back to the present and huffed attractively when Dylan asked her to do something again. "I can claim sexual harassment against you. See if I don't." She walked past him, her hips swaying and her hair catching the light as she tossed it over her shoulder before strolling towards the wagon. Because of her incredibly good timing and fair amount of luck, a man just happened to be exiting the wagon as she did so. He turned to speak to a guard by the entrance, giving her time to sashay up to him, and hear his last words. "You wouldn't happen to mind company on such a venture, would you?" She asked, winking at him as she tucked her hair behind her ear. "Pardon my rude manners and intrusion, but it is quite a hot day, and I was looking for respite myself. Your....colorful hair caught my eye, and well..." She hesitated, and lowered her voice. "They're saying that some woman murdered a bunch of people, and frankly, I don't feel safe alone. You look like you could take care of yourself, and possibly allow a girl like myself to impose on your strength and skill to protect her as well."

 

Zephyr certainly didn't have any traits that would be the most helpful in information gather, the first thing that he figured he could do was to eavesdrop. Not the most of helpful abilities for this situation, but it would have to do. "I'll find a way to manage" Was what he said to Dylan before heading off. If he actually was going to go through with his plan of eavesdropping then first thing that he should do is to find a place where he can do so without looking suspicious.

 

Mirabelle surveyed the situation. Kara had gone off towards the site of the interrogation, that was all well and good, but Mira had her sights set on a much more valuable prize - The scene of the crime. It would make Kara's more job more difficult if they got involved anyway. She turned to Dylan. Zephyr's musing on magic gave her a thought, and she knew exactly how to follow up on it.
"Dylan, I need you to come with me. I will get us inside." With Zephyr working with Kara on the eavesdropping on the interrogation plan, it fell naturally to herself and Dylan to get a look at the crime scene. "We will be posing as agents from The Tower. Let me lead." Mira turned on a heel and with her typical dignity and poise strode up to the Royal Guard barring the way for her and Dylan, her cane tapping along the cobbles as she went.
"Good afternoon officer. Lady Mirabelle Autumnfield, from the Tower. Myself and my partner have arrived to investigate suspected traces of magical activity at the scene." Mirabelle explained, meeting the Guardsman's eyes. She tapped the head of her cane impatiently.




With Mirela's workshop behind him, that left little else to do for now. He would have to wait longer to be able to locate Lynda at her office to enquire after the day's events. Therefore, he could proceed with one of his plans. He would visit the Saviour's Spire, the tallest building in the city. The Golem stomped through the streets on legs of steel, forcing people to move aside to allow the hulking figure through. He moved around a woman with a small human in a parambulator, being well aware that babies were fragile and that the portable carrier for the creature was not particularly manoeuvrable, but beyond that he made little room for anyone else on his walk. ​

 

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Dylan rolled his eyes at Kara's retort, he highly doubted she would go through with the threat. Nevertheless he said nothing as she strode through the crowd to intercept a constable, hopefully she'd learn something useful. He was interrupted from watching her and Zephyr as Mira seemed to have a plan. He didn't appreciate her ordering him around, but did not object since her plan sounded like it could be effective. The Tower, the Eredan authority on magic, were often called on for magical investigations, but were incredibly aloof and rarely seen. This worked in Mira and Dylan's favour, this way nobody could definitively claim that they weren't who they said they were. Mirabelle easily fell into the role of an impatient noblewoman, and was quite adept at deception. Her modern, functional suit, coupled with the elegant cane, was the perfect representation of a wealthy professional. Dylan's own clothing was much less convincing, but his bizarre hair colour marked him as a New Havenite, which usually signified a connection to magical authorities. Either way, the guardsman looked surprised.
"Er... we didn't call for the Tower how did you... Oh right, magic" he said, nodding his head knowingly, which just made him look like a moron. "Uh, we have the suspect in custody. Do you want to have a look at her first? Check for magical stuff on her? She didn't have anything that we could see, but we obviously don't have training"

Lilian Harbrook
Lilian looked up into Jebediah's reassuring face, regaining her composure "I... no. I can't hear it now. Only then. It came from... below I think? But nobody else could hear it. It was a man... I didn't recognise the voice, but he had an accent. He sounded Hirokiri I think?" she stammered, trying to answer Jebediah's questions.

Zephyr's Eavesdropping
Trying to remain hidden, you skirt the edges of the plaza. nobody pays much attention to you, but you don't hear anything all that important. Until, a Royal guardsman mentions something about the "escape tunnels".

 

Mirabelle gave the guardsman a reassuring smile when he explained their presence away to himself. She considered his offer of having a look at the prisoner, disguising her consideration by flipping her watch out of her pocket and checking it, then taking a look around towards the wagon. She could see Kara speaking with an officer, and Zephyr was nowhere near. That left it to her and Dylan to get the job done. Besides, this was perfect for her. She would be able to demonstrate her abilities by getting all the information that they needed with minimal hassle.
"Yes, I believe we have the time. Please lead the way." Her expression made it clear that she did not expect to be kept waiting.




Aspire's walk took him swiftly through Eredan, his eyes fixed on the towering structure of Saviour's Spire that rose above the tallest of buildings around it. The Golem weaved through the bustling streets, passing by a large building. A sign declared it to be the Steiner Institute of Medicine. Supposedly, it was the first true hospital in the country, but that was of little interest to the machine. More interesting was the large statue outside, depicting the great doctor himself in his black robes, tall black hat with its wide rim and his signature beak-like mask. Aspire admired the craftsmanship that went into it for a while, and mused on the sort of man that this Doctor Steiner must have been. He concluded that he would not likely have been terribly interesting to Aspire.

The Spire was close, and after walking a block he entered into another plaza. An examination of the signs indicated that this was Saviour's Square, dominated by a grander yet statue. Six figures were portrayed, five in the brightest gold against one in the darkest onyx, yet the one seemed to loom larger than them all. The young man in the waistcoat who stood slightly ahead of them all could only be Cedric Gallows, the Archmage of Thassalus. A titanic man in plate armour wielding a huge sword with a dragon's head carved into the crossguard was clearly Gaius Lestrade. Doctor Steiner made a second appearance. Kevin Valentine stood with his long cloak billowing out with gun at hand. Finally, a small woman in rough clothes with a satchel at her side hung near the edge. Ayla Vanderstone, he recognised her to be. She was the one remembered the least, which made him wonder - Who must she have been? Tales were told of her bizarre adventures yet so little was said about them. Of all of them, she perhaps was the one who the Golem was most interested in. What must she have seen in her time? What perspective must she, the poorest and least famous of them all, have had? The Golem would never know.

Before this array of heroes was the infamous Zaikerik the Betrayer. Of all, he commanded the most presence. An individual of great malice, it was said. Once again, the Golem found that he would have had questions for the man. Someone who was so long apart from the mortal realm must have developed an interesting perspective on it. The philosophical machine could scarcely help but wonder what observations he must have made about humans from his place in the Spirit Realm.

Eventually, Aspire left his musings and the Square, set on Saviour's Spire once more. He had quite satisfied his photoreceptors with these people of the past. As interesting as they must have been, it was a past without him or his kind. The only place Aspire needed look was the future, and in it find his purpose and perhaps a place for other Clockwork Golems. ​

 

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Jebediah leaned smiled towards Lilian as he lent back against the wall pulling a small yellow notepad from his pocket and began to write down the conversation that just took place, either due to some personal training or dormant family gene he had no issue continuing the interrogation "Okay Lilian, I believe you, though its going to be a hard sell. I'll pull some strings and do my best to keep you comfortable during your hopeful short time detained" She nodded as he finally over took the conversation on his paper with a follow-up question "But I have to ask? Hirokiri is quite distinctive... come into contact with anyone new in the past week that you may have interacted with?" He slid his pupils up to the tip of his notepad and looked over too her eager to hear her response.

 

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Dylan continued to sit back as Mirabelle lead this part of the investigation. The Royal Guardsman seemed to completely believe her story, and quickly rushed off to fetch his superior officer. After a quick conversation with the commander, he returned, and lead the two investigators to a prison carriage. As they approached, Dylan began to notice definite traces of magic within the carriage. Firstly, there was clearly a magical arcane item within, as he saw a bluish outline which shimmered slightly. But there was something else, the occasional flicker of red. He had no idea what it meant, he'd need to get closer since the trace was so faint. The guardsman opened the back of the wagon...

Lilian Harbrook
Lilian was reassured by Jebediah's belief in her story, and relaxed slightly. At his second question, she cocked her head and considered it. "Not in particular, nobody who stood out, I don't think. Although there was that Hirokiri man who was with Lord Mortimer Gallahowe, when I met with him two days ago. One of Lord Gallahowe's many protege's, I assumed. He tends to employ the Hirokiri immigrants because his wife is one" she stated, calling back memories. Suddenly, the back of the wagon opened up.

Dylan glanced into the carriage, and instantly two things caused him to stagger backwards in surprise. The first was the reappearance of the policeman from this morning, and the second was the sudden wave of negative energy he received from looking at the suspect. To Dylan's mind, her head was engulfed in a shroud of red magical energies, and just witnessing it was giving Dylan a headache. He quickly regained his composure and rushed around to the side of the wagon, to avoid being seen by the constable.
"Excuse me sergeant, these are agents from The Tower, they want to have a look at the suspect. Also your interrogation time is up" the guardsman informed Jebediah, not noticing Dylan's strange reaction.

 

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Jebediah was thrilled, a lead! A nobleman no less... No poxy royal guards would keep him from this case now, the plot had just thickened "Than-...!" Jebediah's eyes widened as he fell threw the back of the carriage as it was opened behind him, after a brief stumble he held his arms out until he finally found his footing, he glared at the royal guard who had opened it who looked incredibly dim, "Excuse me sergeant, these are agents from The Tower, they want to have a look at the suspect. Also your interrogation time is up" Jebediah composed himself "...Really? So who are these agents?".

 

Mirabelle followed the guard as they were taken to the wagon where the prisoner was being kept. She felt rather pleased with herself - The plan she had concocted was going off without a hitch. She allowed herself a private smile to celebrate. Throughout her life, she had been able to repeat this trick with numerous servants and some guards at various estates, but to deploy it in action like this and succeed was immensely satisfying. They stood before the wagon and the guard opened it, at which point things stopped going as accurately to the plan as they had been. Dylan rushed to the side of the carriage with a pained expression, but more alarmingly the policeman who was at the office earlier stumbled out. While to her knowledge, she was not seen, Mira was well aware that Dylan most certainly had been. She was not impressed. This was inconvenient, however a cover story sprung to mind should it be needed. The plan would continue as necessary.
"Lady Mirabelle Autumnfield. I assume the purpose of our visit should be obvious." Mira answered flatly. She tapped the head of her cane impatiently and fixed the officer with a glare. ​

 

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Gaaahhh. What was that? The red magic, surrounding the woman's head. She wasn't a magic user, otherwise she would have an aura. No, this was different. Magic had been used on her. Evil magic... forbidden magic. Well Dylan had enough to go on for now, and he was finding it difficult to think. He rested against the side of the wagon, holding his head. Nothing like this had happened before. It was as if the magic wanted to remain hidden, and was actively fighting against his intrusion; giving him the kind of headache he usually only had on Sunday mornings. It felt like his brains had been taken out of his skull, slapped, and then carefully placed back in. He was glad he had his flask, and proceeded to take a quick swig from it. A guard looked at him askance, but Dylan didn't care. He was about to start walking away, but Mirabelle's ruse was going to take them to the crime scene. Valuable evidence could be found inside the ministry building, although Dylan already had a few ideas for where his investigation could lead to next.

The Royal guardsman continued "Uh, there were two of them... Well either way they're here to make sure the suspect hasn't got any magical tricks up their sleeve, you see. Also I think they're gonna check for magic at the crime scene. You know, 'arcane' sorta stuff" he explained to Jebediah, speaking as if he knew what he was talking about.

 

It was easy to tune out the unimportant statements out of everything he was hearing as it was something that Zephyr had gotten used to doing. Helping this was the lack of attention he was getting as he skirted across the edge of the plaza eavesdropping attempts. Then came the mentioning of something that did catch his attention, from a royal guard no less. An escape tunnel. Probably used by whoever cast the magic. Now where is it?

 

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Kara let the natural smile slip through her charming facade, tilting her head to let her hair frame her face in an attractive manner. "Good, you're not one of the stupid ones. That'll make this infinitely more fun." She followed the direction Lucian walked with barely a glance backward. She worked better on her own, without the annoyance of group members to get in her way. "And I'll even do you one better, and buy your first drink. Since you're being so kind in allowing me to accompany you." She winked, though he probably missed it, what with his back turned.

 

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Jebediah looked over this new comer with intrigue and frustration, another group wanting in on this case, well there wasn't a moment to complain! He took a few steps forward and looked down to Mirabella and smiled softly outreaching his right hand to shake, to show respect, and also stop that insulting tapping "A Pleasure Lady Autumnfield, Sergeant Crowne though feel free to call me Jebediah." He held his hand out as the Guard spoke up about a second agent and Jebediahs face quickly turned too a frown, in the time it took Mirabella to pass her cane to her left hand he looked over his shoulders around him and saw lent up against the side of the carriage an all too familiar investigator, he turned back to Mirabella with a more stern expression as the two locked grips, "How about we discuss details with your Partner?".

 

The officer extended a hand and she accepted, her cane passing from her right hand to her left swiftly. Mirabelle shook his hand firmly. Sergeant Jebediah Crowne. She did not react to his firming of his grip on her hand. To do so would indicate some wrongdoing on her part. Dylan's presence was complicating matters. Once again, the misfortune of the situation was not lost on her. However, this was not unsalvageable. Mira was quick with excuses - She always was, and she already knew how to explain away Dylan's presence.
"Sergeant Crowne, if you wished to assist us in our investigation by adding your own knowledge of the case so far, you need only have asked." Mira spoke smoothly, not missing a beat. She released her grip on Jebediah's hand and turned to the Royal Guardsman. "I expect it will not be a problem if we were to bring Sergeant Crowne with us? His information may be useful in performing our investigation." The noblewoman placed the tip of her cane on the ground and ran her clockwork arm up to the head, the sound of metal against metal muffled by the soft gloves she wore. She fixed her gaze at the guard, then glanced at the open wagon expectantly then back to him.​