An Hour and a Half Later

[Jirai]

What could one do with an hour and a half?

Ninety minutes. Not much time.

But enough.

Enough that there were three bodies lying on the ground, burned beyond recognition, left for a mapmaker.

An hour and a half later.

[Glenn]

Bodies were delivered to the Constabulary. It was not exactly uncommon for Jirai to be the prime suspect in a series of murders, though it has been a while, hasn't it? When he had arrived to the scene of the crime, he was atypically rather drunk, which didn't help matters.

"What are they?" The mapmaker demanded, pacing erratically back and forth.

"They're dead bodies." The helpful Constable noted. Calomel had made some inroads in Myrken's foresnic arts, but there were limits, and Glenn's demands were testing them already.

"No." The young man said curtly, half looking as if he was going to draw his blade here and now. "Human or drow? Are they human or drow?" There was a distinction, absolutely.

"They're burned beyond recognition. Do I have to explain that to you again?" Patience would only take a man so far, even a grizzled one used to dealing with dead bodies.

For what it was worth, Burnie's patience had worn out. With a grunt, he was out the door.

[Lent]

The Next Day

Another day. More murders. Hnn. Not fair. Not really. Not anymore. Crazies? Sure. Murders? Not nearly so much, not anymore. Today though. Yesterday, actually. Poke a burnt body. Doesn't feel right. Flesh and ash. Less than the sum of the parts. Can imagine just what that crossboy can do. Ah. Almost forgot someone else was here. "Just why are you here, son?"

Mapmaker? Maybe. Haven't heard of him making maps in a while. He looks over the corpses, dishelved, upset. Fidgeting with a pair of gloves that he's taken off. Personal stakes. "What? Look, Constable. There are dead bodies and you're the person assigned to.. her."

"Mmmhmm." Throat's dry. Thankfully, a solution is never far from hand. Open the flask and take a drink. "Why are you here.. and not talking to Calomel?" Burnie skips the chain of command. Thinks he belongs on top of it, or close to it. Upside is that we never have to deal with him much. Downside is that he thinks he can do our job better than we can.

"I didn't want to bother him with..." Nervous, restless, edgy. Guilty and not hiding it, except for with words.

Ahh. Seal up the flask and look to the kid. "Son, you ask me, you didn't want to look like a fool on this one, not to him."

"Who asked you?" Burnie shoots a glare. Would be proud of the reaction, but what's the point? Reckon it's not so hard to rile him these days. "Constable, aren't you assigned to Jirai? Why haven't you caught her yet, then."

"Past the fact you've been withholding information?" Raise of the flask to him and another sip. Ought to give him a bit more than that. Riling Burnie won't bring these people back. "She's not killed anyone up here for a good, long while." A man has to weigh priorities.

That got a curt nod out of the kid. Figure he'd agree, or else he wouldn't have witheld that information for so long; probably didn't to Calomel, but certainly to us. "Why do you think that is? I've had her contained."

Now he's rationalizing. No real point in telling him so. Instead, practicality. "Now you don't."

That seems to hit him hard enough. Breaks eye contact. Voice quiets. "Now, I don't."

Let it all just settle on in. Poke the bodies again. Some great truth of the universe might reveal itself with one more poke. It doesn't. Take another drink. More chance of truth there, really. Quiet isn't so bad really, though. Finally.. "Well, son, what now?"

"There shouldn't be any more dead today." He's pacing again. "Tomorrow, I don't know yet. For now try to figure out if anyone's missing around town, if anyone's seen any signs of her crossbow going off. It's not subtle. And find SOMEONE who can figure out if they're human or drow. Why the hell is Jynoriel so hard to find when I actually need her nose?"

Not quite the question. Answer's worth a smile though. "We've been doing that, son. We'll keep doing that. Anything else?"

Another glare. No smile? Ahh well. Finally the boy gives another curt nod. That's that, then. "Good. Fine. Alright. Just keep me updated, Constable."

Toast him as he storms out, chip on his shoulder more like a small canyon. Oops. Burnie forgot his gloves on the table. Could go after him and.. Another drink, first, and... hnn, almost empty. One last poke at the bodies and it's time to go find a pub. Who knows when thirst will return? Priorities, right?