[CHQ] A Murder of Crows

[Alaina]

As the group left the blacksmith she merely waved to them saying, "don't worry, I'll have it done in no time. And you," she pointed to Ajalon, "order something next time." 

 

As Dmitri made his way to the butcher's shop, he would find it to be much less warm then the blacksmith's shop. It was far larger with much more people crowding around, a constant flow of people coming in and going. His usual greeting would either be drowned out by the loud crowd that had been within the shop or simply met with strange looks from some of the other customers. Some also giving him a knowing look, nodding as they conversed about their own past guild jobs. There was , a long line of people moving towards the counter ordering whatever types of meat they wished to get, while there was an equally steady flow of people leaving with their goods in hand.

 

He would have to wait in line for awhile before he would be able to be helped, but when he got to the front, he was merely given a strange look by the man at the front. He was informed that the man was not the actual butcher, but instead just the clerk to get orders moving, but when given the severity of his situation he decided to bring him into the back. The back, as it was, made up the majority of the building, being filled with flayed carcasses either hanging up on hooks, propped up on stands or put in large vats of water. There were also a large quantity of bodies that were far less mutilated merely resting on tables. Front and center though, he was greeted by the sight of a large man decked out in a very heavy long sleeved outfit wearing a very un-fiitingly small apron. 

 

In his hand was a large meat cleaver, as he happily hacked away at what appeared to be a large pig carcass. As his work was interrupted, he turned to face Dmitri, and listened to his questions. His expression seemed to be knowing as he said, "I know nothing of the murder that happened. Merely that it was sweet woman who was killed. Such a shame indeed. But I will have you not suspecting my craft. I am butcher, not murder! I teach butchering not murdering, isn't that right Harvey!" 

 

As he said this, a man with pointed ears and jet black wings appeared from behind a curtain of chickens, a cleaver in his hand and a curious expression across his face. "What's that boss?" 

 

"Come Harvey, speak to nice man here, he has many questions to ask about craft and murder!" He looked back to Dmitri saying, "this young boy here is my newest of apprentices, Harvey! He is sweet boy, eager to help around and quick to," he punctuated his sentence with a quick slash of his cleaver into the carcass he had been working on earlier. 

[VCR_CAT]

Ajalon

 

"Maybe someone who stares at the blood too much, you know? A psycho fascinated with what he could do to people. We should split up again. It'll make this go two times faster." Dmitri patted Ajalon on the head, and Ajalon felt a wave of satisfaction with the progress that they had accomplished. "Good luck!"

 

With that, Dmitri walked out the door, leaving Ajalon with the blacksmith. "don't worry, I'll have it done in no time. And you," The Blacksmith said, and then pointed to Ajalon, "order something next time."

 

Soon the wave of satisfaction was replaced with the dawning realization of what Dmitri had said, and the confusion that followed with not knowing what Ajalon's next goal was, combined with the light, nervous shame of having not provided any additional business for the Blacksmith. "Ah, wait, what is it that you would have--" Ajalon had started to say, but Dmitri had already long gone from the shop. Ajalon turned to the Blacksmith and gave a short bow. "I apologize for the inconvenience. When next I am in need of sustenance I will be sure to browse and purchase any of your refuse materials that are meant for discarding. Thank you for your time!"

 

In a hurry, and without any plan, Ajalon left the Blacksmith's shop and continued down the street. If the murderer had used magic to commit such an act, then that would narrow down any possibilities, wouldn't it? Just consider anyone who would know enough magic to perform such an act and there would be a list of suspects right there! However, upon thinking of the Cherry Heart guild and the sheer size of the town, Ajalon realized that such a course of action would only be a waste of time. With no other ideas, the golem made its way back to the scene of the crime, with their eyes peeled for any suspicious individuals along the way.

[Mr. Hyde]

 

"I know nothing of the murder that happened. Merely that it was sweet woman who was killed. Such a shame indeed. But I will have you not suspecting my craft. I am butcher, not murder! I teach butchering not murdering, isn't that right Harvey!" 

 

Dmitri laughed nervously.  He wondered in that moment how the animals saw it...but the meat looked delectable.  Truly it was a hard trade-off.  

 

"What's that boss?" 

 

A young boy with jet black wings appeared from the back.  He held the fresh corpse of a chicken, along with a cleaver.  Dmitri recoiled a bit, but nodded in greetings.  

 

"Come Harvey, speak to nice man here, he has many questions to ask about craft and murder!" He looked back to Dmitri saying, "this young boy here is my newest of apprentices, Harvey! He is sweet boy, eager to help around and quick to."  

 

"Ah, I see.  Pleasure to meet your acquaintance, Harvey was it?"  Dmitri nodded once again.  "I'm Dmitri, current representative of Cherry Heart.  If you would be so kind as to answer a few of my questions, I'll be on my way."  Dmitri approached Harvey, and ushered him into the back from whence he came.  The place smelled of blood, and strange odors arose from every nook and cranny.  Dmitri cringed at the smells, but tried to keep a steady and calm demeanor.  "Now, seeing as you're a newcomer to the city, you're not used to all of the normal things that occur in the market.  I've been searching for any possible leads on the murderer at hand...he followed a lady from this very market, all the way down the road.  I was wondering if you had taken a glance at any suspicious activity by happenstance."  This whole time, he hadn't noticed, but Dmitri had been holding his breath as he talked.  Sadly, he had to take another breath in, and with that the smells and taste of death and decay.  Anyone who could stomach this...or enjoy it, was definitely suspicious.  His eyes kept close in on Harvey, waiting for a reply.  

[Alaina]

"Oh, oh man geez, oh. Oh man. A murder? That's some serious stuff mister." Harvey seemed to grow a bit more concerned as Dimitri began to talk to him about the murders at hand. After he had finished his statement and question, Harvey suddenly went wide eyed as he said, "oh that murder. Well, Mister, let me see if I can remember anything. It's a bit hard for me to think about customers, since I'm here in the back and all. You know," he waved his own cleaver around. "But, I don't recall Selia talking about anyone weird around her the past few days. Hmmm," he seemed to become pensive, before a look of realization crossed his face, swinging his cleaver to the side in excitement as a result, harmlessly against a wall. "So like, like like, so right! Dennen, you know the guy up front, he works there a lot. And on my break like, 3 days ago, he was telling me about this one weirdo, a weird one at that. And like, this weirdo, he kept coming to the shop but like, never ordered anything. Just kind of stood there. And he apparently did that for awhile, like more than a minute. A few days I think? Maybe longer, I don't know." Thinking on it more he said, "but, other than that, I can't think of anything like, way to super weird or anything."

 

As Ajalon made his way back to the scene of the crime, the man would notice that the woman Dmitri had talked to and the man he had talked to were both gone now. The man Reina had briefly questioned seemed to have returned back to his slumber, the woman herself being no where in sight, and the two guards on duty seemed to be a bit bored. While there were more passerby's walking by, they didn't seem to think much of the scene of the crime. "Welcome back." The golem would see Luvaya, who had also stayed there, tip her hat towards him with a smile on her face. "How goes the investigation?" 

[VCR_CAT]

Ajalon

 

"Welcome back." Ajalon glanced around in surprise until they spotted Luvaya standing around the crime scene. "How goes the investigation?"

 

"Ah, well we learned some things about the murder," Ajalon started, wracking their memories for what they had discovered so far. "We determined that the murder was very likely done by a magical means, however we have to find anyone who clearly witnessed what had happened or could have possibly done it themselves." Ajalon let out a sigh, as from exhaustion of thinking. "Our friend Dmitri had gone to go question some other people and left me to return here, however I am afraid I am at a loss as to what to do from this point. Sorry, it is unfortunate that this whole 'detecting' business is all quite new to me!"

[Mr. Hyde]

 

"oh that murder. Well, Mister, let me see if I can remember anything. It's a bit hard for me to think about customers, since I'm here in the back and all. You know," he waved his own cleaver around. "But, I don't recall Selia talking about anyone weird around her the past few days. Hmmm, So like, like like, so right! Dennen, you know the guy up front, he works there a lot. And on my break like, 3 days ago, he was telling me about this one weirdo, a weird one at that. And like, this weirdo, he kept coming to the shop but like, never ordered anything. Just kind of stood there. And he apparently did that for awhile, like more than a minute. A few days I think? Maybe longer, I don't know.  But, other than that, I can't think of anything like, way to super weird or anything."

 

"Ah.  I see...well I'll go ask him.  Again.  Thank you for your time."  With that, Dmitri left Harvey's company in a haste.  The boy had poor handle of his cleaver, and it had gotten him pretty tensed up.  Once again, Dmitri found himself at the store front.  He tried to wave down Dennen.  "Excuse me, Mr. Dennen!  I need clarification on the one customer who just stares at the meat from time to time!"  Apparently the man had been too busy when Dmitri had asked him the first time.

[Alaina]

Despite Ajalon's concerns, Luvaya didn't seem any bit troubled by it. Instead, with a smile on her face, she merely patted the man's back saying, "buck up my finely constructed associate. Detectiving is not easy work to dive straight into, so fret not if you're feeling the pressure of the work." Putting her finger to her chin, thinking for a moment, the girl said, "well, consider this then. In a murder there's always two parties involved. The murderer and the murdered. Obviously your goal is to figure out the murderer, and studying the scene of the crime and posing theories about how it happened is good. However, more often then not, figuring out the connection between the two parties is just as good in solving who the murderer is. So, what do you know about the victim so far?" 

 

Dennen, quite like Dmitri had expected, had been quite busy. Continuing to help the customer he was attending to when the man had walked back and asked Dennen his question. After a bit, the man looked to the teacher, a curious look on his face. "Stares at the meat?" The man seemed to be a bit confused by the statement at first, thinking on it for a moment, before shaking his head. "No can't say there's anyone like that. Though there was this one guy who wasn't looking at anything. Or you know, couldn't see him looking at anything. Wore a cloak with a hood and everything, couldn't ever really see his face so you know, can't tell if he was looking at the meat or not." Dennen's expression seemed a tad apologetic that he didn't seem to have the answer to Dmitri's question.