Investigative Ledger Of Koring Hart

Purpose

This was the personal ledger of Investigator Koring Hart, during his time investigating the mysterious deaths of the royal family during "The Year Of Red Tears" in 713 A.S. Here he recorded his daily investigations and thoughts concerning those deaths. Although unable to solve the mystery himself, it was his last hope that someone would find his ledger, solve the mystery, and bring justice to the fallen royal family.

Historical Details

Legacy

The general public is unaware of the existence of this ledger and of its insightful contents. If it were to be discovered, and its mystery solved, and made public knowledge, the results could throw the kingdom into deadly turmoil.

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Investigative Ledger Of Koring Hart

Investigative Ledger Of Koring Hart

Koring Hart,
Investigator 3rd Class,
Kingdom Of Naroda,
Capital City Of Stoneheim,


35^th Fourmont:
Today begins my investigation into the mysterious deaths surrounding the royal family. It was quite a surprise to be summoned to the Archbishop’s Grand Inquisitors Chamber yesterday. I have to admit that I was a bit nervous while waiting in the Grand Hall. I have only ever been there once before, during our commencement ceremony about a year and a half ago. Fortunately, there was good news. To my great surprise I was being asked to be the lead investigator into the deaths of the royal family. I was so proud that they all thought so highly of me after only a little more than a year of investigative work, mostly to do with small domestic squabbles. They promoted me suddenly, from 1st Class right to 3rd Class Investigator and gave me this incredible opportunity. Now, just where to begin?
As our great teacher, Justice Ewald would say, “Don’t start at the beginning, start at the very beginning.” and “Be thorough”. Even though it looks like a few royal family members died from obvious natural causes, I had better be thorough. Don’t want any angry royals to think that I wasn’t doing my best or cause insult to the Inquisitors. However, this should still be a quick and simple investigation.

36^th Fourmont:
The first person to have an unfortunate end was the king’s daughter Treasa, 18. Although she has been buried for quite some time, I still need to check out the apple orchard where she was found and talk to any witnesses. The orchard is very close to the western woods and it’s not very surprising that a wild animal, such as a bear or panther may have attacked her. The mortician and his report say that there were many cuts, bites, and claw marks on the body. No real surprise but I’ll be sure to keep track of any evidence and write a report for each victim.

1^st Fifmont:
The second death was that of the king’s nephew, Wilmar Landebert. Different last name due to the king’s sister’s marriage. The poor boy, only 7, died from eating poisoned berries. However, after visiting the field where he was found, I could discover no poisonous berries or plants. Upon interviewing the mortician, he claimed that the boy’s stomach contents only had raspberries, blackberries, blueberries, snowberries, and some white monkshood. While the field did have all of those berries, there was no monkshood of any color. Monkshood is indeed poisonous, but the plant is only grown here for its ornamental beauty. Several blue varieties are found throughout the affluent parts of the city, I even saw some inside the Inquisitors Grand Hall, but only blue ones. The white ones are much more rare.

2^nd Fifmont:
The king’s twin daughters, Alanna and Alain, 26 also perished a few weeks ago. Their bodies were found in the Red Rock Ravine not far from the quarry. Several tall fences and gates surround the area. Stoneheim is famous for its decorative, red building rocks and the quarry is always locked up tight. My meeting with the quarry master went nowhere. He refused to answer my questions and would only say that the girls were found down south in the ravine, not in the quarry itself. The mortician again confirmed that the cause of death was from broken bones and fractured skulls consistent with a tumble down the rocky slopes. But why were they there? It seems an odd place for two of the king’s daughters to be. There’s not much to do or to see there. The Archbishop’s Inquisitors want an update in a few days. There isn’t much information to give them though.

5^th Fifmont:
The meeting with the Inquisitors wasn’t as bad as I had expected. While they were disappointed with the little that I had found so far, they did understand the deceased were buried before I was assigned the case. They were quite unhappy with the resistance that I had been receiving from the quarry master and a few others. I was surprised when the gave me the Symbol Of The Imperator. Two entwined, steel circles, suspended from a neck chain, each represents the authority of the regency and the faith. Those who posses such a symbol, have absolute authority over a particular case and can compel any witnesses to testify or even have them jailed immediately. It is a great power and I must use it sparingly. Any abuse will be seen as weakness and I could be the one sitting in a prison cell. I should definitely revisit the quarry master. That will have to wait until later unfortunately, as the king’s niece, was just found washed up below the Green Rock Rapids.

6^th Fifmont:
Hild Landebert, 23, the king’s niece and sister to Wilmar was found this morning, just below the rapids. The mortician confirms that the cause of death was drowning. He believes that several bruises and cuts indicate that Hild must have fallen, hit her head and drown in the river. I pressed him on the matter, wondering if she could have been struck in the head and then held under the water or even struck and then fell into the water and the current and rocks did the rest. He admitted that was a possibility, but people like nice, simple, quick explanations, and there was no evidence to suggest any alternatives. He told me that he liked that way I think, but accidents do happen. I asked about defensive wounds or other evidence. He said nothing that the river hadn’t washed away. Just a few strands of dog hair, but doesn’t know if Hild was walking her dog late at night or found a stray, or maybe both of them went into the river. I headed down to the river to see what I could see. No signs of dog tracks, no blood, no nothing. I peered into the river and could easily see the bottom. The river was very low, even for this time of year, and not very fast at all. If Hild had fallen in, she could have easily stood up and waded out. The rocks near the water did have their famous green colored moss and algae covering them, so they were very slick and supported the idea of her falling and hitting her head, but who knows for certain. Only the river knows and it’s not telling. I’ve got to ask her mother about her dog. I don’t look forward to interviewing the mother at all, especially after two very tragic accidents. First I need to swing by the Red Rock Quarry.

8^th Fifmont:
Back to the quarry master. Upon seeing the Imperators Symbol hanging from my neck, he immediately became more forth coming with his answers. Unfortunately there wasn’t much that he could tell me. But he did take me to the site where the twins were found, half way down a steep embankment strewn with rocks and boulders. It was quite easy to see that a sudden fall could do a lot of damage very quickly. So the cause of death was evident, but the why eluded me. Why were they there? What were they doing? Why this part of the ravine? I asked the quarry master if he had seen or heard anything strange and a flash of fear momentarily crossed his face. I asked him again and he denied that anything was amiss. A subtle touch of the Imperators Symbol got his attention right away. He reluctantly took me to the large fence surrounding the ravine. At the top of the incline was a huge 12 foot tall iron gate that lay bent and hanging on its hinges. He looked me dead in the eyes and said that my guess was a good as his. There’s no way that 10 soldiers could have broken through that gate, let alone the king’s twin girls. Only something very large and powerful could do that sort of damage. Maybe a team of runaway oxen could have, but that didn’t seem very likely. Any traces of what could have done this was washed away by the rains long ago. Moving just down from the gate I did see a large fallen tree branch, which if stepped upon, could aid in someone scaling the fence. Peering over the wall, there did seem to be some disturbed rocks that could indicate that someone had gone over the wall here, but that’s just speculation, again no real evidence. What could have gone through that gate? And for what reason?

17^th Fifmont:
I was alerted just after dark tonight that Wassa Landebert, 46, the king’s sister and mother to Wilmar and Hild was found dead just a few feet from her home. I raced to the Landebert Manor in time to actually see the body still on the ground. Judging from its position and location, it seems that Wassa either fell, or jumped, or was pushed from the upper floor balcony. Aside from a clearly broken neck there were no other markings, no notes, and no other clues as to what happened. There were no direct witnesses, but interviews with the house staff revealed that she was in great distress and melancholy due to the recent deaths of her two children. Suicide seems like a logical conclusion, yet five family members dying within a month is too unusual to be mere coincidence. So what really happened here? What happened to her kids? Is someone targeting the royal family? If so who is next, and how do I find them? If I find them, how do I prove it? Too many questions are flooding my mind. I need to step back and think. Who is to gain from all of this?

27^th Fifmont:
Over a week has passed, all rain, and no new deaths. That’s always good, but does that mean the potential killer is a fair weather murderer, or did he/she just move on? Or did they accomplish what they intended to? I’m still not certain there is actually a murderer, but the connection between victims certainly hints that there is one. A very clever one at that, leaving no real evidence. I need some sort of proof that there is a culprit, before going to the Inquisitors with this kind of sensational story.

29^th Fifmont:
Two day since the last rain and this afternoon another royal was found dead. This time it was Murna, 22, the king’s daughter. She was found just inside the Shagbark Forest, apparently picking mushrooms freshly grown after the week of rain. Very successful too, judging by the two baskets that were half full. A pretty terrible way to die, bitten and clawed to death by some wild animal, similar to what happened to her sister Treasa. With all that has been going on, why go alone into the forest? Because these are all natural, if somewhat tragic deaths, and nobody thinks that bad things will ever befall them, of course. A mistake that cost Murna dearly.

30^th Fifmont:
Four out of the king’s six daughters are now dead. I need to notify the Inquisitors about my suspicions right now. I hadn’t realized it earlier, but no sons for the king. Could this be some sort of play for the throne? Or is it just a personal vendetta against the king? This is a very popular king and his people seem to love him. I’ve never heard anyone say anything disparaging against him. King Rordan Brennus, is often called “The Poet King”, because of the great many poems that he would write and recite to his subjects during the holidays. Having actually heard many of his poems, I have to admit that they are quite good. He is kind and generous and a fun loving king, it’s no wonder that all the people adore him so much. Any affront or injury to the king seemed to be equally felt by his people. So it is no wonder that when members of the royal family start to perish, the people are greatly concerned and affected by it. I’ll have to think on it more later. Now to report to the Inquisitors.
The Inquisitors listened patiently to my theories, but didn’t seem convinced of any foul play. They asked if I had any possible suspects, but all that I could come up with was a few of the surviving members of the royal family. Notably, Finnan, the king’s nephew and Keelan, the king’s brother. After interviewing them, I am unconvinced that they really want anything to do with the throne. Finnan seems only interested in the easy life of a royal and shies away from any of the responsibility of leadership. His father Keelan, has his hands full taking care of his own families business and bailing out his son. I did notice an unusual dagger resting on some old tomes in his library when we met, but no deaths have come from any stabbings yet, so that seems a dead end.

23^rd Sixmont:
Nearly five weeks have passed and no new murders. Or should I say deaths, since there are no real suspects and no evidence of murder. I’ve been passing the time doing extensive interviews. The only thing of note was when I visited one of the more prestigious and skilled weaponsmiths. I asked him about the dagger that I had seen in Keelan’s library. He reluctantly told me about it, no doubt due to the Imperators Symbol around my neck. It turns out that the dagger was actually commissioned by a man named Carob Nijak. It had been forged from Arcane Silver so that Carob could place a permanent enchantment on it. What kind of enchantment, no one knows. As if things couldn’t get any worse, now we have a blasted wizard running around. I pressed the weaponsmith on the relation between the two men. Apparently Carob is a distant cousin of the King and Keelan, and acts as a consultant from time to time. There seems to have been a bit of a falling out between the King and Carob several years ago, which explains why Carob and Keelan are much closer. I know that I am going to regret it but I will have to interview Carob soon.

30^th Sixmont:
Last evening, I received word that Finnan Brennus, 17, has died. The body was found down by Mallard Marsh. When I arrived at the scene, Finnan’s body was still laying by a very large oak tree. A common place for the youth to hang out, have some wine, and sing songs around the campfire. However there was no campfire, no gathered wood, and no wine. Upon closer inspection, Finnan’s neck was broken and he had a deep cut under his jawbone. If I didn’t know better, I’d assume that he had fallen out of the tree and broken his neck. If anyone was meeting with him, they would most likely have run off, not wanting to be involved in a royal family members death. Something still seemed very odd about the body. Falling through a tree and only one cut, besides the broken neck of course, and no blood on the tree branches. I’ll need to talk to the mortician after he gets the body.

31^st Sixmont:
I just met with the mortician and he concludes that the cause of death was a broken neck from falling out of the tree. At least that’s what he put into his report. I asked him about the cut and lack of other injuries. He says that lack of injuries aren’t really evidence of a crime. That’s true enough, but something is missing. What about injuries that we can’t really see? Why just the cut on the jawline. There was no blood in the tree that we could find. So did Finnan’s head hit a branch or did something else hit his head. I insisted that he check the eardrum above the cut jaw. He humored me and gave me a faint smile as he looked into the ear. Then a slight feeling of affirmation and dread came over me as I saw the mortician’s eyes widen. The eardrum was indeed ruptured. My working theory was correct. This signified that a tremendous blow was delivered to the head, which ruptured the eardrum, broke his neck, and cut his jaw. Whatever hit him had to have been very big and very powerful, and had to have been able to surprise him, or else he would have run away or climbed the tree. Who or what could have done this? Is this enough evidence to prove that there is a murderer on the loose? I asked the mortician if he was going to change his report. He said “No, it’s still possible for that injury to occur from a falling from a tree and hitting hard”. I asked him if there were any magic spells to increase someone’s strength. He thought there could be spells for anything. I need to interview Carob Nijak tomorrow.

32^nd Sixmont:
My visit to Carob’s house today was a waste. Either he wasn’t home or just refused to see me. I’ll try and track him down tomorrow.

33^rd Sixmont:
No luck again today at Carob’s house. This time I left him a letter stating that he needed to meet with me or else he would be arrested under the authority of the Inquisitor.

34^th Sixmont:
My third and final attempt to meet with Carob, before having him arrested, was interrupted when I saw a commotion in the distance near Red Rooster Rock. After hurrying there, I could see that Nola, 20, the king’s daughter was dead. Her clothes were torn and bloody from many cuts, bites, and scratches from a wild animal. This was eerily similar to the attacks on her sisters Treasa and Murna, with many claw marks and bites, yet no apparent feeding, as if the animal killed her not out of hunger, but for some other reason. Perhaps hate? The King has to be furious, all of his daughters from his first marriage are dead and he only has little Peri left. Besides her, there is only Keelan and Carob remaining of royal blood. And just where is Carob? I’m issuing a warrant for his arrest as soon I get back.

2^nd Sevmont:
I was notified today that Carob was arrested today as per my order. I think that I’ll let him stew for a day or so before meeting with him.

4^th Sevmont:
I met with Carob today. He was not very happy with me at all, but too bad for him. Nobody else at the prison seemed to mind that the wizard was upset. Despite his anger, he did cooperate and answer as many of my questions as he could, which wasn’t very many at all. He claims that he has been working with Keelan, to investigate the mysterious deaths as well. He also believes that they are murders and not natural, although he couldn’t say why. The dagger he had crafted for Keelan was to protect him from harm. He was working towards having others made, but could not get any additional Arcane Silver. Apparently The Black Leaf Bandits in the elven woods have halted all traffic into and out of the area. Carob was away working on a solution to defeat them or circumvent them entirely. He had also suggested that the king and Peri stay with Keelan while he comes up with alternate defenses for them. The king refused to take his advice claiming that no place was safer than his castle. I asked him if he had any potential suspects and he said that he didn’t have any yet. Carob, it seems, had been working on the magical angle, while Keelan had been working on the historical and political angle to the murders. As for me, I’m still no closer to figuring out who is behind all of this, but at least others with alternate resources are searching for answers too. Now that our interview is over Carob is free to go, although I don’t really trust him much at all. I think that I need to check in on him every few days. “Wizards are, what wizards are”, as they say.
I had just finished up the release paperwork in the prison for Carob, and started heading home, when a loud explosion erupted from the west, behind me. As I spun around I could see a large black puff of smoke out in the distance. I immediately raced along Guard Street towards the quickly dissipating black cloud. After a few moments I arrived at the intersection with Castle Street, to find the gory body of Carob Nijak, 37. Although similar to how the kings daughters had died, this wild animal attack seemed to be much more vicious and violent than the others. The scene was brutal, with Carob’s body shredded and covered in a great many deep cuts and lacerations. His blood was spread all over the street and nearby lay the shattered pieces of what I’m assuming was a magic wand. A strong smell of brunt hair and flesh permeated the area. Carob’s fingers were scorched and his nails cracked from whatever devastating spell he had cast in his final moments. Witnesses later described hearing a loud rushing sound and seeing a great ball of swirling crimson flame from the distance. Yet there was no second body or any evidence that the Fireball had struck or killed any attacker. Carob was killed minutes after being released from prison and in the middle of town and there were no witnesses within sight of the attack? How could no one have seen the attack? Where did the attacker come from? Where did the attacker go? How come no one saw anything suspicious? What kind of person or creature could survive such a counterattack by the wizard? Too many questions and no answers. All we have is another dead royal and one less suspect.

22^nd Sevmont:
Three week have gone by and no new deaths. Perhaps Carob’s spell did kill his attacker or perhaps the king doubling the guard and patrols has made some difference. My latest visit to the Inquisitors for their update was pretty uneventful. They praised my hard work but still didn’t quite accept my theory that someone was targeting the royal family. They just kept asking for evidence or proof of murders. Reluctantly I had to admit that there didn’t seem to be any that would convince them.

24^th Sevmont:
Late last evening I received an urgent request to go to the home of Keelan Brennus. Upon arrival the head maid led me to the library where the body of Keelan, 41, lay cast on the floor. Scattered around his body were various old parchments, scrolls, papers and dusty books. Besides a broken window, an overturned small table and two chairs lay on the floor with a decorated tea pot and a pair of small broken porcelain tea cups. Underneath some scattered papers, a small silvery dagger was uncovered. I recognized it from our previous interview as the enchanted, protective dagger that had been commissioned by Carob Nijak. It doesn’t seem that the enchantment was able to help Keelan. I couldn’t really make heads or tails of the various papers and literature scattered on the floor. Most of the writings were in foreign or strange languages. There were a few items that I could read, they dealt with various metals, theoretical wards, historical artifacts, jewelry, weapons manufacturing, local histories, and botanical herbs. Examination of the body showed that the back of Keelan’s head was fractured, consistent with short fall, as if from being seated in a chair and falling backwards on to a hard surface. The only other physical damage to the body was that of a small knife prick to Keelan’s right index finger. Why prick your own finger? To write with perhaps? Were there no other ink quills around? There were, but ink writing would surely be lost in all of the papers strewn about the room. Blood would certainly stand out and be seen as more vital and important. Perhaps Keelan wrote something of importance before his passing. After a thorough search of the papers, no blood written accounts could be found. Upon peering out of the smashed window, a blood smeared book could be seen on the ground below. Closer inspection of the book revealed what Keelan had written in his own blood on its cover. One simple word, written in still wet blood… “Varulv”. I had never heard of it, or even know what languages it’s supposed to be in. My limited research into it has turned up only more questions. It seems that each source thinks that the word originated in a different language. So far I have heard that it is supposed to be dwarven, elvish, drow, ancient Narodan, early Pythean, lost druidic, and even a secret variation of Illusionist script. Translation has thus far been impossible.

34^th Sevmont:
During my last update to the Inquisitors, I overheard that the king had wanted to recall all troops into the city, conduct door to door searches, and enforced a strict curfew system. Thankfully however, Archbishop Mannix convinced him that that would cause mass panic and prevent the investigation from continuing. Instead the archbishop persuaded the king to seal the castle with his royal guards inside and let the archbishop handle any city activities outside of the castle.

16^th Eighmont:
Almost three weeks have passed with no new leads in the investigation. The king is still sequestered in the castle and the archbishop is running things very smoothly on the outside from what I can see. It was just announced that The Black Leaf Bandits have been driven back into the elven forest and that the northern routes have been reopened, and just in time for winter too. Perhaps things have finally settled down.

27^th Eighmont:
I woke this morning to the warning bells clanging from the castle. Normally this means that everyone has to get to an emergency shelter or military building, and get off of the streets. This was no city wide attack or disaster, I knew immediately what had to have occurred. Either the king or his last daughter had to have been killed. I quickly donned my gear, strung the Imperators Symbol around my neck and raced to the castle. With some convincing and flashing of the symbol, I was able to gain access to the castle and quickly met up with various other Inquisitors, Justices, and Sergeants. We were all brought to the royal throne room where the king’s body lay slumped in his throne. King Rordan Brennus, “The Poet King”, 68, was dead. Archbishop Mannix was there saying a prayer for the king, before ushering us all out of the room. A last glance at the king showed that he was still clutching his left arm, his lips pulled tight, and his eyes were very wide, almost as if in mortal fear. “A heart attack”, the Grand Inquisitor standing guard over the archbishop proclaimed. “Find Peri”, he instructed us all.
I cannot believe that the king is dead. All these months I had to find the killer. Find some evidence. Make someone listen. And I was useless. A complete failure. Everything was for naught. Only one royal family member left, little Peri, I had to find her and make sure that she survived. Interviewing the guards was futile, they had been so focused on the king that they never saw when or where Peri had left the castle. Cooks, maids, and servants, all couldn’t remember the last time that they had seen her, so focused on their tasks and watchfulness of their king. If no one inside the castle had seen her, perhaps someone on the outskirts had. All of the royal steeds were still inside of the royal stables, but the youngest stable boy thought that he had seen a woman leap from a window and sprint down the road towards Silver Shore Lake through the dawn’s early light. No one had believed him when he told the guard this morning. I know too well how that is, and I would not make that mistake. I had him saddle one of the horses and I galloped down the road to the lake.
When I arrived at Silver Shore Lake, there was a bit of a confrontation as the dock master was trying to calm down an irate boat owner. Apparently someone had stolen his boat out from under the dock master’s sleepy watch. This had to be Peri, but why was she running and stealing a boat? Through his spyglass we could see a faint outline of a boat out towards the western part of the lake. The dock master offered to go out and retrieve the boat and the thief. I insisted upon coming with him and a quick glance to my Imperators Symbol was all it took to be invited to join him. We set out immediately and after some time came upon the small wooden boat bobbing in the waves. As we pulled along side and tied the two boats together, we could see no sign of Peri or anyone else in the boat. There was only an out of place, neatly folded pile of clothes and Peri’s necklace sitting on the center bench of the small boat. There was no body, living or dead, and nothing else. It was as if she had calmly removed her clothes, folded them neatly so as not to inconvenience anyone, and then vanished. Perhaps the grief over the king’s death overwhelmed her and led her to this desperate end. Once back at the dock, other boats stationed with various Inquisitors, Justices, and royal guards continued to look for the body. Nothing was ever turned up and I had to admit that little Peri Brennus, 13, the last of the royal blood line was dead.
The Grand Inquisitor collected Peri’s belongings from me and asked that I finalize my reports and bring all relevant materials for a debriefing tomorrow. It was finally over. One way or another it was finally over. For better or worse as they say, definitely for the worse in this case. It was a long trip back home and I had plenty of time to dwell on my abject failure. How could there be no evidence? How could I not find anything? How could I not convince anyone that there was killer on the loose? Still no rhyme or reason for it. I suppose that I’ll be demoted tomorrow. I had better gather up all of my notes for the Inquisitors.

28^th Eighmont:
A loud pounding resounded from my door early this morning, just after sunrise, I wasn’t even awake yet. As I unlatched the door, in strode three Justices and an Inquisitor. They demanded all of my paperwork concerning the case and any notes, drafts, interviews, or written accounts of the events that I was investigating. They even took the blank paper that I had laying on my small writing table. The Inquisitor demanded my Imperators Symbol and I gave that up too. The only thing left from my investigations was this small ledger, and only because I threw it against the wall last night out of frustration, and it took a fortuitous bounce and landed behind some logs near the fireplace. I hadn’t bothered to retrieve it due to my feelings of defeat and failure for this case.
I was escorted to the Archbishop’s Grand Inquisitors Chambers, where we spent the next ten hours going over all of my findings, theories, and notes about this unfortunate case. I fully expected to be banished, jailed, or in the very least stripped of all ranks and cast out of the Investigators. Oddly, after the interrogation, the Archbishop himself excused the Inquisitor and talked to me in private. Surprisingly, he thanked me for my hard work, dedication, and perseverance, then promoted me to 5th Class Investigator. He said that he had a special mission for me to undertake after the final funeral for Peri and the King. He said that it was of utmost importance and secrecy is vital and to tell no one. I was to secretly gather the supplies that I needed for an extended mission, accompanying the king’s top marshal, sergeants, and knights into the northern elven woods. No further information would be given at this time but I suspect the mission had something to do with The Black Leaf Bandits.

34^th Eighmont:
The Archbishop called for a week of morning for the King and his deceased family members. At the conclusion of the week the royal family was at last laid to rest. It seemed that the whole city turned out for their beloved “Poet King”. As was usual for the royal cemetery, strong winds blew red rock dust up from the Red Rock Quarry. As the dust landed on the weeping people, it turned their tears a deep red color. Tomorrow holds the ascension ceremony where Archbishop Mannix will assume the throne and become the new king with the first title of “Holy King”. The next day will begin my new mission and I look forward to putting this travesty behind me and hope that the new mission will be much more successful. It certainly can’t get any worse can it?

35^th Eighmont:
As I was gathering the last minute supplies from the market today, I ran into Justice Ewald. We exchanged pleasantries and chatted a bit about the strange deaths and my case. It was good to see him again after all these years, but something that he said really sticks out in my mind. He asked if I had started at the beginning. Knowing that the question was a trap, I assured him that I had started at the very beginning. He smiled and nodded but his eyes seemed to question me. I told him that I went back and investigated the very first deaths of Treasa, Wilmar, Alanna and Alain, who had died before I was even assigned to the case. He approved but questioned if Treasa was actually the first death. I was about to reply yes, when he asked if there wasn’t any more royal headstones in the cemetery. He cut me off again, asking if that wouldn’t be the very beginning. I hadn’t thought about the king’s second wife, Peri’s mother, or the king’s first wife. Queen Alva died just over a thirteen years ago, murdered by The Black Leaf Bandits, or so they say, and Queen Honora went missing many years before. I should look into this, but the investigation is over and I’m leaving tomorrow on a new mission. I just can’t shake this feeling that something is missing.

36^th Eighmont:
Today I will be heading out for the secret mission into the elven woods to investigate The Black Leaf Bandits. We are to take a new route deep into the elven woods, I wonder how the new king found out about this secret trail. I had asked if I needed to purchase any weapons, but they said that wasn’t necessary and to trust in the faith of the new "Holy King". It is a bit odd that I am the only Investigator going, no Inquisitors or even Justices. It should be safe enough though as everyone else is made up of the old king’s most loyal guards, knights, sergeants, and Marshal. What could go wrong?
On our way out of town we passed by the royal cemetery and I insisted that we stop and pay our final respects, which most of the old king’s men agreed. I really just wanted to get a good look around the graves and see if I could learn anything new. All of the royal family was there, all buried next to each other. Wassa, Wilmar, and Hild were together in the Landebert plot. Carob Nijak had his own resting place near where Keelan and Finnan were laid to rest. The direct hereditary descendants of the king were all together. First was Queen Alva W. Brennus, next to her daughter Peri, then King Rordan Brennus, Nola, Murna, Alain and Alanna, and finally Treasa was next to Queen Honora M. Brennus.
The knights stood at attention while we all paid our respects. First the Marshal went, then the sergeants and guards, then me and following up was the loyal knights. While waiting, I overhead one of the sergeants discussing how eager he was to get going and finally get some revenge for Queen Alva. Apparently she had been killed about 13 years ago by The Black Leaf Bandits on a trip bringing supplies from Archbishop Mannix to the elven people. Her death fostered a deep hatred for all elves. When they denied the existence of The Black Leaf Bandits, things only got worse. Despite the Archbishop’s Inquisitors recovering several weapons specific to the bandits, the elves claimed that they were forgeries, siting the cracks, chips, and weak metals that could not last the centuries of use that they were designed for.
I asked what the W and M stood for on the headstone of the two queens. The old sergeant said that these were the initials of the Queen’s maiden names. Windsong for Alva, she was half elven from the Windsong family and Mannix for Honora, she was the sister of the Archbishop, now "Holy King". After having five daughters and no sons, the king sent her to the oracle to ask how they could have a son. She was apparently killed during the long travel there. The king was devastated and the Archbishop was furious. The Archbishop suspected the elves, but no one knows for sure. The last few knight are finishing up their prayers and its time to get going if we are to reach the first waypoint before dark. I still wonder where we got this secret map from. I suppose that I should start a new ledger to record the events that transpire on our new mission.

8^th Ninmont:
I barely escaped today, after a week of traveling through the deep woods, we were ambushed early this morning while we slept. The screams and fires were all over. The king’s men were being slaughtered everywhere I looked. I quickly grabbed what was in reach and ran out of the collapsing tent. The arrow wound in my leg is slowing me down and the cut in my side is killing me and I’m exhausted. I can’t believe that The Black Leaf Bandits knew right where we were and how to get past out defenses. I barely stumbled out of there alive. I know that they are right on my trail but I’m so tired and have to rest. I thought that the bandits all had black hair, cut short in defiance of the elven court, but I swear that through the fires I could see yellows, browns, and red hair. Although they all wore the typical simple helms and leather armor, I swear that I could see moustaches as well. I’ve got to keep going and get back to the city, but who can I trust there? I am hiding this ledger in this old tree stump in hopes that if I can’t make it back someone will find it and know my story and figure out what truly happened. What a terrible fool I’ve been. Just need to rest a bit. One more moment then_____

Close

Type

Journal, Personal

Medium

Paper

Authoring Date

35th of Fourmont to the 8th of Ninmont in 713 A.S.

Myth

"The Year Of Red Tears" or "Regicide In The Kingdom Of Naroda"