[color=A0A0A0][h2]Fleuri Jodeau[/h2][/color]

The fort captain's quarters was a stark contrast to rest of the fort.  Judging by the wounds on the captain's throat, it appeared that he had been murdered in his sleep.  Compared to the other soldiers they had seen, it was a far more peaceful scene.  Fleuri was loathe to call the victim of such a murder lucky, but...at least he had the dignity to die as himself and not a murderous madman.  The Reonite knight looked at the captain for several silent moments before finally speaking.

"Curious, I don't see any wounds on him other than on his throat," he observed.  "No sign of struggle either.  This doesn't look like the handiwork of a maddened soldier."

If Fleuri had to guess, it'd be that whoever brought the shard to the fort had also murdered the captain.  But why, exactly, would they go out of their way to kill him in his sleep and not just not subject him to the same murderous impulses as the rest of the fort?  What sort of threat did the captain pose that they didn't want to leave his death to chance?

"I think you're right Gerard, someone probably planted it."  Fleuri spoke to Gerard.  "Furthermore, I think whoever did it also killed the fort's captain here.  I wonder why they bothered to murder him, instead of just letting the shard drive him mad like the rest of the garrison."

Fleuri walked over to the desk and began carefully rummaging through it, looking for anything that might give a clue about what occurred at the fort.  He did so slowly and carefully, however- he didn't want to damage the late captain's belongings or destroy any evidence, and if the shard happened to be in here, he didn't want to accidentally touch it.

"Gerard, could you help me search this room?  There might be something in here that could shed some light on what happened here."

[@HereComesTheSnow]