A fragment of a mirror? Now we just need the smoke for this bloody magic act.
Okay, lets think about this logically. The music room is on the second floor, and the only exit leads out to the hall. Considering a lack of blood from the dismembered hand of the victim, they somehow exited another way. Why are there mirror shards though...
'The victim screamed'
What? Why would that... wait! In the other circumstances there had been no warning of the attempted killing, or possibly kidnapping seeing as there was no body. The victim saw the killer and reacted, meaning these shards were part of something the killer was using to enter and exit. But how could a mirror help someone move a body?
'Mirrors are magical'
Well yes, the fact that a surface can perfectly reflect the surroundings was magical to earlier cultures. An obscure myth was that if you stood between two mirrors you'd end up trapped. And of course everyone knows that when you break a mirror it's bad luck, but he always put it down to the fact mirrors were quite expensive in a pre-industrial world.
'Breaking the mask reveals what lies beneath'
Okay, maybe he should be taking those anti-psychotics. He just realised he was having a conversation with a voice inside his head. Slipping the mirror shard into his pocket, the voice began to quieten, but it seemed almost desperate.
'Remember... what you... are'
Turning around to the person investigating the locker, he walked up to share what he had found so far.
@World Traveler"Find anything about the victim? Considering my time getting here, the killer couldn't have gotten out the main door. I also think the victim managed to fight back against them, these shards probably came from something the killer was holding. Just confused why someone would walk around with a mirror of all things, especially when committing a murder."
@Ypnosi I mean they are both travelling around for reasons, so they could potentially have encountered each other. Jack has been active for 14 years, and has been to at least three of the regions due to his work as a treasure hunter.
Rather than inquisitive, it could be a reason of responsibility, trying to corral her more reckless classmates before they get in danger. She'll probably get dragged into the shenanigans anyway, but at least she can say she tried.
Appearance: Standing at 5'7", he has a naturally lithe build. His body is covered in a layer of dark grey fur with black spots. His hair is black, and forms a shaggy mane, with his ears sticking out the side. His face looks mostly human, though with a cat nose instead of a human one and catlike green eyes. His left hand has an amulet made from a diamond encased in silver embedded in his palm, and some of the fingers on that hand are crooked like they've been badly broken in the past. His legs are digitigrade, like that of a cat, and he refuses to wear shoes. In terms of clothing, he wears a pair of brown pants that are cut off below the thigh, a green long sleeved tunic, and a brown cloak, with a belt holding his bolt quiver, his hand crossbow, and his sword sheath. His armour consists of a pair of knee pads, a leather cuirass, a pair of leather shoulderpads, a leather bracer, and the Gauntlet of the Hunt. The cuirass also has a bandolier to hold his knives.
Equipment: -Artificial Mana Heart: A coin sized amulet found in a ruin that stores magical power which the wearer can then draw on, similar to a Mana Heart. Due to circumstances involving an idiot and a crushing trap, the Artificial Mana Heart is now embedded into his left hand. -Gauntlet and Sword of the Hunt: A paired set of magical items, a silvered shortsword with a design of a wolf's head on the guard, and a steel gauntlet with a mechanism to stab the user. By drawing blood from the user, via the gauntlet, the sword becomes imbued with a magical aura that increases the damage it deals. -4 Regular Daggers -Silvered Dagger -Hand Crossbow -Quiver with 20 Regular Bolts and 5 Silvered Bolts -A Set of Leather Armour with Metal Reinforcement -A Set of Travelling Clothes -Spellbook -Backpack -Rope -Lockpicks -Crowbar -Coinpurse
Backstory: Jack was orphaned at a young age. His family were travelling merchants, but on their way through Levis they were caught in a rock slide. He only survived due to the actions of his mother, who threw him under a thorn bush which prevented him from getting crushed. Later he was found by the dwarves who were clearing the road. Seeing as he was an orphan, one of the dwarves in a happy, but childless, marriage decided to adopt him. They named him Droigheann, or Thorn in their tongue, after where he was found. Raised in the dwarf way, a lot of alcohol and fighting, Thorn grew up with both a high endurance and an appreciation for the past. For a time, he tried becoming a priest of Rava, but the wanderlust he inherited from his birth parents made staying in one place unappealing to him. The head priest informed him of a job he could take, that of a treasure hunter. Retrieving fragments of the past and shedding new light on it. He was 15 at the time. Over the next 14 years, he made a name for himself as a Treasure Hunter. He began to refer to himself as the Jack due to the size of his magical heart being too small to be more than adapt in magic. Due to some errors in literacy, The Jack Thorn became Jack Thorne when he signed up to the League. Seeing as dealing with the paperwork would be too much effort, he decided to keep the name. He felt it suited him. During one of his excursions, he came across an artifact designed to mimic a Mana Heart, allowing him to be a more effective caster. It became a permanent part of his body during a delve into a ruin with a greenhorn. The idiot activated a crushing trap, killing him and trapping Jack's arm. Though he managed to disarm the trap with his Legerdemain spell, his hand had been crushed and the amulet forced into it. While not the first time he had failed, it was the closest he had come to death so far, and it wasn't even down to his actions. Since the incident, he has been working alone, unwilling to put up with the bullshit of other people.
Abilities: (Physical, Magical, or Both) As a Panther Half-Beast, Jack has the natural bonuses that come with his race. Namely he has enhanced reflexes and flexibility, claws that allow for easy climbing, and enhanced night vision. He is also ambidextrous. His constitution is higher than average for his species, due in no small part to being raised by Dwarves and their lax stance on alcohol. He was trained to play to his strengths, being weaker but more agile than the Dwarves, coming up with an aggressive style that aims to keep opponents off balance. As a treasure hunter, he has a wide knowledge of history, able to identify the purpose and the builder of most ruins he enters. He also has a vast knowledge of magic, born out of necessity considering the sheer amount of magical bullshit he finds himself encountering in his profession. Initially he had some training as a Priest of Rava, but with his decision to become a treasure hunter he moved into learning more generically useful magic. He has a series of spells he can cast, along with a few rituals. His magical heart is about 70% the size of his heart, with the artificial one he has being about 33%. Combined, he has enough power to be considered a magus, but he lacks the training of others with a naturally larger heart.
List of Spells: -Spare the Dying A spell designed to stabilise a wounded person. It won't cure the wounds, but will prevent death by bleeding out. -Legerdemain Summons a green spectral hand that can turn invisible, work lockpicks, and lift up to 10lbs. -Chill Touch A borderline necromancy spell. Creates a ghostly hand that drains vitality, dealing damage and preventing healing on the target temporarily. -Prestidigitation This spell is a minor magical trick that novice spellcasters use for practice. You create one of the following magical Effects. • You create an Instantaneous, harmless sensory effect, such as a shower of sparks, a puff of wind, faint musical notes, or an odd odour. • You instantaneously light or snuff out a Candle, a torch, or a small campfire. • You instantaneously clean or soil an object no larger than 1 cubic foot. • You chill, warm, or flavor up to 1 cubic foot of nonliving material for 1 hour. • You make a colour, a small mark, or a Symbol appear on an object or a surface for 1 hour.
[The Following are more Energy Intensive and can only be used a few times a day]
-Cure Wounds Imbuing holy magic into a person, the caster enhances the users healing ability, allowing them to more quickly recover from injuries. This magic does deal damage against creatures who are unholy, such as undead. -Feather Fall The Caster causes up to 5 targets to slow their descent to a quarter of their speed and acceleration. -Shadow Blade The user forms a blade out of darkness. This weapon deals more damage than a regular weapon.
List of Rituals -Identify Takes ten minutes to complete. When used on a magical item, it can reveal what it can do. -Detect Magic Takes ten minutes to complete. Creates a magical pulse that heads out 300 meters. For an hour, any magical items and spells within the range are revealed to the caster. -Find Familiar Takes an Hour to complete. Binds either an elemental or a demon into the form of an animal that is bound into the service of the caster. The user can telepathically communicate with the familiar while it is within 100ft and can share it's senses.
Other: Edgar: Jack's familiar, a minor demon trapped into the form of a raven. Practically indistinguishable from a normal raven save for the fact that instead of cawing it goes "SOULS".
Took some time, effort, and plenty of bodies, but finally got my CS done.
Name: Droigheann / Jack Thorne
Gender: Male
Species: Half-Beast (Panther)
Age: 29
Nationality: Lezin
Appearance: Standing at 5'7", he has a naturally lithe build. His body is covered in a layer of dark grey fur with black spots. His hair is black, and forms a shaggy mane, with his ears sticking out the side. His face looks mostly human, though with a cat nose instead of a human one and catlike green eyes. His left hand has an amulet made from a diamond encased in silver embedded in his palm, and some of the fingers on that hand are crooked like they've been badly broken in the past. His legs are digitigrade, like that of a cat, and he refuses to wear shoes. In terms of clothing, he wears a pair of brown pants that are cut off below the thigh, a green long sleeved tunic, and a brown cloak, with a belt holding his bolt quiver, his hand crossbow, and his sword sheath. His armour consists of a pair of knee pads, a leather cuirass, a pair of leather shoulderpads, a leather bracer, and the Gauntlet of the Hunt. The cuirass also has a bandolier to hold his knives.
Equipment: -Artificial Mana Heart: A coin sized amulet found in a ruin that stores magical power which the wearer can then draw on, similar to a Mana Heart. Due to circumstances involving an idiot and a crushing trap, the Artificial Mana Heart is now embedded into his left hand. -Gauntlet and Sword of the Hunt: A paired set of magical items, a silvered shortsword with a design of a wolf's head on the guard, and a steel gauntlet with a mechanism to stab the user. By drawing blood from the user, via the gauntlet, the sword becomes imbued with a magical aura that increases the damage it deals. -4 Regular Daggers -Silvered Dagger -Hand Crossbow -Quiver with 20 Regular Bolts and 5 Silvered Bolts -A Set of Leather Armour with Metal Reinforcement -A Set of Travelling Clothes -Spellbook -Backpack -Rope -Lockpicks -Crowbar -Coinpurse
Backstory: Jack was orphaned at a young age. His family were travelling merchants, but on their way through Levis they were caught in a rock slide. He only survived due to the actions of his mother, who threw him under a thorn bush which prevented him from getting crushed. Later he was found by the dwarves who were clearing the road. Seeing as he was an orphan, one of the dwarves in a happy, but childless, marriage decided to adopt him. They named him Droigheann, or Thorn in their tongue, after where he was found. Raised in the dwarf way, a lot of alcohol and fighting, Thorn grew up with both a high endurance and an appreciation for the past. For a time, he tried becoming a priest of Rava, but the wanderlust he inherited from his birth parents made staying in one place unappealing to him. The head priest informed him of a job he could take, that of a treasure hunter. Retrieving fragments of the past and shedding new light on it. He was 15 at the time. Over the next 14 years, he made a name for himself as a Treasure Hunter. He began to refer to himself as the Jack due to the size of his magical heart being too small to be more than adapt in magic. Due to some errors in literacy, The Jack Thorn became Jack Thorne when he signed up to the League. Seeing as dealing with the paperwork would be too much effort, he decided to keep the name. He felt it suited him. During one of his excursions, he came across an artifact designed to mimic a Mana Heart, allowing him to be a more effective caster. It became a permanent part of his body during a delve into a ruin with a greenhorn. The idiot activated a crushing trap, killing him and trapping Jack's arm. Though he managed to disarm the trap with his Legerdemain spell, his hand had been crushed and the amulet forced into it. While not the first time he had failed, it was the closest he had come to death so far, and it wasn't even down to his actions. Since the incident, he has been working alone, unwilling to put up with the bullshit of other people.
Abilities: (Physical, Magical, or Both) As a Panther Half-Beast, Jack has the natural bonuses that come with his race. Namely he has enhanced reflexes and flexibility, claws that allow for easy climbing, and enhanced night vision. He is also ambidextrous. His constitution is higher than average for his species, due in no small part to being raised by Dwarves and their lax stance on alcohol. He was trained to play to his strengths, being weaker but more agile than the Dwarves, coming up with an aggressive style that aims to keep opponents off balance. As a treasure hunter, he has a wide knowledge of history, able to identify the purpose and the builder of most ruins he enters. He also has a vast knowledge of magic, born out of necessity considering the sheer amount of magical bullshit he finds himself encountering in his profession. Initially he had some training as a Priest of Rava, but with his decision to become a treasure hunter he moved into learning more generically useful magic. He has a series of spells he can cast, along with a few rituals. His magical heart is about 70% the size of his heart, with the artificial one he has being about 33%. Combined, he has enough power to be considered a magus, but he lacks the training of others with a naturally larger heart.
List of Spells: -Spare the Dying A spell designed to stabilise a wounded person. It won't cure the wounds, but will prevent death by bleeding out. -Legerdemain Summons a green spectral hand that can turn invisible, work lockpicks, and lift up to 10lbs. -Chill Touch A borderline necromancy spell. Creates a ghostly hand that drains vitality, dealing damage and preventing healing on the target temporarily. -Prestidigitation This spell is a minor magical trick that novice spellcasters use for practice. You create one of the following magical Effects. • You create an Instantaneous, harmless sensory effect, such as a shower of sparks, a puff of wind, faint musical notes, or an odd odour. • You instantaneously light or snuff out a Candle, a torch, or a small campfire. • You instantaneously clean or soil an object no larger than 1 cubic foot. • You chill, warm, or flavor up to 1 cubic foot of nonliving material for 1 hour. • You make a colour, a small mark, or a Symbol appear on an object or a surface for 1 hour.
[The Following are more Energy Intensive and can only be used a few times a day]
-Cure Wounds Imbuing holy magic into a person, the caster enhances the users healing ability, allowing them to more quickly recover from injuries. This magic does deal damage against creatures who are unholy, such as undead. -Feather Fall The Caster causes up to 5 targets to slow their descent to a quarter of their speed and acceleration. -Shadow Blade The user forms a blade out of darkness. This weapon deals more damage than a regular weapon.
List of Rituals -Identify Takes ten minutes to complete. When used on a magical item, it can reveal what it can do. -Detect Magic Takes ten minutes to complete. Creates a magical pulse that heads out 300 meters. For an hour, any magical items and spells within the range are revealed to the caster. -Find Familiar Takes an Hour to complete. Binds either an elemental or a demon into the form of an animal that is bound into the service of the caster. The user can telepathically communicate with the familiar while it is within 100ft and can share it's senses.
Other: Edgar: Jack's familiar, a minor demon trapped into the form of a raven. Practically indistinguishable from a normal raven save for the fact that instead of cawing it goes "SOULS".
We're dealing with a murderer who doesn't leave crime scenes with a ring fetish. Him being able to survive a 2/3 story (depending on the country) drop wouldn't surprise Felix.
Besides, he's leaning more towards entry, seeing as the glass is inside the room.
It says something about Felix's sanity that he immediately ran towards the scream. He didn't really care for detentions, though Raph would probably be pissed with him for that. Judging from the slightly deadened sound of the scream, it had to be in one of the rooms with soundproofing. This was something the boy knew from the Old Man's sexual escapades, sound proofing doesn't stop noise. He internally shuddered at the memory, but put it aside as he headed for the music room.
The first one on the scene, he immediately looked around. What was the murderer's obsession with rings? Is the killer an overly dramatic fan of Lord of the Rings? No, if that was the case they'd be hoarding the rings...
As he was pacing with his thoughts, he noticed a glimmer of light underneath the piano. What the, why would glass be underneath the piano? From the spread, it seems like it came from the window... which is still in one piece.
"So the point of entry was a window, just not the one in this room... or would that be that version of this room?" Felix muttered as he used his shirt to pick up one of the shards and compared it to the window. "But that would imply..."
"Yes... don't bring out your phone." muttered Felix, overhearing the girl, Kyo-something, try to admonish her neighbour. It was only a 4/10 on the Raphael scale of admonishment, would've been a 5 but the stutter lowered it. Unsurprisingly Felix was also on his phone, having a nice battle with Nemi-chan.
It was amusing to play against someone with equal or greater skill, though he had to admit most of the fun came from the psychological battle. Nemi-chan was prideful, super prideful, which admittedly was backed up by their impressive intellect if the games he had played against her were any evidence (they were). However, that pride was also a weakness against someone like him, who has a habit of provoking anger in others. Thus the Nemi-chan. This brought them to the current game, where he was intentionally drawing it out while he set up his plans, either to time out as a draw, or to get Nemi-chan angry enough to make a mistake he can capitalise on. Unfortunately (for them) the game ended in Nemi-chan's forfit, probably because they ragequit. He decided to send them a consolatory message.
'Better luck next time, Nemi-chan, your favourite Kitty will play you anytime! X
It privately amused him to use the name Kitsune, as his was capacious as a fox, but lazy like a cat. Anyway onto the murders around school...
Felix began thinking, and drafting, various theories and conjectures about how the murderer was doing this. The main thing he got to was that it had to be a hidden room, but surely something like that would show up in the school plans, even as deadspace. In fact, why would there be a hidden room in a school, it's a school for crying out loud. Unless it's used by a secret society after hours, yes, maybe it's a cult whose goal was based around preventing people wearing rings! But why... maybe rings stop their evil masters from possessing peoples brains and turning them into meatsuits! My god, that explains why Raph is such a stick in the mud. Wait... Raph's always been like that.
...
Felix decided that he probably needed someone to bounce his ideas off of. That or to start taking anti-psychotics again, but those made his brain too slow.
