This was not his first visit to Fort Hera, in fact he swept through here many times, though it was the first time he saw it in a state that reminded him of what he read about leading up to war time, which worried him. He was familiar with the soldiers stationed there, but today it seems there were only recruits. Being such a special character, he was always seen as difficult to approach so he simply kept his interactions as cordial and normal as possible. Still for others as he had heard once, he was a figure of inspiration too, since he was so young, but still obtained such a high position. He strove to keep doing that, if he can lead by example, then he shall. The recruit reported to him that Lieutenant Shiro had completed his examination of the body.
"I see, I will go see him now then. You need not be so nervous, at the end of the day we are all allies, so when the time comes, I hope to be able to rely on you, and you rely on me", with that word he gave the recruit a pat on the shoulder and continued on.
As he walked through the hallways he could not help but notice the artwork on display. This was a large fort, and in fact was at one point meant to be a palace, or part of it at least. The very reason was shown to him in a painting as he passed by... The decor was surprisingly macabre when he first swept through, but such is the grisly affair of war and defense. He had some strange intuition about this whole thing, with the highlanders and all... Still he should probably focus on what is at hand instead, and so he continued.
He entered the doctor's quarters, no matter what he would not be able to get used to this stench, still it was an inevitability. It took him a bit longer than it should have for him to notice Shiro, a meek man. He avoided contact with him, but so would the meek in general he supposes. The good doctor gave him the run-down on it all and left him to examine the body. Naturally, do not alter it if he can help it...
"Understood Lieutenant... I know everyone has misgivings about my presence here, but the trail I was following has led me to Rauru... A murder to me also seems unrelated, but I must not leave any stone unturned, lest that trail I'm following may grow cold. Not to mention one of comrades has been murdered, sooner we solve and resolve the issue the better. I understand why the Captain does not want me involved, it would be alarming to the soldiers, that this may be something serious...", he commented. The Lieutenant left him to his devices for the officer's study next door.
"Right then...".
Stab wound, uniform three holes, likely a pitchfork or trident-like weapon. Was not a killing blow, as the wound is not so deep, thanks to the knight armor. Meaning this was likely the first blow, a surprise attack with followup. Fire doesn't kill instantly, but this didn't look like he was doused in oil, no traces of it, and the shape is... Precise, but also long exposure. Meaning he was stationary while being burned... And then likely the killing blow was the knife to the throat here. Dead two days. Since the note was found in the knight's mouth, it further indicated that the knife to the throat was last.
He can imagine it. Stabbed, falling off the horse, then slowly burned by concentrated fire, before being slit over the throat and put back on his horse. The question was... Who had this kind of fire spell? Or attack? It was definitely not a monster, that would have given a different result. This may not be related to his current investigation... But such an odd attack may warrant his attention. Still he would not press it for now, what concerned him most was whether or not this knight delivered his message successfully or not. They were in danger of simply being cut off from reinforcements from Lynna City. If that was true and they would ride to take Rauru, Lynna City would take too long to notice something was wrong, added with the possibility of someone amongst them being a spy... This was quite the dangerous situation. To him this just felt like the first symptoms of an aggressive disease. The worst part was that he can't tell whether or not this knight had succeeded in handing in his message either, the knight was dead for two days... Wait, when did they send him on his journey...?
He finished up making his own notes and tucked them away in his journal, and walked over to the officer's study. He tapped on the door and as he was let in he asked the Lieutenant.
"I've finished examining for now, I'd like to know also when he left to give his message, and the contents of his bag too. If his message failed to be delivered, then this may be more serious than a simple murder", he inquired.
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