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That was... different. "Joy, this case got worse." she muttered. "Well, his soul's gone someplace I can't reach, and that isn't normal. Was there any trace of spells being cast?"
"I'll bet he was." Hime muttered under her breath. She put her fingers against the sides of his head a moment later, then called on the powers that brought the dead back to speak with her. "Caius Beregon, your work is not yet done. Who killed you and why?" Straight and to the point, this time - she only had so many questions, and answering these usually helped cases get solved a lot faster.
Hime said a word that would be considered highly inappropriate in most areas. "Congratulations, this just got worse!" she said with far too much cheer. "Show me the body. I think I have another trail to follow before the end of the day. Anybody have a list of the questions you want asked?"
Sigh. "Call it what it is, constable. Yes, I have some ability to speak to the dead. Yes, it's very useful for investigations when it works. Look on the bright side - more proof death isn't the end, so you can take comfort in that. Run back to your sergeant and have him bring the cadaver to this address-" she named a place near where the trail she was following seemed to be headed, "-and if he has a problem with it, that's unfortunate but I don't have the time to go running all over the city right now. They can get a wagon and put a nice tent in it or something to stop the lookers. Maybe something for the smell, too. I don't care if it disturbs the crime scene - my investigation has recently become even more important than international affairs, and yes, I'll be explaining that in my report. If they can't come to me, they can get a priest or something - they can speak with the dead, too, and I'm pretty sure we have agreements with a few churches to provide that service." The RHC liked to keep things in-house, but sometimes you did need civilian contractors, especially on magical matters.
Hime bent forward and looked him in the eyes. "Ordered by who, and what situation?" she asked calmly as she began to lead him away from others. "My investigation has become time-sensitive, and I've already spent more time than I'd like handling extra situations today." As an officer, she knew she couldn't handle everything - and demands from the fey titans took precedence over practically every other investigation.
"Report. What's going on?" Hime asked, figuring that now was a good time to exercise a bit of her authority. She hated being behind on the news.
Hime raised an eyebrow, but set off towards the residential area. The University had enough weird things, and it was possible something had been taken from there rather than brought. Better to find the people first.
Hime frowned slightly, then began following the trail again. The sooner she caught up to the source of all this, the better. (No, really. She didn't want to think of what might happen if that titan got pissed.)
Nodding slightly, Hime approached the red liquid on the ground, searching for more evidence of planar power as she did so - was this place some kind of nexus, or just another stopover point for someone wielding troublesome powers?
Hime Warped down a moment later, relying on the silence of the spell to help camouflage her movements. A moment later, she took a more careful look around the area, determined to ensure it was clear of threats before she examined the floor.
One day she might have better divination powers, but today was not that day. After a moment of thought, Hime moved to a nearby empty location, then Warped up to the roof to see if she could peek inside. The last time she'd investigated a warehouse area, the bugs had scurried out as fast as they could... and she didn't want a repeat of that.
Donate the scroll, silly man. "I think you've remained in official custody quite long enough." she answered. With that, she turned and headed off. She needed to see what else she could track down about this magic - keeping a fey titan happy really was about the most important thing possible. Well, that and getting the paperwork in. Sigh. Some might complain that she hadn't done that right off, but she didn't know how patient a lord of the elements was going to be - and given the stakes, she really couldn't justify any lengthy distractions. Explaining it was never fun, but she stood by her decisions - minimizing the risk to the citizens was among her most important duties, and she was given discretion for a reason.
Hime coughed slightly. "Donations to the efforts of individual service members should be made at the main office of the RHC in town. Such is bureaucracy." she smiled a bit at him, clearly no less impressed by the process than most people in town. "We deal with many of the stranger magics and events, and the staff likes to be sure things are what we think they are before we use them. Not as fun as just taking things and doing what you want, but that's how it is when you've a job to do. If you don't want to walk all the way there, you can pick up a donation form at practically any official mail center and they'll take care of the rest." Most people didn't send letters too often, but the postal system was rather busy with packages and the like.
Hime considered that for a moment, then nodded. After the paperwork was done, she headed back down to his cell and looked at him for a few moments. "There are a lot of people outside who believe in you." she said. "If you spend some time trying to be the man they think you are, I think you'll like the way it feels. Get your things and let's go - but let me talk to the crowd first." With that, when all was ready, she headed outside. "Everyone! Your attention, please!" she called out, raising her voice to try and be heard by as much of the crowd as possible. "You've all been waiting for answers, and I can now provide them. My investigation suggests that the crime for which Mr. Rickus was accused - the death of a man in his tent - was an accident that he was indeed involved in. Of course, we all have a responsibility to be aware of our surroundings when using anything with the potential to harm another. However, it is our policy to consider not just actions, but circumstances. As I'm sure most of you are aware, there was a security incident at the festival - and the errant shot appears to have been fired in the brief time before the forces on site were able to restore security. The sad truth is that accidents happen, even to those with the best experience and training, and it is not reasonable to expect perfection in situations like that. If there is anyone to blame for what happened, it is whoever or whatever started that fight. In light of the fact that Mr. Rickus fired the errant shot while providing security support and attempting to protect people, he offered - and we accepted - to pay the departed's family and funeral expenses. He is otherwise free to go." "That said, it is no comfort for the family of the departed to know that what happened was an accident, and coin can never replace someone you loved. That's why I hope each of you will remember the human cost here and support the departed's family as you can. It doesn't have to be much - a few coppers here, a home-cooked meal there, something any of you can do - but it will go a long ways for a family that is hurting and remind them that they are not forgotten by their neighbors. I cannot take any questions at this time - I have other investigations to attend to - but if you want to know anything else about this matter, you are always welcome to submit a question in writing to the relevant government office."
That seemed to be that, then. Nodding, Hime jotted down the requested messages, then headed back up to find the man in front of the case. "Everything I've heard suggests what happened was an accident - and we should take into account that he was fighting a monster and trying to protect people. I recommend fining him some funds to be given to the departed's family - a moderate amount, not a few coppers but not the man's entire savings - and a note in his record that any future 'accidents' for awhile should receive much more scrutiny. Otherwise, I believe we can let him go. If you'd like, I can head out to go calm the crowd while he's processed."
She'd have to double-check the location of the tent and see how close it had been to the battlefield. And in that case... "What, if anything, do you want me to know?" The deceased rarely told too much, but giving them an opportunity to talk when they felt like victims occasionally gleaned some useful nuggets of information.
"...Frick." Hime muttered. If it had already been dead this long - they'd implied it was more recent - then she couldn't do it her preferred way. Taking out her chalk, Hime began sketching a circle on the ground. As she finished, it lit up - then the sigil of Prince Oszen appeared on her forehead and vanished. He was going to be miffed that she'd expelled him, but he'd be over it in a day or so. Spirits loved riding a host, and frankly, their desire to do so outweighed short-term vexation. A few moments later, she was drawing another circle. "Come, Gwenolyn's Ghost." she commanded as a different pact seal appeared on her body and faded.
Not the best pact she'd ever made, but good enough. Once it was sealed, she stretched her hand over the corpse. "Return! There are questions yet unanswered. Who is responsible for your death?" she asked.
"I see..." Hime noted. His story was insane, but then, so were most things involving the fey. "Very well, I believe that's all the testimony I need from you. I have a few more things to consider while I'm here, but we should have a final decision on your status soon." With that, she stepped out of the cell. "Take me to the body. I'd like to see if the story matches up." she said.
She'd been out of town for more than a few minutes - it was quite strange for someone who'd been wounded in that particular incident to only recently be hurt. Yes, she'd definitely need to interrogate the body before she made a final determination. "All right, tell me about this gun. How long have you had it, exactly, and what have you seen it do in the past? Has the ammunition ever behaved in strange ways?"
"When exactly did these weird monsters appear? I was present for one incident." Hime said as she kept taking notes. She had thoughts, but knew better than to plant ideas in a subject's head. "And did you have any previous encounters with the deceased?"
"Well, that depends on what you say. For the record, I am required to inform you that lying to me is a crime, and people have gone to jail for similar offenses in the past." Hime said, taking a few notes. "As for show business, I actually do the occasional performance when I'm not on-duty. For now, however, why don't you tell me what happened prior to the... incident? Where were you and what were you doing?"
Hime nodded - that was reasonable enough. You didn't hold people for long if there was no good reason to, and she decided to start with Mr. Rickus. "Good afternoon, Mr. Rickus." she said cheerfully as she arrived. "I'm Officer Hime Nagamiya of the RHC, and I'd like to ask you a few questions. Would you like to talk?"
"I'd like to speak to Mr. Rickus - and to examine this corpse I've heard about if you have it on hand." Hime explained. "As part of my duties for the RHC, I often speak with the departed to find out more of what happened to them - and that may provide the evidence we need to conclusively identify the criminal here. If Mr. Rickus is innocent, we can disperse that crowd - and if not, well, we have a duty to uphold the law and support the truth." Indeed, speaking with the dead was arguably the main reason the RHC employed her - it was a rare talent, but priceless at times like these.
"Thank you, everyone, thank you." Hime said as the crowds moved enough to let her through, figuring that managing crowds was part of her official duties. She'd spent some effort to try and get on the Dockers' good side, and she didn't want to blow that. Or rather, keeping the peace was in her job description (along with, sigh, practically everything else these days). On the other hand, she was publicly known as the person who arrested the King's own sister, and she absolutely wanted people to believe that she would arrest anyone who broke the law (and, similarly, would let any innocents go). It was, after all, true. "I'm sure you all have a lot of questions about what exactly happened here. I do, too. I hope to get to the bottom of what happened in short order - for the guilty to be identified and charged for their crime, and for any innocents to be cleared as soon as possible. Please feel free to continue showing your support for Mr. Rickus, but kindly refrain from interrupting anyone performing their official duties here. After all, anyone coming or going might be doing so to help my investigation - and the sooner it's done, the sooner we'll all know the truth." No sense in saying too much or trying to point the crowd in a certain direction, but reassuring people would probably go a long ways towards keeping them calm (and help the local officers avoid any unnecessary entanglements).
"Something to follow up on, then. Lovely." Gods, she really needed to get some kind of support staff going. She was good, but this was starting to feel like a few too many jobs to juggle all at once. "Keep an eye on things and make sure absolutely nobody touches that scene. I don't want evidence for an RHC investigation disappearing." With that, she gave them a friendly nod and set off, intending to talk to this Rackus fellow - and then hopefully get the Dockers to calm down.
"More unrest. Lovely." Hime said, grimacing. "Is the body still on-site? I might be able to get a few answers out of it - and I've already seen one strange thing happening with gold at this exhibition, so as much as I'd love to accept the easy answer, it needs to be thoroughly doublechecked."
"What happened?" Hime inquired, pretty sure she'd missed whatever had led to that. It was quite possibly relevant to her own investigation - though they'd yet to prove that.
Interesting... well, she was going to need to confiscate these things. Remaining close to the dagger, Hime sent up a signal for the on-site security - better to have them come to her, rather than trying to go find them. Ah, illusion magic. Truly the most helpful talent for police work. "I'd like to avoid disrupting the festivities any more than necessary, but I need these two stalls and their owners watched." she explained. "I don't know how all of these tie together yet, but I need to confiscate these and figure out where they came from." She knew she only had half a case at the moment, but she wasn't hesitating to draw on the authority of the RHC to Get Stuff Done - not when a freaking fey titan was involved.
Yeesh, explaining this one is going to be wild. Maybe I should spring for a truthtelling... The ever budget-conscious office was usually willing to accept that, and her willingness to get objective verification would probably go a long way towards convincing any skeptics. The RHC often got involved in some rather wild situations, so it wasn't prone to people who'd refuse to believe outlandish claims when presented with evidence. People who stubbornly tried to pretend nothing was ever wrong so it wouldn't upset their little fiefdom didn't last long in this business...
Yeah, but an initial investigation could inform later matters. Fortunately, this spell didn't seem to have the limits many others did...
Well, nothing to do but get to the city. As an Investigator, she had many ways of gathering information - and good old-fashioned footwork would often suffice when magic found it harder. More to the point, she could probably call in more resources if necessary. Budgets were important, but the great fey were one of the highest conceivable priorities for the RHC to handle. People might grumble, but in the end, they knew the right thing to do.
...That spell she'd learned, was it? Not what she would call smell, but who knew what the senses of the great fey were like? Scholars weren't even certain they had the same senses as humans - not in the way a normal person would understand them, at any rate. Well, at least they're not going to ask too many questions. The RHC wanted their jobs done, sure - but issues of national security took priority, and nothing ranked higher than the Fey Titans. Not even the physical safety of His Majesty. A King could be replaced - a rampaging titan was a disaster and might well be worse than even a war. With that, she cast the spell and set off.
Thaaaaat... was probably one of the fey titans. On the bright side, it sounded like it wasn't mad at her. That would have been a terribly embarrassing way to end her career. More to the point, she had a legal obligation to do everything in her power to support her King's power over the great figures, as they were quite literally the single biggest threat to the county and she could justifiably sacrifice a great deal to keep them calm. Instead, she simply curtsied towards the massive head. "It shall be done." she said. Best to keep things simple and to the point when dealing with a figure like this - nod, agree, and for goodness sake, don't say anything that might anger it.
Oh gods, I'm going to have to do so much paperwork. Hime thought, paling slightly. Did they even HAVE a report code for 'triggered zombie apocalypse by messing around in ancient ruin'? With that, she began to warp up the ruin. Alright, if she found a place she could be safe, maybe she could manipulate the weather to take them down as a group... juuuuuust to see them rise again, probably. Bah.
Poof. Hime was not afraid of fighting - witness her efforts in other parts of the place - but her training stressed the need to avoid combat when it was possible and practical to do so. The brass Did Not Like officers putting themselves in harm's way for no justifiable reason - replacement officers were expensive and resurrections even more so.
"One of these days I'm going to find an exorcist." Hime muttered as she approached the entrance. Best to do this quickly - and make sure they didn't get to munch on her.
Something tickled in Hime's mind, and she abruptly threw herself to the side, her body boosted a little bit as the energies of Taios surged through her. Her spirits often noticed things she didn't, and she relied on them more than she liked to admit in public.
Ack. Evocation was rarely good news. Hime paused for a moment, then sent a surge of healing energy into her body before trotting inside. "Now, what are all these fragments...?" she murmured as she moved to examine them.
Hime slowed down as she approached the circles, then raised a circle of her fingers and stared through it for a minute. She wanted to see just how much energy may have been present - if it was all inert, that was lovely, but everything she'd seen suggested there was more magic in this place.
Well, she did have several more uses of the ability to create a pit... perhaps it would be enough?
Honestly, it was probably easier to hit them when they were out in the open. She clenched a fist, then slashed with her hand to open call upon Prince Oszen and open a pit beneath the feet of the monsters. Something something stabbing fish in a barrel...?
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