Waking up with the feeling of warmth on my body, I opened my eyes and realised that I had fallen asleep in the living room chair.
Standing up, I stretched my aching body and clenched my hands. Apart from the slight soreness, they seemed to be almost healed. A sudden growling coming from my stomach forced my feet towards the kitchen. 'All the energy I used last night had made me absolutely famished.'
As I walked past the stairs, I could hear someone stirring from upstairs but continued to the kitchen.
For breakfast, I took some oats and milk and made a porridge. Though, without having sugar, I mixed in a swirl of honey, for an added sweetness. I toasted some old bread and melted some butter on it and plated it all up in three plates and bowls and placed them on the table, as I heard the sound of feet descending the stairs, enticed by the smell of food.
Rounding the corner were two sleep-encrusted faces. "Good morning. Come sit and have some breakfast."
With a nod from each, they each took a seat and began eating. It wasn't until they had eaten half of their food, did they wake up from their stupor. Ula, being more aware of manners than Oswin, seemed to be embarrassed having rudely begun to eat without any morning greetings. But I didn't care for such things and simply enjoyed the food.
Having finished my food before the other two, I excused myself and went to water the newly planted herbs. As I watered them, I discovered that it was a little painful to conjure magic at the moment. 'I managed to injure myself more severely than I thought. Though, it's nothing that a little rest won't fix.'
Walking back inside, rubbing my forearms, in a vain attempt to rub the aching pain away. I noticed that Ula was standing by the sink, washing the dishes. I guessed that she felt guilty that she stayed the night and had breakfast prepared for her and this was her way of paying me back. I simply smiled and went to join Oswin at the table. However, as I placed my hand on the top of the wooden chair, a knock came to the front door.
Upon hearing it, everyone tensed, considering what had happened last night, but I had an inkling who it could be. "Ula, could you brew a pot of tea, please. I suspect that these are guests and nothing more."
With a staggered nod, she set about preparing a pot of tea. I simply made my way to the door and opened it. Standing in my doorway were two city guardsmen, wearing their signature metal armour and city coat of arms tabard. A man, neatly dressed in plain clothes, but had an air of authority to him, and a single figure in dark grey robes.
"Good morning, sirs, how can I help?" I asked, even though I knew full well why they were here.
"Good morning, sir. We have reason to believe that you were involved in a murder last night." The neatly dressed man spoke. His clean-shaven face showed no emotion as he spoke, I could only guess how seasoned this individual was.
"Ah, that mess from last night," I answered. My flippant tone stiffened the faces of the city guardsmen, however, the stone-faced man remained hard.
"Please, come inside, let us talk over some fresh tea," I added as I stood to one side to let the man, and his retinue enter.
After a short pause, the men decided to accept my other and one at a time, began to filter through the door. I directed my new guests to the dining room; I was glad that I had since replaced the furniture to back where it was after I had finished my previous experiments.
Sitting at the table, the neatly dressed man, produced a notebook and a pencil, and placed them on the table in an orderly arrangement.
"For the record, sir, may I take your name and profession." He asked, having everything set up.
"My name is Cain, and I am an alchemist, adventurer and magic researcher," I replied, causing my guests to shift about once again in their seats.
"…I see." The interrogator said, seemingly not affected, however, that slight pause was enough for me to spot that even he was taken aback.
"May ask for the names of my guests?" I requested. My pleasant tone seemed to have the opposite effect of pleasantness.
"Of course, sir. I am investigator, Nicolas Quinn. And these are my guards, Pielvi and Hrorki. And the robed man is one of our city mages, Ransel." Introduced Nicolas. Each nodded in greeting as their name was spoken.
"A pleasure," I replied as the door to the dining room opened and Ula stepped inside with a tray of tea.
I stood up and grabbed the tray from her. "Thank you, my dear. Please join us at the table, I would welcome your help in explaining the situation." I asked and she had a bewildered look on her face seeing the city guard sitting in my dining room. After a long second, she nodded and sat in a chair closest to mine.
"Allow me to introduce her. This is Ula, she is my next-door neighbour, and her explanation would help to tie everything together." I spoke as I started to pour tea for those who wanted it and returned back to my seat. I wasn't bothered whether those present wanted her there or not, it was my house after all.
After taking a small sip of tea, the investigator began to speak. "I will begin by asking if you, sir, was the one who murdered the man who was found, no more than fifteen feet from your home?" His eyes were fixed on me intently.
"No, I did not murder anyone," I replied casually. However, before anyone could speak, I continued. "I did, however, kill a man who attempted to break into my home, murder me and abduct the young lady next to me."
"So, you admit to killing a man, isn't that murder?" The investigator pressed.
"No, it is not," I replied.
"How so?" He once again pressed.
"Because it is difficult to plan someone's death when it was the first time you have met them. As an investigator, you should be well aware of the definition of murder and what constitutes such." The atmosphere in the room was thick with tension.
After a long silence, Nicolas relaxed slightly. "You are correct, if what you say is true, then you cannot be found guilty of murder." He spoke as he picked up the cup of tea.
"However, you have admitted to killing the victim. So, you will have to explain the situation thoroughly." He added as he took a sip of tea.
With that, I prompted Ula to tell the story she told me last night. And once she was done, I then added my account of the tale from last night.
"I see. I do remember the incident from yesterday and it does seem plausible. However, I do not understand how the victim would have found where you live." Nicolas spoke, placing the empty teacup on the table.
"Then, it is a good thing that you're in the company of a mage," I spoke as I indicated to the robed man, who had been sitting off to the side, seemingly feeling quite bored.
At the mention of him, he snapped back to himself to find the room looking at him, which made him feel uncomfortable.
"Ransel, was it?" I asked, and he nodded. "Please would you explain to the room about tracker spells?" I asked, and he seemed thankful for my quick diversion from his lack of attention.
"Of course. A tracker spell is when you attach a sliver of your mana to a target, which allows the caster to find their target anytime over a long distance." He explained in a general sense so that the room could understand.
"I see, but how could it go without anyone noticing? Especially the investigators that questioned the girl?" Nicolas asked the mage, covering all the bases with his questions.
"Instead of explaining, I can show you. If I may?" Replied Ransel as he looked at me for permission.
"You may," I replied. After all, it was considered rude to not ask for permission to use magic inside the residence of another mage, especially one who does magical research, in case they interfere with any ongoing experiments that would result in a dangerous outcome.
Nicolas raised an eyebrow as he heard the mage ask for permission. His experience with casters was that they were arrogant and would often look down on others around them, so the sudden show of respect was an oddity to him.
Lifting a hand up, Ransel conjured a thread of orange mana. "This is a thread of my mana. While it doesn't do much on its own, if I were to attach it to a target, I would be able to sense the direction and distance from me. As long as I keep it connected to me and keep supplying it with mana." He explained at the enamoured eyes in the room.
"But that is quite hard to miss, is it not?" Nicolas asked, eyes fixed on the magic in front of him. He tried his best to push his wonderment to the side and focus on the matter at hand.
"That is because this isn't a tracker spell, it is the simplistic form of one. If I were to actually cast one, then…." The next second, the thread disappeared from sight. However, with the help of mana sense, I could still see the thread dancing in the air, although most of the colour had faded away.
"Then, how could you detect something unseen?" Nicolas asked as he turned to me.
"Because I can see the flow of mana," I said nonchalantly. However, the only one to realise how impressive that was, was the mage himself, who nearly fell out of his seat.
After being calmed down, Nicolas seemed to fall into thought before speaking. "Listening to both of your testimonies. It seems that your story is plausible. For now, we will continue with our investigation and may return if we have any more questions." He said as he rose from his chair, followed shortly after by his retinue.
Showing my guests out, I closed the door behind them. 'Well, that was exhausting.' I turned back around to see Ula leaving with a tray of used cups. 'She's a good little worker.' I smirked as I followed behind her into the kitchen.
'Today might be a good idea to visit my parents. Considering that I'll need a few days to fully recover.' The idea popped into my mind as I saw my two young guests playing around in my kitchen.
'If I'm lucky, they would both be at work.'