Lightning flashes, illuminating the manor one last time. Eight figures have gathered in the parlor; seven of them are seated, but one is standing, pacing back and forth, putting his mind in order. A lot of XP is riding on this next bit. Justice, too, but that isn’t as important.

  Will Roland crack the case before the Deathclock Shroud evaporates, and with it, all hope for a clean resolution?

  Five and a half hours remain.

  “Over the past two days, there have been two murders,” I said to the audience gathered before me. I was pacing underneath the glowing, magical numbers of the Deathclock that hung in the foyer. I held a bowl of night soup in my hands.

  “Two murders… with two entirely different methods,” I continued. “And, I’m pretty sure… like, ninety-nine percent sure, I’d say? That they had two entirely different motives, too. Let’s compare the murders real quick. Dringel was dealt with quickly and efficiently. Just a single mace blow, delivered in perfect silence. In contrast, Petunia’s death was brutal and protracted – I’m sure you all remember just how many times she was stabbed.”

  I paused for dramatic effect, hoping for another lightning crack. Unfortunately the storm was starting to let up. I continued on anyway.

  “While Dringel’s murder was planned and premeditated, Petunia’s was a crime of passion. Let’s talk about how she wound up in Dringel’s, um… secret chamber. Tatzel, you still have the notes, right? Both of them?”

  Tatzel was listening to me with her arms folded. I think she was upset that she hadn’t been the one to call the parlor scene, and as though to punish me for it, she took her sweet time producing the notes from the pocket of her dress. Finally she held them up for everyone to see.

  “Thanks, Tatzel. Now, these are two notes we found on Petunia’s person when she died. One of them, you all have seen already. It’s the one luring her to her and Dringel’s ‘special place’. The other, we saw Petunia steal from Dringel’s study earlier that day. It’s a, um. Well, it’s a love letter, addressed to Petunia.”

  Dracorn and Anya both looked wretched. “Boy, you better have a good reason for bringin’ this up,” said Dracorn.

  “Don’t worry, I totally do. Okay, when we first found these notes, we didn’t really notice this. But… Tatzel, take a look. Do you notice anything… strange about them? Anything… different?”

  “If I didn’t notice anything earlier, I certainly don’t think–”

  “C’mon Tatz, play along!” goaded Aeshma.

  Tatzel sighed and held the two notes out in front of her to humor me. Her slit eyes darted back and forth between the pages. Then she squinted, leaning forward in her chair. “Oh-ho! The handwriting is different. This one is written in a nice, flowing cursive,” she said, flapping the love letter high in the air. “And this one is written in block letters,” she said, repeating the gesture with the ‘special place’ note.

  “Exactly!” I said. “Now, the chalkboard sign in the sex dungeon, the one listing the ‘Five Rules of Pleasure’. What did the handwriting look like?” I pointed to one of the audience at random. “Horlen, do you remember?”

  Horlen went red in the face. “I’d rather not remember that particular sign, thank you very much.”

  “Yeah, we all would rather not. But do you remember what the handwriting on it was like?”

  “Cursive,” he replied glumly.

  “Yes. Cursive,” I repeated. It was all coming together now. Right up Roland street. “The writing on the love letter matches the writing on the sex-dungeon’s chalkboard.”

  Anya buried her head in her hands. Anger flitted across Dracorn’s face… but he let me continue without objecting.

  “Both the love letter and the chalkboard sign were written by the same person: Dringel. But someone else wrote the ‘special place’ note. Someone who wanted to lure Petunia back to the dungeon… in order to kill her.” I pivoted on my heel as the Deathclock ticked inexorably down. “Now, we have to turn away from Petunia’s case for a moment. Let’s talk… about Dringel.”

  “His murder had me stumped for a while. There was one big piece I just couldn’t figure out. Literally a big piece: the mace. The mace which killed Dringel was exceptionally heavy. I certainly couldn’t lift it. Who could? Dringel, of course, was a brawny guy. But Dringel… was the victim.”

  I turned to face my gathered audience. “The only other people with the strength to lift that mace were Horlen and Dracorn.”

  “You can’t possibly think–”

  “Now you listen here, boy–”

  “Hold on, hold on!” I said. “I’m – I’m not doing the accusing part yet! I just – we’ve gotta do this like a parlor scene, remember?”

  I coughed and cleared my throat. “Ahem. Okay. So I got to thinking: why would either Horlen or Dracorn have wanted to kill Dringel? The most obvious reason, for both of them, would’ve been to get their hands on the business.”

  I pointed at Dracorn. “You wanted to buy Dringel & Son, but Dringel just wouldn’t sell. Every meeting with him was a new absurd demand, a new delaying tactic. You didn’t even know why he kept dragging you out here! It must have been infuriating for you. If you killed him, maybe the next owner would be more reasonable, more willing to finally sell. Except… you knew that if Dringel died, the business would pass to Horlen.”

  I looked around the room. “Multiple sources testified that Horlen would never sell the business. Anya said it, Horlen said it, Dracorn himself said it. For Dracorn to get his hands on the business, he would’ve needed to get Horlen out of the picture, too. Either by killing him… or…”

  I looked pointedly at Horlen.

  “By making it look like I was the one who killed my father,” mused Horlen. “I’d go to prison, and the business would pass to Mother instead. And… and she was always talking about wanting to retire. She would’ve sold it.”

  “Exactly!” I said, turning to Horlen. “You were framed. Your father was killed by a heavy mace, one with sentimental meaning to the both of you. One which you were strong enough to use. Everyone knew that you were upset with your father for calling these meetings with Dracorn – ostensibly, because he wanted to sell the business. Your father’s death meant that you got control of the Dringel & Son, and could keep it for yourself. Staging the murder the same night the two of you were heard fighting, was just the cherry on top.”

  “It would’ve been the perfect frame-job. There was just one problem.” I let it hang in the air and surveyed the crowd. “Dringel wasn’t really planning to sell.”

  “Dringel was calling these meetings with Dracorn just as an excuse to meet up with his mistress. And what’s more: Horlen knew it. He knew his father didn’t intend to sell. The fights they were having weren’t over whether to sell the business, they were over Dringel’s affair.”

  I nodded to Horlen. “That’s how I knew you didn’t do it. Your father was doing what you wanted with the business anyway. Plus, you seemed to like your father, or at least respect him. You even refused to reveal his affair to us detectives until it was literally impossible not to. You cared about his honor even after he was dead.”

  I paused to calm my nerves a little bit. I wasn’t used to giving long speeches like this in front of a group. I patted Jie for luck and continued on.

  “Now, this revelation made Dracorn our most likely suspect again. He could’ve lifted the mace. He had a strong motive to frame Horlen for the murder. It all lined up. Except… except for the matter of the Mute spell.”

  The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

  “Every night, Dringel would cast a Mute spell on his and Anya’s bedroom. It was to keep from waking Anya up – that part was true. Of course, Dringel lied about why he was getting up in the night, claiming to be working in his study, when really he was meeting with Petunia in the sex dungeon. But we already knew that.”

  I turned to Agita the maid. “Agita, you’re the one who told us about the Mute spell on Dringel and Anya’s room. You said that the two of them kept the Mute spell a secret. That it was their personal, private business, which no one outside the family knew about. Is that correct?”

  Agita nodded, her eyes wide.

  “Dracorn wouldn’t have known about the Mute,” I said. “Which means he wouldn’t have known he could enter Dringel’s room without waking Anya and subsequently the rest of the house. He would’ve left witnesses. It wouldn’t have worked for framing Horlen.”

  The room was silent save the sound of rain against the windows. There were no objections from the gathered audience. I continued on. “So now, I’ve ruled out the only two people who could’ve lifted the murder weapon. And this – folks, this really pickled me, until I realized. No one other person could lift the mace. But I bet two could have.” I had them in a corner. It was time to finish them off.

  “Anya, Lem! If Dringel died, and Horlen went to prison, who would the family business pass to? To you the two of you, right?”

  Anya looked up at me, emotionless. Lem’s eyes darted nervously between us.

  “Anya, you and Dringel were in a loveless marriage – sleeping in separate beds, him carrying on a secret affair, refusing to finally retire with you. You begged him to sell the business for years. But he wouldn’t, because it would’ve meant giving up his affair.”

  “Lem, your brother Horlen was next in line to inherit the business. You weren’t much of a smith yourself… but if Dringel & Son were sold, you’d sure get a cut of the profit.”

  I wheeled around. Aeshma and Tatzel were sitting on the edge of their seats. “So let’s return to Petunia’s murder just one last time. We established that she was killed with a knife, in a fit of passion. Who’s our prime suspect? The spouse, obviously. When Dracorn saw Dringel’s sex dungeon, perhaps he realized that Petunia and Dringel were having an affair. But folks, here’s what really clinched it for me. Dracorn could lift a mace, so why would he have stabbed Petunia to death? Why… when the sex dungeon was equipped with an enormous, heavy Bottom Bruiser? That would’ve been a more ironic, vengeful way to have done it!”

  The clock was ticking, but justice demanded drama. “I’ll tell you why,” I said. “Because Dracorn didn’t kill Petunia. Anya did.”

  Gasps erupted from around the room, accompanied by the clatter of spoons against porcelain soup bowls.

  “Up until yesterday, Anya didn’t know about Dringel’s affair. But when she saw the sex dungeon, she realized exactly what had been going on between him and Petunia.” I grabbed the paper out of Tatzel’s hands and held it up again for everyone to see. “I faked my own death. Meet me in our ‘special place’,” I read aloud. “Anya was the one who wrote this note. Anya lured Petunia down to the dungeon… and killed her, in revenge for her affair with Dringel!”

  Dracorn was practically shaking with rage, but respected the parlor scene format enough not to cause a disturbance just yet.

  “Once Anya killed Petunia, she had a real problem on her hands: how to cover up the crime. Because this murder wasn’t nearly as well-planned… as Dringel’s was.”

  I went in for the killing blow. “Anya wasn’t willing to wait any longer for her retirement on the beach. In order to sell the business, she needed both Dringel and Horlen out of the picture. So she devised a plan to murder Dringel without any witnesses – and to frame Horlen in the process. But she couldn’t do it alone. So she convinced Lem, her weak-willed, pliable son, to help her.” Lem looked up at me with his sad, watery eyes.

  “With their combined strength, Anya and Lem were able to pull the mace off the wall and drop it on Dringel, killing him instantly.”

  Anya shook her head. She had a flat, solemn expression plastered across her face.“You’ve got it wrong, detective. We all saw that my husband was no longer in the bedroom. He’s still alive somewhere! He faked his own death, then lured Petunia to a private place in order to kill her. He couldn’t face his own shame. ”

  “No!” I shouted.

  “Well then, where is he? If Dringel’s really dead, what happened to his body?” Anya spat.

  I paused to let the moment build. “I noticed,” I began slowly, “that you and Lem aren’t eating the delicious soup. Why is that, hm? You’re the one who requested night soup tonight, aren’t you Anya?”

  “Oh no,” muttered Lem, nervous shudders wracking his body.

  "Everyone else seems to love it,” I said. “All the Monsters seem to love it, at least."

  "I’m… I’m not as hungry as I thought I'd be,” Anya stammered. “Trauma will do that to a person.”

  I smiled at her triumphantly. “You were pretending to eat it at the dinner table, though, and I’ll tell you why! It’s because tonight’s dish of night soup wasn’t made with venison… it was made with Dringel!”

  I pointed at Lem. “After your mother killed Petunia, she came to you to help cover up the crime. Dringel having ‘faked his own death’ was a pretty harebrained story – but it was the only one you two could come up with on such short notice. And it meant that now you needed a way to get rid of your father’s body.”

  “Does everyone remember how Lem was the only person not to rush to the study when Petunia was found? That’s because he was hard at work. Even a weakling like Lem could’ve dragged his father’s corpse to the dumbwaiter in the bedroom. He even wrapped it in a magically absorptive tablecloth to hide the bloodtrail. He dropped it down the dumbwaiter, and straight to the kitchens. The kitchens… where the meat grinder is.”

  At that, Agita the maid started bawling. “Mister Roland, Lem begged me to help him! He said that if I didn’t, he would go to jail! Lem’s a sweet boy, I couldn’t let that happen!”

  “No, of course you couldn’t,” I said, shaking my head while Aeshma tried to decide which of the culprits to glare at.

  "And so, with Agita’s assistance, Lem disposed of the evidence. He ground up his father’s body and turned it into none other than night soup – the very night soup we were all served for dinner!"

  There was a sudden crash, like the shattering of a great pane of glass; the great hammer of justice had swung at last. The shimmering silver barrier over the exit to the manor collapsed into shards of light which fell to the ground and evaporated. With the murder mystery solved, Dringel’s Deathclock Shroud was finally lifted from the manor.

  I exploded in a dense cloud of sparks. My Leveling went on for what felt like a full minute. A quick glance to the corner of my vision revealed that I’d gained five whole Levels. Jie’s Level-up notification popped up beside mine – he’d gained a respectable three Levels of his own.

  Meanwhile, Aeshma and Dracorn had wasted no time in tackling the two perps to the floor. It was probably unnecessary, because as far as I could tell Anya and Lem hadn’t been trying to run away. But that was okay too. Aeshma and Dracorn deserved to tackle them, after all they’d been through.

  Tatzel had exploded in a cloud of Level-up sparks too, though hers were less spectacular than mine. Once they ended, she politely bee-lined for the kitchens. She probably wouldn’t get too many more chances to gorge on Human flesh, traveling with Aeshma and me.

  And me? I crossed my arms and looked into the distance, through the mansion’s fancy walls, out towards that ephemeral place where goodness and justice reside.

  And I smiled.

  –

  Horlen and Dracorn go into business together. Together they establish a monopoly over Zone Two and raise the price of steel and smithed weapons by over 300%.

  –

  Anya and Lem are arrested. After an extremely short trial, they’re both sent to prison for life.

  –

  Agita the maid is sentenced to community service. She visits Lem in prison sometimes, but eventually gets bored and stops.

  –

  Jie uses his Levels to improve his transformation speed. He also takes the Mimic Hide (lesser) Perk which improves his toughness, regardless of form.

  –

  Tatzel won’t tell me what she spends her Levels on. She calls me a nosy little fellow who should mind his own business.

  –

  And as for me? Let’s just say Aeshma and I found a secluded spot in the hedge maze out back of the manor, where we could transfer my Levels to her in private.

  PARTY (4/4)

  -----------------

  Roland LV0

  Ancestry: Human

  Class: Not yet chosen

  Perks:

  None

  -------------------------------

  Aeshma LV15

  Ancestry: Monster

  Class: Succubus

  Perks:

  PERK UPGRADE - Strength Boost (III > IIII)

  Horns (Lesser)

  Withering Gaze

  Forbidden knowledge: Five trigram kiss: Queen’s Breath Hitches

  NEW PERK - The Deranging Caress

  -------------------------------

  Jie LV5

  Ancestry: Monster

  Class: Mimic

  Perks:

  Skitter

  Anyshape (Lesser)

  Mimic Hide (Lesser)

  -------------------------------

  Tatzel LV9

  Ancestry: Monster

  Class: Dragon

  Perks:

  Human Form (Moderate)

  Poison Breath (Moderate)

  Wings (Lesser)

  -------------------------------