Ewan rubbed finger and thumb together as he checked the texture of the blood. It was tacky not dry. The death had been within the hour, but not from blood loss. There was too little blood on the coat around the wound or the ground beneath the unfortunate man. Grim set to his mouth, keen green eyes and light of touch hands surveyed the corpse. It was an unusually calm death, subtle and slow. It was also a suicide, though made to look like a stabbing. The man had ingested some poison, but in his weakened state, accounting for the odd angle and weak puncture of the blade wound, stabbed himself.
As the Master of Arms sat back on his heels and looked to the opening of the alleyway where lanterns glowed dimly in the late hour having nearly spent their fuel. Ewan would let the legal system wrangle out the reasons this man took his own life. Its occurrence did not touch him or cause one moment's thought of sympathy. It was a body. A few circumspect questions later would assure him what he already guessed: this had nothing to do with the grim, abated doings in West End. Something would break though, like the crash of a high beam sea against a dinghy. It tickled at the back of his neck this waiting.
A preternatural silence to his movements, Ewan turned deeper into the alleyway to his initial purpose of going down this little cranny forgotten between two buildings. The entrance to the Tunnels was hidden well at the jarring meeting of the back and west wall. He pressed upon the loose corner and the wall turned to carry him in and another matching corner of wall was seen outside. A quick trot down the stairs into the main Tunnels and he went about his way to find another secret exit to appear close to a Holding House and find out the latest news as well as report the dead man.
As the Master of Arms sat back on his heels and looked to the opening of the alleyway where lanterns glowed dimly in the late hour having nearly spent their fuel. Ewan would let the legal system wrangle out the reasons this man took his own life. Its occurrence did not touch him or cause one moment's thought of sympathy. It was a body. A few circumspect questions later would assure him what he already guessed: this had nothing to do with the grim, abated doings in West End. Something would break though, like the crash of a high beam sea against a dinghy. It tickled at the back of his neck this waiting.
A preternatural silence to his movements, Ewan turned deeper into the alleyway to his initial purpose of going down this little cranny forgotten between two buildings. The entrance to the Tunnels was hidden well at the jarring meeting of the back and west wall. He pressed upon the loose corner and the wall turned to carry him in and another matching corner of wall was seen outside. A quick trot down the stairs into the main Tunnels and he went about his way to find another secret exit to appear close to a Holding House and find out the latest news as well as report the dead man.