Topic: The Unsolved Case

Jin

Date: 2010-04-22 22:20 EST
?I?ll explain it to you.? Jin said as he spoke to the old and wizened mage who walked alongside him down the street. ?It?s simple, but alarming. Simply alarming.?

The mage?s brilliantly white brows rose as he regarded the detective. ?Then please, Mister Mishin, explain.?

Jin Mishin cleared his throat, eyes darting up as he searched his mind for a place to begin?

I was in the office, which doubles as my home, and sorting through some files of cases previously completed. It had been a slow day, like the beginning of any detective?s tale. The name of my agency was Jin?s Third Eye, there was a hand on the sign with a eye painted into the palm. I heard someone rasp at my door and glanced through the distorted glass; I could tell he was from the guard, so let him in.

I can?t recall his name at the moment, but I know he was a younger man. He came in, explaining to me that there was a murder the previous night, and the guard requested that I investigate the case, as their own detectives had yet to uncover any useful information.

I went to the scene, agreeing of course, and examined the area. The man who was murdered was an older, fat man who lived in luxury. Cut throat, blood writing on the walls, little to actually tell me who the killer was. I noticed, however, that the door, which was quite strong, had been bashed through. So the killer was large and powerful.

After a few minutes of my inspection, the guard brought a man to me by the name of Arson. He was a vigilante who had been put away for murdering criminals as opposed to giving them the fair trials our laws dictate they deserve. I was skeptical until he began speaking with the recently deceased Mister Justice, and explained that he was picking up traces of evil magic at work. Our first assumption was a demon, which was quite a frightening thought, for demons hadn?t been seen in the city for years.

I went upstairs next, to the second floor, and noticed that the steps were sunken in. It became apparent to me that our culprit went this way after killing Mister Justice. I found an open window with a few specks of blood along the sill, and when peeking out I noticed that the garbage bin below was also sunken in. The killer had jumped out, but there were no traces of where he went after that.

Baffled, but in no way discouraged, I met up with Arson and then we went to examine the basement. There, we found hastily brushed away chalk drawings of pentacles and magic circles, with traces of wax along the floor. Seems Mister Justice had some ties with one of the city?s many cults. This strengthened our demon idea.

Jin

Date: 2010-04-22 22:20 EST
I met with two of my contacts, hoping to gather information on the city?s cults with the idea that this would help me discover which one Mister Justice was tied to. Unfortunately neither could give me much concrete, though one did point to the Cult from Below, which performed ritual practices by the docks. They sacrificed chickens, of all things. I didn?t believe these people to be very serious, but perhaps one or two individuals could offer more information. Also, the second contact said it was highly doubtful that a demon was involved, and with his knowledge on magic and the abyss, I was inclined to agree with him.

After consulting with my contacts, we ran into a man named McAllister, I believe his name was. He was drunk out of his mind, but a friendly fellow. The guard was making him assist Arson and myself as muscle. I was skeptical at first, but he proved his wit soon after, thus I happily accepted him into the group. He was fun to speak with, anyways.

We went to the docks after that, I had taken on the form of a dockworker. There, we met a squeamish man named Eugene, who we had to coax into drinking with us to get information. He was apparently meeting some of these cult members that night, and soon helped us meet a few more. He said he remembered one of the meetings taking place in a basement, but that he was blindfolded on the way there, so we had to take him to Mister Justice?s home. He instantly recognized it once inside.

At least we discovered which cult Mister Justice was tied to.

Later on, Eugene and the rest of us parted ways, McAllister, Arson, and myself retreating to my home.

When I woke up, I was in the Red Dragon instead of my house.

?And there you have it.? Jin said, waving his hands about to accentuate the end of his tale. ?Now I am here, and have no idea just what part of the city this is. No one seems to put much stock in my seal, either. It?s disconcerting. Perhaps you could answer me why??

The old man eyed him for a moment, and then shifted his grip on the staff he carried. ?Because, Mister Mishin. This isn?t Serkonos. This is Rhy?Din. You?re in a completely different realm.?

?Well, that?s certainly more believable than me being lost.?