This mage must be using very high-level dark magic. I have to be very cautious.
I'll start from a very simple morning.
I went over to the port, today. I talked to the harbormaster. Harbormaster Leif Henriks. An old fellow. Was captain of a local ship, and then got a job as harbormaster. Seems very knowledgeable about the sea. This port is known for expedition voyages, but there are fishing and tour ships, as well.
I asked him if he saw any children at the port a week or so ago. He did recall a couple of children who were scrounging the trash. He tried to chase them away, but they went onboard a docked ship. He lost track of them, there. He doesn't remember what ship they boarded, but remembered that it was big and looked in need of repairs. He also said that it was most likely an expedition ship. I asked him for the manuscripts with the information pertaining to the times that ships were docked.
He was hesitant at first, but he let me take a look at them. I was looking for a ship that was docked at the port a week ago. I thought that there would have been a lot of ships to cover, but there were only a few expedition ships that were docked there, a week ago.
The possible ships are:
Howling Tempest
Yellow Whale
Raging Squid
Temperate Cyclone
Quiet Urchin
Sea Wranglers
Ghostly Shark
I asked the harbormaster if any of those ships were currently docked, so that I could ask them some questions. Perhaps, somebody on board one of those ships could lead me to where those boys went to, next. However, it seems all four of those ships have left the dock a couple of days ago and haven't returned since. I'll have to wait for those ships to return, though it isn't known when they will return.
Now, that I was finished investigating the port, I went off to the orphanage to speak with the headmaster. I had some more serious questions for her. When I arrived, Ms. Brokers was outside watering some plants. I greeted her and asked how she was handling the loss of her three orphans. She said that she was upset and that she may lose the orphanage, now that there were no more orphans to take care of. She seemed sincere, but more on the loss of her orphanage, rather than the loss of the children.
I went straight into asking her about how she disciplines the boys. She was shocked at the sudden question, but kept a level-head after a second. She explained that she would never harm them and never had to discipline them for anything. She said that they were just boys and that they should have fun. She didn't look like she was lying, but then why would three children with no parental supervision be found scrounging trash near the port. Ms. Brokers seems to be a lying, but I have no hard evidence about that.
I pretended to believe her and kindly asked if I could take a look around the orphanage. She allowed it and continued to water her plants.
Nothing seemed out of the ordinary at first. However, in the top left corner of the orphanage, I heard a creaking noise as I stepped. The wood that I stepped on were also a different kind of wood than the rest of the orphanage's floor. There was a basement. I didn't see anybody else in the orphanage and the headmaster was still outside. I began breaking apart the planks of wood. As I started breaking them, I noticed a set of stairs. My first suspicion was some kind of lair.
I looked carefully around in case of anybody watching. I didn't see anybody. There was enough space for me to go down. As I looked down the staircase, only darkness looked back. I cast a small fire spell that I could hold onto for light. I noticed that the stairs weren't made of wood, but some kind of mud. The walls were the same. As I got to the bottom of the staircase, the small basement glowed bright blue. I stopped casting the fire and looked at the small room. The walls had lines of plants glowing. I am unfamiliar with what kinds of plants they are. In the middle of the room there was an altar. As I moved closer, I investigated the altar. As I got closer, I noticed a knife was sitting on top of it. It was a red ritual knife. Could the knife be the murder weapon, I thought. I kept the knife in a bag. The altar was made of excrement and dried blood. It was carved with tentacles with hands at the ends of them. Past the altar, I noticed bowls filled with dried blood as well as one symbol drawn repeatedly on the wall in front of me.
The symbol looked like this
_/\_
I'm unaware of what it is. I have never seen the symbol in my studies of dark magic before.
As I stepped closer, I noticed a crunching sound. I stepped on some giant maggots. As I looked around maggots started growing out of the walls. This place was clearly used for dark magic.
Whatever the place was, it no longer exists. As the place started filling up with maggots, I moved back towards the staircase and ran back up. As I ran up, giant rodent-sized maggots filled in the space behind me. As soon as I got out, the basement was covered in maggots. I looked back at it and the maggots hardening. They started to look like wood. The same kind of wood that I tore off to get inside. I ran outside to find the headmaster to explain herself.
As I ran outside, I noticed the headmaster lying on the ground bleeding. There were two ruffians. They started slashing her body with cutlasses. I unsheathed my own blade and I commanded them to cease, but they wouldn't listen. They continued to slash the body without care. As I found there to be no other way, I struck first. I stabbed the two ruffians in the chest with my blade.
I thought that that would be the end of it, but even as their chest was bleeding they were still alive. They then placed their eyes on me. Their wounds started to stop bleeding. They were healing themselves, but not like any human. Their wounds were being clotted by maggots from the inside. These were some kind of monsters that I have never read about in the Inquisition library. As I prepared for battle, the two ruffians charged at me. I dodged and sliced both of their heads off. As I did, their heads and body fell over. I continued to have my guard up as these monsters were unknown to me. I noticed the neck from both the head and body started bleeding out the same rodent-sized maggots. The two ruffians started twitching, but soon stopped moving all together, with the exception of maggots writhing out of their bodies like snakes.
I sheathed my blade and went over to Ms. Brokers. I went down to see if she was still breathing. She was already dead. I looked back over to the two ruffians, but they disappeared. I got instantly back up to my feet and unsheathed my blade. I was expecting a second attack, but it never came. I left the Ms. Brokers body and went to the sheriff's office, still holding the sword in my hand. When I went over, I wanted the sheriff to bring some police with him over to the orphanage. I showed him the knife that I had found. It was the same one that the boy was carrying. I told him that I found it in a basement under the orphanage and that Ms. Brokers was killed.
We hurried back to the orphanage with military police.
When we got back to the orphanage, Ms. Brokers' body wasn't there. There was no body or blood found anywhere, even though the whole ground was covered in it. I ordered the police to search for the body. As I went inside the orphanage, I found Ms. Brokers.
Still alive.
Suprised, I asked her how she was alive when I saw her dying right outside. Ms. Brokers didn't understand what I was talking about, but I know that she died there. She had no recollection of the events. The last thing she remembered what that she was saying her good-byes to me after I left the orphanage.
Then, I went and told her that I found a basement in the orphanage. I took her and the police that I had with me to the corner where I had found it. But it wasn't there. Not even the discolored wood. I ordered the police to open up the planks of wood. They all looked at me concerned, but I repeated my order. Two officers opened the planks, but there was only dirt underneath.
Sheriff Arby ordered his men back to their stations. I know that she died, and I know that there was a basement here. I still believe it, even if nobody else does.
I decided to hold onto the knife for my investigate. I can't afford it to be lost in their evidence room, again.
I'll have to continue my investigation, tomorrow.