The beef had a spicy sauce, and the plate of vegetables in the middle was packed with Goodness. The beer had a fruity taste, and Ethan looked at Alice. Ethan was ecstatic about new delectable food items he had never had before. He tasted everything on his plate separately, sighing with pleasure. Ethan sipped the beer and groaned with joy.
Ethan felt that Alice wanted to tell them the information she had found. She was not interested in the murder scene for now. Ethan guessed that she had her contacts with the officers and would know more about the murder before sunset today. He would take a chance and see if his hunch was correct.
"Alas, if you're ready, tell us your information. Alice, do you know who might have a motive for murdering Professor Lark?"
Alice moved closer, speaking softly and looking around like someone might be listening. Lucy and Wendy were eating like people who had been starved for weeks.
Ethan waved his hand at the server, pointing at the food. She would bring them more in a few minutes. On the other hand, Alice had not touched her food but sipped slowly on her juice.
"One day, while looking for books, I encountered an angry exchange of words in Professor Lark's office."
Wendy looked at Alice as she placed meat on her fork.
"Hail, they argued with the door open?"
"No, not at all. The door was closed from the beginning."
Alice's eyes widened, but she recovered quickly. She realised what she had confessed. A piece of meat shot past Ethan's face. Lucy looked up from her plate shyly with a big grin.
"Squee, sorry, Ethan."
A server cleaned the meat off the floor as Ethan turned to Lucy. She blushed as she chewed. She was clumsy, but this made her adorable, Ethan thought.
Ethan held up his hand, showing Lucy that he was okay.
Alice looked at Ethan as she squirmed in her chair.
"Are they both your woman?"
Alice looked interested, and Wendy looked at her. The servers placed plates full of food and more beer mugs on the table and removed the empty plates.
The patrons looked at their table with astonishment.
"Hail, we are delighted to be his partners."
Alice took a sip of her juice.
"My sister's husband has three wives. He is old school, as the older people would say."
Ethan looked at her in surprise. Most cultures prided themselves on having only one wife, except for the king. Alice noted the gossip had been that Ms Finch, the librarian, had an ongoing feud with Professor Lark over access to rare magical texts. Alice was eyeing Ethan, now looking interested in him. Alice's cheeks were red as she blushed.
"Alas, what were they arguing about?"
"Well, they were shouting at each other. Professor Lark accused Ms Finch of hoarding forbidden knowledge."
"Alas, that sounds interesting, forbidden knowledge. I wonder what that's about."
Lucy finished the last roll in record time. Ethan touched Alice's hand, and she turned red like a beetroot. Ethan wondered if the forbidden knowledge had anything to do with the veil.
"Alas, thank you, Alice, for the information. That helps. Excellent reporting."
Ethan gave her three copper coins. She looked very pleased with herself as she pocketed them.
"It was my pleasure. My sister is teaching me."
Ethan's brows rose. Alice was pretty. Her sister should be as well.
"Alas, who is your sister?"
"Luna Nightingale is a freelance journalist and investigator."
"Hail, Is she also from the royal bloodline?"
"Yes, her husband is royalty but is not in line for the throne. He prefers that Helgar rule."
This man had power if he could decide who would take the throne and could take it himself. Ethan saw a large piece of meat that was left. He wanted to spear it with his fork, but Wendy beat him to it, stuffing it in her mouth.
Wendy looked like a chipmunk as she chewed happily. Wendy swallowed and finished her beer, and meat juices were smeared around her mouth. Lucy did not fare better. She was smeared with meat, her mouth and hands full of meat juices.
"Hail, what is her husband's name, if I may ask?"
"You may not. Brother-in-law only wants to spend time with his three-sex slave wives and rarely leaves the house. My sister works. She is always on the job, and we rarely see her."
Alice said goodbye to all of them, looking longingly at Ethan, turning red, and then walking away. Ethan suggested they freshen up in the toilets first. Ethan did not think they realised how smeared their mouths were.
They came out five minutes later looking horrified. Their arms folded on their chests. Cheeks puffed as they stared at Ethan. Ethan thought they looked adorable.
"Squee, you could have said something."
"Hail, yeah, I looked like a barbarian."
Ethan and his girls walked to the Royal Police Headquarters, enjoying the city. The day was winding down, dusk was approaching, and they needed to return to Ghost Flower Village.
Clouds were coming in, and it looked like a stormy night was in store for them. The headquarters were massive, and officers milled about.
The front desk clerk, a young man with thick glasses, took the quest, scrutinising it. He picked up a phone and talked for a few seconds.
"The detective will see you now; walk up to the second floor; his office is at the back of the building."
Ethan ducked through the door as Thompson stood from behind his desk. A young officer straightened her skirt as she walked out, her face red.
Thompson gestured for them to sit as he pulled a file from a cabinet behind him. He sat looking at them with a grin, opening the file.
"What have you learned from Alice? I saw you walk with her."
"Alas, according to Alice, Professor Lark and the librarian, Ms Finch, feuded over forbidden books. We found a book two aisles away on the floor."
Thompson looked at them and paused for effect.
"Great work there. It was a cursed tome that if opened, your worst nightmare would haunt you. But only the person who opened it could see the creature."
Wendy looked at Thompson, her finger on her chin deep in thought.
"Hail, it sounds like an illusion."
"Yes, Wendy, but the person it chases does not know it is an illusion. Forensics found that Professor Lark had used wind step, a magic ability that gave the person a speed boost for seconds. Traces of magic energy residue still hung in the air, and we could take samples and assess them to see what spell was used."
Thompson was looking at the file on his table. Ethan thought back to the man with the staff. Could that have been what he used to attack him? He seemed to forcefully fly forward before Ethan deflected the man into a tree.
"We suspect that she must have used it to try and escape her nightmare, and then the wire ended her."
Lucy shivered, holding herself.
"Squee, that is a cruel way to die."
"Alas, it was a meticulously thought-out way to kill and make it all come together to work perfectly."
Thompson closed the file.
"Your statement rings true, Ethan. It must have taken planning and intelligence to pull off a murder like that. We are dealing with a very clever and resourceful criminal here."
Thompson discussed the reward for accepting the quest he had posted. They would receive twenty-two silver coins for each clue or breakthrough and five gold coins for a successful arrest. If they seemed capable, he would use them again in the future if needed.
Thompson pulled another file from his desk drawer and opened it.
"Now, this is why I had placed the request at the guild. I have reason to believe that there is something amiss at the academy. My superiors keep telling me I am paranoid, but my gut feeling says otherwise.