Lucy ran to the cell bars, grabbing hold of them. Lucy spoke with sympathy in her voice.
"Squee, are you okay, Miss Finch? Is there anything we could do to help?"
Wendy stands next to Lucy as she inspects the cell. Wendy sniffs the air, her face contorted in disgust.
"Hail, is there anything we can help with? Please do not hesitate to ask. This place stinks of shit, you know. I do not know how you manage down here."
Miss Finch lay back against the wall, eyeing the two girls.
"Last night's meal did not do me favours. I have been shitting my lungs out all night with almost no sleep. Thompson had brought me medicine to calm my diarrhoea. My ass is burning like hellfire. I feel so weak and tired. They got me fifteen toilet rolls. There are seven left."
Finch shows her arm, and a needle mark is visible. She farts loudly. The air turned almost unbreathable. Ethan and the girls tried to hold their faces straight, breathing now and again. Finch lifts her leg and lets loose another wet-sounding fart. Ethan thought he could taste it now; Lucy and Wendy were turning paler by the second. Finch farts again, this time with vigour. Finch relaxes against the wall. Finch had just shat herself. All three of them could see and smell it.
"You know how it feels to have the doctor place you on a drip while you are sitting on the crapper. Smith must make it up to me when I leave here."
Ethan helps Wendy and Lucy to a bench near a window, which Lucy opens wide. The breeze is a lifesaver for the three. Ethan and the girls place their gear against the wall. Ethan admires the bottle-green knee-length dresses they are wearing. Their outfits match his almost perfectly. Ethan sits between them. The professor's confession stuns them into silence.
"Alas, professor, could you tell us who would want Lark dead? We will follow any lead you may give us."
Finch gathers herself, sitting forward.
"First, understand that the book that was found belongs to the library. I found it in the donation bin and had no idea it was that dangerous. That is why I am here. The security footage shows me taking the book. I placed it on the table to be assessed and labelled. Lark always inspected the books before anyone else."
Ethan touched Wendy and Lucy's knees, caressing them gently while he thought.
"Alas, did you see anything out of the ordinary that day? It could be anything you never see in the library."
Finch looked at the ceiling, thinking back to the day.
"Now that you mention it, a dog was in the library. The guards chased it around, and it disappeared. We presumed it left because we did not see it again. I would say that her secret lover killed her."
"Hail, secret lover, did she not date the dean."
"Squee, poor Earl, he must be devastated."
"Earl was furious when he found out, but he is a gentle soul. She might have looked like an angel, but she was the opposite. Her lover is Professor Crane, a stern and strict teacher of history and lore. He teaches at the academy as well. I do not know the other gentlemen who visited her regularly. She did the rounds if you know what I mean. Behind Earl's back, the poor man."
"Alas, thank you, Miss Finch. We will investigate this man. Thompson will keep you up to date on our progress."
Wendy helps Ethan with his backpack, and then they help Lucy with her gear. Lucy and Ethan strap Wendy's gear on her. They wanted to leave to get away from the stench. They walk down the street towards the portal. Lucy suddenly stops.
"Squee, can we get food at the cafeteria, please."
"Hail, I will pay today. My stomach wants to eat me."
"Alas, we will stop there first. The professor might be giving a class right now.?"
They arrive through the portal, and Lara finds them near the cafeteria. They get a table and order food and drinks. Lara takes out her notebook.
"I have talked to some of the fourth-year nobles. They had interesting things to say about Lark. According to some guys, she was no angel at all."
"Squee, we heard Lark had a secret lover in the academy."
Ethan takes Lara's hand, and she looks at him curiously.
"Alas, they have been treating you well, not forcing you into doing things you do not want to. If you kiss your ring, I will come quickly."
Lara did not pull her hand away but blushed, brushing a piece of hair behind her ear. She looked innocent to Ethan, which made him want her more.
"There have been one or two, but they gave up after a few tries. I do not think they will try anything. The nobles who come to the academy are usually good people, and we have a few rotten apples here and there. I try to avoid them as much as possible."
"Hail, if they insist, show them your ring and say it is your bond with your husband."
Lara coughed as her juice went down the wrong way. Wendy patted her back. Ethan brought her a glass of water and rubbed her back. She blushed more.
"Alas, are you okay, Lara? We need to go and talk to Crane. We can stay a bit if you want."
Lara looked at Ethan and nodded for them to go. Ethan held her face in his massive hands, inspecting her eyes and face and brushing his fingers through her hair. Ethan winked at her and then walked out of the cafeteria. They found Crane's office and knocked on the door. Crane motioned for them to enter as he looked up from his work.
"You must be here about Lark's death. I had a feeling that adventurers would be called in to investigate. Please find her killer. She was one of a kind, and she is dearly missed."
"Squee, you loved her then."
Crane looked at her and laughed.
"No, not at all. We had something special, but it was not love. You could never fall in love with women like Lark."
"Alas, what do you mean?"
Crane placed his pen down, reclining back in his chair.
"Lark was no angel, and we argued the night before her death. She had stood us up the day before for some organisation she belonged to."
Wendy sat forward.
"Hail, who is us."
Crane then looked at the door to see if anyone was eavesdropping. He lowered his voice, leaning forward.
"Twice a week, we would meet in her office, nine men and me. We would plough her the whole night till early morning. The men do not work at the academy, and they have families. We had no reason to kill her. We were upset because she stood us up for a previous meeting with this organisation."
"Alas, there were no grudges or competing between all of you."
"No, we have never argued before; she pleased all of us. She had changed since she joined this organisation. We wanted her to leave. We had pledged to look after her needs between us. When we had the urge, as men do, she always accommodated us one at a time, sometimes two or five or ten, any time of the day. We had been keeping this relationship going for five years already."
Ethan could see that Crane did not trust this organisation she had joined. It had interfered with their relationship with her. Crane walks to the window and stares out as if remembering that evening.
"We felt terrible about arguing with her. The worst part was that she forgave us and said she would quit the organisation. We ploughed her till sunrise, and she scheduled another get-together for the following evening. That would be the last time we saw her. I have thought about it a lot. I had realised just as all the others did. We loved her."
Crane started sobbing as he looked out the window. Ethan took Wendy and Lucy's hands and walked to the door.
"Alas, this man is not the killer. We are missing something. We need to find out what organisation she belonged to."
They needed the leads.
"Hail, this anonymous organisation does hold the answers we seek."
Ethan nodded in answer to Wendy's question. Could they get information about it, and who would know its name? Would they be able to find it and infiltrate such an organisation if they were nefarious? Sophia spoke.
"Alas, the dog at the library could be the Skinwalker, and they can turn into anything from a human to an animal. We need to find and destroy the dagger, the source of the Skinwalker's existence."
"Alas, Sophia, why would the Skinwalker kill Lark? What could the connection be."
"Hail, Sophia, could it be something the Skinwalker needed from her."
"Alas, Wendy, it could be something we still need to discover."
Ethan felt a tug in his mind. It was Lara. She was near the city portal.