FOR THEY CANNOT DIE ANYMORE, BECAUSE THEY ARE EQUAL TO ANGELS.

[cccorp]

Today, the canals of Mac Anu flow as gentle as they always do, gondolas drifting lazy through the paths of sunlight cut bright across the water. Shops and vendors line the stonework streets along the waterways, a general murmur of NPCs circulating through their preprogrammed business keeping Mac Anu, as always, feeling maybe a little more alive than a real city.

There is one particular bridge that nearly every player's taken at least once, because it connects to a great many other places of interest, and it's wide enough for easy travel. Besides, with the professions update, they've put a fishing spot on the other side of it. NPCs with fishing rods litter the spot in alternating shifts, their laughter mingling with the calls of shopkeeps advertising cheap prices for some simple plants to get started crafting with, and the clink of forks and plates at a restaurant nearby, its customers singing the chef praises.

Below the bridge, a gondolier passes, humming, his gondola drifting along its circuit through the canals, his tune in rhythm with the passing conversation. As he comes out from under it and sails further away, he glances up at the bridge, as if he were expecting something, and he seems to see it. His gaze remains fixed there until, eventually, the water takes him out of sight again.

Today, you might notice that at the base of this bridge, just before your feet, is a red sort of smear.

A little further down the bridge, about a fourth of the way along it, is a person collapsed on the ground. The red trails to him, fallen forward.

You see upon approaching his hand grasping at his throat at the singularly cut sliced deep into his neck. His one good eye wide and unblinking, he is—among all the laughter and conversation on either side of the bridge; in the shadow of the clock tower, which stands a silent witness, the sun at its back—no longer breathing, his body cool to the touch.

Perhaps this could be considered a kindness: for one who failed, time and time and again, to grasp the desire to live, maybe he found some suggestion of it in his last moments, his hand at his throat, his palm smeared with dried blood, a curious anomaly in the deathless Mac Anu. Fragment had, after all, taught him a great many things. Should he not be grateful for one more, no matter how permanent the lesson?

Mithrun is dead.

Comments

[cccorp]

1. It's a good thing Sinclair runs a lot of dungeons, isn't it? He might be able to determine that the injury did not come from a player's weapon or spell, which narrows the options down pretty drastically. The injury, while quite bloody, isn't deep enough to kill, but it's not possible to determine the direction of the cut.

2. There are a variety of bruises on Mithrun's back and arms. The largest bruise on his back appears to have come from making contact with a hard surface. Other bruises on his back suggest he was struck or slapped repeatedly, but it's not possible to determine what left those particular bruises.

There are bruises on his arms consistent with the ones on his back that seem to have occurred as a result of getting struck or slapped repeatedly.

There is a series of smaller, circular bruises on his back and arms as well. The flesh around these bruises is red and irritated. Even a seasoned dungeon explorer like Sinclair will struggle to come up with any spells or monsters that could have left behind such bruises.

3. Mithrun's hands are around his own throat, which is... uh oh, oh dear. What could have happened there? That is the most notable thing about Mithrun's hands.

quesitons: injuries

[insinning]

[Hmm.

1. If Sinclair compares any crafting tools to the wound, will he notice any matches?

2. Does red and irritated skin look like something from an allergic reaction? Like anaphylactic shock?

3. Looking a little more closely at Mithrun's eyes, mouth, nose and throat. Any signs of swelling? Redness?]

[cccorp]

1. Nope! These injuries did not come from any crafting tools.

2. They certainly could be! However, it is more likely that the red, irritated bruises are a result of high pressure blasts of... something. The red marks on Mithrun's skin that aren't joined by bruises could have been the result of anaphylactic shock, and there's further evidence of that on Mithrun's face. See below:

3. There is some swelling of Mithrun's conjunctiva and broken blood vessels in his eyes. It looks like Mithrun was suffering with a runny nose on the day that he died. His lips, in addition to being scratched, are also swollen. His tongue and throat, if Sinclair gets all up in there, are also swollen and red.

[insinning]

[Uuuughhh....he's getting up close. Good thing his work helped him with this. Also, confirming his family's corpses. No throwing up here.

...would Hien help him lift up the tongue or lift the hands from Mithrun's neck to check for anything else?

He can do it but...there's probably a limit to his resolve here.

And could a trap have created the bruises?]

[cccorp]

Hien's kindness extends as far as lifting Mithrun's tongue, but no further. Sinclair will have to manipulate those hands himself. That said, there is nothing else of note to be found under his tongue or on his neck.

It's possible a trap could have been involved, but there's no way to verify that by looking at Mithrun's bruises.

[insinning]

[Okay, fine. Moving Mithrun's hands and checking them. Anything there??

Thanks Hien this isn't traumatising at all]

[cccorp]

His palms are smeared with dried blood, most certainly his own, but there's nothing else of note on his hands. Thanks for nothing, Hien.

question: burn injury

[insinning]

[Thanks, he hates it.

Ok one more thing Sinclair can check before he calls it in to ask other people

Could the burn have been caused by a homing molotov?]

[cccorp]

Nope! It was most definitely caused by a spell.