Murder Mystery

The guard had started screaming.

Terrified, Maria let go of the hand and the guard collapsed to the ground. She took a few steps back, the sheer shock muddling her thoughts for a few precious seconds. After she recovered, she turned towards the bonfires and ran.

"Please, I need a doctor! Or someone that can heal!" Maria asked the natures around the fire.

"What happened?" A green haired girl asked.

"The guard- he just collapsed in front of me!"

Maria took the girl's hand and guided her into the darkness, towards the man. Mint colored snow was slowly covering his armor.

The girl removed the helmet, lifting the man's chin up and putting her cheek above his nose. A few seconds passed in tense silence.

"He's not... breathing." The girl said. Eyes wide, she removed the plating that covered his chest. She placed her hand above his heart, her hair lighting up in the darkness. She scrunched up her face as the green glow of her hair spread through her arm and then across the man's chest. Delicate flowers started to decorate her hair.

...

..

But the guard didn't wake up. She stopped and shouted towards Maria:

"I need you to find me someone who has light healing magic now!"

So Maria ran towards the bonfires once again. Some of the other students were already heading towards the guard and Maria frantically asked around, hoping she'd find someone who knew how to heal.

Sure enough, after a dreadfully long minute, a boy emerged from the crowd and stopped the green haired girl from giving the guard first aid.

He put his hand on the guard's chest and light bloomed from his fingers, spreading from the man's chest trough his body in a form that looked like it had travelled through blood vessels. A few seconds passed and the glow dimmed.

"The guard is dead." The boy declared serenely, but the answer shook Maria to her bones. "Let him rest in peace."

----

Maria spent the night in a dimly lit room that belonged to the Academy. A quaint bed in the corner and a toilet in a small separate room where all the things in the dusty room. At the door, which was locked, stood another guard. Maria could hear the clanking of his armor and the soft snores coming from the other side. He had fallen asleep.

Maria did not.

It was basically a glorified prison cell. Maria was here for interrogation, she knew that. But how could she answer the questions when she didn't know what had happened herself?

So she stood in the bed, tossing and turning. She might have cried too, but if it was from fright, frustration or exhaustion, she couldn't tell.

And when the sky turned from black to grey, the dawn creeping in, the door finally opened. Maria was led down countless hallways, which just blurred together for her tired mind. At the end stood a pretty plain door, which would have been lost in the background of other nameless doors, were it not for the intricate lock that held it closed.

The guard knocked on the door.

"I am here for the girl's interrogation, sir."

"Password?" Spoke a voice from the other side of the door.

"Rogvaiv, sir."

Suddenly, in front of the lock appeared, all at the same time, a little bit of each element: a drop of water, a little spark of electricity, a flicker of fire, a pebble, a small leaf, a little light point and a small patch of darkness. They all entered the lock in different places, some inside, some on the outside and after a series of audible clicks, the door opened.

Inside, behind a large ornate polished desk, stood Mr. Brown.

"Hello, miss White. I hope you slept well last night." He said, blatantly ignoring the bags under her eyes. "I have some questions to ask of you regarding our fallen guard and I need you to have a clear mind."

Maria frowned at that, not because she was mad, but because the whole thing seemed rather off. Why would Mr. Brown hold the interrogation? Surely he must have something more important to do. Did this have to do with those pesky visions? She was starting to drown in all the nonsense those visions were bringing.

"First of all, when and where did the death take place?"

Maria's head was throbbing as she searched for the simple answer.

"Last night… somewhere in front of the water dorm, a little bit after the dorm rune stone was affected and we all had to evacuate… Did they figure out who did that?" Maria asked.

"That is still being worked on and is not our concern at the moment. Now, what were you doing at the time?"

"Funnily enough, I was also getting interrogated on the rune stone incident. By the guard that... died."

A look of mild confusion spread on his face.

"What did he ask you?"

Maria tried to think back to that moment, but she couldn't quite remember. The headache ravaged her memories even further.

"I think he asked what was I doing when the lights went off? And what happened afterwards... And if I saw anything suspicious." Maria huffed at that. "Anyway, who'd be able to see anything in complete darkness in the middle of a snowstorm?"

"Strange indeed..." Said Mr. Brown with a pensive look. "What happened afterwards?"

"He looked behind me, smiled, said 'Thank you for your help' or something like that. Then..."

It was when she remembered the next things that she started sobering up.

"He shook my hand. Started screaming, like he was in a huge amount of pain. I let go of his hand. He collapsed in the snow. A few minutes later, when I brought a healer to help, he was... dead."

He put his elbows on the desk and his hands in front of his mouth, as if deep in thought. A bit of time passed before he asked:

"Did you have anything in your hand at the time?"

"No" Maria answered, confused.

"Was there someone around you. A fire or air perhaps?"

"No, they were all gathered by the bonfires, which was a little ways off from where I was answering the questions."

He looked troubled at that.

"How far away?"

He pulled out a map of the campus and Maria's confusion deepened at the strangeness of the questions. She pointed towards where she thought she'd been and where the bonfires would have been.

"Do you think he had a reason to pull you so far away from everyone else?"

That really had her worried. Was that guard actually dangerous?

"I... don't know? Privacy, I guess?"

"Right." His voice sounded doubtful. "Did you feel any unusual warmth at the handshake?"

"No?"

He sucked in a breath before saying: "I want you to be honest to me. If you say the truth, I will be more lenient."

Maria held her breath, not knowing what to expect.

"Did you learn in secret fire or air magic?"

Maria released her breath. "No! Of course not."

He looked at her in silence, his intense gaze pinning her down. After a minute or so, he spoke again:

"Alright. You're dismissed. You are allowed to go back to the dorms and you have the rest of the day off. I'll inform the teachers. Go get some sleep."

So he had noticed her bags!

Maria stood up, but before leaving, she asked: "What will happen with case now?"

"Don't worry, we will figure it out." said Mr. Brown before the door closed again, lock shut tight.

----

"We can't figure it out, Mr. Brown."

Mr. Brown frowned at that question, but there was nothing else he could do.

The investigator was leading him towards the body, explaining the case to him, as if telling him about it one more time might open up a hidden clue that would help the investigator to solve it.

"The victim has a peculiar set of burns. The right hand, up to the elbow, is covered in deep external burns. The whole skin is practically toast. But the rest of the body has deep internal burns. They stop at the heart and it looks like rapid organ failure is the leading cause of death. That could only manifest itself in-"

"Magical burning, I am aware, Mr. Feldspar."

"But the only one who could be responsible for that is-"

"A first year water student who hasn't learnt any forbidden magic. I checked, she was under the influence of my zone of truth."

They arrived at the body. A shred of his dignity was reserved as his whole lower body was covered, leaving place for the terrible spectacle above: the right arm was blackened, almost up until the elbow, at which point the skin had turned into a deep crimson, the color intensity lessening as it went up. The same couldn't be said for the rest of his thorax: the organs were blackened and deformed, whatever had happened to the man had been brutal.

"Who was this man, Mr. Feldspar?" he asked.

"Cyprus Crow, a nature coming from a small settlement close to Aetheria. Applied for this job and was accepted about 6 months ago. He had a wife and one small child. They have been announced of his death and the autopsy."

A small clink was heard and a man emerged from the back room, wearing a thick, waxed cloak and a pair of scrubs.

"I'm sorry to interrupt, but did you say that this man was a nature?"

Mr. Feldspar took his hat in his hand, a hopeful look in his eyes.

"Yes, I did, lad."

The man widened his eyes in surprise.

"That can't be true, sir. The autopsy revealed that this man was a dark!"

"Very interesting indeed... Have you heard of someone being able to change their element, Mr. Brown?"

"Not until now… I am curious about one other thing." Mr. Brown turned towards the man. "Have you found out what the nature of the burning magic was?"

He nodded, an insecure look in his eyes. "Yes, but by all means, it shouldn't be possible..."

"Please, do tell, lad." Mr. Feldspar held the brim of his hat up to his mouth, practically chewing on it.

"He was burned by light magic! I didn't even know light magic had the possibility to cause such damage!"

"You mean, out of all the autopsies performed here, none of them have been affected in such a way by light magic?" Mr. Brown asked.

"Light magic alone can't outright kill someone! It's inherent healing properties don't permit it to be so..." and he gesticulated at the burnt insides, "destructive."

"Interesting indeed..." Mr. Brown mused out loud.

"Have you got an inkling, Mr. Brown?" The investigator asked.

"Yes, I do. But such business must be discussed in private. Come with me, Mr. Feldspar."

"One minute, Mr. Brown." He turned towards the man. "I will need the report of this autopsy delivered to Mr. Brown's office in due time."

The young man awkwardly saluted, mumbled a quick "Yes, sir!" and stumbled off.

"Shall we, Mr. Feldspar? We have a lot to discuss."

They walked away.