Murder at the Foul-Olde Spirit Inn

[*The Lady With the Pet Dog]

What was supposed to be a happy night for indigent children of the Hive and Lower Ward has become a tragedy on a massive scale.

Singer Eldarin Veskar was scheduled to perform in a benefit concert in the very center of Muriel's tap room. Here is this inker's first-person account of the entire situation.

The night started off without an issue. I was making small talk with Eldarin's manager - a cyan-clad dwarf who tagged himself "Roggy." Apparently they had been business partners for a period of roughly 2,000 turns. Two songs into the performance, I heard a loud crackling noise. The next thing I know, Eldarin is flat on the ground, a small dart sticking out from the side of his neck. After the initial shock, many rushed to the performer's aid, but Roggy remained in his spot. He told me that Eldarin had received a threatening note three days ago from an allegedly insane fan, warning him not to perform in Muriel's Inn. Another odd detail which Roggy mentioned was that the letter was written in purple ink.

As the body was tended to by tavern locals, the main door was magically sealed by a skeletal mage whose name I later learned to be "Chardon." The idea was to seal off the main exit so that the assailent would be unable to leave. There were, however, numerous exits from Muriels establishment on both main floors as well as the basement. (This reporter also suspects that there are more than a few portals which lead into and out of the Inn). The next shock came in the form of magical darkness, which was hurled upon the room as the body was being examined. After the few seconds that it took to recover from the darkness, we realized that the body was gone.

Some of the patrons determined that the sound was heard from the direction towards the basement. A group of patrons, myself included, headed down into Muriel's wine cellar to investigate. A few moments of unsuccessful searching were abruptly halted by a heavily trapped trek. Barrel bombs exploded, immolating the cellar, forcing the investigative team to rush up- I barely made it out with my life. Chardon managed to contain the inferno, and the rest of us were left looking for more leads.


Those are the facts cutters, now here is my angle, and potential darks:

First, there were a few odd things I noticed about Roggy: Rather than appear shocked or scared when Eldarin Veskar first fell, the dwarf was annoyed and exasperated. I heard the words "I told him--" uttered from Roggy's lips. When I further questioned him, he became evasive, defensive, and nervous, and refused to speak to me.

I can only hope that the authorities do a better job than I did. It is my hope that Harmonium have apprehended Roggy for a full questioning by the time this article is published, but in the likely case that they haven't, they should take him in and... thoroughly... do so. Then again, there were no Harmonium officers to be found during the 90 minutes I was there post-murder. I am sure the officers were busy doing more important things- like going incognito in the Hive to spy on the Revs. Speaking of the whom, the arson in Muriel's basement seemed suspiciously similar to the typical Rev style of business: burn first, ask questions later (the death of a child in the Hive is confirmed to be at the hands of reckless Revs who put a Harmonium officer on the chase - the sod burned to death at the hands of an unintended Rev firebomb). Further details about this death will be delineated in a future SIGIS article.


For now, this reporter will keep you posted on the facts and the Darks, cutting the screed that the 'official sources' report.

Signing off for SIGIS,

Oerianna Vaas

[*The Lady With the Pet Dog]

A stub has been added to the next edition of SIGIS, as an addendum to the previous article:


Here is the follow up: My sources, as well as Harmonium reports confirm that Roggy hired the murderer in order to settle irreconcilable differences between him and Eldarian.

With the help of local tavern patrons, the Harmonium were able to apprehend both the murderer as well as Roggy.


As of now, I am unaware of the status of Eldarian - though last I checked, attempts were being made to resuscitate him. I shall keep you updated, Sigil, on the status of this betrayed performer.


Until Later,

Oerianna Vaas

[*The Lady With the Pet Dog]

(Some redundancies have been edited out)