CASE 1, ACT 4: THE CHAIN
Renka looked back again at Melia's body, and her breathing hastened as she absorbed the appalling sight.
She looked over the burns on Melia's throat.
The Natron may have been applied to Melia while she was laying down.
Renka left the body and entered Melia's room. She walked over to the bed, and saw the burns from the Natron on the cloth and feather pillow where the servant lay.
Looking around the room, Renka pondered the idea of there being a secret passage between the walls, and that would incriminate the two neighbors on the left and right side of Melia's room; In this case, Sevius and Jessun respectively. She carefully inspected the walls, but no such passage could be found.
Renka then approached the window's wooden shutters which stretched from the floor to just below the ceiling, and noticed that the wooden bolt that kept it locked was undone. She opened the shutters, and found them leading to a small outdoor stone balcony.
Renka walked out under the rain and looked around. Below her was, of course, a drop to the flooded grounds below. That would at least break a leg.
She looked to either side of her, and saw that there were other individual small balconies along the wall of the castle, each connecting to their own respective rooms. Renka walked over to the right side of her balcony, and analyzed the distance between it and Jessun's balcony. Although there was a risky drop between the two balconies, Renka determined it possible to jump between the balconies. Someone could then access the other rooms, so long as their balcony shutters were unlocked on the inside.
Renka went back into Melia's room, soaked from the rain, and thought to herself. "The killer had to have entered through the front door first to guarantee that the balcony shutters were unlocked, suggesting that Melia trusted the killer enough to let them in. The killer later returned to the room through the balcony, poured the Natron over Melia's neck while she was asleep in bed. Melia woke up, realized she could speak again, then excitedly left her room and died. In addition, the killer must have covered themselves up to keep them dry from the rain, then discarded their wet clothes to the floods below."
Renka clapped her hands and returned time back to normal again.
She exited the room and returned to the walkway, and clapped her hands twice. Sol appeared from a light. The assistant took a slight step back upon seeing the burned body, but Renka quickly focussed her attention.
"Sol, take Melia's body away and produce an autopsy report."
"Y-yes, my lady!"
Sol knelt beside Melia and placed her hand on the body's shoulder. In another flash of light, the two disappeared.
The sound of crying became audible. Renka looked around, and sensed it was coming from Flesuna's room. Renka closed her eyes and took a deep breath.
She approached the dorm, and gently knocked on the door.
"Flesuna," began Renka. "Let us get something to drink."
The crying ceased, and the following moment of silence felt like it lasted forever. It was finally broken as the door unlocked and opened, revealing Flesuna.
"I would like that," responded the head maid, tears flowing down her cheeks.
Renka nodded with a reassuring smile.
They went downstairs to the kitchen, and Flesuna poured two glasses of wine. They seated themselves at the dining room table, and Flesuna seemed to calm down slightly after sipping her beverage.
"Flesuna, are you the only one Melia would let into her room?"
"What?" the head maid responded, matching the abruptness of the Descendant's question. "I am certainly not the one who killed her! Melia is my closest friend! Well… She was…" Flesuna looked down at the table.
"I know," said Renka gently. "I just need to determine who she trusts or not. The ones in her highest favor would have likely entered her room through her bedroom door, and the ones in her lowest favor would have likely entered through her balcony."
"The balcony?" questioned Flesuna, gazing back up at Renka with a tense brow. "You think some mad person would jump from balcony to balcony, over the abyss, just to get into her room and… you know…"
Flesuna trailed off as tears welled from her eyes.
"I apologize for harboring such dark thoughts, Flesuna," said Renka. "But with enough motivation, the killer would confidently risk their own life in order to end another's."
Flesuna paused for thought, then reluctantly accepted Renka's idea with a slight nod.
"Well… aside from myself… She trusts Sevius. They both grew up together. She trusts Mr. Jessun as well, of course, having served under him for so long."
"And what about the doctors?"
"Them? Oh, no. She does not know any of them well enough. Doctor Rhesus did send her letters about her antidote's progress once in a while, but that was all."
"And what about the late Doctor Macarius? Did Melia trust him? I mean, really trust him?"
"She did," confirmed Flesuna. "But he is her employer. It would be inappropriate to ever let him into her room."
Renka paused. She suspected Melia of being implicated in Macarius' death.
"Go back to your room, Flesuna," advised Renka. "Do not come out until I say so, and lock your balcony shutters."
"Yes, Descendant."
Flesuna got up and headed for the door. But, before she reached it, she stopped and turned around.
"Descendant," said Flesuna. "Are the myths true? Are you… really cursed?"
Renka had been asked that question countless times before. As such, she already had her well-rehearsed response ready for the head maid.
"It is true. My curse was designed to kill me quickly, but I have slowed it down to a near halt. As such, I can die whenever I choose."
Flesuna flinched. She could not imagine what it must be like to be constantly holding back a fatal curse. Flesuna looked away, unsure of how to react.
"Worry not, Flesuna. It is not your burden to bear."
Flesuna acknowledged her words with a silent nod, then promptly left the room.
Renka stood up and clapped her hands twice. Sol appeared.
"Is the autopsy complete, Sol?" asked Renka.
"Yes, my lady. Allow me to give you my report."
Sol clapped her hands twice, then the two became surrounded by light.
They then appeared in the middle of the rounded temple, which floated high above the Earth in a red sky. Beside them, Macarius' body lay on a stone bed, covered head to toe in a navy cloth.
"I have determined that the cause of death was the impact of the chandelier crushing the victim's chest. The scratches on his stomach indicate that he was indeed dragged across the floor."
"And he fell to the floor prior to that due to an anaphylactic shock," added Renka.
"Very good, my lady," said Sol. "His throat was heavily swollen, and blotches covered his skin when I first examined him, suggesting that he had a severe allergic reaction to something."
"I suspect that there was some Natron in his body. Surely the mere presence of it inside the doctor would have caused his death?"
"Yes, but not at once, my lady. The doctor would have had a degree of tolerance to the substance. Since there are no burns inside of his lungs or stomach, anaphylaxis could have been caused if there was a constant flow of Natron being breathed in over time, making the body eventually give in and react badly to the particles. The victim would not have been made aware that he was inhaling Natron, aside by a few coughs and an in depth diagnosis. It is obviously odorless, and only the liquid form causes burns."
"I see," said Renka. "The missing crystal is probably made of compressed Natron. It decayed over time like a burning candle, throwing particles of Natron gas into the air and jeopardizing Macarius' health over a period of time."
"I have it here, my lady."
Sol took out the recovered crystal from her cloak, and held it in her open palm.
"Upon analyzing it, I have determined that this crystal is not made of Natron, but of glass like all the other chandelier crystals."
Renka went quiet. She closed her eyes and folded her arms.
"But how can that be? It had to have been made of Natron… I believe the only reason the chandelier was destroyed was to hide that fact. Unless… What I found was, in fact, a decoy. Natron consists of rare elements which makes it valuable, so perhaps, while the castle was being checked before the celebration, the original Natron crystal was taken from the chandelier with a view to sell it."
"So it was not stolen, say by the killer, to hide the evidence?"
Renka opened her eyes as her thoughts became clear. "No, that would not be logical. Stealing only one crystal, a murder weapon, would draw too much attention to it. It would be far more efficient to simply leave the crystal, as the fallen chandelier, crystals and all, would be taken out of the castle for repair anyway, thus passively vacating the evidence."
"I see. The only ones who could have taken the crystal during the checks were the castle's staff."
"Sevius. He was the thief," declared Renka. "Only he has the motivation to steal the crystal from the fallen chandelier. He planted the decoy crystal in the tunnel as a distraction during the safety checks, and most likely sourced it from a batch of spare crystals lying in storage."
"But, how could he have known about the Natron crystal, my lady?"
"Hmm…"
Renka opened her hands and looked at her palms. looked at her open hands. "If I recall, Sevius always wears gloves, even when he is resting in his room. If he had indeed removed the Natron crystal himself before the celebration, then the likely reason he would hide his hands is…"
"He also has an allergy to Natron," deduced Sol.
"Correct. At some point in the past, Sevius must have cleaned the chandelier as part of his duties. He must have touched some of the crystals, then saw an allergic reaction develop in his hands."
"And his repeated cleanings of the chandelier would have helped him determine which crystal was causing it."
"Yes. He then plotted to sell the crystal to pay back his wasted student loan. I will need to check his hands to verify this theory. Thank you, Sol."
The assistant bowed. "You are most welcome, my lady."
Renka clapped her hands three times. A light surrounded her, then she found herself inside the dining room once more. She made her way out, and entered the hall.
Renka looked at the open space before her, and focussed on the direction in which Macarius was dragged across the floor. Renka looked ahead in the distance, and noticed the two small, wooden square tables at either side of the main door.
Renka went up to the table on the left. On top of it lay a clay bowl of dried smelling flowers. Renka assumed they were there to provide a welcoming scent to the entering guests. She looked back at where the chandelier fell. It seems that Macarius was dragged in the direction of the flowers.
Renka looked at the opposite table, and it was bare. She recalled that both tables had smelling flowers on them before. Who better to ask about this curiosity than the servant she wanted to see?
Renka ascended the stairs and arrived before Sevius' door. She knocked. "Sevius, it is I. Please let me in."
A long silence ensued.
Renka's heart began to race. She instinctively looked along each side of the hallway, and was greeted with nothing but ominous silence.
Renka tried the door handle, and found it unlocked. She slowly and cautiously pushed it open. "Sevius?"
As the candlelight from the hall entered the room, Renka saw Sevius coldly lying on his back on the bed. His eyes were open, and his body was frozen still. His left hand was covering his throat, and on his right palm lay the missing bowl of smelling flowers.
Renka knew that the bowl also contained Natron, and Sevius must have inhaled it to severely trigger his allergies.
Every part of Renka became tense. Her face turned pale, her fists clenched tight, and her shoulders raised skyward.
She frantically searched the room for any evidence which would connect her to the killer.
Renka noticed that there was a pestle and mortar on Sevius' table, taken from the kitchen, with some sparkling dust left in the bowl. It looked like Sevius had crushed the Natron crystal, poured it into the flower bowl, then inhaled it to commit suicide.
I will not fall for this ploy! Renka knew that Sevius was going to sell the crystal, thus he had no motivation to take his life with it.
Renka also noticed that there was a clay drinking vessel containing water, also on the table.
She went over to Sevius, and carefully removed his gloves. His hands were all red and blotchy.
"This mystery has been solved," she declared.
