Location: Watch Tower Ruins, Kindeance
As Solomon turned to proceed towards the next floor, Henri walked out of the stairwell. He was noticeably less bulky, but as to why that is was answered when he told Cedar his belongings were left on the next floor. Solomon noticed Cedar’s lack of dress, but since he was a bear, he didn’t bother to question it. Now that he realized that Henri was wearing them instead, Solomon was curious as to what the two of them were doing before he, Anderson, and Matilda arrived. He thought it better to ask, it was probably related to the surprise he had planned for any ne’er-do-wells who might have still been here. For now, Cedar hurried to reclaim his property.
Solomon followed after him and presumably Anderson and Matilda would have gone as well to explore the next floor. At least after she reclaimed her heirloom from Henri. As it was, there were hardly any clues on this level. At the very least, the group discovered that the ruins were inhabited recently. Solomon wasn’t sure what Henri was going to find below the water, it was unlikely the abductors would have used that area. In any case, Solomon left him with a good luck as Henri walked down into the depths.
Up on the second floor above water it became much more obvious in just what state the inhabitants were camping in. Bed rolls, supplies, sacks of food, and ash. For some reason a quarter of the room was covered with ash. Regardless, there was another item that caught Solomon’s attention. There lay face down a corpse. Bathed n a pool of blood, the poor man seemed to have been stabbed. Solomon crouched near the body, not minding the blood that was now brushed up against the base of his attire. The blood had dried, but the corpse was stiff. He had died recently, within the last few days. There was evidence of scavengers picking at him, but they had only scratched the surface.
“Tell me your secrets, my friend.” he said softly as he turned the body onto its side. His arm hinged on the shoulder, with his hand brushing against the ground. The entire front end of his body was red, and his face, surprisingly calm. He either passed willingly, or he was killed in his sleep. In either case, no one was around willing to lend him aid. Solomon lifted his eyes up from the corpse, holding it on its side. He gazed over the items that Henri left behind, presumably once belonging to his new dead friend. There was the unstrung bow and the standard mess kit for wilderness survival. But then there was the roll of specialized tools. They were not for survival, these were for more nefarious purposes. Solomon looked back down at the face of the corpse. His eyes are half closed, his jaw slack, and nose pushed towards the side from the pressure of the ground. “Were you one of the prince’s abductors? Were you left behind? A liability, perhaps?”
Solomon dropped the body, it falling back face down into the dried blood pool. He stood back up from his crouch, his bones cracking as he stretched. He looked over to see the concerned faces of his colleagues. It usually doesn’t cross the mind of those who come across a body to speak with it, or even mess with it. However, dealing with the dead was Solomon’s forte. This was probably the clue that Matilda had been hoping for.
“Matilda, Anderson, Cedar. I believe we have come across our first witness from the attack on the Prince.” Solomon turned to face the corpse once again. He stayed silent as Anderson and the others had questions. Solomon closed his eyes and muttered something under his breathe. He held out his hands over the body before him and his palms began to glow. Silver and black energy also began to emanate from the large tome he had strapped to his back. The flies that buzzed around were stirred and zipped in any which way. The few crows that watched from the ruined rafters cawed. The energy surrounding Solomon’s tome and hands flowed like a stream down into the body. After the twenty or so seconds it took for his incantation to hold, the energy faded.
“Now come and stand for me. Please tell them what you told me. The truth if you please.” At first the body lay motionless, then suddenly one of his legs jerked. Then an arm, and eventually the whole body was writhing as though the person was trying to remember how to stand up again. Disgruntled sounds escape the lips of the once still corpse. He brought in his knees and pushed off the ground with his hands. One of his hands slipped against the blood, falling onto its shoulder. Eventually, it was kneeling on the ground, his head flopping from side to side as it brought himself to its feet. Now standing, it looked at Solomon with its eyes and then towards the others. Finally snapping his head up right, he groaned like he had just been rudely woken up from the most pleasant of dreams.
Solomon turned to his colleagues as well, with a hint of pride. “Go ahead and ask him anything you wish to know. He should answer with much of the truth as he is aware.”
