Journal of Miyara Kyosuke (14)
From the Druidess of Yetsin Valley, we travelled to
Curutsofen in search of Etiyen Bastia. Thankfully the barbarians
have agreed to the task that Miyara has taken on my behalf first of
all. On arrival in the town, we were told that Etiyen had left
his escort sometime between here and the next town downriver, Sonefutu.
When we reached that town we found that the man had left there the day
before to head for Curutsofen.
Travel back up the river was hard to arrange, as
these superstitious barbarians believed it was bad luck to be on the
river on the night of the double full moon. Being barbarians,
however, their convictions could easily be overcome with some shouting
and bribery in the barbarian manner. We travelled back upriver on
the same boat that had taken us down.
We arrived back in Curutsofen on the morning
after the double full moon night. Unfortunately Etiyen (who the
barbarians insist on calling Bastia, despite never having known him
personally for such familiarity) is dead. His body was found in a
locked room.
We examined the place of his death and his body, and
came to the conclusion that he had been killed many times over --
poisoned, bludgeoned, stabbed, and shot with a dart full of acid.
Such circumstances would be amusing if it were not for my undischarged
debt of honor.
Now, however, we are to remain in town until the
matter is resolved. The suspicious barbarians eventually accepted
that we were out of town when he died, but are uncomfortable that we
should have been seeking the dead man on the night he died.
As Ashu sniffed on the ground like a dog, and the
barbarians followed
Etiyen's trail around town and found that he went only to and from the
docks, his hotel, and Doctor En Tesan's office and house.
Since Miyara has been charged on my behalf to find
out what happened to Etiyen, this investigation is important. We
headed to the Doctor's house to continue our work.