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Wren: “What?! N-no. It’s not a suicide device.”

Joe: “What is it then?! What is that wooden thing I found on Rob\'s body!” He yelled at Wren passionately.

Hearing that Wren was the person that made that wooden object set him off. There was now a possibility that Rob\'s murderer was sitting right in front of him, if the wooden object was really a suicide device like cults members were known to use.

Mike: “Calm down there buddy,” he said as he grabbed Joe shoulder and pulled him away from Wren slightly.

Wren was looking away from Joe and shaking nervously from being yelled at. He was startled by Joe\'s sudden outburst. Both Joe and Wren took a few seconds to compose themselves before Wren forced himself to speak.

Wren: “Y-you said body. D-does that mean Rob is dead?”

Joe: “Yeah… and that wooden object you made was identified as the cause of death.”

Wren: “T-that’s not possible. What I made for him was just an amulet of protection. Something to ward against evil.”

Joe: “You gave him a ward?” he said, confused as to why he would give someone like Rob a ward. Someone who couldn\'t make use of it on account of Rob not being able to control aether.

Wren: “It’s not a ward in the modern sense. It doesn\'t protect you from physical harm like the wards you know. It’s the classical kind of wards, the ones that are supposed to protect you from curses and the influence of things from beyond our world.”

Joe: “I’ve not heard of these kinds of wards. When you say it protects you from things beyond our world, do you mean—” he was cut off as Wren finished what he was about to say.

Wren: “The nameless gods. It is supposed to protect you from their influence, but more so the other things from beyond.”

Joe: “What other things?”

Wren: “I-I don’t know. The teachings of Rot are kinda vague about that.”

Mike: ”I’m noticing a discrepancy in your story, Wren. You said you can’t cast spells, but can somehow create enchanted objects like this amulet.”

The question Mike presented was glaring. Enchanting an object requires the ability to cast spells. This fact was in contradiction in what Wren was saying about his ability to cast magic.

Wren: “That amulet was made using the old ways. No aether involved or needed.”

Mike: “So, it’s just a piece of carved wood you gave him,” he said while rolling his eyes.

Wren: “You can choose to believe that if you want. I know mages nowadays have no respect for the old ways.”

The “old ways” are often referred to as the old practices of magic. Before modern mage theory took over the world, magic was very random and archaic back in the day due to having a bunch of superstitions tied into it. It didn’t always work because of the way they performed magic back then.

A lot of the spells back in the day used no aether in their casting, which is now commonly understood as to why so many spells didn’t work then. Modern Mage theory dictates that all spells must use aether, if a spell doesn\'t doesn\'t use aether, then it won’t work or do anything. The theory has stripped away the superstitions and useless practices of spellcrafting to make magic more consistent. The magic that everyone uses today is thanks to modern mage theory.

Therefore, Mike became very dismissive once he heard Wren said he crafted the amulet with the “old ways”. He knew that the only people that still talk about the “old ways” are those that have no aether, hoping that the old practices can somehow turn them into mages. It was all just smoke and mirrors to Mike.

Mike: “Sorry that I don\'t believe in your superstitious nonsense.”

Wren: “It’s not nonsense! This is knowledge passed down to us by our mistress of Rot,” he said passionately, clearly taking offense at Mike’s comment.

Mike: “Mhm hm,” he mumbled dismissively. “And why did you feel the need to share your great ‘knowledge’ with Rob in the form of that amulet.”

Wren: “It’s in the Putrid Rot clan\'s creed to help people. He came to me for help. He was being haunted by something when he came to me, at least that’s what he said when I met him. That’s why I gave him that amulet.”

Mike: “You mean he was ‘hunted’ by someone?”

Wren: “No, I mean haunted. When he came to me he… he wasn\'t right. I don’t know what it was, maybe a curse? The air surrounding him felt terribly wrong. I-It’s hard to explain.”

It clicked in Joe\'s brain as soon as Wren said it. The feeling he was describing about Rob reminded him of that unpleasant feeling that both him and Mike experienced just before Rob was found dead.

Joe: “That… feeling you\'re talking about. Did it leave your stomach feeling like it was tied in knots, and that you just wanted to run away, so much so it left you paralyzed.”

Wren: “Y-yeah that kinda sounds right. Except, the paralyzed part. It was just unpleasant to be around him, I wasn\'t left unable to move or anything like that.”

Joe: “And, you felt this unpleasantness the moment you met him?”

Wren: “No, it was only when we started talking that something started to feel off about him. He started talking about how he was being haunted by something, he wouldn’t say what. He begged me to help him in any way I could. To do something to lessen the burden he was carrying until he could find a solution to the thing that was haunting him.”

Dan: “When you say haunted, do mean like a ghost was affecting him.”

Mike: “Dan, now\'s not the time. Just let me and Joe do the questioning for now.”

Wren: “Maybe? I don’t know. It was his words not mine. Ghosts involve a bunch of forbidden magic and stuff I don\'t know much about,” he said, directed at Dan’s question.

Joe: “Let\'s bring the focus back to Rob. You mention something about a solution to Rob\'s problem. Did he say what that was?

Wren: “Um, no. Only what he needed to fix his problem was somewhere here in Graheel. He didn’t say where in Graheel though.”

Joe started pondering to himself, fitting the info Wren provided into the Mystery of Rob murder.

“He left Graheel and went into hiding, then he came back to Graheel looking for something. Something that he believed would fix whatever was wrong with him. So, why did he turn himself in? Being confined at the police headquarters would limit his movement, making it hard to search for whatever he was looking for. Was he that irrational, or was there some reason I\'m not seeing.” Joe pondered to himself.

Joe: “Did he say if someone was chasing him or anything like that?”

Wren: “Uh, he didn’t mention anything like that. He just described it as evil following him, not a person or a group.”

Joe rested finger on his chin and started thinking.

“He turned himself in for protection. Was the thing he wanted protection from, something that wasn\'t human. This is getting complicated.” Joe concluded.

Joe: “So, tell me. What do you think was going on with Rob? Did you just give him that amulet to make him feel better?”

Wren: “I poured through my clan\'s books to look for anything that might help him. That amulet I made was something I found in one of those books, and it seemed to help. It felt a little more normal to be around him while he was holding it. So, I think it might have been a curse and the amulet was suppressing it.”

Joe: “Did you make that amulet in two pieces?”

Wren: “No, why?”

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Joe: “We found that amulet on his body in two pieces. Does that mean anything to you?”

Wren: “If you allow me, i-i can look through the book that showed me how to make the amulet. It might say something about that.”

Joe: “Fine, but I\'m watching you.”

Wren stood up and walked to a nearby bookshelf. He looked through each book on the shelf one by one until he found the one he was looking for. He then walked over to a nearby table and placed the book on it before flipping through a bunch of pages. Joe and his team were standing over his shoulders watching his every action. Eventually he turned to a page that had a drawing of the protective amulet that looked exactly like the one they found on Rob, except it was whole, in one piece.

Wren: “OK here it is. Let me see. It says here: ‘The amulet will protect you from the evils from beyond this world, but take heed, it will not protect you from powerful malevolent spirits, or those of the most potent of curses. In the face of such a thing, the amulet will fail and shatter’... oh no. I didn’t read that part, that’s not good.”

Joe: “What’s not good?”

Wren: “If you found the amulet in two, that means what was affecting Rob was a lot more serious than I originally thought. I thought it was a curse that just made it feel terrible for him and to be around, but this is something else. Something that amulet couldn\'t protect from.”

Joe: “A malevolent spirit or powerful curse.”

Wren: “Yeah. I don\'t know how he died, but based on the broken amulet, it could have been a powerful curse.”

Mike: “What nonsense is this? Curses don’t kill people, they’re only meant to torment them.”

Curses were a highly illegal type of magic that fell within the category of black magic. The nature of this kind of magic was designed exclusively to torment people and it never kills. Police like Mike are very familiar with this type of magic. He had to deal with the victims of this kind of magic from time to time. So, he was skeptical of Wren’s claim that a curse is what killed Rob.

Wren: “That’s a regular curse. The curse this book is referring to is something that’s very powerful, a grudge incarnate. It’s the kinda curse you might find invoked by a nameless god, or from lost magic. Maybe, even an exceptionally powerful archmage or specialist might be able to invoke it. That kinda curse doesn\'t play by the normal rules. It definitely can kill someone.”

Mike just waved his hand and shook his head. Clearly not taking what Wren was saying seriously.

Joe: “I noticed your book presented two options of what could break your amulet. You\'re very dismissive of the possibility of a malevolent spirit.”

Wren: “The malevolent spirit that this book is referring to is more commonly known as a demon.”

Mike: “Ha. That’s even more ridiculous than a curse killing someone.”

Wren: “I disagree with your comment, but I understand that sentiment. Demons haven’t been seen in a really long time. The method on how to summon them into our world has long since been lost.”

Joe stood there and started to process the info Wren had. Mike had taken notice of this and spoke up.

Mike: “Joe. you don’t actually think a demon is at work here.”

Joe: “You know how I work. Leave every possibility open, but I agree it does seem unlikely. Although, there might be some truth to the curse business.”

Mike: “Curses leave a mark on someone, even after death. It was one of the first things the forensics team checked for on Rob\'s body, but they didn’t find anything.”

Joe: “That might be true for a normal curse, but a special powerful curse might not leave any mark. Isn\'t that right Wren?”

Wren: “Um, i-i don’t know. Myself and my clan don\'t engage in that kinda stuff.”

Mike: “More likely cause you can’t. You need to be able to control aether to put a curse on someone. C’mon, it can’t be a curse that killed Rob.”

Joe: “Maybe it didn’t kill him, but there still might\'ve been a curse on him. It would explain that weird feeling. Also, the fact that Wren here felt it as well can’t be a coincidence. Therefore, if there was a curse on Rob, someone had to put it on him. That’s how curses work.”

Mike: “You might have a point,” he begrudgingly admitted. “But if that’s true, it’s not a good lead. Anyone that can cast magic could curse him.”

Joe: “Again, you’re thinking this is a normal curse. That feeling we both experienced was not something I ever felt from a normal curse before. Whoever put that curse on Rob had to be special, and not just anyone. Therefore, do you have any idea who it might be that cursed Rob, Wren?”

Wren: “Why are you asking me?”

Joe: “Why do you think.”

Wren: “I just got done saying that me and my clan don’t curse people. Just because we are labeled as a cult doesn\'t mean we practice black magic like other cults.”

Joe: “Yeah, but you\'re significantly closer than me to the kinds of people that would use curse magic. So think, is there someone in this city specifically that might have cursed Rob.”

Wren: “I don’t know Rob well enough to know the kind of person he could have messed with to curse him like that. “

Joe: “You bring up an interesting point. What is your relationship with Rob?”

Wren: “Like I said. He came to me for help.”

Joe: “You just expect me to believe he wandered into here looking for help, in this place that just so happened to have you, a Putrid Rot cultist working at.”

Wren: “I mean, isn\'t that what is kinda going on with you right now.”

Joe: “Hmm, touché. I can’t even be mad at that. That’s…exactly on point,” He chuckled a little at the irony. “But, I still don’t believe he just wandered in here.”

Wren: “He heard from someone else about me and came to see if I could help.”

Joe: “Who did he hear it from?”

Wren: “I don’t know.”

Joe: “Really now. Not curious at who is telling other people there’s a cultist living here.”

Wren: “I just assumed that he got this information from a Nighthounds info broker.”

Joe: “Do you have some sort of connection with the Nighthounds, for you to assume that.”

Wren: “No, obviously not. You guys would be fucked if I did. I just hear about that stuff like everyone else. You know, ‘speak a secret and the hounds will hear it.’ That kind of stuff.”

“Speak a secret and the hounds will hear it,” is a common saying in Graheel. It’s said that the Nighthound knows everything that goes on in the city.

Mike: “Hmm. Starting to look like a dead lead. I don’t know where we go from here Joe.”

Joe: “It’s not dead yet. Wren, do you know anyone that’s an expert in curses?”

Wren: “I told you. We don\'t curse people. Go ask the church or university if you want to talk to somebody that knows that stuff.”

Joe: “I’m not asking for someone that studies curses or lifts them. I wanna know someone who actively curses people. Someone that might be able to curse Rob like you\'re suggesting.“

Wren: “We don’t—”

Joe: “You\'re gonna say you don’t curse people. Maybe that’s true, but is that true for the other people that live in this city’s underbelly? With your position as a cultist, I’m sure you’ve at least heard stories about the more unsavory people living in this city. So, help us out Wren. You say your cults\' creed is to help people, and we need help to find a murderer. So, think.”

An awkward silence that followed after Joe. Both Joe and Wren looked at each other intensely for a few seconds, but it was Wren who folded and looked away from Joe. Wren looked tired and defeated as he mumbled something under his breath.

Wren: “Maybe…no. I don’t know anyone.”

Joe: “Wren, you\'re not in a great position here. So you being honest with us and helping out is going to go a long way. We might even part from here and completely forget you being a cultist.”

Wren: “I-i, it’s j-just a rumor; but, there is apparently a really powerful guy that lives somewhere here in Graheel. Maybe he might be the one you\'re looking for.”

Joe: “Who is this guy?”

Wren: “No one knows; they just call him the ‘Keeper of Lost Secrets’, or the ‘Keeper’ for short. S-supposedly, he possesses all manner of rare artifacts and books that are supposed to be lost to the age. Some even say he’s ancient and can even cast lost and ancient magic. He’s a person that came up in conversation I had with ambitious collectors and seekers of forgotten lore.”

Joe: “OK…Where do we find this ‘Keeper’ you\'re talking about?”

Joe was beginning to believe that Wren didn’t have any good leads for him. He’s gotten people to this point before, where they start scraping the bottom of the barrel of their mind for some information. Once they start speaking such vague rumors like what Wren was doing, it’s often a sign to Joe that they don’t have much for him.

Wren: “I-I don’t know. It’s just a rumor I heard about and I don\'t know anyone that has met this guy, or if I\'m honest, I don\'t even know if this person really exists.”

Joe was starting to feel a little frustrated. He was hoping to actually get some really good information, due to Wren being a cultist, and a seemingly knowledgeable one at that. The only useful info he got was that Rob might have been cursed, based on Wren\'s interaction with Rob. The other claims and rumors Wren provided needed additional information and research for them to be possibly useful, and Joe wasn\'t that confident that it would be.

Mike: “C’mon Joe. You’re trying to squeeze blood from a rock here. This guy got nothing for us. Just weird rumors.”

Joe: “Yeah…” he said followed by a long sigh.

Joe then reached forward and grabbed Wren\'s one wrist and undid the jinsi still attached to it.

Joe: “Here’s what’s going to happen. We’re going to take the book we found in your basement and this book," he said as he picked up the book that contained information of the amulet Wren had made. "And study its contents for a while before returning it to you.”

Wren: “Ah…What happens to me?”

Joe: “Nothing, assuming everything you said was true and you\'re not getting up to some heinous shit.”

Wren: “Just like that?”

Joe: “Yup, why? Do you expect me to throw you in jail?”

Wren: “H-honestly yes. I expect most cops wouldn\'t even give me time of day and just shoot me on the spot, once they found out I\'m a cultist.”

Joe: “Well, count yourself lucky that I\'m not like most cops,” he said, as he began to vacate the store along with his team.

♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦

Joe quickly exited the “Mortar & Pestle” feeling tired at what just occurred. He began to walk down the street toward where their vehicle was parked. Dan and Mike were walking behind him following.

Mike: “How’s it possible to be so lucky on the Wren lead, yet we don’t know much more than what we did before,” he said from behind Joe.

Joe: “You and I know it comes with the job of being an investigator.”

Dan: “Was it really a good idea to just leave that guy alone?”

Joe: “I think he’s harmless, if a bit strange. At least that’s my gut feeling, and my gut has never led me astray. “

Dan: “If you say so. Where do we go from here?”

Joe: “We do a background check on Wren and go through these books, and if there is nothing weird we can find about Wren, we pursue the next lead we still have.”

Mike: “I’m sure we’ll find something weird about Wren, but nothing particularly illegal or helpful.”

Joe: “Yeah, that’s my guess too. Once that’s done, we head off to Vaal street to find out anything about Mark. So, you better prepare Dan.”

Dan: “That’s on the east side, where the Nighthounds operate. Is that a good idea?”

Mike: “No, it’s not.”

Joe: “But, we don’t got much choice,” he said as continued walking forward.