"I hate prying in a gentleman's personal life . " Jirni lied through her teeth while still sounding so sincere that she would manage to sell sand in the desert .
"Yet we suspect that Sir Rosen's death may be related to the practice of Forbidden Magic . I need to know if something changed in his life recently . Maybe a new acquaintance? A new hobby? Anything at all?"
At the mention of the forbidden arts, even Baroness Izra's freckles turned pale .
Forbidden Magic was outlawed in all the countries of the Galen continent . The term usually referred to all kinds of spells or artifacts capable of altering the lives of their targets benefitting only their caster .
Examples of it were the slave collars or creating greater undead since both would rob a living creature of their free will . It was considered the most inhumane thing a mage could do .
The highest forms of Forbidden Magic required to use the life of others to empower spells or magical objects . Such magic could give birth to miracles, but only at the cost of many lives and posed huge risks .
Forbidden Magic was an unnatural process, that allowed subverting the laws of magic by sacrificing vast amounts of life force and mana to upset the balance . It was very powerful but also very volatile .
One tiny mistake could turn the miracle into a nightmare, just like it had happened during the creation of the Black Star . Like any kind of magic, to perfect a single spell required several attempts and each one of them could bring consequences comparable to a natural disaster .
"I know nothing of Forbidden Magic and I'm sure neither did Rosen . He wasn't a perfect man, but he would have never consorted with someone capable of such a despicable thing . " The Baroness squeezed her fan so hard some of the plumes fell off .
"Interesting . What do you mean when you say he wasn't a perfect man?" Jirni's tone remained amiable even while noticing the witness tensing up in realization of the slip of her tongue .
"Well, like most of our common circle of friends, Rosen was born in a wealthy family . He never worked a day in his life, which made him easily bored . He would seek fun in the most disparate ways . Sometimes even illegal ones . "
"Like what?"
"Nothing much . Brothels, clandestine fights, gambling clubs . He was just a Baronet, he hadn't much to spend without endangering the sources of his annuities . "
"Interesting choice of words . So, what could he have done if he had more money?" Jirni pressed forward as her prey got more tangled up in her web the more she struggled .
"I've nothing to add!" Izra stood up . Her expression was indignant because of Jirni's allegation, but her eyes were terrified . "Now I'd like to be left alone . I'm still mourning . "
"As you wish, Baroness . I'd answer my questions now, if I were you . Otherwise the next time I will not be so gentle . " Jirni dropped the act like a live grenade and added a sliver of killing intent to her words to emphasize her threat .
The Baroness withstood the Constable's glare for a second before her eyes rolled up and she fell onto the ground with a thud .
"Damn! I hate it when they faint . I can't question her more aggressively without proof . Forcingly waking her up is not an option . The only silver lining is that I now have a good medical reason to have her examined . "
Tista, Lith, and Manohar took turns using their diagnostic spells on the unconscious noblewoman .
"I think she and Rosen shared more than their social circle . " Tista said when she was done . "I found traces of abuse of drugs and alcohol in her system, both common and magical in nature . I wouldn't be surprised if she sniffed the dust instead of sweeping it . "
Lith nodded in agreement . When he had used Invigoration on the Baroness, he had noticed an unnatural thinning of her airways, which together with the heavy damage to her kidneys and liver told him a history of searching for fun in the wrong ways for an extended period of time .
"That's it?" Manohar scoffed . "I can tell you she has five years at most left . Maybe fifteen if she stops abusing from today and keeps herself clean until the end of her days . "
"How do you know it?" Lith performed a second scan without finding any signs of impending death . Even Death Vision showed him that the Baroness was more likely to experience a violent death rather than organ failure or overdosing .
"A discoloration in her life force . It suffered such extensive damage to have permanently changed . Even if we cleanse her body and regenerate her organs she may not recover . "
Lith used Scanner, but found no trace of the discoloration Manohar had mentioned . Only after focusing on the melody of the life force he noticed that its volume was slightly lower than usual .
'I guess he's not called the god of healing for nothing . ' He thought while they left the Baroness' house and moved to the next witnesses .
Most men were so eager to impress Tista that they had no qualms in confirming the late Baronet's vices . Sometimes they would incriminate themselves while trying to flaunt their knowledge of the local underworld .
Jirni took note of everything but let them go . It was more useful to her letting them walk free .
"As soon as they realize what they have done, they will panic . I'll keep them and their communication amulets under surveillance . With a little luck they'll lead us to whoever provides them their daily dose of 'fun' . "
She had just finished talking when her communication amulet buzzed .
"A merchant is currently attacking the shop of her fiercest competitor . She is known to barely have a magico level of power, yet she is displaying abilities worthy of a lesser academy mage . I think…" Dorian was cut short by Jirni's angry voice .
"Save it! Just tell me where . " A holographic map of Othre appeared from her amulet, showing both Lith's group's was and the attacker's locations marked by one red dot each .
They flew to their destination, finding a whole building on fire and a tall middle-aged woman with chestnut hair who was unleashing one spell after the other against everyone who attempted to put off the flames .
There were several mages on the scene, but they followed Jirni's orders and never retaliated . They only blocked incoming spells and helped the residents to evacuate the building .
"Now this is an offer you can't refuse!" The woman said with a crazy laugh .
"One fireball for free and the second one too!" The explosions caused splinters and debris to fly everywhere . The angry merchant couldn't be damaged by her own magic, but the splinters pierced her legs, face, and torso .
Yet she seemed to be immune to pain .
"Damn! With those wounds she'll die in a few minutes and we can't even heal her . " Jirni cursed . "There's no time to lose . Lith, draw her attention . I need to get close to paralyze her!"
"What about me?" Manohar complained as Jirni unlocked the handcuffs .
"I was once part of the Queen's corps, you know? Why do I get to miss all the fun?"
Jirni ignored him and circled around the frenzied merchant .
'Thank the gods wannabe mages only know how to use one element . ' She inwardly sneered as Lith used fire magic to put out the flames . When she heard him chanting loudly, the woman turned around in outrage .
Unfortunately, in doing so she spotted Jirni with the corner of her eye and unleashed one lightning bolt for each of her new enemies .
'Or not!' Jirni thought .
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