Published at 16th of April 2026 6:23 am

Chapter 145: Hunting Killers

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I spend several hours fruitlessly going over the area of the second confirmed sacrifice. Just dashing over roofs and using my rod to try to find something. Its frustrating; the killers countering is so good that I struggle to even divine a connection to the first confirmed body.

I do, however, chance upon the guards investigation and find, much to my relief and satisfaction, that they are equally as stymied. As far as I can tell, theyve stooped to forcible entry into every house or other building in the area in some vague hope of finding Anar paraphernalia or something equally incriminating.

I suppose they have the personnel for such an approach, but I also get the sense that the population is used to such measures. Presumably, while the guard tends to take a hands-off approach to the section, they use these sporadic crises as an excuse to hammer down on the section in some bid to make up for all the years of prior negligence. Making it perfectly obvious that the goal isnt the prevention of crime but the hammering qua hammering. In fact, half of the guards seem wholly indifferent as to whether the killer is caught.

Still, I do gain a little more for my efforts than the progression of a general political theory. First, I manage to eavesdrop some of the details of the body. Like the first, the victim lived alone, though was killed during the night rather than during business hours. They were younger, a woman recently separated from her partner. Apparently, the split was in a semi-public row, but not so public that one would assume a stranger in the area to have heard about it. Another clue in weight towards them being a local.

But I also find out about a third set of victims a few streets down. This one, an old couple, sick and weak. Seemingly an ideal target, but there was a complication. Apparently, they had been going around telling people that their son was going to be finally returning from fighting in Caethlon. Which, as it happened, the son was home along with his new spouse, who was also a soldier, when the murder happened.

Likewise, the son and spouse had elected to take the option to buy their gear at a discount after their term was over, the breastplate having a broad green stripe painted across it to indicate retirement. Which Im told is a measure made available to facilitate a return to the army should they choose to, rather than having to be fit for a new kit. Though I also think its meant to have some social effect, creating a lingering sense of identity that might encourage others to join.

Regardless of why the policy is in place, the effect is that the killer didnt merely have to contend with an old and frail couple, but with a pair of armed and armoured soldiers who, as it so happened, had received commendations and promotions for their actions performed in the face of danger. Which likely would have made them as about as dangerous as any full mundane is likely to be, though it is unclear whether they still had their divine contracts.

Which puts two complications into the works. First, it raises the minimum level of ability that the killer must have significantly. Especially since, while the apartment showed signs of a frenzied struggle, there was no evidence of the killer being wounded, or leaving any other trace that could be easily divined.

Fortunately, theres also a maximum level of ability displayed, too. As, while the killer seemed fully capable of handling the two mundane soldiers, it was not so whelming a fight as to give them no time to react. A witness even said they saw the old woman make it halfway out of the door before getting dragged back in by a hooded figure.

Which is the first sighting of the killer, though unfortunately, there werent any details to go on. Just a plain grey cloak, tunic and trousers, which the killer will almost certainly burn and replace regardless of if they have the means to magically clean it. The one interesting thing is that the killers face was so completely in shadow that it seemed like they didnt have one. Which suggests a basic illusion spell to me, though it could have just been happenstance.

Anyways, aware of the Anar hunt, the witness did the previously unthinkable and ran to get the guards rather than the local gang. Something that would normally get them a late-night visit from said gang.

So, with the guard coming, the killer didnt have time for their normal disposal methods, and so was forced to leave a trace. But that just leaves more questions. First, for the second victim, the youngish woman, there was no known witness. The killer wasnt interrupted, so theres no reason to leave the body as it was.

Second, everyone in the neighbourhood knew about the old couples son returning that day. The fact that one of their own would return a war hero with multiple promotions was major news, which was talked about for weeks prior. In fact, several people interviewed apparently expressed devastation about the news of his death, since he had apparently promised to buy his parents a new house out of the section, and likely would have taken a few clients from the area too.

Thus, we have a conflict of evidence again. With the woman, only a few people knew that she was recently alone, suggesting an intimate knowledge of the area. Whereas with the old couple, everyone knew that the son was returning that day, and the killer not knowing that suggests them being a stranger to that area.

While the two killings weren't in the exact same place, it was close enough that word about the son should have spread. Besides, Im still working on the assumption that the killer travels around the section and has knowledge of the goings on of the section as a whole. At the very least, a level of familiarity of the area that would have informed them about the sons return. As it is, it seems more like someone who was socially isolated from the area, who was there just long enough to see an old couple without obvious support, who they followed home, then came back when there were fewer people around, only to find greater resistance than expected.

Or maybe not I dont know. Theres probably any number of explanations that Im just not thinking of. Besides, this is just information I managed to piece together while spying on the official investigation. The guards do have loose lips, but not so loose that I think I have anything close to a full picture of what they know, and who knows what inaccuracies I filled in.

The only good news is that Vithal is working with just as incomplete information as I am, just in different ways. Apparently, she believes that rather than the sons presence being an accident, that I had heard the news of his return and deliberately targeted him out of continuing vengeance for his actions in Caethlon.

The irony, of course, being that I dont even know what exactly he did in Caethlon to earn his promotions. No doubt he killed rebels, but that hardly makes him worth killing now, especially since he retired. I suppose Vithal just assumed that since I was killing in the area anyways, that I would take the opportunity for satisfaction.

The fact that she thinks I would be so petty when it would endanger the mission vexes me, though Im baffled as to why. I should be happy that she doesnt understand how I would act and try to take advantage of it. Yet I keep on thinking that she chased me for a whole year and still doesnt know me, feeling a sense of disapproval as the thought repeats.

I feel unseen, but in a bad way. Did I perhaps find some enjoyment in the fact that I was pursued by her? If so, I dont think Ive had similar feelings being chased by anyone else, though I suppose I dont normally know whos chasing me. Doubtlessly, the fact that she killed Tanyth is somehow mixed in. Pride, likely.

Im not getting anywhere like this. Just, going about hoping I get lucky while occasionally making pointless diinations. Is this how it feels chasing me? Faint traces of a link that vanish a moment later or lead to dead ends?

Clearly, the killer must be using anthropomancy to counter me like this, but where are the bodies for that? People go missing all the time here, but surely the guards are looking into them thoroughly now, and it doesnt seem like theyve divined any more linked people beyond the initial group.

Perhaps theyve brought people in from someplace else and are storing them at some facility No, that doesnt make sense. The logistics of that would be absurd. Theyd need a building and food to keep them alive until used, and people would notice, at least now that everyone is on the lookout for the strange.

Of course, it is always possible that the killers copy of the Biblio has some spell that would conveniently solve all those problems for them. Perhaps a statis spell that would circumvent the need for food, or a version of the concealment spell that can be more easily sustained on an area. Though, now that I think about it, they could use the concealment rune I used when I left Pelliphos in that cave instead, though that would suggest a level of ability that I had hoped the killer lacked. Maybe they had a special sacrifice to empower it.

Well, regardless of the answer, its something to look into. Even if the killer does have some stasis spell that will let them keep prisoners to use later, that would still require a place to keep them, which would mean a permanent location with a minimum size. One where other people dont live, or at least is a bit sparser.

Its a good theory, but flawed. Even if my assumption that they have spells not in my copy of the Biblio that can help reduce the logistical burden is correct, the burden wouldnt vanish completely. For them to be storing still technically living bodies for future anthropomancy, they would need to have sourced them first, and then transported them.

Still, its something to go on. Besides, its weakness is my strength, since that makes it less likely for Vithal to have thought of it. All I have to do now is find the right building to fit the theory, and finding a building is much easier than finding a person.

Unfortunately, while there are fewer buildings than people, there are still hundreds, maybe thousands of them in the section. Fortunately, the theory would also make it less likely for them to be residing outside of the section and commuting to work, so to speak, since buildings in other sections would be harder to hide something going on in.

Also, now that I think about it, this gives me another edge over Vithal. Since, if the killer has concealment runes (which, as it so happens, the Patriarch did not include in the copies handed out to his followers), then the guards strategy of just searching every building in the section might not work. Without priming them for it properly, the guards might stare directly at obvious evidence without realizing it. It would take at least a squire to sense something being wrong. Even if she did guess that there might be runes like that in the Patriarchs copy, theyre not something I used in Caethlon as they required to be under too high of boon.

But how do I take advantage of my knowledge?... Heh, simple, Ill take the mathematical approach. Dont look for them, but for the absence they create.

The problem with trying to find where the killer is located by using his victims as a scatter plot, is that eight incidents are simply not enough to find an accurate centre, especially since there are factors at play which influence the distribution, such as gang territory, street layout and the walls surrounding the section. So, I need a method that gives me more data points and wont be influenced as strongly by those factors. Fortunately, I have just the thing.

I go back to the Mud Hares warren so I can focus in safety, then get to work contacting each of my birds and tell them to stop whatever task theyre currently doing and fly up over the section, then land on buildings at random. After all, the effect works on birds too, and they cant land on what they dont realize is there. I spend the next two hours looking through their remote sensing tags and, with the help of some Mud Hares, figuring out where they landed and marking it on the map I made of the area.

As expected, gaps start showing up in the distribution. Of course, some of the gaps are to be expected just from randomness, and some are due to inaccuracies in the map. Most importantly, I simply dont have enough birds, so I have to repeat the process, taking more than an hour each iteration, but with the area eliminated rapidly shrinking each time. Still, after the fifth try, Im confident that I have eight anomalous gaps in the plot which should at least have a much higher chance of the cultist being there than any other place in the section.

I could keep going, but at this point it would be faster to just check them out. Besides, the birds are starting to protest, and its well past midnight. I know how to operate with little sleep, but I never had to hide being tired in Caethlon, and I have to go to a party tomorrow. If I go with only a few hours, then Im certain it will be noticed. I should return home and finish this after I leave it.

Still, two of the gaps are on the way home. I will have to go through the centre of the section, which my normal route avoids by always leaving by the shortest distance before going back. But it would be silly not to use my time as efficiently as possible when I dont know how close Vithal is to finding them first.

I do some quick calculations. Its about two hours past midnight right now. Getting back to the house will take an hour regardless, though it will be a little bit faster going through the middle. If I assume an hour for each gap, then Ill get home at five. The party is at noon, but I can politely arrive at one. Theres an hour travel time to it, plus an hour to get ready. Meaning that I should get six hours of sleep. Should be more than enough.

In fact, theres a third gap thats not too much of a deviation from the route. I might as well check that out too. Five hours will still be plenty enough to conceal fatigue. In fact, there will likely be people there on less, and theyll have to contend with headaches as well as tiredness. I probably wont be noticed even if I go with much less.

So, I go ahead to check out the gaps. I send out some birds ahead of me, but I cant see anything from that. Its a bit disheartening, and I cant help but think about all the assumptions that this theory is based on. But, even if some of them are wrong, its worth checking out. Because, logically, if the killer is hiding with a concealment rune, then they must be in a place where the birds did not land. Whether that resulted in a statistically noticeable gap, or if my mapping was accurate enough to find it, remains to be seen, but its still worth looking.

I dont find anything at the first two locations. Or rather, I dont find anything related to the killer. There are plenty of violent looking individuals prowling about, myself included, but I dont find anything in the buildings I break into, and it doesnt seem like Im getting interference with my divinations. It just seems like theres nothing there.

Of course, I still dont know what it feels like for a divination to be thwarted by a concealment effect, but I at least dont sense anything similar to how it was described.

At the third location, my nose begins to itch. I scratch it, but then it happens again, and I realize its from a smell. There must be a metal worker nearby. Filings making their way into the smell of the place I freeze and look around I dont see any smithies.

Grinning, I pull out my divining rod and try to follow the blood smell. The rod refuses to hone in on the trace, or rather, I dont sense any stimuli from it, but my sense of smell, enhanced by the cat gods grace, and well familiar with th scent, cannot be fooled so easily. I quickly track the smell to the origin and nearly run headfirst into a building, which I only now realize Ive been avoiding looking at. That I didnt even realize was there.

I grin to myself, knowing Im at the right place.

Its not a large island, only three stories with enough space for maybe a half dozen residences, but its big enough for the theory. The door looks heavy, and at the very least, it would make a lot of noise to break in. However, I do spy an open window on the third floor up. An easy climb.

The smell gets stronger as I ascend, and I hear strange crunching, slurping sounds emanating from the opening. My fingers grip the ledge, and I slowly pull myself up to peek inside and nearly fall as I try to back away in surprise

Inside are five figures, crouched on the floor with a pile of human limbs between them, which they are eagerly consuming. It seems that in my pursuit of the cultist, Ive run into a beastkin body disposal service.

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