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As if a dead body in front of the Temples of the Gods wasn't bad enough, now there are corpses rising in the waters! In the province of Oreboea, near the capitol, the body of a young woman has been discovered. Without any clear lacerations or damage to her body, logic assumes that she was poisoned or drowned. Yet she is clearly one of the lower classes... As people culminate to witness the spectacle, wondering if the reports of a dead body make this a second victim of the Temple Killer, time will tell if anyone recognises the girl... Anyone who works or has spent time in the Dikastirio kitchens, for example...
JD
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JD
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As if a dead body in front of the Temples of the Gods wasn't bad enough, now there are corpses rising in the waters! In the province of Oreboea, near the capitol, the body of a young woman has been discovered. Without any clear lacerations or damage to her body, logic assumes that she was poisoned or drowned. Yet she is clearly one of the lower classes... As people culminate to witness the spectacle, wondering if the reports of a dead body make this a second victim of the Temple Killer, time will tell if anyone recognises the girl... Anyone who works or has spent time in the Dikastirio kitchens, for example...
Dead Cargo Event - Colchis
As if a dead body in front of the Temples of the Gods wasn't bad enough, now there are corpses rising in the waters! In the province of Oreboea, near the capitol, the body of a young woman has been discovered. Without any clear lacerations or damage to her body, logic assumes that she was poisoned or drowned. Yet she is clearly one of the lower classes... As people culminate to witness the spectacle, wondering if the reports of a dead body make this a second victim of the Temple Killer, time will tell if anyone recognises the girl... Anyone who works or has spent time in the Dikastirio kitchens, for example...
With some assistance from Leto after they had a discussion at the gruesome scene in front of the Hall of Gods, Magnus had managed to deduce the tools used in the mysterious tunnels beneath the Loutra, yet before he could even dig into the new information he had found much deeper, another body now called his presence away from Midas.
The Master Informer arrived at Oreboea mid afternoon, after his morning informants had told him of the floating body in the docks of the province not too far from the capitol, and the man had rode hell for leather to get there, hopefully before fishes and other such aquatic animals began nibbling at what they viewed as food. In a sense, he could make this trip worth his while, as his next task on the list would be to check the records of each province, just to find out if he could figure out which stranger from Lands Afar it could've been. Wandering around the market asking questions discreetly was enough for Magnus to find out that a group of seven mysterious men clearly not from Greece had been spotted, but they had been scarce to see after the fire and in the recent Colchian events, which meant he now had to dig deeper.
If he found three bodies, that would mean he had four more unknown men who could either still be in Colchis, or had left elsewhere, both of which were dangerous. If they were still around, he had to alert the city guard as well as the royal family to be on their guard. If they had left, Magnus had to then figure out where they have went - which was why he needed the docks records.
Making a mental note to visit the portmaster's cabin later, the man smoothly slid off the back of his horse, and then shifted and pushed his way through the growing crowd, getting to the front just as the fishermen and guards tasked to the body had fished the bloating female body out. He frowned when he saw a lack of injury on the wet surface of the skin. The clothing categorized her as one of the lower classes, but as he bent down to take a closer look as the body was flipped over, he turned when he heard a sharp gasp from someone in the crowd.
"The maid from the kitchens!"
Magnus turned quickly, eyes picking out the stranger who had said as much, and asked sharply. "And you know how?" he queried, immediately waving for the guards to bring the stranger forward. "Have you seen them? Which kitchens do you speak of?"
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With some assistance from Leto after they had a discussion at the gruesome scene in front of the Hall of Gods, Magnus had managed to deduce the tools used in the mysterious tunnels beneath the Loutra, yet before he could even dig into the new information he had found much deeper, another body now called his presence away from Midas.
The Master Informer arrived at Oreboea mid afternoon, after his morning informants had told him of the floating body in the docks of the province not too far from the capitol, and the man had rode hell for leather to get there, hopefully before fishes and other such aquatic animals began nibbling at what they viewed as food. In a sense, he could make this trip worth his while, as his next task on the list would be to check the records of each province, just to find out if he could figure out which stranger from Lands Afar it could've been. Wandering around the market asking questions discreetly was enough for Magnus to find out that a group of seven mysterious men clearly not from Greece had been spotted, but they had been scarce to see after the fire and in the recent Colchian events, which meant he now had to dig deeper.
If he found three bodies, that would mean he had four more unknown men who could either still be in Colchis, or had left elsewhere, both of which were dangerous. If they were still around, he had to alert the city guard as well as the royal family to be on their guard. If they had left, Magnus had to then figure out where they have went - which was why he needed the docks records.
Making a mental note to visit the portmaster's cabin later, the man smoothly slid off the back of his horse, and then shifted and pushed his way through the growing crowd, getting to the front just as the fishermen and guards tasked to the body had fished the bloating female body out. He frowned when he saw a lack of injury on the wet surface of the skin. The clothing categorized her as one of the lower classes, but as he bent down to take a closer look as the body was flipped over, he turned when he heard a sharp gasp from someone in the crowd.
"The maid from the kitchens!"
Magnus turned quickly, eyes picking out the stranger who had said as much, and asked sharply. "And you know how?" he queried, immediately waving for the guards to bring the stranger forward. "Have you seen them? Which kitchens do you speak of?"
With some assistance from Leto after they had a discussion at the gruesome scene in front of the Hall of Gods, Magnus had managed to deduce the tools used in the mysterious tunnels beneath the Loutra, yet before he could even dig into the new information he had found much deeper, another body now called his presence away from Midas.
The Master Informer arrived at Oreboea mid afternoon, after his morning informants had told him of the floating body in the docks of the province not too far from the capitol, and the man had rode hell for leather to get there, hopefully before fishes and other such aquatic animals began nibbling at what they viewed as food. In a sense, he could make this trip worth his while, as his next task on the list would be to check the records of each province, just to find out if he could figure out which stranger from Lands Afar it could've been. Wandering around the market asking questions discreetly was enough for Magnus to find out that a group of seven mysterious men clearly not from Greece had been spotted, but they had been scarce to see after the fire and in the recent Colchian events, which meant he now had to dig deeper.
If he found three bodies, that would mean he had four more unknown men who could either still be in Colchis, or had left elsewhere, both of which were dangerous. If they were still around, he had to alert the city guard as well as the royal family to be on their guard. If they had left, Magnus had to then figure out where they have went - which was why he needed the docks records.
Making a mental note to visit the portmaster's cabin later, the man smoothly slid off the back of his horse, and then shifted and pushed his way through the growing crowd, getting to the front just as the fishermen and guards tasked to the body had fished the bloating female body out. He frowned when he saw a lack of injury on the wet surface of the skin. The clothing categorized her as one of the lower classes, but as he bent down to take a closer look as the body was flipped over, he turned when he heard a sharp gasp from someone in the crowd.
"The maid from the kitchens!"
Magnus turned quickly, eyes picking out the stranger who had said as much, and asked sharply. "And you know how?" he queried, immediately waving for the guards to bring the stranger forward. "Have you seen them? Which kitchens do you speak of?"
Nethis’ presence was primarily motivated by curiosity. One body discovered on the way to pray was one thing, another omen perhaps, given the birds that had graced (or cursed?) the Colchian departure but a second body killed in so short a time and displayed in an equally public fashion was quite another. That alone might have been enough to catch Nethis’ interest but to compound it, she had recently seen to tying up loose ends regarding one of her more recent manipulations. Given that, she needed to make sure this wasn’t what she feared it would be, who she didn’t want this to be.
By the time she actually made her way to the docks, there was a crowd already gathered and the Master Informer was already there. There was no surprise in his presence—bad news traveled quickly and she had heard it, so why would he not?—and she ignored him in the most immediate sense, far more interested in the dead body’s identity than anything.
A Thanasi guard cleared the crowd just enough to give her a spot amidst all of it, a vantage point and it only took moments for Nethis to see enough, to know the truth: she recognized her, had personally spoken with her once, and then never again, because the once was all she had needed to buy her cooperation.
That made this death her’s not so directly, given that she hadn’t killed her personally, but in effect, because she might as well have. Did that make that other sheer happenstance? She wasn’t sure, though she would make private inquiries.
“Fuck.” The word was in indiscreet utterance, hissed out under breath as she winced and turned away from the body. Neither words nor expression were made for the sake of squeamishness, though she hoped that was how it was interpreted by those close enough to hear or seem her, but rather as the introduction to temper.
She had participated in, ordered, and witnessed far more than her fair share of clean-ups over the years and she thought she had seen the spectrum of badly done to perfection. When things went right, no one was sure anything had been done at all; people simply disappeared. What they didn’t do was show up dead and gather a crowd, meaning this was not just poor work or sloppy, this was a new level of complete fuck-up.
To say she wasn’t even remotely close to pleased was an understatement.
What was it about the day she poisoned Vangelis that the events surrounding or connected to it were so damned to complications and mistakes? It was outrageous how many there were already, come let her count them: one, Tython’s unexpected return; two, Father’s complete lunacy and subsequent recovery; three, Evras’ uncharacteristic temper at family dinner; four, Thea’s unaccountably missing ambition; five, Mihail’s emotional dramatics; six, her own decision to willing accept a punishment; seven, her rather emotional reactions to most of it.
None of this was normal, neither in a wider sense nor a personal one, and there was something acrid at the tip of her tongue, words that ought not be said, and bile that begged to follow. It was deeply irritating how convoluted this had become when it initially seemed so simple in her head and the lack of serendipity to grace any bit of it near laughable. This was not how things typically worked in her life and there was a fleeting thought then, that perhaps what could be interpreted as omens should be interpreted more personally, but she tucked it away. If that was the truth, if she had displeased Hades in some way, then she would have to deal with it later.
A cry went up in the crowd, a recognition voiced, and Nethis paused as Magnus lit upon it. Last time, she had displayed marked disinterest in death because she was disinterested. This time, she was fighting for the same and could feel herself cracking. Instead of walking away before her presence could be truly noted, she remained, gaze riveted upon the Master Informer, unable to convince herself to leave when the alternative was to stay and learn along with him. To that end, she attempted to shift a little closer to him, bumping into someone else in the process.
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This character is currently a work in progress.
Check out their information page here.
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Nethis’ presence was primarily motivated by curiosity. One body discovered on the way to pray was one thing, another omen perhaps, given the birds that had graced (or cursed?) the Colchian departure but a second body killed in so short a time and displayed in an equally public fashion was quite another. That alone might have been enough to catch Nethis’ interest but to compound it, she had recently seen to tying up loose ends regarding one of her more recent manipulations. Given that, she needed to make sure this wasn’t what she feared it would be, who she didn’t want this to be.
By the time she actually made her way to the docks, there was a crowd already gathered and the Master Informer was already there. There was no surprise in his presence—bad news traveled quickly and she had heard it, so why would he not?—and she ignored him in the most immediate sense, far more interested in the dead body’s identity than anything.
A Thanasi guard cleared the crowd just enough to give her a spot amidst all of it, a vantage point and it only took moments for Nethis to see enough, to know the truth: she recognized her, had personally spoken with her once, and then never again, because the once was all she had needed to buy her cooperation.
That made this death her’s not so directly, given that she hadn’t killed her personally, but in effect, because she might as well have. Did that make that other sheer happenstance? She wasn’t sure, though she would make private inquiries.
“Fuck.” The word was in indiscreet utterance, hissed out under breath as she winced and turned away from the body. Neither words nor expression were made for the sake of squeamishness, though she hoped that was how it was interpreted by those close enough to hear or seem her, but rather as the introduction to temper.
She had participated in, ordered, and witnessed far more than her fair share of clean-ups over the years and she thought she had seen the spectrum of badly done to perfection. When things went right, no one was sure anything had been done at all; people simply disappeared. What they didn’t do was show up dead and gather a crowd, meaning this was not just poor work or sloppy, this was a new level of complete fuck-up.
To say she wasn’t even remotely close to pleased was an understatement.
What was it about the day she poisoned Vangelis that the events surrounding or connected to it were so damned to complications and mistakes? It was outrageous how many there were already, come let her count them: one, Tython’s unexpected return; two, Father’s complete lunacy and subsequent recovery; three, Evras’ uncharacteristic temper at family dinner; four, Thea’s unaccountably missing ambition; five, Mihail’s emotional dramatics; six, her own decision to willing accept a punishment; seven, her rather emotional reactions to most of it.
None of this was normal, neither in a wider sense nor a personal one, and there was something acrid at the tip of her tongue, words that ought not be said, and bile that begged to follow. It was deeply irritating how convoluted this had become when it initially seemed so simple in her head and the lack of serendipity to grace any bit of it near laughable. This was not how things typically worked in her life and there was a fleeting thought then, that perhaps what could be interpreted as omens should be interpreted more personally, but she tucked it away. If that was the truth, if she had displeased Hades in some way, then she would have to deal with it later.
A cry went up in the crowd, a recognition voiced, and Nethis paused as Magnus lit upon it. Last time, she had displayed marked disinterest in death because she was disinterested. This time, she was fighting for the same and could feel herself cracking. Instead of walking away before her presence could be truly noted, she remained, gaze riveted upon the Master Informer, unable to convince herself to leave when the alternative was to stay and learn along with him. To that end, she attempted to shift a little closer to him, bumping into someone else in the process.
Nethis’ presence was primarily motivated by curiosity. One body discovered on the way to pray was one thing, another omen perhaps, given the birds that had graced (or cursed?) the Colchian departure but a second body killed in so short a time and displayed in an equally public fashion was quite another. That alone might have been enough to catch Nethis’ interest but to compound it, she had recently seen to tying up loose ends regarding one of her more recent manipulations. Given that, she needed to make sure this wasn’t what she feared it would be, who she didn’t want this to be.
By the time she actually made her way to the docks, there was a crowd already gathered and the Master Informer was already there. There was no surprise in his presence—bad news traveled quickly and she had heard it, so why would he not?—and she ignored him in the most immediate sense, far more interested in the dead body’s identity than anything.
A Thanasi guard cleared the crowd just enough to give her a spot amidst all of it, a vantage point and it only took moments for Nethis to see enough, to know the truth: she recognized her, had personally spoken with her once, and then never again, because the once was all she had needed to buy her cooperation.
That made this death her’s not so directly, given that she hadn’t killed her personally, but in effect, because she might as well have. Did that make that other sheer happenstance? She wasn’t sure, though she would make private inquiries.
“Fuck.” The word was in indiscreet utterance, hissed out under breath as she winced and turned away from the body. Neither words nor expression were made for the sake of squeamishness, though she hoped that was how it was interpreted by those close enough to hear or seem her, but rather as the introduction to temper.
She had participated in, ordered, and witnessed far more than her fair share of clean-ups over the years and she thought she had seen the spectrum of badly done to perfection. When things went right, no one was sure anything had been done at all; people simply disappeared. What they didn’t do was show up dead and gather a crowd, meaning this was not just poor work or sloppy, this was a new level of complete fuck-up.
To say she wasn’t even remotely close to pleased was an understatement.
What was it about the day she poisoned Vangelis that the events surrounding or connected to it were so damned to complications and mistakes? It was outrageous how many there were already, come let her count them: one, Tython’s unexpected return; two, Father’s complete lunacy and subsequent recovery; three, Evras’ uncharacteristic temper at family dinner; four, Thea’s unaccountably missing ambition; five, Mihail’s emotional dramatics; six, her own decision to willing accept a punishment; seven, her rather emotional reactions to most of it.
None of this was normal, neither in a wider sense nor a personal one, and there was something acrid at the tip of her tongue, words that ought not be said, and bile that begged to follow. It was deeply irritating how convoluted this had become when it initially seemed so simple in her head and the lack of serendipity to grace any bit of it near laughable. This was not how things typically worked in her life and there was a fleeting thought then, that perhaps what could be interpreted as omens should be interpreted more personally, but she tucked it away. If that was the truth, if she had displeased Hades in some way, then she would have to deal with it later.
A cry went up in the crowd, a recognition voiced, and Nethis paused as Magnus lit upon it. Last time, she had displayed marked disinterest in death because she was disinterested. This time, she was fighting for the same and could feel herself cracking. Instead of walking away before her presence could be truly noted, she remained, gaze riveted upon the Master Informer, unable to convince herself to leave when the alternative was to stay and learn along with him. To that end, she attempted to shift a little closer to him, bumping into someone else in the process.
It took little time for the guards to jump to action, and soon it was a quiet, stuttering maid with wide and terrified eyes and a mousey look that was brought to Magnus's attention, as the man nudged for his men to push the crowds back. He needed to have a conversation with the maid who claimed to have information, but should said information be sensitive, Magnus would very much like to be able to control it's dissemination, instead of having it spread like uncontrollable wildfire should someone overhear his interrogation. If he had his choice, he'd much prefer to do this in a closed room in his office at home, but seeing as circumstances did not allow, he merely watched as the guards ensured he had a two feet berth, before turning his focus on the shivering maid.
"I promise you won't come to harm, but mind explaning which kitchens you said you saw the maid from?" he finally asked in a gentle, what he hoped was also a patient tone. While he very much wished to solve this as quick as possible so he could return to more pertinent matters at hand concerning his own private life, Magnus was also well aware that the number of names connected to this case meant he had to tread carefully.
"I used to work with her - she works in the dikasitirio."
Internally, Magnus took a deep, fortifying breathe. It was information he knew, a fact he had learned a scant few hours after that disastrous affair of dinner had taken place, and the people had scattered. But he couldn't show it. So outwardly, he merely gave an encouraging look to the shivering young maid to continue. It was obvious she was trying not to look at the bloated body, so Magnus quickly adjusted her via the shoulders so her back was to it instead, waving at his men to pack up the body and bring it to a private household so he could examine it, before waving at the young maid to continue.
"She was new. She had only come to work in the dikasitirio about a month prior to the dinner."
A month? That was new. The dikasitirio had a low turnover of servants, for many of them were people who had worked many generations, loyal to the royal family and serving them. That she was newly hired was definitely something in which he wanted to probe into, but he filed that information away, looking up as the crowd shuffled closer. While he couldn't identify many faces in the crowd, much of them from the village of Oreboea itself, he frowned when he suddenly recognized the figure of Nethis of Thanasi. The province wasn't one that was owned by the Thanasi family... so why would she be here?
"Do you happen to know of her before that?" he asked, shifting his attention back down again, but when he received a shake of her head, he didn't probe further, especially when she grew paler when the stench grew as the bloated body was lifted on to the wagon wrapped in a thin muslin cloth.
Waving a hand to allow her to return to the crowd, Magnus turned to watch the work of his men firmly making sure the body wouldn't roll off the donkey-drawn wagon, before making his way to the eldest of the Thanasi siblings. He remembered her at the discovery of the body at the temple of Ares, just a scant week or so ago. Why was she here? "Lady Nethis, what a coincidence." Magnus greeted with a low bow, the moment he got near enough for her to hear him. "Did you have business bringing you to Oreboea? Such a pity that such a tragedy were to happen here though. Don't you think?" he asked, in a voice pleasant enough.
Yet, he doubted she would believe he came with no pretenses.
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It took little time for the guards to jump to action, and soon it was a quiet, stuttering maid with wide and terrified eyes and a mousey look that was brought to Magnus's attention, as the man nudged for his men to push the crowds back. He needed to have a conversation with the maid who claimed to have information, but should said information be sensitive, Magnus would very much like to be able to control it's dissemination, instead of having it spread like uncontrollable wildfire should someone overhear his interrogation. If he had his choice, he'd much prefer to do this in a closed room in his office at home, but seeing as circumstances did not allow, he merely watched as the guards ensured he had a two feet berth, before turning his focus on the shivering maid.
"I promise you won't come to harm, but mind explaning which kitchens you said you saw the maid from?" he finally asked in a gentle, what he hoped was also a patient tone. While he very much wished to solve this as quick as possible so he could return to more pertinent matters at hand concerning his own private life, Magnus was also well aware that the number of names connected to this case meant he had to tread carefully.
"I used to work with her - she works in the dikasitirio."
Internally, Magnus took a deep, fortifying breathe. It was information he knew, a fact he had learned a scant few hours after that disastrous affair of dinner had taken place, and the people had scattered. But he couldn't show it. So outwardly, he merely gave an encouraging look to the shivering young maid to continue. It was obvious she was trying not to look at the bloated body, so Magnus quickly adjusted her via the shoulders so her back was to it instead, waving at his men to pack up the body and bring it to a private household so he could examine it, before waving at the young maid to continue.
"She was new. She had only come to work in the dikasitirio about a month prior to the dinner."
A month? That was new. The dikasitirio had a low turnover of servants, for many of them were people who had worked many generations, loyal to the royal family and serving them. That she was newly hired was definitely something in which he wanted to probe into, but he filed that information away, looking up as the crowd shuffled closer. While he couldn't identify many faces in the crowd, much of them from the village of Oreboea itself, he frowned when he suddenly recognized the figure of Nethis of Thanasi. The province wasn't one that was owned by the Thanasi family... so why would she be here?
"Do you happen to know of her before that?" he asked, shifting his attention back down again, but when he received a shake of her head, he didn't probe further, especially when she grew paler when the stench grew as the bloated body was lifted on to the wagon wrapped in a thin muslin cloth.
Waving a hand to allow her to return to the crowd, Magnus turned to watch the work of his men firmly making sure the body wouldn't roll off the donkey-drawn wagon, before making his way to the eldest of the Thanasi siblings. He remembered her at the discovery of the body at the temple of Ares, just a scant week or so ago. Why was she here? "Lady Nethis, what a coincidence." Magnus greeted with a low bow, the moment he got near enough for her to hear him. "Did you have business bringing you to Oreboea? Such a pity that such a tragedy were to happen here though. Don't you think?" he asked, in a voice pleasant enough.
Yet, he doubted she would believe he came with no pretenses.
It took little time for the guards to jump to action, and soon it was a quiet, stuttering maid with wide and terrified eyes and a mousey look that was brought to Magnus's attention, as the man nudged for his men to push the crowds back. He needed to have a conversation with the maid who claimed to have information, but should said information be sensitive, Magnus would very much like to be able to control it's dissemination, instead of having it spread like uncontrollable wildfire should someone overhear his interrogation. If he had his choice, he'd much prefer to do this in a closed room in his office at home, but seeing as circumstances did not allow, he merely watched as the guards ensured he had a two feet berth, before turning his focus on the shivering maid.
"I promise you won't come to harm, but mind explaning which kitchens you said you saw the maid from?" he finally asked in a gentle, what he hoped was also a patient tone. While he very much wished to solve this as quick as possible so he could return to more pertinent matters at hand concerning his own private life, Magnus was also well aware that the number of names connected to this case meant he had to tread carefully.
"I used to work with her - she works in the dikasitirio."
Internally, Magnus took a deep, fortifying breathe. It was information he knew, a fact he had learned a scant few hours after that disastrous affair of dinner had taken place, and the people had scattered. But he couldn't show it. So outwardly, he merely gave an encouraging look to the shivering young maid to continue. It was obvious she was trying not to look at the bloated body, so Magnus quickly adjusted her via the shoulders so her back was to it instead, waving at his men to pack up the body and bring it to a private household so he could examine it, before waving at the young maid to continue.
"She was new. She had only come to work in the dikasitirio about a month prior to the dinner."
A month? That was new. The dikasitirio had a low turnover of servants, for many of them were people who had worked many generations, loyal to the royal family and serving them. That she was newly hired was definitely something in which he wanted to probe into, but he filed that information away, looking up as the crowd shuffled closer. While he couldn't identify many faces in the crowd, much of them from the village of Oreboea itself, he frowned when he suddenly recognized the figure of Nethis of Thanasi. The province wasn't one that was owned by the Thanasi family... so why would she be here?
"Do you happen to know of her before that?" he asked, shifting his attention back down again, but when he received a shake of her head, he didn't probe further, especially when she grew paler when the stench grew as the bloated body was lifted on to the wagon wrapped in a thin muslin cloth.
Waving a hand to allow her to return to the crowd, Magnus turned to watch the work of his men firmly making sure the body wouldn't roll off the donkey-drawn wagon, before making his way to the eldest of the Thanasi siblings. He remembered her at the discovery of the body at the temple of Ares, just a scant week or so ago. Why was she here? "Lady Nethis, what a coincidence." Magnus greeted with a low bow, the moment he got near enough for her to hear him. "Did you have business bringing you to Oreboea? Such a pity that such a tragedy were to happen here though. Don't you think?" he asked, in a voice pleasant enough.
Yet, he doubted she would believe he came with no pretenses.