it was a workshop combined with a laboratory. One of the three rooms was crammed with all manner of containers, vials and boxes, whilst an alembic and other alchemical implements stood on the table. The second, best-lit room served as the surgeon’s office. In the last chamber, a space had been set aside for rest, though the dust and scattered belongings hardly suggested the owner was often there.
Shehed invited them into his room and, before they had a chance to sit down, began searching for something. Finally, from among the various odds and ends, he pulled out a notebook, which he quickly leafed through before opening it with satisfaction to one of the last pages written in.
‘Something about this case hasn’t added up from the start,’ the surgeon began as soon as he had read a few paragraphs of the notes. ‘At the crime scene, we found a body with a large number of wounds, numerous bloodstains and signs of a struggle. From my initial examination, I concluded that the deceased had put up a fight against the attacker and lost, and as a result had been tortured and murdered. Witness statements did not indicate that anyone had noticed even a single suspicious detail, which led us to conclude that the assailant must have possessed advanced magic capable of silencing the room or had an artefact with a similar function. That would be all regarding the preliminary examination.’ Shehed stared for a moment at one of the pages of his notes. ‘Later, in accordance with all the guidelines, we took the body and the items found at the scene to Bushtabhar, to the citadel. Upon our return, I performed the autopsy.’
‘I imagine it wasn’t quite that simple, was it?’ Darius settled himself more comfortably, watching the medic with interest.
‘Most of the clothing had to be torn from the body, as the blood had already congealed on it. After washing the rest of the body, I proceeded to the actual examination...'
‘Any distinguishing marks on the body?’ asked Darius, his thoughts elsewhere.
‘No, though it’s possible they
