Pilar pondered the missive concerning the two bodies found
missing their heads. The details matched the current situation. The body without
a head. No blood. No signs of struggle. Nothing out of place or missing, except
for the head.
Amron, a local merchant, found the body. He was visiting Lotorga
to buy some herbs. Pilar thought to himself, “Herbs, I bet I know what kind of
herbs he wanted.” Lotorga was a local druid specializing in providing the
locals with their herbs of choice. The questioning of Amron provided nothing.
Someone or something took Lotorga’s head. Pilar knew the
odds pointed to someone outside the community. The community would not have put
up with a headhunter or worse. Now it was Pilar’s problem.
Pilar knew there were around a dozen small farms between
here and Lotorga’s tent. There were another dozen farms between Lotorga’s tent
and the crossroads. It was going to be a long day.
Questioning each farmer provided no new clues. Lotorga’s
head did not just up and walk away, unless something weird was at work. Pilar
was tired and cold. It was dark. Up ahead he could see a campfire. He told the
troops to wait while he approached the fire.
Pilar asked, “Mind if I warm myself by your fire?” He looked
over the group. A rather odd collection. The dwarf stood out. He was wearing
full plate armor and carrying a large axe. An axe like that could easily cut
off a head. Pilar asked, “Ever cut off any heads with that axe?”
The response shocked Pilar. A normal person would say, “Of
course not, the axe is for defense only.” Only a fool would boast to a
constable about the number of heads they cut off. Well the dwarf appeared to be
a fool, telling how he had cut many heads off. “Why did you cut Lotorga’s head
off?” Instead of saying, he did not, the dwarf replied, “I didn’t know their
names.”
Fortunately, Seglia arrived. He sent the group off to the
Sanctuary of Innocence. Pilar thought, innocent my eye. They are about as
innocent as a fox in a hen house.
