Turi and the ring of Valar Belain (Thranduil fanfic)

Chapter 6

Commander in chief Coamenel stood over the lifeless body of Drannor. At first sight, the trader looked like he'd been clobbered over the head and then quickly disposed off.

'Yes, he sure appears to be dead' Coamenel said thoughtfully to Turi, who shot him a you think? look.

It was the early morning of the day after the disappearance of the trader, and they were standing in the vast space that had served to host last summer's ball. The central hall still bore scars of the fire that had eaten through it.

Since then, it had seen little use or footfall, which made the body's' discovery all the more surprising. Elves knew someone had perished here, and something about that violent death had clung to the hall's atmosphere. The overarching trees had lost most of their foliage now, and the grey sky overhead was cold. That didn't help.

Rubbing her hands, Turi kneeled down next to the victim. She carefully peeled away the expensive looking black cloak that he was wearing.

Almost invisible to the eye was a patch of dried blood in the mid-region of the body. He'd been both stabbed and hit over the head!

'What do you make of this?' Coamenel asked. Turi lifted her head in surprise. Was he really asking for her opinion? She frowned, and got back to her feet, still rubbing her hands and blowing on them.

'I'd like to transfer the body to our own healer's place' she said. 'Very early to say anything conclusive.' 'Internal surveys has its own place? You don't need border patrol to handle this?'

Turi smiled. She'd swung it so that her mum Ethirel, a long time healer of the realm, could be assigned as an adjunct to the internal surveys department to work on a case-by-case basis. It paid off a bit at least to have the king's ear.

They'd even been able to arrange a small outhouse that now functioned as a medical examiner's hut, of sorts. Bra had immediately dubbed it the shed of death.

'Very well, you can proceed with moving the body' conceded the commander in chief. Turi hesitated. 'There are some immediate observations that seem pretty clear.' Coamenel looked around in wonder, as if some clue was about to become apparent.

'There is no puddle of blood around the head' Turi pointed out 'and the blood on his clothes is dry too.' Coamenel nodded his head, but said nothing. 'Further, the heels of his boots are wet, but the rest of the soles is dry.' 'Ah' said Coamenel. 'Suggesting,' continued Turi 'that he was dragged here. The victim wasn't killed here but somewhere else, then moved here.'

'Yes of course' the commander said, thoughtfully twisting his moustache. Turi sighed, but then gave him a genuine smile. He wasn't much help, but at least he wasn't interfering either.

'So, why put him here?' asked Coamenel. To that, Turi had no immediate answer.

Once the body had been transferred to the shed of death, Turi gathered her team at its full strength. She beamed happily to see her mum and the Dirs crowded around the slab with the victim's body, then realized they were standing over a dead elf and toned down her exuberance.

The outhouse was quite small, so there was just enough space for the central table, with a slate of stone functioning as a tabletop. The ceiling was also a bit low, so her taller teammates had to hunch over the body, to their apparent revulsion.

'You were right Turinael.' Turi cringed. Leave it to your mum to use your full name when no one else did. 'These wounds are not fresh' she said, carefully touching the hair matted with dried blood. 'How long?' Turi asked. Ethirel sighed. 'Hard to say. The weather is so cold now that any body would be preserved in a rigid state. Hard to say whether this stiffness is caused by death or by freezing.'

Turi squinted, as if passing a difficult thought. 'More than a ré – sunset to sunset?' she asked. 'Oh I'd definitely say so' nodded Ethirel. She poked the rigid body, as if proving a point.

'And the stabbing?' interjected Bam. 'Ah, yes, that was done with a strange weapon. Long and thin, straight blade.' She frowned. 'But with a serrated edge. That's what killed him.' Turi ran a hand through her hair, hooking a strand behind her ear. 'Why would someone want to both club and stab him?' Three pairs of eyes trained on her.

'To kill him good?' offered Bra. 'To sedate the victim perhaps' Bam said, fake clubbing Bra. 'He's down, now I can kill him without any screaming.' Bra looked quite disturbed at his teammate, and Turi nodded with a frown. 'And why make the effort to displace the body?'

No one had any answer to that. But answers they'd have to find. Mystery abounded, and so did clues.

Now it was time to tally the score.