Fire

          Good morning Vivec City! I’m Ralyn, your host of Vivec City Radio and I’m here to bring you the news, and oh boy, do I have a lot to tell ya! Election Day is right around the corner and things are heating up. More violent protests have erupted in several parts of the city between supporters of the Traditionalists Party and the March of Progress Party. It seems their conflicting views are creating a bigger divide than ever before. Oh, but that’s not all, I’m sure you have all heard of Feranos. He is, well…was, an influential spokesperson for the March of Progress Party, advocated for the inclusion of Elves and Humans alike within our city. Turns out he was found dead in his own office…

          The taxi’s radio was suddenly turned off as the driver was a looking for a place to park.

          “Yeah, just drop me off here, that’s fine.” I pointed at the yellow motel just on our right. As the taxi stopped abruptly, I paid him for the ride and stepped out of the taxi, finally breathing in the not so fresh air of Vivec City. I’ve never been in a city like this before, the towering buildings and bright lights makes it hard to even see the sky, the bustling traffic, the constant noises of cars and people, and commercials displayed at every street are a sharp contrast from my hometown of Riften, a small and calm fishing town. Tomorrow will be my first day working with the Vivec Police Department, so I’ll need to be wide awake. No point in hanging around taking in the sights I decided, better go find my room and be ready for the next day.

          The next day I was woken up by sounds of chanting and music in the streets. Was there a parade going on I wasn’t aware of? I sluggishly got out of bed and opened the curtains. Groups of people were marching in unison. Among them were Elves and Humans, of all walks of life, chanting Fuck the Traditionalists! Burn us all you want! We will rise from the ashes! The sounds of the protest echoed through the streets, but as impressive as it was to witness, I miss the calm of Riften, I miss the gentle sounds of the central market, the fishing boats entering the waterways.

          Leaving the motel, I decided to take the small alleyways to the police station, so as not to get tangled up in the protests if it starts going south. On my way there, political posters were plastered all along the walls of the buildings, most of them torn down and defaced. On my left, and from what I could still read, Davos was the leader of the March of Progress Party, striving for every Elves and Humans to have an equal voice in Vivec City. On my right were posters of Alvura, leader of the Traditionalists, claiming that Vivec City has lost its way, and that pride must be restored in the Dunmer people. That got me thinking, it has been so long since I heard that word Dunmer. I spent so much time in Riften I almost forgot how to say Dark Elf in my native tongue.

          I noticed a hooded figure at the end of the alley, their head was turned towards a burnt poster, but their tattoo on their right arm got my attention. It had an oval shape with dots all around it, in the middle of the oval was a spiral surrounded by what looked like roots to me, several smaller circles stood above the spirals and in between the roots. This tattoo seems familiar. I’m sure I’ve seen this symbol before, but I can’t seem to put a finger on it. How strange. The image of this tattoo was stuck in my head all the way. Was it a historical thing? It’s something old I think but I don’t remember what it is. Oh, this is going to drive me crazy not knowing this.

          I suddenly heard a door open behind me from the police station. I turned my head and noticed a small man. He had grey skin, red eyes, and shaggy short black hair. He held a cigarette between his dry lips. A Dark Elf, like me. His stained white shirt was partly tucked in his oversized black pants. He looked at me for a few seconds and I noticed the pockets around his eyes.

          “Hey, are you the detective? Detective Redani?” He asked, yawning.

          “Yes?” I responded, surprised. I was walking deep in thought of that symbol that I almost walked past the station.

          “You were lucky I went out for a smoke and caught ya, otherwise, you were going straight to the docks.” Despite his tired look, he sounded cheerful. He held out his hand to shake mine.

          “I’m detective Vals, I heard from the sergeant you’re gonna assist us on the case?”

          “That’s correct!” I responded eagerly.

          Vals threw his cigarette on the ground, signaling me to follow him back inside the station. “How do you like Vivec City so far? Quite a change of scenery from Riften I wager.”

          “Yeah, this place is, um, pretty big compared to Riften. A bit overwhelming if I’m honest.”

          “Yeah, don’t worry, I’m sure you’ll get used to it.” Vals and I arrived in the main offices of the station. Lots of desks and paperwork were scattered in every corner of the office but most chairs were empty. Vals paused and turned to me with a solemn look.

          “As you can see, we’re spread quite thin here. Most of our personnel have been monitoring the protests for weeks now, and as a result, we don’t have a lot of people available for other cases.”

          “I understand.” I nodded in acknowledgement.

          Vals turned back at the room “Can anyone tell me where the Sergeant is?” he asked.

          One of the few officers that were here pointed at the corner in the back of the room. A woman was sitting there, she had long grey hair and unevenly sized glasses. She possessed, like me, the characteristics of a Dark Elf: grey skin, and red eyes. she was writing frantically in what seemed to be mountains of paperwork, two large stacks of paper on her right and left side. Finally, I noticed her badge on her shirt displaying the word Sergeant in shining silver.

          “Hey Sergeant, the detective from Riften arrived.” Vals went up to her, I followed.

          She slowly lifted her head “Hmm? Oh! I’m sorry I didn’t see you!” She quickly got up after pushing her work to the side of her desk.

          “We’re glad you could make it detective.” She said as she was shaking my hand. “I’m Sergeant Idesa. I apologize for the state this station is now. As you can see, the tense political climate has taken a toll on us. But that’s not why we called for you. I assume you’ve read the files we sent you concerning the Burnt Man Case?”

          Three weeks ago, a body was found burnt from head to toe outside of the city on the countryside. Since a wildfire happened the same day, it was cited as the cause of the death. After an autopsy, it was found later that the body was that of a March of Progress candidate for Vivec’s Financial District. A week after, another body was found, burnt from head to toe. That second victim was political commentator in favor of the March of Progress party. With their police force wearing thin and two crimes that seemed too similar to be a coincidence, Sergeant Idesa eventually requested help from another detective.

          “I did. The pictures of the crime scenes you sent me were most unusual. The fires seemed to act unnaturally.” I said while searching for the files from my old leather bag. There was never a lot of space in there, nor did I make any effort to organize it, but I’ve had it since my very first case years ago and kept it ever since. Finding the correct folder, I opened it and spread out the pictures of the crime scene unto the Sergeant’s table. I stopped myself realizing using the Sergeant’s desk as my own may not be appropriate.

          “Oh, um, may I?” I asked hesitantly.

          She frowned slightly, “I’d rather not. I spent days working on filling out these reports and I like them neat and organized. So please don’t disrupt my workspace.”

          “We can use the interrogation room, it’s empty at the moment, lots of space too.” Proposed Vals.

          After moving in the interrogation room, I spread out the images of the crime scenes unto the metallic table. The first picture showed the victim on the ground next to a few burnt trees.

          “A forest fire would have incinerated much more than a few trees, besides it’s not warm enough for forest fires to happen.” Said Vals

          “Right! Also, as you can see, the fire seemed to have started in a specific direction and moved towards the forest.” I continued. “I’m just confused as to how the victim ended up here.”

          “The autopsy revealed his left leg was strained, probably experienced some pressure of some kind.” Vals added.

          “Do you think he was forcefully dragged out here?” I asked.

          “Looks like it, but I can’t say for sure.”

          “That’s something we’ll have to do more research on. Let’s move on to the next victim.” The sergeant intervened.  Pushing aside the picture of the first crime scene, I pulled up the picture of the other one. A political commentator in favor of the March of Progress Party was found dead in his own home, and like the first victim, he was burnt from head to toe. Looking at this picture again, the way the victim was burnt was strange and unnatural, a pattern similar to the first victim.

          “Look here,” I pointed at marks the fire left on the victim and in the room, “it seems the fire only touched the victim, but left everything else in the room intact, as if the victim suddenly burst into flames.”

          “That’s not all,” said the Sergeant, “another similar victim was found yesterday evening. Feranos. Again, he was affiliated with the March of Progress Party. Found dead in his own office. As if he suddenly burst into flames.” She continued. “Seeing the victims all have ties to the March of Progress Party, it would be a good start to track down members of the Traditionalists, their political rivals.”

          “We should speak to the victim’s families as well, see if they know who might have the motives to hurt these people, on a more personal level.” Added Vals.

          “Good. Let’s start there with that then. Redani, you’ll be in charge of talking to the families, see if you can find anything interesting there. Vals, see if you can track down some members of the Traditionalists. You’re more attuned to the political side of this city than Redani.”

          As Vals nodded in agreement, both anticipated leaving the room to start on our search. I was having second guesses about how we should go about solving this case. Besides the patterns in the victim’s death and their relation to the March of Progress Party, we don’t have much to go on.

          “Sergeant, if I may?” I decided to voice my concerns to the Sergeant.

          She turned around, surprised. “What is it?”

          “There were a lot of victims in only a little time frame. Whoever the killer is, might hurt someone else soon. Seeing as we do not have a lot of tracks to follow. I believe we may have a better chance at finding who the killer is if we stay close to the potential victims that the killer typically targets. In that case, the March of Progress members.”

          Sergeant Idesa paused for a moment. Her arms crossed and her eyes frowning. “Davos, the candidate for the March of Progress Party will attend a demonstration tomorrow at Liberty Plaza. He’ll make a speech there, in public. The patterns of the victims we found are not telling me the killer likes to act in public. Do you really think it’s a better idea?” She asked suspiciously.

          “I think we have a chance.” I said confidently.

          “Fine. Me and a few officers will accompany you tomorrow during the protest, we can cover more ground that way. I just hope it’s not a waste of time and resources. Vals I still want you looking for the Traditionalists and the families of the victim.”

          “Thank you, Sergeant.”

          Walking back to the motel as the day was winding down, I passed by a bookstore. Something caught my eye and made me stop for a moment. The same symbol tattooed on that hooded person this morning, was printed on the cover of a book titled The Age of Industry or How Magic Became Obsolete. The symbol was slightly different that the tattoo however, a round gear encircled the rest of the symbol instead of an oval shape. That is almost certainly what the symbol referred to, magic. Being further intrigued by this mystery, I decided to buy the book and read it as soon as I am back at the motel.

          That symbol has its origin thousands of years into the past, belonging to a political faction named House Telvanni. House Telvanni’s members were referred to as staunch traditionalists and talented wizards. As the Age of Industry took hold over the world and replaced magic as superior tool of construction, economy, and warfare; House Telvanni rejected all notions of industrial prospects. Whether it was for automation, robotics, or weaponry, the Telvanni emphasized that the Dunmer would lose their way and would lead to the decline the Dunmer people. Eventually, their faction faded into obscurity.

          So that hooded person from the alley, who are they? A remnant of the old House Telvanni? Or just someone who thought that symbol could make for a cool tattoo. I may be reading too much into this. It was dark outside and barely a sound to be heard except the distant sounds of cars from busier roads. I turned my head to the alarm clock. 2:14 A.M. I did not even realize how much time I spent reading that book. Fatigue swiftly took over me in the few minutes that followed, hoping that the rest of the day will be a successful one.

          I searched the office for Vals and Idesa as I had an idea of how we could proceed with the case. I found him asleep on his chair with a book on his lap titled The vagaries of Magicka. I tapped him on the shoulder to wake him up. Startled, he got up from his chair, clumsily letting his book fall on the floor.

          I joined Idesa and a few officers at the station in the morning. Ready to follow the protests, we all set out in different groups to cover more ground. “Detective, you will be on the ground in the protest, be on the lookout for anyone that arouses suspicion, if you find anything, use this.” Sergeant Idesa handed me a radio transmitter, then, a gun. “Just in case.” She said with a dark look on her face.

          “A group of officers will be dispatched into the alleyways. I will find a place above ground.” She looked around to every officer around her. “Everyone got that? Come on we have a job to do!” She yelled. If I can really catch that criminal in only two days, I’ll have set myself a new record.

          Joining the raucous group of protesters, I felt myself getting anxious. My heart only grew heavier every minute. I blended myself in, looking at anyone who might pose a threat. Looking left. Looking right. Trying to memorize every face, every expression. One hour passes, nothing out of the ordinary, but my gut tells me otherwise. Something will happen here today. Suddenly, I could hear a voice just next to me.

          “You seem really stressed out here pal, are you sure you’re attending the right protest?” It was the same hooded figure I encountered in the alley. I could see he was also a Dark Elf. Grey skin, red eyes. My eyes went down to his arm. The Telvanni Symbol.

          “My eyes are right here pal.” He said laughing. “Oh, you’re looking at this?” He said pointing out his tattoo on his arm. “You know what that means, right?” His face came closer to mine, whispering “The Telvanni Wizards are back, and we got a city to burn.”

          My eyes widened. He walked backwards, blending in with the people, and disappeared right before I almost caught his arm. I quickly reached my transmitter on my shoulders telling Idesa and the officers to keep watch for a hooded figure with an oval shaped tattoo on his left arm, if they see him, they should apprehend him immediately. Suddenly, the crowd stopped moving and cheered. I looked around in a panic trying to find that man again. A few minutes later, a loud voice echoed through the streets. We were at Liberty Plaza and Davos was starting his speech. My eyes frantically darted all around the place, looking for any glimpse of that hooded figure. I heard Idesa’s voice through my transmitter “Redani…look up.”

          Out of thin air, the hooded figure appeared, floating in the sky, dancing. A large ball of fire appeared around his hands. I couldn’t believe what my eyes were witnessing. Was that…magic? By the time I reached for my gun, the hooded figure launched the massive ball of fire towards Liberty Plaza. And in that moment, the heat was all that I could feel.

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