The Spire's Unasked Farewell
The dragon of the Obsidian Spire is absent and its hoard is diminished. An independent investigator is commissioned to enter the spire's lower levels, examine the vault's state, and interview the steward, the guildmaster, the high priest, the guard captain, and a catatonic apprentice seer to document the sequence of events.
Initial Crime Scene
The warped, groaning steel of the vault's main beam meets you first, a low thrum that vibrates through the stone floor. The air carries the sharp, metallic tang of ozone layered with a faint, acrid smell of melted wax. Your gaze fixes on three points: the embedded, iridescent dragon scale glinting near a torn ledger page, the dark, smooth cavity vaporized into the far wall, and the single, deep scratch marring the dust on the floor from a dragged object.
Crime Scene Environment
A dread-soaked, gilded gloom pervades, lit by guttering torches that cast long, dancing shadows. The air is iron-scented and holds a vault-deep humidity, cool and heavy. Acoustic density is low, dominated by the beam's constant, groaning hum and the distant, parchment-whispering rustle of displaced dust.
Investigation Constraints
Enchanted ledger stones that record inscriptions with magical timestamps; runic locks that require specific bloodline or verbal passkeys; divination scrying bowls that show fragmented, symbolic visions; dragon-scale parchment that resists forgery; griffin-post couriers for long-distance communication.
✦ Related Cases ✦
