Quote:To the kind and generous law enforcement of our fair and glorious city,

It is my great pleasure to, as always, supply you with any and all cases of interest to you and your high purposes. It is my equal pleasure that, in doing so, I am able to elicit continued support for the guild from your noble and well-funded organizations. As always, I must ask that my name be struck from official record. And of course, I must apologize again that the nature of my practice forces consideration for the privacy of my clients. Nonetheless, best of luck in catching those criminals, as you're wont to do.

Though if I might give my personal opinion: Maybe let this one go? They seem an exceptionally vicious sort.

Ever in your service,

[Redacted]

Quote:To the esteemed Sir,

To begin I would like to thank you, as always, for you continued patronage of the Ossuary and the generous donations tendered to the guild in exchange for our humble service.

Speaking to the matter at hand, the requested autopsy of the four corpses delivered to the guild on the fifteenth sun of the Second Umbral Moon has now been completed and is detailed below for your review:

Subject A:

Name: Climbing Ram

Description: Roegadyn male, approx. 35 years old. Brown hair, blue eyes. Large tattoo on back, three piercings in left ear.

Examination: Two lacerations across the chest, two ilms deep. Three puncture wounds in abdomen, three ilms wide; six, five, and seven ilms deep respectively. Small head wound, size suggesting blunt trauma; likely resulted from fall.

Cause of Death: Blood loss resulting from multiple puncture wounds. Depth and width of wounds strongly suggest the weapon used was a spear.

Subject B:

Name: Lormos Lioneater

Description: Highlander male, approx. 25 years old. Brown hair, brown eyes. No body markings.

Examination: Two puncture wounds in chest, three ilms wide; six and eight ilms deep respectively. Former wound passed through ribs, missing heart. Latter wound cleanly pressed through ribs and perforated subject's heart.

Cause of Death: Penetrating chest trauma. Internal tearing of organs and muscle on exit of the weapon suggest notched spearhead.

Subject C:

Name: Hadwis Jackalsong

Description: Highlander female, approx. 25 years old. Black hair, green eyes. Tattoo on left shoulder.

Examination: Laceration across throat severing both carotid arteries. Bruising on central abdomen; bruise too large and disfigured to suggest fist, bruising too severe to suggest single naked blow; possibly inflicted by a single kick with a metal sabaton or solleret. Significant bruising on back of head, indicative of hard fall or collision, likely caused by aforementioned blow to the abdomen. Single puncture wound in abdomen, three ilms across, ten ilms deep.

Cause of Death: Throat laceration resulting in blood loss.

Subject D:

Name: Sasabala (surname unknown)

Description: Lalafell of Dunesfolk descent. Red hair, brown eyes. No body markings. Two piercings in each ear.

Examination: No puncture wounds or lacerations. Significant bruising around neck. Severe cervical fracture resulting in significant damage to the spinal cord.

Cause of Death: Initial external examinations suggested a forceful breakage of the neck as the cause of death, however several factors prompted an internal examination revealing the cause of death to be strangulation. The bruising around the neck (in such a manner as to suggest the attacker was wearing metal gauntlets of some kind), bloodshot eyes, and visible strain on the lungs and heart all suggest the subject was strangled to death before her neck was broken.

As my personal speculation on how the events may have proceeded has been requested, I have included it below. All speculation is made with the facts presented to me in the corpses provided, as well as the information given to me on the killing scene by your messenger.

Speculation:

As it was described to me, the killings took place in a moderately sized, secure room. One door, no windows. The bodies appear in two clusters: the bodies of Subject A and Subject B were found on the floor at the front of the room, near the door. The body of Subject C was found on the floor right-of-center, closer to the back of the room. The body of Subject D, Sasabala, was found crumpled atop the oaken desk at the very back of the room.

This leads me to conclude that when the fight began, the unknown killer was standing at the center of the room, with Sasabala and Subject C in front of them, and Subjects A and B flanking them. It is almost certain the killer was using a spear; what's more, the upward direction of the entry wounds suggest they were shorter than Subjects A, B, and C, but the bruises on Subject C's abdomen and around Sasabala's throat clearly indicate a being larger than a Lalafell, but shorter than a Highlander female. This suggests the assailant was a midlander or miqo'te. Several (and by that I mean four) foreign hairs retrieved from the bodies confirm the killer was blonde, but their length was too short to confirm gender.

While it is impossible to say exactly how the battle transpired, I shall endeavor to make an educated guess: the wound across Subject C's throat was ragged and imprecise, but excessively deep. This, combined with your messenger's report that Subject C was found with a sword not fully drawn from its scabbard, suggests that the killer aggressively struck at her first before turning on Subject A and Subject B, dispatching both in a very short window of time. The assailant then proceeded to kill Sasabala, Subject D.

It is here that the tale becomes odd: Subject C, as noted, had a puncture wound in her stomach. But unlike every other puncture wound in every other body which were all dealt at an angle from slightly below, this wound appears to have been dealt at an almost perfect ninety degree angle. Speculation: the spear was thrust into her body while she lay on the floor already dead. We know that the killer proceeded to strangle Sasabala, the bruises telling us she used both hands. I believe then that Subject C's body was used to assist in freeing the spear hand.

The other oddity present is the presence of a victim of strangulation also suffering a broken neck. Based on the description of Sasabala's body, it is clear she was dropped from height; her assailant picked her up by the throat with both hands, squeezed the life out of her, broke her neck, and dropped her body to let it lie wherever it happened to land. It is this particular killing which I believe gives some insight into the mind of the killer: The first three bodies were killed in a terrifyingly efficient fashion; had it ended there, I would suggest looking with suspicion toward your "business" competitors seeking to muscle your subordinate and her lackeys out of the territory. But the nature of her death, up close and personal, with one last assault (the breakage of the neck) serving as a punctuation mark for the successful killing, suggests the killer had some personal connection with Sasabala specifically. Perhaps some past encounter, a jilted client, or simply someone with a grudge, all evidence (including the fact that not a single thing was stolen from the room) suggests this was an emotionally driven kill.

As always, you have the deepest condolences of myself and my guild for your loss. Nonetheless, we appreciate your business and look forward to serving you again in the future.

Ever in your service,
[Redacted]