9

I walked towards home after that, holding the piece of fabric and thinking about the case. I wasn't sure when I'd switched from thinking of it as a case from research, but historically cases involved more burning buildings than research so the new classification had a sound footing. The man who stole the books went to the Red Temple which implied he was a believer, had a confederate in the temple or that the temple would let in anyone who knocked. I didn't really know anything about their god's position about sheltering arsonists, but based on their rites, I felt they must be at least have a relevant encyclical. All things considered I was leaning against the man I'd chased being the murderer. Beyond the question of how he'd have done it, if he was going to sneak into Tregar's house and kill him why wouldn't he rob his library then? It had been two nights since the murder which made it seem like he'd waited for the heat, pun not intended, to die down a little before burglaring. I wasn't even sure of the motive for the robbery. My first speculation had been that Tregar was blaspheming in some way and that a devout follower had decided to speed up their god's justice. Stealing the heretical books made a little sense then, to keep their beliefs from spreading, if not fully answering the question why wouldn't they just remove the blasphemer and his books all in one night. Based on how the thief's fire had spread they wouldn't even need to remove the books, I was sure the room was down to ashes within minutes and saving possibly heretical books didn't make much sense. Unless he'd saved rare books that weren't heretical, and then burned the rest. Arriving home I decided that I didn't really know anything and perhaps some sleep would help.

It didn't. Maggie was up and running around early, apparently the meditation I'd assigned her had filled her with energy and there was nothing better to do than wake up at dawn and keep her old man from resting. I didn't have any paying cases currently, I'd mostly been costing off the Iron Bank's fees as well as my partial share in the cog. Since there was no chance of going back to sleep I thought I'd wander back to the scene of the crime. The city was gloomier than ever, the recent sun had passed and the city was shrouded in low clouds. Honestly the Valyrians probably had found this city and decided that even spending the time to burn it would be too much exposure to its crappy weather. I took my brand new Gandalfian white staff with me, I wasn't sure if a better tool would have let me deal with the flames last night but I didn't want to be unprepared twice.

The island that Tregar's house had previously graced was crowded with gawkers. Smoke was still rising from parts of his home, and I could see more guards picking their way through the wreckage looking for anything worth saving. I wasn't sure what they'd find. From my brief foray through his house I had no doubt Tregar had been immensely wealthy, but in the style of Braavos the ostentation was subtle, shown off in superbly crafted common items, not gold chandeliers or gilded mirrors. Most of what I had seen would have burned in a regular fire, much less a magically accelerated one. At least there were no bodies visible. I'd have felt much more guilty about not stopping the fire, or warning the inhabitants, if the mansion hadn't been deserted. After a brief inspection I left, one burned building was much like another and the books I was interested in had been incinerated. From a certain point of view I hadn't lost anything since I had never had any information and the books I'd chosen might not have helped. It was a blow though, first Tregar's lifetime of knowledge and then his library snatched from my grasp. I didn't even know where the stolen books went, and even if I found the remains of one in the library, the fire would have destroyed any thaumaturgical links between them.

I ate lunch at the Sealord's square, rumor had it that he was hit hard by his brother's death, but you wouldn't notice it from the public's mood. Throwing the remains of my fish in/on bread thing, that was almost a taco but not quite, into the canal I headed home again. I would perform a tracking spell on the cloak, but if it was in the Red Temple I wasn't sure what I would do. They definitely had access to magic with their super-napalm substance and I wasn't willing to raid a stronghold of potential enemies with unknown magic; I'd learned my lessons about that the hard way.

Walking home I thought about why I was interested at all in the murder. Besides my curiosity, which nothing had yet managed to stamp out, my initial goal was Tregar's knowledge. In retrospect I didn't even know if he had the information I wanted, I had just latched onto him and his reputation in the eyes of the Voyagers. Invading a temple for what I might not even want was too risky, but I had gotten proof that magic existed in Braavos and I could inquire elsewhere about the strange green flame. Crossing the final bridge to my island I was barely paying attention to my surroundings until I heard someone shout my name.

It was Koren, the silversmith I was working with, and he looked excited. "The press, I just sold it and got another two orders!" It took a moment to mentally shift gears from murder and magic to movable type but I eventually made it.

"Who bought it?" I had mentioned the completed press to Johannes but he didn't see the utility, I was content to let history prove me right but he hadn't been the only one sitting near me.

"Two men from your club and they brought another, some Westerosi, Haldon, who spent some time looking at it." It was good news, in exchange for my help and the idea I was getting a small percentage of the profit. I wasn't too concerned about the money, however if I was going to spend my life here, mass literacy would make it more comfortable.

"That's excellent news, the kind of men there, if one has a new toy everyone needs it. Expect more orders from them." The press might actually offer more opportunities I realized. Historically the cheap mass printing of books had spread information throughout the world, perhaps it could do the same here. I might be able to gain access to private libraries if I had established a reputation selling books. It would probably be more fruitful than listening to sailors in bars. Of course with my new found wealth, I could just hire someone else to run the bookstore which sounded much more appealing than working myself.

Koren and I chatted a bit more but he clearly wanted to get back to his forge and I was hoping to track down the thief. I arrived home just as Maggie was sprinting to her lessons, we shouted 'hellos' as we passed, and I went up to my lab. The months of a majority of my time devoted to magic had changed the place. Before it had been largely empty, but for a workbench and Little Braavos. Now it had shelves covered in my notes, clay jars full of ingredients for potions or spells, a full set of engraving tools and an iron ring five feet across in case I ever found anything to summon here or as a possible last refuge from projections. One wall remained clear for Maggie's practice though, it had a few scorch marks, but so far she hadn't followed me into mass destruction of buildings. I grabbed the piece of the cloak I'd ripped from the thief and wandered over to Little Braavos. Through sheer luck the tides would be ready soon, in the interim I thought I'd start planning a new focus, a gauntlet for water magic like I'd seen Carlos Ramirez use. I had never really used the more subtle element, my power gave me the luxury to be brash, but against a fire based religion water seemed as if it could be useful, or at least dramatically appropriate. It would make a contrast to my blasting rod as well as giving me more non-lethal options. Flinging fire around here carelessly would be an easy way to break the first law and slide into madness.

I passed the time until the tides shifted sketching possible designs and runes for he gauntlet. When the moment of stillness arrived I performed the tracking spell, and as I had half expected and dreaded, the cloth went right to the Red Temple. Well at least I'd confirmed one religion here had access to supernatural powers. Their green fire wasn't quite a Sword of the Cross but in this apparent low fantasy world it might have the same impact. Thinking of the swords made me think of my own projects on enchanting. I had made a sword that would always be sharp when it was in my home or I held it but had no luck beyond that. The cheap cutlass I was working with probably didn't help my spells, but I wasn't willing to pay for an expensive blade that I would in all likelihood destroy. Luccio's skills had only risen in my estimation after each failure of mine. I could only keep myself distracted with my experiments for so long though. The tracking spell wasn't proof that the thief was affiliated but it was strong evidence. There was still so much that I didn't know, unless more clues fell into my lap the murder case, and the hunt for magic here, was stalled.