"So... you found the bodies and know the the murders took place, but have no clues hinting towards the killer?"

Tense silence fills the room of nobles, threatening to smother them all with the weight of death. Or, well, it would if it weren't for me retching up this foul coloured water they call "tea." How humans can manage to stomach the lukewarm, soily taste of it is completely beyond me. At least their "alcohol" has a pleasant burn when consumed. Paying no attention to the mis of shocked and annoyed faces arrayed in front of me, I snatch up a handful of cookies laid out on the table and stuff them in my mouth. Mama always said thinking should be done only after eating, or something close to that. It's been a while since I saw her, hope she's not eaten another dad.

The only one unaffected aside from me is the wrinkly man directly across from me; he adjusts his thick glasses on an oversized beak of a nose before loudly proclaiming, "Didn't hear her, what the girl say? Something about mints in cellars?"

Before I can ask where these "mints" can be found - a new delicacy perhaps? - the only other woman in the room clears her throat in a manner she probably thinks is dignified. Her voice pitched high enough for the old man to understand, she states, "That is one way of summarizing the situation, though I would say we rather have too many clues pointing towards too many suspects at the moment. Despite the answer being right in front of these fools' faces, they have chosen to look away from the facts, meaning we need a less biased observer who can help point us in the proper direction."

A richly beringed hand waves across the table in response, leading me to glance at the charcoal-looking skin of the man who obviously holds the power in this room. His easy grin shows too many teeth for my liking, since they're so small. "Cynthia speaks the truth, or as close to it as we can discern at this time. That is why I asked for the new heroine making her name all across the region to come assist us in this matter, as we could desperately use a fresh eye."

I gulp down a few more cookies before I catch on that he means me. I don't know why the humans keep calling me that "hero" thing. All I did was smack the heads off some ogres and men, burly men to test out my new sword. "Uh, yeah, sure. I just gotta listen to stuff and then point out what makes the most sense, right?"

Both Cynthia and the super-rich guy, Nicholas I think his name was, give me weird, twitching smiles in return, while the old guy looks like he fell asleep at some point. The last guy, wearing a super shiny set of weird metal pieces, lets out an exasperated sigh. "I told you, my Duke, that the idiot girl wouldn't be of any help. She probably doesn't even remember what we told her so far, so how can we expect her to be of any use going forward?"

He has a really annoying voice, and keeps looking at the my thighs for some reason; I don't like him one bit. "So far, there have been two murders; one was found half a week ago, pierced through the heart at some point during the night, and the other was found yesterday, whose similar wound must have been delivered before the evening. Aside from those wounds, there are no other visible clues placing a suspect at those times except circumstantial evidence. The Chief Sten... uh, Stock... the head maid guy blames one of the other maids, but can't say why they would have killed them. Snooty lady says it's the head maid guy because of something to do with money, which I like too. And shiny man doesn't like snooty lady so is trying to pin the crime on her, or something? I think that's what you told me, rich guy."

The annoyance fades from their faces, leaving only surprise, except on the old man again, who just smiles and shouts, "They're called Stewards. And, uh, Stewardesses, the women are. She's smart, who is she again?"

Duke Nicholas leans back in his chair, allowing that toothy smile to creep back onto his face. "This is Alvaria, Jerome, and despite some of her eccentricities, is nevertheless a true-bred hero. Mostly allowing to her half-dragon lineage, but the fact remains that she's our best hope at getting a clear answer in all of this mess."

Snooty lady nods along. "Indeed, I concur. Her manners leave something to be desired, and she'll need correcting on small details, but she's got a good head on those shoulders."

My forked tongue leaps out at the crumbs coating my fingers, and I give one sad look at the empty cookie plate before saying, "I don't know about all that, but all I did was repeat the facts you told me. So if you want to pay me to keep doing the same thing, I won't argue. Just make sure the gold is shiny, Mama said that's important."

"I vehemently state my objection to allowing this half-breed handle sensitive information of our city! No matter how bright you seem to think she is, the City Guard can handle this whole matter much quicker and with less headache," yells the shiny man.

"I will note your objection, Captain Loric. I will also point out that in the four days you did have control of the investigation, you not only came up empty but have had another death occur on your watch. I do not blame you," Nicholas says, hands already in a calming gesture before shiny many can scream some more. "No one blames you, except perhaps Cynthia here. But the rest of us agree that Alvaria here can offer more to the investigation that just youthful eyes; she has all the abilities a half-dragon brings, including skill with the sword that makes her a good guard while the investigation continues, as well as enhanced senses that may catch a clue we would otherwise overlook. If you have any complaints about her behaviour in the future, we can discuss it then, but even you have to admit that wrapping all this up as quickly as possible is beneficial for us all."

Loric runs a hand over his face, but does ultimately give a reluctant nod. "Fine, so long as she doesn't do anything to compromise our already existing scenes, she can help the City Guard. Good day, my Duke," he says as he walks out the room, followed quickly by the other figures who give half-hearted excuses.

That leaves me and Nicholas, who is watching me like, well, like Mama watches a deer she wants to pounce on. Yet just as the air gets a bit awkward between us, he leans forward and extends a hand my way. "It will be a pleasure to work with you on this matter, Alvaria. Should you have any concerns, please feel free to visit me here. Otherwise, the Tah'lok Hall will see to your daily needs; that's the place where the murders have happened."

Oh, that makes sense they want me staying near to the murder site. "Alright. When's lunch, by the way?"

"A voracious appetite, hm? Well, I'll send word to the Stewards they can put your meals on my account. For now, you'll get your meal after you've taken a look at the first murder location. Sketches can be given to you if you wish to see how things looked before we cordoned off that section of the Hall," he replies, and I notice he's pointing at a small map of the city to show me where to go.

To those who want to eat, they need to take it first; that's Mama's favorite saying. Without another word I walk out the fancy house towards my new home for the future: Tah'lok Hall.

***