Sieghard, Urgrim & Adelbert

Jocasta took the news of Balios' death with a numb stare. Perhaps she hadn't known the senior Taalite long enough for his death to hit her as hard as Adelbert had feared. Perhaps she simply didn't have enough energy left to grieve.

Udolf's body was still wrapped in those heavy clothes, now almost black with soot. It took some effort to pull the coachman's hat off his head, it being wedged down almost to his ears. Unwinding the scarf wrapped around his face, Liebrecht stared down into the dead man's face.

It was a human face, puffy and white as the belly of a dead fish. Black rot had eaten the soft tissues of his nose and part of his upper lip, but otherwise the skin seemed remarkably well-preserved. A strong smell of alcohol and brine wafted from the body, masking the foetor of rot beneath it. His blank, staring eyes were surprisingly vivid - a rap of Liebrecht's fingernail on one confirmed it was made of glass.

"He has been... embalmed, I think," said Liebrecht, hardly sure enough of himself to speak. Pulling down Udolf's collar, he revealed an ugly, blackened welt all the way around his throat. Sieghard had seen enough hangings to recognise the mark of a noose.

Liebrecht looked up at the others. "This body has been dead for months. You say he fought you? Here, tonight?"