First stop, the library. Magistrate Ulfass Borloch was the man who accused the five women of witchcraft. He currently sits on the city council with 11 other magistrates, who together advise the mayor and run the city. They create the laws in Corvis, and generally have way too much power, which they use for nothing but their own gain. Typical politicians. Here’s where things get interesting: At the time of the witch trial, Borloch had only been recently raised to the city council, due to the death of the previous councilman. Many of the crimes that he accused the women of related to court cases over the previous three years; witnesses or other high-priority persons either going missing or switching their story at a critical moment, or even entire cases being dropped out of the blue. The evidence against them was apparently damning, as even Father Dumas admitted there was no room for doubt. The strange part is, the majority of the crimes related to cases Magistrate Borloch himself presided over. This might make sense, since Borloch would naturally have more evidence of tampering in his own trials. But here’s the kicker: one of the highest charges brought against the women was the murder of a councilman one year before the trial, which just so happened to lead to Borloch being raised in their place. This leaves us in a very interesting position: either, the women were acting of their own accord, and Borloch was caught in the crossfire; or, Borloch manipulated the women into doing his dirty work in cases he thought were going the wrong way, eventually coming to a crescendo in scoring himself a seat of the city council and accusing the women of witchcraft to tie up loose ends. Because of the charge of witchcraft, the women were bound and gagged for the entirety of the trial, never having an opportunity to defend themselves, or in this case, possibly rat out Borloch. It would be the perfect crime.
But there’s still the chance that Borloch is innocent. I’m going to follow him today, get a sense for where he goes and how he operates. This may be risky, but it’s a chance I have to take. Besides, if I understand the situation correctly, I’m hardly the biggest threat to his safety right now.
Not much to report about his manor grounds, at least from an outside vantage point. The sun will rise in a few hours — hopefully this guy actually leaves his house, otherwise I may have to sneak in.
Borloch’s on the move. He rides in a carriage, but I’m able to keep up for now.
He’s arrived at the Corvis courthouse. Makes sense, since he’s a magistrate and all. I’m going to go in and watch one of his trials.
Does he recognise me? But I’ve never seen him in person before…
There were guards at the entrance that I came in through. I found another exit, but that was way too close. Why did he look at me like that? He shouldn’t know anything about me, and certainly shouldn’t recognize my face.
Shit. He’s on the move again. He must’ve ended the trial early. What’s going on?
I’ve followed him down to the undercity, despite his carriage’s movements. He obviously doesn’t want to be followed down here. He just walked into a tall, skinny building, and I saw some movement in the third floor window. I want to go in… no. It’s too risky.
Borloch left after half an hour. Street kid says that a guy lives in that building, but that the guy never comes out, and everybody who goes in never comes out either. Except, apparently, Borloch.
This leaves me with a lot to think about. For now, I’m heading to the coven’s crypt to meet up with the party before they blow the place up. I may have to let Gold into the circle of trust — I still don’t trust the others enough to tell them anything, but I need someone besides Otkaz to watch my back.
This is the last entry in the journal.