Snippet #2602006

Otto stared irritably at their desolate surroundings, as if trying to will the suspects into being before them. As usual, his Winchester was resting across the neck of Todesengel, ready to fire.

While they rode, he put a thought to words. "If someone gave them the whiskey, that would require quite a level of deviousness. Given the evidence, it doesn't seem like a raid, or a territory grab. What would give this person, or persons a reason to kill their friends, their neighbors--people they knew, and likely had known for a long time?"

He was drawing parallels between the Faith and history, and it was starting to bother him. Granted, he was merely constructing a theory at the moment, but this particular incident was hitting close to home.

"A cult, perhaps? There are stories throughout the ages of sacrifices. They say the old natives in south america prized child sacrifices above all others. The Carthaginians of antiquity are said to have thrown infants into fire to feed one of their gods. Who's to say that there isn't something like that at hand now? If we lack a tangible cause for the murders, perhaps an ideological cause warrants investigation?"

The German shook his head wearily, as the town came into view. "I hope our companion has found more than we have, and I hope it sheds a more mundane light upon these crimes."