Within the hour we found ourselves in a dark cell far below the surface of Ironforge's streets. It was not a prison, at least not in the traditional sense, rather it was a small set of holding cells that were meant for criminals with arcane talents. The walls were carved with small sets of glowing runes that pulsated with different shades of color.

Jiles regarded these runes for quite some time on our way down the long thin hallway. He muttered the word "ingenious" until we passed one rune where I distinctly heard him mutter "sloppy." Jiles was not a vocational mage, but he was a student of the arcane nonetheless. His passion was in the mechanics of magic, not the evocation of it. He did not cast many spells, but he always knew from a mage's stance and words what spell was being brought forth. In The Case of the Goblin Band you can read how he defeated a goblin sorceress by side stepping her spells until she was out of magical energies. He always knew which direction to step by the words she intoned her spells in. It was a remarkable fight to say the least.

After a brief word with two robes guards, humans, we walked to the end of the hallway, to an isolated cell. Kelner's face was pale and his expression depressed. He had been stripped of anything on his person that might have been magical in nature, leaving him in a simple pair of leather breeches and a coarse linen shirt. He was a young man, no older than twenty-six, but his dejected expression made him look twenty years older.

The guards, members of the newly reformed Kirin-Tor, waved their hands over the silver bars and they opened for us. We entered into the circular cell. The walls here were covered with runes. I could not begin to guess what they were meant to do, though I knew Jiles would know. There was one function of them I could tell right away, this was a magically dead area. The runes were used in the war with the Burning Legion to counteract attacks from the Eredar, the Legion's magic wielding soldiers, on major cities. They siphoned magic off the way a crack in the earth drinks rain water. Kelner, or whoever else was imprisoned here, could not use their magical talents to escape.

The young apprentice looked at us with a haggard and tired expression. He had no doubt been questioned extensively, and did not appear to be in the mood for more.

Whitman plopped down next to him on his bench. I was surprised when he pulled a small flask of liquor from his inside cloak and passed it to Kelner. After a moments hesitation, he drank it quickly and thanked Jiles curtly.

At length, Jiles began his interview, "Kelner, my name is Jiles Whitman, and this is my esteemed partner Cornelius Smit. We have come here at the behest of the Stormwind authorities to look into your case."

A smile flickered to life on Kelner's face, but it did not stay for long. "Seems my uncle still has connections in Stormwind."

Jiles put his hand on the young man's shoulder, "More than your uncle, young man. You are well respected among your peers. Your reputation as a capable mage and loyal Azerothian supersedes your current situation."

"Ah, but that does little to exonerate me from the crime I've been accused of, Mr. Whitman."

"That remains to be seen, my friend. Tell me everything and I shall do all I can to help you, for I believe in the possibility of your innocence."

This statement had a visible effect on Kelner. His smile managed to surface and his shoulders were not as slumped as they had been when we first entered. This was the conversation we had with him in that cell:

"Well, before I begin my account, you must first know something of my origin and how I came to be an apprentice to Master Chelton. I was born in Stormwind twenty-five years ago. My mother and father were simple folk. My dad was a leatherworker and my mother stayed at home and cared for me and my sisters. But my uncle, my mother's brother, was and is another story completely. He has always had an amazing talent as a mage and from his earliest years he has been an invoker of the arcane. He worked his way up over the years in the order of the Kirin-Tor. It is his benevolence and affection that I accredit to my own acceptance in the order. Though I lack his natural affinity to the art, I took to the subject quickly and became proficient in my own time. It was always a dream of mine to be my uncle's apprentice, but such a thing is forbidden in our order."

"Indeed, the Mazfif murders ended that practice some time ago." Whitman briefly interrupted.

"Yes, well, that put me in the hands of a special apprenticeship committee and soon I found myself in the smoke filled city of Ironforge. I must be honest, Mr. Whitman, if not for the fast travel of the tram system I would go crazy living here under a mountain. My master, Chelton Herthshire, was good enough to me, if not distant. All mages within the order are required to take an apprentice, you see. I don't think Master Chelton was ever truly fond of having a young novice placed in his care. He taught me the basics, and used me for different tasks, but he was always eager to give me leave for weekend excursions to Stormwind."

"Tell me about last night, and we shall return to the nature of your relationship with your master in a moment." Jiles said.

Nodding, he continued, "Last night I was sleeping in my chamber when I heard the voice of Master Chelton in the main room of our living quarters. He sounded agitated about something, so I rose and put my ear to the door. He was apparently arguing with Syllene about something, but what they could be arguing about in the middle of the night, I cannot say. I could not hear her voice, but I know it was her he was talking to."

"Talking or yelling, Kelner?"

"Alternating between the two, Mr. Whitman. There was a long stretch of silence, though I knew they must both have still been there as I heard no footsteps leading away. I felt a strong need to go check on things, so I left my chambers to investigate."

Kelner stopped talking. Several moments passed and Kelner did not finish his story.

Jiles prompted him, "What did you see?"

Kelner blinked several times, "Oh, uh, nothing. That's the strange thing. Next thing I knew I was standing in the room over my master's charred corpse and Syllene was running out of the room screaming. I was quickly arrested by a passing dwarven guard and brought here. This is the extent of what I recall."

Jiles pondered the account for several moments. I knew he was searching every syllable, every nuance of every word for clues and contradictions.

He finally asked another question, "This Syllene, how long had she been under Chelton's tutelage, and what was your teacher's general attitude towards her?"

An angry look crossed Kelner's face, "Horrible, sir. She had only been with us a week, yet Chelton was an ogre in his manners and in his way of speaking to her. He called her names and commanded her to do the most menial tasks. I also suspected he was forcing her into his bedchamber. I couldn't stand it. She is a lovely girl and of the sweetest manner. I had planned to tell my uncle about it on my next trip to Stormwind, so that Syllene could be re-assigned."

"So at the time of the murder, your master was not in your good graces?" I ventured to ask. Whitman threw me an annoyed expression and I quickly averted my eyes.

"Well, Mr. Smit. I was never overly fond of him. He was reclusive, and his understanding of the art was only cursory. He seemed unwilling to teach me more than the basics, and for this I never liked him. His treatment of Syllene was merely icing on the cake of his uncouth nature. I would never murder a man for that reason, but I will say I am glad he is gone."

"Egads, man! Quiet yourself!" exclaimed Whitman. Do you not realize your life hangs on a precipice at this very moment? Do not, I repeat to you, do not express these emotions to anyone else that may come to interview you, lest they take your honesty and weave it into a hellish caricature of your true self. Do you understand me?"

This took Kelner back a bit, "Yes sir, I understand."

"Good, now before Mr. Smit and I go on our way to continue the investigation, I need clarification on a couple points. You mentioned that your master often sent you away for the weekend, tell me, this weekend, the one before his death, was it such a weekend?"

"Yes it was, what does that have to do with anything?"

"Perhaps nothing," Jiles said, "or perhaps everything. Did you have permission to return to Stormwind this upcoming weekend?"

"Why yes, I did? But…"

"One more question," Jiles interrupted, "Had you told anyone about your intentions to report Chelton's behavior?"

Kelner thought hard on that question for a minute. "No sir, I had dropped a hint to Syllene to remain strong and things would be made right in their time, but it was no more than that."

Jiles stood up and I followed his example. "Rest easy Kelner, your innocence will be upheld so long as my powers of deduction do not fail me."

"Your reputation is known to me, Mr. Whitman. I have confidence that if anyone can help me it is you."

After this, we quickly departed from the prison.