Margaret
*Mevis would let out a sigh. Well at least this was better than nothing. It was a forced entry and the merchant at the very least was paranoid enough to invest in locks. But the dirt and size didn't help much. He wasn't too sure what the sheriff meant by all the time in the world though*

"Not sure I follow. What makes you say that the assassin had all the time in the world?"
Peggy
The sheriff says nothing, taking out a pair of well polished gloves made out of hard leather and putting them on, before picking up the lock and flipping it over.

Two letters, in some foreign language, though it seemed decidedly oriental in nature.

The sheriff clarifies. "I'm not very well versed in this kind of script, but the first thing you learn about language are the curses and insults. This isn't much of one, but to translate it roughly, it means 'you seek death'. It was an extremely clean-cut etching- we looked, but there just wasn't any shavings anywhere. Magic was probably used, but still impressive."

He pauses here, waiting for Mevis pose a few questions before continuing.
Margaret
*Oriental huh? Well the oriates were known for their magic as Mevis recalled his oriate friends Hitoshi and Arthur and their impressive magical abilities. That being said, it seemed odd to etch the words 'you seek death' on a lock for some you are going to kill. Or was it the merchant that imbued the runes? He was the one well versed with rune magic after all, and would make more sense as a warning to deter others from breaking it. However, Mevis was still lost about the meaning of it all. How did this relate to the assassin having all the time in the world?*

"I apologize, I guess investigating things isn't my strong suit. Is there some special meaning to 'you seek death' or the way it was carved? I've heard that the merchant was a rune magic trinket seller. Was this perhaps once of his trinkets? Still don't see how this connects to the assassin"
Peggy
"Indeed, quite peculiar, isn't it? *Who would send a message to an already dead person?* I wondered myself if it was a rune, but invited over a mage who knows a thing or two about runes and he told me flat out that 'you seek death.' was just a normal etching- perhaps a single shred of the power of the arcane sea could be channelled through it, but just wasn't intended to. It would also not be wise to taunt any potential intruders, so that makes it not likely that the merchant was responsible for the strange message. And yes, it's one of the merchant's trinkets- he's been selling those locks while he was here. So, what do you think?"

The sheriff takes a moment himself to think about it again, quite clearly going through the clues in his head.