The, so-called, "Keyhole Murders" were a series of horrific killings that plagued the city of Ashara several years ago.
Seven years ago, the City of Ashara was plagued with a serial-killer, who brutally murdered 25 persons in a bloody, two-year period.
Each crime was the same; the killer broke into the homes of the victims while they were asleep, using a specially made dagger, carved into a master key. The weapon was then embedded into the victim's heart, so as to "unlock" it.
Although the killer was never brought to justice, the murders did stop after a period of nearly two years. It is widely believed that Guard Officer Marsden Kroft was murdered because he had gotten too close to discovering the killer's identity.
In any event, the killings stopped after his death, so the unlucky Officer Kroft appears to have been the killer's last victim.
During his investigation, Marsden Kroft was able to gather several important clues:
- The killer used his 'master-key' daggers to gain entry
- the victims were random individuals
- the killer left messages on the walls in blood after each murder; leading authorities to believe he was nobility since he could read and write
- the killer took a personal item from each victim as a trophy (a pendant, locket, ring)
