An Illicit Love Affair

One of the grog handlers of the menagerie has been making secret, nocturnal visits to the daughter of a nearby village mayor. He has already been warned to leave the woman alone, but neither he nor she has abided the father's commands. Lately, he has been telling the woman to sneak into the menagerie at night, where they meet in the unoccupied lion's garden. One day, the grog in charge of putting the lion in its cage at night forgets and leaves the beast in the garden. The woman climbs over the wall but, instead of meeting her lover, is devoured by the lion. Her paramour discovers the grisly remains and panics. Perhaps he flees in the night, leaving the dead woman as a mystery for the magi to solve. Perhaps he frees the lion, later claiming that the beast prowled the village and returned with the woman already dead. Or, consumed by grief, the grog attacks the lion and is also slain. In the morning, the magi find a dead animal handler, a partially eaten woman, and an angry mayor and his thugs beating on the front gate.