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Master Tolan touched Anders on the arm, smiled a bit grimly and shook his head.
“No, Anders, let these others handle this.” The man was in a trance, but still walking down the hallway of the castle, his pace sedate, but marching in a specific direction.
The boy inside felt a shock at the words. To him is seemed an indication that the Master thought that he wasn’t up to the task of the moment. Probably due to his age. The others were older, since Princess Mathia was fifteen, or possibly sixteen now and Fenris Gull was well over thirty, but he’d proven himself, both on the battlefield and in other investigations, in the past.
Farad had at least, which meant to the boy that he was at least as good of a person to put in charge of this investigation as anyone else.
The old man in his head actually chuckled at the slightly disgruntled thought, almost instantly. To him it made perfect sense. Master Tolan was throwing the others into a real fire, to test their training and will to see the task through. It wasn’t a comment on him at all. Far from it, in fact. If the other man hadn’t trusted in his skills, he would have pushed for Anders to be the one doing the work, so he could prove himself.
Blinking at that realization, Anders took a breath.
“We have Master Seness looking at the compound. There’s more of it in this bottle. I already checked and Baroness Billings is clear of this crime. My work should be double checked. You two are in charge of this investigation, unless the King tells us otherwise.” He moved up, walking faster, and held the bottle with the remnants of the new wine and whatever the poison was out for Gull to take. The man did it, seeming slightly baffled for a moment, as if unsure that he, a simple guard was the right man for the job. Or to be working with a Princess.
Mathia, for her part, simply took a shuddering breath, then gave a firm nod.
“We should take the bottle to Master Seness, then, in case that has value. Then... We could start checking everyone for intent? That will take a long time. Can we use the bottle to find who touched it?”
She looked back, at Master Tolan, who was after all, a very famous wizard.
The man gave a somber nod.
“It will be a delicate task. You will need to go into a very deep trance, and have guidance to go over the faint traces there.” He didn’t suggest who should do which portion of things, stopping at that point. Leaving the task to the others.
Anders didn’t add anything either. The point of being in command was to be the one making the choices.
They kept walking, heading toward Prince Robarts’ office space, as Gull spoke, his voice calm.
“I’ll do that part. I think I can do that kind of deep trance. If not, then we grab up Master Tolan and have him do it for us? Brolly can do that too, I think. His mind is deep and vast that way. Half of what I know about trances are because I was reading his mind when he did it, carrying me along with him. I thought I was going to stop breathing, the first few times that happened.”
The Princess frowned then, and glared at the man. It was a pretty look for her, instead of an ugly thing, like most people had.
“You’ve read his mind that often? Why?”
There was a shrug, the man sounding a bit further away, fighting for focus already, even as they moved.
“Orders. I was set to do that as a lesson. Now... make certain that the questions hit the right note, please, Princess?” It was part order, part plea, as if he didn’t know if the young woman was up to the task of the moment.
Which was a real enough concern, truly.
There were guards on the door of Robarts’ office, the men seeming slightly confused at who was there. Princess Mathia gave a single, rather polite, nod.
“Would you announce us, please?” Her voice was soft, and almost gentle. Clearly attempting not to shock Gull out of what he was attempting.
One of the men tapped at the door, which wasn’t a loud or shocking thing, getting a voice from inside to call out. It was deep and male sounding, but not Prince Robarts or the King at all.
“Enter!”
The guard tucked his head in.
“Princess Mathia, Master Tolan, Sir Brolly and Fenris Gull are here and asked to be announced?”
“Send them in, please.”
That was done by the two men, both holding spears that were slightly taller than they were, out of the way. Just enough for each person to pass. There was a nod, for Anders, since he recognized both men, they tried to do that with Gull, but were ignored, since he wasn’t truly aware of what was going on fully, any longer. He moved into the room though, with Master Tolan putting a hand on his shoulder to guide him.
Inside the space showed that Prince Robarts was indeed there, behind his desk, working over some papers. Also in the room was General Nesmith and a pale fellow with a long gray beard, dressed in courtly raiment, with a keen look to his eyes. Count Legis. Anders didn’t know the man, but had seen him around, from time to time.
The General waved for them to speak, his hand moving quickly, as if annoyed. There was no bow, and the men didn’t rise, which indicated something rather serious. After all, a Princess of the realm had walked into the room.
Giving them a polite look, which seemed forced, the General looked at all of them, finally focusing on Anders, for some reason.
“How may we serve today, Brolly?”
That he was the one picked to answer made a certain amount of sense. After all, if he insulted Anders by being rude or abrupt, he could probably get away with it. Doing that with a Princess would be harder to manage. Gull was another good choice, but he was standing strangely and Master Tolan was clearly doing the same at the moment.
“Gull is going to find who touched the bottle that had the poisoned new wine in it. Princess Mathia will be guiding him. We should have them sit. Is there paper? I can take notes.”
The men, all three of them, moved then. Count Legis moved to grab both clean papers, ink and a lap board, indicating that Anders sit, setting the items up for him with quick, efficient movements. The General got Gull into a chair as well, with Master Tolan being settled across the room.
Mathia stayed standing, watching Gull closely. Testing his mind with her own, it was clear. After some moments, she spoke, her voice gentle.
“Go to the hallway of finding. Focus only on the bottle in your hand.”
Gull gave off a sense of movement, without doing more than breathing in a very slow fashion.
“Now, run backward in time, connect backwards, to who held the bottle last, before you touched it. Who was that?”
“Farad Ibn Istel and Anders Brolly.”
The girl made a face.
“Focus on that first one. Where is he now?” It made sense to ask about, but was a mistake. At least if you knew that he, Anders, was also that man.
Gull spoke anyway.
“Inside Brolly. They are one, but also not.”
Anders nodded.
“Correct. It’s a known thing. Ask if I, either portion of myself, placed the poison in the bottle?”
The girl gave him a look that seemed concerned, but she asked the question anyway.
“Did Anders Brolly place the poison in the bottle?”
“No.”
“Did Farad... Ibn Istel do it?”
“No.”
She rallied then and gave Anders a hard look for a second.
“Move back again, who touched the bottle before that?”
There was a pause, and a slow exhalation.
“A wash boy, in the kitchens... Tollis Thrand?”
Anders nodded, but didn’t speak, though it was clear that Princess Mathia saw the movement.
“Did this person put the poison in the bottle?”
“No.”
They worked back then, with the room servant, Footman Len, having been the one to touch it before that. The Baron, his daughter and his wife never came into contact with the bottle at all. Len was cleared as well, naturally. Not that placing the poison and then drinking it himself wouldn’t have been a brilliant deception, otherwise. Not as much of it as Len had done, but enough to make him merely ill would tend to show he wasn’t guilty, even if he was.
It simply wasn’t the case.
Before that, things became truly murky. There was an obvious hole, between the wine steward having held the bottle, and someone else touching it. A blank that Gull noticed, but couldn’t see through. As hard as the man worked, that didn’t clear at all. Mathia became frustrated, but hid it.
“We seem to be blocked. How do we get around this?”
She looked at Master Tolan, but Anders was the one to tap his lips, thinking.
“Back away from the problem? Whoever touched the bottle and placed the poison is hidden. Did anyone see them? Hiding from a wizard doesn’t normally allow for true invisibility.” It could, after a fashion. At least he could do that, but Anders hadn’t bothered to teach that trick to anyone else yet. He should, soon, so the skill wouldn’t be lost to time, but it hadn’t come up at all.
It took a while, seeking for someone who was close to the blank spot, but finally, by reading the minds of others, one of the guards did notice something strange, corresponding to the hidden person, as they moved down the hallway. Hugging the wall.
The figure was a man, who seemed to be blind. The assassin from Yanse, Duke Cohen.
Anders hid his shock that the fellow was still alive. Much less having gained the freedom of the castle. Instead of asking about it, he nodded.
“Where did he get the poison from?”
That was impossible to track back, of course, if the man was hiding his mind from them still. Prince Robarts tapped his desk however.
“I knew that was a mistake. Father felt that a blind man, stripped of magical rider, might give us useful information, while the war raged. Then, after it was over, there was no reason to kill him for an attack on Anders.” He smiled a bit, his face dour at the same time. “Which wasn’t about a lack of worth on your part, of course. It was simply that Cohen clearly realized what would happen if you were allowed into battle. Any Knight of our own realm would have made a similar attempt, in the same place. Once the war was over, it was thought that honor would have prevented further efforts to that end. Which is true, I suppose, but why go after Baron Billings?”
No one had an answer for that, but Anders didn’t wait, simply finishing his notes, and then getting Count Legis to help him stand, placing the glass stopper in the ink bottle and then taking the lap board from him, very carefully.
“We should find the man, and see what he has to say for himself? If he’s in the castle any longer.” They hadn’t locked the doors to keep people in, for some reason. It was actually a fairly major oversight. One that Anders had been right there for, as well.
“Why didn’t we seal the castle? We have in the past when things like this took place. I... Didn’t even think of it until right now.” He shook his head a bit, but felt fine. Clear headed and not as if something was trying to confuse him.
Everyone else did something similar, with Count Legis scowling.
“That... Truly is strange, isn’t it? It could be magic, you think, Sir Brolly?”
It was strange being called that, but he nodded.
“Possibly. We need to be aware that such things are influencing us, at least in potential. Now, how do we find Duke Cohen?”
That it turned out was a bit of a chore. The man wasn’t locked in his room, being blind, and had taken to walking around, counting out loud, as he touched the wall of the castle’s hallways. No one had felt threatened by the movements, because of his infirmity.
Anders fell into a deep trance, ready to search for a blank spot, or a hidden thing in their midst, of which there were several in the building. Count Cohen was, however, simply sitting in the low hall, eating a late meal, after almost everyone else had left the space. He wasn’t hidden at all, now.
“The low hall. This way... Except that Master Gull and Princess Mathia are in charge of this. Sorry for overstepping.”
It was taking a moment for Gull to rouse himself, but he did it, literally shaking his head.
“I know the way. We should take guards with us.” He moved to the door, stepped into the hall, and looked around.
“We need six guards to the low hall, without being known. Directly, if possible. Taking in an assassin, if we can.”
That didn’t sound too positive as to their chances, but Anders allowed the man to do his job of the moment. One of the guards nodded, and waved to the other, who moved to stand directly in front of the door, as the other fellow in gray quietly ran off. In near silence, his feet barely making a sound on the hard stone floor.
They didn’t wait for the men to show up, heading to the low hall themselves. Led by Princess Mathia, who apparently knew where the low hall was as well, even if she’d never dined there in her life, that Anders could recall having taken place. Then, what he didn’t know about a person like her would, he didn’t doubt at all, fill large tomes.
Inside the nearly empty hall, sitting alone at the same table that Anders used by habit when dining there, sat Duke Cohen. His back turned to them, bent over a plate of food that he was clearly struggling to eat with something approaching manners. There was a bottle of wine next to him, and a full cup, a bit of the liquid spilled on the table. Anders strode forward and moved both the glass bottle and metal cup out of reach of the man sitting there.
“Just in case you put poison in your own cup, Duke Cohen. You understand, correct?”
The man didn’t turn to look at him, but there was a sense of eyes on him suddenly. Anders probed instantly and found that, deep inside the Duke, was a dark rider. Directly in the core of his being. Sitting there and staring at them all.
“Brolly? There you are! You know, that little trick, blinding me, worked rather well. I can’t see a thing now. Sorry about trying to kill you, but, well, you were rather obviously going to conquer my kingdom, which I had to try and prevent. King Yarler set me the task, directly.”
Intrigued, Anders spoke, even if it wasn’t his task, personally. Not at the moment.
“Set you to stop a counterstrike of note, or...”
That got a soft snort, as the man took a bit of stew, using a wooden spoon. Then he had to swallow. That was only polite, after all, so Anders waited, as the six guards they requested moved into place, shuffling quietly.
The Duke, looking fairly young and powerful still, not broken at all, smiled.
“So many, just for me? Flattering. Even using my new friend to see for me, I can’t claim to be the equal of so many. Which I suppose is the point. I doubt I could defeat you alone, of course, Master Anders. Even trained as I am, I failed, when I tried it.” He shook his head a bit, making an odd face. “To answer you, I was set to execute you, Anderson Brolly, by name, the whole time, if at all possible. It took me a while to learn that you were just called Anders. Still, I knew who the King meant. I would have, even without a name, once I met you. Not that the others here weren’t impressive as well. If that couldn’t happen, I was to take the King and Heir, to disrupt things here. I would have succeeded in those, of course. You were the far more interesting target. I should have simply started with the golem, while you slept. I was afraid that summoning such magical aid would have alerted you.”
Anders could see that one as being valid. He might never have woken in time, given that. Certainly not with a clear enough head to get out of the way in time.
“That makes sense, of course. So, why try to kill Baron Billings?”
The man frowned.
“I don’t know the name. Sorry. I was removing that foul servant, Len. He...” There was a tense expression then and a tightening of his jaw. For a moment it was as if he wasn’t going to speak at all, then a sigh came. “He used me, when I was left blind, beaten, bound with stout chains and without a friend to defend me. Against my will. The bottle was meant for him. I got the poison from your chemist, Tag. A good man. Please don’t blame him for my use of it? He only gave it to me so I might end my days. Not that I couldn’t have simply gotten a knife and done the same thing. I would have acted with more honor, in taking that monster, but for a time I truly couldn’t fight well. Not before I called for a friend and one came to aid me, at least. I might do it now, able to see after a fashion thanks to my companion, and not being tied up as I was... but I already had the poison. It was easier to sneak into the cellar and place the wine in the correct bottle, that was all. My newest companion is not yet powerful, but he is gifted in seeing the near future. He drew me to the correct bottle, without issue. I also killed some baron, or...”
Shaking his head, Anders spoke, gently. If the man wasn’t lying, then Len had raped him. A thing that wasn’t going to be allowed, if it were the case.
“They all live. Baron Billings, his young daughter and Len. The charge just claimed will be checked, and if he harmed you in such a fashion, he won’t survive. I promise you that. In truth, I think his mind may well not recover, which will end his days soon, regardless. In that, you have most likely succeeded, then.”
The man bowed a bit, his body stiff, compared to how he’d been a few moments before.
“That is a kindness, then. I’ve asked my new friend to leave me, so that he won’t be bound away from the world. That will happen in a few moments. It isn’t an attack. Please don’t harm him.”
The beast within the man stirred then and a lightly glowing green bit of force did indeed leave him then, hovering over the table briefly, and then heading upward to the ceiling, which it passed through. Anders tracked it as it moved away, but it did that, without stopping.
All of the guards stood ready, as if to fight.
Anders merely tilted his head. Sending his companion away didn’t make any sense, if he might live. He was going to need to see for that, and even if it was a poor substitute, any guidance was better than none.
“So, you already took the poison yourself?”
The voice that came back then was a bit rough. Harsh, with a breathy quality to it. The bearded man laughed, softly.
“In the stew. It tastes better that way, in case you ever need to do the same yourself. I won’t be kept a prisoner here. That isn’t my way. I’m also not fond of being blind, to tell the truth.”
Everyone else seemed concerned by that, but Anders understood the idea. He would have prevented his enemy from holding him, as well, if it happened. It would be impossible for a blind man, even one with a dark entity inside of him to aid his movements, to escape and navigate through a land that wasn’t his own.
“I see. Very well. You seem quite good with your form of magic. You had two such beings inside of you? I saw you sneaking into place, some time ago, hidden from wizard’s sight. Then you did it again, earlier.”
The man shook his head then.
“No. Only one can ride with a host at a single time. I trained my new friend to do that and to act as my eyes. It took some time, or I would have acted earlier. I learned at the hands of a true master, however. Grandfather Snow taught me many things. Things you may not know of, yet, Anders Brolly.”
He nodded, his face still and unmoving.
“Oh? What things? If you don’t mind sharing the lessons, in case they might aid me in personal growth?”
“Ha. Brilliant phrasing. There’s no secret to it. Grandfather Snow is in the north, and not involved in our petty squabbles. There is no need for you to seek to attack him. Not that you’d survive that, if you did. I learned many things from him, over the ten years I spent studying under him. How to entreat and release the devic, for instance. How to hold control of my being and mind from them. Skills that all devic can learn, if instructed well. How to fight... I was a poor student in that, compared to what Grandfather can do, I assure you. I dare say that even weakened and blind, bound with heavy iron, that monster wouldn’t have defile him in such a fashion. More importantly, he taught me not to love life so much that I fear death. After all, when one such as we pass, we become devic, and do not truly perish at all.”
That was interesting, and Anders wished to ask more of the man on the topic, but the fellow held up his right hand.
“Now, I fear I must writhe in pain for a while. I had the full dose, so it won’t take too long. Do you have any further questions? If so, ask them now, while I might answer, or refuse with an actual voice.”
“A few things. This Grandfather Snow lives in the North? In Dora?”
That got a head shake.
“Nah. In Ferlith, to the east of there, on the coast, in the mountains. Why, do you seek your own end? If so, go there and challenge him with an army. I can’t recommend it.”
“Nothing like that. He simply sounds like an interesting person. Now, do you have any word you wish sent to your family?”
He did, and muttered it quickly, seeming surprised to be asked. Then, when he was done, the man sighed.
“I suppose that you’ll add in the part about my dishonor?”
Anders shook his head.
“None will speak of it outside of these walls again. You will have justice there, after a full investigation.”
The man, softer now, groaned a bit, in pain.
“Good. Thank you, then, Brolly. I wish I could have killed you. Saved my land... You’ll make a fine devic... someday.” He tapered off, his voice fading to nothing at that point.
Then he slumped over his plate, landing in it, still breathing but that was growing fainter with each one taken. After a minute or two of everyone standing there, the man gave a single, final gasp, and then died.
No one had moved to save him, even though Anders probably could have, if he’d moved in as soon as he knew about what had happened. The man was simply too dangerous to leave alive.
Princess Mathia looked worried, and started to speak, but was interrupted as a green glowing form rose from the body. One much stronger than the previous being had been. It hovered in the air, examining them all for a bit, then there was a sense of a nod, and the being left, following the direction that his friend had gone. Through the ceiling and then toward the north.
That and, Anders thought, slightly east. Toward Ferlith. A kingdom so small that it was little more than a city and some farmland, if the maps were correct. Hidden away in the mountains.
Very near Dora, but separate.
There was something there, Farad had to feel, but it didn’t match up, correctly. For the moment, he let that go, and simply looked at the now dead man on his favorite eating table.
“We should take him away, and then burn the body. That’s the Yansian way, not an insult to him. It’s a shame that we had to be on different sides of this.” He bowed his head for a moment, as if in prayer, which was matched by several of the others.
Then Gull cleared his throat.
“I’ll see to getting him to the first crypt. We need to call up those who work with the dead. Burning, you say? We... How do we pay them for that?”
Anders shrugged.
“I’ll see to that. Now, I need to see the King, I think. To explain all of this. You two need to come as well. You, too, if you will, Master Tolan?”
The older man regarded the body, then Anders, his face rather relaxed. Almost peaceful. That was a trick, done using deep focus and long practice.
“Of course, Master Brolly. We need to report this at once. We should, perhaps, go through Prince Robarts for this?”
That was his personal plan, since, day to day, one didn’t go and simply demand an audience with the King. He didn’t, at any rate. Really, even going to the Heir was probably him pressing things in an untoward fashion, now that he considered it.
They walked back to the Princes’ office, after Demo arranged for the body to be taken to the lower crypts, which took about a quarter hour. They were allowed into the office more rapidly this time, with Princess Mathia stepping forward, curtsying to her own father, rather politely. Anders used second courtly, with Master Tolan matching him. Gull used a martial bow, but went very low with it.
Everyone else was still in the room, so heard what Mathia said.
“Duke Cohen is dead, by his own hand and will. He claimed that he was attempting to murder the Footman, not the Baron or his family. There was a delicate matter...”
Anders closed his eyes.
“From the sound of it, Footman Len raped him, in his weakened state, in the days after the battle we engaged in. I promised an investigation into that, and justice for it, if it was truly stated.” That was beyond his ability to call for, but the Prince closed his own eyes.
“See to that, please, Sir Brolly? The man was a Duke, if an enemy to our people. Was there more spoken of?”
Anders did it then, seeking for the information in Len’s thoughts. Those were slow and nearly gone, in a way that probably meant he would sleep and never awaken. He tightened his resolve, and looked back in time, finding the incident along the path that Len, the new Footman, had lived. It was there, with the man, sent to take a meal, clearly thinking that a blind man would never be able to locate who had abused him.
Sighing, he opened his eyes and looked at Robarts, but anyone else could answer his question.
“Len is guilty, as accused. His mind won’t recover, I do not think. We should remove him from this world, but that...”
Robarts nodded then, seeming angered.
“I will see to that. Thank you for your efforts, Sir Brolly.” He seemed sad, and ready to go and kill the man himself, which wasn’t a thing that he’d noticed on the fellow before at all. Not even in the heat of battle.
Mathia went on then.
“He spoke of his training, using the dark beings and turned into one himself, as he died. There was another of the things within him that he released. To save it from harm, I gather?” She looked at the others, who each gave a nod at the idea. It really had seemed like that.
“He also mentioned that he’d been sent here to kill Anders, if he could. If not, he was supposed to take you and Grandfather. It was clear that his goal had been to go after Anders first and foremost. He didn’t seem to think that killing the Heir or the King would be a real challenge to him. Not before being laid low in combat.”
The words weren’t happy sounding, and the girl’s father seemed to agree with her tone.
“Well. We need to dispose of him now. Are we sending him back to Yanse?”
Anders hadn’t even thought of that, though it could be done, of course.
“He had a message for his family, but I’d figured we’d burn the body, with a ceremony, as is their polite custom. I could preserve it and take it back, if that’s preferable?” He had things to do, but duty came first.
The Heir stopped for a moment and then shook his head.
“I don’t know which is going to be preferred. I’ll carry this news to father. Can we have all of that in writing, please? From each of you, if possible?”
That got bows, and they were dismissed, to find tools for such things. Anders had some things in his room, packed up, but he knew where to find the needed implements. The whole of the event, written of meticulously, still only took five pages. When it dried, he walked the report back to the Princes’ office. That was empty, of course, since the hour was late. As was the custom for pages, he laid the items on the floor, in front of the door, and walked away.
That got a nod from the hall guards, neither of which spoke to him. Then he left, getting back to his own room, just in time to sleep for a few hours before the early summer sun would shine through his window, waking him for the day.
Meaning he wanted to be a bit grumpy when he rose, feeling tired and a bit ill. Instead of allowing that to happen, he schooled his thoughts, and prepared himself for the day. Cleaned and ready, he stood, and went to the ambassador’s hallway, to find not one or two, but four servants already going from room to room, with a rolling cart that had supplies for cleaning directly at hand. He smiled at the sight, the familiar faces moving in and out of the correct doors.
Which nearly had him leaving for the day, since he clearly wasn’t needed to freshen rooms and clean chamber pots. Then, instead of doing that, he moved to the furthest door, that of the Barquean Ambassador, and when the man answered, smiled at him.
Speaking in Scara.
“Hello.”
“Hello! I’m just checking in, to make sure you have everything you need?”
The man, cheerier seeming than the last time Anders pounded on his door, smiled back.
“I do, thank you, Prince Anders. The service here has improved much, of late. A man comes to my room, twice a day, using magic to clean and entertain me, even. I heard that you’re holding a small event, later today? A meal, and a display of magical prowess? Would I be allowed to attend, do you think?”
He did think that sounded fine, so smiled.
“Make certain to put an order in for food, with the servants? It’s a picnic, so you’ll need to make sure they know that you plan to attend.” The man nodded at that, seeming well enough satisfied.