The Enemy Revealed

- Dalen Woodland, Night of 1 DSTR

Kalena assumed the horses and some of the more incongruous items had been gained through ambushing innocent travellers and stealing their various property, which was the bandits' stock and trade after all. There seemed nothing to be found of any consequence until the discovery of the letter in the tent. She wouldn't have thought there were too many bandits who knew how to read. The contents of the letter certainly confirmed all of Kline's nagging suspicions that the bandits had been put up to attacking the wine shipment on behalf of someone who was intent on both financially ruining and killing his liege, Baron Lowson.

Still unsure of their present location, she wondered if they were anywhere near Ragodast? If they were, this was evidence that could be shown to Commander Styliane who was in charge of the local garrison there. Styliane was a mage and might be able to cast a spell that could swiftly uncover the identity of the letter writer. However Styliane also happened to be a bit on the corrupt side, to put it mildly, and could easily be in the pay of Kline's unknown enemy.

Kalena frowned as she weighed their options. She idly folded the letter shut and noticed the wax seal. She knew that most the kingdom's nobles and wealthy families had their own identifying coat of arms, as so did she. There were far too many to know all by memory unless you were someone like Isai Akbaje, but she soon saw there was something about the shape and design of this particular one that looked familiar. She had definitely seen it before —on a shield that bore the emblem, and also on an ornate plasterwork above a fireplace in a home she'd once visited under rather unusual circumstances. She studied the frayed seal a bit longer to be sure, then nodded her head with certainty.

Kalena turned quickly toward Kline, her dark brunette hair flicking over her shoulder. She was surprised to find the man only a few inches away, so close that she could feel him breathe. Her eyes regarded the mercenary's face for a few seconds, contemplating his mouth and stubble. He seemed in no hurry to pull away from her.

“Oh, sorry,” Kline said softly, though he hesitated before stepping back.

“It's alright,” Kalena replied, with a little amused smile. Her smile then fell as she held up the letter, directing his attention to the frayed wax seal that had formerly bound the parchment. “I actually recognize that —it's the Cartagan coat of arms! The only surviving member of the family that I'm aware of is a man called Tyreth. He was one of the Queen's personal guard and I met him several times at the palace. He left Her Majesty's service following the death of his uncle, from whom he inherited the family's lands and orchard business. His Uncle was a complete degenerate, and also suspected of having ties to one of Dalen's rebel factions. Tyreth on the other hand has an almost sterling reputation, but if he wrote this letter it seems he's as bad as his uncle, or perhaps far worse. I'm frankly surprised. I thought he was a pretty nice bloke, all things considered. The Queen is rather fond of him as well, and Thalia is usually quite a good judge of character.”

(OOC - I didn't want to keep Ren waiting any longer so I just decided to push on ahead with this. Hopefully that's okay?)