Murder Most Foul!

-Dalen Capital, Valade Estate. Evening, 2 DSTR-

"I wouldn't know what to make of that," Eliza said. "I only know that the man can be a creep, and I could come up with a theory, but I don't want to spread false information that could come back to bite me. He could be planning anything really. Who knows? We all know he goes out of his way to prove he can get what he wants."

“Does he now?” Kalena said, listening avidly.

"But whatever Tyreth is planning, it will be hard to pin down," Eliza went on. "He will likely attempt to throw people off the scent, or throw someone under the carriage as it were. As long as he has something to lose in exchange for what he would gain he would keep the mass amount of wealth verses the small thing he could gain. Even if the small thing would end large in the long run."

Kalena frowned, unused to hearing Eliza talk so seriously. She had been certainly correct in assuming that the girl knew Tyreth far better than most. “It seems that I sorely underestimated him, Lize. I ran into Tyreth from time to time at the palace, but never had the impression that he was an ambitious man, or an overly very smart one either. But he would have to be more than just a set of muscles to have risen to become one of Her Majesty's elite guard. The Queen seemed fond of him, and once told me that—”

A shriek suddenly rang out from outside. Kline’s men stood and instantly moved to investigate before they hesitated out of concern for being rude. Kalena signalled Kline with a nod that they were free to go try to find out what had happened.

It was then however that a slave boy came running in shouting “He is dead! Killed!”

“What? Who's dead?” Kalena exclaimed, shooting to her feet. “What the devil are you talking about?”

Shortly out in the guest house, she found out just who was dead. Van was draped over the money chest, left at the foot of the stairs. His body punctured with dagger strikes, not lethal, but the toxins they held were. The slave he was with, taken, if the perpetrators could not have the chest of gold. There was no sign of the thieves now, the alarm was raised, they needed to leave, and a chest of gold was far to cumbersome it seemed to leave with. The boy had protected it with his life.

“No, no this can't be!” Kalena raged in disbelief. Abruptly she burst through the ring of people, and they immediately edged back from the fierce anger blazing on her face at the sight of Van's lifeless body. Spending her entire adult life as a skilled and daring assassin, she could smell the poison in the air from the multiple wounds and readily identify the exact type of toxin by its acrid scent.

But what she was at a loss to comprehend was how this could ever have happened? Who would dare strike down someone here at her own home? She did not live on some remote backwoods road, but Sovereign Street itself—the very heart of the royal quarter! The Queen's palace was no more than a stone's throw away for gods' sake! When she moved in she had been told the streets were so heavily patrolled that there was little point to having her own private security or even locking her door. Despite this, she always had a number of hired guards on duty at all times. She would have their hides for letting intruders get past them....and do this...

“Stand back, all of you!” she shouted furiously. “You're contaminating the scene! Are there any witnesses? Did no one see anything?!”

“Dear gods!” Perun gasped, his hand to his mouth in shock as he glimpsed Van's dead body. “I-I-I'll alert the City Watch,” he stammered when he could find voice enough to speak. “They'll seal the streets and--”

“Seal the streets? This whole district is always in a state of virtual lockdown!” Kalena said scathingly. “Whoever did this must have been permitted through the secure checkpoints and been known to the Watch. All of those who entered since this morning must be detained and interrogated! Contact General Vilbradr and have him lock down the entire capital if need be. Tell him I want those responsible for this atrocity found and brought to me. Alive, if at all possible.”

“I will send a message to the General straightaway.” Ashen, Perun hurriedly turned to go, but Kalena caught him by the arm.

“I want the boy's killers no matter what the cost!” she hissed. “Be sure to let the various army commanders and independent mercenary companies around the city all know that I'm offering a very sizable reward for their capture.”

“It will be so, my lady!”

“Before you do that send an urgent message to the royal palace. Inform the Queen that an honoured guest of mine has been most foully murdered on my property. Let Her Majesty know that Kalena Valade requires the use of her Royal Hounds so that I may track down the killers and bring them to justice. Also let Her Majesty know that she is more than welcome to join the hunt.”

As Kalena finally let Perun go and he raced off to swiftly dispatch the flurry of very high-level messages, she turned to Kline. “The Queen has a pack of magical hounds. They were a gift to her from the Fae Kingdom of Kobrorus and are said to be able to follow a person's scent over any terrain for many weeks.” Kalena looked back sadly down on Van. “I am so sorry, Kline. So deeply sorry. He was such a wonderful lad, so full of life. And I can't help but feel responsible for this in some way. Whoever did it shall pay dearly, I promise you that. I'll flay them alive, and carve out their hearts! But first they'll be put to the question and be made to tell everything that we wish to know...”

She was almost trembling with fury and glanced around at the walled grounds of her estate that only the most foolish of thieves would dare attempt to penetrate. Or so at least she had always thought. “This could certainly be the work of Tyreth. It makes sense, doesn't it? As a former member of the Queen's personal guard he would have special knowledge of the security details of the royal quarter; possibly knowledge of secret tunnels and entrances that even I'm unaware of. When word reached him that you were staying here and sold your wine at market he obviously sent a team to steal the money. That might suggest he's nearby, or was at least sometime today before returning to his wretched orchard.”

“It never ends,” Chiren commented, striding up after having finished his meal. “At this rate it would be easier to trim the fat among the troublesome factions. This is the type of distractions I encountered that made me late to begin with. If I didn't know better I'd think someone was after my having a quiet evening. So shall I investigate this, or do you plan to handle it Ms. Kalena?”

Kalena rounded on him, her eyes turning suddenly very cold. “Well, my good friend, I would never dream of denying you an evening of diversion, and would be pleased to handle this whole affair entirely on my own. I do take it very personally when someone breaks into my home and kills one of my guests. However, if this is indeed part of some larger conspiracy I should think we shall need all hands on deck, as it were, to properly resolve the matter... and trim the fat, as you say. Given the circumstances, you can safely consider me for the time being out of retirement,” she added with ominous sweetness.

If anyone needed killing her services would be available, and at no charge. It occurred to her that there was a slight silver lining to all this. If a number of the top echelon of the kingdom needed eliminating, afterward there would be some vacancies for the Queen to have to fill. Kalena was practically already one of the nobility with all her money and influence, but it would not hurt to make it official with a high noble title.

“Which individuals in particular have been causing problems?” she pressed Chiren. “You should perhaps let Baron Lowson and I in on what has been transpiring in recent days. It is fairly likely the killers we seek were given shelter and aid by those involved in these unsavoury backdoor dealings you spoke of. If there is some sort of cabal at work Tyreth may possibly be serving as their point man. Speaking of whom, perhaps an army unit ought to be dispatched to the Cartagan Orchard, and if they should find him there, with orders to bring Tyreth back to the capital... in chains.”

<Tag – Kline, Lafayette, Gularzob, Eliza, Chiren/Jack, and optionally, Queen Thalia herself.>