"Specific questions? Not particularly, at least not for the moment. My point was merely that as a wealth of information on your people, you are a valuable asset if and when we must confront them." With that, he gives a slight nod to Acharn and Triel, moving away into the crowd. "I have my own business to attend to. I trust the both of you can handle yourselves." Jonathan fades into the crowd, taking up a position where he can better watch the proceedings.
'Lord Gyr... could I have been right? Has the ruler of Absalom been assassinated? Who here could possibly have the means... or has another party been involved? The two drow... or worse.'
"The demons have moves south and west into Galt, taking most of the northern plains where the defenses were weakest. Azurestone and the capital at Isarn are both likely to fall under siege when they make their next push." Lord Tiberius continues. "There have also been probing attacks against Andoran's borders, but they've yet to bear fruit. It seems that the drow are keeping their heads down for the moment."
"Most of what used to be Razmiran has fallen under demonic assault," the Ustlavic representative interjects. "They're beginning to push into the territory around Lake Encarthan, both north and south along the waterways. I imagine that they'll push into Andoran and Ustlav in the next..."
He's cut off as the messenger bursts back into the room, his eyes wide and his breathing heavy. "Lord Gyr has been murdered!"
Aramus rose to meet the sun as he usually did, basking in its warm radiance as it dawned on the city. From his place high up in a tower, he watched it crest the horizon and felt the rays on his chest. "Sarenrae, Shelyn, Iomedae--all the gods! It's good to see another day, and with such good tidings! You paint the sky with such fire, the fire of our hearts, our passions! The fire of kindling righteous responses to the threat in the north, the fire of our grand assault against the demons that plague us. The shadowy demons inside us all--!"
"Quiet!" screeched a voice from a window nearby. Aramus caught his words and finished his exultation in a hushed tone. "Anyway, thank you for another day, and let's hope it's a good one!" He tossed a wink to the sun and then went back down the tower.
The morning was busy, with Aramus checking in and catching up with friends, fellow hotspurs who were eagerly discussing the conference and the many strange folks here. Talk of devils, fey in disguise, even undead who walked down the city streets, all filled the gathered locals with wonder and awe. Aramus himself was filled with a desire to return to the conference, and see the developments firsthand.
Of course, his other obligations took time as well, and it wasn't until well after breakfast that he managed to make his way back to the gathering. He strides in triumphantly though, beaming, knowing he's in the right place because a quick-footed messenger just entered moments before.
And so, once again, the big man enters the gathering just after an important announcement, in the stunned silence that follows. He waves to Triel and Acharn, the first of his friends he sees, and mouths What did I miss?
Zalika catches her breath slightly at the news, but keeps her face largely impassive. In truth, although she hadn't really expected Lord Gtr to die, she isn't really shocked - such a meeting would be sure to attract unwanted attention, and a delegate dying was always possible, Zalika was just glad it wasn't herself. Knowing however, that the news could quickly cause panic if not checked, Zalika attempts to take command of the situation.
"Its clear then that there are assassins within the city, and that they have succeeded in their task. Its extremely unfortunate that Lord Gyr has passed away, his death will be a great loss, but his task was largely complete, he succeeded in drawing us all together to combat this demonic threat. This conference was apparently enough of a threat that someone got too anxious, and sent in assassins to find a solution. Lord Gyr's death changes nothing, we still need to join forces to combat this threat, failure to do so keeps us isolated and easy pickings for the horde".
Zalika pauses for a moment, before clicking her fingers and gesturing toward a select few individual members of the City Guard, and the Pure Legion Enforcer and high priest of the Cult of the Dawnflower. "Would the guards please accompany Sarenrae's high priest, he will attend the scene and see if anything can be done. My enforcer here, will also attend the scene. If divine magic was somehow involved in Lord Gyr's death, I have every faith that he would be able to sense it, and track it down. To this end, I'd prefer it if another delegation would like to send a spellcaster of their own with this small contingent, to see if they could pick up any arcane traces while the rest of us continue to discuss varying ways of increasing our diplomatic ties".
Zalika glances around the room, making eye contact with the supreme leaders of each delegation. "If any delegate feels comfortable taking on the demon hordes on their own, or whatever other issue thats currently threatening them, they can leave now. No hard feelings, best of luck, and so on. If you choose to stay however, you are indicating that you are serious about working with every individual delegate her at this conference, whatever the history. I want to see who is serious about the possibility of some sort of alliance, so its time to make a choice and avoid factions wasting our time. As for me, Osirion and I are staying here, what say the rest of you?"
"You're an awful quick one to take charge, aren't you?" Zaldan says. "How nice. The representative of Osirion dictating terms to us. Surely such an honest soul means only the best for everyone. After all, she only means to help us." His tone becomes progressively more sarcastic until he's outright talking down to you. "After all, she only desires to save her people. But I wonder... how far would you go for them, hmmm?" He looks across the table, but at Legate Kasib, not Zalika. "Because an... informant of mine reported something interesting to me last night. Legate Kasib, meeting with two of his..." He gestures to Father Makar. "Shadows. How strange, for a Pure Legion officer to meet with two Cult of the Dawnflower assassins the same night Lord Gyr is murdered. And for their ally to be so eager to start barking orders at us as soon as it's discovered..."
"Hold your tongue!" Makar snaps. "I would never order the death of a righteous man!"
"Let us not forget," Mephiston cuts in. "That your assassins were in this very room yesterday. Or did you think no one notices the trio of disguised Mantis assassins in the back corner?"
"Unless you forget," Zaldan replies. "Mediogalti Island is in your territory Minister."
"No one with half a brain believes the Red Mantis serve anyone but your queen apprentice," Mephiston replies. "Or did you forget that she's a murderess?"
Zalika keeps her face largely impassive and calm as Zaldan launches into a rant. She waits until he is finished before continuing.
"Zaldan, childish accusations actually only hinder our cause - Lord Gyr's cause rather than help it. Be as suspicious of me as you wish, but only with someone to gain from such a death would have eliminated Lord Gyr, and its certainly not me. If you would recall, Osirion actually wants an alliance, you know I have been outspoken about this, killing Lord Gyr, the man who would have been willing to forge a new alliance is now dead, and that does precisely nothing for me. If I would hazard a guess, I would imagine Deskari's allies did the deed - they certainly have the most to gain after all, but I still want to go back to my original question, which of you are still willing to entertain the notion of an alliance?" Zalika asks, curling her lip slightly at the end. "Perhaps Zaldan has lost faith and no longer wishes to be involved...?"
Triel's face doesn't change when she hears the news that Lord Gyr has been murdered.
Yep. Called it.
But when the delegates start bickering amongst themselves, even when Zalika tries to take charge... it causes something to snap inside her. Not that she gives any outward indication of it--just a simple roll of the eyes that's served her well in the past.
She gives Aramus a cursory glance as he enters and beckons him over. "Lord Gyr's been murdered. It's sent things for a bit of a loop."
"I find myself agreeing," the Ustlavic representative says. "Why accuse anyone other than the demons? It seems rather foolish."
"Because the Keep is warded," one of the guards chimes in. "Pardon my impertinence my lords, but the Keep was warded by half a dozen of the most powerful priests and arcanists in Absalom. The only way for a demon to enter would be for an extremely powerful spell caster to summon one inside. And the public wasn't allowed inside last night. So someone with access must have performed the summoning..."
"I rest my case," Zaldan snaps. "But if I'm not wanted, I'm more than happy to leave. And I'll be sure to take my army with me."
"Let's not be hasty," Lord Tiberius cuts in. "We get nowhere by accusing each other. Tensions are high as is. Perhaps we should allow the guard to explain before we make any... rash decisions."
"Lord Gyr was the keystone of this conference," Jonathan says, startling those around him. "He was assassinated in an attempt to destabilize our relations, to bring us all closer to the onset of all-out war. As the leader of Absalom, his gift of this neutral ground was the only thing allowing this conference to begin with, and whomever the culprit is assumed that we would rapidly devolve into pointless accusations and treachery." The Gardener folds his arms across his chest, looking around the room at the delegates present. "Would you all play the part of fools so quickly? None of us profit from the demolition of this conference, else we would not be in attendance. Whomever perpetrated this assassination gains by seeing us all splintered and divided; I trust you can all figure out who or what might profit from that by yourselves."
"Just because it might not have been demons, doesn't necessarily mean that its not Deskari. We know that some factions of the drow have allied with him, and in fact, a few have since been spotted within the city itself Lord Gyr himself actually knew of this I believe. That said, I'm happy to wait for what the guards find."
Triel finally decides to break her silence, seeing as how Jonathan raised several good points.
"You know, I was under the impression that the surface realms were more capable of working together in times of duress, instead of fracturing at the slightest hint of weakness. If I wanted that sort of politicking nonsense, I'd have stayed in the Darklands." She folds her arms and wrinkles her nose. "The hooded one is right--this is the only chance we have to hold together, and those under Deskari's banner know it. Is there a way to determine a successor to Lord Gyr's position, assuming conventional means of resurrection prove impractical?"
"We've already called for the high priest of Abadar to attempt to raise him," one of the guards informs the gathered delegates. "He'll be here shortly." Madame Ross looks over at Triel. "The election of a new Primarch is not a simple affair. I'm afraid it will be days or weeks before a new leader is selected."
Time passes at almost a crawl as the group waits for more word from the First Guard. Nearly an hour passes before one of their officers return with word. "I have some... troubling news," he says. "It seems that whoever murdered Lord Gyr was thorough. The priest's attempts to raise him have been... unsuccessful. The high priest has been attempting to commune with his lord and uncover what happened. Unfortunately, there's little other evidence, aside from there being far more blood in the room than their should have been. Divinations have confirmed that there was a demon presence in the room, as well as someone else whose identity we've been unable to determine."
Madame Ross looks over at Triel. "The election of a new Primarch is not a simple affair. I'm afraid it will be days or weeks before a new leader is selected."
"Hmm. Given our timetable, that does prove problematic." Triel frowns.
"It seems that whoever murdered Lord Gyr was thorough. The priest's attempts to raise him have been... unsuccessful. The high priest has been attempting to commune with his lord and uncover what happened. Unfortunately, there's little other evidence, aside from there being far more blood in the room than their should have been. Divinations have confirmed that there was a demon presence in the room, as well as someone else whose identity we've been unable to determine."
Triel listens attentively to the guard's description of the murder scene while trying to recall if she's seen or read about anything relating to Lord Gyr's murder--specifically, the demonic presence reported in the room.
Triel shudders as the memories come back to her. "...as loathe as I am to admit it, I'm a little too familiar with this. Some of our rituals call for much blood and hatred--and with the right offerings, a summoner can call forth a babau to act as their assassin. But such a demon isn't normally enough to prevent a resurrection entirely... so some other force is at work here."
"It seems that we are fortunate then, to have several members of factions known to have access to specific methods to deny resurrection" Zalika remarks, taking care not to sound too accusatory. "It seems likely that whoever else was in the room had some sort of magical means in which to prevent resurrection, which means that this was a planned attack rather than an opportunistic one".
"It's not really surprising that someone was planning this," Mephiston agrees. "Aside from a mass murder of the delegates, killing Lord Gyr is the fastest way to cause some chaos and panic. Though the lack of evidence is... problematic. Only delegates or their aids would have had access to the keep after dark last night. And unless someone performed the summoning while the meeting was still going on and managed to keep a demon in line that long, we have a fairly short list of suspects."
"Then perhaps we should have someone investigate these suspects," the Irrisani representative suggests. "We're not getting anything done sitting here yelling at each other."
Zalika surveys her own delegates, and visible members of her own entourage. "If there are any suspects within my own faction, I'll make them available for questioning, I at least, have nothing to hide, and hopefully full cooperation from all of us would allow this investigation to go smoother".
Jonathan watches as the politicians bicker, before move silently over towards Maximilian. "Citizen Maximilian... should my services be volunteered? Yesterday, I attempted to stop Lord Gyr, suspecting this might happen, but he and the First Guard had already moved too far from my location... I believe I can unravel this mystery." The Gardener then stands quietly, his hands behind his back as he waits for a response.
"I'll step up to investigate!" The words are out of Aramus's mouth before even he realizes it. He'd been stunned by the news of Lord Gyr's death, not doubting the truth since everyone here believed it. Now he finds himself standing in the midst of diplomats and spies, people with a great deal more wits, knowledge, and power than him. Clearing his throat, he steps forward.
"I may just be a hotspur, but I guess I'm also a representative of the people of Absalom. Lord Gyr was our speaker here, but if he's dead now... I guess it falls to us to find out what happened. To speak for ourselves about what's happening in the world. And I'm no diploma, but I'd like to at least help discover who killed my lord."
Triel looks over at Aramus and nods. "If you will allow me, I shall assist you as well."
Can't pass up a chance to ingratiate myself with those in power.
Maximilian nods almost imperceptibly. "Yes Gardner Haykes. I believe that would be best. I'll put several of our people on investigating, but I want you to stick close to the others that are volunteering."
Lord Tiberius nods. "Yes, an investigation must be arranged immediately. And since we have several people volunteering already, I suggest that we put the meeting here on hold for at least today and allow the First Guard and our own people to investigate unhindered." There are low murmurs of agreement around the table.
Triel gets up from her spot at the meeting and starts to move over to the First Guard. "Sir, would you kindly escort us to the murder site?"
She doesn't give Acharn a glance as she walks over.
"Of course!" Aramus replies to Triel. He isn't clear whether the Triel's question of allowance was actually directed at him, but either way. "With cooperation we can accomplish anything!"
With that, he bounds across the room with the dark elf, nodding his head to Jonathan as well. "Well, my masked friend, let's find us a murderer."
Zalika waits until the meeting gradually empties as the people involved in the investigation head out, and the delegates go on their way. Part of her wanted to be involved in the investigation as well, but she knew that as head of her faction and delegation that would almost never be fully supported.
Alternatively, she heads in the direction of Mephiston, almost 'accidently' brushing past. "Mephiston, might I have a quick word?" she asks quietly.
"Of course, citizen. It is only my duty to Galt," he says, eyeing Zalika and Mephiston brush against one another. "She either seeks to prove both sides innocent, or they harbor a dark secret. She will need to be watched, as will Lord Mephiston; their backroom deal makes them a pair of unlikely bedfellows." With that, he leaves Maximilian and heads over to Aramus as he calls to him. "Yes, of course. But we cannot work here; it is still entirely possible someone here carries this weight heavy on their heart. We must, as Triel has suggested, witness the site of the assassination first hand."
"Ahhh, crafty." Aramus grins and rubs his hands together, then claps them, entirely destroying any image of subtle plotting. "So we just need to get a guard to take us there, right?"
Mephiston nods. "Of course lady Caliana. What troubles you?"
Zalika makes light of the situation, dismissing any concern with a shrug of her shoulders "Its more an enquiry than anything else. Did you happen to follow up on my request that I discussed previously?" she asks curiously.
"I've had a few people look into it. Unfortunately, or perhaps fortunately, they've been extremely quiet. I'm afraid that I have no immediate information to offer. I will need to redirect some of my resources to aid in the investigation."
"If possible, I would prefer an answer soon" Zalika remarks quietly, while inclining her head slightly to acknowledge his efforts. "This man claims to be a delegate from Galt, and with negotiations underway, its important whether I can determine that to be true and what their purpose is since it has vital implications for a possible alliance
"I am fairly certain he is who he says he is, though whether he is a Gardener or not, I can't say yet. There are rumors that the Reaper protects their secrets. You know what that means..."
The rest of the group is able to find a guard fairly easily. After all, they're all over the room. "Just stay calm," the man says as they approach. "We'll get this sorted as soon as possible.
"I hope so, Guardsman." Triel folds her arms. "In fact, I was hoping we would be of some help in investigating the murder. Would you be so kind as to direct us to the murder site?"
Hells, it's about time I got something of note done here.
"We ought to be off, and soon." Jonathan remarks, his head held low. "Guardsman, under the authority of Citizen Maximilian, I have been ordered to investigate the scene of the assassination. I expect that will not be of any trouble?" He nods to Triel and Aramus, before casting a look at Zalika as well. "These two... and the Osirian delegate, I suppose, will be accompanying me in an official capacity, should they desire to." Without giving the guard a chance to answer, he motions for the other two to follow him, clearly expecting the guardsman to agree to his terms.
"Lady Zalika, we are leaving presently to investigate Lord Gyr's assassination. Assuming you would like to prove your own innocence, you are welcome to join us."
Zalika glances at the investigation team forming before tossing her hair backwards, "I think I'll lend my personal assistance towards the investigation. There should be no worry about bias, with several other people part of the team any influence I have might be minimal, and yet someone wielding the divine magic of their deity should at least be included. My personal deity might not be as well known as some of the standard ones available, but its primary tenet is stability above all else. Deskari is the exact opposite of this belief, which means I should be able to investigate this fairly."
Triel doesn't know what to make of the hulking warrior that just walked up to her group and offered his services--sure, she was taller than him by a good four inches, but that didn't really mean much.
"...if you so insist." She wrinkles her nose and looks him over again. "Who are you, by the way?"
"... I am not in need of protection." Jonathan turns swiftly on his heels, his head angled slightly upward to face Elek. "I will not speak for the others, however. I was told to act as bodyguard to other present delegates, but in the act of investigation I cannot ensure safety to any other than myself." The Gardener's eyes move up and town, but the rest of his body is still as a statue. "If you battle the Worldwound, you have a stake in these accords, however small. I do not trust you, however. You will be watched."
"The only one here I trust is the brazen oaf, Aramus." Jonathan inclines his head slightly towards the other large man, but his eyes never leave Elek. "He seems too foolish to be anything but genuine; however, I do not immediately suspect her to be implicit in the assassination of Lord Gyr, or I would not have made such a public showing of inviting her to join us. I would have approached her personally, and disposed of her on my way there." Jonathan sees the movement of Elek's hand as it comes away from his sword hilt, but his own left hand remains resting firmly on the pommel of his rapier.
Triel arches an eyebrow at Elek's mention of protection. Perhaps you'll be a more sensible sort than Acharn.
"...Triel." The drow blinks.
"I am a Citizen of Galt, like the rest of my delegation; I believe that is all you need to know, much like the rest of them." Jonathan watches as Elek turns his eyes from him, his own eyes watching the swivel of his head. 'No competent warrior would break eye contact with a possible opponent unless he believed he had nothing to fear... or was a fool. Either way, he is not dangerous.'