Lord Tiberius and Mephiston both nod to Zalika. "Indeed," Mephiston states. "Having one of our own involved with the investigation is probably wise. Not that I distrust the agents of Galt, but they are... not eager to share what they know." No one seems to have objections, though Zaldan has a bit of a sour look on his face.
"Then it is settled. We should leave now, to investigate the scene while it remains relatively untainted." Jonathan finally removes his hand from the hilt of his rapier, motioning to the guard. "We do not have time to waste. I suggest we leave quickly; do you understand?"
"I assume that he, like the rest of us, are fluent in Common and thus understand precisely what you are saying" Zalika remarks in a somewhat acidic tone as she approaches the rest of the group, having just heard the tail end of the conversation. "I assume that while I was stating my case earlier, everyone observed the proper niceties and introduced themselves? Excellent, shall we visit the scene then?" Zalika continues on without really bothering to wait for a response towards any of her remarks, striding towards the exit.
Jonathan casts Zalika a glare, before he follows her towards the exit. "An interesting chat you were having, Lady Zalika. I would not expect you to have much to speak to Lord Mephiston about... other than your burgeoning alliance, I suppose." Jonathan's voice is quiet, but pointed. "I was told of your... unlikely meeting by one of Galt's agents; am I to be assured it is nothing nefarious? From what I understand it seemed innocuous enough, but... well, having now asked you to accompany me on this investigation publicly, I would like to make sure of it personally." Jonathan's eyes move and look towards Zalika as he speaks, but his head remains facing forward and his mouth seems to barely move beneath his mask. "I did not strike you for someone to make such backroom deals, but then... I suppose that would be why I serve as a bodyguard, would it not?"
Triel wrinkles her nose and sighs. "Shall we be off, then?"
The guard seems to sense the tension between the group. "Right then, let's be off," he says, clearly wanting to get moving as quickly as possible. He gestures for the group to follow and leads them out of the central vault and toward one of the towers on the north side of the building. Four guards are stationed at the door at the entrance. "Investigators from the conference. They need to look at Lord Gyr's room." One of the other guards nods. "The body's still up there, but the Church of Pharasma should be sending a priest over by now. Hopefully they'll be able to raise him. If not, they'll give him last rights." They turn to the party. "Go on up, but please try not to damage any evidence."
"Lets be clear on this Sir", Zalika remarks. "The only Galt agent that has shown any obvious interest in me would be you. The only Galt agent who knew about my meeting with Lord Mephiston was you. Perhaps I could ask the others, just to make sure you were with them the time I was in my meeting, or would they tell me you went walkabout hmm? Regardless, the meeting took behind closed doors and therefore had an expectation of privacy, which unfortunately means that this Galt agent, whoever that person is...was at worst spying on a head of state, at best spying on private diplomatic communications, might I add the very thing Lord Gyr would have wanted us to do, find common agreeable ground. How ironic that the Free Nation Alliance appears to be involved in more underhand tactics than the rest, certainly I don't have Lord Mephiston doing it, or alternatively if he is, he isnt being utterly incompetent about it. The great irony is that the meeting itself was nothing important in the big scheme of things, but Galt meddling between private diplomatic communications? Perhaps trying to sabotage them? All this agent did was end up solidifying my stance against a future alliance with Galt, and by extension the Free Nation Alliance and driving me closer to Lord Mephiston's point of view on specific matters. So by all means, feel free to inform Maximilian what an outstanding job he's done in order to improve diplomatic ties between both our nations".
Zalika says her piece and proceeds to the Vault waiting for the guard to admit them before passing through the threshold, glancing around the scene and attempting to decipher any clues.
Triel starts tuning out Zalika and addressing the guards at the crime scene. "Thank you, Guardsman." She nods at the man and starts heading inside.
...she really loves to talk, doesn't she?
"Lady Zalika, you seem to misunderstand. I did not meet with this... agent myself, and all he told me was that you had met with Lord Mephiston; and, as I'm sure you can agree, Cheliax and Osirian do seem a pair of unlikely allies. I did not, however, mean to cause offense; I am merely being cautious." Jonathan breathes deeply, his eyes closed for a moment, before stepping aside for the others to head up the stairs before himself. "I will point out it is rather naive to assume no other nations at this conference have engaged in subterfuge, however. Have you considered, perhaps, that Galt's... "incompetence" is a form of measured transparency? Do you truly expect us to be so foolish as to reveal ourselves without cause?"
"Perhaps more to my point, I believe you misunderstand Galt's, and more specifically, my intentions. I have shown interest in you because, as I have told you previously, one of my many duties will here in Absalom is to attempt to keep all the delegates safe from harm... and it is with great regret that I have failed in that capacity when it comes to Lord Gyr. I suspected some harm might befall him after we retired yesterday, but I was not quick enough to inform him; something Aramus himself may attest to, as he accompanied me in my attempt to reach him." Jonathan pinches the bridge of his nose, the first sign you've seen him show of irritation. "Lady Zalika, I am the only Galtan representative who has shown any interest in you because I was assigned to do so. I am merely following orders, something I assume you are doing as well. But my interest is not... malicious, as you so seem to think." Jonathan pauses for a moment, raising his hand to his mask as he coughs viciously for a few seconds, almost doubling over. He breathes heavily as he stands back up, leaning on a wall.
"My apologies... as I have mentioned, an old injury makes it difficult to speak for so long." Jonathan takes a second, clearly hesitating, before pulling down his mask for a moment, exposing a spider-web of horrific burn scars tracing down his face and onto his neck. "The mask is not for subterfuge, Lady Zalika; as I believe you have assumed. It is... for my own modesty. Do you understand the point I'm trying to make?"
"I'm not naive to think the other nations don't do it, I think its hypocritical for you and everyone else to whine and moan at me earlier about how I couldn't trust Lord Mephiston, and there Galt is, spying on me!" Zalika remarks, her irritation growing. "I don't buy the argument that Galt was just being transparent. The agent was spying. The definition implies it was secret. I know for a fact he didn't tap me on the shoulder and ask for permission to listen into the conversation. He knew it was wrong, and he knew it was breaking basic diplomatic protocols or common decency. Look, I don't know Maximillion very much, or indeed, at all, but if he's here, then he would be a relatively smart individual. I'm betting he would have calculated all possible outcomes, the risk of discovery vs the information he might have obtained. He (or whoever else involved) made a judgement call, so I don't feel the slightest shred of guilt of isolating our delegation from Galt's attempts at diplomacy, and I'm sure as hell not stupid enough to trust a 'bodyguard' assigned my a nation thats openly spying on me!"
The party heads into the tower to find that Lord Gyr's room is up the stairs on the upper levels. One of the guards follows them up to the bedroom. At Elek's question, he shakes his head. "We had people on the lower levels, but Lord Gyr was alone in his room last night. The tower is protected against most forms of magical attack and approaching from the air would be impossible without being seen, so we thought that it was secure." The party passes the slightly open door to what appears to be a study on the next level, then heads up to the top floor where two more guards are at the door to the bedroom. "I warn you, it's... unpleasant."
As they reach the top of the stairs, Jonathan turns to Zalika again before entering the room. "I am not asking for trust, as I think neither of us is so foolish as to hand out such a thing without precedence. I am asking for cooperation."
As the man gives them the details, Jonathan waves aside his warning of unpleasantness. "Galt has not been a place rife with pleasantness in recent years, and his assassination is paramount; it must be investigated quickly, or our odds of catching the culprit are unlikely at best." With that, Jonathan pushes open the door to the room, beginning the search for any clue as to what might have happened.
At the guards remark, Zalika grants him an acidic smile. "Thank you for warning me so as to not upset my delicate sensibilities sir" she remarks in a voice heavy with sarcasm before following the masked man into the room.
"I doubt there's anything in there more unsettling than what some of us have seen, Guardsman." Triel walks past the guard into the room.
The guard shrugs. "Don't say you weren't warned." He opens the door on a room that looks more like a slaughterhouse than a bedroom. The bed is almost entirely red, and blood is splattered across the floor, walls, and even the ceiling around the bed. Lord Gyr's body still lays in the middle of the mess, his chest obviously torn open.
"...huh." Triel looks around the blood-splattered bedroom with a look of mild discomfort.
Well, someone was having a bad day.
She purses her lips and blinks her eyes a few times, willing her senses to become more attuned to magical auras.
"... Then it would appear Lord Gyr did not die without a fight. If there were guards posted downstairs, whatever occurred here was obscured by some sort of magical interference." Jonathan moves farther into the room, seemingly unperturbed by the surprising amount of blood, and looks around further. "When Lord Gyr was found, was he in possession of a weapon? Has anything been moved?" He crouches down, examining the body more carefully. "Too much blood for one body... but I would imagine there is no trail leading away, correct? Or else, we would be following that and not waiting here." Jonathan strolls to the window, examining it to make sure no one has missed traces of someone leaving through it. "Whomever performed this assassination would have to be gravely wounded, to the point where their own injuries would likely incapacitate them... how did they escape unnoticed?"
He opens the window, looking out onto the streets of Absalom. "I suspect there were multiple assailants; if there were only one, this amount of blood suggests we wound have found two bodies here, at least."
Triel keeps her magical senses attuned while acknowledging Elek's & Jonathan's comments.
"Whomever performed this assassination would have to be gravely wounded, to the point where their own injuries would likely incapacitate them... how did they escape unnoticed?"
"Perhaps they had an accomplice responsible for healing them." She offers.
...is this Qilué's handiwork? I'd have expected more dead guards if it were.
The guard stays back, clearly not wanting to get too close to the bloody mess. The carpet squishes slightly beneath Jonathan's feet as he walks to the body. "Lord Gyr's weapon is right there," the guard says, pointing to an ornate silvery rapier lying off to the side of the bed. A bloody handprint stains the handle and the blade is covered in blood. It seems to have been knocked away in the struggle.
"Tracks in the blood; these feet are clawed, obviously not human..." Jonathan kneels, examining them further, his gloved finger tracing the pattern in the drying blood. "Not a random murder, either... a demon, perhaps? The demonic horde stands to lose much if this conference is successful, and a demon could be both powerful and intelligent enough to circumvent the warding spells and overpower Lord Gyr. But, this blood... there would have to be more than one." Jonathan walks over to the rapier, picking it up in his sword-hand and swinging it once. His eyes narrow as he notices the damage to the blade. He runs his head lightly along the blade's edge, feeling the nicks with his thumb.
"Lord Gyr's weapon appears to be damaged, eaten away at by something; possibly acidic? I would imagine the man wielded a weapon with some degree of enchantment as well, meaning whatever damaged it was incredibly potent." He brings the blade closer to his face, scrutinizing it. "Multiple assailants, likely demonic... it is little wonder Lord Gyr met his end."
Zalika frowns slightly as she magically scans the room, searching for residual traces. "I can sense large amounts of illusion magic within this room, as well as residual traces of Conjuration magic as well. Perhaps a summoning spell?"
"Demons may be crazed, but they are not fools; if they sent one of their own to kill Lord Gyr, it was no common beast. Much as a man may train to become a killer, so too could one of these babau, yes?" Jonathan lowers the sword from his face, setting it lightly upon the bed as he walks towards Elek, examining the wound with him. "As for the magic, illusions do not only affect sight; if the fight was magically silenced, as I expect, that would make sense." Jonathan grimaces beneath his mask as he inspects Lord Gyr's chest wound, his eyes narrowing at the sight. He turns to Elek, still crouched, wiping at the blood staining the tips of his gloved fingers.
"You have experience with demons; it is common that they may summon more of their ilk through their innate magical capabilities, correct? If one of these... creatures were to attack him, summoning more of its own ilk gives it a significant advantage, even if Lord Gyr might be capable of defeating it in combat."
As Elek searches the rest of the room, he finds something that he missed on his first pass through the room. A single shoe print in what is clearly blood near the far wall. Oddly, there is no other blood anywhere near it, or anywhere else in the room besides near the bed. There seems to be some kind of dust or powder around the print.
Triel approaches and looks at the shoeprint with her magic-attuned eyes.
She shakes her head. "...no."
"That is not my area of expertise... though, I have no doubt of its importance." Jonathan mutters something indecipherable, his eyes tracing the room again. "I suppose the subsequent question is whether the demon was ordered to attack Lord Gyr by one of its own, or if someone else... forced its hand. Deskari certainly stood to gain from this assassination, but who else might benefit from destabilizing the conference that is not within his sphere of influence?"
Triel shakes her head and clears her mind of her inborn magic.
...strange. But I have a feeling something else might be afoot. Vindir? I need your sight.
She exhales and focuses her senses inward, opening her mind to the world... and she looks around the room again, this time searching for signs of psychic influence.
"...interesting." Triel walks over to Lord Gyr's corpse and crouches down next to his rapier. "His blade and two of his rings seem to be infused with psychic energies."
She turns to the others with a perplexed look in her eye. "Did Lord Gyr have psychic power as well?"
The guard looks perplexed. "Psychic? Well, Lord Gyr was the First Spell Lord, but as far as I know he specialized in arcane magic." The guard looks across the room at his hand. "You might be seeing his signet rings. The Primarch's Ring and the Spell Lord's Ring have been handed down from generation to generation since Absalom was founded. I have no idea about his rapier though..."
Triel looks back down at Lord Gyr's corpse, and the blood covering his rapier. "It could be that the rapier itself is only radiating psychic energy because of the blood on it..."
...and it's not an idea that gives me any comfort.
"I can perhaps try to read the rapier's aura, but it'll take me a while."
"Would you not sense it elsewhere, then?" Jonathan asks, his eyebrows showing a hint of curiosity. "Even if the blood were to come from some other creature--one of these babau, perhaps--it is not the only trace of their blood to be found here, is it? It must be something about the blade."
Zalika listens patiently to the thories, and then attempts to use her magical talents to probe them, attempting to discover which ones were viable and which ones were not. Unfortunately, Osirion had not included a large amount of demonic activity as of late, and she was unable to recall much information that could be of use. Deciding to look at the psychic angle, Zalika tries to recall anything about the history of such rings that might solve the mystery, before investigating the specific dust on the ground .
Triggering her Detect Magic ability, Zalika's eyes glow blue for a moment before fading. "It appears that the dust here is a Dust of Disappearance. I would hazard a guess that such measures were used to evade detection and avoid guards", she remarks.
"That would explain how it circumvented the guards, if nothing else. As for how it left, it has no reason to flee via conventional means; it likely traveled back to the Abyss." Jonathan brings his hand to his chin, clearly mulling something over. "From what I know of demons--admittedly little--they are often not practitioners of psychic arts. If the blood is whatever is psychically endowed, I would think it more likely that someone else was here; perhaps whomever contracted the assassination personally."
Triel feels her stomach twist into a knot when Jonathan further explains. "...I have a sinking feeling that I know who's involved, then."
I knew I should've burned those damned books. I should've burned them.
She takes Elek's offered rag and dips it in the blood, focusing her psychic-attuned sight on it.
A few minutes pass, and she feels her vision blurring together and shifting...
Zalika's study of politics makes it easy to recall the basics of the history of the rings. They have some magical powers to protect their holders, though nothing psychic that she knows of. However, the rings are ancient, having been held by countless Primarchs and archmages throughout the centuries. It's quite possible that a previous Spell Lord was a psychic mage.