A different Angle

The capital city of the of Rynmere, here is seated the only King in Idalos.
User avatar
Yanahalqah
Approved Character
Posts: 656
Joined: Sun Jun 19, 2016 5:21 pm
Race: Yludih
Profession: Knight Captain of the Iron Hand
Renown: 341
Character Sheet
Plot Notes
Partner
Templates
Wealth Tier: Tier 1

Contribution

Milestones

Miscellaneous

Events

A different Angle

Image
Vhalar 51 Arc 718
Previous


Yana kept her word, generally leaving the investigation to Steward Vard and his team, though as promised, she did inform him of what she wanted him to prioritize. The fact that the slave was gone bothered her just as much as the lack of a connection to Higglebottom. Past crime scenes and victims of the Scalvorian Maniac had made it quite clear that her objective was to find Higglebottom, so it made very little sense for her to deviate from that goal now.

Naturally, Yana and her cohorts had been looking into Higglebottom as well. It would not do for such a prominent name in their investigation to be ignored. If that man was at the heart of this string of crimes, then the Knights needed information on him as well. Unfortunately, Francis Higglebottom had come to Rynmere from Scalvoris, so the crew of the Stormbreaker had said. Which meant that there was very little information on him to be found within the kingdom.

As per usual in such cases, Yana would have sent a letter to the Authorities of other city-states with a request for as much information on a person of interest as they could give. However, because King Cassander had his head way up his arse, the relations between Rynmere and Scalvoris had deteriorated significantly.

Basically, Cassander had gotten his knickers in a twist about magic, and as a result, the nifty portals connecting Rynmere to Scalvoris and Viden were on lockdown. Scalvoris had requested to reclaim the portal –as they had allowed Rynmere to borrow it to further improve the relationship between the states. Cassander had refused, because magic was evil all of a sudden. Scalvoris wasn’t pleased with this, and rightfully so.

Which had resulted in this whole situation.

This meant that going by the book was no longer an option, and not for the first time, Yana felt herself in need of a decent spymaster. There was the Waterstreet Intelligence Agency, sure, but they were quite expensive, and illegal. Every tidbit of information she obtained through the WIA she needed to ‘wash’ clean in several steps before it could be used as evidence by the Hand.

Using Uleuda and the Yludih that resided there resulted in the same problem. Sure, she could ask them, but that wasn’t written, visible evidence. For all the Hand and the judiciary system cared, she could just have made it up. Now if she could convince the Yluidh to send her coded letters… but what incentive to do so did they have? None.

The slave however, was a different problem. Steward Vard had given her more and more information over the course of the days, as the investigation progressed. At least here there was a trail to be followed, even if it was difficult to do.

From what he had gathered, the slave answered to the name ‘Mina’. Mr. and Mrs. Sulgaod had been her first owners, the trader who’d sold Mina not included. Apart from giving her description to the Knights, Mrs. Sulgaod had also told them that Mina had lived in Etzos before being captured by slavers. The widow seemed to believe that they had always treated their slave well. Of course, being a slave there were certain … activities in which she was forced to partake, things she might not have preferred to engage in. However, the widow had added, definitely nothing that would motivate the slave into murder. After all, she had never given sign that she harbored such rage and murderous intent.

Yana’d shaken her head upon reading that part. Surely the woman was aware that for some being stripped of their freedom was motive enough. Still, Douglas Sudgaol had been stabbed with a dagger, not a kitchen utensil or anything else the slave would have had access to.

Both Vard and Yana agreed that the Scalvorian Maniac had killed Mr. Sulgaod, and had either taken the slave, or the slave had seized the opportunity to run. Either way, this was considered theft. After all, slaves were private property. The slave themselves did not own their body, their masters did. Running away was stealing. Being taken by someone else was also stealing.

Not to mention, by choosing to run, or going with the Scalvorian Killer, the slave was an accomplice in the murder. It was their duty to report the murder, not to reclaim their freedom by illegal means. Their slave brand had to be altered first to be considered a free person, which could only be done by the authorities when presented with the ownership certificate AND after the person making the request for freeing the slave had been proven to be the owner.

Mrs. Sulgaod was still in possession of said certificate, as her and her husband had carefully hidden it. As such, Mina effectively was labeled an escapee slave to be apprehended and returned to their rightful owner.

Sure, the possibility existed of her having been taken against her will by the Scalvorian Maniac. The chances that said Maniac had also taken the time to collect the slave’s meager belongings were extremely low, however.

No, for whatever reason, the slave and the Maniac were in cahoots. Plain and simple. Even if the ‘why’ was still a mystery, what they did know seemed to point towards her being an accomplice in this matter.

Yet, this seemed unrelated to Higglebottom, which made no sense.

Yana leaned back in her chair, thumb tapping her chin.

What if, though… what if she changed the angle of her thought process? She wen through the reports again, ivory eye scanning pages upon pages.

No mention of Francis Higglebottom anywhere. Would the slave know him? Maybe. She was young and from Etzos, brought to Rynmere a couple years ago and having resided here since. Higglebottom supposedly was from Scalvoris. It seemed implausible, but perhaps she had known Higglebottom during her time in Etzos. Maybe. How would the Maniac know all that, though?

This did not add up. Not at all.

What if, what if Higglebottom was indeed not connected to this case at all? What if the objective was the slave? Then things made sense. If the Maniac, by pure coincidence personally knew the slave, she would have a motive. Hotheaded as she seemed to be, it was possible the Maniac had been furious at the sight of Mina in chains. Which would mean that they would have met in Etzos. It felt like a stretch. A long shot. Hell, an ultra long shot.

It was worth looking into anyway. Investigate all leads, no matter how ludicrous they may seem. Yana did have contacts in Etzos.

She stood, chair scraping backwards over the stones of her office. Even with the fastest birds, it would take a while to get in touch with her contacts, let alone for her to get a response. Better to get on it right away.

Continued

word count: 1162
"Speaking" - Thinking - "Others speaking"
User avatar
Dula
Approved Character
Posts: 229
Joined: Fri Feb 08, 2019 1:12 am
Race: Mixed Race
Profession: Alchemist and bard
Renown: 35
Character Sheet
Character Wiki
Plot Notes
Personal Journal
Point Bank Thread
Wealth Tier: Tier 3

Milestones

Miscellaneous

Re: A different Angle

DULA TV
GRADES!


Yana

REWARDS

Knowledges:-Investigation: consider a different angle when stuck
-Investigation: follow all leads
-Investigation: request cooperation from foreign authorities
-Investigation: not everything makes sense at first
-Investigation: who, where, how, why?
-Intelligence: the problems of not having/being a spymaster

Loot: n/a
Injuries: n/a
Wealth: n/a
Renown: n/a

EXP: 10 not for magic

PLAYED TO SKILLS?

yes

COMMENTS


Another great thread in this series, the thot plickens! As my mom used to say hehe. I am not usually one for detective or cat and mouse stories, I can never figure out the what's going to happen next. But yours is enjoyable, maybe I just need more fantasy detectives in my life! I can't wait to find out how they catch Mina and the Maniac.


word count: 132

As Above; So Below


Locked Request an XP Review Claim Wealth Thread

Return to “Andaris”