• PM To Join • Elementary, my dear Saeri

[Sintih]

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hile he didn't look straight at Saeri when she raised her eyebrow at him, her motions had not gone unnoticed. So she thought so too, hmm? Sin listened and wrote as the female Eídisi questioned Lord Bandun about the night of the attack. As the back and forth of questions and answers continued, it was Sin's turn to turn to his companion and give her a look. While the lord didn't seem to notice, Sin couldn't help but feel that Saeri's line of questioning was a little aggressive. Not that he had a problem with it, it was just that he kept seeing new sides of Saeri every time they spent time together.

Sin finished writing the final answer and quickly skimmed over his notes. From the look of things, it seemed that the arrival of the guards was the deciding factor in the retreat of the supposed RCA members and not the lord's valiant stand on the staircase. The tour of the kitchen finished quickly after and the lord excused himself. Neither Sin nor Saeri seemed interested in questioning him further and they followed Maxwell to the second room that had been attacked. The second room turned out to be a bed room, which was curiously placed on the first floor. The butler seemed to be quite taken aback by the destruction here, even after having seen it before.

Saeri seemed interested in the second room and Maxwell talked about the old lord Bandun who used to live here. The fact that the bedroom was on the ground floor made much more sense now. Sin only made a small notice of the purpose of the room and focused more on the damages done to it. The butler's favoritism for his old master or the man's night time eating habits weren't of interest to the case. He did start writing more quickly to keep up when Maxwell started telling his side of the story. "Of course. It was sometime in the afternoon, as Lord Bandun told you, I'm not sure exactly what time but who can tell this time of the arc? I was in the backroom, polishing silver, when I heard the screams combing from the kitchen."

He pointed vaguely in the direction of the stairs and the closed door near the bottom of them. "I rushed out and the lord was just down the stairs as well before we both headed towards the kitchen. The maids were running out, screaming. Lord Bandun shouted for me to lead them out the house and I did, opening the front door and telling one of them to get the guards. By the time I turned back in, the people had already pushed Lord Bandun back towards the stairs and..." Here, the butler seemed to hesitate for a moment, something which Sin made a quick note of, before continuing. "I...err...When they couldn't get past him they turned and saw me so I ran out as well, knowing that the lord would take care of them. They didn't follow me but I could hear them ravage these two rooms. I think they were about to go to another one when the guards showed up and I followed them in. They tried to chase them but they left through the kitchen door. I went to Lord Bandun to see if I could help him but he seemed fine. The maids returned quickly once the guards had made sure everything was in order. They couldn't catch any of the attackers, though."

There was no malice or disappointment in his voice as he told them about the failure of the guards. Sin wasn't really surprised either as many of the reports had come back with sentences along these lines in them. RCA members were good at getting away and blending into the crowds of people and using the streets of Andaris to their advantage. "Thank you, Maxwell. If you wouldn't mind, could you gather the rest of the staff in the hallway, please. We'll do a quick search of the kitchen and we'll be with you once you're done." The butler gave a nod and stepped out of the room, looking for the rest of the staff. Sin turned to Saeri as he finished the last scribble on his notes. What had started as well spaced out notes had turned to scribbled and sideways writing quickly as the information piled up. "Let's have a look at that kitchen, then? Or did you want to stay here?"

Sin waited a moment for her answer before stepping out of the room and to the next one over. With trained eyes and a natural inquisitive nature, Sin started looking over the kitchen. His notes had been placed on a relatively clean spot on the counter near the door. The fire in the cooking place had long since died out and he looked at the contents of the cooking pot hanging above them. Cold chicken stew. It smelled a little off which wasn't a real surprise considering it had been here for several trials now. He walked past the splatters of food and drink that had been spilled by the looters and headed towards the door and stepped out into the back yard. There was very little to be seen here, apart from the bootprints on the porch. As he turned to walk back in, his eyes fell on the door's lock.

Sin knelt down in front of the door and grabbed the handle, pulling it down. the locking mechanism worked just fine as it pulled up and fell back down. He turned and inspected the door frame at roughly the height of the lock and found nothing out of place there. He pushed himself up on his feet again and stepped inside, closing the door behind him. Without turning the handle he shook the door, trying to open it. It didn't work. Opened from the inside? He opened the door again and left it open. Maxwell stepped in and pulled Sin from his thoughts. "Ser, the staff is gathered for you." Sin followed the man out, collecting his notes on his way to the hallway. Once they were there, Maxwell excused himself to go and check on Lord Bandun. "Maxwell, before you leave, could you tell me which of these staff members were in the kitchen when the attack happened."

Maxwell stopped and turned. "Of course, ser." He pointed out one of the maids, the one with the bruise on her face, a man who definitely looked like a cook of some sort and a younger man dressed like a attendant. Sin turned to look at all of them while he directed his next question to the butler again. "And would you mind telling me which one of them opened the door for the looters and let them into your house?" Sin's eyes darted between the three people as he finished his question. He didn't see Maxwell's reaction to the question but the three staff members all reacted quite visibly. While the cook stiffened under the question, the younger man couldn't help but dart his eyes towards the maid who started shaking as tears started to well up. For a moment, Sin waited for someone to point the maid out but she reacted before that by taking a step forward.

[Yanahalqah]

Yana listened carefully to what the butler had to say, leaving the details of his side of the story to Rathaan, who was busy writing everything down in his notebook. If this case proved to be hard to crack, Yana believed those notes would form the pivot on which their investigation would hinge. She herself focused more on the tone of voice used when talking, as well as the expressions that crossed the man’s face. The interpersonal stuff. She couldn’t claim to have a good understanding of how the minds of others worked, nor to what made others tick, but at least she was fairly good at seeing through lies. Or so she told herself. The butler was fairly neutral in his flashbacks, having fallen back into his role as a professional again. He spoke with a calm grace, and his face did not reflect any emotion. There only was a flash of uncertainty when he spoke of Bandun’s Staircase Defense, fumbling his words only for a moment. Sure, it could be that the butler was having trouble recalling, or unsure as how to word the event in the best possible way, but it didn’t really fit with the rest of his testimony, which was delivered without hesitation or stumble.

Perhaps he had learned a response by heart, but surely he wouldn’t do such a thing? Not on his own accord. Maybe if Bandun had insisted on it, but still, it seemed unlikely. Why lie to the people who were supposed to help? Unless of course, it was a matter of pride. Maybe the whole thing wasn’t a carefully crafted response, but only a small part was meant to cover up some minor detail. A point of pride of the Lord of the house. It was possible, especially when thinking back to the grandstanding the man had done earlier. Was it important? Probably not. Worthy of note, yes, but it was unlikely it would interfere with the investigation. She only nodded slightly when he ended his testimony, and then left to do as Rathaan requested. While the Eídisi squire finished jotting down notes, Yana tried to make an estimate of the damages done. She wasn’t some sort of appraiser, but she could see this was going to be rather expensive, if the State was to pay for all this. They were antiques after all, and if they were as old as the butler claimed… oh boy.

She shook her head with minimalist motions, the few locks that had escaped her ponytail –her preferred hairstyle when on the job—following the motion of her face.
“No, no need to remain here any longer.”

They went to the kitchen again then, this time to give it a closer inspection than they had before. The mess the RCA had made was the first thing that caught her eye; several expensive-looking plates were now nothing but a collection of shards, some metal platters were crooked and bent, spices were thrown everywhere, and someone had tried to grind pepper with their boots. Everything was in disarray. Yana could understand the cranky mood of Lord Bandun; she nearly suffered a stroke upon seeing all the chaos. More importantly though, were thing things that weren’t there. Sure, there was dirt and grass and stone-dust lying around, but what was odd was the lack of damage to the door. Rathaan was checking outside, investigating the knob and the lock. It was quite unnecessary though, as Yana did not believe that the RCA would bother picking the lock of a house they were about to ransack. They’d smash the window in the door, or break the door down in order to get in, not lockpicking. The fact that there was no broken glass in the window, nor on the floor, and that the door was undamaged was very telling.

Maxwell returned with the kitchen staff assembled, pulling the attention of both squires to his person and the gathered personnel, all standing on one line, more or less. Rathaan wanted to know which ones had been in the kitchen when the attack happened, and the butler did so immediately. The next question was a surprise for the staff, taking them all off guard. Yana nodded approvingly of the tactic displayed by her companion. Of course Rathaan had come to the same conclusion as she had, he was Rathaan after all. It was his method of figuring out just which one of the three staff members that had her nodding and even smiling ever so slightly in approval though. Even if they did not answer honestly, even if they were to deny the claim, their reaction would have been enough. Sure, they might have prepared for the possibility of the two squires catching on, but it was doubtful they’d expected it to be this soon, or to be confronted so directly. In group, no less. A great move from the rare subspecies of Eídisi –the Rathaan—behavior in group could reveal a lot about a single individual. Not to mention that other members could unconsciously betray one another. Like they had now.

The butler’s jaw only tightened for a moment, but he spoke immediately afterwards, his arms crossed in defense, and voice layered with indignation. However, Yana could see the nervousness the tightness of the grip of his fingers on his upper arm.
“Ser, if this is a jest, it is in very bad taste! We would never--” he cut himself off rather quickly though, his tirade falling to pieces as the maid with the bruise stepped forwards.

There were tears running down her face, and her hands shook visibly, but she stood rather straight, looking the two squires in the eye. Not defiantly, but resolved.
“I’m sorry Maxwell,” she spoke with quivering voice as Maxwell came to stand in front of her. “You went through all this trouble, but I… I can’t just pretend—I mean, they know already, but even if they hadn’t—I’m sorry.” Her shoulders rocked and jerked as she sobbed. She pushed past the old butler, who could only stand there at a loss of words, along with the others, who seemed unsure of what to do, and shifted nervously in place.

“Ser knight, lady knight,” she addressed the two Eídisi as she came to stand directly before them, “I’m sorry. We didn’t mean to deceive, Maxwell was only looking out for me. But you are right, I let the Alliance inside…” she stumbled over her words, sobs finding their way back into her voice. “And… and I … it makes me responsible for… for the damages done… and for endangering everyone…”
She presented her wrists to the Eídisi pair, obviously giving them the opportunity to shackle her without any hassle. Yana gave Rathaan a quick, uncertain and confused look, seemingly at a loss of what to do. Then, hesitantly, she pushed the young woman’s arms down.

It was the maid’s turn to look confused then, tears still streaming down her cheeks. “But… but why? The damages— the bedroom, Lord Bandun’s special place—Because of me the Alliance got inside! I—they are dangerous! They could have killed--! ”

“What, do you have an appointment with the jailor and you are running late?”

A strange mix of emotions flashed over the girl’s face with breakneck speed, the most prominent and dominant one being major confusion.
“I— what? Huh? ”

“Because you seem to be in such a hurry to be cuffed and dragged off to the dungeons?” Yana said, a minimal inflection in her voice giving in a hopeful tone that was difficult to catch. There wasn’t any reaction from the maid though. “It is a joke. Do you have an appointment with the jai—ah, whatever, forget it. ” Yana’s words dissolved into muttering at the end, followed by a deep sigh. She’d tried to lighten up the mood a little, to get the maid to calm down, but it appeared that maybe telling jokes was not her forte.

She turned to Rathaan then, her face carefully composed. Her voice was as neutral as neutral can be as she spoke, void of any and all emotion. If there had been any doubt in Rathaan’s mind whether or not she was embarrassed, it should now be erased. The staff members weren’t likely to pick up on the subtle differences though, for all they saw and heard, the female Eídisi was exactly the same as before.
“Could you take over? I am guessing you are better at this.”

[Sintih]

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e was surprised. Not so much by the fact that he'd found out who'd done it but that she had stepped forward by herself. Nobody had pointed her out, not in any obvious way at least, and yet she stepped forward. Even with Maxwell defending his staff, something that Sin admired in the man, despite the fact that one of them was perhaps an RCA member, she still decided it was best to come forward, for whatever reason. Sin made a quick note about her, describing her quickly in his notes.

While she spoke, the squires both learned that more members of the staff, besides her, had known about what had happened. However, the fact that lord Bandun had called them in meant he still didn't know or he enjoyed torturing his maid through this waste of Iron Hand resources. While he did listen to what she had to say, Sin wasn't all that interested in her tear filled confession. The way she reacted to all this was definitely not the reaction he'd expected from a member of the RCA. He made some extra scribbles in his notes, adding some details to previous things as he listened to her. When she stopped talking and put her arms out, Sin did look up from his notes.

Before he could tell her anything in way of a response, Saeri stepped up and pushed her hands down, leaving them unshackled. As the maid stared confused at Saeri, Sin motioned towards Maxwell and the others that they could leave for now. Maxwell quietly nodded and started ushering everyone out of the room. He wasn't to keen on interrogating her while the others stood a few steps from them listening in. Before everyone could properly leave, however, Saeri drew their attention. Even Sin turned to look at her, his face showing disbelief. Due to her ever monotone voice and the professional way she carried herself, Sin couldn't really tell if she was actually telling a joke or if something was wrong with Saeri.

From her follow-up, Sin understood that it had been a joke, mostly because she started explaining that it was one. He could feel the heat from his asterism rise to his cheeks in her stead. He gave a light shake of his head and stared down at his notes, reading over them without really picking anything up. The muttering in the middle of her explanation told Sin that Saeri's attempt at whatever it had been had failed as miserably as her joke. She turned to him and as she asked him to take over, Sin nodded, giving her the faintest of smiles. Why had he messed things up between them? She was so... so interesting. His smile widened just for a moment before he turned to the maid, face as neutral as Saeri's.

"Before we start cuffing you and taking you in, we have some question for you." Sin explained, motioning towards the kitchen area. While there was little he could do to prevent the rest of the house from listening in, he could try and make it seem like they were alone. Sin walked into the kitchen and closed the door behind Saeri and the maid. With only the three of them here, he could ask her some proper questions. "First of all, what is your name?" "Liza Genees, Ser." Sin scribbled her name down on a new piece of paper. "Why don't you tell us what really happened her." Liza nodded and sniffed, before wiping away the tears. "Well... I was a member of the RCA and I was told that... Hmm... Ricky, he was my boyfriend, said that the RCA wanted to come here, to lord Bandun's house, because they needed to... I don't know, teach him something or take him down or something. I didn't really want to do it, lord Bandun has never done anything that really deserved that. Sure, he's rich and has a big house but he's a nice man. He's never done anything to any of us." She motioned towards the door and the rest of the staff in the house outside of it. "Anyway, Ricky, he kept saying that I had to do it and that I had to help them teach lord Bandun a lesson. When I kept saying no he and his friends told me that I would get hurt too if I kept protecting the nobles and the rich. He got really angry about it. I... I..."

She started sniffling again and took a moment to compose herself. Considering what she was telling him, Sin had to admit that he found some respect for her. "I let them in through the kitchen door. They rushed past me and started breaking everything they could get their hands on. The other staff were screaming and running and I heard Maxwell outside. Ricky came in last, with a... a smile on his face. Maxwell came in and Ricky went for him, trying to punch him or something. We got out of the kitchen and ran out the house. Maxwell went back inside and the guards were there only a little later. I think one of the staff got them. I... I don't know anything else." Sintih kept writing as she spoke, trying to get as much of the detail from her words as he could. He left the questioning during the story up to Saeri so he could take proper notes. This would save them a lot of work later on when they had to hand in their reports.

When Saeri finished questioning and the maid finished her story, Sin waited a moment in silence, reading over his notes and looking at the maid. His illusion body took a deep breath and released it slowly before the lips started moving to match his words as best as possible. "How did you get the bruise, Ms. Genees?" Sin pointed towards the bruise on her face. While her story had told him that lord Bandun didn't sound like the type to have done it to her, Sin's own view of the man stood strong and he still believed he was responsible for it. The man had looked like nothing less than a noble, and that wasn't a compliment. "Well... when Ricky went for Maxwell, I tried to stop him. He punched me and pushed me against the door. I think he was going to attack me again when Maxwell pulled me out..." Despite her strong appearance so far, tears started flowing again and she hid her face in her hands. Sin looked from the maid to Saeri before looking back at the maid. Normally, he'd ask a female to console another female but in the time he'd spent with Saeri, Sin had learned to not really think of her that way. At least not in any way that wasn't physical in nature.

[Yanahalqah]

Fortunately, the male Eídisi did not miss a beat, taking over rather smoothly. Yana could swear she’d seen him grin at her for just a trill, and that alone was enough to stir the raging discomfort inside her into a full blown storm. Not one that managed to break the surface, but still. She wasn’t even sure what kind of grin it was. She wouldn’t think about it, she decided, instead focusing on what was important right then and there. Her job. The investigation.

The maid began to talk after wiping away her tears and sniffing a few times, but the more she spoke the more words were pouring out. Things did make sense. She’d been part of the RCA, but how she told it, Yana believed her boyfriend had forced her into it, as well as into helping them with this mess. For a moment she considered the possibility of it being a farfetched conclusion she’d reached, but no, she decided, it was very likely. Bullying was nothing new, and it happened in relationships as well. Not everyone was strong enough to leave their significant other. Some were in denial about the state of their relationship, or the personality of their lover. Resistance had probably been futile. It explained the bruise too. Yana wondered if there were more hidden under her uniform.

When the maid stopped speaking, Rathaan did not look up from his notes, continuing to scribble away. Yana nodded slightly, taking up the mantle of the interrogator.
“You said you were a member of the RCA,” she said, stressing the “were”. “So you left the group, yes?”
“Yes. Well, no… I mean, I never really— It’s complicated.”
The Yludih made a small encouraging gesture.
“The thing is, Ricky is part of the RCA. He wanted me to join too, but I… I did not really want to… I—I mean, I’ve never really agreed with the standpoint of the RCA… They see things so very black and white when things are usually a shade of gray…” She looked away, rubbing a shoulder absentmindedly. “I did cooperate with them though. Sometimes there were meetings at our—at Ricky’s place. All friends from the RCA he’d invited for a game of cards or dice… And then there was, well, this.” She sighed.
“You did not really have a choice, did you?”
Liza shook her head, wetness welling up inside her eyes, but they did not leak. “Not really,” she whispered.

Rathaan had finished writing, asking a question of his own then, one that had the woman start to cry again, sobbing in her hands. The male squire looked at her, and at Yana, and then back to the maid. It was just a brief motion, but the Yludih had noticed. She knew well enough what he was thinking right now. It hadn’t occurred to her to do such a thing, but well, she could see it might be necessary. Even though she wasn’t the most suited for the job. Though she guessed she could give it a shot.

She gave Rathaan a look of resignation, then stepped closer to the maid and gingerly drew her into a hug. It was awkward, Yana felt, it felt stiff and wooden, uncertain and too careful. Yet, perhaps physical contact and body heat was all the woman needed to comfort her. She responded to the hug, increasing the contact and crying into Yana’s chest. Yana’d never really thought of herself as tall, seeing as she was fairly short for an Eídisi, but now she felt more like a mother consoling a child. A very awkward mother consoling a child, that is.

Nevertheless, she had been hugged before, long ago when she had been a child herself. She could remember the feeling, she could recall what her mother had done to calm her down. Yana gently rubbed the back of the crying woman, making soft hushing noises. She did not know what to say, so she kept it at that, but it seemed it was enough.

It took a couple bits, but the maid eventually managed to compose herself a little better, though she did not let go of Yana’s uniform. Her eyes still leaked tears, her voice was still being wrecked by sobs every now and again, but she spoke once more.
“I’m scared,” she confessed quietly, “I’m scared of what he’ll do. Lord Bandun has made us stay the last couple days because you could arrive at any time, but now… Now we’ll have to go home again.” She sniffed a couple times, clutching harder at the cloth of Yana’s uniform. “I’m scared,” she repeated. “I know how he is— he doesn’t tolerate… and with this attack having failed…” She seemed to shiver.

Yana could only continue doing what she had been the whole time, unsure of what to do. Perhaps letting the woman talk would lift a weight off her chest? Maybe she’d feel better afterwards. But, from the sound of things, she had no-where to go to. No-one to turn to. Her house was her boyfriend’s house, she’d said. And going back there meant facing his wrath…

“Maxwell has said he’ll talk to Lord Bandun about allowing me to stay… But I can’t help but think I don’t deserve it. And what if he comes back? What if I have to go out shopping for groceries? What if I have to be somewhere outside this mansion?”

She continued on for a long while, at least it felt that way for Yana. Eventually though, the maid released the Yludih, stepping back looking somewhat embarrassed. Nevertheless, she muttered a honest “thank you” to the false Eídisi as she did so. Yana only gave her the slightest smile, one she wasn’t even sure would be noticed. Then she asked the maid to wait outside for a little while, as the two squires would like some time to discuss the whole situation.

While she headed for the door though, Yana stopped her, hesitant to ask such a question after having seen the woman break down in her arms. She’d rather not have such a thing happen again. She had a strong dislike of feeling lost in a situation.
“Liza,” she began, “about Ricky… could you tell us his last name, his occupation, address, and some feature that can help us identify him?”
She nodded, looking better and stronger than before. The reply came without hesitation. Yana nodded as she trapped the information in her memory. Ricky Spyker, a carpenter. Worked in lowtown at Jack’s Carpentry. His house was not too far off. He had a scar on his left forearm from when he’d accidentally hurt himself on the job. He always wore a necklace with a teardrop-shaped green stone with some sort of rune carved into it around his neck. He believed it warded off bad luck and evil spirits. Yana trusted Rathaan had written it all down.

“Thank you. We will be just a moment. Do not go running away now.”

The woman forced a smile after a moment of hesitation.
“Oh, ehm. Ha… haha… I’ll be right outside.”

“It was not a joke,” Yana muttered to herself, releasing a deep sigh before turning to her partner. “I do not think we should arrest her,” she said slowly, “It would not be the right thing to do.” Yana disliked using words like “the right thing” and “justice”, but sometimes she had to. Not because she was moved by the story of the maid, but because it was clear that the guilty party here was the boyfriend, and the RCA. ”What do you think?”

[Sintih]

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nexpected things seemed to happen all the time when he was around Saeri. He had been sure she'd be distant and professional about it but he had to admit that he didn't mind her actions towards the maid. It was obviously awkward for the Eídisi squire but the maid seemed to accept the hug gratefully. The maid calmed down a little and managed to start talking again. Figuring Saeri had things covered for a moment, Sin went over his notes so far, adding in details he'd missed the first time and finishing up some scribbled thoughts on the sides of his notes. He managed to pick up some shards of the conversation going on between the two women.

Their conversation ended and Saeri sent the maid out before stopping her. As she started answering the questions, Sin started writing, taking down the description of the man, Ricky Spyker, as best as he could. Maybe a drawing would have been more useful but Sin's artistic talent was limited to squiggly lines on cartographic maps-in-the-making and not the detail needed to put a person's face on paper. The description was useful, especially combined with the rest of the information they'd gotten out of this exchange. They could probably get on that as soon as they were finished here. Lord Bandun would be happy to learn that they found who had ruined his precious house.

When the maid finished describing her boyfriend, or ex boyfriend most likely, Saeri sent her out with another joke. He barely managed to catch her muttering that she'd been serious that time. Sin had thought that he'd started picking up on her different voice patterns a little more but this told him that he hadn't. When the maid had left the room, Saeri spoke again. He looked at her for a moment, trying to read the empty white eyes and the expressionless face she showed him. Yet another breach in her professionalism. It was curious how Saeri could excude an aura of it while hugging suspects and caring for them. So she didn't want to hunt down the evil maid that had let the RCA into the home of a respected noble of Andaris.

"I don't see why we'd need to arrest her. It says here in my notes that the maid was forced and beaten by the RCA members who managed to get in while the staff had left the door open for a moment. There's no reason to arrest someone for getting punched by rebels..." As he spoke, Sin turned his pad around, showing his notes to Saeri, tapping on a specific line that said nothing of the sort. "I do think we need to start looking into this..." Sin turned his pad back around and looked up the name of the suspect. "Ricky Spyker and Jack's Carpentry that he works at. Chances are that if one of the employees is an RCA member, others are as well."

Sin studied Saeri's face to see her reaction to his point of view. He waited for anything else from her end before putting in his last two nels. "Well, I think we're done here. We should tell Maxwell that he can start cleaning up both rooms and we should inform lord Bandun that we've found the bad guys he oh so valiantly defeated." Sin started to fold up his notes, tucking them away in a waterproof satchel on the inside of his cloak, together with his writing tools. He walked out with Saeri and came face to face with Maxwell in the hallway, waiting for them at a polite distance.

"Can we meet lord Bandun again. I'm sure he'd love to hear that we've found the culprits in this assault and that none of his staff members are involved with the RCA in any way. You can start cleaning the rooms now as well, the investigation is finished." Maxwell looked from Sin to Saeri and back before his eyes darted to a half opened door behind them. Sin glanced in the same direction and assumed the maid was behind it, or working in the room. He gave the butler a friendly nod. "Could we see lord Bandun then?" Maxwell turned his attention from the door to the stairs and bowed lightly. "Of course, do follow me, please." Sin followed Maxwell up the stairs to the door leading to the room they'd met Bandun in. The butler knocked on the door and entered a few trills later. There was some murmuring from the other side of the door before it opened completely. "Lord Bandun would like to hear what you've found out." Maxwell said as he motioned for them to enter the room.

[Yanahalqah]

Rathaan agreed, of course, explaining that his notes showed no evidence of the maid having helped the RCA at all. He pointed at a line he’d penned down, which Yana noted did not say that at all. The notes were quite clear about the maid’s role, but it was not as if they had to hand over the notes to their superiors. Even if they did, the officers were not psychic and would not automatically know if the first draft had been burned and the second draft was a slightly modified version of the events. This was also the way corrupt knights could just do as they pleased, a major flaw in the system.

“I see,” Yana said, nodding her head slightly as she read the notes, “the evidence is quite conclusive, is it not? She is not a culprit, but a victim.”

The male squire suggested they look into the maid’s boyfriend and his workplace, which Yana did agree with. She did not agree with his logic though, as she felt it was flawed. There was no evidence to suggest that more than one employee at the carpentry were RCA members. It wasn’t because one was that the others were also. Sure, the possibility existed, but that was it. It was also possible that this Spyker was just the rotten apple of the bunch. Still though, they would indeed have to visit the shop, if only to gain some more information on Ricky Spyker. So she nodded, “I agree we should go take a look at the carpentry. It might be worth our while.”

They were led back to Lord Bandun’s room then, where they once again were told to wait a moment while Maxwell went inside to inform his master of their presence and business. Muted mumbling could be heard through the door, and after a couple moments Maxwell returned to let them enter the study. Just like before, Lord Bandun was sitting behind his desk, a pile of books one side, a stack of paper documents on the other. In his hand he held a cup of something –probably an alcoholic beverage. His eyes looked eager, his smile was pleasant and warm, though fake as fake can be. Perhaps he worried they would not tell him anything if he continued his behavior from before.

“Ah,” he exclaimed with a satisfied tone of voice, “I hear you have completed your investigation. Would you be so kind as to share your findings with me?”

Yana nodded briefly, quickly giving the man a rundown of their collected evidence as well as a reconstruction of what they believed to be how the RCA infiltration had happened. In her version of the events, the RCA had gotten in through the kitchen door, which had been unlocked at the time. The staff present in the kitchen had been taken by surprise, naturally, and the maid in particular had been on the receiving end of violence when she had tried to get them to leave. The rest played out exactly as Lord Bandun had told them before.

The Lord nodded along thoughtfully, scratching his cheek when Yana was done speaking. He seemed to ponder something for a moment, then spoke up.
“So, since my claim was true, will I be receiving recompensation for the damages done?”
“That is not our place to say. The Iron Hand is not a bank, nor the government. I would suggest discussing such matters with the administrative branch of the King’s court.”
“Yes, of course. Naturally.”

He made a dismissive gesture with his hand then, before stopping himself and opting for a more polite way of making it clear the two squires were to leave.
“Thank you for your time. Good evening.”

As if on cue, Maxwell entered the room, holding the door for the two false Eídisi. He then led them back towards the front door, thanking them profusely for not saying anything about the maid. It could have been because the man was quite fond and protective of his staff, but Yana was fairly sure that the butler would have been in serious trouble if it came to light he’d kept quiet about what had really happened. Nevertheless, his gratitude seemed genuine enough, and Yana gave him a polite nod before stepping back into the cold. Once the door closed behind their backs, she turned back to Rathaan.

“Well, that part is over. I take it we would better report first, and see if we can get permission to do further investigating?” If they were willing to take a little detour, they could probably visit the carpentry still, but considering the time of day, it was unlikely they would find anyone there.

[Sintih]

[img]/gallery/image ... ge_id=6091[/img]

he rest of the conversations passed Sin by without much of it sticking to him. He was focused on the next step, finding the carpenter and this Spyker guy. He glanced over his notes again as Saeri spoke with Lord Bandun, leaving it up to her to deal with the pleasantries. When next he paid attention to his surroundings, Bandun politely showed them they could leave. Sin couldn't help raise an eyebrow for a moment and then nodded at him as he stepped out with Saeri. Another, more pleasant, nod towards Maxwell on their way out and they stood outside the house in the cold and dark.

"If it really is an RCA hub I think going by the book is the best choice here. I'll write up the report and hand it in and deal with the paperwork for finding the carpentry. You can take some time off, you've had a busy trial already." Sin expected her to protest and take up some of the work but he'd protest against her protest, nicely, of course, and hopefully by the time they actually managed to trudge back to HQ through the snow and cold she'd be done for the trial. He felt she needed it more than he did. Or maybe he wanted her to see him in a good light. Given the thing he learned about them, Sin wasn't really sure which one it was.

The next few trials passed by in a flash. The report got written and handed in, the request for information and the permission to stake out the place were handed in. The next few trials went by in monotone routine. Training, patrolling, sharing food in the barracks, freezing. Each trial was the same as the previous one. On the fourth trial, Sin got called into an office. Making sure he looked at least presentable, Sin rushed over, hoping to get the approval he needed. When he entered, the ranking knight sitting at the desk looked him over for a moment. "Squire Rathaan?" Sin nodded and added his salute to it, hoping the man wouldn't stand on ceremony too much. Whether he did or not, Sin would never find out. "You requested to investigate Jack's Carpentry downtown?" Sin nodded again. "Yes, ser." The knight looked at a small piece of paper in his hand and back up to him.

"Since the place just burned down, I feel like it would be a waste of time to approve this now. Dismissed." Sin's eyebrows rose in surprise at the message he just heard. Before he could formulate a proper question, the knight sent him out and continued with his own work. What was going on? The Carpentry burned down? Sin rushed down the hallways towards Saeri's room in the barracks. He'd only been there once before, a few trials ago, but he managed to find his way back after a while. "Saeri? Open up. It's Rathaan. We have to go to Jack's Carpentry, something happened." Sin's words were accompanied by the sound of knuckles on wood as he knocked on the door several times.

Sin stepped back from the door as his mind raced back to the burning carpentry. Why had it gone up in flames? An accident? Or did the RCA somehow know about his request and decided to act first? Did that mean that there were people in the Iron Hand helping the RCA or were there people who weren't aware they were sharing classified information with outsiders? What idiot would tell about an upcoming raid on a suspected rebel stronghold in the city?Sin started pacing back and forth in front of Saeri's door while he waited a bit to see if she'd open up. Was she even here?

[Yanahalqah]

The past few days had devolved back into the usual drudgery; training, drilling, being forced to conquer the obstacle course, more training,… The usual. She wouldn’t have minded to help with the paperwork Rathaan had taken upon himself, but he had politely rejected her offer, insisting she take a break. Yana wasn’t sure what she had done to deserve a break more than he did, and had, of course, protested against the kindness of her fellow squire. Yet, Yana had found it rather difficult to remain adamant under his insistence, and had budged eventually. Arguing about such things simply wasn’t worth her time, she told herself, and if Rathaan wanted to take care of it by himself, why not let him? She hadn’t seen him since.

As a result, it was a bit of a surprise to see him pacing like a caged lion in front of her door, his expression revealing he had discovered something troubling. Since the squire had apparently come to see her about it, she suspected it had something to do with their last case. Maybe he had encountered some problems when dealing with the paperwork or writing the report. Seeing as he had come only now, she could assume he’d been busy with the administration until recently, which made her a little glad that she hadn’t had to deal with it. However, if they’d both worked together it might not have taken this long to finish.

Yana walked up to him, her footfalls on the floor announcing her presence before she even spoke up.

“Something wrong?” she asked, refraining from unlocking her door and heading inside for the time being. She had just gotten back from a particularly nasty drill session, and was covered in sweat. Most of the larger droplets had been wiped off already, but new ones constantly formed still, and her skin shined because of it. The few locks that had escaped her ponytail were stuck to her forehead and cheeks, and her tunic was dusty. Her arms were tired, weighing metric tonnes. All in all, Yana felt like a disheveled mess, and wished Rathaan had picked a different time to come seek her out.

Nevertheless, she listened to what he had to say –not that she had much of a choice anyway. He brought her up to speed rather quickly, telling her about the request for further investigation and the burned down Carpentry. Yana nodded, agreeing to go with him, though she first went inside her room for a couple bits to wipe the sweat away. When she emerged, she still did not look exactly fresh, but she was cooled off and no longer perspiring. Contrary to last time, when she had expected to hunt down the culprits and arrest them, she now only brought her sword and dagger with her, leaving all other weaponry in her room. She’d received a few raised eyebrows last time; no one was really expecting a walking armory to show up to investigate a manor. Yana was fairly sure that the staff had wondered if she was expecting to find whole nests of RCA members underneath beds or inside the cupboards.

***

The walk there was relatively brief, mostly due to the brisk pace the squires adopted, as well as the location of the shop, which was maybe a ten bit walk away from the barracks. An RCA nest right under the nose of the Hand, if the Carpentry was indeed a hub for the Alliance. Soon enough the stench of burned wood and flesh filled the air, assaulting their noses. Not too much later the shop itself came into view, or rather what was left of it. It was a bunch of charred, smoking rubble, with some blackened support beams sticking out where the roof had been. The building seemed to have partly collapsed on itself when the fire had burned though the necessary support structures.

Upon arrival the pair was immediately approached by a knight, who looked quite glad to see them.
“Ah, you’re finally here,” he said, pushing something in their hands. “Just, you know, do your thing.”

Yana frowned and looked at the object in her hands, which seemed to be a pair of spectacles. The very same kind the knight had been wearing. She studied it for a moment, finding nothing special about it, except for the darkened glasses in the frame. It was only when she put them on that she understood why they’d been given to them. The dark lenses dimmed the surroundings, and the spectacles themselves had probably been magically crafted, since they highlighted things that might be of importance. Bootprints, splotches of blood, jewelry, etc… they all were marked by the spectacles. A tool to help with investigations, probably. From the looks of it, Yana and Rathaan had been mistaken for someone else, and were supposed to help out? She wasn’t too sure what they were supposed to do, so instead she just shrugged at Rathaan, and headed for the area where the corpses were being lined up and covered by a cloth.

The stench of burned meat was stronger here, the smell of seven bodies combining to create one eldritch scent that was enough to make the Yludih wince. The Knight tending to the bodies noticed; she was just covering up the last corpse, horrible burns making it almost impossible to identify the man or woman.
“Ya, it ain’t pretty, that‘s fer sure,” she said empathically, “Always sad t’ see good people die, y’know? Especially like this.” She shook her head. Yana inquired about the events leading up to the fire, wondering how this could have happened.

Apparently, the Iron Hand had decided to go check the place themselves, and when three knights had entered the place, a fight had broken out, during which someone had tipped over a lamp. No one had noticed during the skirmish, and before they knew what was going on, they were surrounded by a wall of flames. An awful way to die.

The Yludih then asked to examine the bodies, which the Knight found fine. She had placed the corpses of the supposed RCA members together, apparently having been able to distinguish the knights by the scorched leather armor melded to their skin. It made things a whole lot easier, and with the help of the spectacles, Yana and Rathaan found a corpse with a necklace. It was a stone the shape of a teardrop. Its color was black due to the layer of soot clinging to it, but the spectacles were able to highlight a carved rune. According to their information, this should be Ricky Spyker. There was no conclusive evidence, seeing as his forearms were way too burned to check for scars, but the stone in itself made Yana about seventy-five percent sure. After all, Ricky supposedly never took off the thing.

Yana, who had taken off her spectacles to give the abominable collection of third and fourth degree burns a closer look, covered the body back up with the cloth, giving Rathaan a “well, I suppose that’s it then” kind of stare, one eyebrow raised. Their only lead was now dead, and the possible hideout was reduced to rubble. They’d probably find nothing there anymore. There was one last thing Yana wanted to say though, something appropriate for the occasion.

“Well, Rathaan, it seems like our friend here played with fire…” she said, the tiniest of smirks curling her lips upwards. Her hands upwards towards her face, placing the dark spectacles back on her nose. “…and got burned.”

► Show Spoiler

“Well, Rathaan, it seems our friend here played with fire…”
( •_•)

( •_•)>⌐■-■

(⌐■_■)

“And got burned.”

YEAAAAHHHH!

[Pash Raj'oriq]

Thread Rewards

Sinith

Skill Knowledge:
➳ Deception: Lying because you care
➳ Discipline: Saving your feelings for when you’re not on duty
➳ Etiquette: Keeping conversation polite
➳ Investigation: Being thorough with a disgruntled Lord
➳ Investigation: Reading the full report
➳ Investigation: Pursuing your suspicions
➳ Investigation: Seeing a case to the end even when it’s closed
➳ Interrogation: Asking the hard question
➳ Leadership: Taking charge of the questioning
➳ Leadership: Following through by the book

Other Knowledge:
➳ Saeri: Crisp and proper for duty
➳ Saeri: Likes to be well-prepared
➳ Saeri: Needed an answer from you
➳ Sir Bandun: Not impressed with squires
➳ Sir Bandun: Supposedly assaulted in his home
➳ Sir Bandun: Handy with a cane sword
➳ Sir Bandun: Has a limp
➳ Maxwell: The not-so-innocent butler
➳ Liza Genees: Helped her boyfriend
➳ Liza Genees: Needed the out, not the arrest
➳ Ricky Spyker: Works for the RCA
➳ Ricky Spyker: Arranged the break-in
➳ Ricky Spyker: Dead
➳ Jack’s Carpentry: Destroyed by fire

Loot: N/A
Injuries: N/A
Fame: Closing an investigation (solving a mystery) +2
Devotion: N/A

Points: 15
These points cannot be used for magic.

— ⟡ ⟡ ⟡ —

Yanahlqah

Skill Knowledge:
➳ Caregiving: Awkward consolation is still consoling
➳ Deception: Playing the part you’ve been mistaken for
➳ Detection: Seeing through the scapegoat
➳ Discipline: Saving feelings for when you’re not on duty
➳ Endurance: Pushing through the cold of Cylus
➳ Etiquette: Putting the past aside to work together
➳ Rhetoric: Sometimes you just need to be direct
➳ Investigation: Getting other points of view
➳ Psychology: Reactions of guilt are varied but obvious
➳ Psychology: Comfort often allows for deeper honesty

Other Knowledge:
➳ Sinith: A bit sludgy in the weather
➳ Sinith: Has a pet owl named Genush
➳ Sinith: Answered your question but didn’t assauge your feelings
➳ Sir Bandun: Supposedly assaulted in his home
➳ Sir Bandun: Not impressed with squires
➳ Sir Bandun: Handy with a cane sword
➳ Sir Bandun: Has a limp
➳ Maxwell: The not-so-innocent butler
➳ Liza Genees: Helped her boyfriend
➳ Liza Genees: Needed the out, not the arrest
➳ Ricky Spyker: Works for the RCA
➳ Ricky Spyker: Arranged the break-in
➳ Ricky Spyker: Dead
➳ Jack’s Carpentry: Destroyed by fire

Loot: N/A
Injuries: N/A
Fame: Closing an investigation (solving a mystery) +2
Devotion: N/A

Points: 15
These points cannot be used for magic.

— ⟡ ⟡ ⟡ —

Comments:
Great read! The case was excellently written and you two play off each other's leads in each post very well. That you're both Yludih posting as Eldisi is so awkward and hilarious and ... yeah. I'd be that annoying person at the theater yelling for you two to figure it out. I look forward to you two working together more ... and eventually solving each others' personal mysteries. Carry on, squires!