III

“And you saw nothing else?” Sir Cedryk asked. “You did not see the new form?”

Yoreno shook his head at the question, perhaps for the tenth time. “I am sorry,” he said. “When I heard the noise, I went to investigate and found that man, just as I had described to you. He changed somewhat, but I did not see the second identity. In truth, at the time, I wasn’t certain what I was seeing.”

In the room were a dozen other men. Knights and investigators from the City Watch. Three men were kneeling over the blood stain while another man was leaning out the window as two more inspected the landing on the roof.

Sir Cedryk nodded with a heavy sigh.

“It ends?” the man at the window, Sir Moryss, asked, raising his voice at the men bellow. He turned to address Cedryk. “Trail’s gone cold.”

Yoreno thought he could see the worry in his eyes. As the captain of the castle guard, it was Sir Cedryk’s responsibility to keep the castle secure.

“Well,” he added. “Now that we know what you saw—at least, what you described you saw—we can take this to the king’s honor guard.”

Outside the rooms, visitors to the castle where beginning to conglomerate outside, clearly wondering what had happened to cause a commotion of so many guards in this area of the castle.

Suddenly Dantera entered the room. She was flanked by Yorinius and Cypia. “My lady?” he asked, surprised to see her here.

“I have just spoken with the king,” she said to Sir Cedryk as she glanced between him and Yoreno. “And he agrees with me.”

“On what?” Sir Cedryk asked.

“On the matter of his life being in danger,” she said. “We believe this… this shape shifter creature is here in the castle to assassinate someone.”

“Do you know it’s the king he’s after?” Yoreno asked.

“Not entirely,” she said. She swallowed nervously. “But we have to assume the worst.”

“How did you know about this?” Yoreno asked.

“The couriers,” Sir Cedryk explained. “They have been updating his majesty with the accounts of your story.”

“I hope I didn’t change anything too drastically,” he said.

“You changed nothing,” Sir Cedryk said. “In fact, all of your statements have remained completely consistent.”

Yoreno scratched his head.

“Well that’s good.”

Yorinius gave Yoreno a nod. Then he glanced about at the blood stain. “I wish I had been here,” he said.

“So do I,” Yoreno said. “I feel somewhat inadequate. Had I more strength, perhaps I could have stopped him before he escaped.”

“Nonsense,” Dantera said. “You could just as well have been a maid come to check on the room and now you would be dead. At least you saw him and called for help. Now we can investigate.”

“We?”

“Yes,” she said. “The king has charged me personally with the investigation. Cypia?”

She came forward with a sealed letter and handed it to Sir Cedryk. He read it, nodding quickly. “Just tell me what you need,” he said, “and I will oblige you as quickly as I can.”

“We can begin, by concocting a lie to get the gawkers away from here,” Dantera said.

“A lie?” Yoreno asked. “That doesn’t sound like you, my lady.”

“Sometimes lies are necessary. Tell them that a visiting noble—I don’t know, lord Fegwyrn has died of a heart attack and that there is nothing to see here.”

“Lord who?” Sir Cedryk asked.

“Exactly,” Dantera said. “I made him up.”

Cedryk nodded. “Then excuse me for a moment.” He left their presence.

“I can’t believe it was me that saw this happen,” Yoreno said. How was that possible? The chances were so small.

Then again, he had been wandering about quiet places in the castle. Who better to witness what had happened than him?

“Why lie, though?” Yoreno asked. “Should we not send everyone home?”

Dantera sighed.

“Normally, yes,” she said. “But this is king Branlin’s Age Readventure. There if far too much at stake to simply stop everything. Did you know three kings are on their way, and a score more from their royalties?”

Yoreno shook his head. “I had heard some rumors, but…”

“Yes, exactly,” she said. “There are so many nobles, dignitaries and royalty coming to the king’s event, that he will not stop it. And so we must find this culprit and stop him before he kills whoever he is after.” Then with a dire tone, she added, “And preferably without making a big fuss. We need to keep things very quiet.”

Yoreno nodded. “My lady?”

“Yes, what is it, Yoreno?”

“Am I a part of this investigation? You keep saying ‘we’.”

“Well of course you are,” she said with a gesture of her hands. “You saw what happened. Whether you like it or not, you are a part of this. So you will be a part, as will Yorinius and Cypia.”

“I don’t know what help I can be.”

Breathing in deeply, Dantera said, “Well, you can begin by explaining everything again.”

“Yes,” Dantera said after Yoreno had recounted everything. Again. “This is as I fear.”

“What is it?”

“That guard is dead,” Cypia interrupted. She was short with narrow shoulders and red hair. She wore very little armor since she was a mage class adventurer.

Her dress, a thin white, almost robe-like garment with massive oversized cuffs that hung about her wrists, was beautiful in its own unique way. She looked like a temple priestess. What temple, Yoreno didn’t know, but he did know Cypia was actually a noblewoman. But Yoreno was unclear what her rank was, having never spoken to her about it before.

Interactions outside of the guild with Cypia had—up to this point—been. Lately that had been changing. Now she was here, assisting Dantera much the same as Yoreno and Yorinius were.

“That man,” Cypia continued, “If he looks like the guard now—“

“He could be anywhere,” Yorinius said, “and since we don’t know which guard it is, he could literally be standing in this room.”

Everyone paused for a moment.

“In that case, we need to stay together,” Yoreno said. “No one ventures about unattended by another. That way we will all be safer, but what’s more, the assassin won’t be able to accomplish his goals without alerting another.”

Dantera nodded. “Good thinking, Yoreno. Now we need to begin this investigation. Yorinius, you go to the roof. Take some of the castle guards with you. I will go over the manifest and the invite lists. Yoreno, question the servants. Ask as many as you can if they saw anything strange. Cypia, go with Yoreno.”

They split up, each going to their assigned tasks.