As they broke camp the following morning, a figure appeared to the west. A man in a blue garment and a yellow hat, with a sharp goatee, rode out of the mountains on a mule.

The company was still forming as the man galloped toward them. Xerxes and Kashtiliash were again on rear guard duty, so they were among the first to see him coming.

“Who the hell is this?” Kashtiliash asked.

Xerxes checked the position of his sword on his back. “My thoughts exactly.”

The man neared. “I need a meeting with the ranking officer!”

His mule, surprisingly nimble and responsive, heeded his commands as he reined it to a stop just short of the heavy infantry units in the rearmost position.

“Did you hear me?” the yellow-robed man asked. “I’d like to talk to the person in charge.”

“State your name,” Sergeant Stratos said.

“I’m Constable Daniyel from Urmia.”

The sergeant just looked at him. “Is that supposed to mean something to me?”

“Urmia,” Daniyel said. “The village on the other side of the Gateway complex.”

“Okay…?”

“There was a murder, and I need to talk to your commanding officer about it.”

“Wait here. I’ll go convey your request.”

Stratos trotted up the line toward Gandash.

Meanwhile, Kashtiliash looked at Xerxes. “Murder?” the bearded mage said.

Xerxes’ lips tightened. Off to the side, Daniyel simply sat on his mule, casually studying the line of troops.

Stratos returned three minutes later.

“Captain Gandash said he’ll see you,” he said to Daniyel. “Lieutenant Xerxes here will accompany you.”

Xerxes nodded at the constable. “Come with me,” he said, then sent his horse forward.

Daniyel urged his mule forward until he was riding directly next to Xerxes.

“The captain’s name is Gandash?” the constable asked as they proceeded.

“That’s right.”

“What’s he like?”

“Smart.”

“Ah.” Daniyel smiled, took off his hat, and wiped his brow with a kerchief he pulled from his belt. “By the way, on the night you came through the Gateway, did anyone from your group leave the camp and come to our village?”

Keeping his eyes straight ahead, Xerxes said, “The captain sent someone to scout around. Said he talked to you. Did you forget?”

Daniyel smiled. “Ohhh, right. So Tizqar was from your company. Good to know.”

Toward the middle of the line, Gandash was mounted and flanked by his personal guard. When Xerxes approached with the constable, Gandash called out in greeting, “Constable?”

Daniyel replied, “Captain. I’m following up on the conversation I had with High Seer Tizqar. I’m not sure if you remember the details. A merchant named Firooz was killed in the night by an unknown assailant.”

Gandash’s mount was a mighty stallion, which placed him nearly a cubit above the constable. Looking down with narrowed eyes, he said, “Lieutenant Tizqar reported the basics of the situation.”

“Did he mention that the cause of death was a blow to the neck that came close to severing poor Firooz’s head?”

“Yes. Very grisly. Has new evidence come to light?”

“It has.” The constable glanced at the soldiers present, as well as some of the nearby mages, including Tizqar himself. “Perhaps a discussion in private would be appropriate?”

Gandash sighed. “I’m on a tight timetable, and as you can see, my entire company is ready to move. I’d rather not waste any time.”

Daniyel nodded. “What if we simply move a few cubits away?” He gestured off the road, where the trees were thin. “Perhaps over there?”

Gandash considered the proposal. “Fine. Lieutenant Xerxes will accompany us.”

The two mages and constable rode about fifteen cubits away, to where they could speak in relative privacy.

“What’s this about, Constable?” Gandash asked.

Daniyel smiled and rubbed the back of his neck with his kerchief. “I’m embarrassed to say that, after further investigation, I suspect someone from your company might have been involved in the death of the merchant.”

“Death? Or murder? There’s a distinction between the two.”

The constable took a deep breath. “Murder. In the initial chaos of the event, it was difficult to make heads or tails of what happened. After all, High Seer Tizqar visited at first light, when the shocking scene had just been discovered. There was a fight in the gambling hall a few hours before. Lots of stories to listen to. Now that I have a clearer idea of what happened, I fear that the merchant wasn’t killed during the chaos of the brawl. He was killed at roughly the same time, except outside of the establishment. By a stranger. Or more precisely, two strangers.”

Xerxes tried to keep his face as still as stone. A drifting breeze stirred robes, hair, and manes.

“Do you have a physical description?” Gandash asked.

“I do. The two suspects wore garments similar to those worn by your men. Just now, I confirmed that your uniforms are blue and white, and that your men wear black girdles. The officers have a fringe on their garments, but witness testimony was conflicted as to whether or not the suspects had such an adornment. In any case, there were two assailants, one short, with a large nose, the other taller.”

Fuck, Xerxes thought. FUCK.

Gandash turned and looked at him for a long moment. Xerxes held his gaze.

“What else?” Gandash said, returning his attention to the constable. “How do you know it was a murder and not self-defense?”

“Truth be told,” Daniyel said, “I don’t know. That’s why I’d like to talk to the suspects. That said, given the circumstances, as well as details of the crime scene and witness testimony I didn’t have access to when I first talked to High Seer Tizqar, I’d say it's probable the killer, or killers, were not acting in self-defense.”

Gandash sat atop his horse for a long moment as the breeze blew.

Then Daniyel lifted his finger and said, “Oh. I almost forgot. One of the attackers was stabbed in the abdomen. It would have been quite bloody, I imagine. And painful. The kind of injury an Unsighted would probably die of. But a company as large as yours surely has Balatu mages that could heal such wounds.”

His choice of words didn’t go unnoticed by Gandash. “I’m not a fan of wordplay, Constable,” he said. “Are you leveling an accusation against me?”

Daniyel ducked his head. “Of course not, Captain Gandash.”

“You know something about magic. That’s not what I would expect of a village constable. Is it because you grew up near the Gateway?”

“I grew up in Puabi, actually. Served there as a teen, and as you might know, there are more mages there than any other city on Jehannemid. Anyway, I ended up in the capital later on. But I saw a bit too much blood and death, so I ‘retired’ to the mountains, hoping to get away from it all. Guess the Pontifarch had other plans for me.”

“I see.” Gandash closed his eyes for a moment. Opened them. “Constable, please return to the rear of the line and wait with Sergeant Stratos.”