Master Perez rolled his eyes slightly and let forth a chuckle. “Not that we have any reason to trust the sincerity of Lord Black, but what makes you think he was a part of this?”
“The timing of the kills,” Aeligos explained. “If I were going to kill three people by myself, the last thing I would ever do is confront all three of them at the same time, particularly in a room with fewer exits than enemies. I would figure out some way to divide them, either by waiting for one to use the commode or such, or else by trying to lure one away. The scene we looked at suggested the Guild members were attacked simultaneously. Now, that assassin was fast, but not fast enough to kill three people nowhere near each other in seconds.”
“So, there’s more than one assassin?” Master Perez asked.
“Either that, or Lord Black was involved,” Aeligos answered. “I suppose it’s possible Lord Black assaulted the first Guild member at the base of the stairs, the assassin killed one of the others, and the third was indecisive as to which of his guildmates he should help first. If so, the assassin could’ve killed the second while Black grappled with the one by the stairs.”
“And the one by the stairs would have been easily slain by the two once the assassin dispatched the second Guild member. A very plausible explanation,” Master Bennet said.
Aeligos continued, “That’s also not the whole of it. All three of the Guild members were killed with some sort of poison. Based on the wounds, I think what the assassin used was a type of necrotic venom that eats away at flesh and can leave the appearance of burns. Lord Black said he didn’t see the assassin apply anything to her weapons, but if he was grappling with the third Guild member, that could be an inadvertent truth. Either way, this venom clearly made it that much easier for the assassin to dispatch the Guild members. Whatever it was, it was extremely potent. In my line of work, I’ve come across many types of poisons, but I’ve never seen one that works that fast.”
Kari raised her brows and wondered if that might be something Eryn told him about in the wake of the attack. Kari knew about the venom of many dangerous types of sand spiders and scorpions from her travels through the Khalarin Desert in her early years, when she trained in the shakna-rir kingdom under King Suler Tumureldi. She had no idea what effect the venoms might have had other than bad wounds and sometimes death, but it gave her pause to think that the syrinthian woman might’ve brought something even more toxic from the underworld.
“Both of the wounds with burns on the men in the dining area were between the ribs here,” Aeligos said, demonstrating on Kari. “Their armor has a seam up the side there and the assassin knew exactly where to hit them to not ruin her blades on the ribs and miss the mark. This assassin is deadly, much more so than anyone you might deal with here in the city. I watched her fight with Kari, and I saw how fast and, more importantly, how efficiently she moved. I was honestly thinking there were multiple assassins when I first started studying the crime scene, but after seeing how quickly that syrinthian moved, I’m pretty confident she could’ve pulled this off alone—if she had Lord Black’s help.”
“But this brings us back to the questions: Why would Lord Black help her if she was after him, and why did she not make an attempt on his life after slaying the Guild men?” Master Perez asked.
“Because it’s a trap,” Aeligos said with confidence as the conversation came back full circle. “Based on what Lord Black said and the inconsistencies in the evidence, I think this entire incident was meant to set the Order up. It was clear that Lord Black is hoping Kari will be the one sent to Barcon to investigate, and considering the assassin is some type of syrinthian, it seems pretty obvious that the trap is meant to ensnare her.”
“For the obvious reason?” Master Bennet asked.
Kari nodded. “Revenge for killing Ressallk,” she said, referencing the sylinthian demon prince she had killed. Ressallk was a son of Sekassus the Calculating and a part of the demon king’s schemes on Tsalbrin. Though the Order and Zalkar’s church assured Kari they would stay vigilant in monitoring the demon king for a reaction, Kari had little doubt Sekassus was making an attempt on her life. The presence of a snake-woman all but confirmed it.
“The only thing that makes me wonder is Lord Black’s mention of Sekassus, and the way he very easily pointed a finger at Sekassus when we interrogated him,” Aeligos said. “If Black’s a part of the plot, then it doesn’t make sense for him to mention the one behind it. It’s possible he’s just trying to throw us off by mentioning the obvious culprit, but it could turn out to be far more elaborate than it would seem.”
“So then we must send someone else,” Master Bennet said, but even Lord Allerius shook his head in response along with Aeligos.
“No, if this involves Sekassus, it’s something I have to handle personally,” Kari said before either of the two men could speak. “This is my responsibility, and I already swore a Blood Oath, so I’m bound to put an end to this myself.”
Master Perez made a gesture and Zalkar’s symbol began to glow through Kari’s armor, prompting the councilors to begin whispering among themselves for a minute. Aeligos and Lord Allerius fixed Kari with surprised gazes, but both seemed to understand her reasons and nodded. Kari folded her arms across her chest and waited for the council to address her directly. They’d be concerned with her safety, especially walking headlong into a trap, but at the same time, she figured they’d understand she couldn’t ask someone else to do so in her place.
“If this is the decision you’ve come to and Zalkar has given you his blessing, then we have no place questioning that decision,” Master Bennet said after a couple of minutes. “We would like to know, however, who you are planning to bring with you.”
“No one from here,” Kari said, and Aeligos whipped his gaze back to her. She held her hand up before anyone could protest and continued, “I’ll be bringing a few friends with me, but no one from the Order, and no one that Lord Black or the syrinthian have already seen.”
Aeligos put his hand to his chin. “You raise an interesting point,” he muttered, but then he turned to address the council. “Kari’s instincts may have figured out what I missed. It’s possible the killings weren’t just to get her attention, but to see who aligns with her to put a stop to it. A good assassin never goes after their mark until they’re well aware of everyone and everything they’ll have to deal with in the course of and the wake of the killing.”
The councilors nodded, and Aeligos turned to Kari again. “So, you’ll be taking a boat south to Lajere and making your way to Barcon from there?” he asked. Aeligos understood exactly what she was thinking: Despite his infiltration skills, Black and the assassin had seen him, and his presence might cause problems or, more likely, get him killed.
“Yes,” she said after another moment, turning to the council. “I think it’s best if I bring people Lord Black doesn’t know, the assassin hasn’t seen, and who won’t stand out as members of the Order. They’ll be able to get answers while I draw the attention of Lord Black and the syrinthian assassin. I have a feeling there’s more going on here than Black realizes. Despite his words, I think Aeligos may be right and he may be serving an underworld power; whether willingly or not, I don’t know.”