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Message: <blockquote data-quote="DispelAkimbo" data-source="post: 1038840" data-attributes="member: 1916">Note: sections in italics are 'cut scenes' that have been written by the DM and the players were not privy to at the time of gaming.***The queen sat at her dresser, looking into the mirror she could not help but start to cry again. Great Beauty she thought, that is how her people thought of her, she was known throughout the South as one of the most attractive women this side of the Iron Mountains. Still to her now it was just a cruel reminder of her betrayal.From behind her suddenly a Black bird flew in through the open balcony window, startled she threw her brush at it, only to be even more startled as the brush was suddenly caught in an outstretched hand.The bird had materialised in to Jahayle Caervelyn!“Go Away! This is all your fault!” The queen screamed, bursting into tears.“Now, now your highness, we both know that’s not true” he replied reaching out to caress the side of her face.“GET OFF” the queen screamed, “You sicken me!”Jahayle sneered, “There was a time when you craved my touch, my love.” He added.“That was before you seduced me!… before… before you made me betray everything I hold dear!” She sobbed.“How could you!” The queen broke down her head in her hands, she slumps to the floor.Jahayle walks slowly over “You brought this upon yourself my little dove, had you not been barren and produced me a son as I had hoped I would not have had to poison your dear husband the King!” He spat.The queen looked up her tear-streaked face suddenly silent but trembling.“You mean you planned this? All of this, you destroyed my marriage, my husband and even our kingdom” she asked in shock.“No.. not the Kingdom, never the Kingdom THAT I hold dear, and one way or another it will be mine.” He said clenching his fist before him to emphasise the point.“You ANIMAL” the queen screamed, “How could you” she stood and lunged at Caervelyn hitting him with her fists.Grabbing the queens wrists and forcibly restraining her he spoke “don’t be so naive, you wanted the attention, you were bored silly with that do gooder husband of yours, you wanted a real man, you had no second thoughts about betrayal back then!” He spat through clenched teeth.Dragging the queen to the balcony, he points to the city below and sweeping on arm outwards in a gesture he continues “This is what its all about.. bedding you was merely a bonus, but you're as useless as your husband so I had to remove him too.” He explained.“Unfortunately now you are one of the only links back to me, my pretty and one of the remaining few obstacles between me and what is mine.” He sneered.“You can’t be serious!” The queen said a realisation of what Caervelyn had planned coming to her.“There are guards outside the door.” She said panicking, trying to twist free of his grasp.“Not so many as you’d think my queen.” He said smugly“You see I had help!”Pulling the queen to the balcony, Caervelyn pushes the queen over the balcony.“Nooooooooooooo” she screams as she plummets to the hard, cold stone below.Caervelyn stands a moment or two and watches as she hits the floor, “He’d miss her” he thought for a moment, still plenty more whores in the city he concluded and stepping up and off the balcony turned into a Crow and flew out over the city, descending in large sweeping circles.***"Hold on, look at this." Jalderin says pointing at the floor around the hole. "There is straw on the floor at the start of the tunnel, it looks as though this has mainly been used as a way from the palace outwards. Or perhaps even something was dragged down the hole into the tunnel, that would explain so much straw down there." Jalderin does some more searching and turns up another clue."Hmmmm, a long blonde hair. That narrows down a little who could have been using this tunnel." Jaider and Eben climb out of the hole and start searching the stables for more clues."Here!" Jaider exclaims from within the first stall. "I've found an earring, looks fancy and expensive." Jalderin raises his eyebrows."I'm no expert, but I'm sure that I've seen the princess wearing ones like that.""That would be the princess that has long blonde hair would it?" Eben asks. The three fall silent for a moment while they ponder the implications. Jalderin feels a shiver run up his spine."I'm getting a bad feeling about this, I should probably go and check on the Princess, maybe ask her about the earring too."As Jalderin takes a step towards the stable door, a loud ringing of bells sounds from the palace grounds. Shouts can be heard too."That's the palace alarm!" Jalderin exclaims, "I'm with the princess, I'll meet you guys later once we know what's happening!" He then dashes out of the stables and set off into the palace at a run. Eben and Jaider step out of the stables to see if they can find out why the alarm has been raised. They accost a passing guard and ask him why the alarm has been sounded."It's the Queen, she's killed herself, jumped from the tower!" is the reply they get before the guard dashes off."Oh dear, my head hurts. How many more twists can this plot take?" Eben asks. Jaider shrugs. "So, the princess is now in line to the throne, but that's only if the king dies, and we suspect that murder was not the intent of the poisoner anyway, so why kill the queen? Assuming that it was murder and not suicide. I know she was very, very upset, but the king isn't dead, so it wasn't likely to be suicide over grief was it?" The two just exchange confused glances and make silent wishes that things don't get any more complicated."I'll go and get Margarian from the tomb." Jaider suggests."Okay, I'll go and check on the prisoners. Meet you and Margarian there?" Eben replies."Sure....hey, that looks a little out of place." Jaider comments squinting up at the tower that the queen jumped from. Eben looks up but fails to spot anything out of the ordinary."Look there, all the birds circling the tower as normal and a single one heading away from the tower at speed.""Perhaps its an omen?" Eben suggests."Or perhaps we're looking too hard." Jaider jokes as they part.***"Prisoners all okay?" Eben asks the jailer as he descends the steps into the palace dungeon."Huh? Oh yeah, they're fine."Eben walks over to the interrogation room where they left the sleeping Zander Helmsblade. The Zander Helmsblade that they believe to be an impostor. He opens the room door and peers in. There laid on the bed is Zelda Caervelyn, dressed in Zander Helmsblades clothes. Eben closes the door and turns to the jailer."Has er, has anyone been in this room since we were here last? Since myself, Jaider Lightbringer and Jalderin Cormaeril left it?""No mister Advisor, no-one been in or out since you three. I've not heard a sound from there either, other than the occasional snore. Is everything okay with it?" Eben spends a moment in thought before replying. He remembers that the jailer is under suspicion of reporting too much to his superiors, one of whom appears in on the plot."No, everything is fine. Fine job you're doing here, keep up the good work. I'll check on the other prisoners now." He walks along the corridor that the Helmsblade brothers' cells are on. They are both in their cells, looking as they were previously. Zander Helmsblade (looking like Zelda Caervelyn), leaps to his feet as he sees Eben approach."Sir, do you know if the Paladin will be visiting us soon. We have a matter of some urgency that we wish to inform him of.""He will be along shortly." Eben replies."Good, but Sir, would you mind watching over us until he arrives. I fear for our lives and believe you to be a fair man who would protect us." Eben consents and loiters around the Helmsblade brothers' cells until Jaider and Margarian arrive.***Jalderin arrives at the princesses quarters. A couple of the Royal guards are posted outside the room to keep watch in Jalderin's absence."How is she?" He asks, pausing for a moment to get his breath back."She's been quiet. I think she took the news of her mothers suicide badly." Jalderin winces and braces himself before gently knocking at the door."Go away!" come a cry from within. Normally Jalderin would take such a reply as permission to enter, but today he decides to give the princess the room she needs to grieve.***"Sir, Milord, Warrior of the plains." Zander Helmsblade says, addressing those in front of him as respectfully as he knows how. "I don't know if you talked with Jalderin, but the High Justice came to see me, I asked him for some better food, and got some. With it he sent a key, stuck to the bottom of one of the plates!" Zander holds the key forth as proof; Rowan nods to confirm his brother story and expands upon it."We think that the High Justice gave it to us so that we would use it to escape and he could have us killed within the bounds of the law." Eben frowns as his eyes scrutinise the key held in Zanders hand. He recognises the key, it is far too ornate and fancy to be a jail cell key, and he's sure that the key to the kings quarters is almost identical to that one. Great he concludes, more evidence mounting against the Helmsblade brothers.Jaider Lightbringer takes the key from Zander and tucks it away in a pocket. Just then, the jailer calls out from the end of the corridor. Jaider, Eben and Margarian go and see what the problem is."Milords, come quick! It's the prisoner in the interrogation room, he sounded like he was kicking something, and heavy breathing and then its gone all quiet!" Before they open the interrogation room door Eben explains to Jaider and Margarian that the Zander Helmsblade within had magically changed to Zelda Caervelyn, but was still in the same clothes.When they do open the door, they see Zelda Caervelyn laid on the floor looking distinctly dead. The pale skin, lack of breathing and glazed eyes make her condition pretty obvious. The three investigators quickly search the room for anything out of the ordinary, but all seems fine. With the professional air of a hunter examining a slain animal, Margarian searches Zelda Caervelyns body for wounds and finds a small cut under one armpit."Looking at the swelling around her throat, and the small cut under her arm, probably inflicted a couple of hours before we found her, I'd say that she was poisoned." Margarian states before letting the body slump back to the floor. "Wouldn't like to be the one telling her father about it though." Suddenly a voice can be heard shouting from the prison cells area."I'm back! I'm me again! Yay! Rowan, I'm me again!" The three go back to the Helmsblade cells and find that Zelda Caervelyn has changed in appearance and now looks like the Zander Helmsblade that he claimed to be all along.</blockquote>

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