The Kinstrife

Part 7

In which Ragnor asks for and gets an audience with the Queen; Ragnor and Aerin interview Khoradûr while Brand and Pimm burgle his quarters; Khoradûr gives Ragnor a sinister message for his father; Ragnor tells his father that Khoradûr is the culprit; Aerin finally isolates the poison.

April 2^nd 1441:

So we need to find some way of confirming our suspicions regarding our two suspects. The first thing I do is pen a letter to Princess Telerien, requesting her aid in getting an audience with the Queen, her sister. Not long after, I receive a summons to attend upon the Queen on the morning of April 4^th will all those involved in the investigation; intriguing and a little unsettling.

Brand sets about questioning the menial servants again as to whether they can corroborate Hirluin's story of his argument with the other guests. It seems Nastarthil set himself to needling Hirluin from the start and eventually his victim rose to the bait, but not until after the Princess had retired so it did Nastarthil no good at all.

Meanwhile Aerin and I talk to Khoradûr for the first time, a more delicate task, Aerin asks most of the questions. He is very tall, almost seven feet, which would be tall even for a Dunedain, which I understand he is not. I get a distinct feeling of unease, there is something of the night about this man. Good looking, Aerin is clearly attracted to him, but then he probably reminds her of home. The phrase 'looks fair but feels foul' springs to mind, though it is interesting that none of the female servants have commented on his physical appearance, evidently any prolonged contact with him is off-putting. I wonder if he feels the same about me?

Whatever his appearance, his manner is obnoxious and insulting; he clearly has a chip on his shoulder regarding racism toward Southrons (which I can understand though he does their cause no favours by his manner).

He was in charge of setting up the dinner party, though most of the servants were ours. He was not present all the time, having other duties. After the food was served, he dismissed most of the servants, keeping back just a single maid. Once Princess Telerien withdrew, Khoradûr and the maid also retired for the night.

Khoradûr also confirms Hirluin's account, adding some pertinent details that as well as insulting Nastarthil, he also called Doronil 'a half-wit manipulated by a ruthless father'. It was Valadan who asked Hirluin to leave.

Khoradûr has been steward on and off for twenty years but was appointed to the Queen's service just three weeks ago. He is now sure he is to become a scapegoat. When I ask him why, he launches in to a diatribe, accusing me of naivety, and highlights his Southron heritage. In return, I point out that he has attained a highly influential position despite his lineage, obviously with the help of powerful connections. Surely those that put him where he is will also protect him?

At this he replies those 'connections' might have a message for father and Lord Lintoron; 'Eldacar and Castamir are not the only choices'. He suggests they might wish to reconsider their allegiances but will not elaborate. After thanking him for his co-operation, we let him go. Until his 'message' about 'choices' I was truly in two minds, but now, even if he is not guilty of the poisoning, he is at the least a traitor and hardly fit to be the Queen's steward.

Rejoining Brand, it seems he finished his interviews early and took advantage of the wait for us to finish with Khoradûr by searching the Steward's chambers with help from Ilvrin and Pimm. I can't say I approve of this but his findings do seem to confirm Khoradûr's guilt. Brand gives me a ledger from a chest in Khoradûr's room, and one candle, apparently identical to the bluish stub Aerin analysed. He also found several vials, some of which he recognised as poison.

Khoradûr looks to be our man!

Aerin takes a sample of the new candle for analysis and returns to her lodgings with Ilvrin and Pimm. Brand and I lay our findings before father. He initially seems reluctant to accept Khoradûr as an assassin but wonders if Khoradûr is being framed. Father's open-mindedness does him credit. He says he and Lord Lintoron will want to talk to Khoradûr but meanwhile he suggests investigating the minor Lebennin nobles. I persuade him that this would be antagonistic and counter-productive but it concerns me that he seems so unsure of our findings. However he himself passes off his doubts as innate paranoia. To my mind, all the evidence we have points to Khoradûr as the poisoner but, even if he is innocent of the poisoning, his words reveal him as a traitor.

Father suggests I cannot get out of my summons to see the Queen but I don't really want to.

Brand and I then head down the hill to see what Aerin's discovered. Great News! She has identified the poison as klytun root, from the Brij Myesec in the Raj, near Far Harad. I am overjoyed, with the poison identified, there's now a real chance that the Healers may be able to help Doronil and the other comatose victims.