In which we receive a call to service and Sabali goes missing

I have said that our time in Whitestone was fruitful, but quiet - all that changed last night. We had risen for an early breakfast and were gathered in the common room of the inn when there was an urgent rapping at the door. It was opened to admit three members of the Whitestone guard, all looking rather stony faced and unhappy. Their leader, one Captain Jareth, I was later to learn, swept his eyes across the company and singled out Raphael almost at once.
 
His manner was strained, but polite as he asked Raphael’s permission to search his belongings. I don’t know what would have been the response had Raphael refused the request, because instead he acquiesced with a wary but almost resigned expression on his face. Perhaps I imagined it, but Raphael's movements as he rose to conduct the guardsmen to his quarters seemed a little stiff, by the his usual graceful standards at least. I felt a stab of compassion for his situation, it was, to a very large degree at least, not his fault that he should find himself so much and so often the focus of doubt, but nor was it in truth avoidable. His response was calm and dignified, and I got no sense of guilt in his manner with the guards, but even so I could hardly discount the possibility that they might had a good reason for their actions. I wish it were otherwise, but it is no good striving to nurture trust in Raphael the man, when Mab, his Queen, pulls all his strings, and she is so far beyond even the idea of trust.
 
It is fair to say that Raphael’s composed response was not replicated in all quarters. One of the guards looked sharply at Zeni, and she began to babble something about practicing a new spell. I don’t know what she had been intending to do, but it wasn't practice and I doubt it would have improved the situation. Still, remembering the times before when she has been able to perceive a threat that none of the rest of us could see, I took the chance to quietly open my own senses to any hint of evil that might be present in the room. I felt nothing unusual, and so resolved to bide in patience until we learned more.
 
Raphael and his escort of guardsmen returned to the tap room within a few minutes, the soldiers visibly more relaxed. It was only then that their Captain was willing to discuss the cause of his suspicions. The news he brought was shocking - that Lord Percy had been attacked in the night, and badly wounded, although, thank the gods, his life was not now thought to be at risk. The assailant had been a male elf wearing black clothes and a red sash. Someone, apparently, had made the decision to search everyone new in the city who fit this very broad description, and that included Raphael. It seemed rather thin to me, if that was all they had to offer as an explanation. Surely such an assailant would have been very likely to disguise their features, and anyway, surely would have disposed of any incriminating clothes in the fire by now. I am no master schemer after all, and even I could see the necessity for such a measure. Surely an assassin would not be so bold as to return directly to his own lodging and then hang up his bloodied robes in the closet?
 
I think it struck us all that this tale of the attacker with the red sash was uncomfortably familiar, from the report given to Arin by the shade of the unfortunate Kursk in Westruun. Raphael informed Captain Jareth at once about this striking commonality with what we had seen before, He looked troubled, as well he might, but nonetheless grateful for the intelligence. I hope that Raphael being the one to tell that tale, and with frankness and honesty, has gone some way at least to allaying whatever suspicions they had of him.
 
Sabali also spoke up before they left, and told again the strange tale which he had mentioned before, back in Westruun, about some fabled mercenary killer named Suke Pugoto. To be honest, I hadn’t paid that much attention to the story the first time, it seemed so improbable that a legendary assassin from some far off country would be interested in killing a local bureaucrat in Westruun, even if he did have ties to the underworld. It seemed even less relevant here and I confused as to why Sabali was telling it again. Captain Jareth however, immediately showed an interest, repeating the name several times over as if searching his memory for something. Eventually he seemed to find what he was seeking, but then looked, if anything, even more puzzled. The name Suke Pugoto, it turns out, means ‘scapegoat’ in the Markesian tongue. Sabali flushed a little, and said that he had not been aware of that. It was an odd twist to the tale, someone's idea of a joke no doubt.
 
After apologising for the interruption to our breakfast, Captain Jareth made it clear that we would be welcome at the castle later, should we choose to call there and consult with the Lord and Lady, and we agreed that we should do so once we had completed some little business of our own in town that morning.
 
As soon as we were alone again, Raphael began to question Sabali. To my surprise, although he spoke evenly, even gently, he accused Sabali of outright lying about his knowledge of Suke Pugoto. I would never have thought to question such a thing myself, but as I looked at the two of them speaking, I was quite sure that Raphael was correct, something was off here. Sabali looked increasingly unhappy, although he continued to maintain his denials stoutly. It was very strange. I thought perhaps he might have been embarrassed to be caught unknowingly repeating a tale which some wit had apparently invented to sport with those who did not speak the Markesian tongue, but that would be most uncharacteristic indeed. I have never known Sabali to be pretentious or affected in that way, but I could see no other explanation for the discomfort which he now displayed. Mind you, if that were the case then Raphael's interest in the matter made no more sense to me than Sabali's apparent deceptions.
 
We were diverted from that train of thought in any case by the arrival of a messenger for Wind, who turned out to have an update from Pick, in Westruun. Nothing much to report, so Wind declared, stuffing the papers quickly into a pocket as she spoke. Now Wind is one who will lie, almost as easily as breathing, and I could see Raphael’s eyes narrow as she turned swiftly away, dodging all his questions. Wind likes to have her secrets, I know that well enough, and normally I don't mind it too much, but in light of what had just happened, news from Westruun could be important, and it's a shame that she wasn't more forthcoming with whatever was really in that letter.
 
Several members of the party had errands to run that morning. I did not, and so I remained quietly in the tap room, taking the opportunity to run through in my mind the spells and prayers which I had prepared for today, while people came and went around me. Zeni and Raphael stayed too, sitting with their heads close together, and speaking in low, confidential terms.
 
Wind returned from the post office after an hour or so, reporting that she had met Sabali there, and he had told her that he was feeling unwell, having eaten something which had upset his stomach. I had seen no sign of this earlier, but it was most certainly something which Simeon or I should be able to mend easily enough. The troubling thought crossed my mind that he might have done himself some harm while brewing up those potions of his, at least some of which I suspect may contain ingredients which not be entirely within the bounds of the law.
 
We heard the bells strike the eleventh hour, which was the time at which we had agreed to head up to the castle, and there was still no sign of Sabali's return. That in itself was not so surprising, I could imagine well enough that he might prefer to spend his time entertaining the common folk with japes and tumbling, rather than lunching with the nobles. He has very little respect for rank, or for social niceties, and if he did not feel like coming to meet the Lord and Lady, then he very likely simply would not do so. I was sure that we would see him later, with or without an explanation for what he had been up to, but I could see that Zeni was obviously worried. She decided to remain outside the castle in order keep a look out for Sabali, and I offered to wait with her if wanted company, but I was not surprised that she preferred to look for him alone. They have a strange but powerful bond, those two, and if there was something wrong, then surely Zeni was the one that Sabali would turn to.
 
As we made our way up to the keep, Simeon cast a spell on himself to alter his features to those of Sabali. I don’t know why he would do such a thing, and to be frank, it seemed to me to be unworthy of both our hosts who had shown us so much favour, and of Sabali himself. If anyone else had done such a thing I would most certainly have attempted to dissuade them, but Simeon is an ordained minister of an ancient church, whose ways, I know, include such dissembling. I am no priest, only a simple knight, and it is hardly my place to question the practices of Sehanine’s adepts. And so I held my tongue, colluding in the lie even though it shamed me to do so.
 
We were ushered into the audience chamber, where Lady Vexalia was on her feet, pacing restlessly, while Lord Percy sat in one of the large chairs, bandaged and pale, but alert and clearly in no danger from his wounds. A third man was also present, introduced to us as Lord Palmer, a Member of the Tal Dorean Council serving as the Master of Information. He had come to consult with the de Rolos on a matter about which, as it happened, we were able to offer some insights of our own.
 
Raphael repeated the tale which we had told to Captain Jareth about Kursk, and the still unsolved matter of his death, at least at the time we had left the city. Lady Vexalia asked what sort of man Kursk was, and we told her of his dealings with the Clasp, and our supposition that this had led in some way to his demise, whether directly or indirectly. Of course, there could be no question that Lord Percy might have any such unsavoury associations, and so we were none the wiser as to what might be the connection between the two events. Of course, although it went unspoken, one obvious answer might be our own presence in both cities, and our recent dealings with the victims of both crimes. I fear that there must be a connection of some sort, but what that might be I have absolutely no idea.
 
Raphael mentioned the Suke Pugoto story, for the sake of completeness I think, but it produced little more than puzzlement from those present.
 
Our tale of Westruun told, Lord Percy seemed determined not to dwell on the events of the previous night, and invited Lord Palmer to instead speak about the business which he had come to Whitestone to discuss. I was surprised that he should be willing to speak in front of us, strangers as we were, but it soon became clear that he wished to do more than simply to honour us with his confidence.
 
He told us that the opening between the realms, through which we and Lady Vexalia's men had passed to reach the faewild, was not an isolated incident. There were multiple reports of the barriers between the planes becoming thin and fragile, even breaking down in places. He then showed us, by means of a most realistic illusion, the image of a stone which apparently can be used as part of a ritual which creates such damage to the walls of reality. We had not seen any evidence of such stones on our travels, but Enessa recounted what the Lord of the Hunt had told us about the incursions into his own realms. All present greeted this news with grave faces, as though hearing unwelcome but not unexpected tidings.
 
In the discussion which followed we received a most remarkable invitation. Lord Palmer believes that the most promising place to further investigate these disturbances is the close to the Scar outside Emon, and he requested our assistance in that investigation, were we available to offer it. He even suggested that we might be able to join him in teleporting to Emon tomorrow, saving us a journey of many weeks.
 
It is of course a very great honour that such a man might regard our services as valuable in such a significant matter, and I am sure that we will do everything we can to aid him. Not having all the members of our little band present, we did not make a firm commitment at the time, but I cannot see any reason that we would refuse to help.
 
Before we left, Enessa returned to the uneasy topic of the previous night’s attack. She asked how the would-be murderer had gained access to the keep, and we were told that it had been under cover of magical darkness, with the assault itself some sort of dagger thrust from a hidden assassin. Lady Vexalia had pursued and wounded the man, but had been unwilling to leave Percy’s side to chase him down. It was chilling to think that the man might still be out there, might try again even, and I hoped that the Castle would mount a stout guard tonight.
 
With Lady Vexalia’s injury on the hunt, and now Lord Percy being attacked in his own chambers, the de Rolo family seemed rather to have been singled out for misfortune over the past days. They seemed to be dealing with it dutifully enough though, all their concern facing outward to the problems which Lord Palmer had brought for their attention. The look on Lady Vexalia’s face however, when she described how much she had wanted to strike down her husband’s attacker, left me in no doubt as to the depths of her anger at what had happened.

We said that we would send word as to our intentions regarding the journey to Emon as soon as we were able to reach a firm decision, and we set out from the castle to find Zeni, and, I very much hoped, Sabali. Zeni we discovered readily enough, not that far from where we had left her. It seemed that she had been trying to contact Sabali by some magical means, and that he had replied and given her to understand that he was still unwell. He would not, however, tell her where he was. She looked very worried indeed as she relayed the news. I was worried too, if he was sick and needed help then we had to find him, and quickly. The potions that he brews are dangerous, even I can see that, and if something had gone wrong in their making then he could be in a lot of trouble, and would need help as soon as we could give it.
 
Mind you, the look on Zeni’s face when I mentioned that possibility suggested that she suspected something else was going on. With no other clues, we returned to the inn, where Enessa tasked Ussi with trying to catch Sabali’s scent. To everyone’s surprise, he led us up a narrow back staircase and out onto the roof of the building. There, in a deeply recessed gap between the eaves where the shadows would lay thick at every hour of the day, the trail seemed to end abruptly. Confused, and for now at least, at a loss, we headed back downstairs to consider what to do next.