Mahnshooth- chapter three

Vahkhehn sighed and rubbed his eyes: his first real case was already tiring. He had re-read his notes, and yet, he found nothing that seemed out of place. Of course, several members of the family seemed to be missing alibis, but as his master had pointed out, that proved nothing.

"They are calling the servants", Irvahn Doyah came back into the room, shutting the study's door without a sound. "Are you ready?"

"Of course", the young man replied with faked enthusiasm. He wanted facts- real ones. The ones objects showed, not the blurry and often made-up ones people told you. He slid his chair closer to the desk and got out his notebook again, just as the young man barely older than him he had seen earlier- the butler- came into the room, his pale grey eyes wide with worry and timidity.

"Master Doyah and Guildsman Kerath?" he knocked ever so lightly on the door.

"Please come in!" Irvahn Doyah grinned, coming closer. The skinny young man came in and waited stiffly until Irvahn motioned him to sit down . A servant with a spotless education and training, no doubt…

"Please present yourself", Doyah started curtly. Vahkhehn noticed his tone of voice was different than with the Grand Master's family. Maybe a question of social hierarchy… still, he didn't like it. All D'ni citizens were equal in front of the law- well, at least in theory.

"My name is Bigto Garoth, and I have the pleasure to work for our beloved late master Oonray Chisotahn- Yahvo bless his soul- Grand Master of the Guild of Linguists", the man in grey replied with a polite but direct tone that showed absolutely no pleasure in serving the Chisotahn family. "I am a free servant and their butler, if you see what such a job implies", he modestly added. Irvahn nodded with disdain, scribbling a single line.

"Would you care to tell us what you were doing from the moment the Chisotahn family finished dinner up to when you found out about the murder?"

"Yes, of course. I was in the servants' quarters the whole time, giving out instructions on the way to serve each member and set the table- you may ask the others, they will certify my testimony", he shortly added.

"And then?"

"Once they were done and had all left, I helped take away the dishes and gave the servants the last instructions. Then I went to sleep. I was woken up by master Pahrahth who asked me to call a maintainer as soon as possible. I was not even dressed- I covered my robes with a cloak, linked to the nexus, then Ae'gura, ran to the Guild Hall and called the city guard on night shift. We came back as soon as possible!"

Irvahn Doyahn nodded and jotted down more things.

"And have you noticed anything suspicious that day? Or even earlier, or later still, something that was out of the ordinary…"

"No", the young servant shook his head, "everything was as plain as usual".

"Except that the entire family was at home to celebrate your master's 300's birthday… what can you say about the family members? About your masters, his children- every detail is of great importance", the Relyimah member added when he saw Bigto's face lose all colour and twitch into a grimace.

"It is not right for a servant to talk about his master, but if you insist…" he took a deep breath, "Master Oonray was a respectable but difficult man. I never liked him, but always respected him for he was of great intelligence. Anyone will tell you that although Yahvo had blessed him with a great mind, he had given him a very small heart. But that is not my problem. His children are not much better, mind you".

"What do you mean by that?" Doyah suddenly looked slightly more interested.

"Everyone knows Master Pahrahth is very close to the king, but a true hypocrite. He does not respect the Loshemahnesh laws- in fact, he plans to convince our young king to abolish them and turn towards a "purer" policy concerning the D'ni. But that is politics, not my business either… Master Tahl'Avis…" he chuckled sourly, "Now here's an interesting character. He has no personality whatsoever. Always bowed in front of his father and did everything he said, only to grumble about it behind his back, but never do anything about it. It is obvious all he ever wanted was the house. That's why he was so respectful…

Lady Lehnah is the only one us servants hold in our esteem. She is very quiet but is the softest, saddest and most intelligent one of the lot. Her brother Pahrahth wants to marry her off to one of his other legislator friends, but she has always refused firmly- she is a very firm woman. As for master Zhaltis, well, he is the difficult one…" His voice tailed off and he blushed when seeing the two maintainers expected him to go on. "Well, master Zhaltis has always hated his father for… erm, well, it is very complicated…"

"Please make such a complicated story short", Irvahn sighed and rolled his eyes.

"Zhaltis Chisotahn has always blamed his mother's death on his father", the boyish servant mumbled all at once. The other two in burgundy were frozen.

"What's that?!" Vahkhehn looked too shocked to say anything else.

"It is ridiculous, of course", Bigto hastily corrected himself, "but master Zhaltis has always blamed it on his father".

"And for which reason?" Irvahn's dark eyebrow lifted itself in a questioning way.

"Grand Master Oonray Chisotahn's wife, lady Devokan- Yahvo keep her soul-, killed herself while the children were still young. Tahl'Avis and Lehnah were just teens… Zhaltis wasn't even an apprentice yet. It happened on the day he was coming home to visit them exceptionally, from the Guild of Writers. He could have become an exceptional writer if only… if only he hadn't come at the very moment his mother chose to throw herself off this balcony", the servant pointed at the very narrow balcony barely visible behind the ornate window. "Zhaltis witnessed her fall- he was accompanied by lady Nyaloth, one of the servants here, you can ask her. At that moment, the poor boy was too stunned to move or do anything. Then, he finally looked up, only to see his father on that same balcony, looking down. It was said they had had an argument, but our master never killed his wife, I am sure of it. They had never been a united couple- an arranged marriage, you know- and lady Devokan often made scenes about everything, even the tiniest details that no one saw. Can't say I liked her either, but she didn't deserve to die so stupidly…"

"Has anyone ever found out about her reasons to commit suicide?" Vahkhehn perked up from his notes, "I mean, if master Oonray was acquitted, then surely the jury proved his innocence and the suicide theory?"

"Yes, of course", the servant nodded, "but that was done in a very hush-hush trial. No one ever knew any details about it- not even the children, which is another reason Zhaltis hated his father. He thought he had bought the jury's silence. But master Oonray claimed that he had found his wife on the verge of suicide, that he had tried to talk her out of it but that they had had an argument which had ended with her simply rushing to the window without a word and throwing herself out. He had been helpless. Naturally, he said he knew the reasons of her suicide, but wished to keep them secret so as to protect their children. That's all I know", he waved his arms with helplessness.

"Good", Irvahn nodded, "you may go, Bigto. Please call the following servant".

"Wait! One last question!" Vahkhehn protested, "You mentioned something about linking to the Nexus earlier…"

"Yes?"

"Does that mean there is a linking chamber in the house?"

"No", the man in grey uniform shook his head, "every book- whether it links or not- is in the library. We have seats there to keep guests waiting if need be, and an entire section for linking books, classified by Age, writer, and era. But my master kept some here, unless I am mistaken", he reached for a pile of papers on the desk. Lifting them up and seeing nothing, he frowned and asked:

"May I open the drawers, master Doyah?"

"Help yourself", the maintainer glided away from the desk with a touch of class and disdain.

The young servant opened them and took out two books.

"There: Ae'gura's Guild Hall and the island of Neref, where several of his personal friends and job acquaintances live" he pointed to a white book which cover had yellowed with age and an indigo one with purple edgings. Irvahn Doyah opened them and skimmed through them, careful not to touch the panels, until he fell on another panel in the middle of the white one that was supposed to link to the Guild Hall. He frowned. It showed a great, bright circular room with colourful paintings on 360°
open worked canvas along the walls, representing many Ages. There were rich carpets, furniture… and a huge round table that looked similar to the one at the Guild of Writers', except the wood was pale and not mahogany-like. Symbols of the guild of linguists were strikingly omnipresent in the room.

"Is that his personal study at the Guild Hall?" the guild master enquired. The servant nodded:

"Indeed! And he had another book to link back here".

"What? But that's ridiculously dangerous!" Vahkhehn exclaimed, "imagine someone used the book to link into the house without any warning…"

"He said he always hid it very well", the servant shrugged.

"Besides", Irvahn smiled, "we all saw this book was closed and shut in a drawer. How could the murderer close it and hide it while leaving? Impossible".

"Unless he came back here later on!" Vahkhehn insisted, then turned towards the young servant, "Who else knew about these books?"

"Why, but everyone", he blinked, "I even used them myself to call his acquaintances on Neref or fetch him at the Guild Hall, when he wasn't at the Guild's private Age, which book is in the library down the corridor. Everyone knew where each book was kept, just in case". The two maintainers exchanged looks but said nothing.

"May I please go, now?" Bigto timidly asked.

"Yes, of course", Irvahn sent him away with a disdainful wave of his arm.

* * * *

"Name?"

"Fanaah Tsoidahl" the young woman replied. Her face was oval-shaped, pale, but of a matte ivory shade that indicated she wasn't pure D'ni. Her jet-black hair was wavy and carelessly piled up into a bun under her maid's open veil, her obsidian eyes shining brightly in the soft golden light that came from the lake beyond the window. Dressed in fairly simple grey and white clothing, a discreet pin showing off her name and status, she was barely older than Bigto- about Zhaltis and Morneeth's age.

"And?" Irvahn asked, looking up as she hastily lowered her modest gaze.

"Free servant, chamber maid. But I also help with the dishes and setting the table, serving the family, things like that. The kitchen is lady Nyaloth's hall of fame", she added with a slight smile, "not mine".

"I see. What were you doing the night your master was assassinated?" Irvahn rubbed his eyes, tired of repeating the same boring question for the seventh time that day.

"I was helping the cook with the meals, set the table, and took everything away to wash it once the family was done eating. Then, we all ate, of course, and I stayed behind to help Nyaloth dry the dishes and plan the next day's meals, while Bigto left to go to sleep. Then, we both went to bed at the same time".

"Heard anything unusual?"

"No, and our rooms don't have great noise isolation. No, nothing. Except when master Pahrahth called Bigto, who ran down the stairs so quickly it made the walls shake and woke me up. Even lady Nyaloth got up to ask what was the matter. But Bigto came back and told us to go back to sleep- he was in a hurry. We heard him go to the library via the servants' corridors and that was it until the city guards came and he told us about everything. It was horrible. Poor master Chisotahn! He was a strange man, but it is still unfair".

"You didn't like your master?"

"I… well, no one here really did. Neither did his own children or the linguists he worked with, but he was so intelligent and had such an authority that everyone respected him greatly. It is a pity… who knows whether the next Grand Master of the Guild of Linguists will be as good? But that is not my problem, I am but a servant", she added modestly. Vahkhehn frowned, wondering why the servants all seemed scared to express their own views even after their master's death. Maybe it was part of the routine… they had been used to it for so long…

"Very good, thank you. Will you please call lady Nyaloth? Thank you". Irvahn sighed and laid down his pen. Turning to Vahkhehn, he said:

"Bothersome, isn't it?"

"No, not that much", the young man hid a face he had been about to make. The guild master laughed.

"That's the most tiring part of the case, don't worry. Once you have the basic facts, it all starts whirring in here", he pointed at his skull with a grin, "and before too long, it's all fallen into place. Tell you what? How about we leave this island full of crazy people who all hate each other and check the docks for some information once we're done with the servants? Then we could always have a look at Oonray's office at the Guild Hall and list down his "acquaintances" for latter. What do you think?"

"I think it's a great idea, master Doyah", the blond boy grinned back, "I'll go mad if we don't get some fresh air!"

* * * * *

"So, you've been working here…"

"As long as I remember", the old woman replied crisply. She was in her 350's, grey-haired with a lot of white streaks, a sickly pale triangular face, her nose long and lips thin. She kept on wringing her hands nervously in her grey apron over pure white skirts- the same uniform Fanaah wore.

"That doesn't help very much…" Irvahn protested.

"I am telling you I can't remember myself! I was… 30, I think, when I came here. A child, really. That was back during our master's young years. Why, he was not even 25 yet! There were other servants too, who have all died or left by now… I am the oldest one here, and no one knows the family better than I do!" she proudly exclaimed.

"Alright… And as you mentioned it earlier, you were in the kitchen the whole evening and went to bed as soon as you were done with the dishes… And then?"

"I woke up hearing a yell, then master Pahrahth calling Bigto, that is all. We don't hear much in the servants' quarters", she added. "Which is why we should have installed some sort of bell or something like that… something loud enough- but no one bothers with the servants".

"Ah, yes… erm, your colleague, Bigto, mentioned that you had witnessed lady Devokan's death- is this true?"

The old servant's eyes became dark with sadness and she stopped wringing her hands all of a sudden.

"Oh yes, I was there alright! With poor little Zhaltis too. He was coming back from the Guild of Writers', I remember it as though it were yesterday! And just as we were about to knock, we heard yells, I looked up and… I saw her jump. Zhaltis only saw her fall. It was horrible, it gravely shocked him, you know. He was only 7 at the time…. Horrible, truly horrible… but why did Bigto tell you that?" She squinted her tiny beady blue eyes at Irvahn, who backed away a little.

"We asked him why it was rumoured that Zhaltis hated his father", the dark-haired man replied.

"Ah, yes, they all said he had killed her! But that is not true, master Doyah, it is all false. We know our master was unfair, never content, and always moody, but he would have NEVER killed his own wife. He didn't even care about her, why would he have bothered?"

"Maybe he had a liaison with someone else?" Vahkhehn suggested. The old servant shook her grey head.

"No, master Oonray started having mistresses only AFTER lady Devokan's death, not before. Before, they were almost living separately: she was always here while he was absent on other Ages for the Guild. No, I think it was suicide, tough I can't imagine why. However, it shocked Zhaltis so much that he still thought it was his father… and never forgave him. In fact, he quit the Guild of Writers and ran away from home at 14 with a large amount of money he had stolen from his father. Said he wanted to go settle on an other Age, being unable to bear his father and the rest of the D'ni society here. And strangely enough, I do believe that he was his father's favourite son. Yes, I know, no parent is supposed to have favourite children, but everyone would tell you Zhaltis was always supported by his father, who said he reminded him of his own father. It's a complicated family, isn't it?" she smiled sadly. Irvahn nodded silently.

"Indeed…" His clear green eyes were wandering away, daydreaming- or was it a sign of boredom?- as his fingers nervously rapped on the table at a quick pace in an unusual beat. Lady Nyaloth frowned at those fingers until the muscles in her face seemed to relax with a strange look of surprise. Irvahn stopped it at once when he saw she had noticed his nervous tic.

"But wait", Vahkhen was scratching his forehead, "where did Zhaltis go all this time?"

"Oh, he was a merchant on another Age… I do not know, to tell you the truth", the old woman shrugged, "he said he did a lot of different jobs until a merchant took him as his apprentice later on. It was from then on that he got a stable job, and started coming back to D'ni only on vary rare occasions and married Morneeth three years ago. Somehow, he had managed not to see his family all these years- except Lehnah. She ran into him in Ae'Gura twice, but some good seven years ago! Which is why it was such a surprise to see him come home after so long!"

"Very well, thank you", Irvahn said while getting up, "I think that was enough, thank you".

The old woman left and the two maintainers exchanged notebooks to see if they had missed anything. They had not: the questions had been plain boring, and the answers didn't explain anything much. Except the hate everyone had for each other.

"Isn't it amazing how Oonray's death seems to suit everyone here", Irvahn suddenly wondered aloud. Vakhehn nodded:

"It isn't right… but yes, it is true. Zhaltis hated his father since he was convinced he'd killed his mother, Tahl'Avis wanted the house for himself… We don't know whether Lehnah and Pahrahth also needed something out of him, but maybe they did…"

"The servants didn't seem to like him much either", Irvahn pointed out, "and neither did his colleagues, from what Bigto said. Which proves the man was a real pain… but why?"

"Maybe it was his personality", Vahkhehn shrugged, "unless he had too many responsibilities than he could bear and too many personal problems to deal with… who knows, now that he's dead?"

"Who knows, who knows…" Irvahn got up and gathered his documents and slipped them into his big leather file, heading for the door. "But that is none of our business! We're here to try and find a culprit, the one that assassinated Grand Master Oonray. So, to the docks!" he grinned, opening the door.

Vahkhehn followed him, still thinking about everything he had jotted down and only thought about something else when he was out of the mansion. They walked past the ground's small but incredible garden and started going down to the tiny docks when Irvahn stopped short. Something seemed to have caught his eye. He came closer to the pot where he had seen it.

"Did you see that?" He asked Vahkehn.

"What?" his apprentice replied.

"A small glint, something shiny, near the pots…"

"Everything here is shiny", the young man retorted, turning to look at the crazy aspects of the truly tropical garden with its semi- precious metal pebbles. That's when he noticed it too. Something in one of the pots on the terrace was shining. He came closer, followed by Irvahn, who was the one to see it first: five shiny iridescent tear-drop-shaped pearls had been carelessly thrown amongst the bush's thick leaves in the pot. They both stared and gasped, until Irvahn slipped them into his pocket.

"Did you notice…"

"Their size? Yeah, and purity too!" Vahkhehn was speechless. "To think they were HERE all this time… why didn't the murderer take them away with him- or her-? It doesn't make sense!" the young apprentice frowned.

"Maybe you are right", Irvahn Doyah's hand clasped firmly around the pearls in his pocket, "maybe the person who did it lives HERE and thus thought they would take them back later on and was scared of being searched when we came! We will need to check what the people at the docks have to say about a craft, but if your hypothesis is right, Vahkehn", his eyes had become dark and menacing, "then our job here is not about to be simple- and over yet".

* * * * *

They had been waiting for at least a tahvo when a man finally came out of the docks' offices. He was shorter than most, his head balding and oddly pinkish under the lake's soft golden glow. Dressed in long baggy blue pants, dark knee-high boots, and a dark cloak over a very long slit and heavily decorated grey-blue tunic, he grinned joyfully at them and opened his arms wide in sign of welcome.

"Ah, master Doyah and his apprentice! What brings me such an honour?"

"Well, we would like to know which boats you have rented until midnight yesterday", Irvahn went straight to the point.

"None, master Irvahn, you were the last one with a ferry to come back so late. No one ever rented another boat until 6:45 this morning, I can assure you", the old man bowed his head respectfully and raised a hand as though to mark his word.

"No one, are you sure?" Irvahn frowned. "What about private boats- did you see any on the lake around midnight?"

"Oh, no, but I am old and go to sleep early. I would have to ask an employee, but trust me, I don't think anyone was there at all, I would have se-"

"Thank you, thank you, master Kenoth", Irvahn rubbed his eyes and frowned. The kid was right…

"So… what do we do now?"  Vahkehn asked when they left.

"We'll go see an expert I know and leave the dagger's sketch there. He is away at the moment, and won't be back until next week, but that will give us some time to get more facts down here", he waved his notebook, "and maybe round-off a few angles thanks to the report he will send us".

They went to the closest nexus and patiently waited in the line for their turn to choose a destination. Vahkhehn peeked over his master's shoulder: he had selected Kerath'en. He made a face as the engines whirred and clicked to a stop,  a large grey book opening itself on a foldable stand before them. Kerath'en was the lowest possible district in Ae'gura, where the Relyimah had the most trouble settling order, and where D'ni's lowest classes lived. Not very promising.

Nevertheless, he put his hand on the same panel as Irvahn's and sighed with apprehension as they both linked.

When he opened his eyes, they were already there. Irvahn untied his cloak and wrapped it around himself differently, unfolding the hood he had kept under his collar earlier and bringing it down across half his face. His green eyes seemed to gleam in the darkness like an Ahrotahnti beast's.

"Hush, now", he brought a finger to his lips, "and follow me at the exact same pace. You wouldn't want to get lost here, would you?"

Vahkhehn looked around him with a hint of disgust. He knew he had been brought up in a privileged class and would have to see the worst of D'ni now that he was out in the real world, but he still couldn't help showing just a bit of reluctance at all this. Making a face, he imitated his guild master and followed his swift steps as soon as his pale and fine features were hidden under the dark burgundy hood. They walked through the crowded and dirty streets, around the badly-light up dead-ends, and avoided drunkards, beggars and dark looks coming from random bystanders: it seemed the maintainers, and maybe even Relyimah, didn't have a great reputation here.

"You seem to know this place rather well", Vahkhehn exclaimed after they had turned sharply for what looked like the twelfth time, through streets that all looked the same. Irvahn Doyah's mouth- the only thing they could see under the hood- was unchanging, set in that same expressionless line ever since they had linked.

"I was raised here", he replied bluntly after some time. Vahkhehn almost tripped on a lose pavement slab and stared. He had never expected someone like Irvahn, who had a natural class and so much charisma and ease around people of the greatest classes to come from the city's lowest district. Realising his stare must have been rude, he blushed to the ears.

"Oh, I, I'm very sorry, that must have sounded rude…" he stuttered.

"Oh, no, not at all", the dark-haired man smiled for the first time since they had found the pearls, "there is nothing wrong with that. I have no shame in admitting where I come from, on the contrary…" his smile dropped and turned into a snarl, "I don't think anyone knows how hard it is for someone coming from the lowest class to reach the rank of Guild Master. No one knows what it is like. Demath- may he live eternally- plans to impose special scholarships for those who cannot afford to join a guild… but everyone knows the major guilds are reluctant to accept such students, let alone turn them into something more than a simple guild member. No, one must fight for one's dreams and ideals, Kerath, remember that- That's what I did."

"It's Vahkehn, sir", the boy blushed again.

"Sorry, Vahkhehn. I had to fight, yes, to get what I wanted, but in the end, it was worth it. No help, no scholarship, no relations, and yet… I had to overcome a great deal of prejudice to be where I now stand. But here I am", he grinned, "and I'm not about to give up. Which proves that even without anyone's help, one can achieve great things… Here it is", he stopped in front of a shabby old boutique, shaking his thoughts of the past away and going back to their real purpose for being there. He got out the slip of paper master Prihn from the guild of healers had given him and unfolded it. It was a neat-looking sketch of a strange curvy blade, the handle being a rough blur- no one knew what it could have looked like, but the expert would know.

"So, who is this expert you were talking about?" Vahkhehn asked.

"Kodahr May'reem, retired member of the guild of archivists", Irvahn retorted, folding the sheet again, "specialist in D'ni and Ahrotahnti weapons and their history. He was very useful back during some of the Relyimah's most important cases, and although he retired from the Guild of Archivists due to his old age and rheumatisms, he still helps us from time to time. He knows me well".

"And does he often go away like that, even with his rheumatisms?" Vahkhehn looked dubious and wondered, down deep inside , whether the man they had been supposed to meet was really "as pure as the driven snow"… or not. He didn't really sound right…

"Yes, for medical care one of his healer friend gives him on some private Age with great springs for that… I suppose we could leave it there…" he looked for a way to enter or some place to leave the precious sketch without it being found. Then, he got an idea and crouched down, looked under the door and slipped the sheet under the narrow gap.

"There, that should do", he rubbed his hands, getting up.

"And now?" Vahkhehn asked as they headed back for the Nexus.

"Lets see how our very warm, welcoming, and loving Chisotahn family reacts when we show them what we've just found", Irvahn Doyah grinned, taking one of the pearls out of his pockets to have a look at it. He then dropped it back in there, making sure no one had seen him: you never knew whether or not someone was lurking along those dark alleys.

"Let us hope, if Yahvo lets us, that we won't have any more surprises when we get back!" Vahkhehn looked up at the cavern's ceiling as though expecting some sign to fall down.

"Oh, I'm not against good surprises", the guild master chuckled.

"Surprises, when involved with a murder, are never good, master Irvahn", Vahkhehn simply snapped back. None of them uttered another word until they had linked back to the docks and gone to look for a ferryman that would bring them to Taryah.

* * * * *