Chapter CVIII – Following the Leads
It was foolish to count on the soldiers' discretion.
The rumors spread again like wildfire. A convoluted crime – the Dragonborn's lover and companion poisoning her, making her bedridden to freely pursue an affair with the Queen herself. Meanwhile the people suffer as they are attacked by dragons and the nobles who are supporting the Empire are only met with disinterest and dismissal.
The fragile hold on the Empire's supporters was crumbling under all their hands.
High Queen Elisif sat at her throne, slumped down unexpectedly gracelessly. They were waiting for her outside of the Palace, screaming, clamoring for attention. They asked for compensation, for outrageous amounts of money due to the Empire's negligence. One attack and the Empire could have maybe managed to placate them, but this… having the means of ending this right under their noses and refusing to use it… there was no way to sweep this under a rug.
They expected Aeyrin to lay her life down for them. Not for their lives, but for their precious fortunes.
Elisif said that Casavir did the 'right thing'.
But now…
He saw the uncertainty in her eyes as he brought her the 'evidence' – the testimony of the kitchen staff that pointed at Bishop. He saw her doubt him. He saw her question his integrity and sincerity. And after what Bishop had said after he was convicted… she questioned everything about him. She wondered if every word that he had ever said was a lie.
He could see that in her tired eyes.
"Sir Casavir? What else is there to discuss?" she finally turned his eyes up at him.
"Your majesty, I would like to continue the investigation. With your permission," he nodded humbly.
Please, trust me.
Casavir knew that he shouldn't have come to her with the evidence, but Azshan was furious and undeterrable. The man would have gone to Elisif himself, despite the gaps in logic, despite the missing motives that implicated Bishop. He just wanted his friend avenged.
But she wasn't.
And whoever did this to her was still out there, perhaps even plotting further.
"Wait for lady Aeyrin to wake up, Sir Casavir. Do not do anything until then," Elisif averted her eyes from Casavir.
She didn't trust him.
She believed Bishop's words over his, just like Aeyrin did.
And why wouldn't she?
As much as it infuriated him, he believed those words himself. Some of them, at least.
"As you wish, your majesty," he hung his head low with palpable regret decorating his face.
Another mistake to cause an avalanche. He never should have been the one to lead the Order in Skyrim. He didn't have what it took. He never should have even been the one to lead the investigation. He obviously just made one mistake after another.
His emotions blinded him.
His hatred towards Bishop, his admiration for Aeyrin. It all blinded him.
He didn't deserve the Gods' favor.
"Sir Casavir," Elisif called out to him, just as he was almost by the stairs leading down from the throne room.
He turned back to look at her hopefully. Did she change her mind?
"You should get some rest. I will personally send a priest to care for lady Aeyrin until she wakes." There was no gentle smile, no compassion and worry for his health and well-being. The admiration he had always seen when she looked at him was all gone.
He knew what that meant.
She didn't trust him with Aeyrin anymore.
…
Casavir couldn't leave it alone.
Aeyrin wasn't awake yet and something had spurred him to go on until he got to the bottom of this before she was. Perhaps he was wary of her anger. Perhaps he was desperate to avoid the hurt in her eyes when he told her about what had transpired. This was all his fault. Admitting even more failure to her now filled his heart with dread. The least he could do was find the real culprit to, at the very least, start making things right again.
He walked the halls of the Castle aimlessly while he contemplated his next move, pointedly avoiding the section where his chambers were. He would be too tempted to check on her, to see if her condition was improving. Or just to see her, no matter the state she was in.
He walked to the canteen, only to see that the usual chatter seemed quieter and subdued. Everybody was on edge now. The uncertainty of how things would pan out was falling upon everyone's heads. The General would have to relent and they would have to come up with a way to compensate the nobles. There was no other option. The cuts in funding would certainly not only affect the soldiers' pay, but also the quality of their equipment and the services provided to them. The hits to the moral would be staggering.
And it would give more windows to succumb to corruption.
He left the uncomfortable ambiance of the canteen and he continued down the halls.
Sometimes he wondered if he should have become a priest instead. There were no politics, no money mongering… just a clear-cut calling to help and heal. It sounded so refreshing.
He wished more than anything that when he met Aeyrin, she would have been alone. That she would have accepted his offer to join her on her travels. He would have assigned someone else in charge of the men, he would have taken a leave for an integral task of protecting Skyrim and he would have spent his time by walking the wilderness with her, battling evil.
It sounded so simple, so… worthy.
But Bishop had ruined that with his manipulations. She didn't even consider having anyone else by her side, because she was worried about how they would get along with Bishop. She didn't even consider leaving him. It was all because of how much he had managed to manipulate her.
He deserved whatever he got.
No… Casavir still couldn't convince himself that what had happened was in any way right.
There was no affair, if not to Bishop's credit, than to Queen Elisif's. She would hardly have need of a scoundrel like him and he would not have the opportunity to manipulate her like he did Aeyrin.
Besides, Casavir knew. He knew what their private meeting was about and he knew full well what that parchment from the Queen's desk said.
And without the affair, why would he keep Aeyrin with Casavir longer? To do some job? To commit some crime that he didn't want her to see?
Possible… but… it still rang hollow to him.
There was just… this gut feeling that he couldn't ignore.
"I'm telling you, it's creepy. I think they have their people here…"
Casavir overheard the whisper carry through the halls. He instantly stopped in his tracks, listening. Why did it catch his attention?
"You're being ridiculous…"
"No! How else is it possible? The dragons attacked just as she was at her worst both times. Someone must have told it when it was safe to strike."
"Like who? And why?"
"I don't know! Didn't people worship those beasts before? Maybe some still do. And maybe because they want them to destroy us…"
"You're ridiculous. People only ever do things for two reasons. Sex or money. People don't do crazy shit because they worship something anymore."
"Where do you live? There are fanatics everywhere. Just look at our dear paladins…"
The two soldiers chuckled at that, making Casavir crease his brows and turn on his heels to head in the other direction. Everyone was suddenly so full of 'helpful' theories. Yet the truth eluded them all.
'They attacked just as she was at her worst.'
Absurd… there have been theories before on someone controlling the dragons but those have never had any substantial evidence behind them, even historically. If there was a leader among them, it would be a dragon. And there was no way that one would know whether Aeyrin was wounded, let alone poisoned. And the theory of their worshippers… there would have been rumors of cult by now. These things never stayed secret, especially since cults tended to recruit rather aggressively.
Casavir never understood the appeal of these conspiracy theories.
When were they ever correct? And why…
And…
'People only do things for two reasons. Sex and money'
There… there was no one benefitting from Aeyrin being in that state! The dragon only caused destruction, there was no one who…
Who would…
Casavir stopped in his tracks.
The nobles who had demanded compensation united awfully fast. They would hardly even have time to go over the actual damage before they marched to them, all riled up.
It was… ridiculous… far-fetched.
But he had to see for himself.
…
Casavir looked over the charred fields, over the burned down roofs of the cabins and over the… hardly affected stone mansions. Well… the fields and the harvests were substantial losses but… still… the nobles may have exaggerated a bit.
Then again, they often tended to do that.
His gaze turned to the workers who were walking the fields and checking whether there was anything left there to salvage. He had to find out what had transpired there. He may not have been used to talking with the common folks anymore, but surely they would be helpful in this particular investigation, wouldn't they?
He pin-pointed one of them and approached tentatively.
"Good woman, may I ask you a question?"
The older Nord woman turned to him. Her eyes widened at the sight of his armor and sword that were shining brightly in the setting sun.
There were guards around, patrolling the area, but he was still uncomfortable outside the city walls without his equipment. And he did like wearing it for some reason. Maybe it made him feel more like the warrior and paladin that he wanted to be and less like… less like the politician that he was now.
"Aye… you're all shiny…" the woman cringed at him while she placed her hand in front of her eyes to shield her vision.
He was hardly that shiny!
"Ehm… I was merely wondering if there were any witnesses to the catastrophe…" Casavir ignored her mockery while keeping up a professional expression.
"Catastrophe? Ya mean the dragon?"
Casavir nodded at her in response.
"Aye. The young lizardling, for one… Neesha or Neeta or Neeva or some such," the woman shrugged disinterestedly.
"Could you, perhaps, point me to him, milady?" Casavir stifled his exasperated sigh. Why would she assume that he knew the man by name?
"Milady, is it? Nobody ever call me that!" she snorted with a slight shake of her head. "He's right over there, the lazy git."
She, at last, pointed to the bright red Argonian, sticking out in the charred field like a sore thumb.
Casavir nodded at the woman gratefully before he approached the Argonian. He was really more equipped to deal with the nobility. Commoners did not often respond well to authority, especially if it came marching down their fields, armed and armored to the teeth. But he had to deal with the suspicious and fearful, or even contemptful looks, if he wanted this investigation to go somewhere.
"Excuse me, Nee- aah…" he realized too late that he had never actually gotten the young man's proper name.
"You want directions there or something? Because I'm not giving them! Every time you come there…" the Argonian gestured by spreading his arms and nodding at the charred field that they were standing on.
"I… what?!" Casavir's eyes went wide. What did that mean?
"I noticed, alright?! And before you try to 'shut me up' or some other scary thing like that, you should know, first of all, I told everyone. And second, I'm not really scared of a shiny fuck after… well…" he made the same gesture again, pointing out the charred field while he gave Casavir a challenging stare.
"I… I… My good man, I am certainly not whoever you're talking about. In fact, I am here to investigate the dragon attacks… I… was told that you have witnessed them," Casavir creased his brows. Whatever the man was talking about sounded… bad.
"Yeah. And not just the attacks. And like I said, I told everyone," the Argonian scoffed at him dismissively.
"Told what? I assure you, I mean you no harm. But if anyone was somehow… involved in the attacks in any way… I need to bring them to justice."
"I don't give a shit if you shiny men rat on each other or what you do to each other. But you think I'll be working this here field much longer? That's what's pissing me off!" the Argonian snarled at him angrily.
Was he asking for a bribe?
Or was he just complaining?
Casavir wasn't used to this. It was hardly ever as… both blatant and vague with the nobility. But… the man did seem to be falling on hard times. Casavir knew that the temple didn't help as much as it used to. Not with the war going on. Most of the donations went to the military and most of the money coming to the temples went to potions and medicines for soldiers.
It was always the innocent who suffered most in war.
He reached to his belt for a coin purse.
Well… what was he going to do with it? He should just give him all of it.
"My good man, I regret that we did not patrol the area more in time. I would be grateful if you shared this with others that were affected by this tragedy. As a… consolation."
The Argonian stared at him for a while before he snatched the purse from him greedily.
"Whaddya wanna know? What I saw?"
Casavir just nodded at him, listening eagerly.
"I was just working here. Then I noticed someone like you in the distance walking the road. Wouldn't be so fucking eye-catching if he weren't so shiny. Stupid fucks… Then he goes back. Nothing weird right? A few hours after, a bunch of bandits run to us. They don't have weapons. They just run. We know them. They have a place nearby in some old house. We give them food and they leave us alone. So this was weird. You know what's weirder? A fucking dragon was on their tail," the Argonian scoffed, shaking his head morosely.
"So we hide and run and those fucking bandits scatter and, eventually, all that's left for the dragon's the field. Well it gets bored with the field pretty fucking soon and just flies off. Fine. You know, weird, but possible. So some days after that, we see the shiny asshole waltz by again and then back to the city again. And whaddya know?! A few hours later, the same fucking bandits and the same fucking dragon! But now there are patrols and some of them spot if from a distance and rush here. They kill it and then they just fucking pick it up and carry it away. Like some godsdamn treasure!"
Casavir stared at him with his eyes wide, processing what he just heard.
His head was threatening to split with the stress headache that he was getting.
Well… perhaps the man in the shiny armor had no connection to what happened. But… why would the bandits purposefully lead the dragon to the field? Was it just a coincidence? Did the dragon attack them and they just… ran? Towards the city? That was possible…
"Where is the house that the bandits occupy?" Casavir creased his brows, looking over the area with concern.
"I ain't telling you! The next thing I know, bandits, dragon, the whole fucking deal again!"
That was a… fair concern…
"I… I understand your concerns, my good man, but I assure you, I am here to investigate and put those responsible to…"
"Justice, yeah, yeah. I'm tired of listening to you talk all high and mighty. You know what, the house is down that road and then you keep right by the edge of the forest. I'm taking the money and we're all getting out of here. Do whatever the fuck you want with the fields," the man threw his hands up in exasperation before he turned on his heel.
"One more thing! Please! Where did the dragon and the bandits emerge from? Was it from the direction of their hideout?" Casavir stopped him before he could leave.
"Nah… it was from the forest by that mountain – see those tall trees there? There were a lot more of them before the dragon stormed through those. That's why we saw the bandits first, cause that thing was hidden by the fucking trees. They all came from there both times," the Argonian shrugged.
That was… why would they come from the same direction both times unless it was from their hideout?
It must have been from somewhere where the dragon tended to slumber.
So either there was some choice loot that the bandits were interested in stealing from it and their escape to the farms was a mere unlucky coincidence, or…
…
The corpses of the bandits were scattered around the small rickety house. There was nothing left, no money, no loot and certainly no paper trail. They were killed skillfully. Very skillfully, in fact.
Some of the bodies were cleaved in half, some of them didn't even have their weapons out. There were several severed heads and limbs scattered around the old wooden floor.
Whoever could have killed them like that had strength, had speed, professional tactics, and the perfect perception of the layout of the battle. The cuts were clean and precise, done with a large weapon – a claymore most likely. Whoever could have killed them like that, didn't need to exert much effort to do so.
He himself could have killed them like that.
Or anyone with his level of training.
…
"What?! I… I don't understand. Ah… my head hurts… what happened to him?"
Aeyrin tried to concentrate on what the priestess was saying. Her head was spinning and hurting badly and she was so uncomfortably clammy and sweaty. She felt like she could drink an entire lake with how thirsty she was on top of all that.
"I don't know, milady," the priestess shrugged while she pressed a cold rag against her forehead.
Aeyrin grabbed the rag and quickly threw it away from herself. She was not going to relax and get healed now! Not after what she had just heard!
"What do you mean you 'don't know'?! You said that he was convicted of poisoning me! What happened to him?!" She felt herself at the verge of tears. She was still so confused about what she was hearing. Any way that she had thought about it, being convicted for poisoning someone couldn't have ended well. And being convicted for poisoning her specifically… well… people would likely overreact at something like that.
But they wouldn't do anything to him without asking her what happened, right?!
Not that she knew what happened…
"I don't know, milady. I only overheard the story from the rumors. Please lay down, you still need some rest," the priestess pressed on her shoulders in an attempt to lay her down.
Aeyrin was still so weak. Lying down sounded so good just then…
NO!
She needed to find out what happened! She needed to help Bishop! These were just rumors, right? No rumors were ever right… something else has happened. She just needed to find out what.
She got up from the bed, but she instantly started swaying on her feet.
"Milady!" the priestess got up instantly along with her and she tried to steady her before she pushed at her again, trying to get her back to bed.
"Let go of me! I need to go!" Aeyrin yelled at her in desperation.
The woman had said that she was poisoned and that the investigation showed that her companion did it to keep his affair with the Queen a secret.
That was outright ridiculous!
But if people really thought that Bishop poisoned her…
It wasn't hard to imagine the authorities thinking that too. If someone saw him sneaking through the Castle, he'd be more than a suspect.
"Milady, you have to lie down! Now!" the priestess was getting impatient with her struggling.
There was no time to play nice.
"Let go or I'll Shout!"
The woman let go of her shoulders instantly and her eyes filled with fear at those words.
Sorry…
Aeyrin ran out of the room as fast as she could, leaving the woman behind. She bolted out of the door without ever stopping until she collided with the wall of the hallway, right outside Casavir's chambers.
Ow…
She recovered rather quickly though and she started rushing through the corridors while praying that she could find the exit from the maze that the Caste was. She needed to talk to Elisif or… to someone…
She collided with something again. It hurt a lot more this time and she felt so disoriented. Her head was spinning so much. She managed to look at what was in front of her, only to see a vague blurry figure with a blonde head and in a white robe and. Did she… collide with… herself? It might have been a mirror….
"My lady! What are you doing?!"
Oh… not a mirror. Casavir's armor…
"C-Cas… Casavir! What happened?! I… they told me… they… Where is he?!" she practically sobbed against him while she grabbed him by his shiny pauldrons. She didn't really have the strength to shake him or anything though. She mostly just used them to steady herself.
"My lady, calm yourself, please. Bishop is fine. He has been… sent away for now. I promise you, we will conclude the investigation soon," Casavir sighed. He really didn't want to explain to her what had happened. There was such panic in her eyes. It was somewhat heartbreaking that it was all for Bishop's sake.
"Away?! Where?! I need to see him! She told me he poisoned me! That… that he's sleeping with Elisif… that he was… convicted…" she tried to focus her eyes on Casavir, but everything was blurry. It was possible that she was tearing up involuntarily. Or it was his armor blinding her? Why was it so bright? It didn't seem so bright before! Maybe she was just overly sensitive to it now.
"My lady, I… I will explain everything. Know, that he is fine. Please, let us get you back to bed and resting," he grabbed her by her wrists gently and he lowered her arms from him.
"I… I can't… I have to…I'm so confused!" her breathing felt ragged. She was pretty sure that she didn't stop panicking yet.
"Please, my lady," Casavir sighed. She still couldn't concentrate on his face.
"You promise? You promise that he's fine?"
He observed her for what seemed like a long while.
The truth was that he didn't know. It was quite possible that Bishop had some plan in mind to try to get back into the city.
That would truly not end well for him.
But that would be his own undoing.
Right now, Casavir just wanted her to stop looking so forlorn.
"I promise. Now, please, come with me."