The next morning Skana got up and lightly kissed her sleeping wife. Despite the covers being thrown off, Neia still slept soundly. She looked so very different in her slumber than she did when she was awake. Her hair was longer than it had been during the war, and though it did not cascade down her back the way Lakyus's did, it was now significantly past her shoulders. Perhaps more noteworthy was how much better cared for it was. This extra care left it soft as the blanket that had covered them both shortly before. Whenever Skana looked over Neia's sleeping form, she was always struck by how much smaller her fierce loved one seemed. In public, speaking before kings and generals, or even kneeling before their god, she appeared a towering figure of strength. Yet in those emotional moments shared only between the most intimate of lovers, the real fragility of the warrior pope was laid as bare as her body.
It was the deepest and most moving form of trust. To lie with someone and experience bliss for a night was one thing, but when alone, Neia revealed all the jagged edges and broken parts of who she was that she had glued back together after horror, war, and sorrow had beaten against her so many times. Revealing them had been like handing Skana a mace, she always had the power to hurt her wife in the deepest ways, and she was determined that she never would.
After they shared tea and warm well wishes, Skana remained in their hotel room slightly longer than her wife, spending a few more minutes gathering additional materials. When she did leave, she found both Lakyus and CZ already waiting for her in the lobby.
"Good morning Skana." Lakyus said warmly, "How are you feeling?"
"How someone who cheated death normally feels. I'm dead on my feet and probably only moving this much because I was only dead for a moment, but I still feel like hammered shit and I'm wondering how long I'm going to have to train to get my lost power back." Skana said flatly.
"Don't eat poison." CZ offered helpfully, eliciting a dirty look and a laugh from Skana.
"Well ladies, we've got a lot of work to do. So, let's get to it." Skana said, taking on a more serious expression.
"I'll be frank, I don't have much experience with this, just what I observed from when Neia helped out in Kedyn…" Lakyus sounded nervous.
"It's OK, when I was in Nazarick I read some of the same books Neia did, I'm not quite as good at this as she is but…" She began.
"For her?" CZ asked curiously. Skana blushed furiously.
"Someone is already good at this." Lakyus chuckled as CZ's pointed question exposed Skana's much… earlier infatuation with the warrior pope.
"OK that's enough of that, let's get to work." Skana said, stiffly walking to an isolated room she'd reserved the previous evening.
They went to the hotel conference room and took seats at the table, "First, witness statements. What do we have?"
Skana asked as she took out her documents.
"The first thing to note is that nobody who I spoke with recognized the waiter who brought us that dish." Skana said as CZ stood and approached a large board on the wall and began to put up papers and noted that detail. "What about any of you?" She asked.
"None." CZ said, and noted her own results.
"And I spoke with the kitchen staff, nobody back there prepared this dish, so it definitely did not come from the back and nobody back there saw him, however I asked everyone who worked there if they recognized a description, and one of them did, one of the cooks remembers a man who worked there several years earlier who he said sounded like who we saw. I had someone do a sketch of him on the spot, and the resemblance was, in the words of the chef, 'uncanny'." Lakyus added.
"That would explain why he used a dessert that the restaurant no longer had, they didn't know it wasn't served anymore. If we'd looked at the menu more closely, we might have caught on." Skana said with a disappointed shake of her head.
"Didn't do it, don't take blame." CZ said, cutting off the train of thought before it could begin.
"You're right of course." Skana said and sighed.
"Name?" CZ asked.
"He didn't know, the restaurant owner said he thought it started with an 'Lo', but it was too long ago." Lakyus said.
"What else?" CZ asked.
"His manners were exceptional. He carried himself with a great deal of poise and grace." Skana said.
"Experience." CZ said abruptly.
"Yes." Lakyus said. "He may have worked here years ago, but I think it is safe to say he's continued to serve in the capacity of a high-class servant ever since."
"That narrows down the number of locations we need to scour, right?" Skana asked.
"Yes." CZ said as she wrote it on the board. Lakyus looked at the wall, CZ had patiently and neatly written out each piece of information, pinned up the sketch of the mysterious server, and noted in list form all of what they now knew and what they had concluded about him: The starting sound of his name, his having worked there previously, and his most likely current employment.
"You know, the cheesecake… poison aside, really was delicious." Skana said.
"Are you hungry?" Lakyus asked wryly.
Skana chuckled, "Well, kind of. I did skip breakfast, but what I mean is, the dish's presentation was top notch work. Our mystery waiter may have delivered it, but I don't believe for a second that he also prepared it. So… where did it come from?" She asked, opening her arms wide as if inviting suggestions.
"Another fine dining establishment." CZ and Lakyus said in unison, and CZ quickly put that information on the board.
"So… A fine dining establishment that makes cheesecakes and has a server with a name beginning with the sound of 'Lo' who looks like that." Skana said, pointing to the picture on the board.
"Anything else?" CZ asked.
"Well, what about the tray?" Lakyus asked.
"What about it?" Skana inquired.
"Different." CZ said.
"Right, the cheesecake you were served didn't come from that restaurant, and I really doubt that he walked into the restaurant with a bunch of them in hand and then just searched for a tray to swipe. The one he used was nice enough that it 'could' have been authentic and part of that establishment but now that I think about it, it didn't look like the ones the rest of our meals came on." Lakyus said.
"So, he either had his own or he brought it from the same restaurant that the tainted cheesecake came from." Skana concluded.
"I'll sketch it." CZ said, pulling a sheet of paper from a stack and scribbling out a near perfect representation and stuck it to the cork board.
"The question is, how did they know we were going to eat there? I don't believe for a second they found us by chance and wrangled all this together at the last minute." Skana said with an angry look on her face.
"Who took reservations?" CZ said as she wrote the question on the board.
"And also, who had access to them? Skana added. "The person who took them and the person who leaked them might not be the same, so we need to find that out."
"Skana… I know this is an unpleasant question, but… what can you tell us about the poison you ingested?" Lakyus asked delicately.
Skana frowned. "What do you mean?
"Taste or smell?" CZ clarified.
Skana mulled it over. "It had a kind of earthy flavor underneath the normal taste of cheesecake, a little sweet, but nutty. If it weren't fucking deadly, I'd actually have said it was delicious." She said thoughtfully.
CZ wrote the information on the board.
"Well, that narrows down the type of poison used rather considerably." The battle maid said.
"It does? How so?" Skana asked.
Lakyus let out a disgusted sigh, "I'm a warrior priestess through and through, but I was raised a noblewoman. We learn all about poisons because our peers sometimes try to remove each other in less than honest ways, and the traits of the poison you describe reminds me of a toxin called 'Hemlock.' Your seizures and other symptoms also point to the same thing."
"Common poison?" CZ asked curiously.
"No, not at all, very deadly, but the plant is very rare, meaning it must have come from elsewhere. If someone in the city grew it themselves, they'd never use it on any of their enemies since even finding the plant would be considered intent to murder. It has no other known uses except as a poison. Therefore, it must have come from very far away, and I know of only a few places it can be grown or prepared for use in relative secrecy. Lakyus said.
"Any idea where it could have come from?" Skana asked.
Layus frowned. "There are two possibilities, Around some of the old estates in The Kingdom, or… the wilds surrounding Kami Miyako in the former Slane Theocracy."
"The kingdom's in no state to be shipping poison out, so we can probably eliminate that possibility immediately. With the new nobility corruption is relatively low, so there is just no call for a poison production market for any kind of an underworld." Skana pointed out.
"Slane Theocracy." CZ said softly.
"We can worry about that later, first thing we need to find that waiter. CZ, can you stay and watch over the material here while Lakyus and I go visit the emperor?" Skana asked.
"Yes." CZ said, in her usual monotone.
Skana and Lakyus left as quickly as they could, mounting their horses outside. Undead horses, while fairly common inside the Sorcerous Empire, were not nearly as widespread in places like Arwinter as yet, and those riding them were given a wide berth for their (correctly) assumed importance (or just out of lingering fear). This made it very easy for the pair to quickly journey to the emperor's palace. In no time at all they found themselves mountain the stairs to the massive entrance that served as a testament to the power of the emperor and the success of his state.
"Identify yourselves please." The guards said in unison born of constant practice.
"Skana Baraja." Skana said.
"Lakyus Alvein Dale Aindra." Lakyus added. "We're here to see the emperor, he is expecting us."
The two guards shared a surprised glance, then quickly admitted the two women. They walked to the royal court with great speed and urgency in their every step, until the Royal Marshall sought their identities by the court's great double doors.
"Commander Skana Baraja & Lady Lakyus Alvein Dale Aindra." Lakyus informed him. The Marshall opened one of the doors, stepped through, and announced their presence in the booming voice that must surely have earned him his position.
The banter of the court and the petitioners lined up before the emperor froze, its occupants whirling around to look at the pair. Neither Skana nor Lakyus paid any attention to the stares as they walked to the base of the throne.
"A word?" Skana requested plainly.
Emperor Jircniv nodded and stood, "I will return shortly." He announced. "Dear," he said to the Empress, "please see to the court while I'm away." He said politely and then descended the steps and made his way to his private office. The pair quickly followed.
Soon they were alone and seated, the door firmly shut behind them. "What can you tell me, and what do you need?" The emperor asked, jumping straight to the point with a grave expression on his face.
When Lakyus had informed him of what they had worked out and how they did it, his eyes went wide with surprise. "You worked all that out… from almost nothing? I am impressed, your reputations do not do you justice." He said respectfully. "I can help you with your search somewhat. In all of Arwintar there are only ten restaurants of the caliber you speak of, each with a single chef that prepares the most exquisite cheesecakes, one of whom is the current Imperial pâtissier. He comes to the palace once a week, and if you describe your dish to him, he can narrow it down further." Jircniv scribbled out a brief note and a list of restaurants and slid it across the desk.
"By the way Commander Skana, so you are aware, I have written and dispatched a letter to the Sorcerer King informing him of the events that have transpired so far. He has offered to send an investigator of his own to assist you if you require it. He's also offered," Jircniv's voice became somewhat envious, "a month-long holiday in his domain for yourself and your companions, regardless of the outcome, as a show of appreciation for your hard work, loyalty, and courage."
Skana gave him a broad smile, "That makes being poisoned almost worth it." She laughed.
"Almost?" Lakyus said dubiously, "For that I might poison you myself!" Skana gave her a mock glare, and the emperor started chuckling too.
"Thank you for your quick response your majesty." Skana said, regaining her serious tone. She took and looked over the note. "If we can have one more small piece of assistance?" She asked.
"Name it." He replied.
"Regardless of the information given to us by your dessert chef, we'll need to investigate the places he can't rule out, and to put it mildly, we stand out. there is no reason to think the guilty parties expect us to be on to them at this stage, and I'd rather not alert them to our actions. So may we borrow some of your guards?" She asked.
"To apprehend people?" He asked.
"No, we want to send them undercover disguised as wealthy merchants in a sting operation who and what we're looking for Lakyus replied.
Emperor Jircniv raised an eyebrow, intrigued. "Explain, if you would?" He asked of them.
"We're looking for several things: the waiter responsible who brought us the tainted food, the restaurant where it was prepared, and the chef who baked it. Either identifying the chef or identifying the tray will give us the restaurant, and if we have the restaurant then we'll find the server, find the server and we'll find the point of contact." Skana began, then trailed off.
"There is also one other small matter…" Skana started to say, then hesitated, uncomfortable with the thought that rose in her head.
"Go on." Jircniv said, leaning forward.
"Our presence was known in advance… we suspect the ones who took the reservation sold that knowledge..." She began and then Jircniv raised his hand from the table to stop her mid-sentence.
"I can help you with that." He answered, "Restaurants of high caliber tend to be very discreet in principle, however there is something of a black market on information for guests of particular significance. People wish to be seen with others of significance, so it is fairly common for certain brokers to trade that information for coin. In this way various figures try to get close to the nobility or other movers and shakers of the empire." He said.
"I see. We'll need to find out who that information was sold to as well then." Lakyus said thoughtfully.
Jircniv took a sheet of paper, scrawled some instructions on it, he then affixed his personal seal to the bottom and slid it over to Lakyus. "These orders entitle you to as many guards as you need, and credit from the royal treasury for appropriate clothing to put the men into their proper roles."
Lakyus took the document and then she and Skana stood up, followed quickly by the emperor. "Thank you sire." Skana said, "We appreciate your cooperation."
"Always happy to assist a fellow servant of the Sorcerer King. Come to me again if you require more support." He replied.
The two women bowed politely and departed, quickly making their way to the royal kitchens, only to find a slightly overweight but youngish man with an almost fevered energy about him in the way in which he moved about the kitchen instructing his juniors on what exactly to do and how. He reminded Skana of the way Neia moved around units before battle, ensuring everything was as perfect as possible before marching to war. It was a most impressive sight and Skana hated to interrupt the observation of excellence at work, but she nonetheless made a loud noise as if clearing her throat, and… he didn't notice. Only after the third throat clearing did he look away from what he was doing and take note of the odd pair waiting for his attention.
He paused what he was doing and approached, "Hello ladies, what can I do for you? If there is some special treat you require, the servants who attend this part of the palace are happy to take your orders, if they were in some way unsatisfactory, say the word and I will have them replaced immediately!" He said enthusiastically.
"Nothing like that, I need your help on a matter of some significance. Come with me." Skana said in a voice that made it clear she was ordering, not requesting. This set the portly fellow on edge, but he obeyed and left the kitchen with them. When the kitchen doors swung closed behind them, Lakyus told him of the events that had taken place. His face first paled and then went red with rage.
"To do such a thing is against the chef's code!" He said emphatically, "It is blasphemy to the delicious to ruin something so perfect! Ladies, I know every chef in this city who can prepare a dessert on par with myself, and I can swear to you that none of them would ever do such a thing!" His voice was hoarse with suppressed anger as he spoke, but both Skana and Lakyus remained firm.
"Whether that is so or not, it happened, and we need to know where the cake could have come from." Skana insisted.
"Describe it in detail." He replied, holding out ten fingers.
"A buttercream base with a buttery cookie-like crumble crust. The top was decorated several different types of fruits. Strawberries and halved blueberries laid round side up." Skana said, and the chef nodded emphatically before closing five of those fingers into a fist.
"The syrup was drizzled into a spiral design going from the center of each slice outward to the edge of the plate." Lakyus added.
He nodded again and closed two more fingers. There was a pause.
"Anything else?" He asked.
"Nothing in particular I can remember about the dessert." Skana said. The baker looked to Lakyus, who shook her head as well.
"Me neither." She added.
"I see, well with the information you've given me I can narrow it down to three places for you." He said, taking a quill from his pocket and holding his hand out for a sheet of paper. Skana handed him one and he wrote down three restaurants.
"The Golden Pear," he said, "is run chiefly by Chef Icabod, skinny fellow, passionate, talented, and makes the fourth best cheesecake in the city. The next is a place called 'Emperor's Delight', it is run by Chef Baragon, interesting man, actually the son of a noble who abjured his title in favor of his love of cooking, incredibly talented, makes the third best cheesecake in the city. The third is called 'Xanadu', its run by a Chef named Nickan, easily the second most talented chef in the city across the board, each of them does their cheesecake with fruit sliced that way and syrup drizzled that way., the others either no longer serve it and haven't for a while, or they use different personalized designs in the way their fruity syrups are drizzled or use different fruits entirely."
"Thank you." Skana said with a bowing of her head slightly, "You've been very helpful., Bbut just out of curiosity, one more question?" She asked.
"Yes?" He inquired.
She cocked her head to one side and gave him a crooked little smile. "Who is the first best in the city, after how you've ranked these men and at least one of them served me both the best and the worst cheesecake I've ever had, I'd really like to know."
He looked at her with surprise and returned her smile with absolute confidence on his face. "Why I should think it obvious my lady: I'm the best. That's why I work here once a week, and they don't. Come back when you're finished, and I'll prove it." He said, "Now if you'll excuse me?" He bowed politely and returned; they could hear him shouting about following directions properly, even over the loud noise of the swinging doors.
"I'd say that gives us a lot of what we need." Lakyus said, "So let's go borrow some soldiers and find our prey."
"Yes. Let's. He wanted to find out what my wife thought of the way poison tasted, I'd very much like to get his opinion on the taste of steel." Skana replied with a savage smile and touched the pommel of her blade as the two walked back the way they came.
AN: I'm enjoying writing these kinds of 'whodunit' stories more than I thought I would. And hey, you get a double release day, so...win win. :) OF course if you enjoyed the chapter leave a review, and if you aren't broke and you'd like to go the extra mile to support my creative projects, you can donate to my patr3on dot com at slash godrising. Thanks for reading! :)