"Vambran!" Kovrim's voice boomed from behind, and the lieutenant spun to see his uncle walking into the office, a sheaf of parchment and a hunk of sealing wax in his hands. "Hello, nephew," the priest said, smiling broadly and dumping his work onto the desk so that he could properly greet his visitor.
"Hello, Uncle Kovrim," Vambran replied, smiling himself and crossing the distance between them to give his relative a hearty hug.
"It's great to see you home," Kovrim said, slapping Vambran on the shoulder before stepping back to look at his nephew. His face went from a smile to mild shock. "What's this on your forehead?'' he asked, genuinely surprised.
"I've been studying with one of my men," Vambran explained, suddenly feeling a bit uncomfortable. "Not a whole lot, just enough to pick up a few tricks. I find them useful on the battlefield."
"I see," Kovrim said, tilting his head to one side, as though considering what he thought of the revelation. "The Lady's divine grace isn't suitable?" he asked.
Vambran frowned, trying to figure out a way to explain it.
"It's not that," he said, "I'm still very attentive to my holy studies. But there are some things I'm finding out work better this way."
Kovrim broke into another big grin.
"Well, then, good for you I'd rather see you prepared for anything, you know. So, your trip went well, I gather," he said, gesturing toward a narrow, high-back chair in front of his desk.
"Absolutely," Vambran replied as he sat, relieved at his uncle's apparent approval. "Nothing at all like the last time," he said, grinning and remembering the skirmish he and his company had engaged in during the previous trip.
A local dispute had a horde of guildsmen up in arms in Procampur, and they had tried to blockade the ship to prevent it from offloading its goods. It hadn't been much of a fight, though relations with that particular guild were substantially cooler than they had been. The temple in Arrabar had already dispatched an envoy to Procampur in order to try to smooth things over.
"Well, that's good to hear, though I already knew it," Kovrim said with a laugh, gesturing at the pile of work on his desk. "There was a nice stack of new reports waiting for me when I arrived this morning. Another smoothly run business operation ready to be put to bed, thanks to you."
Vambran only smiled and said nothing.
"So, how's my sister?" Kovrim asked, leaning back in his chair. "How is everyone over at House Matrell?"
Vambran tried not to grimace.
"Mother's fine, as always," he answered, trying to keep his voice light. "She still spends most of her day helping Grandmother Hetta, who's still going strong. And Em's growing like a weed," he added with a laugh.
"I'll bet," Kovrim said, chuckling along with his nephew. "Well, I'm looking forward to visiting for Em's birthday in a few days. It'll give me a chance to catch up with the family. And I know Ladara will be happy to see me."
"Yes," Vambran said. "Mother will certainly like that, and everyone would enjoy your company. Just don't show up without a big, expensive present for Em, or she'll never let you hear the end of it."
They both laughed.
"Well, are you ready to settle these accounts?" Kovrim asked, rising from his chair to grab a large, leather-bound ledger from a shelf behind his desk. "We can get these books in order and go have a bite to eat."
Vambran let the smile fade from his face.
"Uncle Kovrim, I have a problem," he said. "I need your advice."
Kovrim grew serious as well and sat back down.
"Certainly, Vambran, whatever I can do to help."
Vambran sighed, unsure how to explain things.
"Last night," he finally began, "On the way home from the docks, there was a killing."
Kovrim grunted, shaking his head in sorrow, but gestured for the lieutenant to continue.
"City guards accosted and 'dealt with' a pair of common folk in an alley near our estate. They claimed that the two victims were falsely marking themselves thrice."
"Oh? Haven't seen that in quite a long time."
"Exactly," Vambran said, leaning forward. "It struck me as odd, too. But besides that, these city watchmen just didn't seem quite right to me. They didn't really understand procedure, and they were downright surly toward Em and me."
"I see. Were you wearing your marks last night, too?" Kovrim asked, pointing toward Vambran's forehead.
Vambran nodded and said, "Yes, and of course they behaved rather poorly about it, too. Very accusatory, not surprisingly. But it was more than that. Even after I demonstrated my talents, they were downright rude, at least until a second squad of guards arrived."
"So what are you concerned about?" Kovrim asked, scratching at his balding pate. "Did something happen?"
"Not as such," Vambran replied. "But I decided to draw out the sergeant's surface thoughts, to see what he was really about, and what I read was unsettling. I just don't think they were actually watchmen. He seemed very worried about someone finding out what had happened last night."
"I see. So, what did you do about it?"
"Well, Em was there, and I didn't want a skirmish breaking out, so I just kept quiet. The second squad was led by a captain, and she certainly seemed to know what she was doing. They gathered the bodies and told me to report this morning for a debriefing. I was actually looking forward to it, because I wanted to see what came of the communing with the dead."
"And?"
"Last night, two Waukeenar priests showed up unannounced and ordered the bodies burned, due to magical plague."
Uncle Kovrim's eyebrows shot up in surprise.
"Oh, really?" he said. "I haven't heard a thing about the plague breaking loose anytime recently."
"I figured you would be the one to know, if anyone did," Vambran said. "I think the magic plague is just a ruse. Someone is hiding something, and I'm worried about the implications that these two priests are involved in it."
"Yes," Kovrim said absently, scratching at his head again, deep in thought. "That doesn't sound good."
"I mean, it may be nothing, but a moment or two conversing with the spirits of the slain couple could have cleared it all right up."
"Yes, it could have. So, did you voice your doubts to this captain?"
"I did. She was not interested in listening to me. Claimed to have put a couple of her men on it, and that was that."
"And you're not satisfied with her efforts."
Vambran was silent for a long time. Finally, he looked his uncle squarely in the eye.
"You know what's troubling me," he said at last.
Kovrim nodded slowly and said, "You can't keep blaming yourself for that, Vambran. You were just a boy."
"You know that doesn't make it feel any better. It haunts you just as much as it still troubles me."
"That's different. I was an adult, I should have known better than to have given you that crossbow. If I hadn't-"
"So neither of us can forgive ourselves so easily. The fact remains that all I can think about is what Rodolpho's family must have thought when they heard the news and afterward. Bewildered, wondering why someone would assass-" Vambran clamped his mouth shut, unwilling to continue that thought. "Anyway, now, I see it happening all over again. I can't help but wonder how the families of these two are feeling, thinking their dead kin were criminals. It's not right."