After they left Sir Donoran’s house, Riann decided to split up so they could cover more ground. They visited six more houses spread across the city, each interview more frustrating than the last. Some of the men on Lord Raffis’s list seemed to have no connection at all to the situation, while others refused to speak to them at all. They did manage to speak to three of the hostages, and though the stories were all different, one thing remained the same—Lord Raffis had been the one to profit from theirmisfortune.
“This doesn’t make any sense,” Riann said after he’d filled Calrain in on what he had learned. Riann had dismissed the ensign after finishing the last interview, and met Calrain in the square outside the inn. “How could Lord Raffis be the culpritandthevictim?”
“It is possible he has been lying to us this entire time,” Calrain said. “I got similar answers during my own interviews with the insuranceagents.”
But something about this didn’t sit right with Riann. “I can sense Tariel inside,” he said. “Let’s go talk with her and the others. Perhaps they will see something we havemissed.”
They found Tariel and the others in the common area, and joined them in comfortable chairs around the hearth. Sipping mugs of hot mead, the group compared notes, Tariel telling them about their visit to the shrine, while Riann and Calrain summarized the results of theirinvestigation.
“There is no possible way that Lord Raffis is the man behind all this,” Wellion said when they were finished. “Remember, I have met Lord M several times, and he and Lord Raffis were in my father’s keep at the same time at onepoint.”
“What if this Lord M is merely a proxy for Lord Raffis?” Calrain argued. “We cannot rule out the possibility that the man who met with your father might have merely been arepresentative.”
“I hadn’t considered that,” Wellion said, looking disturbed. “But that is a distinct possibility,yes.”
“But it is not the only possibility,” Yarim argued. “Could this Lord M not be a lord after all, but merely someone close to Lord Raffis? After all, he merely calls himself Lord M—that does not mean he himself is a lord. He could be some jilted family member hoping to inherit Lord Raffis’sfortune.”
“That is a very interesting theory,” Tariel said, sounding intrigued. “Is there a way to track down Lord Raffis’s familytree?”
“I can take care of that,” Calrain said. “I can send word to Lord Raffis asking for the information, and then tomorrow I’ll go out again and interview whoever comesup.”
“I’ll accompany you,” Riann began, but Yarim held up ahand.
“Actually,” he said, “I think Wellion shouldgo.”
Everyone looked at him as if he’d lost hishead.
“You, of all people, are recommending Wellion over me?” Riannasked.
Yarim huffed. “His lie-detecting ability will be useful for this sort of work, and he is good enough to protectCalrain.”
“I am not some damsel that needs protecting,” Calrain grumbled. “But yes, I agree that would be useful. We should have thought of itearlier.”
“Good, then it’s settled,” Tariel said cheerfully. “But for now, let’s relax and enjoy our evening. There will be plenty of time for us to get into troubletomorrow.”
Don’t I know it,Riann thought as he settled back in his chair. Glancing between Yarim and Wellion, he wondered what had happened between them. Their earlier animosity, which had been so palpable, was almost gone. Did something else happen at theshrine?
Perhaps the goddess told them both to stop acting like arses,Riann thought. The thought amused him, and he privately hoped that the tentative peace between the two men would maintain. He had a feeling Wellion would stick around for a good while, and the sooner they all got used to him, thebetter.
