Fable - Ask A Murder Most Foul

[Ichika]

There was a growing urge to place a comforting hand on Khari's shoulder, reassure her that everything would be ok, but that urge was swiftly flung from her mind as the horned-woman mentioned that the letter warned of a plot. To overthrow the Dynast. Involving...

The Ito Clan? Odd.

"Explains why the courier, Punyaa, was killed," she reasoned. It also explained why Ceryl had been butchered but she thought it best not to say anything.

Khari had grown up in decadence, the woman of the Tsuri Clan assumed. Raised by the Dynast herself likely meant she never wanted for anything in her life. And as the Dynast's personal blade to silence voices that needed to be permanently kept quiet she likely had some idea of the complicated interweaving of family politics within the empire.

None of the families ever moved against the Dynast. It was an unspoken sacred vow they all had in common. No matter how ugly business got, no matter if the Dynast herself slighted someone, they would never waiver in support of her.

But did Khari know about the history with the Ito Clan? They Dynast's oldest daughter was meant to marry a son of Clan Ito. Until it came out among the noble families that he was bedding a woman from Alliria. The Ito family was furious and had promised to make things right but the Dynast herself became involved and called the whole thing off. This was well over a year ago and while the public was never aware of the reason why the wedding had been called off most of those within the nobility had the fuller picture.

Ichika twisted her lips before speaking again, "so the Ito's sought to further their political power through a deeper allegiance to the Dynast and when that failed they began plotting," she moved her hands around as if to gesture at the estate they were in, "all of this."

And now that Khari and Ichika were aware of this plot...

"We need to be smart. No telling who else is involved in this, who we can trust. And as soon as those masterminding it realize the two of us are investigating these murders we are likely the next targets."

 

[Khari]

Khari gritted her teeth. "Good, I'll get to kill them faster."

She didn't mean that.

Ichika was right. They had to be careful. Though Clan Ito had not been able to marry into the Dynast's inner circle, they were still one of the most powerful families in the entire Empire. They had Retainers, Assassins, and killers on their payroll. Some of them were almost as good as she was, and if they came in any number even she would have trouble.

Not to mention the fact of the legal trouble that they could bring. A single accusation from the Ito clan could undo most people in Donarch with just a point of their finger. Khari knew that, and now that she understood who had orchestrated this all it was becoming clear.

She grit her teeth and looked back to Ichika.

"No. No. I know you're right." She pushed her pride aside. "We'll be careful."

The Daemonette grumbled. "But this all makes a lot more sense."

Her lips thinned as she folded the letter up and gently placed it into her pocket. "By killing Ceryl and framing me they kill two birds with one stone."

Lips thinned.

"So what's our next step?" She asked Ichika quietly. They could try to warn the Dynast, though Khari was unsure if she would even see her right now given the circumstances.

 

[Ichika]

For better or worse the two women were now in this together. Ichika's mouth felt dry, her palms sweaty, and the hair on the back of her neck stood straight. She hadn't anticipated being pulled into a coup attempt which threatened to unravel the empire when she awoke this morning yet here she was.

"We can't go to the Dynast until we have proof," she mused aloud.

Then what? Confronting the Ito's was a fool's errand that would end with their throat's slit or the two of them implicated as the one's responsible for slaying the Dynast.

The Ito's were a multi-faceted clan which had made their riches by forging and trading steel and other metals. They had solidified their power by operating one of the premier schools for training handmaidens, the warrior women of Erdeniin. Thus they had vast sway with the merchants, military, and close ties to nearly all of the nobility.

Ichika hummed and hawed. "Are you close with anyone from Ito? Anyone you can trust?" Alternatively she had one other, more risky, idea. "Or we could break into the Watanabe estate and look for evidence there..."

The Watanabe's were a family who had codified the laws of Dornoch and to this day were prominent in the legal and scholarly communities of Erdeniin. They were also very close to the Ito Clan and if they truly attempted an overthrow of the Dynast then the Watanabe's would be involved. If there was any falsified legal decree or inheritance papers they likely had a copy while also being an easier home to infiltrate.

Less guards, weaker kinsmen, and the eldest Watanabe had fancied Ichika for their entire childhood so discovery might be less risky.

 

[Khari]

The Daemonette grimaced for a few seconds, considering for a second of the names she knew.

Like most in Dornoch, The Ito Clan was none too fond of her. They saw her as an abomination and a threat. An impediment to gaining power, and of course one of the few people in the Empire who could put down their handmaidens when necessary.

It was an insult to them, but that animosity had often bred curiosity. There had been a boy, one that Khari remembered fondly enough.

He'd been an utter moron at the time, just fifteen years old. He'd been dared by his brothers to climb the walls of her estate and steal something from the 'demon'. Khari had found him of course, the same age as him at the time. "Atsuya Ito."

She said softly.

Atsuya was not exactly the most beloved son in the Ito clan, but he was a son nonetheless. Last she'd heard they had placed him in charge of a large foundry on the edge of a city. She did not think he would be involved with this, nor did she think he would betray his family; unless...

"He is...fond of me." She told Ichika. "But I do not think he would turn against his family, unless we show him evidence of what they are plotting."

Her hand came up to thread nervously through her hair. "If we do that, we can use him to infiltrate Clan Ito and learn even more."

Then the Dynast would have reason to move against the entire Clan.

 

[Ichika]

"Atsuya?" her voice was a mixture of confusion and vitriol.

Atsuya Ito and Ichika Tsuri had been rivals since childhood. He had begged his mother to allow him to practice Kenbu and although she was his better he had always excelled at matters of charisma. From her perspective, had Atsuya been born a woman he likely would've been the Matriarch of Ito's right handmaiden.

"If he's fond of you that is good," she said in a more jovial tone, "he and I weren't so close growing up."

Perhaps this plan had merit. They wouldn't need to find a way into the Watanabe estate if Atsuya freely invited them into the Ito estate. And she was sure that Khari or herself could find an excuse to sneak away.

Her brown eyes stared hard at Khari's violets, "and you're sure that if we tell him about this plot that he'll aid us in finding proof? That he won't just turn us in."

Fingers fidgeted around her katana and sack cloth. The entire prospect was beginning to make Ichika nervous.

 

[Khari]

Khari shook her head. "No we need the proof first."

She explained.

"I think he would help us, but only if we have evidence of what the Clan is attempting to do." Khari frowned for a moment. It was clear that Ichika was none too fond of Atsuya, so there was a fine line of telling secrets...but she thought it was more important that their mission not crash and burn now. "Atsuya is not well liked within Clan Ito."

He had confessed as much to her years ago, and she knew that it was true even now. Being part of the Dynast's estate meant the Daemonette had access to more spies than...most people would ever even dream of.

Not that they would help now. "His sisters look down on him and his mother does not think much of him either. He has had to constantly prove himself and show his worth. His public face of confidence is an act, in reality he has always been on very shaky ground with the Clan."

She did not really consider Atsuya a friend. He was a foolish boy who'd chased her, someone who had not understood what she was or the danger she posed by simple association.

"I think...if we break into the Watanabe estate and find something concrete we can show Atsuya he will help us." Though just how he would she didn't know quite yet.

 

[Ichika]

So much for the shortcut she had briefly envisioned. A frown tugged on the corners of her cheeks as Ichika let a sigh escape. The hardships Atsuya had faced wasn’t her concern, she could hardly stand the man. Perhaps Khari would learn why at some point but… hopefully not.

”Very well,” she let her arms drop down to her sides, ”let’s make our way there. Do you think we should wait for nightfall?”

Time was a precious resource but darkness might make their approach simpler. Espionage and stealth weren’t exactly the Tsuri woman’s expertise. Although she figured that she’d be rather useful at finding incriminating evidence if it existed within the estate.

Wrinkles formed on her brow, behind her short black locks, ”or do we make our move immediately?”

Regardless of the choice she moved a slender arm into Ceryl’s nearby closet and retrieved a pink silk scarf, wrapping it around her neck for now. She’d need to conceal her face as they approached the Watanabe house. No telling who might recognize her.

”And yourself?”

She spoke with an open palm gesturing Khari towards the linen closet. Ichika wasn’t certain how you’d hide those horns but she knew it’d spell trouble if word of a burglary at Watanabe’s estate got out and the two women had been identified as being in the area.

And the absolute last thing they needed was any more trouble.

 

[Khari]

"Nightfall." She said quietly.

They could attempt to make their way into the estate during the day, but it would increase their chances of getting caught. Watanabe were no fools. Their Retainers were well trained and she did not want to risk putting Ichika in more danger than she was already in.

Her joke, was of course just that, they were not best friends...or even really friends, she knew that. Yet Ichika had been kind, kinder than most people were to her, and she did not want to see the girl harmed just to help her solve this.

She chewed her lower lip for a moment, long canines digging in as she found herself lost in thought. Ichika's words snapped her out of it. "Huh?"

The Daemonette looked up, her eyes glancing at the silks.

"Oh." For a brief moment she looked up, as though trying to see her own horns. "Uhhh."

With a brief few steps she hopped over to the closest, carefully avoiding her old tutors body until she quickly poked through the garbs. Eventually she pulled out a large black cloak, drawing it over her head until her face was all but hidden.

There was an odd bulge on the back of the hood, though most would assume it was just a bad hair day. At least she hoped. "Good enough?"

She asked Ichika.

 

[Ichika]

The bulging hood was almost comical. Ichika didn't laugh, though the urge to let some sort of snicker or giggle escape was almost unbearable. Instead she smiled at the demon-woman before her and removed her straw fishing hat.

"Here," she said extending her arm and offering the hat out to Khari. "This, along with the hood, will conceal your horns. Just," she paused and pursed her lips briefly, "don't lose it."

Both hands then moved the pink scarf she had retrieved and pulled it atop her head, like a hood, tucking tuffs of short black hair into the silk and letting the excess silk drape across her mouth and nose. The Tsuri face was too recognizable in that part of town.

"I agree about waiting for nightfall. However, perhaps she should move that way, canvass the building?"

Ichika truly had no idea what she was suggesting. One-on-one ritual combat, boring tax and excise documentation, and her hereditary magic which primarily just helped ships find the port or crops grow were what she knew. Subterfuge was not a topic she excelled at.

 

[Khari]

Khari reached out and timidly took the hat, remembering the way Ichika had defended it to her cousin. She placed it atop her head, treating it as one might a crown and glancing up at it. After a few seconds she looked back down at Ichika.

"Yes." Finally, something she excelled in.

Most of the time when she was given a task she was also given an information packet to go along with it. Despite that, she had always preferred to make her own reconnaissance. It was always a better idea to get a look yourself, mostly because you always knew best what you would need.

For Khari that was especially true.

The Daemonette shifted one more time in her new clothes, and then stepped towards the door. Her hands adjusted some of the blades tucked by her ribs, entirely aware that they soon might need to be used. "We'll need to be careful."

She explained quietly to Ichika.

"There will be watchers on the wall, looking out for people like us." People looking to break in. "Let me handle most of this. I need you to act like we're...normal."

Something Khari herself was entirely unable to do.

 

[Ichika]

Normal.

That was an interesting word and had the Tsuri family not been exposed to the comings and goings at the port it was likely that she wouldn't be an expert on 'normal' either. Luckily for the unlikely partnership, Ichika was well acquainted with normalcy, banality, and the behaviorisms of commoners.

"Well," she paused before continuing, "I'm sure that at a distance we can just look at the building but as we're nearer... I do have an idea."

She scrunched her nose and narrowed her eyes as she could hardly believe what she was about to propose. Maybe undercover work was something she had a secret talent for.

"As we approach the building and are within eyesight of the guards I will place my back towards it. You can take a look but to avoid suspicion," another pause as she considered the best wording, "I'll need you to laugh. Giggle. You'll know the cues and so long as we don't spend too much time in the same place we should be as boring to the guards watching the perimeter as the trees or stones in the area."

Just across from the estate was a set of carts and merchants. It would be simple to stop at a few of them, make up a conversation she had heard commoners hold a thousand times, and then move on when they had overstayed their welcome to the next merchant stand.

It would be very normal. Very, very, normal. She was pretty sure.

 

[Khari]

Khari nodded her head. "I can do that, even monsters can laugh."

It was a bitter joke, but one she made nonetheless.

A smile flashed across her lips, the red lines on her face pulsing slightly as she took in a breath and tucked on the cloak around her shoulders. There wasn't really anything else for them to do, at least not for now. Adjusting the hat she motioned to Ichika.

"Let's get going." Why wait?

Usually she did this sort of thing by skulking on the roof-tops and moving in the shadows, but they didn't have time for that. Nor was it really a good idea to do around the Watanabe estate. They were a shrewd bunch, having the coin to pay the best Retainers money could buy.

The two girls swiftly made their way towards the Door, Khari stopping for a brief moment as she looked at the Tutors corpse. Her stomach churned, but she let out a quiet sigh and shook her head before stepping outside onto the street.

She would deal out vengeance for this too.

 

[Ichika]

"You are not a monster," Ichika quickly corrected.

Monsters were the women she had seen use bribery and influence to murder rivals they disliked. Monsters were the men from foreign lands who drank themselves into a wine-filled stupor and forgot they were in Dornoch when they began to get handsy. Monsters were the fools of Vel Anir who mistreated the other races simply because they were born differently.

Khari was not a monster. Being different did not mean she was evil.

Ichika didn't push the subject further, instead she smiled back and accompanied her partner to the Watanabe estate.

The walk towards the estate was beautiful as they beheld the finely paved streets of Dornoch and the glorious architecture of the upper city their scenery. Her pink silk surrounding her face did well to disguise her identity, not that she was overly recognizable this far from the port. Ichika still didn't have the same notoriety and look of importance as her mother Yuna, she was far too young for that.

Once they were near the outskirts of the estate the Tsuri woman slowed her pace.

"Do you wish to approach the stalls across from the Watanabe's door or is there information you can glean from afar?"

Daylight was fading but they still had some time to scout out the location prior to nightfall.

 

[Khari]

She smiled at Ichika's words, but it was a hollow smile as a thought rang through her mind. You've not yet seen the half of me.

It was a bitter thought, but one that she did not share.

Khari knew that the other woman was just trying to make her feel better, and the fact that she would even deign to do that warmed her heart even further. Was it possible she could actually make a friend. Possible that she would perhaps walk away from this for the better?

She could only hope.

As they walked, Khari basked in the anonymity of her disguise. They got a few looks, but no stared. No one stopped. No one pointed fingers or whispered. It was something she had never experienced before, and the young Daemonette couldn't help but keep the smile off her face.

It was almost a shame when they came to a stop near the estate, their pace slowing until Khari motioned for Ichika to follow even as she asked her question.

"Both." She said quietly as she moved slowly so that they were in a small alcove besides a building, her violet eyes flickering towards the towers around the Watanabe Estate. "There are four Retainers per tower, three towers, and likely more men on the walls."

Her voice was quiet, more like she was talking to herself than to Ichika.

 

[Ichika]

"Is that... a lot of retainers?"

To Ichika that seemed like quite a few. But, her combat training was in single one-on-one skirmishes which had orderly rules. The idea of killing someone before they could even draw a blade was dishonorable. Fighting in a scrap with multiple opponents was even worse. If they were unskilled she may be able to dispatch a few but it was likely she'd get overrun quickly.

Perhaps this information meant that an approach from above was unfeasible? Unless Khari knew something she didn't.

A finger danced against the Tsuri woman's chin as she looked at the horn-hidden Khari. "Perhaps we could get in through the front door? Or a side passage?"

They'd need to move closer to see any other passages available to them but Ichika wondered if they could masquerade as guests or merchants. If they were admitted to the lobby perhaps Ichika could stall while Khari snuck off? Or, maybe that plan was full of too many risks. She doubted the Watanabe retainers would just accept that her comrade had snuck off for several moments without questioning Ichika herself.

"Shall we approach one of the vendors? You'll be able to get a closer look."

 

[Khari]

"It's enough that I wouldn't want to fight them." She could likely kill them, especially with Ichika, but...that would mean a lot more questions. If not more accusation.

Khari nodded, pulling her eyes away from the estate and looking over towards Ichika for a moment as they once again fell into step besides one another.

As they walked over towards the Vendors the Daemonette made sure to steal a few glanced at the walls they walked besides. Like most families in Dornoch the Watanabe kept their estates enclosed. It was partly a show of just how rich they were, and partly a defense should the peasants ever get any ideas.

Walls weren't all that effective against people like Khari.

Eventually the two girls reached some of the street vendors, and once again as Ichika turned her back towards the Estate Khari began to surreptitiously look for their way in. Her eyes flickered, an occasional smile passing over her lips as Ichika feigned their conversation. "There."

She said softly.

"A servant's entrance on the left wall." That would work, as long as Ichika didn't mind posing as a servant.

 

[Ichika]

"Sounds appropriate," Ichika agreed. If posing as a servant was the requirement to obtain what they needed from the Watanabe's then so be it. "I can play the part of whatever sort of servant you wish."

She fumbled a few pieces of copper out of her pouch and into the hands of the vendor they stood before. The steamed buns of pork smelled luxurious as she took the bag from the merchant.

Handing one of the buns towards her accomplish she simply asked, "So, shall we wait a few hours until nightfall or make our entrance now?"

For all of her years spent as an aristocrat within the Dynast's city she had no clue as to what times servants would come and go. She assumed the cover of night would be best but perhaps there was a mid-shift change in the later afternoon?

Hopefully Khari knew such things.

 

[Khari]

Khari looked down at the food for a moment, a mixture of perplexed and...well probably hungry.

For a few seconds she was so lost in the pork bun that she completely forgot to answer Ichika, it was only after she realized that it had gone quiet that the Daemonette snapped out of it. She blinked for a moment, then cleared her throat. "Sundown."

She said quietly.

Then she once again cleared her throat as if there was something stuck in it. Half a second later she was munching on the pork bun, watching the servant's entrance for a few seconds and letting her gaze flicker towards the sun.

"We'll sneafk iwn wif the night cleaners." Khari said with her mouth full, swallowing. "Then break off from the group."

 

[Ichika]

A smile tugged on Ichika's cheeks as she watched her companion down the steamed bun. They had spent the entire day working up this case and had yet to stop for rest or sustenance. Though it was obvious that Khari wasn't going to suggest it, and Ichika's pride prevented her from doing the same, it was a reassuring thought to realize that both of them had been famished.

Tucking a loose piece of short black hair back into the pink silk draped around her she nibbled on the bun. Her hat, worn on the demoness' head, cast a shadow on her as the Tsuri woman's nibble became a large bite.

"Sundfown sfounds," she swallowed before finishing, "excellent."

Although, night cleaners? Could they truly pass for cleaners? Was security so lax in the aristocratic homes of Dornoch that the help wasn't properly monitored?

She gulped down more of the bun before looking at her partner quizzically. "Are most estates like this? You can just sneak in with the throng of staff?" It made some sense. No degree of loyalty or seriousness to one's job could make up for the ever present human trait of laziness.

And it's not like night cleaners or the perimeter guards were paid an overabundance of gold by any family.

 

[Khari]

"Some." Khari said in between bites.

There were a few who took a little bit more care. The Dynast's household for instance had servants that were designated to particular places at particular times. Most of them even lived within the palace, meaning that no one actually ever came in that was not monitored by the Retainers.

A few others were like that, though it was unusual.

Briefly she wondered how Ichika's own family did it, though the fact that the other woman didn't know spoke volumes as to why it worked in the first place. Khari chewed for a second, then slowly began to explain why.

"A lot of nobles don't think of servants as a threat." Some didn't even think of them as people. "They look over their heads, passed them. Their enemies are people like your mother."

She said with a shrug. "Not a servant who is making a few coppers a day. Sure assassins could sneak in, but there's usually an extra layer between where the servants go and where the Nobility stays."

Khari paused a moment.

"Most just check the servant's for weapons, but we won't need those anyway." The Daemonette explained.

 

[Ichika]

Khari might as well have been talking about Ichika herself. The few servants she knew by name were trusted and she'd never have suspected them. But the reality was that most of the servants in the Tsuri manor were unknown to her. She could pass them by on the street and not recognize their faces.

Biting her lip she confessed, "your words are true," as it also registered to her that she'd never even seen a 'night cleaning' servant.

Perhaps when she had completed this task she'd remedy this new flaw in our family home's security. Although, knowing her mother, these loose ends had likely already been handled. However, if Ichika was to take over as the matriarch of House Tsuri one day then she'd need to be aware of their manor's security vulnerabilities.

"Very well, just let me know what I must do when the time comes."

She had assumed that keeping quiet and following Khari's lead was a given but any advice the daemonette could offer was to be heeded. She was extraordinarily far away from her element. Her face welled with a degree of excitement however as the thought of pretending to be a simple servant and sneaking around the house of a rival noble family was quite thrilling.

 

[Khari]

Khari nodded as Ichika confirmed her point. She had used this trick more than once of course, though usually there was an added touch of magic to help her actually slip into the estate. She wondered if that would be necessary this time around.

"Pretty easy." The Daemonette said as she finished the last of her meal and cleared her throat.

For a few seconds she looked at the servant's entrance, and then drew her eyes back towards Ichika. Very suddenly she grabbed the girl, her hands settling gingerly on her shoulders and a smile pulling across her face. "You'regoing to need to slouch more."

Khari pushed down her shoulders.

"Not hold your chin so high." She reached up and pulled Ichika's gaze towards the floor. "Throw a little bit more deference towards...everyone."

Servants didn't tend to stand up for themselves a lot. "Oh and...."

She reached down onto the ground, picking up some of the dust and dirt and throwing it onto Ichika's clothing.

"Can't be so clean." Khari said as she dirtied herself as well.

 

[Ichika]

Shock gripped at Ichika's features as the demon-woman grabbed her. She slouched her shoulders precisely as Khari pushed on them though it was keeping them there that proved challenging. A liftime of instructors nagging one to keep your chin up, eyes forward, shoulders and back straight was hard to break.

One trick she had learned was that of a deep thought. What was her mother like in her youth? The Dynast? Khari? Focus on irrelevant thoughts and it made it easier to ignore habits that were built in like steel. Eyes on the ground, shoulders down, no eye contact. Simple enough.

But then her split-second mediation was interrupted as the assassin flung dirt onto her clothing. A portion of it bespeckled her chin as her mouth dropped open.

"Surely now you are just being cruel," there was no way the commoners walked around covered in grim. Perhaps Ichika truly didn't understand the average citizen. All day and night spent laboring and a bit of dirt or mud on your clothing was the least of your concerns. Stopping to make oneself presentable cut into the few hours of solace one might have.

After all, Ichika didn't bother to clean her own clothing. She had servants for that.

Extending her arms and twirling she overexaggerated her shoulder slouch, kept her chin trained to the earth, and a sly smile formed as she felt satisfied with herself. "So, do I look the part?"

 

[Khari]

"Close enough." Khari said with a satisfied nod.

She was still not entirely sure that Ichika would actually be able to blend in. One unanswered command from a Guard, one little slip of the tongue would be enough to bring disaster on them. For a second she wondered if she could just go alone, but looking at the other girl she thought it too late for that.

A smile touched her face, and she adopted the same slouching poster as her companion, motioning towards the setting sun. "Let's go."

With a gentle hand she urged Ichika forward towards the Watanabe estate.

There, just as predicted, they found a throng of men and women slowly moving in and out of the small doorway in the south end of the wall. Dozens of men and women milled about, most of them chatting and talking among one another as they left or entered the small gate.

"Look down." Khari whispered. "Stay focused, try to look like you have a miserable day ahead."

 

[Ichika]

Ichika didn't respond to Khari verbally. Instead she trained her eyes towards the floor, adding a low mumble to accentuate her disapproval of a hard day's labor ahead.

They passed through the threshold of the servant's door and Ichika couldn't help but dart her eyes to their corners. Her head was kept pointed low, but out of her peripheral she had to see it all. It was like a bustling hive of activity, like the ant colonies at the Tsuri family's country side estate.

Workers coming and going in an orderly fashion to keep the estate running. Her family home must have been much the same. No wonder this was Khari's first suggestion.

"Oh, damn," the voice of another worker rang out just after the pair had entered the servant's quarters in the Watanabe estate. "Miss! Can you 'elp?"

It was an older woman, likely early fifties judging by the wrinkles and the style of bun her hair was pulled into. A squat finger had been narrowed at Ichika as the worker spoke up again, "sorry to bother you sweetie, one of mine got fired last shift. Stealin' candies or some nonsense. Need an extra pair 'o hands to help me with Ojun Watanabe's suite."

Brown eyes blinked rapidly at the request. "I need to... report to," Khari hadn't outlined what to do in this situation. She kept her eyes low and tried to remember to slouch but she was starting to get flustered. What was a good worker excuse?

"Are you deaf?" the older woman interrupted, "you new? I'm the head housemaid and I said I need you."