The House of Von Kiviri made its headquarters in Sedonia in a modest building in Grand Market, halfway between University Hill and the Horsemarket Gate, a position of middling prestige. The building had recently been repainted green with blue trim, the colors of Kaeir and its continental possessions. Inside, Rhellmanos and Ronir-Varros approached the junior clerk who was acting as a receptionist. "Good day," said Chief Rhellmanos, "could you direct me to Mr. von Kashaar's office?" "Assistant Director von Kashaar isn't in," replied the clerk. "He hasn't been in the last few days, actually." "Ah," said the Chief. "Could I then, perhaps, speak to his supervisor or his second?" "Director Taloc von Kiviri is also out," said the clerk, "but Assistant Director Alfar von Kiviri is in. His office is on the second floor, up the stairs, end of the hall, last door on the left, knock before entering." "Thank you," said Chief Rhellmanos. As he walked towards the stairs with Ronir-Varros, he muttered, "It looks like the junior clerks don't know Von Kashaar's dead yet." "Or they want us to think they don't know he's dead yet," was the cynical reply. Ronir-Varros chuckled, "Tell you what, let's play it like this . . . ." * * * * * "Assistant Director von Kiviri?" asked Ronir-Varros. The short, bald, and pudgy man behind the desk looked up. "Yes, that's me. Who are you? If this is about that lawsuit--" "Oh, it's not about the lawsuit, at least not directly," said Ronir-Varros. He smiled unpleasantly at von Kiviri. "I'm Deputy Minister Ion Ronir-Varros of the Ministry of Special Projects, and this is Lecon Rhellmanos, Chief Criminal Investigator for the Thalsedon City Watch. We'd like to ask you a few questions." Von Kiviri immediatly broke into a sweat. "I'm not really the person you should be talking to, Minister, our other Assistant Director, Erik von Kashaar, deals with inquiries. You should really talk to him." Ronir-Varros and Rhellmanos seated themselves in the chairs in front of von Kiviri's desk. "I'm afraid that's not possible," said Ion. "Erik von Kashaar is dead." "Erik's dead?" Von Kiviri slumped back in his chair. "Oh, this is a disaster, it could destroy the whole project! I'll have to inform the home office!" He began to perspire even more. "Pull yourself together," said Ronir-Varros. "There are questions that we need answered. What exactly is the nature of your business, for one thing?" "The House of Von Kiviri is a trading house, registered in Port Kaeir," said von Kiviri. "We deal in all sorts of goods, but we mainly focus on trade with the northeast and southeast coasts of the MidSea--trading with Panchayyah and Videssia, or what's left of it." "So why is a Kaeiran trading house investing in a Sedonian project to build a steel mill at Tirroth?" "It's not just a steel mill," replied von Kiviri, "It's also going to be an arsenal. We were providing some of the money needed to bankroll the project, and in return, we'd get a monopoly on exporting the weapons and armor made at the facility. There's a big demand for high-quality weapons and armor in Videssia and among the Panchayyah." "Why Tirroth?" asked Chief Rhellmanos. "Caladyn's already a center for steel making, and the military arsenals here in Thalsedon are already major production centers for arms and armor." "Water power," said von Kiviri. "About five miles upriver from Tirroth, the Imperial River passes through a fairly narrow valley. The end closest to the city is ideally located for building a dam. The engineer the Sedonians brought in estimated that we'd get a drop of 100 feet. That's a lot of waterpower, enough to pump bellows for the crucibles at forges, and run hammer-mills for beating out steel plates. It could be a big money-maker." "What about the farmers and villagers who would be flooded out by a dam, and the mills downstream who would get less water flow? And the river barges?" asked Ion. "We would of course compensate for submerged lands, and the plans include a canal lock system for river boats," replied von Kiviri. "As for the downstream millowners, our dam and mill site is far enough upstream that it's in a different county and a different flood control district. Our solicitor assures us that under Sedonian water law, we are allowed to build the dam. The other millowners disagree, though, and if they keep us tied up in the courts, we could lose investors, which would scuttle the project. Now, I've a question of my own, Minister: how did Erik die?" "He was murdered, sir," said Ronir-Varros, "stabbed on the street over a week ago. He and the friend with him didn't realize that the wound was mortal, and he made it back to his rooms, where he died. Oddly enough, someone else then entered his rooms, shot Mr. von Kashaar in the ear with a crossbow, and tried to make it look like suicide." Alfar van Kiviri's complexion took on an odd greenish tinge and he swallowed convulsively. "Murdered? Oh, d-d-dear me. Oh, the scandal! His poor fiancee!" "Fiancee?" asked Chief Rhellmanos. "What's her name?" "Lady Ava Otterlake," said von Kiviri. "She's the daughter of Baron Otterlake." "Otterlake?" said Ion. "That's part of the Duchy of Tirroth." "Yes, he met her while he was there on business. Baron Otterlake is one of our investors; in fact, the valley that would be flooded by the dam is in Otterlake," said von Kiviri. "I believe they met at a house party the Baron hosted in the summer of '57." "But von Kashaar was living in a two-room flat in Riverside!" exclaimed Chief Rhellmanos. "How did he expect to support a baron's daughter?" "Erik has had that apartment since he left the embassy. He said he didn't feel the need for anything larger," replied von Kiviri. "As for support, with his commissions from brokering cargoes, he was taking home 800 imperials a year, 2400 in the three years he worked here, and he had considerable savings from his time in diplomatic service." "800 imperials? That's more than some nobles make in a year," said Ronir-Varros. "That answers that question. Now, who do you know would want to kill Erik von Kashaar?" Alfar swallowed again, and said, "Well, the millowners downstream of Tirroth were annoyed at him, but not *that* mad, and they hadn't come close to exhausting their legal remedies yet. There were the people whose properties were going to be flooded out by the dam, but, honestly, Baron Otterlake was the major landowner, and he was to be well compensated--most of the farmers in the valley are tenants, not freeholders. But, I can't imagine one of the farmers travelling all the way to Thalsedon just to kill Erik--killing him if he came to Tirroth or the valley, I could see that, but he was killed here." He looked thoughtfully up at the ceiling, then looked at Ronir-Varros and said, "Actually, Minister, the person most likely to have killed Erik is Lord Roger Viridlen--he certainly had the strongest motives." "And that would be?" asked Ronir-Varros. "Jealousy and humiliation. Lord Roger is the eldest son of Baron Viridlen, whose barony borders Otterlake. He grew up with Lady Ava, and I understand he had always assumed that he would marry her one day. However, Erik was somewhat older, more experienced, more mature, more attractive, and considerably wealthier than Lord Roger. I'm told it was love at first sight. Lady Ava sent Lord Roger packing with his tail between his legs," said von Kiviri. He laughed, "Lord Roger challenged Erik to a duel, and Erik chose fisticuffs. Erik proceded to beat Lord Roger black-and-blue, before depositing him in Baron Otterlake's garden fountain with a broken nose." "A powerful motive, indeed," said Ronir-Varros thoughtfully. "Another question, Assistant Director: von Kashaar's landlady saw him return to his flat after he'd been stabbed in the street. He was accompanied by a man whom he addressed as 'Von Kiviri'. However, she described him as being medium height, grey-eyed, brown-haired, quite thin, and heavily tattooed, none of which describe you at all, sir. Do you know who that man might be?" "That sounds rather like Director Taloc von Kiviri," said Alfar von Kiviri hesitantly, "which is odd, because he hasn't been in the office for the last week either." "Where is Taloc von Kiviri from, and why do you two share a surname when you look nothing alike?" asked Chief Rhellmanos. "Oh, Taloc's from the Kiviri Mountains, same as Sir Quetzal von Kiviri, the House Head. I think they might be related, distantly. As for the names, it's customary when one joins a House to take its name to show that it's your patron; for example, my full name is Alfar Asricsaan von Kiviri; back home, poor Erik would be Erik von Kashaar von Kiviri. He didn't go by von Kiviri here in Thalsedon because he'd registered as a resident alien under the name of Erik von Kashaar before he joined our House, and your Interior Ministry regulations wouldn't allow him to change it. In Erik's case, the von Kashaar just means that he came from the Kashaari Creole--in fact, I believe he was a relative of the Lord Inquistitor, Karl von Kashaar." "Do you know where we could find Director Taloc von Kiviri?" asked the Chief. "Not with certainty," said Alfar. "He might have gone to Tirroth about the lawsuit, but he also might have gone back to Port Kaeir to consult with the Head of the House. He has a home in Seaview, outside the walls, you might try there." "I see. Well, thank you for your time, sir," said Ronir-Varros, standing up, followed by Rhellmanos. He made as if to walk to the door, only to pause and say, "Oh, one more question, sir, almost forgot." He set his dispatch box down on the chair, opened it, and removed the Hand of Garr amulet to show to Alfar von Kiviri. "Ever seen this amulet before, sir?" Alfar stared at the amulet like a mouse staring at a snake. "I've never seen it before in my life," he said. "Now, I'm going to be very busy dealing with the effects of Erik's death, so if you'd just let yourselves out?" * * * * * As the two men left the building, Rhellmanos said, "He was lying when he answered that last question." "Beyond a shadow of a doubt," agreed Ronir-Varros. "However, he did tell us one thing." "What's that?" "The probable identity of our Second Murderer. Lord Roger Viridlen was recruited as an agent of the Ministry of Special Projects in the spring of 1458, Direct Intervention Section. He'd have had access to a one-shot like the kind that fired the bolt you found in von Kashaar's ear." Andrew ---------------------------------------------------------------- To unsubscribe, send mail to celandra-off@phoenyx.net.
