Murder in Cormyr - Chet Williamson [78]
I couldn't have thought of a better idea myself. He told me to get two lanterns, and then, to my surprise, told me to saddle Jenkus and Stubbins rather than hitch them to the carriage. "Are you sure, sir?" I said.
"Do you think me incapable of riding a horse?" Benelaius said, somewhat piqued. "I was, after all, a War Wizard, lest you forget, and Stubbins is a gentle creature, when one knows how to approach him."
He wasn't gentle when I saddled him. He twisted and kicked in his stall so that I was afraid he would break several of my bones before I could cinch him. But Benelaius showed up, clad in an oilskin rain cloak with a hood, and spoke softly to Stubbins so that I was able to finish my work and lead him outside.
Benelaius didn't hesitate. He swung himself into the saddle, and Stubbins stood beneath him as placidly as a windless pond. "Well?" Benelaius said. "Are you too stunned by the sight of a real equestrian to get mounted yourself?"
We headed west on the swamp road in the drizzling rain. For all his girth, Benelaius sat his horse well. I began asking questions immediately.
"How on earth did you ever wind up at Fastred's tomb?" was the first one.
"Through following the lead of Grodoveth. As you know, he was our primary suspect from the beginning. First of all, he was left-handed-"
"Which Tobald wasn't," I said.
"That's correct. But since Tobald was unschooled in the arts of war, he might very well have swung an axe forehand rather than backhand. But that's neither here nor there. It's Grodoveth we're concerned with now. He had the means and the opportunity but not a motive, as far as I could see. And frankly, I wasn't quite sure that I wanted to find it, if it existed."
"Why not?"
"Answer the question for yourself, pupil."
I thought for a moment. "Possibly his position? I mean, he was a relative of the king himself."
"Precisely. By marriage, true, but still on the fringe of the royal family. To convict him, or even to question him, would have taken overwhelming evidence. And even then it would put the royal family in such a bad light that it might not be worth the effort.
"You may recall a case well over a hundred years ago in Waterdeep, Jasper, in which a relative of the queen was suspected of killing several wenches in a thoroughly unpleasant manner. But the fact that he was even suspect came out only in recent years. Fortunately, before he came into line for succession to the throne, he died in battle. Fleeing, I believe. So it all worked out nicely."
"Are you saying it would be better to let a murderer go free rather than cast aspersions on the crown?"
"That is a moral dilemma I am glad we did not have to face. Now, last night I stated that Grodoveth had an interest in the history of Ghars, and possibly Fastred in particular. But because, as you found out, he had been investigating those legends before the bogus ghost started to appear, what assumption was it logical to make?"
"That he had something to do with the ghost."
"Of course. Now there are such things as coincidences, but when one is looking for connections, one takes what one can get. So it seemed likely at the time that Grodoveth was in some way responsible for the hauntings. He had the brains and the wheretofore that Dovo did not. The most likely result of the hauntings, and one that anyone might expect, would be to keep people away from the swamp. Therefore, the next question is?"
"Why would Grodoveth want people kept away from the swamp?"
Benelaius nodded, and rain dripped from his hood onto his lap. He brushed away the water patiently. "As the broken lantern and its disappearance would suggest, Dovo was signaling to someone on the other side of the swamp. And what is there?"
"Sembia." I wondered if I was going to get a grade on all this.
"And when one thinks of illegal doings in Sembia, one naturally thinks of the Iron Throne. So there at least was a premise from which to start. Dovo was