Completed Proper Channels

[Inoadar]

OOC - continued from Here.

32nd of Fall, 513

He needed this distraction anyway. His thoughts had been full of the possible ramifications of the painkillers having failed so badly. He'd been to the Healing Hand already, ostensibly to have some wounds bandaged. Just the basic types you get in a fight. Even the uglier one in his side had not penetrated his mail shirt enough to be more serious. And he'd sterilized it painfully with alcohol shortly after receiving it, when it was still fairly numb.

But these painkillers had been for his Kelvic slave, Ariella, his new assistant at the shop. Assistant and bodyguard, rather. When she had been branded his slave, he had provided painkillers, particularly the expensive drug, "Pinch", also called "Poke". But they had not worked, and he wanted to know why not. There was the nagging thought that it would somehow connect him to what he needed to "disarm" his enemy, Mr. Barton.

He shook his head at the whimsical names attached to the drugs. They had been routed through the Healing Hand after coming in from Wind Reach, courtesy of those eagle riders that had been coming and going for the last couple of seasons in Ravok. It had occurred to him that drugs used in connection with animals, like Kelvics, might be stocked in a different part of the facility than he visited for his recent medical care. But he would look into that when his schedule provided the opportunity. For now, he needed to get his mind OFF that subject. A new one had come back to the foreground after he'd been introduced to Mr. Valerius Nitrozian.

There was a stranger in town. Several in fact, the others in pursuit of the first. Inoadar had met the first of the pursuers. A Nuit from, naturally enough, Sahova. His name was Miro and he was going to build a posse of sorts to do this job. Inoadar was not privy to any details on the others in his party as yet. He and Miro had talked and Inoadar had been impressed by the aura of ruthlessness and capability from this man. He wanted to be able to count this man among his friends. At least for now.

The man had tasked him to use what resources he had in place here in Ravok to search out the hiding place of his target, another Nuit named Forus. Inoadar was well aware of the value of owed favors. Especially those owed by men of intimidating power. Miro had made no attempt to intimidate him during the course of their talk, but Inoadar had no doubt he could have.

But there was another kind of intimidating power, equally up front, while also intangible. The power provided by the backing of a powerful family. And there was no family in Ravok more powerful than the Nitrozians. And Inoadar had now found himself working with a son of that bloodline, Valerius.

Now, Inoadar knew it was delicate situation to ask a man, whose standing was far above you, to aid you after he had already "elevated" your status by including you in a project of his own. No, it was only an element of tremendous potential prestige that made this request less of a presumption, and more of an opportunity.

Inoadar had been pursuing his own initial leads as best he could, and had gained a few insights, but with Nitrozian weight behind his inquiries, he had good cause to believe he would see a breakthrough soon enough to capitalize on the real prize.

He approached the gate, knowing this unscheduled appearance would not be viewed favorably by the young aristocrat. He already had his note prepared and sealed in an envelope, marked simply "Mr. Valerius Nitrozian". He passed the guardsman a "gratuity" of 20 gold mizas to ensure that no other eyes saw it, or to inform him, at their next meeting, if any had, and who.

Sir,
I apologize for the intrusion upon your day, but felt it best to present this subject in a manner that would allow you to consider it at your leisure and in privacy.
A man has come to town bearing an item of great worth and innovation.
An item that could be of great benefit to Ravok.
It was stolen from Sahova. They have dispatched a squad of men to see it returned or destroyed. I have insinuated myself into friendship with a member of this squad.
This man who took it has no legitimate claim on it, and it is believed he is in hiding under the protection of a rival family.
I leave it your agile mind to realize the opportunity this presents to your family.
Also, I contact you in this manner so that you alone may decide who else, if anyone, you wish to involve.
I may be wrong, but this does not seem like the sort of work Miss Moletta would thrive on.

your humble servant,
Nolan

[Valerius Nitrozian]

The guard raised an eyebrow as Inoadar approached the gate of the Nitrozian Estate. While he recognized him from his previous visit, he knew that none of the Nitrozians were currently expecting guests. He was about to tell Inoadar to go away – Lord Sitanos and his relatives were busy - when the man handed him twenty golden mizas. The expression on his face changed instantly. He accepted the envelope from Inoadar and told him, „I will take the letter to the young master right away and make sure that he reads it, Sir.“ ~~~~ Valerius was just sitting at the desk in his suite, organizing his case notes – he had recently been allowed to assistant Doctor Alzelin with his operations – when somebody knocked on his door. His eyes darkened slightly as he closed his notebook and asked, „What is it?“ „There is a letter for you, Master“, the guard answered. Thinking of the money he had received he added, „It is important.“ Frowing, Valerius walked over to the door, accepted the letter and went back to his desk to open it. He was busy, but if it awas important … ~~~~ Nolan Parnell. His impression of the man had been favourable so far, despite his profession. The man seemed to know how to dress elegantly, he was polite, and he had turned out to be useful. What kind of item was it that had been stolen from Sahova though? And what did Mister Parnell have to do with it? What kind of business did he have with the Nuit? Furrowing his brow, he took an empty piece of paper and began to write his reply: Nolan, I agree that this does not seem like the sort of work that Miss Moletta would thrive on. I however am willing to help you and may even be willing to give you access to some of my resources. Please come to the Nitrozian Estate this evening so that we can discuss the matter further. Valerius Nitrozian He put the message into an envelope, sealed it and called for his personal courier to deliver it. ~~~~ If Inoadar decided to visit House Nitrozian, he would be taken to the sitting room where their first meeting had taken place. Valerius was already waiting for him there, in a chair beside the fireplace.

[Inoadar]

Inoadar had used a messenger disguise in pursuit of his nefarious assignments, particularly ones he acquired at The Spot. He had been forced to discard that ruse once its variables had been seen and noted as colors and livery to beware of. As a result, he needed a new look to use his Tamo daggers with. They were paired blades, offset sightly from the center of the wide handle, allowing the blades to actually be inserted into the handles of the corresponding mate. The handles of his set had been specifically made to mimic the look of a leather message case.

Inoadar would offer the message case to someone at chest level. But when they took it, all they did was to pull one of the blades free unknowingly, while also uncovering the blade Inoadar still held, which would now be poised at chest level, no more then a foot away. It was a tactic that had been lethally effective a number of times.

So now, when the messenger from the Nitrozian arrived, Inoadar deliberately took his time asking for clarification, feigning partial deafness, making small talk and generally stalling for time as he made mental notes of what sigils, ornamentation and bordering this girl wore and what colors they highlighted. Once she left, Inoadar took the time to enter his observations in his notebook for later impersonation.

That evening, he took a Ravosala to the estate, asking the boatman if there had been any leads picked up regarding the search for Forus. The man replied that an increase in magecrafter supplies had been capitalized on by an importer known to frequent the House of Immortal Pleasures. Inoadar immediately began scheming ways he would pressure the courtesan, whose life he had saved there, to repay her debt with the application of her charms upon his potentially loose tongue.

He reached the estate and the guard let him in without preamble, guiding him to the same sitting room that he and Amolina had met with Valerius several days ago. The young man was as groomed and poised as ever. A cozy fire and a glass of spirits lending a sense of comfort that encouraged trust. Inoadar sat opposite the young man, in a richly upholstered chair obviously placed there for that purpose.

"I'm glad you could see me so soon, sir. I have come to realize that this development began late last Summer. So we may need to make haste to accomplish anything of worth. Now, I do not know what this item is precisely, But I have heard it referred to as an "artifact", by the man I have met among the pursuers. It was taken from Sahova, so it stands to reason it is a djed-crafting item of some sort."

Valerius made a gesture toward a bottle of fine brandy and Inoadar helped himself to a small snifter before continuing. "The man I have met is named Miro and he mentioned "associates" so there is more than this one man involved in the search. He indicated a need for secrecy. My intuition tells me that this is outside of the obvious need for secrecy required in catching your prey. I think this Miro wishes to keep the knowledge of this item from being known. That fact, coupled with the fact that they even went to the trouble of sending a recovery crew from Sahova, tells me that this is an item of considerable power."

Inoadar took a hurried drink, making motions with his hand to indicate he had yet more to say. "I have put out my own feelers in pursuit of this, and have found only some very bare bones. But even this tells me something. These Sahovans would never go to our own city officials for support, nor would the thief go to them for sanctuary. In either event, the solicitor would be made to relinquish the item. So it stands to reason he has found support in the private sector. And since I have been unable to find any tongues willing to wag in independent circles yet, I was hoping that, you could initiate some inquiries among the "known" families. For I now believe that he is being sheltered by one of these. Probably one of middling influence, hoping to rise in prominence."

Inoadar paused a moment, running through what he had covered with this initial brief to see if he had missed anything. It was time for him to await questions now.

[Valerius Nitrozian]

Unlike Inoadar Valerius did not have any special weapons. He owned a rapier and practiced with it on occasion, but he usually just used it for sport. He had never killed anybody. Nor had he ever pretended to be somebody else. There had been no need for it so far. Being a member of the Nitrozian family usually worked in his favour. People respected him just because of his last name, he could get away with a lot of things because of it, he could threaten people and bribe them and not worry about the consequences. As the poisoner entered the room, the Nitrozian stood up to greet him and then gestured for him to take a seat. „Would you like something to drink, Mister Parnell?“ he asked before he turned to listened to Inoadar. After the man had ended, he sat there quietly for a few moments, collecting his thoughts, before he wanted to know, „Is it a magical item then? Do you have any idea at all what it can do and how much it is worth?“ Magical items, any kinds of magical items were valuable. He had once talked to a magecrafter about making a simple magic lamp for him, and the man had demanded several thousand golden mizas. He could only imagine how much the item that had been taken from Sahova was worth. Even his grandfather might have trouble buying it. This could indeed be a great opportunity for his family. „Tell me more about this man, this Miro“, he then asked. „Why did he talk to you when there supposedly is such a great need for secrecy? How did you manage to gain his trust?“ He poured himself a glass and took a sip while he waited for Inoadar’s answer. He remembered that the man had mentioned that the item might be in the possession of a rival family. Who could that be? And why had the item been taken to Ravok? It was all rather mysterious.

[Inoadar]

Inoadar did not care for drunkenness, but he did not hesitate to help himself to a single glass of the fine brandy with sincere thanks. He informed Valerius that he could not confirm from any personal experience that the item was magical in nature. But this "Miro" had as much as confirmed it. Miro said he had been told the target, one "Forus", was a wizard, skilled in Shielding, Projecting and something called Voiding. Sahova would be a natural location to build his skills. Yet he had severed his ties and abandoned most of his belongings, instead stealing some magecrafting supplies.

"The very fact that Miro does not elaborate, neither on the artifact, nor the supplies, tells me that this item is powerful. He himself emphasized the lack of information given him, as if to confirm this same detail to me. He clearly feels that the Sahovan powers-that-be do not want him to know what it does. These details, along with the "Return-or-Destroy" nature of the mission, strongly suggest that it is a magical item of great significance. But Miro did say, in so many words, that it was "a mystery to him".

He did not try to gloss over the obvious possibility that Miro had misled him. And that he was just using him and his connections to gain a lead he did not currently possess. Inoadar could only state his conviction, based primarily on intuition, that the man was genuine. He had demonstrated his powers of elemental magic, and something he called "Flux", which stood in Inoadar's favor to be aware of. He'd given a brief rundown on the others contracted with this pursuit, and when they were due to arrive, another serious edge to concede if someone is intending manipulation.

There were several other concessions made by this "Miro", of which Inoadar had made note, but there was still the overriding concern that this was all an invention to garner the information necessary for a betrayal. It all seemed to hinge on what other reason this man would have to partner-up with and trust Inoadar, besides aiding in the search, which stood as the more likely reason for him to be simply manipulating him. Valerius summed this point up well with his questions. Particularly "How did you gain his trust?"

It was a reasonable angle to take, Inoadar had to admit. If the way he had wormed his way into Miro's confidence seemed too easy, it would support the conclusion that he was just being used by the man. But Inoadar was uncertain how much he wanted to tell Valerius. If he said that it was because he had at first thought Miro to be a mercenary, hired for the Nykan Bounty on his own head, under the name "Inoadar", this Nitrozian might just get unhealthy ideas of his own. But he could hardly state that he had tracked and observed the man, to formulate his own response strategy, without giving a reason.

But what reason did he have? Why would he have staged the flushing-out and confrontation, during which he had come to impress this strange visitor, if he'd had no reason to take any interest in him in the first place? And why would he take interest in him when he'd known nothing of this whole Sahovan connection?

As usual, half-truths served better than outright lies. And the true part would impress a new angle of danger on this young aristocrat, regarding his new partner. Inoadar stood slowly, his gaze suddenly lacking the deferential air of subordination he'd displayed up until now. "Your concerns are well founded, sir. Your awareness of the possibility of betrayal is to your credit. But I'm afraid I can only give you a very shallow account of why you must trust me in this."

He took a few steps in silence to see if Valerius was going to express some indignation at the evasion. He turned back to face the narrowed eyes of the Nitrozian. "I will tell you this much. Rhysol himself wishes my affiliations to be...open...to be...unclear. I am known in other cities, by other names. Men with no loyalty to our Lord occasionally seek me out, believing me of like mind to their own, due to...actions I have committed. Actions which I did commit traitorously at the time, yet came to wish undone. Rather than have me executed, as would have been right, Rhysol saw a greater purpose in welcoming me to His fold. He recognized my...talents...and chose to overlook my past transgressions. And I am forever his servant. But I am not to show sign of loyalty, by his will. This status serves to reveal those who cannot be trusted, due to their very trust of me."

[Valerius Nitrozian]

„And who are the powers-that-be in Sahova?“ Valerius wanted to know and took a sip from his glass, as if they were talking about a harmless, mildly entertaining topic rather than something of great importance. „Forgive me, Mister Parnell, but I am not particularly familiar with the power structure of Sahova. I assume that they are Nuit though? Is this Miro, this man who claims to know nothing about the item he is supposed to hunt down some kind of undead as well or a human?“ If he were human, it would explain why the people of Sahova had told him so little about the item. On the few occasions he had interacted with Nuit, he had found them to be strange and secretive people that didn’t easily trust an outsider. If this Miro was one of them though, there had to be another reason for why this Miro didn’t know anything. Come to think of it, how could he find an item if he had hardly any information on it? Could it be that he was lying? He wondered whether he should voice his doubts for a few moments, and then he spoke, „Are you completely sure that this Miro is genuine, Mister Parnell? Your intuition could be misleading you. It has happened to me before. There are people in this world that could look into your eyes and tell you nothing but lies, without even blinking. How can this Miro expect to retrieve an item that he knows nearly nothing about?“ He had not expected Nolan Parnell to tell him everything, people like him were rarely forthcoming with information, but still, he didn’t like it that the man asked him to just trust him. He would at least continue to listen to him though, and thus he give him a very brief nod. „You are a follower of Rhysol?“ Something resembling surprise was visible on the Nitrozian’s face. He had not expected that. The man was associating with Amolina Moletta, and the actress didn’t seem to be the most fervent follower of his lord. „Do you bear his mark?“ He furrowed his brow as Nolan elaborated on his connection to Rhysol. It all made sense, in a way. It seemed like something Rhysol would do. „Let us pretend that I trust you and that I’m willing to aid you. Do you have any information on the thief who stole the item?“

[Inoadar]

Inoadar was both pleased and frustrated. Pleased to see that Valerius was neither indignant nor intimidated by his speech. Frustrated that his answer was, for the most part, various aspects of "no". But this was exactly why he had come to him. "I'm afraid I too, know little of the hierarchy of Sahova. I am convinced that Miro is a Nuit, though his mask makes it difficult to confirm. I have been tracking him since his first few days in town, on or around the 70th of last Summer." Inoadar was anticipating being introduced to the others in Miro's group to compare notes.

He resumed his seat. "I have since put tasks upon observers among the boatmen and slaver ranks. And while I marked Miro's trail through town, he clearly was searching among locations likely to yield magecraft related goods. No doubt hoping to find some merchant that remembered him. Here Miro's mask betrayed him, for his mask made him easily marked by most everyone." He could understand Valerius' concern that Miro was playacting. He didn't doubt it himself. He believed that Miro knew himself to be ill-fit for the delicate

"I reasoned that Forus would back-check his own path. So I went to such shops as both carry these same goods, AND had NOT been visited by Miro previously. I found a man who spoke of someone purchasing components for rudimentary magecafting, a variety of items I have gained considerable familiarity with due to an unrelated pursuit. The odd detail being that the industrialist this man works for does not make anything related to magecraft, but this same underling DOES sit in on at a gambling table with three leaders of our business community. I think it likely that one or more of them are rigging the table with the collusion of the others to bring this man into debt and make him their "gopher". This way they not only obtain the goods they want, through him, but also swing the implications to their rival should anything go wrong."

He hoped that Valerius would not need to be told that this was where his rich connections would be the most useful. This was territory where Inoadar would stand out. As a member of the aristocracy, Valerius could sift through rumors and gossip and hear a phrase here, see a look there, and make deductions Inoadar could not. He could note odd comments and behavior among the rich. Whispers of men in high places, meeting in low places, running odd errands, overseeing mundane deliveries to unlikely locations.

"I say all this to let you know that I am relying on much more than just an intuitive sense of Miro's legitimacy. The very fact that he is so open with information to ME, is probably the reason that his superiors did not grace him with very much of it. They need only for Miro to find him. Once found, I expect they will interrogate him for the location of the item, if not its purpose as well. Miro himself strikes me as too convinced of his own power to be bothered with deception. He has this one last obligation to his Sahovan Masters and then plans to go his own way." Inoadar did not say that he hoped to come though this with both the Nitrozian AND Miro counted among his allies. It would be a delicate operation, but there were clearly an abundance of patsies to take convenient falls.

"I follow Rhysol's will, yes, but I do not attend services or join in ranks of celebrants at temple events. And no, I do not bear his mark. As I said, I am not to wear any sign. As for information on Forus, nothing in the way of a description of his appearance, no. Not as yet, anyway. I am given to understand that one of the latecomers is to provide that. I am intending to search out leads and gain my own sightings of possible suspects. Then when I get the description from them, I will hopefully already know where he is and can be a step ahead of them. So basically, I request that you look high, while I look low." He gave a pointed look, a conspiratorial nod and downed the rest of his brandy.

[Valerius Nitrozian]

As Inoadar informed him that Miro had already been in town since the 70th of Summer, Valerius frowned a little. It occured to him how ill informed about the happenings in his city he still was. He would order Shy to not only deliver his letters from now on, but also pay attention to the people below her while she was moving across the roofs of Ravok – and report to him. „I see“, he remarked as heard Inoadar’s words. „Do you have any idea where this Miro who might or might not be a Nuit is currently staying?“ he asked. „You mentioned that the thief is currently staying with a rival family. Is Miro doing so as well?“ As Inoadar mentioned his observers, the Nitrozian nodded. His family had informants among certain groups as well. „I made the acquaintance of a magecrafter a while ago. I asked him to make a certain item for me.“ That magecrafter was Clyde Sullins, but he was reluctant to reveal his name – for now. „Could Miro or the thief have tried to get in contact with that man? And – please forgive me my multitude of questions – what does Miro’s mask look like?“ Valerius wanted to be aware of all the details of this mysterious case, no matter what Inoadar thought of the fact that he asked so many questions. „I see“, he remarked as Inoadar spoke about the men at the gambling table. „I assume that is where my connections with the rich and powerful people in Ravok come in?“ He arched an eyebrow and looked at the poisoner quesioningly. „I will do some research and keep my eyes and ears open, Mister Parnell“, he promised. „And it makes sense, I suppose. The item will be found when the thief has been found. Please let me know though when you have received a description of Forus’ appearance. If I am to aid you in this case, I need as much information as possible.“ He too downed the rest of his brandy.

[Inoadar]

Inoadar let a look of mild frustration show on his face. "I'm afraid much of the information I have is on a 'might-or-might-not-be' basis. He was at The Spot when I first contacted him, but he never ate or drank anything. I had been watching after him for days by then, and never saw him show any interest in food or drink. I realize this is hardly conclusive, but at one point, I offered him a dose of 'Intellect Mist', which is a product I make that greatly increases mental clarity and quick thinking. I did this, of course, to ingratiate myself into his confidence. He declined it though, saying it "would not benefit" him. At first I thought he was just being arrogant, but it occurs to me, based on past experiences that Nuits can rarely be affected by poisons or serums."

Inoadar did not want to confess that he had already been to the man's house. It was always advisable to keep back details and seem less informed then you really were. "One of the guards at the Trading Post claimed that Miro had stated his need to find a place to stay, and that they had recommended Tarsin's. Now if it was ME, I'd have made stated quite clearly that I was going to stay there, and even rented a room under my name. But not until I had found a place that would allow me to keep surveillance OF Tarsin's to observe the comings and goings of who and when. I did see him there once, but I have found no evidence of him staying there as yet."

Inoadar leaned forward, his eyes narrowing shrewdly, "When I conversed with him, he stated having a housing unit in town. Now I would guess this to be one of the units made available through your family's own Housing Commission. So I can search there in person while you can get someone to check records. He doesn't seem inclined to falsify his name, so I would think it should be a small matter to verify this." If there was to be some intrusion on Miro's privacy, Inoadar would be in a good position to play either side. He could warn Miro, since he knew where the man was staying. But since Valerius did not know this, he could come off as a man of quick competency by coming up with Miro's location in short order when it served Valerius' interest, as well as his own. And if he stayed out of it, it could be claimed that he simply had not found the man's house yet. Not an impressive claim, but a neutral and innocent one.

"As for his appearance. That is a possible ploy on his part, for he is quite distinctive with that mask. It looks to be made of black bones, and is skull shaped, naturally, with fangs, and red scroll work around the edges and some sort of highlight work that gives red tones on the face as well, off and on. He claims that he can not take it off, that it was a gift from some "Triad" of "Alvadas". I think that's a city to the far West, possibly across the sea."

He paused for a moment, recalling that he had heard of it when reading up on a species of spider, The Lucid Lurker, whose venom had a powerful narcotic effect. He shook off this line of thought and went on, "He has long black hair, and when I saw him, he was wearing a red and blue jacket. I think they call it "trench style". It is of robe length, but is waisted, with tucks, supposedly to make it less clumsy in battle than the grand swirling affairs that come to mind at the thought of a traditional wizard."

Inoadar deliberately avoided the question regarding magecrafters. He did not want to state that his experiences with magecrafters had been almost exclusively a near extermination by a very short tempered and overly sensitive reimancer named Clyde Sullins. It was the decision to work on crafting a signature poison targeting Mr. Sullins, in self-defense, that had given him his knowledge of what sort of trash reveals the habitation of a magecrafter. It was his understanding that the man had left Ravok with his old "friend" and one-time assistant, Marcus. If Valerius was suggesting that Clyde was still around, Inoadar knew he'd best be careful.

But it did remind him of one detail he'd neglected thus far. "Oh yes, Miro has demonstrated to me an advanced command of the elemental magic they call "reimancy". He also claims command of the..."Flux"? Some sort of body control magic to make yourself a gifted melee fighter. Definitely a balanced battle combination. As for Forus, Miro was not entirely sure, but mentioned...let's see...Shieldism...Shielding, excuse me, Projection, and...Voiding? Does that sound familiar? Oh, these are in addition to the magecrafting that is supposedly his true calling. He said there may be other disciplines as well, but that they were surely of only novice levels."

[Valerius Nitrozian]

„I’m already aware of that“, Valerius remarked as Inoadar informed him that much of the information that he possessed was on a might or might not be basis. „I hope that you don’t mind my questions though. I currently know even less than you about the people that are involved in this case.“ Prior to today he had not known that Nuit were unaffected by poison or serums for example. That would be a useful thing to know if he was ever going to study the undead for real. The existence of a substance that increased mental clarity was likewise very interesting. „Besides that, Mister Parnell, you could ingratiate yourself with me as well if you gave me a dose of ‚Intellect Mist‘. There might come a time when I could use something like that“, he admitted. As Inoadar told him that he had no evidence of Miro staying at Tarsin’s, he nodded. „I will visit the Housing Commission then“, he agreed. „It should be easy for me to find out where he is staying.“ Valerius had no idea that Inoadar was thinking about warning Miro, but the Nitrozian was naturally a little paranoid. He didn’t trust anybody completely, not even – or maybe especially not – Mister Nolan Parnell who was about to become an important business partner of his. He would, as always, take all the aspects of this case into consideration. „I have heard of Alvadas. A man that works for my family was there and spoke about the people that rule the city to me He claimed that they were even more dangerous than the great families of Ravok. Maybe he really cannot take his mask off.“ He nodded as he further described the man’s rather conspicious appearance. In his opinion looking like that was unwise if you wanted to hide who or what you were. But then again, Miro claimed that he was unable to take his mask off, and the mask was what really made him stand out. As Inoadar mentioned that Forus practiced Voiding, Valerius looked directly at him. Crypt Insatem, the man who had told him about Alavadas, had also mentioned that the assassin who had tried to kill his grandfather might have been a practitioner of Voiding. Could the two cases be connected? „Some of that seems familiar, yes“, he replied. „You might have heard that an assassin tried to murder my grandfather, the head of my family, a while ago. I was informed that Voiding might also have been involved there. Of course I may just be imagining things. It seems to me that I should not only investigate the Housing Commission though, but also pay the Institute of Higher Learning a visit.“