[color=ec008c]"All right, move aside you two!" [/color]

Jazdia winced, trying to hide her frustration as she leaned forward and rustle the hedge. She didn't even use her power to find what they were supposed to be looking for. 

Buried inside the hedgerows was a fletched shaft almost broken in two pieces. Its head telescoped inward, damaged to the point it was more like a piece of blunt metal, a sign of a heavy impact. Jazdia looked at the surrounding elevation and pictured where the archer was supposed to be. If the first archer was an amateur. The other one seemed to be more... professional? 

[color=ec008c]"This arrow was fired from a full-sized long bow and gained full momentum before hitting Matilda's shield."[/color] mused the elf, muttering the conjecture to anyone who was willing to listen. [color=ec008c]"It could only be done with sufficient range. Was that from the rampart on the left side? Or the terrace near the mausoleum? One thing for sure though, It was not something you can shot in the crowd."[/color] 

Before anyone could answer that, Kaito rejoined them. 

[color=#93FFFF]”Miss Yazdia, got a minute or are you busy?”[/color]

Surprisingly Jazdia did not correct the mispronunciation of her name, something she usually took very seriously. [color=ec008c]"Not at all. What did they tell you?"[/color] 

[color=#93FFFF]”Who wrote the official report? There are a lot of differences between what the guards told me and what was written down. It’s pretty suspicious in my opinion. We might have to look into that a bit further.”[/color] Spoke Kaito in a more serious tone. He paused a bit before he continued to speak. [color=#93FFFF]“The little pipsqueak guard over there had some interesting quotes about what the assassins shouted. Apparently one of them yelled death to the Marauder-king. Do you think that the Mecheans are blaming Fredericus for the shit his grandpa pulled? Or does the beloved king of Kindeance has some dark secrets?”[/color]

[color=ec008c]"Not as dark as those Tretagor monarchs during their heyday, but Kindeance was a militaristic country a century ago. The usual rape, pillage, and burn were one of their modus operandi. One hundred years was quite a long time for a country to change its ways, but not long enough to mend the scars, and sometimes it festers and I think that's how..."[/color]

After what seemed to be a full minute of troubling thoughts, she continued. 

[color=ec008c]I don't know who wrote that. Could be Fredricus's spymaster. It was very common for a report to be written anonymously. Suspicious? Not really at the first glance since that kind of documentation usually redacts a number of crucial detail for political reasons."[/color] And that was why CSA was so good at their job, they didn't have to deal with such hogwashery on daily basis. 

[color=ec008c]"Still though, if the missing details are in a very abnormal number, there might be a schemer."[/color] Jazdia chuckled. [color=ec008c]"Classic. But I don't think Fred was that stupid to let potential usurpers any closer to his neck. So, tell me the glaring differences you've found so far." [/color]

Kaito then explained about the casualties being redacted from the report, and Fredricus's involvement was somewhat embellished. The usual stuff. The part about Meche and the origin of those assailants was interesting, to say the least. So someone was trying to stir up the hearts of the people. For the better or for the worse. 

[color=ec008c]"What else can you tell me?" [/color]

[color=#93FFFF]”The guard mentioned that someone shouted ‘By the Blessing of the Ouroboros! We have reclaimed what is ours!' after the smoke went up and just before a blinding flash that made the last assassins disappear into thin air." [/color]

[color=ec008c]"Another omitted details huh..."[/color]

[color=#93FFFF]"Yes, It seems that the Black Serpant guild might be playing some role in this.”[/color]

The theory that someone inside his circle was betraying him sounded even more plausible now. Jazdia approached the mausoleum, trying to see what secret it contained, but her eyes failed her. 

[color=ec008c]"Warding runes?"[/color] he scoffed, finding it ironic how ancient runes, one of the subjects she despised so much during her college days was proven relevant to not only ward off evil spirits but also be able to repel her power. [color=ec008c][i]"I Guess Serensiel was evil after all."[/i][/color]

So she diverted her attention around the space that was supposed to be the mausoleum's interior and found there was a passage down there, almost ruined and caved, but definitely still passable. Suddenly everything seemed to make more sense. 

[color=ec008c][i]"After the failed attempt, they threw the smoke to cover their escape... or someone messed up and throw it prematurely, causing the other assassins to abandon their mission and retreat."[/i][/color]

[color=ec008c][i]"So that was how they escaped. Pretty clever huh?" [/i][/color]

She scanned again, this time around the twelve monuments. Whoever buried down there had been reduced to ashes, leaving empty stone caskets and other funerary goods. There was no hidden passage from any of those graves, so that left mausoleum as the prime access, and although she could not examine the interior, she concluded that the passage was linked to it somehow. 

[color=ec008c]"Where did that tunnel lead to? Unfortunately, it was beyond the range of my empowered sight."
"How did they gain access to the catacombs? It was unimaginable to leave such an important building unlocked."
"Did they steal the key? No... Fredricus would have called a manhunt, secrecy be damned."[/color]