To Save a Kingdom
We had been worried about the state of the dwarven holds so we each spent a great deal of time working on individual goals to help strengthen our neighboring nation. After a short deal of time we were asked to once again come back to see King Borogrim. Upon our arrival he looked even more haggard then he had the last time we had spoken, he was not getting enough rest from the looks of things.
It was during this meeting we were told of an attempt on the life of King Borogrim, he was accosted in his room after he had retired for the evening, only to be awoken a short time later by his adopted son Rufenhime. I immediately set about the room looking for the means by which they gained entry, as I was the best suited for the task while my siblings continued the discussion with the king. After making my circuit about the room I returned to see King Borogrim produce the weapon that the assassin dropped on the way out of his chambers, it was an exact replica of the weapon that Lady Smilos uses to ensure the loyalty of her assassins.
At this time, almost as if bidden to appear at my thoughts, Bronzefist came into the room announcing that Lady Smilos of Daggermark was in Highhelm and was requesting an audience with King Borogrim. The king was exceedingly gracious and allowed her to enter his chambers. At the time we had a brief verbal sparring match, she is much more cunning than I had anticipated and left once the issue of the dagger was brought up.
King Borogrim asked that we stay for the games he had scheduled to help alleviate some of the tension between the two religious factions, tension we had a hand in creating due to our failed attempts to stop the suicide of one of the priests when we first arrived here. Heading down to the coliseum we all took our spots near the king. I was trying to pay particular attention to the crowd, since if Lady Smilos was to be believed she had no hand in sending an assassin to the dwarvish king. After a short survey of the room I spotted her with some of her guards and decided to make my way over to her. We spoke briefly about the dagger, and my training, as well as if she had any people who would go to such lengths to frame her. I also asked about a powder that we found in the room, one that blocked my brothers heightened sense of smell. He only replies were half-truths and deceptions, cementing my belief that she was ultimately responsible for this. Going back to the pavilion for the king, I used my innate magical gift to take the form of Amaras while I asked him to survey the crowd, looking for another telltale scent, that same scent that blocked his ability back in the kings chambers.
He spent a good deal of time searching for it, leaving out lady Smilos as I had requested, and found nothing, no scent of it at all, except on her. This cemented in my mind the need for us to go back up the kings chambers, especially since he detected the feint traces of poison under the sharp pepper scent. We quickly move away from the kings box, leaving both Mirri and Amaras with the king, while Palanon, Lor’Athorn and I rushed up the stairs toward the kings chambers.
Reaching the first guard post we encountered Bronzefist, and had a difficult time convincing him to allow us to pass. He finally agreed when we suggested he join us, as he would know better if anything was amiss in the kings chambers. Rushing up the stairs we reached the suite, bursting into the room in a flurry of motion. Quickly examining the room we realized that the only person in the room was Rufenhime. With Lor’Athorns detect poison active he was able to determine that the block that Rufenhime was playing with was laced with some form of poison. We quickly converged on Rufenhime and he bolted for the window. He almost made it but I managed to grab him just before he reached the ledge. A quick dispel magic revealed that Rufenhime was actually Rufus Thorngage, one of Lady Smilos’s assassins.
After a short discussion with Rufus we were able to bluff, intimidate, and talk all the pertinent information out of him. He was sent her to kill King Borogrim, but was supposed to wait for Lady Smilos before making his move. He also mentioned that he was not supposed to be caught, and now she would likely try to kill him if she could. We decided to keep him alive, as he is a good deal more valuable alive then dead (especially if you want to scare her current allies). It was at about this time that the bells alerting the guards that the king was on his way were heard in the corridor outside.
Casting a quick illusion on Rufus we made him look like a normal dwarf and went down to meet the king. We all escorted him back to his chambers, Rufus under my guard, and revealed what had transpired to the king once he was in the safety of his room. He was not especially thrilled, I would dare to say murderous, when he was told of the deception played by Rufus. He commanded that he be removed from his sight and taken to the cells beneath Highhelm. Taking my leave for a moment I quickly spoke with Rufus and told him I would attempt to gain his freedom if he would help me gain control of the assassins guild. He seems to be willing to assist, so I have gain a stay of execution on the young Halfling for a time, we shall see if he is as useful as I hope.
