While everybeast was busy tending to his or her duties, the servants quietly slipped through the hidden passages, cleaning, organizing and beautifying the palace. Carefully staying hidden from as many of the higher-ups as possible, they did all the chores needed to be done. It was their duty, and they fulfilled it gladly.
After all, not everybeast got to work in the palace, close to the king--and at such an important time!
Unfortunately, being a cleaning servant also meant… finding things not meant to be found.
As the servants tended to their duties, certain things were revealed.
A maid swept sand from Heydar’s room, attempting to collect every grain. Her Unicorn Pony magic was quite helpful for such a task, but it seemed she could never get any room completely clean, and it irked her deeply. While cleaning, she found other things that irked her, including a loose floor tile. Usually other servants cleaned Heydar’s room and she questioned why on earth they would NOT fix it.
Why?
Was she the only one who cared about things being perfect for the King and his advisors?
Well, there was Kamal the Faithful, who was in charge of all the servants, but other than that she honestly wondered if anybeast else even tried to clean a room properly.
After she swept all she could, she trotted over to the floor tile.
In frustration she lifted it up, examined the area, and mentally memorized it so that she could fix it later.
Putting the tile back, something caught her attention from the corner of her eye:
Behind one of the legs of Heydar’s bed something caught a bit of sunlight, glowing faintly.
Curious, she trotted over, kneeled down, and moved the bed slightly with her magic. A vial the length of her hoof rolled towards her. She picked it up and moved the bed back in its proper place. Intrigued by the odd find, she held the vial in her blue glowing aura, wondering what it was as she turned it around. In the bottom of the vial was some odd-looking, dried substance. Examining the floor again for anything similar, she memorized the place she found it.
Although she knew it was a bad idea, she couldn’t help herself: she had to sniff it.
Slowly she opened it and took a whiff.
The scent was… sweet… yet… sickening.
She coughed and plugged the vial with its cork again. A sinking feeling oppressed her heart and mind. Part of her said she was worrying too much but… the other part told her to give it to the Head of the Servants, Kamal. Perhaps it was a bad idea--maybe she was worrying too much, but she quickly made up her mind to take it to him anyway.
“Hmmm… how odd indeed… *Sniff *, Augh! *plug* You were right in bringing this to me. Thank you. Do not trouble yourself about this anymore, understand? And… in fact, do not tell anyone about this, all right?” Kamal ordered her swiftly.
The maid nodded and returned to her work, wondering what the vial held. Kamal, meanwhile, had his suspicions, and knew exactly who to take it to.
“You found this vial in Heydar’s room?” Jinan asked as he held the vial on top of one hoof, gazing at it with a pale look on his brown face.
“It was one of my newer maids--she found it,” Kamal explained, wiping one of his hooves off with a handkerchief, making sure that none of whatever was in the vial would be left behind on his pale camel feet, or fur, or face. Oh no, was his face infected with it? He better run to a mirror and check.
“...I have a feeling we are thinking the same thing about what this is… and I hope we are both wrong,” Jinan whispered as he used his other hoof to push his light green forelock out of his eyes.
“What? Oh… yes, I hope so too--tell no one of this, all right?” Kamal whispered back, returning to the present matter.
“I… may need some help in discerning what this is, but other than that, I assure you this will be our secret,” Jinan agreed, sliding the vial into one of his saddle bags.
Later, in the evening…
“I see… we were… right,” Kamal gulped quietly.
The torches lit the laboratory and all its instruments, highlighting the ceramic bowls of powders, the vials of liquid, and the creatures gathered ominously around the center table.
“Indeed, I have analyzed this multiple times, and Alem, Zahir and Jaffar agree… it is, indeed, poison of multiple flowers and herbs, including Desert Laurels,” Jinan quietly stated.
“The way it reacted to my magic was consistent with Alem’s research, and what Jaffar has seen in his travels… it is indeed a combination of various poisons… meant to kill… something very large,” Zahir elaborated, barely tall enough to see above the table between them.
At times like this he wished he was a Unicorn Horse instead of a Unicorn Pony so he could take his own statements more seriously.
“...It is no secret that King Khayri was taller than anybeast else… except for an Elephant… or perhaps some Karkadann,” Kamal snorted, “Clearly.. This is it.”
For a few moments, no beast said anything.
“...This doesn’t mean Heydar did it, of course,” Amal piped up, attempting to cut the silence. He felt a heavy burden come on him--not the kind that came when a storm was near… oh no… deep inside… he knew.
“Of course Heydar made it! Haven’t you noticed the worried look he’s hiding in his eyes lately? Certainly all of us have been stressed but this is more,” Zahir snorted, stomping one of his black hooves on the table.
“You have always been one for observing things the rest of us have not, but please do not say such things… there is always a chance Heydar did NOT make this poison or use it, but the true assassin somehow left it there while attempting to dispose of it,” Jaffar calmly offered.
“You are right.. Whether or not it was Heydar, how shall we know?” Zahir asked.
“Hmmm… well we cannot interrogate him outright,” Alem pointed out, “He often uses mind-altering spells on prisoners he is interrogating; he would do the same for us if he IS the assassin.”
“True; he could easily wipe our memories if he wished,” Jaffar sighed.
“...then we must gather evidence of such things,” Jinan proposed as he tossed his green mane out of his way.
“Of course! If he is the assassin, perhaps somebeast saw him and he used a mind spell on them so they would not recall!... we… oh bother, how are we going to gather evidence of something no one can recall?” Kamal groaned with a shake of his pale Camel head.
“Simple: they will try to remember that day but be unable to, when they should,” Zahir began, “We shall ask the cooks what they remember of that feast, and if they cannot recall it, they must have been mind-wiped.”
“Would that work, though?” Jinan questioned with a tilt of his brown head.
“My research suggests there could be a way to regain memories if there are ways to erase them,” Alem assured him as he somberly nodded his black and white Oryx head, being careful to not hit the lantern above them with one of his antlers.
“And we all know that Zahir’s Special Gift is magic--especially coming up with new spells,” Kamal added, seeing how things could fall into place, “Yes, it could work… but… still… what are we even looking for?”
“Suspicious activity from Heydar--and anything else suspicious in his room,” Zahir declared, “We shall have to send him away… him and Afzal both, so we may search every corner of their rooms in peace.”
“Where shall we send them though, and on what errand?” Jaffar calmly asked as he reached up one of his dark Camel hooves and adjusted the tack on his forehead.
“What about a border check? The rebellion was recent and they both were in it--it would be most logical,” Alem suggested with a flick of one of his ears.
“I’m certain Ghayth would agree!... now… would King Karam agree?” Kamal slowly thought out loud.
“Tomorrow is King Karam’s weekly physical check-up; I shall quietly lock the doors and tell him everything we know, and surely he will agree,” Jinan proposed with a slow nod.
“Then it is settled: Afzal and Heydar are suspects from this point onward,” Zahir stated, thumping one of his black Pony hooves on the stone floor of the room.
“Why Afzal, though?” Jinan asked with a tilt of his brown head.
“Afzal does have his pride… and his silver tongue… and as tactician, he could be working with Heydar… but I too wonder why you suggest Afzal, Zahir,” Jaffar interjected as he raised one of his eyebrows on his dark brown, Camel face.
“Afzal and Heydar are always walking side-by-side these days, and I notice them often having some odd look in their eyes; Afzal hides it better than Heydar,” Zahir explained as he narrowed his blue eyes angrily.
“I cannot believe this… two of King Khayri the Wise’s most trusted advisors… surely we are wong!” Kamal moaned, unable to believe it as he realized what they were suggesting. The realization sank in more a few seconds later, and Kamal put one hoof over his chest and sighed as he closed his eyes.
“...I pray we are wrong, but we must… be honest with ourselves,” Jaffar sighed as his ears drooped and he lowered his head close to the ground.
Hence the plan was made.
At last, there was a suspect… two, in fact. However, they needed evidence, which clearly would be even more hidden than the discovered vial.