[Phase 2] The Price of Honesty [Thaddeus & Lynesse]

"He did." Lynesse replied, holding herself back from gushing about the honour, but clearly glad for it. "He showed himself to be most gallant in the field, and staying atop a mount that was all but frothing at the mouth? A masterful display of horsemanship."

"I would never betray a confidence, unless perhaps it caused some immediate harm to my kin." Lynesse replied broadly, giving away her curiosity only by a slight inclination of her head.

"I heard a Maester describe the poisons effects once, long ago, and suspected such a thing might be the case." Lynesse agreed, though she was no expert on herbs and their effects.

She nods her head at his words, making what sense of them she could"A poisoned apple delivered by stableboy to a horse strikes me as an unreliable way to kill a man, but a hard attempt to uncover. This reveals a killer more intent on remaining anonymous than on immediately achieving their ends. A serious attempt by a patient killer. I have seen its like before, though I had hoped I would not see it again."

"It strikes me that whatever his many talents as a knight, and the merits of his house, Ser Roland may struggle to uncover the hand behind this black deed."

“That is certainly true, Ser, and the realm would be the better for it. But no such witnesses have announced themselves, and would not be expected to do so unless...” she mused, smiling as she considered another possibility “unless a particularly astute individual had already located one?”

She hoped he was making such an implication. The only clear alternatives were that he was toying with her, or that he was involved in the plot himself, and had heard tell of her own unsuccessful inquiries and chosen to intervene.

"A man dressed as a boy," Lynesse mused. This would explain why her own inquiries had turned up nothing on the subject. "And one present at the trial of Septon Abelar as well, which implies a possible association with either the Septon, or Lord Eldon, who was well represented in Oldtown despite his personal absence." 

"So we are looking for the Lord or Lady with some manner of rivalry with Ser Roland, be it between houses, a political matter, or a personal one. This selfsame noble would also likely be a supporter or detractor of Septon Abelar."

"The Redwyne's are not a house with a great many outspoken enemies, nor is Ser Roland known as a man enveloped by personal feuds, making it most likely that he has been targeted by what men assume of his politics based on his friendship with Ser Daemon. If we compare this group with the most prominent attendees of Oldtown, we arrive at a list of suspects."

She considered the list of nobles at Oldtown. Those who had rallied for and against Septon Abelar.

"Thank you for sharing your secret with me, Ser Thaddeus, but I would certainly encourage you not to disseminate it too widely. It is clear to me that you pursue justice in this matter, but should men hear the news and reason as I have, then they would likely name at the top of the list of suspects the Houses of Levalle and Daverhyl. Lord Alliser and Ser Eustace both spoke loudly and memorably against Septon Abelar in Oldtown.

"If others are able to make the same connections you have drawn, the only way to ensure that our own houses are not associated with this foul deed would be to unmask the true culprit.

"Ser Thaddeus, you are too much," Lynesse laughs at the joke, enjoying its wit, and doing her best not to react to its subtext, though a subtle pink suffused her cheeks.

"Perhaps horses are easier to poison than men? Certainly the victim has no chance to pass on word of their killer at any point before their dying moment."

"Although perhaps you are right, and the method tells us something of the motive. A rival in the joust, fearing to face the Redtusk in the list, or perhaps one who wished to avenge a previous defeat."

She thought harder, extending the range to include personal rivalries at the tournament. "Or perhaps the perceived slight was not committed by Ser Roland, but myself. Lady Mya Rivers did not seem pleased to be passed over in my favour, though I could not imagine she would take such action over such a petty slight. Nor do I expect that House Blackwood was well-represented at the trial of Septon Abelar." She quipped, for indeed, the House had enough troubles on their plate in the Brute. A half second later, she frowned. "Though she would have a cousin in Ser Roland Cordwayner's squire, present in Oldtown, and here. Would he bend to the whim of a royal cousin?"

Lynesse shivered, "Though there is a certain curiosity in mapping out such possibilities, it does not please me to project such malevolence onto the faces of my peers and acquaintances, most of whom are fine folk. These two clues we have are perhaps insufficient to narrow our inquiry to less than a score or more of possibilities."

---

Just by the by, whenever we do wrap up, Thaddeus can expect a modest disposition boost for being a generally charming fellow.

“A flowery crown would have drawn stark attention to my uncles hopes to betrothe me, attention he might hope to seek to avoid, given that his choices are not easily defended in polite company, aneast of all to me.”

“Most would not believe that such petty self concern would give rise to such a villainous act,” Lynesse noticeably did not include herself among such disbelievers.

“He also attended Oldtown, speaking prominently against Septon Abelar at the trial held there.”

“Of course I could not make such an accusation, for I lack evidence and would be dismissed as a girl child, whatever the heart of the matter. It is a serious accusation, of attempted murder of a Redwyne, Hightower’s closest ally, bound to them by several marriages. For such an accusation to stand, Eustace would be forced to resign his regency to another, unlikely to continue with his course.”

She pauses, hoping to communicate a clear implication, while being quite assured that Thaddeus was at least her equal in reading such subtext.

“But this is only one of a dozen such theories one might spin into whole cloth without more tangible evidence.”