Jegar's Private Talk with Sabok

"Gilder did. He has sent out a letter accusing Astra of murdering them."

"I see. As an official, that must put you in a difficult position."

"Indeed it does. All this is not to go any further, of course. Perhaps telling a troubadour was not the wisest thing for me to have done, but I would value your opinion."

"You can rely on me to be discreet, Jegar. To answer your question then: on my admittedly short aquaintance with Astra, she does not strike me as a murderess. Also I can generally tell when someone is lying. There are usually tell-tale nervous mannerisms, but I saw none of those." That agreed with Jegar's own impression.

Sabok went on: "Also, though her story of her escape might sound unlikely, is it any more implausible than that she, unarmed, should overcome and kill two armed guards? I know that the Aqualarian nobility - and since she said that she had been at a diplomatic function in the great court of Aqualaria, I think that we can assume that she is of noble birth... Where was I? Oh yes. The Aqualarian nobility - both male and female - are trained in combat, it is said, and she is a very athletic- looking young woman. But even so, surely she could not hope to win such a fight?"

"She may have had the advantage of surprise. She could have concealed herself, and then taken the guards one at a time before they knew what was happening. That would justify Gilder's claim of murder, as opposed to her having killed them in a fight. And we only have her word for it that she started off unarmed. Perhaps she had been able to get hold of a weapon from somewhere."

"Perhaps. But I am convinced that she was telling the truth."

"That was my impression too. Thank you for confirming it."

1. "So what are you going to do now?"

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