[center][h3]Prologue: Lizards in Disguise[/h3][/center]
[I]Dawnstar, 24th Sun’s Height…[/I]

“By Talos, I never thought I’d feel sorry for a damned High Elf, but… damn. In her sleep?” Dag asked, one of the two guards stationed to inspect the crime scene mentioned, looking over the deceased Altmer with mixed feelings. Part of him was morbidly curious at seeing a dead High Elf up close, but the other part of him was wracked with pity. The girl had a carved bone dagger lodged in her abdomen after her having had her throat slit and five puncture wounds along her abdomen. Vurwe’s open yellow eyes stared lifelessly towards the ceiling, and while expressly ordered not to touch the body until it could be examined by professionals, or the very least the company that had loosely employed her, he could not help himself but to run his hand over her eyes, closing them for good. It felt indecent and wrong to leave the young elf on display like this. Or was she old? It was impossible to tell with Altmer, they aged so strangely.

“Mouth like hers, I’m surprised it took so long. Apparently her compatriot was discovered in a similar situation tonight, Gunnar’s looking into it.” His partner, Gunhild said, sitting down at the writing desk chair and taking a drink from her water skin, her head rolling back as far as her neck would permit. “So, where are we at for evidence? There’s red circular imprints and pictures on her neck, cheeks, and arms that resemble board claw points, the knife was fashioned out of bone, and a pair of eye witnesses by the docks swear they saw a pair of Argonians take off out of this building in a hurry, which the guards on patrol and watch vehemently deny, saying that if any Argonians snuck out of camp, they’d know about it. What else could it be?” Gunhild pondered allowed, tapping her foot idly as she pondered out loud, feeling somewhat restless about being ordered to standby in a room with a corpse. Even so soon after the fact, bodies began their decomposition rather rapidly, and with it, a stink.

 Dag knelt beside the bed, resting his elbows on his knees and his chin upon his knuckles. “So if not the Argonians, what about the cats?”

Gunhilt tilted her head forward and gave a slight negative shake. “Of the three we have in town, one was well documented to have brawled with another member of his company and was accounted for in the inn playing cards and has a reputation for being firmly against bloodshed, another has an alibi for having come in with Daelin’s lot and having been seen publicly for most of the evening as well as having a reputation for being a charitable healer, and the newcomer has drawn a lot of bad attention to herself, but she would have no way of knowing who this Vurwe girl was unless she’s a Thalmor assassin, which honestly… I don’t think anyone buys that idea.”

Dag nodded. “And cat claws would leave narrow lines, wouldn’t they? These are almost as wide as my little finger and are straight punctures.”

“Yeah. That to.” Gunhild agreed, rising up suddenly as the door opened. The shift’s commander, Gunnar, stood in the doorway, helmet under his arm, letting his long braid hang loose. He looked exhausted and miserable. “Jarl’s orders just came in. The two Argonian mercenaries,” he said, holding up a parchment so he could read the names in the light. “Daxiannos and Tslee… I’m not fucking going to try to pronounce that, are wanted for questioning in connection to the murder. Given the very limited evidence we’ve gathered, these two fit the profile of likely suspects until proven otherwise or Jarl Skald gives them pardons. Three guesses on where he stands on that.” Gunnar said, knowing full well his comrades well understood the Jarl’s distain and distrust towards Argonians.

Dag and Gunhild shared a glance before looking back at the commander. “Won’t this provoke the mercenaries? Part of why we let their beast-kin members in the town is so they help us fight if the Akavirii attack, if I recall. We sure it’s wise to accuse any of their ranks?”

The older Nord sighed, running a meaty palm over his mouth and through his bushy beard. “Gods, no. But orders are orders, and you will follow them if you don’t wish to be labeled as an insubordinate, or worse, traitor. Gather information on their routines and whereabouts, do not let them leave town, and when you’re confident you can bring them in without incident, do so. Get to it.”

~ ~ ~
[I]2am, 26th Sun’s Height…[/I]

Things moved quickly, giving the Dawnstar garrison something of an appearance of an efficiency that was not usually warranted. Watch of the Argonian camp doubled, and any exit to the town was closely monitored and those passing were often questioned and sometimes pulled off to the side for inspection. Daixanos and Tsleeixth were both apprehended by three or four guards a piece and quickly whisked away to the dungeon and unceremoniously deposited in the cell next to the Imperial and across from Bhazark. However, given that some of the guards felt that the pair were innocent and their orders were simply more of the Jarl’s outrageous profiling against Argonians, a number of creature comforts were brought to the pair with the promise of release as soon as the sorted mess was squared away. 

Others, however, made it pretty clear that unless more convincing suspects were brought forward in the murder of Vurwe situation, either or both of them would very likely find themselves as the scapegoats who would take the fall for the crime. Justice in Dawnstar was a dangerously under-oiled machine, especially in days like these where everyone was suspect of being allied with the Kamal or Dunmer invaders. 

Equally fast was Dough-Boy, who brought the news of the Argonians’ detainment and was subsequently dispatched immediately to round-up a number of the company who weren’t immediately scheduled to depart to Bleakrock on [I]Kyne’s Tear[/I] in the near-future. And so, the lad certainly got his cardio in for the day,  rounding up Marcel, Leif, Solveig, Sagax, Marcel, Raelyn, Khazki and Rhasha’Dar in impressive time and having them attend an emergency meeting with Ashav, who very well could have been on his third hard drink of the night. He looked somewhat less presentable than usual, and he made no effort to conceal his mounting frustration with the situation at hand.

“As I am certain each of you are aware, there is a volatile situation that is rather delicate, putting it mildly.” Ashav began, hand inching towards his goblet once more but deciding against it. Instead, the commander interlocked his fingers on the table in front of him. As the saying went, idle hands did Sheogorath’s work. “Over the last two nights, there have been a string of murders that Jarl Skald has deemed the Argonians accountable for, although he isn’t picky as to which ones were responsible. As a result, I’m sure you’ve either witnessed the arrest of Daixanos and Tsleeixth.” Ashav paused, taking in measure of those assembled to gauge their reactions.

“The dead include Vurwe, whom I am sure many of you had… reservations about her, but she was still one of ours, and her assistant, Gordo. Vurwe was felled by knife wounds and strangulation from what it looks like, and Gordo was slain in a fight with two Argonians, accounts differ on whom was the aggressor. Others dead are Almad, whom wasn’t with our company for long so I do not know how well any of you knew them, the captain of the [I]Steelhead[/I], and perhaps most alarmingly, the Pakseech of the Argonian camp was also found slain, and the Argonians are quite readily blaming the guards. However, the timing of this string of murders is suspect, as are the uncanny similarities of the manner of the deaths. Seeing as we are welcome defenders of Dawnstar and are separate from the hold guards, in addition to having a vested interest in proving the innocence of our men, Jarl Skald has graciously permitted us authority to conduct an independent investigation to clear their names and find the real killers.” [I]If for no other reason than he does not wish to spare a single sword if the Argonians strike first.[/I] Ashav didn’t add. 

“I trust I do not need to stress that this is situation is of utmost urgency, it is a fuse that has been lit and if it goes before we unravel it, Dawnstar will erupt in a situation not unlike the riots we’ve seen in Windhelm prior to the Kamal taking the city.” He said, rising from the table and picking up a wrapped bundle he had sitting next to it unraveled what looked like a dismembered Argonian tale, but instead of a bloody stump at the end, it looked as if it were carefully tailored shut. He handed the tail to the closest mercenary seated to inspect and pass around. “A fake tail, albeit with what is likely to have been actual Argonian leather of an unknown and unwilling donor. One of the guards who had been in pursuit of one of the suspects attempted to tackle them and ended up pulling the tail free quite freely, which heavily suggests it was a part of a disguise. This is not something that we are letting become widely spread news as to not alert those responsible that we have a lead, as well as to not unwittingly profile another group altogether.

"Perhaps we are looking for Armiger spies, or more collaborators as Daelin’s group and the Braves had encountered to the South. Regardless, keep an eye out for Argonians that look off, be it physically or how they move, and see what you can discover. Discuss the situation, I leave it to you to decide how you wish to handle this investigation.” With that, Ashav nodded and took his leave, disappearing through the tent out into the early morning darkness. 

Khazki was investigating the stump, taking in its scent. “It smells like rich leather, which isn’t far from an Argonian’s scent, but it’s definitely been treated, like a pair of boots or gloves. There’s a vague scent of whoever was wearing it, but not enough to even tell you if it were man, mer, or cat.” She said, passing it on. “I think I’m going to go look for tracks and scout out the Argonian camp from a distance, since I can see in the dark. I’ll have better luck making out the details of an individual than any of you would unless you got close. Someone should check with the docks and the [I]Steelhead[/I] crew, maybe there’s something there. I’m curious if anyone noticed one of our fake Argonians trying to swim away or thought it was strange that they didn’t.” She said with a shrug, tugging gently on her whiskers.