William got to Frederick before Relma did. The moment the halfling knight collapsed, the paladin had vaulted over the stand. Now he was rushing to Frederick's side, cloak flowing behind him. How did he move so quickly in that armor, like a man clad in cloth? Relma rushed after him, trying to catch up and marveling at his strength, but in vain. By the time she arrived, he was kneeling by Frederick. The crowd was murmuring fearfully and looking at Varsus accusingly.

"Cheater!" screamed someone.

"Poisoner!" shouted another.

"Get away from Frederick!"

The stands almost spilled over as the crowd rushed forward in a rage. But Davian tapped one foot. A shield of light energy barred their progress as William began to heal Frederick. His hands glowed faintly as he worked at it.

"I insist you calm down," said Davian. His voice cut like a blade.

The crowd shrank back, cowed. How did he do that?

"How is he?" asked Relma.

"His body has been heavily drugged," said William, channeling his power. "And his heart is beating much less quickly. If things go on like this, it may stop."

"Iosos," said Relma. "Ajax smelled Iosos earlier."

"Quite possibly," said Aunt Pan as she arrived. "Step away, Gabriel. I'll deal with this." She put her hands on Frederick's arm and began to channel.

"Ajax said that Iosos is only meant to slow a person down," said Relma.

"I use it to slow flow the effect of toxins," said Aunt Pan. "If used in large amounts, though, it can make the heart stop."

The other soon hurried up. Joseph Korlac looked around at the scene. "When was he poisoned? How long does this drug take before it effects?"

"A few minutes," said Pan bitterly as she approached. "The fool. He should have called for a rest as soon as he drank. Now he could die, and our task is all the harder."

Ronald approached, the flash in his hands. His eyes were red, and he looked unable to speak. His hands shook as he walked. "I..."

"What is it, Ronald?" asked Relma, clasping his hands.

"Someone might have slipped something into his waterskin," said Ronald. "While I was watching the fight."

"Do you think Varsus did this?" asked Estela keenly.

"Dare suggest it again, and I will-" snarled William, putting a hand to his sword.

"Stop it!" said Aunt Pan. "I must focus on this." She closed her eyes. Then opened them and sighed in relief. "His heart is beating again."

"To purge that much poison so quickly," said William, looking at her work in surprise. "I wasn't able to. How did..."

"I didn't purge it," said Pan. "I stimulated his heart to counteract the effects of the drug. You can't heal these the same way as battle wounds.

"You learn these things by experience."

"Enough," said Joseph, coming forward and throwing his cloak behind his shoulder. His dark hair made him look very noble and cunning as he walked. "We must find the real culprit. Not bicker amongst ourselves."

"What makes you so sure it wasn't Varsus?" asked Estela.

"Ignoring my character? I'm not such a fool," said Varsus bluntly, sounding somewhat offended. "If I were to poison Frederick, I would have done it in a less obvious manner. Something which couldn't be traced. This method leaves me the obvious culprit so I can be discounted."

"No, you cannot," said Joseph, shaking his head. "No one here is discounted until we have looked at the situation rationally. Ajax, how long does it take for Iosos to take effect?"

"A few minutes," said Ajax.

"Is it possible that the poison was administered before the fight began?" asked Joseph of Ajax.

"No. It works slowly, but not that slowly," said Ajax. The wolf boy seemed pleased at being consulted. "He'd have keeled over long before."

"Is all this true?" Joseph asked Aunt Pan.

"Yes," said Pan. "I'm surprised Frederick stayed on his feet as long as he did."

"Then it is clear that the poison was administered during the brief rest," said Joseph. "Ronald, give me the waterskin that Sir Frederick drank out of."

This was all becoming a game.

Joseph was obviously relishing the chance to show off his deductive ability. Ajax was only too glad to be consulted, and the crowd had now viewed it as a new form of entertainment. Unfortunately, Relma wanted to change where this was headed.

Frederick had been seriously hurt, and now it was a source of sport. But then everything was like that in Harlenor. Relma being shot with an arrow had been that.

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Ronald offered the waterskin, and Joseph took it. He then offered it to Ajax. "Ajax, can you smell the Iosos here?"

"Yes," said Ajax. "It was poured into the water."

Joseph gave it to Aunt Pan. "Can you confirm this?"

Aunt Pan closed her eyes and held the flask. She opened her eyes. "He speaks the truth."

"Very well," said Joseph. "How expensive would you say Iosos is?"

"It's fairly rare. I don't know the asking price," said Ajax. "Usually, I gather it myself. But I know that many members of the Sorcerer's Guild would kill for it.

"I have patches I get from as a source. And no, I'm not going to reveal them; I grew them myself."

"Lady Pandora, do you have any insight into this?" asked Joseph.

"It is expensive," said Pandora. "I sometimes use it for medical purposes to help my patients ease into sleep. Though I only use small doses."

"Could it be used as a tool of assassination, Ajax?" asked Joseph.

"It could. But it would be a bad choice," said Ajax. "It takes a lot of it to kill someone. And there are easier ways to poison people with less trace."

"Pandora?" asked Joseph.

"Will you stop doublechecking everything I say?!" snarled Ajax. "If you don't trust me, don't ask in the first place!"

"Either of you could have been part of this," said Joseph. "Both of you have a similar mastery of herbs. So if one of you were caught in a lie, it would be a form of evidence.

"At any rate, we can conclude that the one responsible has access to significant funds. They are also unlikely to have a very excellent understanding of poisons. Their intention was to ensure Frederick lost the fight. However, they dosed him too heavily.

"Now let us ask, who had the motive to drug Sir Frederick?

"Varsus has already been suggested. But I should name every person present in the tournament as a suspect, except perhaps Ajax."

"Why?" asked Estela.

"Frederick is well documented as a deadly contestant," said Joseph. "Varsus, meanwhile, needs to be better documented. If Frederick had been taken out of the tourney, the path to victory would have been much easier.

"It is also possible that a political enemy might have done it. But far less likely. A political adversary would have done something more lethal. And whoever did this would have to have access to the backstage. That means it is likely someone who was not marked."

Relma had heard about all the conflicts up north from William. Sir Frederick had been up there. But most of what he'd done was secure the roadside and protect people. If anything, she'd expect William to end up poisoned instead.

House Gabriel had thrown down a lot of gauntlets, after all. Moreover, Sir Frederick was popular, and if he died, many people would want to avenge him. Whoever did this was reckless.

"What if someone bet money on Varsus," said Relma. "And wanted to make sure they won."

Silence.

"Isn't that petty," said William. "Considering the risk of the crime."

"If it was a lot of money," said Relma. "It could be enough. It doesn't have to be an elaborate conspiracy."

"Worth considering," said Joseph.

"Why is the demon exempt?" asked Estela.

"He drew attention to the fact that Iosos was used well before the poisoning," said Joseph.

"Unless he did so to throw people off the scent," said Reginald. "Or hired someone to do it and plans to convict them to cover his tracks."

"Yes, but that is a complicated explanation," said Joseph. "And complicated explanations are by their nature unlikely."

"There is a difference between unlikely and impossible," said Aunt Pan.

"Then let us deal with likely possibilities first," said Joseph, pacing. As he did, two fingers rubbed his chin. "And when they fail us, we will speak of the unlikely.

"First, who here is likely to use such a tactic?"

"What about Garrick?" asked Ajax. "He isn't exactly a practitioner of fair play."

"Where is Garrick anyway?" asked Rema, looking around for him. "I haven't seen him at all."

"He has demonstrated a willingness to disobey the spirit of the rules, if not the letters," said Joseph. He walked to the stand where Benarus was looking on. "Steward Benarus, I request that a search be sent out to locate Garrick Estov for questioning.

"You should also find any other contestants in the tournament who are absent. All of the servants should be brought in for questioning."

"Do so," said Benarus to the guards. "Even so, we must continue the tournament."

"Who do we declare the winner?" asked Relma.

"You might just disqualify both of us," said Varsus. "Declare it a draw and have neither advance." Varsus might have been trying to throw suspicion off himself by offering to forfeit. But if he really had poisoned Frederick, he'd be giving up the only thing he gained by it. So it worked.

Wait, where was the Black Knight?

"I do not like the idea of disqualifying two innocent men. Especially for something beyond their control," said Benarus. "We shall consider the match postponed. Should Sir Frederick awaken in time, the battle shall be refought. If not, then Varsus will advance."

"And what of the one found responsible?" asked Estela.

"We shall leave that matter for when they are found," said Benarus.

"It isn't Garrick," said William.

"What makes you so sure?" asked Relma. William had been pretty quiet, speaking with Felix to one side.

"Dust Elves are willing to wield cloak and dagger," said William. "But they are never stupid about it. And Garrick is from Sorn, where cloak and dagger is a way of life."

"I agree," said Pandora. "Garrick is here by the will of Rusara. He would not dare do anything to endanger her reputation without her support. While I do not put this kind of action beyond her, she would have executed it far better than this."

"Really?" asked Relma. "How would they have done it?"

"He probably would have been made to sleep too late," said Pan. "If he didn't show up, Varsus would have won by default. And there wouldn't have been a public spectacle. Assuming there wasn't some other motive."

"Rusara would do no such thing," said William, sounding offended.

"And what makes you so certain, young Gabriel," said Aunt Pan.

"I've known her all my life," said William.

"Then she has known you for a fraction of hers," said Aunt Pan. "I should not be too quick to assume you understand her. So many children have been taught by Rusara."

"Can you say the same?" asked William.

Aunt Pan looked at him coldly. William met her gaze. For a moment, they stood in silent challenge. "I don't like manipulating children for my own ends."

"Manipulating-" began William, and he looked about to flare up.

Varsus caught him by the shoulder. "William, stop. This isn't the time."

William paused. Then he relaxed his grip, somewhat reluctantly. "Yes, of course, Varsus." And he turned to walk away.

"That boy has an immense talent for healing," said Aunt Pan, voice awed. Behind her, Frederick was laid on a stretcher and led away, Ronald with him.

"Are you sure?" asked Relma.

"I have never seen someone that young, that good at healing," said Pandora. "He weakened the effects of the poison with pure brute force. That should have exhausted him. A shame he serves Rusara."

"Why do you dislike Rusara?" asked Relma,

"She represents the worst aspects of the Dust Elves, to be honest," said Aunt Pan. "Outside, she is warm and kind. But inside, she is frozen and brutal. Her goddess, Laevian, delights in the darkest aspects of nature and magic."

"Do you know much about Dust Elves, Aunt Pan?" asked Relma.

Aunt Pan remained silent. "They are a nomadic people. Long ago, they were the dominant power in Calisha, ruling over a vast empire. It lasted longer than the elven kingdoms in Harlenor and the south. Then Baltoth came and destroyed their empire. He drove the dust elves into Harlenor or into the far east. Anoa the Bright accepted them as refugees, oddly enough.

"They have not forgotten that.

"We'd best get off the field. The next fight will soon begin."

Relma wasn't looking forward to it now. The magic was gone.