"What is so important that it was important to awaken me at this hour?" Sultan Dakhir asked, groggy and irked. The last few months had been onerous. Last night, he had barely had four hours of sleep. With his body slowly rejecting the wyrmblood he had been ingesting for more than a century, age was catching up fast now.
"Madhab Al'Pasha has been assassinated."
"What? How?" All sleep immediately melted away as the ramifications of what the messenger was saying unfolded in his mind. The kingdom was already in turmoil. While the religious sect hadn't had any real power for quite some time now, the murder of their leader could easily trigger an avalanche of violence.
"We believe a prisoner we were detaining in Yae Tal'hefier is responsible. A human called Joriah - a mercenary who was working for fringe powers. He was captured by Fangshahat when attempting to extract a high value Yaskh artifact from the world of Nil'Sofeh.
"Wait... are you saying this prisoner managed to escape from Yae Tal'hefier?" If this was true it would change the perception of Kaiyaathian military prowess forever.
"Sir, Yae Tal'hefier does not exist anymore."
"What?" Dakhir's feet wobbled.
The guard cautiously continued, "we are still piecing together the events, but it seems like someone managed to insert themselves into the prison as an acolyte of the Faith, and accompanied by the Madhab, they sneaked in a device that could impersonate soul signatures."
"Impersonate soul signatures? That is theoretically impossible - no two individuals may have the same signature. And it is impossible to alter." Dakhir was beginning to wonder if this entire thing was an elaborate deception.
"We believe this device is of Helicon design. It does not actually change the soul signature. It simply tricks any probe attempting to capture an impression of the soul signature into believing that it is recording something else."
Zakir sat down, frowning. "That is brilliantly deceitful." A trick - albeit one that would be fiendishly difficult to actually execute, but not outside the realm of possible.
"Indeed Hujoor. We believe that once out of his cell, Joriah killed one of the faujdars and impersonated him to access the underground power generators. Then he rerouted the power coils to create an internal loop that overloaded the internal power grid. The resulting explosion triggered a cascade of destruction, that was massive enough to revive the volcano."
"Do we know for sure that this Joriah escaped from this facility? Did he survive the demolition he instigated?"
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"Ji Hujoor. We do know he survived."
"How?" Dakhir had picked up the information slate and was now browsing through the disconnected reports from different sub-commanders. The messenger was getting visibly uncomfortable and nervous, but Dakhir needed the full picture.
"He...uh...has put up the preserved head of the Madhab in a DarkMOS auction house."
The Sultan's jaw hung open. "The Madhab's head? In an auction house?" This went beyond just preposterous, this was a mockery of the entire Sultenate.
"Ji Hujoor. His starting bid was ten million sol. But over the last few hours the offers have gone up to fifty million."
"This is ridiculous. Can we locate from where the bid was initiated?" Dakhir started pacing once again. The fallout from this chain of events would be difficult to rein in.
While the Sultan sat contemplating the ramifications, Shehzadi Reina arrived. She was about to knock, but the Sultan waived her in with a gesture. From the expression on her face, it was clear that she had been briefed about the news.
The messenger continued after scrolling through a few more of the incoming reports, "While we can't intercept the bid and the auction house is backed by a powerful coalition of great powers, Joriah had submitted an announcement video in which a mountain peak could be seen. Our munshies believe this could be the Berg der Träume in Haveskon. We can not be completely sure though."
At Haveskon being mentioned, an odd expression flickered on the Shehzadi's face. It lasted only a moment, but the Sultan didn't miss it.
"Pedar, please allow me to lead the investigation for apprehending this criminal." Reina asked her father, her fists clenched but voice composed.
"Yes, but this mess has already spiraled too far. Ask Shehzada Rah'Drakh to help you with military support. You will have the might of the Fangshahat at your disposal. And, I want the Madhab's head recovered." The Sultan concluded. Perhaps a tragedy of this kind was the ideal opportunity for his children to rise to their potential and establish their foothold in the adareh.
Her brother's involvement complicated matters because he had no clue about the plan Shehzadi had been concocting with the Madhab. But Reina thought better than to argue with the Sultan. She would just have to tread delicately. At least her involvement in Joriah's escape hadn't come to light yet, and if the vandal was actually in Haveskon, there was still a possibility that he could lead her to wyrmblood.
"I hate to say this, Hujoor but attacking the auctionhouse may backfire catastrophically." The messenger offered his last suggestion, handing over a listing of the parties who protected the auction house. "Our best bet may be to just pay off the sum." This was one of the last few neutral grounds outside Irvanian jurisdiction. Multiple non-human great powers whose influence had dwindled over the last century as Irvania rose to its prominence were deeply invested in keeping it secure.
His self-control waning, the Sultan slammed his fist on the table in front. Even a few years ago, the force of the impact would have barely registered, but now a sharp pain thrummed through his hand.
Shehzadi could understand her father's trepidation. The Sultenate had been hemorrhaging money on multiple fronts, and spending an incredibly large sum on this was just stupid. "Please allow me some time. We may be able to find an alternative. I have some connections with Helicon who may prove helpful."
Dakhir nodded, barely. He was growing weak when the empire needed him the most. The Shehzadi and the messenger bowed out.
The nanomaterial that the table was constructed with slowly repaired the damage while the Sultan continued to pace. Over the years, the table had been on the receiving end of many such outbursts, and the Kaiyaathian craftsmen had prepared for such eventualities.