Pathfinder: Sacred Order - Chapter 71

Inside the room the lights flickered on allowing the three figures to see what was going on. Shock and confusion were shown on their faces the moment they spotted the Baron’s lifeless body.

A dagger was embedded into the Baron’s neck while blood oozed out.

Jacob felt something tug at his heart, he knew this situation looked bad. But, the nobles would not think he murdered the Baron would they? I mean, he was just as surprised as they were.

Using a dagger was a nice touch, Jacob figured whoever killed him must have snuck up on him. So they were skilled in stealthy movements, more than likely an assassin.

The plan Jacob had in mind was poison. It was simple, but he figured it would not be too hard to pull off. Especially since the Baron was alone.

He managed to obtain ‘Hex Poison’ that was slow acting. All he needed to do was drop a little onto the Baron’s skin and it would begin to work. He’d die within ten hours unless he was treated.

Hex Poison was odorless, but it was easily treated. Treatment would be expensive, but treatable nonetheless. A major sign you had been poisoned by this was when your body temperature started to go down and you quickly caught a fever.

At that point your body would start weakening until you stopped moving.

It was already late into the night and if he used it on the Baron, the man would be asleep by the time he started showing any symptoms.

Still, someone else did the deed for him.

The three figures were all men, two of which Jacob saw before the other one he did not. The two he saw before were men who were acquainted with lord Frost.

Their mouths were moving, but they were speaking so low that Jacob could not hear a word they were saying.

Probably talking about him more than likely.

Shortly after lord Frost came into the room. His facial expression showed he was stunned, but he quickly recovered. Turning his attention to one of the men he whispered something.

A moment later that man left the room.

Walking over lord Frost approached Jacob who was next to Baron Cecil’s body.

“What happened?”

That was the question that came out of his mouth. Something that everyone else here wanted to know as well.

“How am I supposed to know?”

Jacob responded.

Lord Frost clapped his hand on Jacob’s shoulder whilst giving him a friendly smile.

“It’s ok, I am on your side. But, I need to know what happened here so I know how to deal with it.”

As it turns out, the people here were suspecting that he killed the Baron. If things continued down this path, it was likely Jacob would be charged with murder.

The only ally he had here was Teressa, he was still unsure if he could count on Sterling to come to his aid. But, she was in the main hall with everyone else so it would be difficult to contact her.

Someone here killed the Baron and he knew it was not him. Meaning whoever it was, was using him as a scapegoat.

There was a chance that the person who planned this was Sterling, after all he knew that Jacob was going to kill the Baron. However, he did not know how Jacob would escape after.

Feeling nervous about the scheme Sterling could have taken matters into his own hands and put together a plot to kill the Baron and frame Jacob.

The thought passed his mind, and Jacob was asking himself why would he do that? There was always a reason behind a person’s actions, it was not just because. The few that were, those people were insanely crazy and needed to be avoided.

Jacob opened his mouth to speak as he retold the events of what happened since his arrival. Forgoing the details about his conversation with Sterling.

While this was happening, Angelia was standing at the table that held all the food. She picked up a cube of cheese on a stick and put it in her mouth. As she turned around to face the crowd of people she noticed one man speed walking.

Her eyes traveled from him to the room where her father went. An amused look appeared on her face for a moment before she walked off.

There was no need for her to see what was going on, she already knew. Instead Angelia chose to leave the hall and head to her room. This night was as good as over.

Angelia was not the only one to notice the man’s hurried steps, and quickly all those that were curious made their way towards the room.

They saw the same scene as the ones who first entered did, except this time their image of what was going on was changed drastically. Lord Frost was in front of Jacob seemingly to stop him from going anywhere while the others were at the door blocking his escape.

This caused them to see Jacob as the murderer who has been captured causing them to whisper about what his punishment would be.

For a crime such as murder there were various punishments a person could receive, and nobles would only be taken into custody if they were known to have killed a notable figure. The Baron was just that, a notable figure.

However, there were a few ways out of being charged, and that came with connections, favors, and large payments.

“The young lord is fearless, killing the Baron in public.”

A man said softly, but loud enough for everyone present to hear him.

“He needs to be arrested for his crimes.”

It was not long before someone else spoke up.

“Wait until this makes its way back to the Baron’s sons, no one will be able to protect him.”

The same voice that spoke the first time was heard again, which made Jacob clench his teeth. Enough was enough.

“I will not stand here and be accused of something which I did not do!”

Jacob stood his ground, refusing to listen to the man accuse him. His voice showed all those present that he would not take this lying down.

“It is plain as day who murdered the Baron, we all know it.”

Refuting his words, the man said with a smug look on his face.

“If it is so easily seeable, then where is the proof? Show me proof that I killed him and I will happily turn myself in.”

Pointing to the corpse, Jacob asked the man to show him evidence that he was the one who did the deed.

Baron Cecil’s body had been stabbed with a dagger, but anyone was capable of doing that. For Jacob it would be difficult considering his size, but for everyone else present it would not be too hard.

“Were you not found with his corpse? The murder weapon is in his neck, what more do I need to say?”

Looking at the dagger, the man stated the obvious.

“Baseless accusations. You are pretty slow aren’t you?”

Snorting Jacob looked at the man as if he were a fool.

Nobles and their ‘i’m always right’ thinking. Jacob was starting to understand why some people refused to go to the gatherings or even interact with certain people of status. They were bull-headed and refused to budge even when they were wrong.

“…”

“I mean if you weren’t you would see that there is no blood on my body. The dagger is embedded in his neck, but blood would still shoot out splattering the walls crawling down the hilt until it reached my hand. Not to mention, our height difference. How would I manage to stab him in the neck? Think before you speak, and if you have something else to say, don’t. I did not even know the man so what grievances would I have in order for me to kill him?”

The man felt that he was losing his ground to a child, still, he had one card to play.

“Lord Forst, say something. Surely your words will enlighten this child, and show that lies will always be uncovered.”

Sterling felt that things were not favorable towards Jacob stepped in.

“Lord Lezhalt is correct, no one here has proof to claim that he is the murderer. You all know it too, so instead of trying to push the blame on him we should focus on finding the real culprit.”

Jacob was not expecting anyone to step up for him seeing as no one did since the situation was going on.

Lord Frost clapped his hands twice.

“Indeed, lord Stubrik is right. For now, why don’t you all go home, I shall investigate this matter considering it did happen in my home.”

All of the nobles present that were mumbling to themselves could only look at Jacob and lord Frost before taking their leave.

What could they do when Jacob had lord Frost protection. All of them knew what his investigation meant. Although he said he would look into it, more than likely he would cover it up.

While they could start their own investigation, none of them felt inclined to do so. After all, it was Baron Cecil, not someone related to them. Telling the authorities about this matter would not mean they’d gain any merit.

The room cleared out and everyone left.

Jacob could not wrap his head around the situation, but he did get a glimpse into lord Frost’s power. A word and all those nobles toed the line, not utter one word to go against him.

From what he could recall, lord Frost was not a prominent character in the game. In fact, he did not even exist.

Meaning that his family was killed off sometime before the main events of the game started.

Lord Frost spoke a few words to Jacob telling him that he would take care of this matter.

“Lord, are you ok?”

Teressa asked him as she came to his side.

“I’m fine, but someone won’t be.”

Teressa knew what he meant by those words. Someone was going to pay for this, it was just a matter of time when.