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* Bai sits at the table in his room at the Hall, reading a large tome and making notes on a piece of paper. * Bai puts his quill down and rubs his eyes, leaning back in his chair and stretching his back. * Jaret walks up the stairs, carrying a cloth sack in one hand. He's dressed in midnight blues with grey edging, and has his rapier at his usual place at his side. He walks down the hallway, and after a slight pause, turns and knocks on Bai's door. "Bai? It's Jaret. May I come in?" * Bai turns at looks at the door, "Certainly Jaret. Come in." * Bai marks his place in his tome and closes it, straightening the other things on the table before rising to greet Jaret. * Jaret opens the door and lets himself in. "Thank you. I wanted to talk to you about a few things related to Lini'leah's current predicament." * Bai gestures to the rooms lone chair, "Have a seat. I'm glad you have some ideas. Quite frankly the only ones I've thought of Lini didn't like." * Bai sits on the bed, folding his legs into a lotus position as he watches Jaret and waits for him to speak. * Jaret sits in the chair, carefully placing the bag on the floor at his side. "Well, I don't think she's completely happy about the idea, but it beats rescuing her from the gallows. But first, I wanted to know... Lini said she sent you to find Vhaeraun. Did you?" * Bai shakes his head, "Unfortunately no. I still might be able to, but the prices that where being asked for the information were a little higher than I cared to pay, particularly given the dubious sources of the information." * Jaret shakes his head emphatically. "Definitely don't bother. The rat knows. He knew it was going to happen before it happened, even." * Bai sighs and nods once, "I figured it was something like that. Lini's too important for him to not know. My guess is that this is his way of punishing her for what he sees as her unfaithfulness." * Jaret waggles a hand from side to side. "I don't know if it's quite that. I think it's that for some reason he's unable to play favorites between Baltana and Lini, so while he saw it coming, he didn't do anything about it." * Bai tilts his head, "I can see that. It's amazing how many god children need to be taken over someone's knee and given a good spanking." <Jaret> The god himself in this case deserves a good thrashing, too, but that's beside the point. I just wanted to make sure on this matter. <Bai> So what's this idea you've had? * Jaret reaches into the bag, and pulls out a length of silver hair, some of it still in a braid. * Bai looks critically at the hair and then at Jaret, "Lini's or..." <Jaret> Baltana's. <Bai> I think I see where you're going with this, but lets hear it out. <Jaret> I was wondering, can you take this, and use it to prove that it doesn't belong to Lini, and that it belongs to who killed the elven ambassador's wife lady-in-waiting? It'd exonerate Lini without us having to hunt down Baltana. * Bai rests his chin on one hand,looking critically at the hair, but making no move to touch it. <Bai> It should be fairly simple to prove that it's not Lini's. Proving that it belongs to the killer would be harder. I'd need a token that is indisputably from the killer. * Jaret looks downcast. "I can't think of anything. I don't think they've recovered the murder weapon yet, and I don't know if Baltana left anything behind." <Bai> The simple solution would be for Lini to submit to a truth spell, but I got the impression that she's afraid they'll learn what it was she really was up to at the time. <Jaret> That could be a problem, yes. * Bai looks at Jaret, "Given what we've seen of Baltana's abilities to date, I doubt she did. She's a very competent mage." * Bai makes a face, "I can think of a couple of other possibilities, but none of them are particularly pleasant, and could very well wind up with Baltana being hunted. Which I believe is still not an option." <Jaret> Hunted may be an inevitability. I think what Lini doesn't want to see happen is Baltana get *caught*. * Bai nods, "You are very correct, but that's still Lini'leah's decision to make...Though the longer she waits the harder a time we're going to have convincing them of her veracity." <Jaret> I don't think we've got much time left, Bai. I'm getting the feeling there's going to be a trial fairly soon. And I don't think it's going to be an impartial trial, either. * Bai shakes his head, "Most certainly not." * Bai runs his hands through his hair, "And my hands will be even more tied once the trial starts." * Jaret looks at Bai curiously. "Why so?" <Jaret> And I've talked to Lini about the possibilities of implicating Baltana in the murder. What she said was... essentially, that I can do so, but that she'll be... upset, if Baltana is actually caught and punished. * Bai sighs, "Mirgianne is a god of justice. While *I* know Lini didn't do it, unless I can PROVE that Lini didn't do it, I can't actually claim in anyone else's presence that she's innocent. And as she won't submit to a truth spell there's a great deal I can't do for her." * Bai closes his eyes, considering possibilities. <Jaret> Are there any other restrictions placed on you? Can you cast spells to investigate in her behalf? I'd think justice would involve doing whatever you could to determine whoever's truly responsible for the crime under investigation. * Bai nods, "I can investigate fairly freely, but I'm bound by the evidence of the investigation. Additionally, unless I can find evidence of Lini'leah's innocence I'm bound to honor the laws and rulings of the local legal system." * Bai sighs, "Additionally, justice is open to interpretation. There are those who would argue, and I'm sure will if we can prove Lini'leah innocent of this murder, that she has committed other crimes and that while she is not guilty of this one, she is still deserving of punishment." * Jaret purses his lips. "That sounds fairly complicated. Especially with as little evidence in the case as their currently is." <Jaret> Punishment for suspected crimes isn't justice. We both know that. Those that argue for that point of view should be fairly easy to rebut. * Bai nods, "I could argue my way through it if I could prove Baltana's guilt or Lini'leah's innocence. But yes, it is a right royal mess." * Bai looks seriously at Jaret, "Among rational minds yes. What's the likelihood of Lini getting a trial filled with rational minds?" <Jaret> This is beginning to look like it's going to be dreadfully complicated to prove without Baltana. * Bai nods, "Very." * Bai holds up a finger, "I had an idea...Give me a moment..." * Jaret gets a sudden light behind his eyes. "I have an idea... what if we can find someone who is willing to swear that Lini didn't come near the elven ambassador's that night? Someone who spent all night at her side?" <Jaret> Please, Bai. You first. * Bai shakes his head, "That would involve someone lying on her behalf, or revealing what she was actually up to. As for my idea...I'm not certain if I could do it, and I believe under Cormyr's laws my testimony is suspect anyway, but it should be possible to get a spiritual image of who was in the room the night of the murder. It should be the most recent traumatic event in the room and thus have the strongest signature." <Bai> After that it's just a matter of showing that Lini has a different image. I don't know if Baltana would have thought to take such precautions, and I don't know how effective they are, but I'd recommend having both a mage and one of Tyl's students perform the survey in case Baltana did try to disguise herself that way. <Jaret> That does sound like a good possibility. And the individual wouldn't have to lie, it'd be the truth. He just would have to not say anything about where she actually was. It's a risky, I know, but we're not exactly on bedrock. <Bai> Unfortunately, I have no idea if such a disguise would fool psionics as well as magic. * Bai nods, "I understand that. But the first question they'd ask after confirming he was with Lini'leah is what they were doing. If he wasn't willing to divulge that, and if it couldn't' be confirmed, then the testimony could be called into question." * Jaret spreads his hands. "You and I both know I'm not the person to consult on that question. And with Tyl's memory the way it is, I'm not sure who the expert in the field is. That Bluestar, perhaps?" <Jaret> The follow-up questions would be obvious, yes. It's still something to consider. * Bai tilts his head, "Probably. Unless you know of anyone else who could do it and wouldn't have an obvious conflict of interests." <Jaret> I really don't move in the psionics circles, so he's my best guess. I think he's still running the school, from the word around town. * Bai nods, "Neither do I." <Bai> I think that's our best bet at the moment. Though we should probably run it by Lini'leah since it will almost certainly involve an examination of her to determine that she wasn't in the room the night of the murder. <Jaret> Very well, but I can't see why she wouldn't agree. And frankly, even if she doesn't... I won't see her hung for this Bai. * Bai shakes his head, "Neither will I Jaret. But I won't invade her privacy either, and that's how she seems to view such matters." <Jaret> Well, let's hope she accedes, then, and you don't have to choose. * Bai nods, "My choice is made, but it would be nice to get through this while angering as few people as possible." <Jaret> It would be nice, yes. I'm just not sure how feasible it's going to be, over all. * Bai sighs and nods, "I know Jaret, I know." <Bai> Any other ideas, or shall we see how this one works and if it fails try to come up with something else? <Jaret> That was my sole idea. Let me know if you need this, ::gesturing down at the hair in the sack:: and I'll retrieve it from safekeeping. * Bai nods, "Definitely keep it in safe keeping. If worst comes to worst we can use it to track down Baltana." <Jaret> That was more or less what I was thinking. Lini won't like it but... that's a bridge I'll cross when I come to it. Hopefully it won't be aflame. * Bai nods emphatically. * Bai looks at Jaret, "Do you want to tell Lini'leah our idea, or should I, or should we tell her together?" <Jaret> I'm not sure if they allow multiple visitors at one time. I was just about to head over there anyway, so I can pass this along. * Bai sighs and nods, "Tell her I'll be by later then." * Jaret collects the sack and stands. "I'll be sure to do that, Bai. If you think of anything, I'm out at the house most of the time. Just stop by." * Bai nods, "If you think of anything, stop by. Even if I'm not here you can always leave a message with the mugs." <Jaret> I hope they're more reliable than they look. Good afternoon, Bai. * Bai stands, "Take care of yourself Jaret. I suspect Baltana and Vhaeraun aren't going to be idle while we're trying to save Lini...And there may be other forces at work as well." * Bai nods, "Good afternoon, Jaret." <Jaret> The next time I see Vhaeraun, he's going to be leaving this plane for some time, if I have any say in the matter. But thank you for the warning... other forces? <Bai> I've got some gods and godlings looking over my shoulder. And even the ones who aren't holding grudges enjoy mischief. <Jaret> ::dryly:: Charming. I'll keep my eyes out, for whatever good it does. * Bai nods, "Good day Jaret." * Jaret opens the door. "You keep an eye over your shoulder, too, if they're your gods, so you can at least look them in the eye as they work their mischief." * Bai smiles, "I'm sure that would trouble them to no end." * Jaret leaves, closing the door behind him. * Bai picks up his staff and his quiver, then teleports out of the room. |
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