Justicar Jhee and the Cursed Abbey

by Trevol Swift

  One moment, it seemed as though the key to this case was Saheli’s death. The next, one of the Prospectives. Somehow, she had gotten off course. Was she too focused on heresies, scandals, and grand conspiracies? Back to basics as her mentor Jeja Marpele would say when Jhee went too far chasing wisps down sea wormholes. Most murders were simple. Committed by simple people for simple reasons. What came after was complicated. What was the simple truth here? Were these murders? She had yet to make that determination. She had lots of oddities and unanswered questions, but no definitive evidence. Nevertheless, her Maker within whispered to her something didn’t add up.

  “I’m still not sure what we’re dealing with,” Jhee said. “One could have been an accident. One may have committed suicide. One may have been killed by an incompetent physician.”

  “And the abbess?” Mirrei asked.

  “Possibly a heart attack or maybe she did ascend to the Maker Sphere in glorious light. Everyone loved Saheli. Loved her so much they can’t help but make insinuations and cast aspersions.”

  “Well, denbe,” Kanto said, “what I heard from the Prospectives is that the men who died were friends. What if Saheli killed them to hide she was having an affair with one of them? It proved too much for her fragile health, or maybe she committed suicide.”

  “A good theory I entertained, but one or more died after Saheli,” Jhee said.

  “Faked her death?”

  “Reasonable premise. How?”

  Mirrei jumped in, “Phosphorous or another volatile chemical. She may have had help. To refine brightshade into liquid form requires one of its derivatives. The horticulturist would have some if she cooks it herself.”

  “Volatile chemicals could cause too much heat and be too dangerous. Performers do use smokes and powders to make themselves disappear.” Jhee tapped the side of her nose. “If perhaps she had a secret way to and from her chambers through which she sneaked the young men in, she could also slip away with no one the wiser.”

  Kanto said, “Pyrmo could have been in on it or knew about it. Staging it is how she burnt her hands. Now, that the abbess’s chambers are hers, she would know of any such back exits. She and Saheli could have finished off the others.”

  “What if Saheli did not fake her death? What’s the motive then?”

  “Retaliation for the others? The drowned Prospective killed the others then Saheli or some combination thereof then committed suicide by flinging himself from the tower or falling off the bluffs while trying to make his escape.”

  “Also, another theory I entertained until I learned of his plans to run away. I, also, considered accidental overdose, due to Sister Serra’s mention of her resistance but dismissed that too after more thought.”

  “Why?”

  Mirrei answered without looking up, “Because it’s next to impossible to overdose on that class of drugs.”

  Kanto furrowed his brow, then propped his head up on the desk. “You make this look so easy.”

  Jhee set aside her book. “Likewise, your flair for style and diplomacy.”

  Jhee and Kanto locked gazes then hands. They shared a tentative smile.

  “Aw!” Mirrei said.

  Jhee cleared her throat and went back to her research on plant toxins. Brightshade which she knew the horticulturist grew. Or the blightseeds from the ruined crops. The archivist had access to the very text she read. Jhee eyed various places from which one may listen to anything they said.

  “Makers’ Mark, denbe, listen to this,” Mirrei said. “’The big and sweeping movements are in keeping with the simplistic grandiosity of the male character. The subtlety and refinement of finger cypher are not suited for their clumsy, intemperate nature.’ Now, I know where the vizier gets her backward ideas.”

  How many times had Jhee read some similar sentiment yet glossed over it? Now, confronted with an abbey full of women like this and the real-world effects, she had to grapple with how her silence aided the damage those attitudes caused.

  “Are you aware Saheli was one of the leading signatories to the Nahele edict asserting there was no doctrinal or scriptural basis for the exclusion of men from cyphering?” Mirrei asked. “The abbey’s practice of no cyphering began in their cloister school, was enacted to ensure a gender-neutral curriculum rather than directly challenge the inherent inequality of the ban. If they had included the practice of cypher in their studies, they would have been forced to exclude males from entry like the Tihalmec Imperial Academy. They maintained low-cost, high-quality education because they did not have to maintain the facilities for or hire experts in magical instruction.”

  “Seems she also sat on the Rescission Councils that overturned the bans. I may have even seen her there,” Jhee said.

  “You attended the Rescission Councils, denbe?” Kanto asked.

  “As a member of Jeja’s legal envoy. The law they passed to enact the ban had serious flaws which made their legitimacy shaky. This is the woman everyone is trying to convince me was a sex fiend of the highest order, who hated relics, was anti-education, and wasted the abbey’s money. Either on the impoverished or expensive items for herself?”

  “The aspects are not mutually exclusive. It could be how she expected them to show gratitude.”

  “True. She could have felt owed for her magnanimity. She would not be the first. If Saheli were this fiend as I’ve been led to believe, how could she have ascended in light to the Maker Sphere?”

  “If you’re interested in the arcane, denye,” Mirrei said, peruse this.”

  “Mirrei, don’t,” Jhee began.

  The door to the reading room burst open. Jhee tucked a ledger under her arm and jumped to her feet.

  “Out,” Sister Elkanah said.

  16 Collections

  An Unfortunate Relic

  “What? Why?” Mirrei asked.

  “I’ll have no fraternizing, inappropriate contact in my archives or ill talk of the abbey’s esteemed leaders. Most of all no showing of new science texts to men. I warned you.”

  “How would you know if we were fraternizing or what we were discussing?” Mirrei glanced around. “Because you were watching.”

  “What of it? I told you my first concern was the proper reverence of the manuscripts and relics. I thought it prudent given the feral behavior your other husband displayed.”

  “Dawn Wolf did not go feral. Bright Harmony, Star Mirror, gather your belongings. We’re leaving.”

  “No, you stay,” Kanto said. “I’ll leave if it will alleviate the Sister’s concerns.”

  “And you with all your tempter’s talk of not being interested in artifice.”

  “Get this through your narrow-minded head,” Mirrei said. “You better get used to the notion of men cyphering, as the time’s coming when as many men as women know how. And there won’t be a single thing you can do about it.”

  “What a vile, disrespectful creature you are. You have no idea the disaster you court.”

  “Star Mirror, please,” Jhee said. “We’re leaving.”

  “Your spouses need discipline. I see where they get it from. If you weren’t such a weak denbe, you would keep them in line. A few swats of the scourge or board might teach them some manners.”

  Jhee took a measured breath and initiated the tricky procedure to focus her siren module’s calming abilities on herself, without making herself too docile. She suppressed the urge to use it on the archivist and be done with her once and for all. Any evidence gained through non-consensual use of the module gave instant grounds to appeal her ruling.

  “That’s enough, Sister Elkanah. Mind how you talk to my spouses and to me. I am still an Official of the Court.”

  “And nobility,” Mirrei said. She folded her arms and raised her eyebrows. “Shame on you for turning away or trying to have imprisoned those like the refugees or our denme who need your help.”

  Sister Elkanah snapped her mouth shut. So much for trying to charm and back current information from her.

  “Sist
er Elkanah, can you account for your whereabouts during the deaths of the Prospectives Leigh, Yaou, and Imsu?”

  “Prospective Imsu died during the first quake at which time I and several others were trying to secure the items in the archives. Prospective Yaou’s happened under Zalver’s care, and she assured me it was some natural disease.”

  “I understood she treated you for scratches and skin irritation.”

  “Serra sometimes thinks it’s funny to put itchweed on my finger quills.”

  “Did she do so while Prospective Yaou was there?”

  “Yes.”

  “So, that means you would have had an opportunity to check in on him while he was there?”

  “But I didn’t.”

  “Wasn’t he your assistant? I was under the impression he volunteered at the archives?”

  “What of it?”

  “You didn’t want to inquire about the health of someone who helped you maintain the archive?”

  “What if his ailment was contagious? An infection or mold might have detrimental effects on the collections. I didn’t want to risk it.”

  “Then why were you repeatedly seen in the quiet room with him.”

  “Who told you that?”

  “What of Prospective Leigh?”

  “I’m not sure. I think I was performing devotions.”

  “In your room?”

  “Yes.”

  “Alone.”

  “Yes!” Sister Elkanah snatched the ledger Jhee had slipped under her arm and jabbed her finger at the door.

  Jhee stormed out of the archives. She would not be lectured about marriage by celibates. She could think of few practices which dishonored the Makers more.

  “A celibate presumes to tell me how to treat my spouses. Kanto, you can have all the adept and cyphering lessons you want and more. I owe you that and another apology. I’m surprised anyone had bothered to report these young men’s deaths at all. As they viewed them as too stupid or useless to be of concern.”

  How could she have contemplated for even a moment leaving Kanto here at the mercy of these fishwives? Mirrei suppressed a smirk.

  “This isn’t funny.”

  “No, it isn’t.” Mirrei continued to smirk. “Such a collection of bigoted women.”

  “These were my peers. Would I have even noticed a few years ago?”

  Kanto snickered. As he continued, Mirrei and Jhee gave him dumbfounded looks. “I had matters well in hand with the archivist until you and Mirrei got up in your ether with her. Is this what it takes for you to respect my intelligence? Other women belittling it. The pattern emerges. You have no desire for pleasure or procreation with me, yet you feel free to hypocritically lecture the clerics on the celibate lifestyle. I’m leaving. Not that you’ll have further need of me.”

  Kanto tromped off down the corridor.

  At last, Jhee’s anger flowed away. “It’s getting late. That’s enough excitement for today. Allow me to escort you back to the room.”

  “Where our adventure ends for the day?”

  “I have a few more lines of inquiry to follow. It would put my mind at ease to know you are somewhere safe.”

  “Implying you will be somewhere not safe.”

  “I’m amazed at how quickly you’ve come to know me.”

  “Do remember I was a guest at your house for some time before our betrothal.”

  “How could I forget?”

  Jhee and Mirrei returned to the room arm in arm.

  “Kanto hasn’t returned? He left ahead of us.”

  “Bax has eyes on him. He’s talking to the Prospectives,” Shep said.

  The Storehouse

  Jhee examined the procurement writ. She supposed now was as good a time as any to check out the apothecary. She hoped whatever Lady Bathsheba had tried to draw her attention to was still there.

  A bored Professed unlocked the stores. “We’re on the honor system for most supplies. Come up front when you’re done and close the door after yourself. If any provisions you want are locked up, scan them, and I’ll get them for you before you leave. Then I’ll scan and close out your writ for you.”

  While nowhere near as magnificent as the archives, the shelves which lined either side of the storehouse boasted as much abundance. Jhee captured an image of the storehouse map posted by the door then set off down the aisles. Storage units brimmed with boxes of herbal and floral extracts. Dried leaves hung from hooks or vine ropes on every vertical. She used the illumination and magnification function on her conch to read tags and box labels. A thick layer of dust showed some had not been touched in ages. She had to dig through a few shelves to find the supplies on her list.

  First things first: her promised casks of that most delicious Tranquility Gold. Mostly for her and Shep. A wine which surely should have met with even Shep’s high standards. Though, she was disappointed he had not enjoyed it as much as she did. To be honest, the second taste she had the morning of the incident had been underwhelming. She located a cask, tapped the writ against it, then pressed a tag on it. She also wanted some of the must and unfermented nectar to study. She pinched the bridge of her nose. She gathered more raw ingredients for Mirrei’s poultice.

  Lady Bathsheba’s draught recipe came to mind. She already had the nectar. What else did she need? Jhee snapped her fingers. Orange cider and black orchid tea.

  Why had the Lady intimated she visit the storehouse? Why call her attention to the tea so ostentatiously? Was it meant to be a clue as to the doings of this murderer who stalked the abbey? Jhee would get to the bottom of it. If only because of professional curiosity alone. It was also her duty.

  If only adhering to Jhee’s familial duties came as easily to her as duty to empire and profession. How much misery would she have avoided if she had married a Crag Hall sibling as her family asked, not gone to war, or followed Shep? Uncharacteristic rebellion. She had thought to get a rise from them. She had always done as they wanted until she could not take it anymore. She had once sought to escape her rural district for life at court. A favor here; some discretion there. Which is how she acquired ministry connections at the capital. Then Central Authority had recalled the officials from the border districts as the shield went up. All officials had to report to the court as soon as they could. And she did. She did as she was told. When Miramar learned of her assignment, she asked Jhee to take her daughter with her.

  “You owe me, Jhee.”

  Their home island had half sunk into the sea by then. Jhee’s home, which was on higher ground remained, but the displaced and homeless had grown. Miramar’s house had sunk, and out of friendship and kindness and duty and loyalty, Jhee had taken Miramar and her daughter into her home. She gave them food and shelter. Jhee supposed it was why Miramar thought it was only natural to propose the match she did. Jhee out of friendship, also, chose to ask no giving or receiving of boons. Mirrei had much of her mother’s looks. A fact which made the decision much easier on Jhee. She had been wary of taking a female consort at least before she had settled into her new assignment.

  Jhee initially held the traditional, last position in her household for a more political arrangement at court similar to the one she had with Kanto’s family. However, Kanto’s social savvy and discontent with a modest life indicated he was already halfway to shore. She did not expect him to stay with her long once they reached the capital. She just hoped he would help her arrange his new situation. That way, she could reap a political benefit. She would probably do something similar with Mirrei. She would find them both spouses more suitable to their age and ambitions.

  The orange cider Jhee spotted in a neater, more frequently used part of the storage room then scanned it and put a non-procurement tag on it. The black orchid tea she found by the lace root melon candies in a locked, glass-front cabinet.

  Jhee was in the middle of the pecking order and was not as overly ambitious as some. When opportunities presented themselves, she took them. She did not force them or jostle for position as oth
ers did. She rather liked her job as magistrate. She traveled from place to place on isles too small for much in the way of permanent structures. Especially with the great barrier storm, those islands had become increasingly isolated, especially given the storm’s effect on communication equipment. A measure designed to confound the barbarians’ navigation systems. From time to time, shipwrecked barbarians washed up. They were also her duty to hand them over to the body catchers for transportation to the capital. She wondered what they did with them. Perhaps they would use them for the Medical Protectorate experiments instead of noble warriors like Shep.

  Jhee contemplated the candies, or if she truly wanted them. Did she really hope to buy Kanto’s forgiveness with candy? It was the gesture she thought. A symbol to show she listened and was not wholly uninterested in him as a person. She tagged the sweets.

  A door opened. Jhee assumed the storekeeper had come to check on her. Cool, outdoors wind moistened her face. Jhee stopped on the verge of calling out to the new arrival. The breeze, heavy with the scent of the smudging stick, whispered down the aisle. Shuffling footfalls, their gait halting, approached. The horticulturist? The poetess? She doused her conch and ducked down an aisle.

  The Complaints

  A figure garbed in clerical vestments dragged a hefty, black keg over to the case. Still oblivious to Jhee’s presence, the person stumbled to one of the giant barrels of beer and poured a tankard from the tasting spigot which she chugged in one go. She removed the stopper and used a sampling pipette to fill a flask she produced from inside her robes. She took a quick swig before screwing on the cap. Jhee followed the figure to the locked cases where she produced keys and unlocked them.

  Behind the tea, rested more giant black kegs. The figure thumped a few before one had a hollower, heavier sound than the others. She paused and touched the scan tag Jhee had left. She spun around.

  “Looking for me?” Jhee emerged from the aisle.