220 / 08 / 11 - Murder and Corruption in the Inner Guard.

On the afternoon of Penday 6th Himer a shocking event threw the Inner Guard into chaos. According to eyewitness accounts, The Captain of the Inner Guard, Killian Longfang Guardian, walked up to and stabbed Lieutenant Cleo in the middle of guard headquarters before running out. While several of the guard rushed to help the badly wounded lieutenant, Sergeant Vykin set off in pursuit of Killian. With the sergeant calling out for the murderer to stop Killian was forced to leave the main street to avoid the people who were getting in his way. This allowed Vyken to catch up with him and bring him down. Though the good sergeant suffered a few wounds for his trouble he was able to render Killian unconscious by the time more guards caught up with them. Killian was carted off to the cells under heavy guard.
Despite a healer being swiftly sent for, Lieutenant Cleo succumbed to his wounds. The dagger that had been used to stab him was found to have a coating of a blue paste that the healer declared to be an especially deadly poison.
With the Inner guard left leaderless, Vyken sent word to Commander Stonewall who arrived swiftly to take command. As would be expected from the commander, he wasted no time in dealing with the situation. After Vyken's wounds were dealt with, the commander put him in charge of getting the Inner guard moving about their regular routine. Members of the Outer guard were sent for to take over guarding Killian and secure both the former captain's office and his home.
Due to Killian's position as Captain of the inner guard, and the potential for their previous association with the guard to affect the judges decisions, the laws of Chirin-on-Dimar dictated that he must be tried and sentenced by the Council. Therefore after ensuring that sites likely to contain evidence were secured, Commander Stonewall went to the council building to arrange for an emergency session of the Council. There he outlined the situation and offered to either arrange for an escort, or personally escort any of the council or their representatives to review the site of the murder and the captain's office an home.
With no doubt about the crime that had been committed, most of the council declined but Councillors Howard Cooper and Nikolai Hunter both decided to examine matters more closely, and requested that Commander Stonewall be the one to escort them. While both expressed no doubts about Killian's guilt, they were both interested in discovering the reason.
A thorough search of the captain's house revealed no explicit motive for the murder, but some notes and letters indicated that Killian had various dealings with criminal elements within Chirin. These documents not only indicated his efforts to deflect attention away from his contacts' activities, but also that he had been behind the theft of disease curing potions stockpiled by the council. A note warning that the late Lieutenant Cleo suspected some of Killian's activities provided at least some indication of the motive behind the attack.
With an already robust case against him, these further revelations sealed Killian's fate. Although Commander Stonewall recommended further questioning to determine the full motive and thinking behind the attack, Killian's stubborn refusal to admit to his crimes meant that the Council could see no reason to prolong his sentancing. In an unanimous decision, Killian was sentenced to death, with the execution to be carried out no later than the 10th.
Unfortunately the execution could not be carried as on the evening of the 9th there was a raid on Inner Guard headquarters. The raid itself turned out to be a diversion, intended only to draw away those guarding Killian. When the attackers retreated, with no more than a few light wounds on either side, Killian was missing. The council has put a reward of 20gp on his head.
With no direct replacement for the captain the most experienced sergeant, Vyken Guardian has been promoted to Lieutenant, and temporarily given command of the Inner Guard. With few other experienced candidates available it is widely believed within the guard that this appointment will soon be made permanent. Keep an eye out for a profile on this newly promoted officer later this week.