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October 18, 1310 - Castle Chavaise
To Lord Anselm Guiscard, Prefect of the Cassiline Brotherhood:
Sir,
I hope that you will forgive me for the tardiness of this report, but as you can probably anticipate, there was plenty of cleaning up to do, and my ward's safety and state of mind remain my utmost concern. As you may have heard by now, Castle Chavaise had fallen under attack a week ago by a cadre of Bhodistani assassins led a man who I understand is named Syed of Bhodistan. From what I managed to glean from Leonard de Mereliot, Steward of Castle Chavaise, and the lone survivor of the attack in the Marquis' study, he identified himself the sister of Naimah of Bhodistan, who was responsible for the bloodshed in Beziers a few months ago. He instigated the attack to avenge his sister, who was executed by Lady Desarae's own hands. I regret to inform you that Marquis Armand Morhban de Mereliot did not survive the plot, and that Brother Guillame Le Blanc had died defending him. The chirurgeon who examined Lord Leonard also informed me that it was only by fortune's favor that he had lived as the wounds he sustained had been meant to murder him. There was no mercy in them.
The assassins were all killed by the Marquisate's guards, and I dispatched Syed of Bhodistan myself when he attempted to take my lady's life, though I suspect they would have had an easier time breaching the castle if Lord Leonard had not insisted on reorganizing Castle Chavaise's security after what happened in Beziers. I do have a few concerns, which I hope to pass onto you, and while the plot seemed relatively straightforward, there are certain aspects of it that make me uneasy.
I went back to the schematics of the castle and the grounds, both on parchment and what I retained in my memory. I walked the grounds for what must be a hundred times after the incident, and I cannot for the life of me determine how Syed of Bhodistan managed to breach the castle's fortified defenses and go through the Marquis' study through its windows. Perhaps he sacrificed his comrades as a distraction, but I did not detect or spot any forced entry anywhere, not the gates, not the doors. A thorough searching of the grounds found no implements that could have been used to scale the obstructions he needed in order to breach the room the way he did, no ropes or hooks, or anything resembling climbing equipment. I am forced to conclude, sir, that there was either dark sorcery at work, which he would have access to considering his family, or, most likely, and more distressingly, he knew precisely where to go and how to get there, suggestive of an insider's help. The fact that my lady had been drugged at some point during the night only makes the latter more than just a possibility.
There is also the issue of the letter that the Marquis received that prompted him to ask my lady to return to her home in the interests of her safety.
Lord Leonard allowed me to examine the note, if not just so I could memorize the way it looks and what it said. The contents itself were vague, warning the Marquis that the curse Naimah of Bhodistan had cast on his family had not yet broken, and from the words of the Marquis himself, pursuing the messenger would yield little fruit, as he already had the boy interrogated and he could not provide any helpful information. I am no expert in the divine and the infernal, and the mysteries of magic are beyond me, I am certain, but Lady Desarae once spoke to me about how it felt when the curse upon her broke at the efforts of her own cousin, Alexandre de Morhban, and I am convinced that if there had been any resurgence, she would have felt something similar. If the curse did remain, there was no sign of it, and if there was no curse at all, then I have to conclude that whoever sent the letter to the Marquis knew and anticipated how he would react upon its receipt. Either way, it is my personal belief that the objective is the same: To end House Mereliot's Chavaise branch.
I am fully aware that House Mereliot has no shortage of enemies, if not just for the fact that the Lady of Eisande is the most powerful woman in Terre d'Ange after Her Majesty, but I suspect whoever sent the letter to Lord Armand is a more insidious personality than any of the Bhodistani witches and assassins the family has come across. So far, I have kept my concerns to myself as my lady is in a state of terrible mourning, and now is not the time to heighten her fears and sorrows, but if I am correct, then the matter is more serious than I initially surmised. I acknowledge, sir, that it is ultimately your decision, but in light of these events, and perhaps under an abundance of caution, I recommend imposing a directive warning our brothers who are presently keeping the members of House Mereliot under their protection.
We are due to return to Marsilikos at the end of the month. I will be more accessible there for any replies and additional orders that you may have.
~ Brother Nicolas Guillard