Accepted facts on the murder of Melinda Bresley
The late Spellguard Commander Melinda Bresley was found dead in the Hall of the Seekers in the Forty-sixth year after Sanctuary's Founding. A mere glance of the crime scene supposedly revealed Ivlysar Tal'en'qir literally red-handed. Senior Officer Stephanos Simms led the investigation of the crime scene while Ivlysar was detained. The trial of Ivlysar was held before the full Council, but this was before trial records were common, maintained, and/or required by law. Officer Simms concluded that the crime scene had been magically tampered with, the details of which resulted in Ivlysar's release. The Spellguard have remained critical of the Seekers, possibly hoping that one day the evidence that eluded them would be unearthed, and Ivlysar's guilt proven. With the death of Ivlysar, it is possible that the Spellguard will be less apprehensive of the Seekers, although the older mages of the Order may be particularly alert for information that might make itself apparent during the transition to new leadership.
Theory on Illithid Involvement in the Murder of Melinda Bresley Rough draft, 30 Nightal 151
Although circumstantial evidence would have us believe that Ivlysar Tal'en'qir murdered Commander Melinda Bresley, there are too many questions this raises: maddening questions. How was a mage of Melinda's calibre murdered in the first place? Why would Ivlysar kill the Mayor's mother in a city building? What could he have hoped to gain from her death? The answer to these questions are as alien to modern criminal investigation as the dread Illithid who are the real prime suspect.
Despite Ivlysar's renowned bowmanship and survival knowledge, it is unlikely that he could have murdered Melinda Bresley. Her arcane intuition would have been great enough to enable either defense or escape from a distanced assault by Ivlysar, and she was also martially competent in the event of a close-quarters attack. Only psionics could have breached her guard and left the inconclusive supernatural interference that Senior Officer Stephanos Simms detected at the crime scene.
The very location is too convenient. Even early in the city's history, the Spellguard have been wary of the often reckless and radical Seekers. The idea that their leader, Ivlysar, would kill the Commander in his own Hall naturally angered the Spellguard, and it fit with their cynical view of the Seekers. Ivlysar, himself, was far less radical, and indeed more world-weary yet patient regarding the Seeker mission. An Illithid with any amount of intelligence-gathering in fledgeling Sanctuary could have easily hoped to play on inter-organizational conflict to destabilize Sanctuary.
Ivlysar would have gained nothing but the considerable wrath of an Order of mages with strong family ties to the Bresley family. Indeed, the distrust this has bred between city agencies has worked to our collective downfall. With each argument, power-play, and rebellion we become weaker and weaker, actors for the Illithids' amusement in their script.
They may be waiting, watching for the right rebellion that shakes this city so badly they can swoop in and claim a Sanctuary that's so busy fighting itself that we won't realize what's happening, even -- or especially -- once it happens.