Sins of the Father

Posted on 01 Oct 2020 @ 10:40pm by Mage Kalian Winter & Warrior Martin Josceran

3,790 words; about a 19 minute read

Mission: Prologue
Location: Streets of Jader
Timeline: Cloudreach 15th - Night time, after "A Rogue, a Guardsman, a Mage, and a Chantry Sister, walk into a bar"
Tags: Kalian, Martin

OOC: After "A Rogue, a Guardsman, a Mage, and a Chantry Sister, walk into a bar"

The prisoner was as heavy as his height and build suggested, and he was barely stumbling along even with Martin and Kalian dragging him. They had to wiggle a little to get through the door, which had not been made to allow three men through at the same time, and then they were in the dark street outside. The cool air of the night, salty with the scent of the sea, was refreshing after the smell of smoke and ale inside.

"Thank you for your help," Martin said to his companion. "Don't think I could carry him on my own. I hope this is not taking you away from your business."

"My sister's business, really. She's the oldest and has a family to look after." Kalian grunted under the weight of the man they were half-dragging. "The least I can do, helping a city guard who's helping us."

The fresh air must have done the prisoner some good, too, for he started to look a little bit more lively. He shook his head then winced, eyes blinking owlishly at his surroundings. Maybe he could walk part of the way after all. Still, Martin would make sure the man received some kind of medical attention once he'd been brought in.

"Wh - what's going on," the prisoner slurred.

"You are under arrest," Martin informed him. "We're taking you to the station now. You will be given a chance to advocate for yourself when you appear before the magistrate."

"What - no !" The man began to struggle, though his hands had been bound behind his back. All he succeeded in was nearly slip from Martin and Kalian's grasp, and he would have fallen on his face had they not tightened their hold on him.

"Fighting us is really not going to help your case," Martin remarked, though he did not really expect the man to take heed. "I suggest you come with us quietly and you might get away with a short prison or labour term."

"No - you don't understand," the prisoner gasped between short, panicked breaths. "My son - I left him waiting for me. I have to go back ! Please ! He's only four years old, he can't manage on his own ! Please, I beg you ! I'll come good and quiet after that !"

Martin did not even slow down, though it was hard to maintain a good pace when the prisoner was literally digging his heels in the ground. "Tell us the address and we'll send someone from the Chantry to look after your child." Someone from the Chantry and half a dozen guardsmen, because Martin really didn't expect there to actually be a child.

"Address ?" The prisoner scoffed. "You think if I had an address I'd be stealin' ? We're refugees from the Blight. Lost everything, never recovered. We live in the street and sleep in the dirt, like dogs - worse than dogs. I left me boy hidden in one of them side alleys. He won't show for anyone but me. I have to go, please !"

The man certainly was not dressed like he slept in the dirt like a dog. Kalian did not believe his story for one moment, and even if true, leaving a child alone in an alley said nothing good about the prisoner's character. "I know Jader rather well. In what alley did you leave your child – between which two businesses?"

"I… I don't remember, 'xactly. It were in, uh, in the guild district. Near… uh blacksmith shop. That was it," gasped the prisoner. His arms flexed against the rope tying his hands behind his back. "We're goin' the wrong way."

Kalian caught Martin's gaze and rolled his eyes. There were multiple blacksmiths in the guild district. "The one next to a brothel, or the one next to a tailor shop?" asked Kalian, knowing that there was no alley in Jader that fit that description.

"Er, the... the one next to..." The prisoner must have understood that his ploy was not working. He pulled violently away from Martin and Kalian, clearly meaning to make a run for it, but with his hands bound behind his back found it impossible to keep his balance and fell face first in the dirt.

Martin sighed. "You know, you could make this so much easier on yourself."

Kalian looked down at the prisoner unsympathetically. "People do live on the street and sleep in the dirt, unfortunately. You don't look like any of them, even now. Just calm down. If you haven't injured or killed anyone, I'm sure the magistrate will take that into consideration."

"Wait ! Wait !" The prisoner struggled to get to his knees. "Look, I'll give ya money. Good money ! I didna kill no one, just stole a couple of moneybags. It ain't gonna benefit anyone if you turn me in ! But it can benefit you lot real good to let me go. I'll pay, I'm good for it !"

Martin's eyes narrowed. He took one step forward and leant to grab the prisoner's shoulder, but made no attempt to help him up. Instead he squeezed the man's arm, painfully so.

"I'd ask where you think you'd get that much money, but it doesn't matter because I'm sure I misheard," he said. "You're not actually suggesting that the Jader guard can be bought - let alone by a petty thief. You wouldn't insult me so, would you ?"

The prisoner suddenly didn't look so sure of himself, but tried to keep his bravado. "Come on, dun' act all high and mighty. Money's money, right ?"

Martin yanked him abruptly to his feet. "You're really lucky that the Jader guard also doesn't beat up our prisoners," he said. Under his quietly agreeable voice there was cold steel.

The prisoner looked pleadingly to Kalian, thinking he might find a more agreeable audience there.

Kalian scowled at the man and helped yank him to his feet. "Jader is my home, my community. People like you make it dangerous for everyone. People like you make citizens afraid to help the poor. If I had a part in turning you loose then anyone you hurt, anyone you rob… Well. That would be on me."

They began moving again, the prisoner not helping, but not hindering their forward progress. Kalian figured the man was probably planning to try something else.

"Oi, come on, lads. I ain't as bad as all that. Only took from those what could stand to have a few coins lifted. I didn't rob no poor bastards. Gave to the Chantry too, I did. Every week, and got me blessings from the sisters for my generosity. That's how I was taken in by that pretty, smooth-talkin' Chantry sister. She tricked me. If it wasn't a trick, then where is my coin pouch. Answer me that!"

"Why, I'm sure a saint like you, who donates regularly to the Chantry, must have given it all away to the poor," Martin said sarcastically. "Or are you suggesting the sister," he allowed incredulity to colour his voice, "may have lifted it ?"

Although in truth, the only proof he had of the sister's identity was her habit, and many before had used it as a disguise.

"She did step out of the tavern for a few moments after he was, uh, detained. I didn't see what happened to his coin pouch." Kalian admitted to the guardsman. Then he addressed the prisoner. "Doesn't change the fact that you robbed Jader citizens."

"How can I repay the money I stole if it was stolen from me? But, like I said, I've got me a stash of coin. Two fine, upstanding men such as yourselves, an honorable city guard and a citizen. You could put it to charitable use, feeding and housing the poor, if that's what floats yer boat, yeah. Just untie me and I'll show you where it is."

Kalian grunted a non-response. The man was tenacious, but also heavy, and dragging him to the constabulary proved to be more strenuous than he'd anticipated.

Martin snorted. "You know, even if the sister did steal your purse, it wasn't yours to begin with, so I'm not sure we could qualify this as thievery. Anyway, we're not interested, and just so you know we'll add this bad attempt at bribery to the charges you will be facing."

Seeing he was getting nowhere, the prisoner lost all pretense of amability. "You guardsmen - " a stream of obscenity poured out. "Ye think ye can bully us 'round - "

Martin stopped dragging the man, so suddenly that he stumbled and nearly fell backwards. It was enough to momentarily stop the flow of abuse coming from him.

"You've actually managed to really irritate me," Martin said, in a tone of genuine wonder yet still amiable. "So this is how it's going to be. Either you shut up and come quietly. Or I'll just have to knock you out and add struggling against law enforcement to the list of charges. Your choice. You might want to think this one through."

The man's face was turning an ugly shade of red, as he clearly made a great effort to swallow back whatever bile was building up. In the end he said nothing, although his glower of pure and absolute hatred was almost enough to kill ; and though he did nothing to help, he did not actively resist when Martin and Kalian dragged him the rest of the way to the station.

Audrey was still on duty when they arrived, and she looked up incredulously when Martin came in, stepping sideways through the door so he could pull the prisoner behind him.

"Martin, you do realize that you're actually off-duty, right ? That means you're supposed to be home."

"Well, I was going to," Martin shrugged, running a hand in his coppery hair. "But an innkeeper needed help dealing with a mugger."

"You ain't got no proof," the prisoner spat.

"You were positively identified by a witness," Martin cut him. "And I'm not the one you need to convince, so keep your breath for the magistrate. Audrey, please, please throw him in a cell before my ears start bleeding."

"Only if you promise to actually go home afterwards, and leave your report of this... incident... till tomorrow. Take pity on me Martin, the night was nicely quiet until you came in," Audrey snorted, but she grabbed the prisoner's arm with a strong grip.

The prisoner did not resist - he'd have had a hard time putting up much of a fight with his hands still tied behind his back - but he looked over his shoulder, glaring at Martin and Kalian. "You'll pay for this one day !"

"Alright, enough with the threats." Audrey pushed him firmly ahead and towards the holding cells in the back.

"Thank the Maker," Martin mumbled when the prisoner finally vanished from their sight. "They all try something at some point but this one was quite... persevering. Anyway, don't let his threats bother you," he added, looking at Kalian. "His sort is usually quite happy to remain out of sight, when they're lucky enough to escape prison."

Kalian's grin had a rueful twist. It seemed he couldn't stay out of trouble, even when he was helping a city guardsman. "My mother used to say that when doing the right thing is hard, that means it's the Creators' will. Or, um, the Maker's will." His mother Danyssa had revered the elven gods and had tended to speak of the Maker as though he was another of the creators. "I'd rather he come after me instead of my sister and her family." Out of sight would be fine - no witnesses, so he could defend himself with magic.

"Well, I hate to impose on you even further, but would you be able to come back tomorrow and testify ? Since we brought him all this way, let's make sure it's not all for nothing, eh ? I'd do it now but I think my colleague is going to kick us out as soon as she comes back."

"Yes, of course. It's my civic duty," said Kalian, with complete sincerely. He could use some good will with the city guard. A few of them knew him and thought he was a drunk, but that was part of his camouflage. "I can accompany Sister Elinowy, since she's staying at the Raven tonight. Not that she'll need an escort, but it couldn't hurt."

Kalian lingered with Martin before walking back to the Raven's Roost. "Did I hear the other guard say you were supposed to be off duty?"

"Err..." Martin pushed his hair back awkwardly. "I guess I theoretically am kind of not on duty right now. But it's not like I can take off the uniform and suddenly not care, you know ? I don't usually go looking for trouble in my free time, but when trouble finds me, well..." he shrugged, his smile amused in a fatalistic way. "It's not like I had much of a plan for tonight anyway."

"I'm impressed by your dedication. No wonder you got to the Raven so fast," said Kalian. "I hope you'll come back under, uh, less official circumstances."

Martin laughed. "I got there fast because I was on my way to have a drink, not because of any special dedication on my part, rest assured. But I'd be happy to drop by under less... official circumstances. It looked like a nice place to hang out." The patrons had looked like an alright sort of crowd to Martin's eye, and he had some practice in this kind of assessment. This was not his usual haunt, purely by virtue of not being the inn his Templar friends favoured, but it was close enough to his place. "Are you headed back there ? It's actually kind of on my way home, so we might as well walk together."

"I am headed back there, and thanks, I'd like the company. Sorry your plans were ruined. I like to think the Raven is a nice place to hang out, but I may be biased." Kalian gave the guard a lopsided grin. "My grandfather bought the tavern near the end of the Hundred Days Cough plague. My father took it over, and now my sister and her husband run it. We tend to get locals in, craftspeople from the guild houses, and their apprentices."

Audrey came back then, shaking her head. "Can you believe that lout offered me money ?"

Martin laughed. "No, really ?"

"He did ! Well, if anyone asks, he already had that blackened eye when he came in." Audrey walked to her desk and pulled the heavy log book closer. "I'll log this in. What are you still doing here, Martin ? And take your friend with you."

"Alright, alright, we're leaving already ! Have fun."

"Fun ? Well, I suppose I got another couple of hours before we get the first drunk fight of the night," Audrey snorted, already dipping her quill in the inkwell. "Or yet someone else complaining about disappearing orphans or whatever."

The grin that spread across Kalian's face listening to the two guards banter faded at the mention of disappearing orphans, and he thought of the three young people in the alley the night before. Refugees, probably orphans, living on the street and vulnerable. There was a refugee camp on the outskirts of town, but at night it was even more dangerous than the Jader streets.

Audrey did not look up as Martin and Kalian left the guard station and closed the door behind them. The night had grown chillier as the hour grew late, though it remained warm enough for the oncoming summer, and it smelt like it might rain the next day. In fact the sky looked a little bit cloudy now. Perhaps the last rain until Bloomingtide. Jader, being a port city, always got uncomfortably moist in the summer days.

Kalian followed Martin out into the cool dark of the spring evening, thinking. Things had been slightly different for the elves in the alienage. Hahren Liriel organized and made space for as many as she could in the community. The humans of Jader just expected the Chantry to take care of the human refugees, and without Reverend Mother Giselle the city would not have survived. "Martin, did she say that people are going missing? Orphans? That is, if you're allowed to talk about it."

"Well, it's not really confidential. We've had a couple of reports come in about missing people. Problem is, those people were refugees, so it's a bit hard to ascertain their identity, or if they even actually exist." And one of them had been an elf, which made it a case that few people even pretended to care about. "Personally I don't believe someone would just make up this kind of story but we don't have any witnesses, there isn't a single lead, and... well, anything could have happened to them. They could even have just left town."

Martin had actually tried to follow up on it, but he'd had to give up for the sheer lack of leads. Refugees, in this day and age, were sadly fairly ubiquitous in Jader. It would be some years until all of them either made a new life for themselves, or returned to Ferelden. In the meantime, inquiring about one of them with just a rough description and a first name was an impossible task, especially when a lot of refugees were reluctant to speak to the authorities.

There were several ways Kalian could help. He could search as an owl at night, as a hawk in daytime, and track a missing person's scent as a wolf. But nothing he could openly offer to a man like Martin, a city guard. "Unfortunately, any Fereldens still in Jader have either found work and settled, can't afford passage back to Ferelden, or don't have anything to go back to. And… well, it's no secret that some folks in Jader would be happy to see fewer of them." Kalian didn't speak for a moment, weighing how to offer his help, his footsteps loud in the evening's quiet and almost in sync with his companion's. "I'm, uh, kind of lucky when it comes to finding people. I'll keep my eyes open. If the disappearances aren't random, then sooner or later citizens might start disappearing too."

Martin had been looking down at the uneven pavement, and his head jerked up in surprise at the offer. It was rather uncommon to have civilian offer their help, let alone for free ; but Kalian sounded like he might actually care. Martin glanced at him sideways, sizing him up. The man's face was open and earnest, as much as he could see in the weak light of the moon filtering through shreds of silver clouds. Maybe the offer really was sincere.

"If the disappearances aren't random, refugees are probably a more appealing target right now. Less likely that anyone would look for them," he said thoughtfully. "And it is true that refugees would be more likely to speak to a civilian than a guardsman. But if word gets around that you're looking into this, and this turns out to be something else than a coincidence, you might be the next target. I'm not sure I could put you in this position, much as I appreciate your offer."

"What part of the city do you usually work, Martin? I don't recall seeing you around," said Kalian, then quickly added, "Not that I often have… uh… cause to, uh, come to the attention of a member of the city guard." Maker's breath!, he sounded suspicious even to himself.

Martin laughed at the young man's earnest awkwardness. "Unless you robbed a store recently, I'm pretty sure you'll be alright even if you do come to our attention. Anyway, I don't often patrol around your sister's inn. I'm more often on alienage duty, or on the docks, or sometimes they send me around the Chantry on the account that I know my Chant of Light better than average. Cosy guild district patrols are for people who can suck up better than I can." He saw Kalian's face and smiled. "Joking. I actually volunteered for this kind of duty. It's much more interesting this way. More of a chance to make a difference, really. And, well, you know, the poorest people are not always the most dishonest."

"And the rich are rarely the most honest," said Kalian. Interesting, that Martin worked the alienage. Tessa had a charitable arrangement with the alienage - each morning Hahren Liriel sent a pair of elves to collect the tavern's left-over stew, and Cook would prepare a fresh batch for the day and evening. In the morning Kalian could ask what they knew of Martin. Though at this point Kalian would be surprised to hear anything negative. Still, Kalian wasn't quite ready to tell Martin that his mother had been an elf.

By then they'd made it to the street where the Raven was located, and were slowly making their way up the street towards the brightly lit tavern. They'd actually walked past Martin's street, but he preferred to walk Kalian all the way back, just to be on the safe side. Jader had grown increasingly dangerous of late, especially at night.

"What about you, Kalian ? You mentioned the inn is your sister's business, so what is your occupation ?"

Kalian rubbed the back of his neck. "I take odd jobs here and there. But mostly I work for my sister at the tavern. Our father helps out, advises, and looks after my niece and nephew while Tessa's working. Father inherited the tavern from his father, and transferred legal ownership to her. Tessa has a sharp head for the business of running a tavern. And her husband Ben, he's a good man. Supportive. Smart enough to do what she says and let her have the final say in making decisions." What Kalian did not say was that sooner or later he'd make a mistake, and get caught using magic. Then templars would seize him, and anything he owned.

They arrived at the Tavern's outer door, carved with the likeness of a Raven. Kalian's grandfather had it made and named the tavern in tribute to his wife. A crumpled piece of paper lay on the ground, and Kalian absently picked up the trash and pocketed it before turning to Martin. "Why don't you come in for a drink? On the house. Well, the first one will be. " He grinned at the guard and pushed the door open. "Tessa will charge you for the second."

 

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