MrGrau - yep, you're already in, you got the unnamed migrant (technically a Goblin in the story, but whatever) that came with Kingfisher, John Lock and Xenir.
Also, sorry TALLPANZER, your Jagers can't find out the identities of the thieves this early on.
16th Slate 678 - MorningThe Dwarven philosopher and saint, St. Iton Netruled, famously stated that 'Mortals are born free and imprisoned by their minds'. Konith was unfamiliar with any Dwarven philosophers, let alone saints, but had he known Iton he would undoubtedly have told him that having a sullen Dwarf with axe intent on locking you up was a more effective way of imprisonment than your own mind.
From what he understood, Stronghammer had gone all out and ordered both the Iron Guard and the militia to question everyone - and imprison him. Apparently the Mayor didn't like threats to his cherished industry one bit. The Iron Guard had - of course, carried out his orders to the letter, except for Ahra who had refused to arrest the Kobold, and so had been relegated to guarding the forges for now. Tarran on the other hand, had gone straight to Derm. By all accounts even now the Sheriff was engaged in a furious argument with the Mayor. Though nervous, Konith was keeping calm. He had managed to speak with Stas before his incarceration. The Dwarf had suggested that the Thieves' Guild members should keep separate from each other for some time so as to not arouse suspicion. Furthermore the actual guild headquarters were off-limit, and would probably even be moved. More than that though, the Dwarf had given the Kobold an ace up his sleeve, or rather, a cut opal.
Currently the markskobold - and probably ex-Iron Guard - was sequestered in the small prison that had been made back when there had been the investigation into the deliberate cave-in that had almost killed Derm and Fori. This entire mess seemed to be going the way of a repeat of that. Of course, Konith hadn't been there for that, but by all accounts it had been a bit more dignified than the crackdown now. Zan, commander-in-chief of the Iron Guard, leant on the wall opposite him, his face hard and set. He had his axe in one hand, and certainly didn't seem to be willing to let it go any time soon. Konith wetted his lips in slight nervousness, this certainly hadn't been part of the plan.
"So how long will I be in here?" he asked. Zan shrugged,
"That's for the Mayor to decide. No doubt he'll want to question you personally when he's finished with the Sheriff."
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
"We are fighting a war, Derm!" Stronghammer said firmly. He wasn't shouting, not yet, but his voice was raised, and there was a hard edge to it, "If we let this outrage go unpunished then we invite the death of the entire fort too."
"Damn it Stronghammer!" Derm on the other hand, was shouting, "We were only just beginning to make everyone get along then you do this. What are they supposed to think?" he waved a hand out towards Stronghammer's office's door, indicating the rest of the community, "When suddenly your Guard and the militia start questioning everyone and everything? We already have Imiwa and her rabble-rousers complaining about everything, and even the other part of the Elven community is only now
starting to accept the idea that a Bogeyman
might be allowed to stay. You're going to tear down the already fragile racial tensions!"
"We
have to question everyone!" Stronghammer jumped to his feet, "I don't know what Tarran has told you, but there's been no orders to
interrogate people, we're simply asking if anyone saw anything!"
"With armed guards and after
locking up the kobold who
dared to be on duty when the place was raided! What are people supposed to think when they hear you've locked up one of your own guards for 'questioning' and now the rest of the would like to question them too?"
"Do your duty Sheriff!" Stronghammer said firmly. "You were elected to
police this community. What if an Elf committed a crime? Would you let them get away with it so as to not 'tear down racial relations'?"
"Of course not! But maybe the Elves wouldn't be doing this if you weren't antagonising them with your wood burners! We don't need them, we have magma!"
"Those wood burners are vital industrial infrastructure! We need the ash, to make potash and pearlash! Why, your own friend Fori was just suggesting the other day making a glass dome above the surface compound, we'll need pearlash to make the clear glass, and that needs wood burners! And what of those Elves under Imiwa causing all this trouble? What have they done to help this community? They have no right to dictate the terms of use of industry to those actually working to save us from the Nothing!" Now the normally stoic industrialist was beginning to shout. When his industry was threatened, he fought back.
"What about Konith?" Derm said suddenly, changing the subject, "What are you going to do?"
"I am simply going to ask him what he saw and what exactly happened. I am not going to
hurt him."
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Konith almost jumped when the door to his little 'cell' slammed opened. Stronghammer came in, a frown set firm on his face. Zan saluted the Mayor, who tilted his head back. Stronghammer said something to Zan, and the Guard saluted again and left the room, closing the rock door behind him.
"Now," Stronghammer began at once, "I want you to run through exactly all the events leading to your 'unconsciousness'"
Konith cleared his throat,
"I was just guarding the storeroom when someone hit me from behind."
"And you didn't see them
at all?"
"No! They were behind me, I didn't even notice them."
"Well would you care to explain how someone managed to sneak
behind you when the only way for them to have done that would be to have come
out of the storeroom itself, considering you had the door right at your back?"
"I-I don't know."
"You are either incompetent or lying. Which is it!?"
"I-I-I left my post for a few seconds to stretch my legs. They must have got behind then."
"So you deserted your post?"
"Just for a few seconds!"
Stronghammer's frown set itself even deeper. Konith guessed this was his opportunity, he slipped the opal out of its hiding place.
"Look, Stronghammer, sir. I'm really sorry. I don't know
anything, and I really just want to go, please?" he held the opal out in his palm. Stronghammer's eyes narrowed,
"Are you trying to bribe me, Konith?" he asked, his voice low.
"No, I just want to go." the Kobold said, injecting a pleading tone into his voice. He knew he had to deny all the allegations while making it clear he didn't want any trouble. Stronghammer frowned even deeper. His eyes went down to the perfectly cut opal in Konith's palm. When the Kobold saw that he could have grinned but restrained himself, he had tempted Stronghammer, now he needed to convince him.
"I didn't do anything, Mr. Fireforge, sir. I messed up and left my post for a bit and they got behind me. I was stupid, but I'd never
steal anything."
"And you saw nothing at all?" Stronghammer asked again, his tone much less harsh this time.
"Nothing, one moment I was stretching my legs, the next I woke up on the floor."
"All right, you can go, but," the Mayor's tone became firmer, "I am discharging you from the Iron Guard. You failed in your duty, and now we have to clear up the mess."
"I...understand. Thank you." the Kobold dropped the opal into the Dwarf's hand. Stronghammer seemed about to protest, but Konith cut him off, "I don't need it. I brought it with me when I came here to Nomekast," he lied, "you might as well have it." Even if Stronghammer was willing to let the Kobold go without further problems, it never hurt to put yourself in a Mayor's good graces. Stronghammer nodded and watched the Kobold leave. He looked at the opal in his palm, and pocketed it. Going out, he turned to Zan,
"Zan, I want you to keep an eye on Konith. Meinhard's Jagers are already on the lookout in various places, but I don't want anyone to miss a possible clue to this entire crime."
18th Slate 678 - NoonAs the Iron Guard and militia finally finished their questioning of the population, news of a large swarm of flying Nothing reached from Fori who had been tending her crops in the compound. Without delay both the compound and the lighthouse were sealed off. Though plans for defended towers to be built at the compound and accessed from the underground had been put forward by Fori, these were now put on hold as long as the horde swarmed the airs. The flying Nothing were a foe they couldn't face, not yet.
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Fori sat silently in her office, drawing on large sheafs of pig-tail paper. The place had once been Torvold's, then the Dwarven scientist had gotten a larger lab down by on the Fiery Cistern, now occupied by Ugo Sosleng. She still used the place as a calm place where she could design the various defences and ideas that came to her in peace.
The sound of a violin could vaguely be heard over by the dining area, softly playing out an Elven tune she thought she recognised as
'The Collosi of Casenaalu'. No doubt it was Jessica von Sachsen, the Human who seemed obsessed with music. As noon arrived she gathered up her plans and left.
And came face-to-face with Eldrich Stormsap.
The Bogeyman wore armour now, as a 'militia volunteer' he was entitled to a full suit of armour, as Stronghammer had decreed. He still covered most his face, but the tell-tale burns that Bogeymen had was still visible.
"Fori." he said, his voice low.
"Eldrich." she replied. Over 500 years of hatred between their two races stood between them.
"I have been meaning to speak to you for some time." the Bogeyman said. Fori gave a small smile,
"And I you, I suppose we've just sorta missed a chance to talk to the other each time. With everything that's happened - and happening in Nomekast, it's hardly a surprise." shifting the papers to one arm, she took out the blade he had left for her by her hospital bed when she'd been hospitalised, "Why-why did you leave this besides me?" she asked, her voice soft.
"Perhaps I did it to see how you'd react?"
The old saying
'talk to a Bogeyman, prepare for riddles' came into Fori's mind.
"I imagine you are the one who left the strawberries on my bed?" the Bogeyman continued.
"When someone gives you a gift, you return the gesture."
"They were...nice...thank you."
A roll of plans fell to the floor, Fori made to pick it up, and in turn caused the blade to fall to the floor. It sat there for a fraction of a second, then jumped up as though operated by an invisible person. The two looked at it surprised, shocked even, as it scrawled a message into the dirt.
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Topic: [Community] Nomekast - At War with Nothing (Read 180259 times)