Part the Very Ninth
In which: things are succinctly summed up.
(as recorded by Fajitas)
After he is removed from the barrel, Amos is calmed down and his injuries are tended to. He proves more than willing to speak to the authorities about his ordeal. He admits that he had had a secret affair with Kashan, who he had met in the Market several months ago. Amos was new to Dar Pykos, having just arrived from the outlying farmlands where his family lived. He was awed and overwhelmed by the bustle of the city-state, and found it a very exciting place to live. Too exciting to be tied down when he discovered Kashan was pregnant. So he ended things. She kept trying to contact him, but he never responded.
Then a man contacted him. He said his name was Remmer and that he knew a way to make Kashan stop bothering Amos. He arranged to meet Amos at the Squeaky Wheel. When Anvil shows Amos the sketch of the scarred man that framed Thatch and Reyu, he identifies him as Remmer, though with an eye-patch instead of a scar.
Amos continues his story. He went to the bar, Remmer bought him a few drinks, they left together… and then Amos started feeling woozy. The next thing he knew, he found himself bound and gagged in the Hemlek residence.
Amos claims that Hemlek offered him one last chance to marry his daughter. Amos replied that he didn’t want to. At which point, according to Amos, there was lots of screaming about cowardice and dishonor and being taken to Dar Thane to stand trial and be executed. Then there was stuffing into a barrel and loading onto a wagon. Then there was chasing and bumping, a little mortal terror (and relaxing of bowels, though Amos glosses over that part), and finally, thankfully, Thatch pulling the lid off the barrel.
Captain Hemlek is also questioned after the incident, and not nearly as gently as Amos. Surprisingly, he denies none of the facts as Amos presents them. He does, however, quite firmly maintain that he acted within his rights and that by the laws of Dar Thane, he had every legal right to have Amos detained for trial and execution as a coward for refusing to marry his daughter. When asked why he thought the laws of Dar Thane might possibly apply here in Dar Pykos, he claimed that Remmer told him that Pykosian Law permitted it. Something called the Slave Ownership Ruling…
This leads to a series of questions about the relationship between Hemlek and Remmer. According to Hemlek, he met Remmer some time ago. Remmer was acting as a middleman selling Blackroot Distillate, a narcotic substance illegal in Dar Pykos but legal in many other city-states, including Dar Thane. (Indeed, the watch finds two vials of Blackroot Distillate in Hemlek’s wagon.) Though Hemlek was at first skeptical of Remmer‘s motives, Remmer assured him that, under Pykosian law, it was legal for Thaneans to possess Blackroot Distillate. After all, Thanean law allowed it…
The heroes make a quick attempt to find Remmer through the source of Blackroot Distillate. A few coins spent at the Squeaky Wheel earn them the name of Tatiana, an alchemist who has been preparing Blackroot Distillate. When questioned, she identifies the man in Anvil’s sketch (only with a moustache rather than a scar or an eye-patch) as “Reller”. Reller came to her some time ago, asking if she was interested in selling Blackroot Distillate. She responded it was illegal, but Reller explained to her about the Slave Ownership Ruling. She checked it out with a Justicar, and discovered that yes indeed, it did seem legal to sell Blackroot to people from other city-states living in Dar Pykos. Reller agreed to act as a middleman for her, requesting only a 1% finder’s fee on sales.
Unfortunately, she has no idea how to contact Reller. He comes to her with orders for Blackroot and returns whenever she says they’ll be ready. She promises to contact Anvil if he appears in her shop.
Anvil, Thatch, Reyu, and Cyrus return to the Temple of Justice to pour over what they have learned. There is a lot to assimilate, and what it all means is still unclear. However, Anvil slowly starts to offer a theory. “It is becoming clear to me,” he says, “that this man who framed you, Remmer or Reller or whatever his name truly is, is seeking to take advantage of the Slave Ownership Ruling for some reason. He has now been implicated in three separate incidents involving the ruling: your alleged theft, the kidnapping of Amos, and the Blackroot Distillate.”
Reyu interrupts. “I understand that the Slave Ownership Ruling allows people from foreign city-states to be treated… differently. Under their own laws. However, it was my… belief… that this ruling applied only to property.”
“That is correct,” Anvil replies.
“Then why would it apply to Amos? Surely he cannot be considered property.”
“That is true,” Anvil says, “but his daughter may be, making Amos’s refusal to marry him a crime against property, much as the crime you stand accused of was.”
Several jaws drop open as they all stare at Anvil. Especially Reyu’s. As Anvil does not seem inclined to give a further explanation, Thatch eggs him on by saying, “Um!?”
“She is not enlisted in the military,” is Anvil’s response.
“And that makes her a slave?” Reyu demands.
“No. But un-enlisted Thaneans are not full citizens.” He shakes his head. “It is very complicated, but, under Thanean Law, it may well be valid.”
Silence falls around the table, while Reyu slowly smolders at the notion of someone’s daughter being considered property in any way.
Thatch breaks the silence. “Um. Well, fascinating as that is, it’s almost sunset. We only have until tomorrow morning to, um, you know, not become slaves.”
Anvil shakes his head. “We know that this man is involved in multiple conspiracies to take advantage of the Slave Ownership Ruling. Beyond that, we still know little.”
“I wonder why.” Cyrus muses. “What reason could he have? He can’t be making much money on a 1% commission. And no money changed hands over Amos…”
“The reasons for his discordant behavior are still a mystery,” Anvil says.
Thatch slowly speaks, as if still working the idea out as he talks. “Um… well… in the past couple hours, we’ve found three separate plots this guy was involved in. Is it possible there are, um, you know, more? Like, maybe that have already happened?”
Anvil nods, approvingly. “An excellent thought. Perhaps if we were to check records for recent cases invoking the Slave Ownership Ruling, we may find further clues to his activities.”
And so, the group heads to the archives. “Indeed. The archives,” Reyu mutters, remembering the hours she has spent here cleaning as a prisoner of the Temple. However, their search of the archives quickly proves fruitful. They find several cases over the last six months, involving the Slave Ownership Ruling, including four noteworthy cases involving Pykosian citizens who committed crimes against Aegosians. In each case, the sentence was slavery. There are in particular, three striking things about these cases.
1) In each case, the Aegosian against whom the crime was committed was Count Dain Missola.
2) In each case, the accused professed their innocence.
3) In each case, the overseeing Justicar was Stalwart the Just.
The one who was supposed to be on Market duty when Thatch and Reyu were accused of stealing Count Dain Missola’s statue.
The one who keeps offering to take over the case for Anvil.
The righteous fires of Justice, which always burn brightly in Anvil, begin to glow white-hot...
To be continued…
