It was early afternoon when Marie woke, sweating in her tent. Despite the anger in her heart and the heat of the summer morning she’d been so wiped out by everything that she’d fallen asleep as soon as she’d set it up and crawled inside.
She regretted that now as she cricked her neck and felt the pain in her back from where a tree root had protruded under the groundsheet.
And it has not even spared my ribs.
That was what had woken her in the end - a sharpness in her chest as she’d rolled over.
Stripping down to her underwear, she examined herself as best she could - taking out her phone for the first time in weeks, realising the battery had gone dead and attempting to use it as a makeshift mirror. There was a nasty bruising across the lower left of her ribcage, extending over her midriff and round to her back, but it was nothing compared to some of the injuries she’d taken before. She felt the scar on her shoulder and looked down at Napoleon, who had his own injuries to deal with.
“I will patch you up when we get back, and I shall ask Osric if I can test some of his potion attempts on myself. It is the best I can do for now.” She began to pack her rucksack, pulling out a solar charger and leaving it near the top. “Remind me to charge my phone later.”
As she exited the tent, she took a moment to consider it.
She wasn’t allowed to sleep in the guild; that had been made abundantly clear.
She turned back to her undead companion.
“I cannot ask at The Drowned Cat. Not after last night. Not yet at least…”
Napoleon regarded her with solemn eye sockets.
“...and I do not want to ask Sirrochon or the others right now…”
The undead dog seemed to huff in agreement, as much as a creature without lungs could.
“...so we will camp out here for the time being.”
At least with her [Concealed Camp] she was unlikely to be bothered.
Taking Napoleon’s silence on the matter as tacit agreement, she shouldered her bag.
It was only a fifteen minute walk to the guild through quiet streets, but given the state of him, Marie opted to carry Napoleon.
Even in peak trading time there was a pall hanging over the town, and the few street sellers and market-goers she passed were more subdued than she’d ever seen them.
The guild itself was better, but not by much. All the adventurers that had been out on patrol were gathering, and though she wasn’t the last to arrive, she could sense an impatience from the others, so she headed for someone who could enlighten her.
“What is up with everyone?”
Greeleena was still running trays of food she’d prepared from the kitchen to the hall, and gladly accepted Marie’s help as Napoleon was seconded by Aelind? for the vital duty of playing fetch.
“They’re waiting for the results of the investigation. Everyone’s worried in case they catch flack about the death of the woman in the Watch.”
The measure of calm that time and sleep had brought her dissipated.
“Is that all anyone cares about? That one woman?”
“It’s the only thing that will impact the outcome of last night for them.”
Marie felt her jaw clench.
None of this is Greeleena’s fault.
She forced herself to relax, or at least let go of some of the tension building in her.
“Is Thror in his office?”
“As far as I know, yes.”
Putting down a final tray full of minced vegetable parcels, Marie thanked her friend and headed up the stairs.
The voice of the guildmaster gave her permission to enter as soon as she knocked on his door.
As she entered, he packed something away and gestured for her to take a seat. He didn’t seem surprised by her appearance.
“I have been thinking on your proposal.”
“Oh?”
Her mind tracked back to uncover what he was referring to. Fortunately he elaborated.
“Yes. For reasons I shall not go into right now, I'm not going to push for changing the name immediately, but I will consider bringing it up at a more opportune time.”
Her mouth twisted in distaste.
“Beastwatch is a barbaric term. What we call things matters, and if we refer to the allagi as beasts, it will only encourage people to think of them as such.”
A measure of the distance between her and the Guildmaster dissipated as he relaxed into his chair and pulled out a flask, taking a sip.
“You may or may not be correct; however, the beastkin face no prejudice from their name that I have seen. You prefer we call it allagi watch? And that people think of them as allagi when they lose control?”
Her brows furrowed.
“Maybe…no? I do not know if that would be the best term, but the association that the name brings is clearly meant to be unkind. Dehumanising. De…allagising? I do not know how to refer to it, but there must be a better alternative.”
The tabaxi nodded.
“As I said, I’ll look at options. But I don't think that's what you came to see me about.”
It wasn't a question, and she didn't hesitate to speak up.
“Last night was a tragedy, and no one seems to care about the allagi that have been killed - only the woman of the Watch. As much as I am sorry she lost her life, the investigation is a farce. I want you to do something to prevent what happened to the allagi from happening again next month.”
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The [Guildmaster] regarded her for a long moment before he replied.
“And what do you propose I do to achieve that?”
She resisted the urge to tear at her hair. He was the guildmaster. He was the one in charge. He should know what to do…
…but at least he was listening to her.
Taking a deep breath, she let out some of the thoughts that had been running through her head.
“People say that when the allagi took over, they could control themselves when they turned. Is there training we can give that would help them do that? Meditation perhaps? Some way for them to keep calm? Is there magic or potions that could help? Or perhaps there is a way to just… stop them turning altogether? Could we give more training for adventurers on restraining people when they are being attacked?”
Thror tapped his fingers on the desk, claws rapping out a steady beat as he considered her words.
“I am the leader of the Adventurer’s Guild here, not any other. Nor am I an expert on allagi and their Skills. Of all of those, I will see if we can put together a series of exercises on restraining hostile targets. There used to be a [Wrestler] in town…
…The other things you suggest are outside my expertise and the scope of my position. You would need to ask the [Mages] and [Historians] and the allagi themselves.”
Marie suppressed a sigh.
Am I the only one that cares enough to make the effort?
Even the allagi themselves had seemed resigned to the status quo, though was that surprising given how long they’d had to live like this?
Clearly the [Guildmaster] read something in her expression.
“The world is not easy, nor kind, Marie. I laud your efforts, even if I’m more pragmatic as to what may be achieved. As long as the guild isn’t impacted by your investigations, I won’t begrudge you pursuing this, but if there were a better way, don’t you think someone would have found it by now? Wayfarrow might be unusual in how many allagi we have, but the law is the same across every country. At least, those I know of.”
“So allagi are being killed all across the world rather than just here? That is meant to make it okay?”
“No, Marie. It’s not a justification, but I hope you understand how impossible the situation is. The beastwatch - yes, I will propose another term when the timing is right - the beastwatch exists for a reason. It may be brutal and bloody at times, but it is necessary.”
“For now.”
“Yes, for the past hundreds of years, and for now.” He changed direction suddenly. “Do you understand now why I stopped you from demanding payment for the adventurers last night?”
It wasn’t hard to see, with the benefit of hindsight.
“Because paying them to kill allagi… feels wrong. Is wrong. Is the wrong way to approach it…”
The dark-furred man gave her a slow nod, then one of his ears twitched in what might have been irritation or simply an involuntary movement as she pushed on.
“...but there should be some sort of remuneration for them; it was difficult and stressful and that should be acknowledged, especially as the guild itself profits from the situation.”
The [Guildmaster] frowned at that.
“Tax breaks for the guild is standard when they help to police the allagi situation.”
At least he is not calling it beastwatch now.
“Fine, but I want to introduce a recompense for the adventurers that take part, and the cost to heal any serious injuries to be covered by the guild.”
Thror sat in silence for a moment, before steepling his fingers under his chin, where they became lost in his mane.
If she’d proposed that when she’d first arrived, she felt like she would have been dismissed out of hand, but the past couple of weeks, as short a time as that was, had given her a chance to prove her worth. She was already pulling in money from the guild and attracting more members, even if one had quit in protest. Not to mention her clearing up of the stores and expanding the options and opportunities available to the adventurers.
When he gestured to her to continue, she knew what she’d ask for.
“I want each adventurer that participates to get guild credit equal to their daily rate of pay - a value that can be used to buy things from the store or the inventory, or saved to be put towards future purchases - and I want a bonus for every allagi they manage to restrain rather than kill.”
And a penalty for every allagi they kill?
She dismissed the thought almost as soon as it occurred to her. Sirrochon and the Spellswords hadn’t been trying to kill the allagi, they’d just been defending themselves. It wasn’t fair to penalise them from trying to live through a bad situation that they were forced to participate in.
The [Guildmaster] continued to consider her request for a full minute.
“I will allow it. It is a reasonable compromise, but the guild will only cover the cost of the daily rate payment; bonuses for restraining allagi will come out of the funds that your initiatives provide. Let me know before the next full moon how much you can realistically offer. As for the topic of injured members…I will need time to see if it is feasible, which will depend on how well this new [Alchemist] does.”
He is not as unreasonable as he first seemed to be.
Or perhaps he just trusted her and her ability more now.
It might slow down the other improvements she was trying to implement, having to set aside coin for bonuses, but it was worth it, and the offer for the guild to cover the daily rate had been more than she’d expected. A part of her had thought he’d demand she cover the whole thing.
She gave her agreement to his terms and left him making notes as she made plans of her own, of whom she could talk to about controlling the shifting process and how she could raise more finances, but as she stepped out onto the gallery overlooking the main hall she remembered the gathered adventurers.
The last few drifted in, preparing to hear the verdict that the council would deliver.
[Watch Commander] Amit took charge as she descended the stairs to join Napoleon who click-clacked over from Aelind?. The head of the Town Watch looked more exhausted than anyone else, and Marie had to wonder if he’d slept at all in the past twenty-four hours. From the red-lined eyes and drawn face, she doubted it.
Maybe that is why he gets the top job.
The sound of a door behind told her that Thror was joining for the announcement too, though the tabaxi guildmaster remained on the balcony.
“I trust you are all rested and recovered.” The [Watch Commander] said, not entirely keeping the bitter tint of jealousy from his voice. “Let’s get this done with.” He gestured to the [Mayor] to take over.
The middle-aged man made more of a ceremony of the moment, taking a dramatic step forward and posing in what could be called a passably noble style, orating for the entire guild to hear.
“The results of the investigations into the beastwatch at the end of Attreman in the Age of Recovery year 1182 are as follows…” he glanced up as he gave a dramatic pause, saw the lack of tolerance it would receive, and hurried on. “...In the case of the death of a member of the Watch, and others, the adventurers of Wayfarrow’s guild are found not guilty or culpable in any regards…” a couple of older, retired adventurers hovering near the entrance immediately left, and the interest in the rest of the outcome dropped to next to nothing. Only Marie and a couple of others paid attention as the deflated mayor continued. “Blame for the deaths lie on allagi that perished in the event, and on the owners of the allagi lodge on Coppice Street, who will face charges and fines for failures in construction and effective securing before the full moon.”
The one and only reason that [Mayor] Atherton managed to get to the end of his sentence was that Marie was standing, open-mouthed in disbelief. She struggled to process it in her shock as he continued.
“A payment of three hundred gold pieces will be levied, and split between the Watch and the family of [Guard] Varena Nasath at two-to-one in favour of the family”
“Mais vous êtes vraiment des putains de connards!”
Half the guild and all the officials looked over at the outburst, but only one sneered at her.
“We didn’t ask for contributions, Miss.” Lord Entoll’s nose wrinkled as though there was a bad smell under it.
“Not from us maybe, enfoiré. Only from those who cannot afford it.”
“Miss Marie, pl-”
The mayor looked shocked at her outburst, but Entoll spoke over him.
“We’re not the ones turning into vicious beasts and putting Wayfarrow at risk.”
Marie ignored the [Mayor] and the [Watch Captain] who looked about to intervene, and the stares of the other adventurers.
“A society should look out for all of its people, especially when they are afflicted in such a way. You wonder why they broke out but do you not see how poor their area is? Maybe if you helped them instead of punished them, everyone would be in a better position.”
“Your caring for those foul creatures is as pointless as it is disg-”
It was lucky that the first thing to come to Marie’s hand was an empty mug, otherwise Lord Entoll might have suffered more than a bruise as the improvised missile hit with an audible thwack, right between his eyes.
“Assault!”
Before she knew what was happening, the [Watch Captain] had her restrained, even her [Lucky Dodge] Skill failing to save her as her hands were pinned behind her back and she was slammed to the floor, head cracking against the flagstones.
Everyone else was caught in shock. Everyone besides Napoleon, whose snapping lurch was intercepted by Amit’s boot, the kick sending the skeletal hound hurtling into the reception desk.
Before she could even struggle or cry out, she caught the tail end of a Skill the [Watch Captain] shouted and felt herself falling unconscious. The last thing she heard before she blacked out was Lord Entoll calling for her arrest.
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