Less Than A Few Weeks Ago:
The events at the Laughing Peiste had shaken Verad somewhat, and not simply because he had been an accidental casualty of Lakshmi's assault. The violence with which they had been met, and Godrich's provided lead to one of Thanalan's mining company, had given him serious cause for worry. It was one thing for the robbery and Gliding Bone's disappearance to be the work of the criminal element. Criminals could be apprehended and turned over to the appropriate authorities, but the presence of a legal entity meant that there was far more work to be done.
He was relieved, then, to hear word from one of his many contacts a few days later, suggesting that both his stolen goods and the missing basket-weaver had been sighted in the company of a group of bandits operating out of the confines of Mor Dhona. Between the proximity of Castrum Centri and the dangers of the Tangle, his contact reported, they were able to operate with impunity. Impunity enough, Verad reasoned, to engage in slave trafficking.
Rousting a camp of bandits was a more dangerous undertaking that infilitrating a bar, and while his aides had escaped the Peiste with no more than minor injuries, Verad wished to leave nothing to chance. In the circumstances, he was happy to consign the matter to the efforts of Ser Corinthus and Ser Val Nunh, knowing they were capable fighters in their own right and not wishing to shame them by a display of his combat prowess. Â Â
His reward for this trust was for the pair to return with naught but a bill of sale and the absence of Ser Corinthus' shoes, lost to the perils of the swamp. The matter was not entirely fruitless; through their actions, they were able to attract a morbol into the bandit camp and disrupt their base of operations, and the bill of goods they brought back did indeed confirm the presence of Verad's stolen goods at the site.Â
More than that, the contents of the bill of sale indicated something else. Something far darker, and, which, in time, would reveal the depths of the crimes in which Verad had found himself entangled...
Now, A Couple Hours Later:
Gliding Bone waited in his seat, stooped over the bowl of thick gruel served to the infirmary patients, a curious and expectant look in his eye. Verad had trailed off again, a distant look in his eye, staring at a point on the wall to the right of the man as if some revelation could be found there.
"Well?" he asked, the question nudging Verad back into his reverie. This was normal enough; he'd spoken to the Elezen many a time over the course of the past few months, and it was certainly within his power to start a rambling, third-person story and end it on implied ellipses.
"Well what?"
"What was on the bill?"
"Ah, yes, of course. As you can see - " Verad paused, a spoon halfway to his mouth. "I do believe I've just seen something in here move!"
"The food's not that bad, Bellveil, I can promise you that much. It's bad, certainly, but there's worse." Bone took a large spoonful of his own, chewing with an expression of forced pleasure for emphasis. "There's better in the mess hall, but they add it to your bill."
"That does seem to be something of a recurring theme here. New uniforms, time off, better food - all of it extends the contract?"
"As far as I can tell, anything other than working, sleeping for your assigned hours, eating what they give you, and using the latrines extends the contract. And sometimes even that, if you do it on shift." Gliding Bone reached up to tap the bandage surrounding his eye and forehead. "I got this last week. Banged my head against a support beam and some rocks happened to crumble down just after. They told me that each day this heals up I get another one added to my term. Half-tempted to take the risk and head back to work."
Examining the dried blood still on the bandage, Verad frowned. "Surely, you can't. Is it not still healing?"
"Hm? Oh, those. Haven't changed them in a few days. The extra supplies - "
"Yes, of course." Verad took another bite of his gruel, and found it tasted as it sounded. "Now then, the bill of sale. It said the goods were to be delivered to the Syndicate as part of a payment of debts. I gather it was meant as part of a debt reduction, and your attackers simply claimed them for themselves when they abducted you. Is that about right?"
"And all my baskets, and my materials. Surprised they didn't lay claim to my home; probably worth more than all of that combined." Something seemed to strike Bone, and he looked up with a startled expression. "You've - has my family been contacted? They won't let me write."
"When I saw them, they were fine," said Verad, offering a reassuring smile. "That was some weeks ago, I admit, shortly after you'd gone missing, but I don't see why that would change now. Did you get the chance to look at your 'contract'?"
"Once I was dumped here, aye, and on the rare chance that the folks in the main office come down to handle papers. Said they were being given a portion of my wages as a stipend in exchange for extending the contract - I think? I'm not great with this."
"Makes a sort of sense, I suppose. I don't imagine everyone here is without families, and those that do must have them placated." Verad rubbed his chin, fixing his eyes on Gliding Bone. "And what happened to me was much the same for you, correct? You found you'd signed a contract you'd never seen."
"Yes, after speaking to Jeresu Resu about entering into debt reduction. I hadn't meant to sign up for trading, but he asked for my signature, and, well." He shrugged. "Mine's only six months; not so bad as all that."
"But none of them are so bad as that, are they? If I were to go outside and ask those off-shift how long their contracts were, they'd all say the same. But then, all the extensions, and the additions - I wonder how long they can drag it out?"
"I think there's a few people on the other shifts who are nearing the end of it. Might ask them." Bone finished up the last of his gruel and set the bowl on the ground. "If they get out, though, what a story to tell to the Blades, eh?"
"Hm." Verad glanced towards the door, as if he might get up and check just then. For a moment he rose to his feet, but sank back down, his body audibly groaning in protest. "That can't be right, though. Why kidnap all these workers, forge all these contracts, and then leave themselves open to exposure? Even with all the limitations and extensions they must give at least the hope that people can finish their contracts and leave."
"They might not have thought it through?" suggested Bone, resting his hands on his elbows and adopting a thoughtful look. "You've seen the guards, after all. They're not all exactly the brightest, though I hear they're mostly ex-Blades."
"Perhaps not the security, but surely the staff must have thought of this?"
"Perhaps." Bone bobbed his head in concession. "I haven't dealt with many of them, though. Lamaki, the secretary, he handles most of the interaction with the staff. If anybody would have a hand in that side of things it's either Palmer, the company head, or Agid, the security chief. But we usually only see them from afar out here. Are you going to finish the rest of th - " Bone was gesturing towards Verad's still-full bowl before noticing the sudden pall in his face. "Bellveil? Are you well?"
"I - yes, I'm fine, but - did you say Agid?"
"Mm. Agid Hatemonger. Damned good name for a security chief, isn't it?" Bone chuckled, shaking his head and folding his arms together. Can't imagine his parents picked it for him. Did you want to finish that, then?"
"No, no, it's fine." Verad proffered the bowl out, trying to hide the trembling. He had a plan for the investigation, certainly, and he knew there would be some risk involved. But not until the man's name had been mentioned had he ever felt in real danger.
The events at the Laughing Peiste had shaken Verad somewhat, and not simply because he had been an accidental casualty of Lakshmi's assault. The violence with which they had been met, and Godrich's provided lead to one of Thanalan's mining company, had given him serious cause for worry. It was one thing for the robbery and Gliding Bone's disappearance to be the work of the criminal element. Criminals could be apprehended and turned over to the appropriate authorities, but the presence of a legal entity meant that there was far more work to be done.
He was relieved, then, to hear word from one of his many contacts a few days later, suggesting that both his stolen goods and the missing basket-weaver had been sighted in the company of a group of bandits operating out of the confines of Mor Dhona. Between the proximity of Castrum Centri and the dangers of the Tangle, his contact reported, they were able to operate with impunity. Impunity enough, Verad reasoned, to engage in slave trafficking.
Rousting a camp of bandits was a more dangerous undertaking that infilitrating a bar, and while his aides had escaped the Peiste with no more than minor injuries, Verad wished to leave nothing to chance. In the circumstances, he was happy to consign the matter to the efforts of Ser Corinthus and Ser Val Nunh, knowing they were capable fighters in their own right and not wishing to shame them by a display of his combat prowess. Â Â
His reward for this trust was for the pair to return with naught but a bill of sale and the absence of Ser Corinthus' shoes, lost to the perils of the swamp. The matter was not entirely fruitless; through their actions, they were able to attract a morbol into the bandit camp and disrupt their base of operations, and the bill of goods they brought back did indeed confirm the presence of Verad's stolen goods at the site.Â
More than that, the contents of the bill of sale indicated something else. Something far darker, and, which, in time, would reveal the depths of the crimes in which Verad had found himself entangled...
Now, A Couple Hours Later:
Gliding Bone waited in his seat, stooped over the bowl of thick gruel served to the infirmary patients, a curious and expectant look in his eye. Verad had trailed off again, a distant look in his eye, staring at a point on the wall to the right of the man as if some revelation could be found there.
"Well?" he asked, the question nudging Verad back into his reverie. This was normal enough; he'd spoken to the Elezen many a time over the course of the past few months, and it was certainly within his power to start a rambling, third-person story and end it on implied ellipses.
"Well what?"
"What was on the bill?"
"Ah, yes, of course. As you can see - " Verad paused, a spoon halfway to his mouth. "I do believe I've just seen something in here move!"
"The food's not that bad, Bellveil, I can promise you that much. It's bad, certainly, but there's worse." Bone took a large spoonful of his own, chewing with an expression of forced pleasure for emphasis. "There's better in the mess hall, but they add it to your bill."
"That does seem to be something of a recurring theme here. New uniforms, time off, better food - all of it extends the contract?"
"As far as I can tell, anything other than working, sleeping for your assigned hours, eating what they give you, and using the latrines extends the contract. And sometimes even that, if you do it on shift." Gliding Bone reached up to tap the bandage surrounding his eye and forehead. "I got this last week. Banged my head against a support beam and some rocks happened to crumble down just after. They told me that each day this heals up I get another one added to my term. Half-tempted to take the risk and head back to work."
Examining the dried blood still on the bandage, Verad frowned. "Surely, you can't. Is it not still healing?"
"Hm? Oh, those. Haven't changed them in a few days. The extra supplies - "
"Yes, of course." Verad took another bite of his gruel, and found it tasted as it sounded. "Now then, the bill of sale. It said the goods were to be delivered to the Syndicate as part of a payment of debts. I gather it was meant as part of a debt reduction, and your attackers simply claimed them for themselves when they abducted you. Is that about right?"
"And all my baskets, and my materials. Surprised they didn't lay claim to my home; probably worth more than all of that combined." Something seemed to strike Bone, and he looked up with a startled expression. "You've - has my family been contacted? They won't let me write."
"When I saw them, they were fine," said Verad, offering a reassuring smile. "That was some weeks ago, I admit, shortly after you'd gone missing, but I don't see why that would change now. Did you get the chance to look at your 'contract'?"
"Once I was dumped here, aye, and on the rare chance that the folks in the main office come down to handle papers. Said they were being given a portion of my wages as a stipend in exchange for extending the contract - I think? I'm not great with this."
"Makes a sort of sense, I suppose. I don't imagine everyone here is without families, and those that do must have them placated." Verad rubbed his chin, fixing his eyes on Gliding Bone. "And what happened to me was much the same for you, correct? You found you'd signed a contract you'd never seen."
"Yes, after speaking to Jeresu Resu about entering into debt reduction. I hadn't meant to sign up for trading, but he asked for my signature, and, well." He shrugged. "Mine's only six months; not so bad as all that."
"But none of them are so bad as that, are they? If I were to go outside and ask those off-shift how long their contracts were, they'd all say the same. But then, all the extensions, and the additions - I wonder how long they can drag it out?"
"I think there's a few people on the other shifts who are nearing the end of it. Might ask them." Bone finished up the last of his gruel and set the bowl on the ground. "If they get out, though, what a story to tell to the Blades, eh?"
"Hm." Verad glanced towards the door, as if he might get up and check just then. For a moment he rose to his feet, but sank back down, his body audibly groaning in protest. "That can't be right, though. Why kidnap all these workers, forge all these contracts, and then leave themselves open to exposure? Even with all the limitations and extensions they must give at least the hope that people can finish their contracts and leave."
"They might not have thought it through?" suggested Bone, resting his hands on his elbows and adopting a thoughtful look. "You've seen the guards, after all. They're not all exactly the brightest, though I hear they're mostly ex-Blades."
"Perhaps not the security, but surely the staff must have thought of this?"
"Perhaps." Bone bobbed his head in concession. "I haven't dealt with many of them, though. Lamaki, the secretary, he handles most of the interaction with the staff. If anybody would have a hand in that side of things it's either Palmer, the company head, or Agid, the security chief. But we usually only see them from afar out here. Are you going to finish the rest of th - " Bone was gesturing towards Verad's still-full bowl before noticing the sudden pall in his face. "Bellveil? Are you well?"
"I - yes, I'm fine, but - did you say Agid?"
"Mm. Agid Hatemonger. Damned good name for a security chief, isn't it?" Bone chuckled, shaking his head and folding his arms together. Can't imagine his parents picked it for him. Did you want to finish that, then?"
"No, no, it's fine." Verad proffered the bowl out, trying to hide the trembling. He had a plan for the investigation, certainly, and he knew there would be some risk involved. But not until the man's name had been mentioned had he ever felt in real danger.
Verad Bellveil's Profile | The Case of the Ransacked Rug | Verad's Fate Sheet
Current Fate-14 Storyline:Â Merchant, Marine
Current Fate-14 Storyline:Â Merchant, Marine
