Chapter 14 Acquaintances
Acquaintances
The interior of the local Guild of Peace wasn’t much more inviting than the one in Winterstone.
The prison cells where the orderkeepers stoically escorted all of them were particularly uninviting to Kraghtol.
Even though rooms carved out of rough stone were the usual architectural choice here in Bronzebreak, the large room that was divided by metal bars into small cells was not where he wanted to stay.
The only occasion the orderkeepers exchanged words with them was when they relieved them of all their possessions and stored them in a large chest that was within sight but out of reach.
Valir complained loudly when they took his instrument, but Kraghtol felt cold sweat run down his neck as he watched the pitiful rest of Activator and the lockbox they had taken from Dagna disappear into the chest. Even though he still didn’t know what it contained, he was sure that the possession of those two items alone could get him into serious trouble.
Finally, the orderkeepers left them alone, without another word. They were alone in the room.
“Stars above. This place smells as if something died in here,” Valir complained as he sat down against the stone wall. From what Kraghtol could make out in the dim light, he didn’t seem particularly fazed. Or maybe he was just good at keeping up a facade.
“What’s going to happen to us? How deep is the dung heap we’re in?” Kraghtol asked, facing Dagna, who was nervously going up and down in the small space.
“I… don’t know,” she admitted. “It’s possible we might have damaged a main pipeline with our explosion, perhaps forcing the whole alchemical foundry to shut down for a month or two.
And we went into the inventor workshops, which was clearly forbidden.
If the city council rides on their traditions trollshit, they might even find that more offensive than the pipe thing. Who are we kidding? They probably do.”
“Is it like in Winterstone here and that council will decide on a punishment without even seeing us?” Kraghtol asked, and Valir sighed.
“Sometimes I forget you come from some backwater village, and then you say things like that to remind me. Yes, that’s how it works in the civilized world. At least for you. Those of noble heritage have the right to be heard by a proper judge of the Guild of Peace before being convicted.”
“But that’s not fair!” Kraghtol protested. “Back in Mistpine, our orderkeeper Brynna always heard both sides before judging.”
He knew he was just reinforcing the picture Valir had painted about him, but the concept still didn’t agree with him one bit. It hadn’t done so in Winterstone, and it was gnawing on him now as well. To his surprise, Valir nodded in agreement.
“Of course it’s not fair. I never liked it, even though it benefits me.
It’s even worse than that once you see beyond the obvious unfairness.
If I decide to, say, steal an apple, and get caught; even if I just admit I was bored or wanted to annoy the merchant, the worst that would happen to me would be some negligible fine.
Probably not even that. If a hungry peasant does it, however, they won’t get away that easily.
What is a financial annoyance at best for me is an amount of money peasants won’t be able to pay in a year.
I trust you are familiar with the concept, although in your case the fine I paid was a bit more than an annoyance, even for me. It get’s worse, though.”
He paused and grimaced as his eyes went over the half-orc and the dwarf.
“The truth is, at least if I cooperate with the guild, I’ve got nothing to fear here.
They will twist and turn the story until I am little more than a victim in it.
I didn’t light the fuse, got held hostage and all that.
To quarrel with one of the noble families is much too tiresome.
Especially if there are easier victims readily available.
They might even add kidnaping, seduction or something equally ridiculous to your guilt to lessen mine. ”
Kraghtol was at a loss for words. It wasn’t as if he had not had these thoughts before, but when Valir spoke from experience, they had a whole different truth to them. That was just the way the world was. What an awful, helpless feeling.
Before he could ponder any longer on the subject, though, the door to their prison opened once more, letting in a grim-looking male dwarf accompanied by a weeping female one.
They ignored Valir and Kraghtol entirely and went straight for Dagna and began talking to her in Dwarvish.
Kraghtol didn’t understand what they said, but he could imagine it vividly.
The visitors almost certainly were Dagna’s parents.
And while her mother was having a breakdown about her daughter being in prison, the apparent father was searching for someone he could hold responsible.
It wasn’t hard to guess whom he would decide on.
When they finally left, the father shot them a poisonous glare but didn’t say a word.
“My parents,” confirmed Dagna the unspoken assumption. She sounded tired. “They do not approve of my actions.”
“That much was obvious,” Valir said.
It was not until the next day that the door opened again.
Valir had gotten some sleep, but Kraghtol found no rest. His mind was readily supplying him with one scenario after the next, what would happen to them, and each was worse than the last. He was almost relieved when the red-clad dwarf was not accompanied by a group of executioners, even though the rational part of his mind knew that was completely exaggerated.
“The city council has judged you,” the dwarf stated in the common language without introduction.
At least he didn’t sound particularly vile in doing so.
Out of the corner of his eye, Kraghtol saw Valir getting ready to protest. Knowing him, he had spent the last day preparing choice words for this case.
“You, Dagna Emberforge, are found guilty of disrupting important city facilities. You have broken into a forbidden area despite its being sealed off. But worst of all, as evidenced by your own secret workshop, you have defiled the traditions in an attempt to pose as a tinkerer or inventor. Considering your previous warnings, the council has deemed you an incorrigible troublemaker.”
Dagna gulped, and Kraghtol had to agree it didn’t sound good. He wasn’t surprised by the ‘previous warnings’ bit, either.
“However, since your parents pleaded for you and are considered honorable citizens, the council has decided on a milder punishment than originally planned. You are exiled from the city, but not for eternity. After merely ten years, you may return. The council would advise you to have learned your lesson by then and use your remaining hours to thank your parents.”
A set of conflicting emotions chased across her face until she pushed her chin forward in defiance.
“Fine! Perhaps elsewhere people are less narrow-minded than here.”
Despite her words, Kraghtol noticed her voice shaking. The orderkeeper didn’t dignify her with a reply. Instead, he turned towards Valir and Kraghtol.
“As for you, the council has decided not to decide about you. There are rumors of a green-skinned criminal from the alchemists returning from Winterstone, and we have sent a pigeon to their Guild of Peace. They will undoubtedly send someone to pick you up. Until that happens, or until we hear from them otherwise, you will stay here.”
That was not the worst outcome Kraghtol had tossed around in his mind, but close to it.
He had a very good idea of who was going to come for them.
But even Roderic Hawke aside, he would be judged for the murder of a guild master — that he didn’t do!
— and therefore, this was just a delayed death sentence.
The local city council didn’t seem to know the full story yet, and he had no desire to tell them, but even without it, they had decided on the near worst potential outcome.
He knew the orderkeepers of Winterstone would not hesitate.
“Can I at least take my stuff?” Dagna asked, oblivious to the harsh sentence they had given him.
“Yes, you may say your goodbyes and take your belongings, as long as you have left the city by the end of the day.”
With these words, the orderkeeper unlocked her cell and stepped back, allowing her to walk out. Dagna gave an apologetic look.
“Sorry. The whole thing might have been a bad idea in hindsight. I hope you have more luck with the longlegs.”
“I very much doubt that,” Valir replied dryly as she was rummaging through the chest to retrieve her things.
Suddenly, a thought flashed through Kraghtol’s mind.
“We will see. Don’t forget your lockbox, though,” he said and hoped she would get the hint. She did, and after only the slightest pause, she took the box and huffed.
“I’m not stupid, you know?”
He didn’t know where she would go, and whether they were ever going to meet again, but he had a strong feeling that it would be better than letting the unknown contents of the box fall into the hands of the guild officials.
When she had gathered everything, the orderkeeper led her out of the room, only turning around in the doorframe one last time to mumble a “sorry” before disappearing into the corridor beyond.
The door clicked closed behind her, leaving them alone again.
“I feel miserable. We — I — should have been the one to apologize, not her. If it weren’t for my stupid attempts at alchemy, she wouldn’t have been caught,” Kraghtol said and slumped down, all strength gone from his body.
“Yeah, possibly,” Valir said. “And she wouldn’t have gotten into her uncle’s workshop, either, finding out troll knows what, which was apparently very important to her.
These stupid attempts at alchemy have achieved a lot, if you ask me.
Especially considering that you had less than two quarters of training. ”