AN: Feedback would be appreciated.
Goan Moiran looked at the board through dark eyes and scratched the bone white hair on his head. "Not a lot of challenges up here today."
"Duh." Nemu said with a smirk and reached up to put her hand on his shoulder. She blinked briefly and laughed mentally at herself, 'Will I ever 'not' blink when I realize how tall he's gotten? I still see the bold little kid in him even after over a hundred years.' But out loud she said, "Why would you think things would be different? Stop staring at the board and let's all have a drink."
"Yeah, I want coffee!" Kuuderika clapped her hands enthusiastically together and held them tight, her blue eyes sparkled.
"I guess that would be good, no coffee at the board, and the jobs won't change if I stare at them. Fine, let's get a drink." He grumbled and turned around to find a table.
An olive skinned woman approached the table, "What'll it be?" She asked without meeting their eyes.
"Coffee, three." Goan replied, holding up his thumb, fore, and middle fingers.
"And a beer, I don't care what kind, just make it dark!" Nemu grinned enthusiastically and rubbed her hands together.
"And… something to eat, I don't care what." Kuuderika added as she eased herself into the crude chair of unvarnished, unsanded wood.
"Fine, I'll be back." The olive skinned waitress replied and spun on her heel.
Nemu leaned in, and her companions imitated her, "Is it just me, or did it seem like she wasn't exactly happy to see us?"
Goan thought for a moment, "Well, lot of the Ongeku locals aren't exactly fond of His Majesty's empire, and…" he looked at his companions with a deadpan expression. Nemu wore black light scalemail armor emblazoned with the symbol of the Sorcerer King, Kuuderika's dragon skin armor with runic enchantments glowing softly could have only one source. Lastly, there was himself, in the heavy plate of a Black Paladin. "Who else can we be? Even if this weren't the local adventurers guild, and even if we weren't wearing this, we're still obviously foreign."
Nemu crossed her arms and let out a sound harumph and turned her head aside. "This is His Majesty's city, nothing 'foreign' about it. They sold this land fair and square, can't complain if we live on land we bought."
"Nemu… c'mon." Kuuderika said gently, "You know that's a sore point here, how all that happened…"
Nemu relaxed a bit after a moment. "Whatever, more important, what do we do next? I mean with no adamantite ranked quests, we can't just snatch up the lowbie ones, that's just rude."
"Meh, we could just say skip the jobs and go exploring." Goan suggested tentatively.
The serving girl approached with pursed lips and placed the glass cups down in front of each of them, her dark hair hung loose behind her, and her brown eyes were barely 'not' glaring.
"Thank you." Goan said politely as she took a beer off a tray and set it down in front of Nemu next to her coffee.
"Yes, thank you." His team added in turn.
"Sure." The woman said dismissively as she spun on her heel and walked away.
"Not much, at least not west… or north. The Ongeku are being really iffy about that these days." Kuuderika said glumly, "Even more than before we left, speaking of, how did it go, are you two… alright?" She asked with her blue eyes lingering softly on her dearest friends.
Nemu gave a mute nod. "Yes, I visited Enri's grave again," She shook her head vigorously as Kuuderika opened her mouth to speak, "No, don't apologize for not coming this time, I know you had to tend to that boarding house in Arwintar. You'll visit her later, she'd understand. Anyway, aunt Lupu & Goan were with me, we talked, she's as pervy as ever. My- our- nieces and nephews are well. Got to meet some of their kids and grandkids too, funny how many of them either have hair exactly like Nferia, or just like Enri." She laughed mildly, and wiped away a stray tear. "Anyway, it's fine, we told her you send your love. I'm sure that keeps her warm, wherever she is."
"My visit to my mother's grave was the same, the house is still intact, a family lives there, nice people. You know that statue of her I had made and put up? Found their two little ones playing on it, one hanging off the spear she held, one sitting on her shoulders. The parents were… embarrassed and tried to shoo them off but you know what?" Goan sat back and took a sip of his coffee, he set the cup down and smacked his lips before he went on to finish the thought.
"That's the point, that's what she fought for, that's what she died for. I like to think, if she could come back and see those two kids horsing around on a memorial, she'd say that's the very thing you're really memorializing. That's what heroes fight for, a place where their children can grow up safely and play without fear. I placed flowers at her grave, talked to her a little while, told those kids who the statue was of, and they made offerings of flowers of their own." He belted out a mild laugh, "They thanked her for being a great statue, I'm a hundred percent sure they didn't understand what I was talking about, but… who cares? Time enough when they get older."
The serving girl approached and cut off conversation as she began to lay small plates in front of them, her face was noticeably friendlier, and her look nowhere near as hostile, she smiled gently. "Nice story." She said politely, "Enjoy your food." She said welcomingly, "I'll be back in a bit if you need more."
"Thank you." The trio said in unison, for different reasons as she went to another table.
In her own mind, the serving girl thought, 'I guess they're not 'all' so bad. Guess I shouldn't have spat in their cups before I poured coffee for them.' and came to the next table, "What can I get for you folks?" She asked a little more warmly than she'd felt earlier.
Moaleh en Aiweneth grabbed the horn that wrapped to from her forehead to the upper right side of her skull and pulled in annoyance. "I swear, another incident this month. Governor Mu'Crasi," she clenched her left hand in anger, the radiant light purple skin went whiter at the knuckles, "please put down that apple for a moment and deal with this." She urged him as she approached his desk.
The slightly overweight minotaur made a point of 'not' putting down the apple in his thick, brown fingers. He took long, slow bites, chewing on them while she watched in seething silence, then licked his fingers clean when he'd consumed even the stem. He then folded his hands together on the desk between the two of them, and took a long deep breath.
"OK, 'now' go ahead." He said, refusing to acknowledge what had just happened.
She exhaled sharply, her dark red eyes staring at him, he raised an eyebrow, and finally she spoke. "Alright, governor we've had six incidents disturbing the peace out here this month. All of them involving olives." He raised a finger to stop her.
"Ah, 'olives'. I like olives as much as the next minotaur…" He began, only for her to arch her brow.
"I can tell." She said, looking at the slight gut.
He huffed at the sarcastic tone, but continued as if she hadn't spoken. "But who is fighting over them?"
"No, sir, 'olives' is a term used for the human locals from the Ongeku. Because of their skin color. Six incidents this month, all involving them, all involving violence, and every time, they've been at fault." Moaleh said insistently and reached into the satchel at her side, the silver chain that decorated her left ear swaying wildly back and forth as she moved with urgency.
She withdrew a document and laid it on his desk, then slid it under his nose.
"Six isn't that many for a month." He replied indifferently. Kronora is a big town after all, what did you say we were up to at the last census? About ten thousand residents? A few hundred coming or going over the sea at any given time? Six is nothing for a month." Moaleh rolled her eyes at his evident lack of concern.
"My Lord, that is six 'this month', and 'this month' is only three days old!" She held her hands out in front of her with her fingers spread, they trembled in frustration. "The olives are getting antsy, and there are a lot of them out there. The fact that we even 'have' this land is a sore spot for some of them." She replied, then pointed down at the document with a shaking finger.
"I'm kind of surprised." Mu'Crasi answered as he slowly took the document up and began to read it, "Demon-elves tend to be known for their patience, but the ink on this document hasn't even dried yet, and you're already anxious."
"Sir!" She said sharply, and then after a brief tension, her body relaxed, "I've been your secretary for five years now, have you 'ever' known me to be patient?"
"No, I guess not. But still, a few drunken tavern brawls with the Ongeku are nothing to worry about, set the guilty to a few days labor on public projects at prison pay, then let them go. I don't need to be bothered about every little tavern brawl that takes place around here. The real important issue is our trade with the Ongeku lords and towns beyond, that's what really matters. Not some drunken idiots with hot tempers and little sense." Mu'Crasi said calmly and set the paper down, then slid it back to her.
Moaleh thought to speak again, and opened her mouth to do so, but as she looked up at the broken left horn of her governor, she closed her lips together and thought better of it. She bowed politely, and exited the brick building.
She rolled her red eyes again as she stepped out of the building and went down the smooth stone steps. She glanced around, despite the sun barely being up, the streets of the frontier town were already growing busy. Various types of citizens of the Sorcerous Empire, elves, humans, dwarves, minotaurs, even an unexpected lionman, were already out and about. And of course, the olives. The Ongeku comprised the lion share of the labor. For every one of those of her empire, she counted four or five transient Ongeku. She suppressed a frown, 'Just like back then.' She shuddered at the memory. 'That imbalance with the outsiders is dangerous…' She drew the dark cloak she wore, tighter around her body and pulled the hood over her head, clouds began to gather overhead, blotting out the sun. A light drizzle began to splash down around her as she walked the crude 'temporary' wooden sidewalk sidewalk.
A few yards away, a handful of skeletons were laboring in the dirt street to create stone paved roads under the supervision of a dwarf, while behind them a pair of dwarven runecrafters worked to enchant the bricks. Her mood lifted a little bit when she saw a runnic brick handed over to the supervisor, who laid it into place.
A few observers paused with her to watch what happened next. A soft blue glow began at the center of the brick, and then as it was laid into place and secured with the others, that glow began to spread, until twenty feet of stone around it had the same faint hue emanating from it. 'And just like that, we've conquered a little more of this great wide world, and brought His Majesty's power, control, to taming this twisted existence.' Moaleh felt her heart skip a beat. A warm sense of pride filled her with happiness in spite of the cool rain that splashed down around her. It was easy to tell who was new to the colonies, they were the ones who weren't taking cover when the drizzle began. Everybody else rushed indoors.
Moaleh did not, she simply picked up her pace a little, her long stride eating up ground as she made her way to the holding area. She found herself in front of the building minutes before she was sure the downpour would begin in earnest. 'I wonder if the dwarves and their skeletons will keep working till the rain stops?' She briefly pondered, then shook off the mystery.
The watch station which held the holding area was a building made of rough cut stone blocks each as wide as her shoulders and had the height to come up to her knees. The simple granite structure was imposing in its own right, but where it really stood out was with its guards.
She looked up to the guards on the crenelations twenty four feet above her, and waved. They were mostly humans and wood elves, but they moved as if they were not individuals, rather like one organism. Their magicine crossbows tapped up and down in their hands in a steady rhythm, their eyes swept the positions on the ground in front of them. Their gray armor blended into the stone, making them difficult to identify at a distance. Everything was structured for security and discipline.
'Only a god, could make an empire like this one.' Moaleh thought joyfully and ascended the granite steps, pushed on the heavy wooden door, and entered the building.
She made her way to the holding area within, and glanced into the cells where the six 'olives' sat. Four young men and two young women. They glared at Moaleh when they saw what she was, but she ignored their glares and turned her attention to the tanned human in black armor who sat behind a desk doing paperwork.
"I'm Moaleh, assistant to Governor Mu'Crasi, and I am here about them." She said and jerked her thumb over her shoulder after she put them at her back as she presented her badge of office.
"Oh, figures." He said after a quick glance. "Heard you all were getting more involved after that disturbance last month." He grumbled a bit and took out a sheet which he set on the desk, then took up a quill. He was a nearly middle aged man with a short black beard and from his slightly darker skin and black hair, Moaleh concluded, 'Ah, one of the border kids.' She thought to herself as she recalled the occasional unions between Ongeku men and women that had formed since the Sorcerous Empire first settled the coast.
'Probably helps keep order among the olives to keep someone related to them on guard here.' Moaleh mused and listened as he spoke.
"There was no damage to property, just a few busted faces, the others in the fight have already had their fine paid, but these can't afford it. Since it was so minor, I was going to just let them off with a warning this time after letting them sit bored in their cells for a few more hours. They're harmless, and it was a two way fight after all." He gestured to the six, who stirred from their seats in the stone cell behind iron bars, the guard sounded altogether unconcerned about what took place.
Moaleh however, narrowed her eyes, "A disruption of order is the foundation of danger, they must be punished. If they can't pay their fine, then they'll work it off."
The guard looked up at her, his eyes popped wide at the unexpected demand. "Ma'am, I understand how you feel, but it was just a brawl, not ideal, but nobody got more than a few bruises. These are just day laborers, they can't really afford to miss their regular work to pay off a fine on prison wages." He gestured out to them with an open hand, and the prisoners approached the bars and glared at her back.
"They come onto our land, work in our town, accept our pay and the sovereignty of our laws, and then attack some of our citizens… and you want to just cut them loose?" Moaleh snapped and folded her arms in front of her chest.
"I may just be a peasant from the Aiwenor province, but that doesn't sound fair to me." She glared with her sharp red eyes, "Do I have to get the governor involved?"
"Ma'am, this isn't…" He started to say and she stamped her foot hard on the stone.
"I'm not asking you to follow my orders, I'm telling you, see them to the labor facility, give them one hundred hours of public service on town projects." Moaleh commanded bluntly, and behind her, the prisoners banged hard on the bars.
"That's not fair! The others just got to walk away! Why?! Those bastards deserved it! All that missed time from work will be ten times the fine, I can't afford that! I'll lose my place if you do this!" The shouts from the cell were vigorous, angry, and frequent, she didn't look back as she dismissed the rantings of the thugs and the guard wrote down the sentence and then stood slowly up to reluctantly obey her orders.
'That bitch!' Kenmet groused as he gritted his teeth. He looked the demon-elf over, jewelry glinted in the light that was still cast through the window to the outside. Her clothing was silk and clearly made to fit her, the small dagger at her side… the sheath alone was worth more than two weeks of his wages. She wore a ring on her finger that looked like gold, though with but a glimpse of it… 'No, gold. Monied bitch… looking down on us… like we weren't here first…' Her skin was clean as one who had the means to bathe whenever she wished, and likely daily. It made him look down at his own dirty hands and cheap brown clothing, and he turned furious brown eyes on her that said more than words even if he broke his silence, which he did not do.
'That should be the end of that. Hopefully they'll learn their lesson and not start trouble in Kronora again.' Moaleh thought with a measure of satisfaction as she heard the shouted protests continue behind her, until they faded into nothing as she left the building and stood outside again. "Oh, right, guess I overlooked that little problem." She laughed mildly at herself as she found her eyes lingering comfortingly on the downpour that she'd seen coming earlier. Thunder rumbled overhead, and in the distance, she saw a flash of lightning that struck somewhere in Ongeku lands.
She put her hood up over her ears and touched the jewelry on her ears like she always did when she wanted good luck, and ventured out into the storm to make her way back to work.