The 21st of One
Donald Qualls
21st of One; they split up and Sam went back to his own house to start
breaking up the jewelry he'd taken. This required some concentration,
since the stones were all set in bezels and it was necessary to destroy
the settings to free the stones -- but this had to be done without
damaging the stones. In the end, Sam got everything apart and wound up
with a neck chain containing around a half ounce of white gold, settings
from the pendant and earrings containing an ounce, give or take, of
silver, and four rings containing around an ounce of yellow gold, plus
one large ruby, six very well matched pale blue stones, four well
matched yellow stones, plus (from the rings) a largish emerald, two more
rubies, and another yellow stone; one of the yellow stones chipped
pretty badly, but all the other stones were intact. An abortive attempt
to melt down the metal over a cooking fire did no harm at all to either
chain, rings, or silver, so Sam set out in the evening to find a
"jeweler" who'd buy "scrap metal" without asking embarrassing questions.
Having found such a one, who furthermore had his shop open in the
evening, he sold the scrap for 10 Guilders and was happy to get it
without being asked where it came from. After that, he went to the
Docks and unloaded the stones in several transactions, netting a total
of 11 suns, 15 Guilders for three rubies, six matched sapphires (or so
the buyer called them, though they were paler than any sapphire Sam had
seen), four matched citrines (yellow quartz, deeper in color than a
topaz if a little less clear), one damaged, and one additional citrine.
After dividing the money (though he wouldn't be able to deliver
Saeldor's or Moonlight's portion until morning), Sam took himself to
bed, planning to arise at mid-morning.
That plan was not to be, however; Sam was jolted awake by heavy pounding
on his door and, strapping on his belt (with saber and swordbreaker),
opened up to find an Investigator and two Guards, there to take him in
under accusation of Aggravated Assault on a Noblewoman, Robbery, and
Murder. After attempts to talk the Investigator (who was armed with a
weapon Sam had seen only once before, a cannonette -- essentially, a
metal tube mounted on a pole, firing a pellet like a sling ball by means
of an explosive powder) out of the arrest failed, Sam cooperated,
turning over his weapons at their insistance, but walking without irons
(and without being beaten into submission to receive irons), from his
home in the Tenements to the Glassworks precinct where the charges had
been lodged. After a few pointed questions when his lockpicks were
found during processing, Sam was shown into temporary quarters that
seemed luxurious compared to those he'd seen from outside the bars
during his service as a Guard at the Tenements precinct: no cell mate, a
reasonably clean cell with a chamber pot that was emptied daily, and
food that was not only edible but reasonably nutritious. He was allowed
writing materials, and could send letters from jail if he paid the
courier (from the funds held for him by the jailers); he sent letters to
Saeldor and Moonlight, as well as to a few former mates in the Guards.
Unsure who his accuser was, he wrote, but did not send a letter to Lady
Alice Weisskopf -- and after an uneventful night and three edible, if
not very tasty meals, he was taken from the cell, placed in irons and
fastened into a transport wagon, which took him and four other prisoners
to the courthouse where he stood, in his turn, before a judge where the
charges were read out.
Erica Richardson stood to confirm the charges were what she had sworn;
on learning this, Sam hastily lodged countercharges against her, for
Theft, Attempted Murder, and Assault with a Deadly Weapon. Though
unusual, this wasn't unheard of, and the court determined that their
trials would be held together, since the crossing accusations stemmed
from the same incident; the judge released Erica on her own reputation,
but required a bond from Sam in the amount of 20 Guilders, which would
be returned to him on his appearance before this same court on the
morning of the 14th of Two -- he also cautioned Sam that failure to
appear, in additional forfeiting the bond, would be seen as an admission
of guilt, whereon Sam would be outlawed and sought for sentencing.
After accepting a ride in the same wagon (but without the manacles) back
to the Glassworks precinct to retrieve his personal effects, Sam went to
see Moonlight (and left a message for Saeldor), and sent the letter to
Lady Alice along his way. After some discussion, during which Sam
continued to maintain (as he'd tried to do with the Guards) that the
killing was in self defense and all the other actions at Erica's house
were justified, Sam and Moonlight decided they needed to go find another
job.
They found an offer posted to transport a sealed strongbox, a single
day's journey there and back with employer provided wagon and horses,
paying 20 Guilders; after talking to the employer and being assured that
the box was safe as long as it wasn't opened, and the only known hazards
along the road were wild animals and occasional bandits, they accepted.
Moonlight asked to buy a weapon before leaving -- and found he was
most comfortable with a quarterstaff. Neither of them had any skill in
driving a team, but Sam was able to fake it based on his Riding skill --
and they hadn't any more than left the city than they found that
Moonlight drove about as well as Sam. Climbing a switchback grade north
of Orichalcum brought them to the road atop the ridge they'd been told
would take them to the village of Nightvale (nothing sinister about the
name, it's in a minor gorge in the Mountains of Night, where one of the
lesser oristone mines has its head).
At that point, we called things for the night, to give the GM time to
make up NPCs for upcoming events; events were left in late morning of
Sunsday, the 23rd of One.
--
If, through hard work and perseverance, you finally get what you want,
it's probably a sign you weren't dreaming big enough.
Donald Qualls, aka The Silent Observer http://silent1.home.netcom.com
Opinions expressed are my own -- take them for what they're worth
and don't expect them to be perfect.
John Desmarais
with that money.
JD
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Harry and Glorie
Guilders. Sam took the bits as he took the smaller share from the coin taken
the first time.
Harry/Sam, the accused