Summer 80th 516 - Of Food and Men

by **Net** on June 5th, 2016, 4:08 pm

Early Morning 80th of Summer 516AV
The Office of the Lord of the Council was oddly loud, yet the people found within did not consist of the Lord himself. Apparently the man had found himself utterly absent and that left a sour test amongst the current Councilors. The current beings in the office were Nicholas Crensdale and Gregory Satterthwite of the Sailors Guild and two members of the Regents of the University. A young man from the Merchants Guild was to the side, apparently shocked at the manner of which the other four were yelling and retorting at one another. The words were terse, threats brandished, but they all simmered down once the Lord Council himself stepped in the office. Well, the temporary Lord, Tranaris Johnson looked at the five figures and cleared his throat.

As just a figurehead he was ignored for the most part. Until he spoke, “I suggest we listen to the representative of the Merchants Guild. Perhaps he has an idea?” It was a drop in silence from the other four as the younger man stood and shuffled at some papers, “Ah... Yes... Um. I… I suggest that instead of trying to take this matters into our own hands we enlist the assistance of the people of Zeltiva. As a show of good faith and dedication to our people.” There was a brief grumbling argument and then all nodded solemnly in agreement.

“So it is settled!” Johnson exclaimed as he turned to make the announcement to the people of Zeltiva.
---
Mid Day 80th of Summer 516AV
After the word was sent out from the Lord Council, members of the city were instructed to meet near the docks at the storage facilities. There were several men of the Wave Guard milling around, guarding the depleted food storages and keeping an eye out in case of any other thieves were about. Here could be found a member of the Council’s secretarial staff and three merchant guild members holding scrolls. It was an odd sight to observe it was here the people were seen congregating around the quartet. The secretary unrolled a sheet of parchment and called out in a loud voice so all could hear.

“Seneschal Johnson decrees that of the citizens of the city of Zeltiva, you have a right to know of the shortages, we do not yet have a thief in hand and would like to call upon you the people of Zeltiva to assist in this most important task. We ask for volunteers to step forth.”

Once volunteers were confident in stepping forward they were directed to the merchants or to the secretary by the Wave Guards there.

OOC :

by **Tavia** on June 5th, 2016, 5:24 pm

Tavia was amongst the first to step forward and volunteer herself. As an attorney, she liked to think that she served the city of Zeltiva every day, and yet at the same time, she trusted her own intelligence and mind far better than most other residents’.

Speaking to the secretary who had called out his request for assistant, she said, ”My name is Tavia Malech. I am an attorney and student at the University of Zeltiva, where I study Politics and Negotiation. I would like to to offer my assistance in this issue.” She paused briefly, glancing to the faces of the Wave Guards, ”I believe my experience in interrogation will prove particularly useful here, as will my studies.”

With that, Tavia stepped further away from the crowd of citizens, instead standing beside the secretary and awaiting further volunteers to come forward.

When the decision was given to her, Tavia considered her options carefully. The Wave Guards were professional men and women, and likely to be more reliable sources of information than the Merchants. However, the Merchants were the beginning of the food chain in Zeltiva, and really when it came to missing food, where else should one begin?

”I would like to interview the merchants first.” She said, keeping her expression neutral and free of expression. From her time spent in court was finally coming to fruition, and Tavia was nothing but a professional.

by **Abigaile** on June 9th, 2016, 4:36 pm

It came as a surprise when Abigaile's superiors requested she present herself as a representative from the library. She was a lowly scribe, but the lack of position seemed to work in her favor. Where so many others were busy with their duties, she could be spared. As the largest collection of public knowledge in Mizahar, it was in the interest of having a first-hand witness record the events that would unfold, that she arrived that afternoon with the rest of the crowd.

When the call for volunteers rang out, her hand rose with a smattering of others, and once the secretary had recorded a few names, he motioned her forward.

"Credentials please."

"Abigaile Evenr--no, that's with an 'e' on the end. Yes, like that. Evenridge. Scribe, at the library. They would like someone involved."

"Experience?" the secretary asked, and she shifted uncomfortably.

"Several magics that could help me identify the thief."

"I would recommend you start with the Guard, then."

"I will, thank you."

by **Net** on June 11th, 2016, 4:41 am

The secretary gave a nod to a pair of Waveguards and pointed to the two ladies. "One is to go speak with others of your ranks. The other is to speak with the merchants." The guards nodded and stood to the one side of their respective charges. The secretary leaned close and whispered something to the guards before turning and leaving them to their own devices.

One guard took Tavia to the merchants, in which there were two. A short squat looking man that was balding on the top, what golden locks remained were scraggily and horseshoed, the other was the opposite, a tall and skinny gentleman with a full head of dark locks pulled into a tight ponytail. They were muttering amongst themselves as the guard and Tavia approached. Only to pause slightly as the shorter one trembled visibly for just a tick.

Meanwhile, the guard placed a hand on Abigaile's shoulder and steered her away from the other girl to a far off location. "There is word amongst the Guards that it may be one of our own." He muttered as he pointed to a two clean shaved gentlemen wearing the Waveguard gear. Both looked calm and collected, a smirk on one of their faces emerged as he whistled out a cat call.

"Wut we got 'ere Rory?" The other one called out to the guard besides Abigaile.

Note :

by **Tavia** on June 18th, 2016, 4:10 pm

Tavia followed her guide, who lead her to face two merchants. They were both males, though their sex was the only mutual physicality shared between them, for their appearances varied in almost every other way. Aquamarine eyes scanned their faces carefully - though not too critically – for any trace of guilt or apprehension. It did not go unnoticed by Tavia that one of the merchants shivered, as if cold. But as any basic attorney knew, Tavia knew better than to place herself in a lofty position above those who she was planning to interrogate. It was crucial that she build a rapport with these people, otherwise any important information they did know might be withheld from her. And so, somewhat mechanically, Tavia placed a fixed smile on her lips that revealed her teeth. “Good afternoon. My name is Tavia.” She said courteously to both men, nodding to each in turn and extending her hand for them to shake.

Pleasantries over with, Tavia considered her next move. She knew nothing about these merchants beyond their employment and potential role in the food shortages. They were the start of the food chain in the city, providing the fresh goods that kept the people fed.

In times of such ambiguity, Tavia employed a simple mind-set: she would ask herself a basic question that could be either answered yes or no. In each scenario, she contemplated the outcomes of either answer. It prepared her many alternative scenarios that might otherwise be unexpected, and also allowed Tavia to plan her next words.

Are these men be somehow involved with the theft of food?

If yes, Tavia would be facing two criminals who deserved whatever punishment the city would expel onto them. She would expect them to act like criminals do: to be defensive and cagey with their responses, maybe even aggressive. Depending on how much they had had time to plan what to say to her, their alibis might be well put together or a string of poorly thought out excuses. If there were holes in any plots or tales she was told, Tavia was adamant she would find them.

If, however, the answer to her question was no, these two were innocent men who were here to simply do their bit and help out. They would behave entirely differently she expected, and instead go to any lengths of assisting the investigation.

But first; to build a rapport with them. This was no easy task, but crucial in any interrogation. Very few people would want to spend their time speaking to a person they disliked passionately, even if they were an innocent party. An olive branch needed to be extended between she and the merchants in order to fertilise future conversation.

“Thank you for being so willing to help here,” she said coolly, her eyes once again flickering between the two merchants as she watched for further signs of discomfort. “I can imagine that the last thing you need during such hard times is a distraction from your work. It’s commendable.”

Following this and any response from the two merchants, Tavia decided to probe for what information and knowledge the two men shared between them. “As far as you know, what’s happened here? There’s a food shortage, but have you any idea why?”

by **Abigaile** on June 20th, 2016, 2:27 pm

The possibility of a bad apple among the Wave Guard was not good. Stealing food from a city that didn't grow much of their own was bad enough, but if said thief had the uniform, that would make things worse, and he or she would be harder to track down. She only hoped that if the thief really was among the guard, that their position would ultimately give them a false sense of comfort and they became careless.

"Do you have any leads or suspicions?" she asked the man who was escorting her.

It seemed the other two weren't quite as polite, and her lip curled slightly at their lewd looks and noises. Back straight, shoulders square, and hands folded neatly in front of her, the redhead met their leering gazes with disapproval.

"My name is Abigaile, but you may call be Miss Evenridge." It was obvious by the slight cut of her tone that she was not pleased by this first impression, and she wasn't afraid to make that clear by answering the question they had directed at their colleague. "I have been sent by the library to assist in finding your thief. They felt it was appropriate to have a representative witness the investigation firsthand for the sake of complete and unbiased records."

These two men seemed as good a place as any to start her own analysis. Their minds clearly weren't completely on track, so it was possible that they would be easier to coax information out of. As she spoke to them, Abigaile searched the deeper parts of herself for the flutter of Djed, coaxing and stirring it slowly and carefully. The hardest part was giving it purpose and projecting it onto others. She guided the Djed she wanted to use toward her mouth and rolled it around on her tongue as if tasting wine.

It tingled with power as she fed it with a single task. It was a simple job, but at her skill it was all she could manage, nor was it guaranteed to root strongly in the minds of another. Its substance grew as her chilly introduction shifted into the important question.

"Do you have any suspicions, or information that will help us moving forward?" It was essentially the same question she'd asked the first guard. This one was directed to the one of the two who had actually spoken, asking about her. He had already shown himself to be more eager to flap his tongue, so he was her target. As the question left her lips, she wrapped it with the urge she had carefully knitted with her Djed. It was single sensation, and as strong as she could muster without taxing too much energy.

Answer honestly.

by **Net** on July 2nd, 2016, 4:25 pm

Tavia

The shorter one introduced himself as Malcolm Drumm, the taller one introduced himself as Eriksen Matts. Malcolm stuttered his way through his introduction with a twitch of his body as he spoke. Eriksen remained calm and collective, his demeanor and how he spoke told Tavia he was the one in charge here. So when Tavia asked her question it was Merchant Matts that replied, “We have reason to believe a transaction was written down mistakenly and have others at the Guild combing and reconciling our ledgers to receipts as we speak here. Rest assured we have found the issue to be remedied before the day is over.

Drumm could be heard muttering about numbers and sleepless nights and long hours. Nodding to emphasis what his taller companion had stated. “A—All true. H---H---he sp---spuh---spuh-eks... Speaks. He speaks true.” Drumm's hands wrung around themselves in a bit of nervous energy washed over him and he gulped loudly.

***
Abigaile

As she spoke to the man who was escorting her, asking him a serious question the guard, “Well there have been rumours or stories of another of our fellow guards staying in the barracks sick for some time, he claims bad fish.” He finished talking just as Abigaile turned her attention to the two guards before her and started speaking. Rory has taken his leave whilst she was speaking to them.

Her words tingled with djed yet as she ended her attempt on the guards she noticed her tongue felt oddly swollen and the minor taste of copper in her mouth. One of the guards spoke up, “Well, there is Chap, he has been staying in bed for the last few days. Claims his rationed fish was bad.”

The other remained silent for some time before he motioned at his face and spoke, “You... You seem to be bleeding a little there ma'am.”

He went quiet after speaking. It would seem that the guard that spoke up about Ab's bleeding knew nothing.

OOCSorry it took me so long to respond. Enjoy the post. It is kind of short. >.<

by **Tavia** on July 28th, 2016, 7:00 pm

The differences between the two merchants seem to exaggerate further the more Tavia observed and spoke to them. The taller of the two – Eriksen – was cool and detached, remaining purely professional whilst his shorter companion Malcolm twitched and jolted – perhaps with nerves. Interesting. Of course nerves alone did not indicate guilt, but it was something for Tavia to note at the back of her mind.

As she listened to Eriksen’s explanation, Tavia made sure to keep her attention on both men. It was multi-tasking on a level that she was still learning; she needed to follow his tale, notice any potential leads or conflicting information with what little details she already knew, observe both men visually, whilst also considering what to do next.

It took several ticks for Tavia speak when both men had finished talking, with Malcolm’s contribution being nothing but a stutter of a sentence in support of his colleague’s earlier deluge. According to Eriksen, the merchants’ ledger contained a simple mistake that explained the missing produce.

A reasonable explanation except for one component: the amount of food missing. For the shortage of food to attract the political attention it had, it would need to be a significant amount. Was it possible for a merchant to make such a grievous and large error? Though she had no idea what a merchant’s ledger included or even looked like, Tavia doubted that it was possible for professional to make such a blunder.

Nodding, hoping to keep up the rapport, Tavia carefully asked: “How and when is the ledger completed, and by whom? Is it a different individual each day, or the merchant in question who bought the food?” She concluded this question with a crooked smile that did not reach her eyes: Tavia was nothing but a hardened professional and smiling never came naturally to her.

Next, she turned to the Waveguard and asked in a low voice: “Is there any chance I could speak to the two merchants separately? Perhaps another room I could interview them in one-by-one?” She hoped so: with witnesses to any event, it was important to separate them lest any information be swapped. Malcolm certainly seemed to behaving in a completely different manner to his companion, and Tavia wanted to know why.

by **Net** on August 20th, 2016, 8:21 pm

“The ledger is completed daily. Each guild representative brings in their daily book which then gets recorded into our city ledger It is always the same senior merchant. We are not, however, at liberty to state whom that merchant is as that is a guarded guild position and giving out that person's name could result in such dire circumstances. Usually mistakes are noted during the day by the representative, that day was extremely busy and we always keep the sale records on file for such occasion. I was told this morn that the situation was being handled and should be rectified by nightfall.”

It would seem though that the Merchant was not willing to go into far depth with his answer beyond what he just had. However when Tavia had asked the guards to separate the two Malcolm fell to his knees and bubbled over with fear. “Oh the merchants guild is not guilty of this err. I hear it was a member of the wave guard. Th-- they took it within their greedy paws to exceed their rations and move forward. Go question them that we may get to do our job... Puh..lee..leease we are not guilty of anything more than an error we are fixing.” It was during this tirade that the Guard standing nearby swatted the fearful Merchant.

“I will not listen to your lies merchant.” He looked at Tavia and spoke, “You can speak with that one from behind bars of a cell.” And with those words the Guard lifted the merchant from the ground and dragged him away. This just left the one merchant with Tavia.

“I have spoken the truth with you. Please do your questioning elsewhere. I do believe your fellow interrogator as fled the Guards over there, I do suggest you ask them questions. My partner is needed correct in what he blabbered. I was afraid he would do such a thing and anger the guards.”

He sighed, “Now if you will excuse me, I will be heading off to remove the shackles of my fellow.” And Erikson started off.

OOCSorry for the wait Tavia, As Abigaile has not replied to my PM yet and it is beyond the waiting period I issued her we will be continuing this on together.

Quest Summer 80th 516 - Of Food and Men