[Haven] I See Chains

[Balthazar Black]

4 Cylus 721

"Mister Black!" A new but familiar voice called out as a young lad, no older than sixteen who had come to the island with his parents, entered Balthazar's tent. The majority of the settlement was still tent bound, it had only been one trial after all, but at least they had some form of shelter. Balthazar stood up from the cot he was laying on, projecting his senses to the area around him, and looked at the boy who sounded so much like Fuego. It had startled him the first time he spoke with the young man because he didn't think he'd ever hear a voice as high in tone coming from another being. The boy was one of the many people in the settlement who kept bringing news to Balthazar.

He'd been in Scalvoris for the end of Zi'da and spent most of that time quietly reconnecting with the people he knew in Scalvoris. So it was early into Cylus when he received a letter that threatened to pull him away from his settlement entirely. "What is it?" Balthazar asked as he slowly came to his feet. Sometimes it was disorienting to return to his body after a long time projecting but he was managing it well. Fuego sat, invisible to those who were not Fire Forged, just beneath the cot Balthazar had been on and he was watching the young boy with suspicious eyes. Fuego did not like him.

"A letter arrived from Almund about inquiry you made." The boy named Eric replied a littler nervously as he held the letter out to the mutated figure before him. The mutations bothered some people more than others so Balthazar tried to keep them hidden most of the time, but when he was in his tent it slipped his mind. He took a deep breath and reached inward to soothe his Rupturing spark, causing the etheric cracks on his hands and face to fade away. He didn't look normal but he looked much more so than he had moments before.

"Who delivered it?" Balthazar asked as he began to open the envelope. He pulled out a black and white paper and as soon as he began to read, he remembered exactly what inquiry the boy was talking about. He'd been looking through the bounties posted near the Element Hall to see what, if anything, slipped through the cracks and when he discovered rumors about a slave ring operating in Scalvoris. He asked a few of the other troops but they didn't seem to think anything of it. Balthazar seemed more concerned than the people he spoke to but he'd been there and seen the resort's "workers." He knew something was wrong and he'd been gone for a while so it had probably only gotten worse.

So he reached out to other people he knew. There were a decent number of criminals in Almund that Balthazar let get away with plenty of crimes that didn't hurt people. He was hoping one of them would tell him something. If not one of them, then one of the girls at Nellies who he'd helped. Someone, anyone. He put out the question and got a letter back.

So he read it.

[Balthazar Black]

4 Cylus 721

Balthazar did not like the report that he received in the letter. He dismissed the boy, Eric, and sat back down on the cot in his otherwise empty tent. Well, not bare empty. It was the sort of empty that a cupboard was when you opened it and didn't see what you were looking for. Balthazar had a nicer tent than some of the others but only because he'd reshaped the ground beneath it to give himself a small table and some stumps for his guests to sit on when visiting. He'd decided the night prior, or perhaps the morning of the 4th, when he was meeting with the guards, that his tent needed chairs if it was to host meetings. Yet despite having perfectly pleasant sand hardened into a stump, he sat back down on his cot while his special eyes traced over the information he'd been given again.

What is it? Fuego asked from beneath the cot while he craned his little body out so he could look up at Balthazar and the letter in his hand. He grimaced and filed the letter, setting it beside him on the cot before taking a deep breath and looking down at the burning rock.

"It is what we feared." Balthazar admit to the diri in the privacy of his tent, "The resort's method of employment has spread." Fuego gave Balthazar a confused look and the mage sighed. "Slavery."

The letter has proof? Fuego asked as the fire around him began to burn a little brighter and he floated up onto the cot where Balthazar had set the letter. Balthazar reached over and unfolded it so his diri could have a look while the mage's gaze shifted out towards the flaps of his tent. He could see the settlers working in the dark of the Cylus trial to make this place a home.

"No, of course not." Balthazar said sadly, "If it did, I'd just send it to Rand and let him resolve the issue."

No you wouldn't.

"No, I wouldn't." Balthazar admit as quickly as the diri called him on it. He would take the issue to the Council, not Rand. He wanted the credit for the work, not the Militant... but credit was not worth the lives of the slaves being sold. If Rand could solve the issue before Balthazar then it was the mage's duty to turn over the information... but he did not think Rand would be able to solve it first. Still... duty. "I'll send a copy to Marcus, the Flame Deputy, and then I'll keep investigating. He can decide if it is worth Rand's time or not." If Marcus did not see what Balthazar saw, the mage would have been forced to pursue the case on his own regardless.The mage stood up from his cot and picked up the letter once Fuego was done reading it. "I'm going to tell Silk, Balder, and Ronan about what is happening, then I'll probably go with the next ship back to Scalvoris Town to get supplies. I'll look into the case more once I'm there." And Balthazar left to do just that.

[Balthazar Black]

4 Cylus 721

The whole of the settlement was gathered on the beach to watch Balthazar and a few of their number depart for more supplies. They'd offloaded all the wood they brought with them and would carry it back to begin building while a small number of them, including their would-be leader, went off to get more goods. Hopefully within two, maybe three trials they would have some decent housing built but they did not have enough wood for everyone. The majority of the settlement would remain tent bound until the ship returned with more building supplies.

"I don't like this idea." Silk asserted beside Balthazar as they and enough settlers to work the ship began pushing it through the sand, back into the water. It was Balthazar who was doing all the real work but coaxing the sand to help push the ship but the settlers felt stronger as a result. Once the ship was in the water, the crew quickly began climbing up the sides. Silk had seem opposed to Balthazar leaving since the outset but he wasn't sure if it was because she wanted the mage around or because she did not believe what he'd said about the slave ring. "The sand was a start but the people need you around to manage the fires. Some of the settlers are going to get sick and-"

"The ship will be back within two trials and it will have the rest of what we need to build more lasting houses. I'll be back just a little bit after that with Tornado." Balthazar explained to Silk again, hoping that it might alleviate some of her discomfort. "I've already attuned to the settlement, I'll check in every few breaks and if you need anything, it's a half-trials flight back." He could watch the whole group of tents with his projection and assess needs as he went.

"And in that half trial we could very well be slaughtered. We still don't know what's out in the Badlands." Ronan interrupted with another valid point that troubled Balthazar a little. He had thought about the Badlands a lot since they set up their tents because one way or another, they needed to go through it. The garden was a beautiful place but it was cut off from the rest of the island by the Badlands as far as Balthazar could tell. Sure, they could take the ship around the island and dock somewhere else but in terms of travel by land, they had limited options. If something came from that place and attacked them, they could only retreat back into the garden or the sea.

"Ah you two are being cowards, we can keep any beasties from hurting the soft ones." Balder said, showing a little confidence that the others seemed to be lacking. Balthazar gestured towards Balder as if suggesting the other two needed to adopt his attitude and then he pat Balder on the back.

"I will return quickly and I will bring us a solution to the cold." Be it materials to build houses, alternative warmth, or something else. "For now put all the focus into building one house and keep the older and weaker refugees there. If we have enough materials left over, build another and follow the same pattern. If anyone is comfortable in their tent, they can stay in their tent until we have more wood."

"Couldn't you just magic us up some shelter?" Ronan asked, "How hard is it to make four walls and a ceiling?"

"I can't do that for the same reason we need craftsmen to build the houses in the first place. It would collapse." The trio nodded in somewhat reluctant agreement, except for Balder who seemed excited, and Balthazar stepped backwards through a loud flaming portal onto the deck of the ship that was beginning to drift away from the shore. "I'll be back."

And the portal burned shut.

!

Message from: Peg

The letter has no links to the Faldrass slaves or the resort. There is a very definite rumour that there are going to be slaves for sale - and soon. Intelligence reports though are all second-hand. The letter says that there is a feeling - a sense - that there is a new player in town (Almund especially) who is going to be setting up something big. All that Balth's contacts have been able to find so far - or all that they're prepared to write about, at the very least - is that there's a sense of that. The name Sparrow (The Sparrow? Mr Sparrow? No one knows) has been used. In order to progress: You will need to question specific people. You can write as many threads regarding this as you like, of course - and dead ends / false leads are fine! Certainly - either most people don't know, or they really aren't telling. The ways to get more information are: 1. Speak to previous contacts who are shady enough to really be "in the know" about really dodgy stuff. If you do this then please do the initial post and link in it any and all previous threads where you have spoken to them directly, so I can get a sense of how much they'll know. It may be that you'll need to write them up as a City NPC 2. Go to an information broker - if you know one. 3. Build up a relationship with a shady person (again, shady enough to be really in the know about very dodgy dealings). This might be an existing NPC or it might be a new City NPC you create. Let me know if you've got any questions! Also! Any reports etc you send - please post them here as the new place for Council letters etc.

[Jackalope]

Experience: +10 xp

Knowledge:

Intelligence - A loyal populace is a valuable information resource.
Leadership - Leaving your people with orders in case something bad happens
Leadership - Quelling the doubts in others despite your own.
Logistics - Planning a short trip to maximize your work time

Non-skill:
[Haven Settlement]- Is a loyal center of information

Loot: A letter outlining rumors about slave trading activity centered in Almund.

Skillplay: Appropriate to level.

Comments: Fuego understands Balthazar better than he understands himself. :p

I enjoyed the way you brought out the distinct personalities of the various flavor NPCs in this thread, and not just with colored fonts. It will make future meetings interesting. It was interesting to read this already knowing how the investigation ends up.

Balthazar sounds like something of a micro-manager who doesn’t think the settlers can so much as tie their shoelaces without his help. It will be interesting what sort of situation he returns to after his captivity and trial, and what, if anything, he learns from that experience.

I felt that “Haven settlement is a loyal center of information” sounded more like a non-skill specific observation. I substituted “Intelligence - A loyal populace is a valuable information resource,” while giving the original knowledge request as a non-skill.

Let me know if you have any questions. Enjoy your rewards.