Wan City General Roleplay

[LukeYB]

The scene had played out to an amused audience. Shoppers and travellers had stopped to observe the effects of law in action and many sniggered at the antics of the gruff trouble-maker. Wai Be had watched on, stationary, and so became plainly aware of his motionlessness when addressed by Li Jun. He recovered his demeanour and cleared his throat, stepping away from the crowd that was slowly beginning to disperse now the day's entertainment was seemingly over.

"No, no, Captain Li, it is I who should be thanking you. I foolishly expected to be able to mediate a discussion between two dissatisfied parties but found myself wanting. It's a shame to see such uncivil behaviour has returned to the streets, echoing that which we saw during the misery of the Yellow Turbans." He solemnly shook his head but continued on with an inkling of a smile. "I must commend you and your men for handling the situation well but, if I may?" He discreetly stepped forward so that he could speak to Li Jun in a lower tone only she could hear. "I wouldn't be entirely surprised if what that brute was saying was true. That trader has caused me problems in the past."

[King Tao]

Kung Huang had been busy going over his various notes and ledgers that he had kept over the last four years when he heard a knock at the door to his room. "Not now, I'm busy!" He shouted with quite a bit of irritation in his voice. He knew the information he needed was somewhere, but his shoddy bookkeeping and the fact that he had rushed himself to pack 'only the essentials' made it so that he had lost the book somewhere. Once more he heard a knock at the door and so in a fit of anger, the young civic official stormed over to the door and swung it open and shouted, "What?!"

Standing on the other side of the door was a young woman, only two years younger than Huang, holding a letter in her hand. "Sir, a letter has arrived for you." She dutifully responded as she held it forward for Huang to take. As he did so, the young woman walked into the room and began picking up the scattered books and flipped chairs. She walked over to the half-packed bag on the desk and began unpacking everything and then neatly folding each item and repacking it.

Huang crumbled up the letter and was about to toss it across the room but thought better of it. "Zhu Li!" He shouted loudly, not even bothering to look at the lady. "Pack everything! Until we find that red book," he used his hands to approximate the size of the rather small book he was looking for, "Everything gets brought along!" Huang walked over to the door and grabbed a long dark blue cloak and tossed it over his pale blue civic robes and left the room. "Now remember, Zhu Li," Huang began as he traveled down the hallway towards the exit of his home, "We need to get someone on our side, we must be preserved and protected. I'm a valuable man, you know. I have a whole network of people relying upon me. I have..." Huang paused and looked around and found himself alone and muttered, "I have been talking to myself." He rushed back to the office he had left and shouted at the young woman inside, "Zhu Li! Quit messing around, we have places to go!"

The young woman sighed to herself and placed the books she had been gathering down on the desk in a neat stack and followed Huang out of the room and out of the house and into the streets. Once out on the streets, Huang began dictating to Zhu Li, "Now remember, our goal here is singular; survival. We deal with anyone and everyone, especially if they have coin or a means to escape the rebels." It wasn't too long before the duo arrived outside the Jia Estate and Huang announced to the guards, "Tell Jia Zhou that Kung Huang is here! Also, his assistant." Huang glanced back at Zhu Li and saw she had none of his things and so he dropped his shoulders dramatically and asked her, "Zhu Li! Where's all my stuff?!" He didn't wait for a response and just held up his hand and said, "Forget about it, we're already here." He straightened up his posture and began muttering under his breath, "What use is a personal assistant when they forget everything and need to be led around like a dog?" He glanced over at Zhu Li and said to her, "Straighten up your posture, no need to slouch when we're meeting important people, Zhu Li. That's rude, we don't act rude in public."

((RP for Xe in the right thread this time!))

[matheusbrc]

As they both inspected the wares of a stall, Bai Zheng commented, "It is nice to see someone else who is not in a panic."

"Indeed it is. All this emotional turmoil is like a rough sea. Sometimes It's unpleasant."

Ju-long didn't look to the man, answering as if he and the man had already been introduced. He kept talking as he walked, analyzing the products on the stalls.

"But I understand it. People aren't taught to deal with such situations. We tend to run out of control in the face of the unknown."

He stopped. This time, he said looking to the man, with curiosity in his voice.

"But why are you not in panic?"

[Xe of Greed]

((RP for Xe in the right thread this time!))

A young man stood guard outside the gate to the meager Jia estate, clad in poor leather and wielding only a spear. He looked quite apprehensive as Kung Huang and Zhu Li approached, as if the poor boy expected them to attack him. After Kung had spoken, though, the boy let out a sigh of relief, before his face changed to confusion. "Er, Master Jia Zhou is dead." The boy grimaced, as if afraid the news would invite physical retaliation. He quickly relaxed again when he realized he wasn't in any actual danger. "The new master is Jia Liang. He's, er, off at council." The guards eyes swept over both visitors. "But, uh, you can probably wait for him inside."

He quickly moved to the gate, shuffling it open and ushering both of them inside. The estate grounds were mediocre, with only a lush garden really standing out. The boy led them into the house itself, leaving them quickly to return to his place at the gate. The insides the small manor were sparsely decorated, lending to the home's poor aesthetic. Clearly the family either had poor decorators or simply didn't care for opulence. As the two waited, they could hear hushed voices further in.

[King Tao]

A lot of stuff about humility

"Zhu Li, why didn't you update the list of family patriarchs?!" Huang shouted after being informed he was working on new information. He waved his hand as his assistant was about to answer him and said, "Nevermind that, we'll discuss this and all the other misinformation at home in private. Its rude to display ignorance in public, Zhu Li." Huang and Zhu Li followed the young guard into the house and Huang pointed at the lack of statues or impressive monuments within the estate grounds and said to Zhu Li, "See, Zhu Li? Its nice and open, hard for rebels to hide in the open! Hard for anyone to hide in the open!" Once inside, Huang looked around and nodded his head as he took it all in, all the lack of decor and all the supposed humility. Waving his arms around, Huang announced to Zhu Li, "Breathe it in, Zhu Li! All this terrible decor! Allow it to sour your lungs, it is essential we bring the decorations from the house here! I can't work in such a plain looking place! I need to impress! I need to stand out!"

"Yes, sir." Zhu Li dutifully replied as she began writing down some more of Huang's ramblings in her own light green notebook.

"Remember, bring only the essentials!" Huang announced, oblivious to the voices further into the house, "And remember it is essential to make this place really pop and stand out! Everything must be perfect!"

[Dong Zhou]

The scene had played out to an amused audience. Shoppers and travellers had stopped to observe the effects of law in action and many sniggered at the antics of the gruff trouble-maker. Wai Be had watched on, stationary, and so became plainly aware of his motionlessness when addressed by Li Jun. He recovered his demeanour and cleared his throat, stepping away from the crowd that was slowly beginning to disperse now the day's entertainment was seemingly over.

"No, no, Captain Li, it is I who should be thanking you. I foolishly expected to be able to mediate a discussion between two dissatisfied parties but found myself wanting. It's a shame to see such uncivil behaviour has returned to the streets, echoing that which we saw during the misery of the Yellow Turbans." He solemnly shook his head but continued on with an inkling of a smile. "I must commend you and your men for handling the situation well but, if I may?" He discreetly stepped forward so that he could speak to Li Jun in a lower tone only she could hear. "I wouldn't be entirely surprised if what that brute was saying was true. That trader has caused me problems in the past."

Li Jun would have shrugged if she had the breath, she was still feeling the worst of the effects a big man landing on top would have on anyone.

"Does one expect different? There is no authority here, fear spreads and tempers rise, people start taking short-cuts with the law. We get a leader and start getting an army together, things will get better. Till then? I get men on top of me."

The captain kept her eyes firmly on the ground, making sure she was not looking at the merchants as she considers Wei's bad tidings. whispering back. She also began to look a little embarrassed

"I can test the waters and see if his nervous little merchant reveals his own crimes but I may need you to look at the books Minister when I get them. I do not have... the head for numbers to spot anything odd in them. Will you help me?"

[In Ferro Veritas]

[Open]

In his youth, when the world was young and everything made some small degree of sense, Shi Jie was a dashing man with great teeth, a perfect smile, and a master of the persuasive arts. To say he had luck with the ladies was to sell short the fact that a quarter of the city was probably his descendant either by blood or marriage. Having gone through seven wives, the last of whom was buried in a snow flurry a decade past, would do that.

That's not to mention the... less savory sorts of which the young and dumb Shi Jie made his acquaintance.

But Shi Jie's youth was several emperors ago, back when loyalty to the Han meant something. Back when his vast herd of horses made him the principal source of new steeds (the good ones, anyway!) in the province; back when it was uphill both ways to the market and prone to flash floods besides! But today he was just a tired old man, down on his luck and weary at all the nonsense that had happened in the past three decades. Of course, "down on his luck" still meant "possessed of great wealth," and it showed in the finery the old man wore; it was a wonder he could even stand up (mostly) straight in all the cloth and bits of precious metal. In fact, if he had decided to wear a single additional gold ring to the city today, Shi Jie's fashion would have ceased to be "fashionable" and crossed into the territory of "gaudy."

As he made his way through the city, seated in a bamboo chair carried on the back of the great-grandson of his very first retainer, Shi Jie found that he was concerned. Concerned that seven decades and change had passed, and yet he had left no physical mark upon the landscape (excepting his once-vast and now merely significant wealth and the mounds and mounds of horse excrement it represented). What Shi Jie wanted -- what he needed was some sort of monument to his memory.

Cousin Tie would no doubt have called it vanity, but Cousin Tie died four decades past. And those four decades had been some of the quietest, best decades of Shi Jie's life. So Cousin Tie could take his objections and stuff them right down his fat face.

"Cousin Jie," Shi Jie said, addressing what was probably the seventieth person to share his name in the vast and innumerable horde that was the Shi Clan of Jingzhou, "let us pay a visit to Cousin Min."

"Shi," Cousin Jie said.

And so it was, perched upon Cousin Jie's back like a bird of prey, that Shi Jie found himself standing before what had once been Cousin Min's shop. Once been because the building no longer existed. It looked for all the world like an angry spirit and reached down, scooped up the building, and carried it off into the unknowable distance west of Zhongguo. All that was left behind was an empty plot, ringed by a simple wooden face.

Shi Jie scratched his head, wondering when all this had happened. Did Cousin Min die? Did none of his vast network of friends and relations see fit to indicate to the patron of the clan that this was the case? Did he himself banish Cousin Min and divest the man of his property? There was something in that that sounded vaguely correct. An argument over a horse gone to stud, perhaps? My, but memory was such a fickle thing. It was like navigating through fog with a burning brand in one hand and a rabid fox in the other.

[Xu Yuan]

In Ferro Veritas

It was the day after the council to decide the Magistrate of Wan and already the streets seemed filled with talk of the Captain. "They say Fu Zhi has even given his word to support Captain Liu." Said a young woman as she gossiped with her brother, who responded; "You mean the son of Minister Fu? I had thought he would stay the side of the ministers, that being with Minister Jia." The young woman spoke excitedly; "Not just he, but the good Minister Wai also..." Their voices faded as they saw the carriage of the elder and gave a hurried bow towards him. He smiled at the siblings as he rode by. It was beginning to permeate across the city. The Captain had written back to a worried Cai Bin, that though the situation is not settled, there is now a rallying for various causes and an alertness to defend Wan. The stagnation has ended. He smiled happily as he continued his carriage ride. So far many of the people he had passed spoke the same things on their lips, an end to the crisis and determination to save Wan.

As he rode through the city for the express purpose of hearing what was on the people's minds, he noticed a familiar and unmistakable sight. It was a man from Cai Bin's younger days, he ordered the carriage stopped as he gathered his thoughts. A nobleman... Shi Clan, dealings of... of course! He was the main provider of the horses to the army of not just Wan, but of all of Jingzhou! But that was... Cai Bin looked up in confusion, while a sad look played on his well preserved face. "Thirty years ago..." He said in a quiet voice. One thing he distinctly recalled was that this man was even his elder, it did not seem as if the Heavens had been as kind to his features as they were to Cai Bin's. Then again Cai Bin had heard that this man was an embodiment of greed and lust, however the man was his elder and it would be rude if he did not greet him, not to mention such a powerful clan was not yet represented in the last administration as far as could recall.

"Venerable Lord Shi!" He called out to the horse merchant in a deep tone with a forced smile on his face. Grabbing his cane, he left the carriage slowly and carefully as he hobbled to whom was an old business partner through several administrations, but he hadn't seen him in such a long time.

As he approached his elder he bowed respectfully, his deep tone resonating with a friendly mirth. "Many years have passed Lord Shi." He rose from his bow, bones cracking in the process. "I see you are one of the few of Wan to have retained your wealth when the last Magistrate fled with all the taels he could gather from his subjects, i am glad to hear of it." He judged this by the ridiculously fancy outfits the man always wore, that same "style" was present on the man today. "I am pleased to see you spry and about the town. Tell me, have you been well? What brings you out here on a day as auspicious as this?"

[LukeYB]

Li Jun would have shrugged if she had the breath, she was still feeling the worst of the effects a big man landing on top would have on anyone.

"Does one expect different? There is no authority here, fear spreads and tempers rise, people start taking short-cuts with the law. We get a leader and start getting an army together, things will get better. Till then? I get men on top of me."

The captain kept her eyes firmly on the ground, making sure she was not looking at the merchants as she considers Wei's bad tidings. whispering back. She also began to look a little embarrassed

"I can test the waters and see if his nervous little merchant reveals his own crimes but I may need you to look at the books Minister when I get them. I do not have... the head for numbers to spot anything odd in them. Will you help me?"

Be, as straight-faced as ever, didn't portray the happiness he felt for an opporunity like this. "Of course, I'd be honoured if my humble skills can aid the guard in their duties. I couldn't imagine a finer example of the two sides of this city working in harmony to stamp out the pests in our systems." He stopped himself rambling and put on his serious (metaphorical) hat. Stepping forward to be alongside the lady, he tried to remember anything he had learned about interrogation or investigation during his time in the company of more experienced men.

[In Ferro Veritas]

Xu Yuan

Empires rose and fell in the time it took Shi Jie to ponderously shuffle his feet until he turned sufficiently far enough to regard whoever had shouted his name. But one did not grow to a ripe old age without patience; Shi Jie scarcely blinked as time passed. And when he had finished his maneuver, at a speed which even the very ground itself might not find too swift, the old man was unimpressed.

Cai Bin? Shi Jie had stared eternity in the face and won, only to be rewarded with some blasted Cai? Was this some sort of cosmic jest?

"Of course I retained my wealth!" Jie said, shaking his bamboo staff in a gold-encrusted, white-knuckled grip. "Who do you think sold that fat-headed magistrate his horses? He wouldn't be able to tell a bit from a bridle if you lit a fire under his ample flank and called him the unwelcome child of a union between a Szechuan farmhand and a Xiongyu mare!"

As if to punctuate his shouting, Shi Jie's bamboo staff thundered into the ground again, carrying with it all the vigor of a spurned demigod. "And you, Cai, need not play the fool! You know exactly -- no, precisely -- what brings me here on this auspicious day!"

All at once the wind went out of the old man's sails, the next sentence swallowed whole by the mists of time. "And don't give me that coy title, Cai," the old man continued, fully intent on hiding behind a slightly subdued bluster. "I am no lord and make no pretensions of such. Lords in this wretched day and age tend to wind up dead and I fully intend to live until the sun rises in the west and sets on my doorstep. But we've done this dance before, haven't we?" Jie had no earthly idea if that was the case or not, but decided to bet on it being the case; they were both too old to not go over these same topics again and again. "You just want to avoid being challenged to another week-long day of Go." Jie wagged a finger at Cai as if he had caught a great-grandchild sneaking snacks before dinner. "I'm on to you, Cai."

[Xu Yuan]

Xu Yuan

Empires rose and fell in the time it took Shi Jie to ponderously shuffle his feet until he turned sufficiently far enough to regard whoever had shouted his name. But one did not grow to a ripe old age without patience; Shi Jie scarcely blinked as time passed. And when he had finished his maneuver, at a speed which even the very ground itself might not find too swift, the old man was unimpressed.

Cai Bin? Shi Jie had stared eternity in the face and won, only to be rewarded with some blasted Cai? Was this some sort of cosmic jest?

"Of course I retained my wealth!" Jie said, shaking his bamboo staff in a gold-encrusted, white-knuckled grip. "Who do you think sold that fat-headed magistrate his horses? He wouldn't be able to tell a bit from a bridle if you lit a fire under his ample flank and called him the unwelcome child of a union between a Szechuan farmhand and a Xiongyu mare!"

As if to punctuate his shouting, Shi Jie's bamboo staff thundered into the ground again, carrying with it all the vigor of a spurned demigod. "And you, Cai, need not play the fool! You know exactly -- no, precisely -- what brings me here on this auspicious day!"

All at once the wind went out of the old man's sails, the next sentence swallowed whole by the mists of time. "And don't give me that coy title, Cai," the old man continued, fully intent on hiding behind a slightly subdued bluster. "I am no lord and make no pretensions of such. Lords in this wretched day and age tend to wind up dead and I fully intend to live until the sun rises in the west and sets on my doorstep. But we've done this dance before, haven't we?" Jie had no earthly idea if that was the case or not, but decided to bet on it being the case; they were both too old to not go over these same topics again and again. "You just want to avoid being challenged to another week-long day of Go." Jie wagged a finger at Cai as if he had caught a great-grandchild sneaking snacks before dinner. "I'm on to you, Cai."

He had forgotten much of the man's antics, or was this brought on by old age? When Cai Bin was a boy, his mother had always told him age brought wisdom. To him, that did appear to be the case for his own growth, but has this man changed a whit since thirty years ago? Cai Bin tapped at his head as he tried to gather some... memory something about this man that seemed different from the man before him. He recalled an efficient, shrewd, and ruthless business man who knew how to get the most gold from the administration, despite the best efforts of the trade officials. Was this really the same man? Or perhaps it was an act? He had heard of geniuses acting as fools in the past.

Cai Bin nodded his head in understanding, rubbing his white bearded chin, at least it revealed another piece of the puzzle. The old Merchant Lord had secured the means of the Magistrate's escape. If he took the old man at face value. It technically wasn't against the law, he was aiding the rightful leader and if the Magistrate had fed him the same lie that he apparently told many of the other now disenfranchised nobles that he was headed to gain the assistance of Luo Yang, than he is guiltless. To this point he responded; "Do you believe the Magistrate went to Luo Yang to send help as he claimed to others, Elder Shi?"

In hearing the moniker of 'Lord' refused, an amused smile showed on Cai Bin's face. "I apologize then Elder." He listened to the old man. A slight memory seemed to hit at the back of his head. Yes, they did have this conversation before when both were younger men and it caused the same row, which caused Cai Bin to laugh aloud. As if nothing had changed in all that time, for a moment Cai Bin was a fresh exile from Luo Yang who used his family's modest fortune to work his way into the government of Wan, avoiding the Imperial ban on the partisans of Liang Ji, even years after the fact, there he stood in a crisp silk robe, a less worn cap, and the mirth and ideals of youth standing across from a charming man who impressed all with his decor and fashion. Than the the amusement wore off, and suddenly they were both old and feeble men again. A nostalgic grin shined on the old man's well preserved features. "Ah, to play Go again. In truth I have not touched the game in..." He tried to recall the last time he played, was it with his teenage son or grand daughter years and years ago? "Ages." He had been preoccupied with building his estate and assuring his family's position ever since he returned to Wan after the Yellow Turban Rebellion, forgetting the people, forgetting his duty. No time for frivolities, no time for family...

The grin faded as there was a poignancy in the man's words and it caused Cai Bin to look to the sky as he ruminated. "You are right Elder. Men who call themselves 'Lords' in this day and age tend to fall before their allotted time." Lowering his head to again look at Shi Jie he lightly rubbed his arm as if suddenly uncomfortable. "Do you recall the peace and order of our youth and adulthood Elder Shi? How did it come to this, do you think Elder Shi? When did All Under Heaven slip through man's fingers, and why? Rebels march on Luo Yang and they stand no more than several days South of here. The chaos in the Capital prior to this uprising does not help matters in any means. Who caused this?" It was a rhetorical set of questions, but the elder (but not as elderly as Shi Jie) was in a nostalgic mindset. As a man who pieced history together through a sequence of cycles, where did these current events lie in that circle?

[Xe of Greed]

We get it, you like legend of Korra

The conversation in the distance ended suddenly, not that Kung Huang would have noticed, given his aforementioned obliviousness. A girl entered the hallway the ranting lunatic and his assistant occupied, gazing warily at the intruders. She was below average height, obviously young, with long black hair. Upon any inspection, it becomes obvious there is cloth covering her left eye, through the hair pulled over that part of her face. She stared at the duo, face blank, before speaking.

"If you've come to loot the place, you'll be sorely disappointed."

[Vartonn]

Jia estate, the Morning of Many Magistrates

The conversation in the distance ended suddenly, not that Kung Huang would have noticed, given his aforementioned obliviousness. A girl entered the hallway the ranting lunatic and his assistant occupied, gazing warily at the intruders. She was below average height, obviously young, with long black hair. Upon any inspection, it becomes obvious there is cloth covering her left eye, through the hair pulled over that part of her face. She stared at the duo, face blank, before speaking. "If you've come to loot the place, you'll be sorely disappointed."

Soon after, a large man with a strong beard emerged from the same room as the girl. His sizable gut and big smile betrayed a joviality rarely seen in such dark times. He wore plains robes and his hair was only tied into a bun by a simple cyan ribbon. He adjusted his sash with an air of seriousness that hardly fit him and mused about the newcomers out loud. "I've not seen them in prison before, maybe they're new the whole crime thing." He took a step toward Kung Huang and Zhu Li and took a patronizing tone, like a teacher scolding a student. "If you wish to succeed, you oughta pick wealthier homes, it is well known that the more wealth one has, the easier it is for brigands to take it!" He turned to wink at his niece, signaling to play along with what might just be the worst ruse under heaven.


[Open RP] - Lady Pu Cele's Pub, the Morning after the Morning of Many Magistrates

The stocky man had been visibly appalled at his proclamation going unanswered. He had repeated himself quite a few times to make sure his speech wouldn't be misunderstood. However, disappointment and fatigue turned to anger when he realized that Liu Shentong and his associate had sent black capped men to indirectly ignore him to his face. He stomped his foot on the crate he had used as a makeshift podium. "When the rebels come, will Liu Shentong hide behind a paper shield like he does now?", he cried out in anger and stomped his foot again, breaking the crate in the process. There was something incredibly comical about the pudgy fat man in polished armor falling face-first into the dust. The humiliation sobered him up, so he skulked away towards the alehouse, grumbling about caps and robes

The stout middle-aged guard had salvaged a bit of his dignity by dusting himself off on his way to the alehouse. Word of his spectacular failure had certainly reached the ears of the regulars already. It is said that some mystics could divine the future from the pattern of tea leaves at the bottom of a cup; Pu Cele's tavern mystics, on the other hand, could divine rumors before they even spread so long as the maid kept the wine flowing. And the wine always flowed at Pu Cele's, even during shortages and droughts. The guard, the mystic and the drunkard in Jia Chun preferred not knowing how such a thing was even possible.

At the tavern the humbled man in armor seated himself alone at the counter and ordered cheap wine. By avoiding his friends and the regulars, he would not be needlessly exposing himself to ridicule. Morever, whoever dared approach the fuming 240 pounds of muscle and fat would be sure to provide earnest comfort, or a good excuse to have their face punched in. Either outcome suited the pot-bellied guard.

[Dong Zhou]

Be, as straight-faced as ever, didn't portray the happiness he felt for an opporunity like this. "Of course, I'd be honoured if my humble skills can aid the guard in their duties. I couldn't imagine a finer example of the two sides of this city working in harmony to stamp out the pests in our systems." He stopped himself rambling and put on his serious (metaphorical) hat. Stepping forward to be alongside the lady, he tried to remember anything he had learned about interrogation or investigation during his time in the company of more experienced men.

Li Jun was not sure if Be was over excited or one of those official type nobles who spoke in such rambling style. Still, having someone who could speak like that could sometimes be useful and charm a merchant who might not be too keen on guards. Merchants needed guards, they didn't have to like them. Still, charm was the way to start...

She turned to the merchant with her face the very picture of concern for the poor poor man, her voice full of honey.

"I'm afraid good sir that due to the allegations thrown, I need access to your books and to have a look at your stall. With you reputation for honesty and obeying the law, I'm sure nothing is wrong but I need to tell the guard captains that I was able to clear you and that the hot-head was just making things up. I'm sure that won't be a problem for you."

Already Li Jun was making your way to check his stall and his wares as if the idea of his refusing had never entered her head.

[LukeYB]

The merchant, who had only just recovered from his ordeal, slipped back into a quivering, sweaty wreck. If it wasn't ruffians he didn't like talking to, it was guards (or his wife... or his wife's mother... or his mother...).

"um... yes... um... is that really necces... no, of course of course..." His eyes flittered between the Guard Captain and his stall. Wai Be had moved forward with Jun and had also switched his focus from the man to his wares. "Some nice things here," he thought, a little surprised, as he rooted through the various knick-knacks. Finally, when feeling through the assortment of drinking vessels, he spied some paperwork and, presumably, the day's takings.

"Here we go," said Be, more to himself than anything, and he began shuffling through the papers, scanning for any obvious indiscrepancies. "I'm sorry Captain," he mumbled, "this could take an afternoon to examine properly, who knows how clever s-... hold on a minute!" He began very visibly counting through the gold and other coins, finishing with aplomb. "Yes! Yes right here, this morning, it doesn't add up. In fact, it seems our big and loud friend really did give him the required gold for three flagons!" An exuberant victory! The minister, not used to these dealings, pointed his finger solely at the merchant. It was unnessecary, if flamboyant.

Meanwhile, an abnormally audible gulp escaped the withered merchant.