#Lore24 – Entry #143 – Muckenmyre Month #22 – Grimbridge Justice
From the journal of Takara, Slave Inquisitor of the Stellae Illustris, Town Marshal of Grimbridge.
Though I thought it too light a sentence for allowing myself to get into such a state, Satella deemed that not curing my hangover and letting me deal with the consequences an entirely adequate punishment, though it was one I would not suffer alone, for she too imbibed too much that day.
I was late to rise that morning, and by the time I had managed to get myself ready for the day, it was already mid-morning, and the town was already hard at work on deciding the fate of our prisoners. The twins were still pilloried outside the jail, though wearing some foul-smelling mixture of swamp mud, rotten fruits and vegetables, and other substances I could not immediately identify. They gnawed at their bits in an almost frantic state, shaking and jerking at their restraints as I approached them, fear in their eyes. I paused then, watching their reaction, considering that perhaps my methods were far too harsh for this land. Then I thought of what destruction the pair could have caused in town, how easily they had thrown in with bandits, and how they had so casually tried to open an unknown portal in the hold keep and decided that my punishments for them were perhaps not enough.
I sought the mayor and the constable then, finding them with the town council and several of the town guard, recording statements from the merchant caravan and the prisoners we had freed. They were bringing in the bandits one at a time, trying to get information out of them, but their resolve to keep their mouths shut seemed to have been bolstered by the confidence of their leader now that he’d had a chance to recover from the fight. I watched proceedings for a time, eventually getting called for my statement on the matter, which I gladly related with due diligence on the details, though perhaps I was a bit too thorough for this particular region? I simply gave reports as I usually did, with all the details I had been trained to convey to my masters, but kept getting prompted to speed things along.
Eventually, once the morning’s procedures had closed, I offered my services as an interrogator to the town, to pry any remaining information from the bandits regarding additional forces, other hideouts, their plot with the noble girl, whatever else I could get from them. Though Mayor Pleasence may have suspected the things I knew, and perhaps others as well, given the commonalities I shared with Satella, confirming what I am to them now revealed some apprehension on several faces. Nonetheless, I offered to perform what must be done, and likewise offered the promise that no permanent damage would be incurred upon the brigands, if that was what concerned them. I likewise offered to punish the criminals for their deeds, consistent with town law, if others did not wish to do so themselves; my hands were stained with enough blood, a little more would not matter, and it was for the public good.
Though their discussion lasted some time, it was eventually decided to allow me to proceed. Satella had shown up by now, though remained silent, though encouraging. I began the process by entering the jail with the jeering prisoners, allowing them their moment of bravado, before I picked one of the lesser thugs at random and had him hauled out to an accompanying room, well within earshot of the others. I’ll spare the details of my methods here but to say that the bandit screamed for some time, and when he was returned to the cell, on the edge of consciousness and a quivering mess, not a mark upon him, the others were much cowed. I stared down Jaggedtusk now, quickly forcing him to turn away, his own confidence now in doubt. I picked another bandit, the second largest of them after their leader, and began to question him. He was quite eager to speak to me of their intentions, and it took little prompting to get the answers we sought. Once I had the information, I related to him the fate he had avoided by being so cooperative, in excruciating detail, with the promise that it could still happen if he revealed what we had spoken of to his companions. He was shaking and in tears when they brought him back to cell, and absolutely refused to speak.
The fear within the jail rose significantly.
The next time I entered, I chose Jaggedtusk himself. Though he tried to put on a strong front, I could see his nervousness clearly. Once the guards had left us alone, I simply stared at him across the table for some time, my expression completely neutral. His unease grew steadily, and he began to squirm, and no matter what he said, I did not reply, only shifted my head slightly one way or the other. When I finally leaned forward and placed my hands on the table, he nearly jumped out of his skin. Then I allowed myself a slight smile as I looked upon him, stating calmly that I had finally decided how I wanted to make him scream. He offered me everything at that point, eager to please me and avoid the torture he had imagined. When he was returned to the cells, he was a much-deflated man. The following interviews were just that; having seen their leader broken, the other bandits were quick to offer up all that they knew.
My job finished to my satisfaction, as it was late in the day now, I returned to the mayor, constable, and town council, relating what I had learned. There was thankfully no grand plot against Grimbridge; the bandits had simply formed over time and had been getting more bold in their actions as they moved south, eventually learning of the keep in the swamps. They had been operating for a few months now, tending to keep their unlawful activities to the north of the swamp due to better choice of targets. Capturing the noblewoman, the maid, and her would be protector had simply been an opportunity they had come upon on the roads south of Ryanathyr during one of their raids, their appearances fancying Jaggedtusk, who had admitted to having to real plans on turning them over for some time. Undoubtedly there was a reward for their safe return and the capture of the ones responsible.
Though I was now looked upon with newfound trepidation by the members of the council, they nonetheless thanked me for my efforts in aiding the town and ensured me and my companions would be rewarded properly. When further discussion had ceased, it was ultimately decided that the lot of the bandits and the twins, would be transported to Ryanathyr and delivered for their ultimate justice there, likely to be sentenced to hard labor in the Iron Valley Prison. Satella and I volunteered to join the town guard in escorting them north, and soon enough, Jessiryn and Augra would inform us that they would be going along as well, as would some of the merchants and the former prisoners. Official documents would be drawn up the following morning, and a pair of wagons would be fashioned to hold the prisoners over the next two days.
On a rather cool and rainy morning, our party, with prisoners in tow, would set out from Grimbridge for the four-day journey along the Way, bound for the City of Ryanathyr.