The Senate Secretary moved back to his desk, touching the back of his head several times, scowling at Bilain and she had already started to think of other jobs she could take on. Asnarrus attempted to tug the spear from his cushioned chair and waved to Bilain to retrieve it. Once removed, he sat at his desk and flicked through several sheets of paper to the side, pulling one out and offering it to her.
"I realise, now, it was a mistake keeping the Senate informed. It simply never occurred to me that such a thing would happen." He shook the sheet of paper and Bilain took it, glancing at the words. Part of the Senate minutes, it clearly showed Asnarrus mentioning her investigation. "For what it's worth, you have my utmost sympathies. Now. What do you need?"
"I'm sorry?" Bilain had slumped her shoulders, expecting an inevitable backlash at the way she had handled the Secretary. Instead, he raised his hand, indicating the chair opposite. "What do you mean?"
"What do you need? To continue this investigation. It is vital we learn everything. I think it is quite clear, now, that the death of the Senator, and now your Sergeant, is part of something far larger than first thought." As Bilain sat, cradling her spear against her chest, Asnarrus leaned forward, resting upon the surface of his desk. "As you must know, most of the, shall we call it 'fighting', in the Senate has always been with words and schemes. Oh, we've had a few deaths, but that is the exception. This? This is different. Planned and secretive. It must be stopped."
"You aren't taking the Watch from me?" She had dropped her eyes, unable to believe she had allowed her anger to bring her to this. She hadn't acted with such anger in years. "After what I just did?"
Asnarrus tilted his head, a little amused grimace crossing his features. After a moment, he sighed, pressing his hands flat against the desk before leaning back. With a look to both sides, he pulled out a drawer and removed a dusty bottle from within, followed by two glasses. Bilain caught sight of the label. Yürzlend rum. Not the kind of drink she would expect the high and mighty to enjoy. Rum, here, was mostly drunk by the likes of her. Rougher people. Lower class.
After pouring into the two glasses, Asnarrus pressed a finger to his mouth, urging her silence, before returning the bottle to the drawer and closing it. He sat back, head resting on the cushioned chair and took a sip, eyes closing as he appreciated its taste. Uncertain what the Secretary intended, Bilain also took a drink. It was good rum.
"I was brought up in The Fell, don't you know?" He waved a hand in the general direction of the rundown slum, where, inexplicably, a hundred years or so ago, the entire Ward had collapsed into a hole. People continued to live there, even after that. "One of the Senators at the time, Hhruhn, lovely man, found me scrounging and stealing and took me in as his ward. I never looked back, but I never forgot where I came from. I understand your anger. Your Ward, your Watch has come under attack. I'm not going to punish you for loyalty and passion."
He cradled the glass to his chest as a far-away look passed across his eyes. Bilain had to admit, she had not expected that of this man. A child of the worst area within the city, even more than The Sprawl. The people there lived in despair and poverty unlike anywhere Bilain had seen. And, the strangest of all, The Fell bordered both the Municipal Ward and the High Ward, ignored by both. To think Asnarrus had come from that gave Bilain a newfound respect for the man.
"I apologise for my actions." She took another sip of the rum, taking another look at the section of the minutes Asnarrus had handed her. "I don't know what to do, Secretary. The only thing of note I have found was the Seal. Everything else is speculation and coincidence. The other Senators for The Sprawl have not replied about my need to speak with them. Yiladry's wife is still in mourning and this shadow vigilante complicates matters, though I don't believe them connected to the Senator's death."
"What do you need?" He moved his head to look at her, his voice taking on a quiet, assured tone. "If it is within my power, you shall have it. For the Senator and your Sergeant. Ghusz? I met him once, if I remember correctly. A man of few words, but words that counted."
"I need to ask questions. Of the Senators, of Yiladry's wife. I need to find out why Weather Mages watered a field that did not need watering! Sorry, I'm not certain that one is relevant. I'm not sure of anything." After a thought, she finished the rum in one gulp, the glass hitting the desk a little harder than expected as she put it down. "I tell you what I do need. More Watch members. The death of Ghusz will embolden people. They'll be testing what they can get away with and we need to discourage that. Not only more Watchmen on the streets, but a new thing. A team of clever people. People that can think. Investigate."
"Costly." Asnarrus' fingers tapped against his glass as he thought about what Bilain had said. "I'll do what I can. Select your recruits. Keep The Sprawl peaceful and find out everything you can. As for the Senators, I may just have what you need. Well, not myself, but someone influential."
Almost jumping to his feet, Asnarrus moved to a set of drawers behind him, drinking from his glass as he moved. With one hand, he opened a draw and began rummaging through the contents until the hand emerged with a piece of card. Even from where Bilain sat, she could see the intricate penmanship, the swirls and loops of decorative writing. Asnarrus returned, holding it out for her.
Kaluun En Lutar. That woman once again. From what Bilain could understand from the poetic language used on the card, the new, ever-present citizen had invited almost the entire Senate, their wives and husbands, many other officials and dignitaries to a dance and feast at her palatial estate within the Old City. She had actually written 'palatial estate' on the invitation. The writing went on to mention that donations were to be taken to help pay for the continuous expense of maintaining the Old City, the Old Docks and, to Bilain's surprise, The Sprawl.
"I'm sure everyone I wish to speak to will be present." She waved the card before tossing it, spinning, back across the desk to Asnarrus. "Are they to be seconding my Watch to help keep such a gathering secure. I doubt they'll speak to guards, especially not in such circumstances."
"I have it on good authority that you, Captain Grasall, will be receiving an invitation much like this. You were mentioned specifically. I'll have my assistant guide you to a certain dressmaker that will create the most wonderful gown for you." Asnarrus almost rushed to the door in excitement, hammering upon it until Trenna opened the door, spear pointing toward Asnarrus. The Secretary gulped as he looked past Trenna. "Well, I will have him do so once he regains consciousness."
"I haven't killed a one of them, Chief." The squat man hooked a thumb over his shoulder in a matter-of-fact manner. Bilain could see several unconscious people beyond the door. "Though that one I could do with injuring a little more."
Trenna kicked the pointed boots of someone wearing the puffed sleeves and lace cuffs of a Larissan. Bilain didn't know what had occurred and she cared little. She had given Trenna a task and he had done exactly as told. He would make a good Sergeant. An excellent one, if he could extend his range of emotions from 'hit first and often' to 'assess the situation'. He could never replace Ghusz, no one person could, but that gave Bilain an idea.
"I have no need of a dressmaker, Secretary. I won't be going to this dance, even if I am invited." As she passed Trenna, she patted his shoulder. Asnarrus looked up from trying to awaken his assistant. "A dance is no place to ask questions such as those I need answers for. But, if you could arrange it, I'd like to question the Senators at their earliest convenience, unless they want me to visit them as I have visited you this day."
"Oh, no. No. No. Don't you see?" Asnarrus returned to his feet, his assistant groaning and clutching their head. "This dance is the perfect opportunity. They will be relaxed, drinking, among people to whom they would rather die than make a scene. If you want answers from them, you will get them there."
Bilain was not so certain. Nor did she feel certain that this Kaluun En Lutar would invite her to this feast at all, or why. She had spoken to the woman once and she had seemed nothing like the kind of person that would invite Bilain to anything. Still, she couldn't deny that trying to question the Senators could prove difficult. Though the eight of them may represent The Sprawl in the Senate, they were not people of The Sprawl and they made only the most rare visits to the Ward.
"I'll think about it. Good day, Secretary Asnarrus. Trenna. With me." She began to step over the injured people that had tried to get past Trenna. He had held himself back. She could see no broken bones. She paused for a second. "Sorry about the window, Secretary. I'll pay for the replacements."
"No. Grasall, you will not." Asnarrus had helped to lift his assistant to their feet and smiled to Bilain. "It would cost more than your pay for a year to repair those windows. They do like their ostentation here. Consider the matter forgotten."
With a nod, he supported his assistant into the office, leaving Bilain and Trenna to pass through the gawking crowds of nobility that had gathered to see the commotion. They were not so different to the folks of The Sprawl. Any flash of controversy or brutality would bring them out. Those that had hung like vultures as Ghusz sat impaled against the wall in the alley were the same as these people. These well-dressed, refined people doing the exact same while Trenna had defended the door to Asnarrus' office.
People were people. No matter how much money they had, who their ancestors were or where they came from. Of that she could rely upon. As for other things, Bilain now knew she had to do things differently. She had placed too much responsibility upon Ghusz' shoulders and Trenna, as good a man as he was, could not take all those responsibilities upon himself. Not yet. Bilain had made a decision about the vacant position of Sergeant. A decision that could very well change the Watch forever.
-+-
Bilain had gathered as many of the Watch together as she could upon returning to The Sprawl once again. She could not take all of them from their patrols, nor would she roust those on the night shift from their beds. She could, but she allowed them their rest. They would know of the changes soon enough, if not from her mouth, then through the inevitable whispers and gossip that would follow her announcement.
Where once Ghusz would have stood by her side, she now had Trenna to one side and the large, imposing, yet gentle, Kannai, Ilivno, to the other. Both looked about ready to break for the doors, set to running and never to return. She had a mind that they believed her ready to tackle them to the ground should they try and they would not have thought too wrong about that, either. She needed them, both of them, and they had no say in the matter.
"As you well know, we lost the best of us this day. Ghusz Vaurj served this Ward for a number of years with honour, distinction and a good right hook when needed." A ripple of nervous laughter passed through those packed into the Watch House. Ghusz would have appreciated the joke too. "He cannot be replaced, though others may do his job. He will be missed, but we will not let his murder stand. We will find those responsible and they will pay dearly for what they have taken from us."
A chorus of 'hear hear' passed among those in attendance. She could see the anger upon their faces. The men and women who had looked up to the man, who he had mentored and clipped around the ears when they needed it. They knew he showed little humour, but appreciated a good laugh himself. They knew he could drink with the best of them, but could not tolerate cider. They knew Ghusz and they wanted revenge, not justice, and Bilain understood that all too well.
"Let's find the bastards!" One voice rang out and many other voices grumbled on agreement, but Bilain quietened them with raised hands.
"We will! Trust in that. We will! For now, we must maintain the peace, not add to the chaos. You will patrol these streets and you will show these people that we are still here. We are not cowed by the murder of our colleague. We are not laid low. We are still here! But you will patrol with care. You will not cause any more undue violence in your search for vengeance. Am I clear? I said, am I clear?" They mumbled and made reluctant assents, but they would do as she ordered. "In that, I have decided to split the duties of my Sergeant into two areas. Trenna is now my Sergeant-at-arms, responsible for keeping you lot under control. I don't have to tell you what will happen if you disagree with him."
Another ripple of laughter. They all knew Trenna, too. Perhaps for not as long as they had Ghusz, but they all knew that Trenna took his orders as serious as it were possible to take them, and to give them. Shorter than almost everyone in the Watch, thanks to his Eassfolk ancestry, not a one of them could take him in a fight. With weapons or barehanded, Trenna fought like a beast. But a beast that had the focus and determination of a hawk.
"And the other, Captain?" Eyes turned to Ilivno at Bilain's other side. All knew the girl, but few ever talked to her. Partly their fault, partly Ilivno's fault. She kept to herself as much as she could. "What other duties could there be?"
"Ilivno will become my Sergeant of Investigation. She will coordinate with me in matters of finding culprits of crimes after the fact. From this day forward, we shall endeavour to ensure that no criminal gets away with their crimes through the simple act of hiding until we stop looking for them." Bilain looked toward Ilivno. If the girl still had her tail, it would drag on the floor. Her eyes as wide as saucers under the gaze of her colleagues. "Sergeants Ilivno and Trenna are going to take this Ward forward and, together, we will find who killed our friend. We will. That is all. Go. To the streets, and keep the bully sticks to a minimum."
At first, the Watch members shuffled and mumbled between themselves but soon realised the meeting had ended. Several moved to shake Trenna's hand, but few did the same for Ilivno. Even here, in a city, and especially a Ward, that prided themselves in welcoming all the peoples of the world, people still looked down upon Kannai. A last, hateful vestige of the days when the Kannai had wandered the world in search of a new homeland after losing theirs two Upheavals ago.
In their self-centred callous wars with each other, the Patrons often broke and remade the world, the Upheavals. Sometimes these Upheavals happened centuries apart, sometimes within only a few years. Sometimes the world would see little damage from the battles between the god-like immortals, sometimes the surface of the world became scoured away. The Kannai had suffered more than any other race in the most recent Upheavals, the last over a thousand years ago, and only in recent decades had the dog-like race started to receive better treatment from the other kin. Some places, however, still held Kannai in slavery.
"She's still here, Captain." Ilivno showed no sign of noticing the difference between the way the Watch treated her and Trenna, but Bilain knew it must pain her. "She said she doesn't have all day."
"Neither do I." Bilain knew exactly who Ilivno meant, but she could wait or not. It made little difference to Bilain. "Ilivno, do not let anyone make you feel less than deserving of this new position. You have a brilliant mind and a solid sense of right and wrong. You have my full support and my trust."
"Yes, Captain. Thank you, Captain." The girl turned her ears and then her head followed a fraction of a moment later. "She mutters, Captain. She knows I can hear her and she mutters. I do not like her. There is something ... hidden about her."
"And that is only one of the reasons why you are perfect for this job. You have excellent instincts. Now, I want your recommendations on my desk by noon tomorrow. Don't only think of people in the Watch. We need the best investigators if we are to find Ghusz' killers. Yes? Good." She looked toward her office and the aforementioned visitor. "I'll see to her. Right now, try to recreate everything we have come to learn of the Senator's death and his killers, and gather all the information about Ghusz' death. They are connected."
As she entered her office, Bilain took the time to have a good look at the visitor. She had seen her before, of course, but there she had held herself back while Kaluun En Lutar had spoken to Bilain, but Bilain had felt the Kannai woman's eyes upon her the entire time. Hovering not too far from her employer. Dressed almost as conservatively as a Garthaen, in a long, dark-coloured dress buttoned up to the neck below her chin. Tight sleeves showed thin arms and her muzzle, shorter than Ilivno's, gave the woman a restrained, taut look to her. She sat, back straight, her tail trailing along the skirts of the dress, unmoving. Not a twitch or swish to indicate her mood.
The Kannai woman did not look up as Bilain entered, but her eyes turned and followed Bilain as she moved to sit behind her desk, where she sat in a new chair, scavenged from somewhere that Bilain did not want to know. As she sat, Bilain got the feeling the woman did her the favour of sitting there, not the other way around.
"Thank you for seeing me, Captain Grasall." With long, clawed fingers clutching a drawstring bag, decorated and embroidered in colourful contrast to the clothes, the Kannai looked along her nose at her surroundings before looking back to Bilain. She had had plenty of time to do that before Bilain had entered. "My mistress sends me to invite you to a dance and feast at her estate."
Without looking down, the Kannai pulled open her bag, reaching in and removing a card that looked exactly the same as the one Asnarrus had shown her in his office. The Kannai held the card out to Bilain, but only so far, forcing Bilain to lean forward to accept it. She liked playing games, this Kannai, and Bilain allowed it. For the moment.
She was wrong. The card was not exactly the same as the one Asnarrus had received. The writing on this one was not so decorative. Instead, Bilain noticed stark, plain penmanship, as though the author had little time for fancy swirls and loops. Blocky and square, the letters spoke to Bilain as though they were old friends. The one inviting the other to a spot of tea and a chat of the old days, though she and Bilain had met only the once.
"Your mistress? I know she has ties to Orususk and that they still practice slavery there, but you are no slave here." Bilain dropped the invitation on the desk and wondered whether her pipe and tobacco had survived the sack of the Watch House. "I'll consider it, but I'm very busy."
"Do I look like a slave?" Her tail flicked. Not through any emotion, but because she allowed it. "Nevertheless, my mistress would consider it an honour to welcome you to her home. Whether you choose to come is up to you. Good day."
With exaggerated dignity, the Kannai rose to her feet and that surprised Bilain. Not the dignity, she could see right through the woman's act and every tiny movement that added to the performance, but at the abruptness in which she had ended the conversation. Bilain could not believe the En Lutar woman had sent her servant all this way, through the filthy streets of The Sprawl, only to deliver a piece of card, and then leave. There had to be more to it.
"Why?" She picked up the card again, turning it over in her fingers. The card felt expensive. "Why does your 'mistress' want me there? Oh, and, apparently, my husband. Interesting. How did she know I have a husband? Never mind. Whispers. I remember. Why send you here with this and not, say, some urchin who would gladly do it for a quarter Bone coin?"
"Because she respects you." The incredulous tone sounded as though the Kannai could not believe Bilain did not already know that. "And she intends funding certain programs within The Sprawl. She wishes to be the Ward's, and your, benefactor. She wishes to speak long and candidly about it with you and the dance seems as good a place as any. A suitable dress will be delivered on the night, and clothing for your husband, Ranaie."
The Kannai expected Bilain to react in shock that she knew the name of her husband, but Bilain gave her no such satisfaction. With a droop of the shoulders, the Kannai swept out of the office, her business concluded. Bilain watched her as she moved through the main room of the Watch House, as smooth as a snake passing through grass.
Bilain dropped the card again, leaning over the desk to look at it as she pondered what the exchange had entailed. There were things said that the Kannai had spoken only because Bilain had asked, as though testing her, but testing her about what? And how could En Lutar respect someone she had met only once? Bilain didn't like it. Not any of it and it only occurred to her now that the Kannai had not given her name.
That only served to make Bilain even more curious.