I like so far how you are showing Janelle's power
and how she puts it to use. Going into the Watch
to help stop those who want to harm her fellow
Metamorians is a great reason and way to use her
Tapping there. The names you use for the powers
almost describe themselves! Well done there!
I like your description of Srgt. Tibble too. I
can see the boar sitting back there snorting and
snuffling as he goes through his
paperwork. Officious to a fault, or so I imagine.
And naturally I enjoyed your descriptions of
Janelle and the trouble her big tail causes
her. Thump thump thump as she goes up and down
the stairs. That would become rather grating very quickly I imagine!
May He bless you and keep you in His grace and love,
Charles Matthias
At 08:34 AM 6/16/2015, Jack Moore wrote:
AN: More of it, now with magic
Every morning while I wait for my son's nanny, I
look at myself in the mirror. Every day I see
the same thing. I see a blue pebbled head with
ocean-colored eyes and spines creating a crest
down the back. I see dull front teeth but sharp
back teeth, a reverse of human mouths.
I see a clean blue tabard and cloak, though both
are beginning to show their age. The white
lantern in the center is stained despite many
cleanings and there is no way currently to acquire a new one.
I see a massive tail that my legs can't hide. It
always sticks out straight like a rudder and
from it comes a fin. It cuts up my tail like a
blade and tapers off at the small of my back.
After this I give my thanks to Eli, for the
chance to do what I love even in this form and
to live as a Follower in relative peace. It's
helpful to remember not everyone has it as good as I do.
As a member of the Watch (official name is the
Wardens but no one calls them that) I have to
work and watch over one specific area in theory.
In my case I work in Keeptown, under two sergeants and one lieutenant.
I know what you're thinking my dear listener.
"Keeptown has a police force?" Yes as a matter
of fact all parts of the Metamor Valley are
supposed to fall under the protection of the Watch.
The Seneschal (called Justicar by everyone)
controls the Watch, and the Watch supposed to
provide order. The problem comes from lack of
funds, lack of manpower and no lack of work.
"When I become Justicar I can change that." I
adjusted my cloak. "The Watch needs more
exposure." The most frequent thing I say in life
is "When I become Justicar", it's a reminder of the future I'm working towards.
My home is a two-room dwelling on the second
story of a dingy stone building near the
Shoeshine Inn. It's not much of a place to live,
but it's snug for both of Kaysar and me. Above
all else it's cheap. The stairs to my home are
on the side of the building. Every time I step
out, I'm greeted by the dawn sky.
Today was purple. For a moment I just stood
there taking it in. The air was cool and the breeze gentle.
"Good day today." I stretched my neck. "I have a
lot of work ahead of me." I took a moment to
verify I had all I needed. I had my belt, my
short sword, my club and a coil of rope. "Perfect. Let's get going."
One joy of being a Sailfin Lizard is the fin
makes it impossible to bend my tail straight up.
I can bend it sideways and that's the only way
to lift it off the ground. When I walk on stairs
that doesn't help, each step smacks me on the way up or down.
As I walked down the rows of buildings, I kept
my mind open. No emotions or thoughts Brushed
against my mind. All quiet. I feel jittery. Something will go wrong today.
When you're a member of the Watch you think that
every day. Today is the day someone will finally
push a sword into your gullet. Stop. It's the
nightmare. Every time I have that nightmare I get this way.
I was distracted enough by my thoughts that it
only took a strong burst of outside emotions to
shake me free. I glanced up. I'm in the market square? How did I get here?
Keeptown does have its own market of sorts. It's
a small area near the town square, with a well
and lots of dirt. Everyday different people pull
up carts and set up booths to peddle overpriced wears.
It was still early so the market was almost
completely empty save for an okapi woman in a
belted brown dress with an apple cart and a
figure in a gray cloak with his back to me. I
could feel fear radiating off of the okapi as
she undid her coin purse. Nonetheless I reached
out and Tapped on the gray cloak.
Before I go on, let me explain a bit about
myself. As I mentioned at the beginning, I have
a few unique gifts; talents that belong to me
and a select few like me. I don't know how to
describe it other than my soul is partially unstuck in my body.
This means that I can reach out from my body and
"feel" spirits. I can pull them into my body,
this is Channeling. It lets me draw a spirit
into me, gaining things from the spirit depending on how far in I pull them.
But I can also reach out to living people. When
I do this I brush against the surface of
someone's mind. If I lightly touch it, I can see
the thoughts currently at the top of their mind. This is called Tapping.
Tapping is the most basic level of my magic
applied to a living person. The deeper in I go,
the more I can affect their mind but the more
they will feel it. Tapping is easy and tells me all I need.
Stupid, stupid bitch! Just give me your coins!
Gotta go...Gray cloak's mind was a storm of
panic. I pulled my club free from my belt and moved in.
"Give me your coins!" Cloak snarled to the
Okapi, "Then I'll-"He turned around just as I
swung at him. Cloak jumped back, revealing a
weasel inside. He held a knife in his right hand.
"I am Corporal Janelle of the Metamor Watch." I
said. "You are under arrest for attempted
robbery." Weasel cloak swung at me with the
knife but he moved like a sloth. He thrust like
an idiot from a story, which I easily dodged.
"I ain't getting arrested." The Okapi watched
both of us but did what she should have, stayed
away. The weasel wasn't a threat to me but if
she interfered it could be trouble.
"You'll have to-" I swung again, this time
connecting with the side of his head. A spray of
spit and a tooth came out of his mouth as he
collapsed in a heap at my feet. I pulled the
short length of rope from my belt and tied his hands together.
When I joined the Watch there was discussion
about creating cuffs for each Warden. They'd
magic ones that could adjust to the size of the
criminal and would stop someone from turning
feral. This never happened and I've found a club
to the head to be more effective.
I made sure that the ropes were tight. The
weasel was out cold but he'd be fine. I turned back to the okapi.
"Did he hurt you?" I asked. "I'll be taking him
in for this; you will need to accompany me to
give a report." The okapi's snout had contorted
into a look of pure rage. Her eyes, though, were
fixed on me. "Is something wrong?"
"Yeah something's wrong." She took an apple from
her cart and flung it at my head. This one I
couldn't avoid. "This is the fourth time I've been robbed!"
"I'm sorry for you." I rubbed my forehead and
kicked the apple away. "I was not there for
those; I was here for this one." As a Warden,
you learn being honest and calm is the best
option. No matter what you feel, keep your tones
neutral or warm. Keep eye contact with the
victim. When they lash out at you, forgive them.
It's going to happen a lot.
"Why wasn't anyone here the other three times?"
She hoisted her skirt over her right leg,
revealing a thin white scar. "You see this? This
happened last time, then they stole my purse. Why weren't you there then?"
"I'm sorry for you." I pulled the weasel up to
his feet. "But this time I was here." The okapi
snarled more profanity at me but I ignored it.
"I need you to come with me to file a report."
"You kiddin' me?" She barked a laugh. "No. I
gotta sell apples, I don't sell I don't eat."
"Okay then." I swallowed. "How about this, I
will come back later when on patrol to take your
statement. That way you can stay with your
cart." I could feel the anger radiating from her but she nodded.
"I'm sorry you feel the Watch has let you down."
"Ha! I don't feel it; they have let me down.
They let everyone down. When was the last time you saw a Warden here?"
"Right now ma'am."
"Why even bother warden? You can't change shit.
You think you'll solve all the crime? You're wasting your time."
"I'll be back later." I pulled the moaning
weasel to his feet. "Have a nice day."
From the moment I put on my tabard until I take
it off again I am on duty. Every action and
every interaction I make reflects upon the Watch.
The Metamor Keep Watch should have membership
numbering over a thousand. If there are five
hundred people in the whole Watch it would surprise me.
The Watch is in desperate need of people. Since
we are so undermanned, every Warden matters.
Every Warden must reflect positively on the
Watch. Their actions may be the only actions most people see from the Watch.
That okapi saw nothing. I dragged the weasel
that was dead in my hands. I did everything the
way I should but she is mad at us. And she's
right, though, the Watch is undermanned. How can I fix anything?
"I fix it one person at a time, one crime at a
time." I pulled him up to two legs. "This is not
the time to worry; this is the time to act." The
anxiety retreated. I shook the weasel awake.
"Wha-wuzza?"
"Time to shine." I said. "We're here."
Here was a featureless long two-story building.
It had a big wooden door on the front. That door
away always locked and wouldn't open to anyone except a Warden with a key.
The real way in was through the back door.
Inside you'd find a maze of cramped hallways,
overstuffed rooms, six holding cells and a mass of Wardens.
The main HQ of the Watch was in Euper. The
problem is that crime doesn't happen exclusively
in Euper but all throughout the Keep and the Valley. So what do you do?
The Watch set up a series of Watch Houses,
places run by a Lieutenant that Wardens work out
of. Watch Houses are unmarked, unassuming
buildings that most people would walk by a
thousand times without noticing. They're
designed to not be found by people, if you need
the Watch speak to a Warden on the street. As I
approached one of these houses the weasel in my
hands began coming back to life.
"What the...where are we?"
"Shut up." I dragged him in through the wooden
back door, making sure to not bang him against
the doorway. "I am advising you not to struggle.
Attempts to do so will be hazardous to your health."
"Eat me!" The hall we entered to was cramped and
poorly lit. The gray stone walls were filthy and
the wooden ceiling was too close to both our
heads. The only light came from small lanterns
mounted along the sides. This gave the hallway a
striped feeling as we moved in and out of the light.
The problem with having groups of Wardens
stationed outside of inconspicuous buildings is
that they have to be inconspicuous. So making
them large is impossible, they have to be small.
Dragging suspects through them can be a task itself.
"Hey Janie." A blur in a blue tabard said to me as I passed a doorway.
"Hello Ian." I dragged the suspect past the only
staircase in the building until I reached an
alcove beside a door. The alcove had a mass of
green with tusks sitting behind a desk, working
on a leather bound book. The weasel was
beginning to squirm now so I used both arms to move him.
"Hello Sergeant Tibble. Bringing this one in for
attempted robbery and murder."
"Cell's are all empty, will stick him in the
first." The drooping mass working on a ledger
was my superior Sergeant Tibble. Tibble was a
dark brown boar whose great coat barely fit. His
left tusk was broken and his left partially cut
off, with a scar leading connecting them.
His remaining ear drooped, as did his tufts of
fur. His brown eyes were red rimmed from
exhaustion. Were I still a mammal, my eyes would
look the same. We were all tired and it wasnât getting better.
The Watch needed manpower.
My Sergeant is a good man, no matter what I
thought or how annoyed I might be. We needed
someone to keep track of all the records and
incoming prisoners. Tibble was good at it but
there was so much work to do, this was all he
did. I donât think he remembered the last time he lead an investigation.
I rarely saw Tibble outside of the alcove. Most
of the time he was keeping records of which
prisoners were brought in, sorting out patrol
details, recording who got assigned to this
House and how much Mean Justice was dispensed on any day.
Tibble stood up and moved his shaggy bulk over
to the door. The only key was on his belt but
our Lieutenant also had a copy. He opened the
lock and let me scoot inside, following right behind.
"Lady I am going to get out of here" The weasel
snarled, "And I am going to kick your ass!"
"Attempted murder falls into the category of Low
Justice; you will be tried and punished
accordingly." The stone hall held six rooms with
mesh iron doors. We tried bars once but a rat
slipped through them so they made mesh doors for us.
"Gonna kill you all." I untied the rope and
pushed him inside. The weasel stumbled about as
Tibble relocked the door. "Do you think you
scare me? I ain't scared a shit! I am-
Tibble shut and locked the main door. "Good job corporal."
"Thank you sir." He returned to his alcove,
pulling out another identical leger from his oak desk. Now he was panting.
"You've got a few choices for patrol today." The
big distinction between a warden and corporal is
a corporal has a bit more choice in their daily
assignment. They can choose from a selection of
places where they go on patrol. That might not
sound like much but wardens always get to patrol the worst parts of the Keep.
"Is the market square area available sir?"
"Yep, yours." He scribbled that into the ledger.
"Warden Remmie is with you this morning, you know the drill." I sighed.
"Yes sir." I saluted and went to find my partner for the morning.
AN: The idea for Watch houses was based on a
book I read on Medieval France, the chapter on
policing. I've been wondering why the Watch
never gets attention so I figured the reason is
they're undermanned. At least I can get more drama from that.
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