[Mkguild] Life As We Know It XXXII B

[Jack Moore]

AN: Bit of a zombie when editing this, please excuse that

Life As We Know It - XXXII B

“Janelle one of my corporals joined the Watch because he thought out
tabards looked slimming.” Triche said.  “Nothing you say will sound stupid,
trust me.”  Smart man Triche.  I looked up again.
“Well, I doubt I’ll ever be able to bring Umaro and Mirna to justice.  They
killed Sotto in an area of woods that belongs to Eli knows.  Even if I knew
what country they killed him in, it would be my word against theirs.  And
I’m the one who ran through the woods with a bloody knife.”
“Admittedly a point against you.” Triche said.  “Still I’ve heard worse
cases.”  I nodded.
“I want to though.” I said.  “They got away.  People like them always get
away and they shouldn’t.  Criminals should know their actions are not goign
unnoticed.  Someone is watching them.  We are watching them!

“I want to bring them to justice.  Every crook and criminal.  I want to
punish the guilty.  And I never want to let another scoundral go.”  I
closed my eyes.  “You know what I hear right now?”
“The sound of someone setting up tomorrow’s hangover?”
“Yes, but no.” I opened my eyes.  “I can hear people talking, laughing and
not afraid. This is amazing” I said, gesturing to the room, “That we can
have a public house where all people groups can come together without fear.
“I’ve been in cities where every pub is a dive and every person a
cut-purse.  I’ve traveled through places where all I knew was fear.  And
when I was running from Umaro and Mirna, the sense of fear was killing me.
I didn’t want that again.”
“So you want a place without fear.” Triche said.
“A place where there is order and rule of law.  A place where there is
stability.  Here I don’t have to worry about criminals like Umaro and
Mirna.  And no I can’t punish them!” I said, slamming my fist on the table.
 “But damn it, I can punish them next them.  And that’s why I love this
city.  Here I am acting for justice.”
Triche didn’t respond at first.  He arced his fingers under his nose and
his steel eyes studied me. Sweat rolled down my back as my stomach churned.
The longer he stared the more I felt myself shrinking into the chair. 'Oh
Eli he thinks I’m just some silly girl doesn’t he? Oh Eli…'
Triche took a long drink, still staring at me.  Finally, he spoke.
“That is a very noble goal Janelle.”  I let out a long sigh of relief.
 “But it’s also a very difficult goal you know.”
“I know sir.” I said, looking back at the table.  I could hear the pool
balls being racked again.  My table I noted for the first time smelled of
stale ale.  Neither Triche nor I said a thing.
That awkward silence hung in the air, both of us daring the other to
speak.  I took the dare.  “I don’t care how difficult.  I will try.”
 Triche nodded.
“Well I wish you luck.  I must warn you though, you’re going to be up
against a pretty big obstacle here.  The Metamor Keep Justice system
is…flawed.  To put it mildly.” Triche sighed.  “With any luck a future
Justicar will be able to fix the system.”
“Maybe you.”  Triche snorted at this.  “Did I say something funny sir?”
“Yes but you didn’t realize it.” Triche said.  “I can’t be Justicar.  The
highest I can rise is to the level of Lieutenant.  Only nobility can be the
Justicar of Metamor Keep.”
“What does nobility have to do with being able to mete out justice?” I
asked.  Triche shrugged.
“If I knew the answer to that, I’d be a very smart man.” He took a long
drink. “Anyway we’re off topic.  I’m not trying to tell you how difficult
it’ll be to warn you off trying Janelle.”
“I appreciate that sir.” I said, “But you couldn’t warn me off even if you
tried.”  Triche sighed.  “I’m sorry sir.”
“No it’s fine.” Triche said.  “But as a member of the Watch you will be
working under me.  As such I have a right to worry about you.  And I do
worry Janelle.  I worry because I don’t see what you have outside of this
job.”
“Sir?”
“One of the most common reasons that people leave the Watch is it eats them
up.” Triche said.  “They get focused on some aspect of the job, usually a
case.  Or they get burned up by how unfair all of it is.
“That’s something you need to keep in mind.  Their is no rest for the
Watch.  And we will never be respected for it.  Don’t expect cheers when
keeping the peace means arresting someone's father or sister.”
“I know that sir.” I said.  I already did, you don’t have to tell me again.
“I’m sure you do.” Triche said, “But knowing it and experiencing it are two
very different things.  It’s fine to say you can deal with being hated,
until you experience it day in and day out for years.  Eventually that
resentment will destroy you.  I’ve seen it too many times to count.”
“I’m sure you have sir.” I said.  “But I’m not like others.  I’ve already
been through the worst of things.  Nothing about the Watch scares me.”
 Triche’s gaze grew harder.
“I said something similar when I started.  And after three years I was
ready to quit.  I was drinking every night because I couldn’t sleep.”  Now
he smiled.  “Then I found something outside of work to give me a sense of
peace.”
“What did you find?” I asked.
“Simple.  I got married.” Triche said.  “I got a family.  And from there I
started befriending my subordinates, letting them know they weren’t alone.
That helped me a lot and I know it helped them.”
“I’m sure it did.” I said.  “But sir I’m not some wimp who needs to be
comforted every time I have a bad day.”  Triche didn’t say anything at
first.  Instead he just gave me a look of disappointment.
“Needing help is not being a wimp.  It’s being human.  Eventually Janelle
you will need help.  I mean, just trying to investigate a crime for the
Watch will mean you need help from a partner!  And you will definitely need
help outside of work.”
“Well when I do I’ll find it sir.”  I said.
“I hope you do find it Janelle.  I really do.”  Triche rubbed his temples.
 “Anyway, thank you for letting me talk to you about this.  I’ve got enough
problems right now so I can use a distraction.”
“Sir?” I asked.  Triche glanced up.
“War is coming here. It’s come before.  Rumblings from the North.  Armies
marching towards us.” Triche said.  “No one is discussing it but we all
know it’s happening.”  I nodded.  I’d heard the same fear from other
people.  “And today I found something horrible.”
“What sir?”
“I was speaking to a criminal contact of mine,” Triche said, “This
individual makes sure I’m informed on anything of significance in the
underground.  And what is it smugglers are bringing into the Keep?”
“I don’t know sir.”  I said.  Triche took a drink.
“It’s…bread.”  I raised an eyebrow at this news.
“Bread sir?”

“Yes bread.  Flour.  Dry food goods.  Criminals are starting to stalk up on
food.  That should never happen.”
“Why would they do that?” I asked.
“Simple, they suspect those things will soon be in short supply and they’re
planning to make a killing.”  Triche said.  “Flour should never be a black
market good.  Anytime I see something like that being stock piled by
crooks, I know something bad is on the horizon.”
“They expect a long siege here?” I asked.  Triche nodded.  “Then as members
of the Watch we’ll have to keep the peace should we come under assault.”
“That’s very true.” Triche said.  “Now my hope is whatever is coming can be
stopped before it gets to us…”
“But you don’t seem hopeful sir.” I said.
“It’s hard to be hopeful when you don’t know what’s coming.” Triche said.
 “Maybe…” He forced a smile.  “Well Metamor isn’t under attack now, that’s
a good thing.” He finished his drink and stood up.  “Now I’ve got to return
home.  I’ll see you tomorrow Warden.” I nodded.
“Goodnight sir.”  I watched my Sergeant walk out and rolled his words about
in my mind.  What on Earth would I possibly need?  As long as I have
justice, as long as I can make sure nothing like Umaro and Mirna happens
again, I’ll be fine.  What a foolish girl I was back then.
I didn’t become a full Warden until 700, after I’d become a sailfin
lizard.  And to my credit I focused exclusively on my goals for almost four
whole years.  And in that time I burned out very slowly.  By my fourth
year, I was a walking automaton.  I got up, I went to work and then I
returned home.
And I drank. I really drank.
All this until the day I found a small bundle by a well.  The day I found
my son I found something to balance out my goals and my life.
I still desire to bring Umaro and Mirna to justice.  I still desire to
bring universal justice to Metamor. I will work as hard as I can to achieve
my goals. But now my goals aren’t my entire life. I have someone that I can
live for to keep me going.
I love you Kaysar.  Thank you so much for this gift.
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