[Mkguild] Round Robin: Loose Ends

[Indagare]

Morning, June 6, 708 CR


Misha was feeling satisfied after having breakfast with Kasaima and the
others. That his favorite muffins had been available helped. They had
headed off, something about flying lessons with Rorlyn, again expressing
regrets that they wouldn’t be there for the wedding. He’d understood,
though. It’d take a long time to go through the Great Barrier Mountains.
That there *was* a path piqued his curiosity. He’d heard legends of the
Lost Road, but assumed even the Suielman Empire wouldn’t have attempted
that. Apparently he was wrong.


He was sure that automatons had to be involved in the construction of the
Lost Road. No humans would be willing to attempt that, and even slave labor
would only go so far. He also wondered that neither the binoq nor the
Nauh-kaee had tried to stop them. Then again, so little was known about the
two; perhaps they found the project amusing or simply didn’t care.


It was about time for the prisoners to return. Their sentence was about
half finished, though from what he observed he was getting ready to have
Nathan do something else. Besides getting sick, it was pretty obvious he
had the Child Curse, and Misha would *not* allow children to do the midden
work, not even if they were former adults. Additionally, he recognized that
Nathan was more a follower than a leader and certainly a more moral
character than Roderick.


Roderick would show deference, when it suited him, but Misha feared the man
would never repent an ill deed. Lost in his thoughts, he almost didn’t see
the crowd of guards until he ran into it!


Nathan was holding what looked like a baby in his hands. Sir Chrysaor had a
hand on his sword hilt. “I tell you that jail cannot do when it comes to
these two!”


“They’re still prisoner’s ain’t they? Got at least three more days on their
sentence. And that depends on if they changed at all.”


“What’s going on here?” asked Misha, as if it weren’t obvious.


“Child Curse on both of them. Nathan’s been slow but Roderick went from
adult to yowling infant like that.” The guard snapped his fingers.


“I see.” This was a problem the Keep was still ill-equipped to handle. Full
adults, not a problem. Full morphs, not a problem. Adults turned into kids,
Problem! Strengthening the Counter-Curse would help. The trouble was what
to do with them now. While Nathan could still do adult things as a
teenager, Misha was disinclined to keep him at the middens. As for
Roderick, he knew there were places that had no issues making children
labor as hard as adults or even hang them. He could not be that way.


“Nathan.” The two had looked different as men and while Nathan’s hair had
lightened slightly, it was still obviously him.


“Yes sir.” Nathan gulped. Was he in even *more* trouble somehow? He looked
down at the sleeping form of Roderick, and hoped he was having sweet
dreams. Nathan had taken care of all his younger siblings, so this was
nothing new.


Misha could smell the fear. That wouldn’t do. “I’m not going to harm you,
but we can’t let crimes go unpunished.”


“I know sir,” said Nathan. “I’m willing to serve full term, but what’ll
happen to Roderick?”


The question weighed heavily on all those there. It was known that there
was at least one ring of child thieves wandering around the Keep, but no
guard had been able to catch even one. The standing order was to capture
and detain with as little force as possible.


“What do you see in him?”


“He needs guidance, sir. Heavens only know what he’d get into without me
keeping him back.”


“Like in the stable?”


Nathan winced. “That was wrong, sir. If I’d seen the stablehand sooner I
might have kept him from getting hurt. I still want to make amends for
that.”


Misha smiled. “I think that, for the rest of your sentence, you can do just
that.”


Nathan’s face lit up. “I like nature, sir. The beasts and fields and
streams. Once all this is over, I think I could be content working on a
farm somewhere, perhaps as a shepherd or whatever they needed. But I don’t
know if I could leave Roderick. I’d hate him getting into trouble because I
wasn’t there to stop him.”


“It seems to me he can get into trouble even *with* you there to stop him.
Let me have him for a while; a stable is no place for a baby under normal
circumstances. I promise he’ll be well cared for.You can visit him every
day, once we have a place for him. ”


“Oh! I’d love that sir!”


“Then that’s settled. Sir Chyrsaor, please go with Nathan and make sure he
keeps up his end.”


“Your order to my honor does concert. I’ll make sure Nathan helps the one
he hurt. With good will in heart, to the stable we depart!” Chrysaor took
Nathan by the hand. A handcuff or rope might have been wiser, but no one
suggested it. Nathan was unlikely to try and escape without Roderick.


Misha let out a loud sigh. Having a friend like Rodrick would undoubtedly
lead him on the wrong path, but he wasn’t sure if he could keep them
separated. Where they would *keep* Roderick was a different matter. There
were some who’d not have a problem with him being in a cell like anyone
else, even as a babe. The image of a baby in a prison cell, even as
relatively nice as the Keep’s, caused Misha to shudder.


When the two were away, the others gathered in. “Yer goin’ soft.”


Misha let out a low growl, and his eyes caught the light, making them look
like molten silver or steel flashing in the sun! “And you’d be okay with a
child in the middens? Don’t we have enough of those?”


The guard stepped back, then hung his head in shame. “Nathan ain’t so bad
sir. I’ve been watchin’ them too. He’s a might too soft-headed, though, and
that Rodrick fella’ll lead him around like a lost pup.”


“I know, and he’s liable to join up with those other kids doing crimes. The
Keep repairs are going as fast as we can, but it can’t replace the lives
lost. We’re racking our brains to figure out what to do about it.”


There were solutions, of course. Forcing the children to work in mines or
dangerous situations, or even hanging them for their crimes. None of these
would appeal to anyone in the Valley. Misha looked down at the
still-sleeping form of Roderick. “I’ll give you this much; you sure know
how to cause trouble!”


***


“Well, are you ready Franklin?” Drewbert had packed everything carefully.


“As I’ll ever be Drewbert. You’re really giving him this stuff back?” It
was more a statement than a question, with resignation rather than
disbelief.


“I didn’t win it fairly. He can have it back if he wants or we can help him
get rid of it for a fair price. He’s at Barnhardt’s yet, I think.”


“Alright. I’ll not object. Besides, I’ve been meaning to get there. I hear
that lake’s great for us amphibians.”


“It’d have to be.” Drewbert laughed and the two headed off. Their pony had
Jerrod’s gear and their own rations; though it wouldn’t be that long a
journey, it never hurt to be prepared.


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