The Davar Tightens the Screws

The Davar knew that, with their injuries, Astra, Gog, and Hesht would stay put. The Davar had three other factors to consider.

The heads of the alchemical trading groups: Nozh had already let it be known that he was the Gog's boss. Hesht was probably employed by a rival group somewhere in the wilds of the Tenge interior. The Davar had long suspected that there was some trade in smuggled goods. As long as nobody in his town was hurt, and the normal customs revenue flowed, the Davar left matters as they were. But now the alchemical group, or rather, gangs, had violated the unwritten rule --- if you are going to break the law to the west of the Old Frontier Road, you will answer to the Davar. The Davar was going to send those gang leaders and the men in the town that traded in those goods a message. Tomorrow he would personally show up at the customs gate with some of his officers, and scrutinise the baggage of everyone entering or leaving the city. Anyone with a potion, object, or artifact that was suspected as alchemical or magical goods would have it confiscated, and the man or woman bringing it in would spend some time in the tower as a suspected smuggler. The Davar was not going to stop this trade - but he wanted to inconvenience those that benefitted by it, so that he could get some answers that he might not otherwise get. The Davar expected to hear from at least one of the elders in the town before evening.

Then there was the second problem - Gilder. He probably wanted Astra to be led in chains to Corona. The Davar had no problems with Astra being punished if she had been a murderess. But Gilder's personal life and strange court of Corona was the subject of many whispered stories. If Astra were to be punished for murder, the Davar's conscience would rest better if Astra could be examined before the King himself.

But he had extracted a promise from the Duke of Penhan, an old friend, that Astra would only be given up to the King himself. The Davar dutifully sent a messenger to Gilder, alerting him to Astra's presence across the border in Penhan. The Davar would send it by a special messenger who would ride on the Central Road, which ran through Polabi Courthouse on the way the palace of Corona. The satrap of Polabi was said to be a sound man, and the Davar asked the messenger to discreetly get the satrap's opinion of Gilder before proceeding to the palace.

In the meantime, the Davar would wait to hear from the Duke of Penhan to see if Astra could be a person of note from Aqualaria. This inquiry would probably take at least two weeks, but he thought that it was unlikely that anything would come of it in any case.

1. And that morning, the crackdown on smuggling began.

Add New Option

Go Back

View Forward Story Tree
View Back Story Tree