The Punishment Will Fit the Crime

Writers: Aaron, Devin
Date Posted: 29th April 2024

Characters: N'vanik, Corofel, Oriel, Calbarran
Description: N'vanik meets with Corofel to discuss the watchrider murder.
Location: Emerald Falls Hold
Date: month 10, day 19 of Turn 11
Notes: Mentioned: Zathris, Karhal, Reven, Jayala, Corowal

N'vanik

Corofel

N'vanik was vibrating with fury as Loseth came out over Emerald Falls
Hold. _Another_ murder, _another_ dragonpair lost. It remained to be
seen if the watchrider's killing had something to do with Corowal's
disappearance. It seemed the events were too close together for it to
be a coincidence, though it was possible the anti-weyr people were
taking advantage of the Hold's instability.

}:I'll keep watch.:{ Loseth's eyes whirled red and orange. There was
danger here and he wasn't going to let anything happen to his rider.

The Weyrleader landed in the Gather square and dismounted, then turned
to help Calbarran down.

Calbarran took the hand gratefully and slid to the ground. He felt
like an absolute failure. He had yet to find anything of import, and
his investigation had been derailed for months by that lying scumbag.
And now another had died because he had not yet gotten to the root of
the problem.

N'vanik wondered how Corofel would react to him bringing his own guard
to investigate. It _was_ a weyr matter because it involved a rider, no
matter if it happened at Emerald Falls. Would the young lord agree to
the involvement, or would he try to throw his weight around? N'vanik
needed to impress upon him that this was a danger to both of them, and
it was best to work together.

Once apprised that N'vanik had come, Corofel joined him in the square.
He went over and over in his head the conversation he had with Reven
about how to handle this. He had to show his people that he could
handle matters of justice at his own Hold. He eyed the man with whom
he had come momentarily, but then he extended his hand to the
Weyrleader.

"Welcome to Emerald Falls, Weyrleader N'vanik. I only wish it were
under happier circumstances. My duty to Loseth."

"Same here." N'vanik shook his hand. "This is Guard Sergeant
Calbarran. He's been investigating the anti-weyr conspiracy at Dolphin
Cove. He's here to gather information as well as share what we know
with your guards." _Some_ of what they knew, anyway. They didn't know
who they could trust here.

"I appreciate your cooperation," said Corofel. He shook the guard's
hand as well. So, he had brought his own man to investigate rather
than try to take the perpetrator away wholesale. Clever, he supposed.
It must seem much more reasonable. Still, he would have to make sure
that his own guard was explicitly leading the investigation...

He was glad for Zathris and Karhal's help in identifying whom to
promote. Captain of the Guard had proved to be a much easier position
to fill so far than his other leadership roles- once he was sure who
he could trust.

"I'll introduce you to Captain Oriel. He's overseeing the
interrogation and the investigation effort here." And he could
determine what not to share as well.

Much as he hated it, N'vanik had to play nice. He couldn't afford to
lose Emerald Falls completely to the conspirators. "I'm sure you
understand how serious this is. Although the crime happened here, the
victim being a rider makes this the Weyr's business. It's in our best
interests to work together to punish whoever's responsible and make
sure nothing like this happens again. We're concerned for your safety
as well, Lord Corofel."

"I appreciate your concern, of course, and I will be working with my
guard to implement some changes to the way we operate here, so that I
can confidently assure you that this will not happen again," said
Corofel.

"And I look forward to cooperating with Dolphin Cove to continue the
investigation into those who sent the perpetrator." Once again,
Corofel was not sure whether he sounded serious or like a child
playing at being Lord, but he had to make N'vanik believe he was
serious, even if he were the latter.

"However, as for the matter of punishment, I am well-advised and
well-equipped to see that justice is done. You need not fear that I
will, uh... balk. At what must be done." He kept his expression blank,
but inwardly, he was kicking himself for tripping over a word choice.
He had been about to say, 'demure' in place of 'balk', but then
decided he was not sure whether the meaning was the one he wanted and
did not want to look the fool using big words he did not understand.

Corofel seemed nervous -- of course he was, he was just a kid. "The
punishment should fit the crime." N'vanik desperately wanted to get
his hands on the murderer. If Corofel was all talk and was soft on him
. . . well, there were other ways. "Could we talk to the accused?" He
tried to keep his voice polite, neutral. N'vanik didn't know how much
longer he could keep a leash on his anger, but he was trying hard not
to scare Corofel.

"I promise you thisâ€" the punishment _will_ fit the crime." On this,
Corofel was confident. "And everyone here will know that I won't
hesitate to be sure of that. Of course, you may coordinate with
Captain Oriel regarding access to the prisoner."

N'vanik inclined his head. "Lead the way."

Corofel nodded and then led N'vanik and his guard to the constabulary.
Oriel was expecting him, of course, and welcomed the Lord, the
Weyrleader, and his escort into his office. The man was enormous, but
despite that, he had a baby face and looked a bit oddly incongruous
with himself.

"Welcome, Weyrleader. My duty to your bronze. You have questions for me?"

"Yes. This is Calbarran, one of the Weyr's guards. We'd like to talk
to the prisoner," the Weyrleader said. He focused on being as
outwardly calm as he could be. "You can supervise if you have any
concerns about, uhhh . . . potential rough treatment." As much as he
_wanted_ to, N'vanik had no actual intention of beating a man right
under the Lord Holder's nose.

"Ol' Threadfood hasn't had much to say," said Oriel. "My next plan was
to parade a bunch of folks through to see if anyone recognizes him...
but he thinks he hasn't got anything to lose and is pissed off enough
at you to think it's worth getting eaten to take the time to saw off
someone's head."

"He doesn't know what pain is..." Corofel muttered.

"Is that my permission to show him?" asked the Captain.

"I doubt he'll talk, but I don't care any more. I want everyone to see
what they can expect to happen to them if they're as eager as _Ol'
Threadfood_ to demonstrate how cold their blood is at my Hold."

"A public flogging, then?"

"Yes. Up to the point of death, for all I care, as long as he
_doesn't_ die until he can have the glorious death by Thread he
apparently craves. We'll get the trial over with first, and then we
can get on with it. Feel free to ask your questions, Weyrleader
N'vanik," said Corofel, "while he still has the breath to answer
them."

Corofel realized that he should have spoken to Reven about this before
be blurted it out in front of N'vanik. But he was going to protect his
people from these monsters.

Some of the tension in N'vanik eased. "I figured someone willing to go
this far probably isn't going to talk, but we have to try." He
considered how to phrase what he was going to say next. "I suppose
you've considered that this murder coming so soon after your father's
disappearance might not be a coincidence."

Corofel winced.

"The thought had occurred to me. Captain Oriel is hard at work to
ensure my safety. If you were worried about me, anyway."

"His and everyone's," said Oriel. "Moreover, I want to extend a
personal apology to you, Weyrleader, for what happened here on my
watch. Going forward, I'm going to assign at least one Holdside
partner to every watchrider at Emerald Falls to ensure that this
doesn't happen again."

Which seemed like a good idea . . . unless the holdside partner was
part of the conspiracy. "Thank you." N'vanik looked between Oriel and
Corofel. "I'd also urge you to work with the Harper Hall on how you
might prevent more people from falling into this conspiracy. The main
target seems to be the Weyr, at least from the outside, but Hallsecond
Jayala found some indication that Lord Corowal himself was also a
target, and that the attacks against the Weyr might be an attempt to
destabilize both Weyr and Hold as part of a plan to take over Emerald
Falls." If there was any kind of organized takeover plot, they'd
missed a perfect opportunity when the Conclave met to confirm Corofel
as acting Lord. "I've heard rumors of people going hungry in order to
meet the tithe. If that's true, maybe you could create a program for
people to apply for a tithe reduction. Holds should be able to support
the Weyr _and_ themselves. I don't think anyone wants kids going
hungry so the Weyr can have one more sack of grain."

Corofel forced himself not to fold his arms or frown or glare or
otherwise give any indication of resting dick face. He was fairly sure
that he was successful. Fairly sure. He did not need N'vanik to tell
him how to run his Hold, and it galled him to hear the man suggest
things he had already considered-- because now if he implemented them,
it would seem as though he was doing it on N'vanik's advice. Or as his
stooge. He was not going to have a discussion about such things with
the Weyrleader. But he was curious about why he had heard nothing of
this supposed plot directly from the Harper Hall.

"Perhaps the Hallsecond could see fit to inform me herself of matters
that are pertinent to me," he said. "Or does she suspect that I'm
party to this plot?"

"She gave information directly to Lord Corowal, as far as I know,"
N'vanik said. "I only brought it up because I wasn't sure what kind of
notes he might have left, or if you'd had time to review them. You've
had a lot to deal with." He sighed and ran a hand through his hair.
"Look, just talk to Jayala, This is too big to be solved by any one of
us. We all gotta work together."

"I couldn't presume to go it alone," Corofel sighed. "My father was
clearly not expecting me to take over for him just yet. I have very
little in the way of... notes. But you can rely on me to do what's
best for my protectorate and to do right by our protectors. Thank you
for the... heads up."

"Your father always spoke very highly of you." It was true, and
N'vanik didn't think it would hurt to butter up the acting lord a
little. "He seemed very proud of you."

"I won't disappoint him," said Corofel.

"When Lord Corowal returns, I'm sure he'll be pleased with how well
you've done." N'vanik thought Corowal was probably dead, but he wasn't
going to say that in front of his kid.

Corodel suspected the same. But he could not give up hope.

"I can only hope so. Thank you for your kind words, Weyrleader. If
you're ready to speak to the prisoner, I'll leave you with Captain
Oriel for the time being."

"Thank you, Lord Corofel." N'vanik wanted answers, but he also wasn't
looking forward to facing yet another person who hated dragonfolk.

Last updated on the April 30th 2024

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The Punishment Will Fit the Crime