Chasing Castles

[Malcolm]

56 Vhalar 716

Malcolm began his search in the exact same location that the crime had occurred, the Blackwater Marketplace. During the civil war of Saun, Lowtown had been taken over by the Qe'dreki forces and many people had been killed or gone missing, but it was the small plight of a young family looking for their eight year old boy, James Castle, upon checking the bounty board, that had caught the knight's attention. It wasn't that he had been particularly moved by their letter, but having failed to protect his own family, Malcolm felt he owed the world this.
There had been little to no trouble in the Lowtown marketplace since the war had ended, with a lot of the families and merchants who had called the old waterway home, being chased off, or worse. Benjamin, who had become a father recently, decided to help with the investigation, and the two spent the morning looking for a slave trader by the name of Juur Rein, who specialised in the trade of children. Lowborn scum.
"Yes, he was in here yesterday," a woman shrieked as Benjamin tightened his fist against her husband's soft bits, causing him to cry out. His forearm was closed against the man's throat, wild blue eyes only a few inches from the man he held captive. "Call off your dog!" She pleaded with Malcolm who stood calm, pondering his next question.
"And why was he here?" The warden inquired. "Did he have anyone with him?" He knew that his staying calm would be more unnerving than if he were to raise his voice, at least one of the pair had to seem rational enough to negotiate with.
"A young girl, he wanted blankets! Please, don't hurt my husband!"
"Captain," he said and Ben loosened his hold on the man only to deliver a swift punch to his gut as he attempted to fight back.
"Do you know where he is staying?"
"Somewhere in Lowtown! There aren't many good areas left intact, you shouldn't have too much trouble!"
"One last question," Malcolm assured her. "What did he look like?"
"He's short, balding, brown hair with grey all through his beard. He's overweight and looks red in the face."
"Any markings? Weapons you noticed?"
"None, just a dagger he wore on his hip."
"Let him go," Malcolm ordered.
Benjamin slammed the man into the wall with a hiss. "If you ever pull a weapon on a knight again, it'll be the last thing you do," the captain warned. There was a tear in the upper right sleeve of his shirt where his attacker's blade had caught him but only grazed the skin due to Benjamin's quick thinking.
Malcolm picked up the man's dagger and claimed it for the Iron Hand, a punishment they bestowed to all who chose to act against them without cause. He handed the dagger to Ben and the two of them left the underground brothel to go in search of Juur.

[Malcolm]

They had a warrant to search Juur Rein’s house, but it was never to be their first port of call. With no other leads, however, Benjamin and Malcolm found themselves knocking on the door to the man’s house in midtown. Of course it was just like a lowlife slave trader to handle all of his dealings in lowtown while he himself lived in a more luxury dwelling in midtown.
Benjamin got impatient after the third attempt to summon someone to the door and started circling the house, looking for an open window, or making sure no one was escaping out through the back. A few minutes later he came to the front door and opened it for Malcolm.
“How did you get inside?”
“Smashed a window out back,” the captain answered shamelessly.
Malcolm noticed a shallow scratch on the man’s right arm and decided without saying anything that this must have been a result of punching a window in. They went inside and started their search, looking for any evidence that might point them in the rights direction. Both knights tried not to touch or move anything, but felt it was safe to say that no one had done so in a long time. Most of the furniture was covered in dust, and the fireplace looked as if it hadn't been used in a while.
It was the kitchen that provided the first clue, where Malcolm found half a loaf of bread. He torn it in two and pressed his thumb against the soft centre. “It's pretty fresh,” Malcolm turned to face Benjamin. “Someone has been here in the last trial or so.”
“You think it's Juur?” Benjamin asked.
Malcolm looked along the bench, the jam had been left out with the lid off and was now being attacked by an army of ants. “Not unless he's only four feet tall,” he mentioned, knowing how children made such a mess whenever they tried to make themselves a sandwich unsupervised, just as his sons had done as boys. “Let's check upstairs.”
Upstairs the house was just as messy as it was down. Malcolm pressed his hand to the messy bed sheets, they were cold and didn't indicate that anyone had been buried in them recently. “Any documents, ledgers?” he rummaged around at a desk while Benjamin went through the drawers.
Malcolm pulled an empty envelope from the pile he had gone through and held it up. “Isn't this the logo for the local orphanage?”
Ben put his hands on his hips. “Why would they be dealing with him?”
“Maybe it's where he gets his children?”
The captain shook his head. “No way, too much paperwork, he would be figured out in no time at all.”
“Then perhaps it's where he sells them to?”
“Desperate couple seeks angelic blonde to fulfil lifelong dream of starting a family,” Benjamin laughed.
Malcolm scolded him with a look. “Is it so far-fetched?”
“Let's go find out.”

[Malcolm]

“What do you mean you don't keep any records?” Benjamin stared long and hard at the woman behind the front desk.
“We lost them all during the civil war, Ser. I'm afraid I can't help you.”
“And have you taken any records since the orphanage reopened?”
“Yes, Ser, but I'm telling you we've had no boy in who matches that description.”
“Well I'd like to see the records all the same,” the knight pressed.
“Of course, Ser, right this way.”
Malcolm watched as Benjamin followed the short, little, fat woman into the back room, and looked around the entranceway. The building looked rundown and tired, the wallpaper peeling and sun-damaged. Malcolm understood that the crown was paying gold into organisations like this one, but more often than not they were corrupt, and with no one keeping an eye on them, the money usually ended up going into pockets rather than being spent on the children and their quality of life.
After giving himself a bit of a tour, Malcolm found a young girl sitting down at a table in the living area. She was working on a drawing and had two pencils, one black, the other purple. The knight put his hand on the hilt of his weapon and smiled. “What is that you're drawing?”
“A horse,” the girl replied in a whisper, obviously shy.
“Its very good,” Malcolm encouraged, “do you like horses?”
The girl looked up and studied him for a brief time before offering a smile in return, having decided Malcolm looked friendly enough, or perhaps it was the badges he wore. “Yes,” she nodded. “Do you have one, Ser Knight?”
“Two horses,” he admitted. “Can I sit with you?” he then asked, pulling out one of the little chairs. The girl couldn't have been more than eight, was fair of hair, and had sharp, blue eyes.
“You're creepy,” she leaned away from him, pressing her cheek to her shoulder.
“I suppose I am a bit scary aren't I?”
She smiled.
“My name is Malcolm, what's yours?”
“Hannah,” the girl mumbled.
“I came here to look for my friend, Hannah, but I can't find him anywhere,” Malcolm sat down and folded his arms.
Hannah watched him, cautious. “I'm good at finding people,” she grinned, but returned her attention to the drawing again.
“Are you? Maybe you've seen him.”
“What's his name?” Hannah inquired and put her pencil down.
“He never told me his name, but I can't forget his face.”
“Why not?” She looked at him.
“He had a scar on his cheek,” Malcolm touched his own cheek where the scar had resided on the boy he was searching for, “that looked like a star.”
“Oh… Jack!” Her face lit up. “He was my friend too.”
“When did you see him last?”
“One, two… four trials ago,” Hannah counted on her fingers.
“Do you know where he went?”
“To his new family,” she smiled. “I'd like a new family…”
“I'm sure you will find one,” Malcolm smiled warmly. “Do you remember what Jack looked like. How tall was he?”
Hannah stood up and held her hand a few inches above her own height. “This big,” he told him, “he had blue eyes and black hair, and a red star on his face right there,” she touched Malcolm’s cheek and the man did little more than blink.
Black hair, he thought, that didn't sound right. Benjamin rounded the hallway then and stood close with his hands on his hips. “Did you find anything?” Malcolm got to his feet.
“No blondes with blue eyes.”
“How about black?”
“Black?” The man looked puzzled.
“Black hair and blue eyes,” Malcolm nodded.
Benjamin held out a folder. “Jack Jurotich,” Benjamin smirked.
“Looks like we found our boy,” Malcolm smiled.
“Indeed,” the captain agreed.

[Malcolm]

Half an inch of platinum hair separated the jet black strands of James’ coloured hair from his scalp. After the knights had called for ‘Jack’ by his real name, there could be no denying that he was their boy. Fortunately for James he had been well taken care of, and other than looking a little skinny, he seemed quite healthy and alert. He had run into Ben’s arms, and Malcolm spoke with the couple who had been looking after him while Benjamin tried to calm him down. “You're going home,” the knight promised, “we will take you there soon.”
“We had no idea,” the woman, Maeve, started to cry. “He kept trying to tell us something and whenever my husband Bill took him to the marketplace, he would often try to escape.”
“Bill held his hand over his mouth. “He doesn't speak common,” he shook his head with disbelief.
“His family are Biqaj,” Benjamin interjected, the man knew enough to soothe the boy’s fears and confirm where he lived.
“How much coin was exchanged, out of interest?” Malcolm inquired.
“Just over a thousand,” Bill looked at Maeve with sad eyes.
“One thousand four hundred gold, and change,” she corrected him.
“You understand the children from the orphanage don't cost anything to home?”
“No we weren't, the man we dealt with kept asking for more and more gold.”
“Do you know his name?”
“Not his real one I suspect,” Bill interrupted his wife. “He liked to meet in lowtown.”
“Would you recognise him?”
“Yes of course,” they both agreed.
“This is the case number,” Malcolm handed over a piece of parchment. “On there you will find the name of the judge handling this case in court. There will be a summons in around about ten trials and you will be asked to give your side of the story.”
“Will we get our money back?” Bill asked.
“Oh Bill, don't,” Maeve frowned.
“Were there any signed documents stating the amount exchanged?” Malcolm asked.
“Only the initial payment of four hundred,” Bill admitted.
“Take that with you to the court, if you're both cleared, the man responsible for this will be made to pay compensation.”
“Is he in custody?” Maeve asked.
“Not yet, but we know who he is so it's just a matter of time.”
“Malcolm,” Benjamin encouraged.
“Thank you for your cooperation, Maeve, Bill, we’ll be in contact.”
Bill put his arm around his crying wife and the waved them off. Benjamin and Malcolm returned to their horses to take the boy home, another crime solved.

[Pegasus]

Malcolm

Points!:

Story: 5/5
Collaboration: 0/ 5 (solo thread)
Structure: 5/ 5

Knowledge:

Location: Blackwater Marketplace
Location: Juur Rein's house, Midtown
Location: Orphanage
James Castle: 8 arcs old missing boy
James Castle: named Jack in the orphanage
James Castle: Jack Jurotich
James Castle: was in the orphanage 4 trials ago
James Castle: gone to a new family
Maeve and Bill: Had no idea of James' background
Maeve and Bill: Paid 1,400 gn
Juur Reinn: Slaver who specialises in children.
Juur Reinn: Somewhere in Lowtown
Juur Reinn: You have his description.
Juur Reinn: Lives in Midtown
Hannah: Orphan
Hannah: Likes horses
Hannah: Thinks you're scary
Hannah: Good at finding people
Benjamin: Not above squeezing hard for information.
Orphanage: Logo
Torture: Remain calm, it's more effective that way
Intimidation: Quiet, calm questions
Intimidation: Speak softly
Detection: Spotting small injuries
Detection: Searching houses for a timeline
Detection: Bread, and other perishable substances, can help determine time frame
Investigation: Use the environment to establish a timeline
Investigation: Children leave different clues than adults
Investigation: Open and closed questioning
Investigation: Use a range of information sources to build a picture
Investigation: Direct questioning sometimes works.
Investigation: Questions to clarify, especially when it's to do with money.
Investigation: People can easily disguise hair colour, don't use it as a means of description.
Investigation: Ask about marks, moles, scars or other specific identifiers.

Loot:

200gn reward. 1xdagger for the Iron Hand

Fame:

+2 (enforce a city law), +2 (solve a mystery ~ Juur Rein), +2 (solve a mystery ~ James Castle)

Magic:

These points may NOT be used for arcana

Overview:

General comments. Well, I know that my pc used to have a crush on Malcolm, but after that thread, I think I do! What an excellent thread - well written, intense and intriguing. I absolutely loved reading it.
Story Excellent. Loved it. Superbly written, fast paced, detailed. Great.
Structure All good.

Please do PM me if you've got any questions