Middlebrough
John came too, his head felt like shit. It was dark and cold. He was chained and bound inside a cell. 10 Legionnaires were spread out through the jail area. He and Billy were segregated from 4 others, considering they were Immortals it was no surprise. Finding out he was bound and in a cell was another surprise, he should have been killed and sent to his nearest friendly graveyard or bind point. Sitting outside the cell was another Immortal, Rogue type, but that was all John could tell. John considered what he could do as he reviewed his alerts.
Alert...
De-Buff Concussed: Coordination and Speed are reduced (-25%)(Duration until healed or 24 Hours).
De-Buff Fractured Jaw: Diplomacy/Charisma are halved until healed. (Duration 3 Hours)
De-Buff Dehydrated: Stamina regeneration is halved. (Duration until you drink, effects can increase with time)
De-Buff Malnourished: Health Regeneration is halved. (Duration until you eat, effects can increase with time)
Alert...
"Hey, you got to let us out of here, you can't keep us in prison like this. We are Immortals." John told the man. He looked up and smiled and laughed.
"I am not the one keeping you in prison, you did that yourself. I am sure the guy in charge of the garrison will be here shortly, he is seeing to the security of the town currently." The Rogue responded. Billy looked at him and shook his head. He looked like crap, his stomach was bandaged but his health was hovering at 10%. John was at 35%, neither one of them were regenerating, and every single one of the prisoners looked like crap.
"I will file a complaint with the Devs if you do not let us go Rogue." John tried that avenue.
At that statement, the Rogue laughed so hard he fell out of his chair, "Let me guess, your ticket will state I am being held in a prison against my will by another player. They will respond 'How did this happen? Where are you? Under what circumstances were you captured?' How will you respond that you were in the process of capturing another Immortal to kidnap him and that is why I am being held against my will. Dumbass, you are in a nation, you broke several serious laws. You cannot get out through the Devs intervention, you made a choice and you will face the consequences of those choices. You want to save yourself and get some leniency, tell us where you guys sent our friend and I will put in a good word for you. Locals, this goes for you as well, but this deal is for only one of you. Whoever talks first, will get the leniency." the man finished as he sat back in his chair and closed his eyes. John tried to send a message to Faith but another Alert popped up immediately.
Alert...
Due to being imprisoned and facing judgment for your crimes, until further notice all abilities/skills are locked. You cannot gain experience, you cannot contact anyone over in-game messaging systems. You have the right to appeal within the justice system you are facing and/or file a trouble ticket. Would you like to do so now? Yes/No
Very well, happy gaming. Remember, Fate is what you make of it, but every choice has a consequence, John.
Alert...
John sat back against the cold wall in defeat. If he filed a trouble ticket, he might as well log out and delete his account. He had told Faith not to take this job and now, he was paying consequences for her actions.
----------------------------------------
Tarren and Yilme were there with Governor High-Tower, Lieutenant-Commander Ironbark was there as well glaring at the man. While High-Tower was the ultimate authority, the Orc was in charge of everything military wise and right now he wanted to go door to door questioning of all the inhabitants. A party was already being gathered that Brox wanted to oversee but Tarren had convinced the Legion Commander that he needed to oversee both training of the new recruits as well as the preparation at the Bloodsoaked Fort. Both were vital and Jacob would be pissed if either effort was compromised.
"They had to have help, these people could not have done this alone without assistance from someone. They knew too much about our defenses, someone talked. Your people are far from being the most loyal of citizens." Ironbark stated as he glared at the Governor.
"What do you expect from my people, they were conquered by a foreign power. Our soldiers slaughtered. Foreign soldiers garrisoned here to ensure our loyalty." High-Tower responded.
Ironbark snatched the man up by his shirt and shook him, "You and your people did nothing while Parris and Weighted Chance hired Bandits and mercenaries to attack the trade route between the basin and you. Those same bandits also intimidated and abused your neighbors. What did you do to fight this? Nothing, so others were forced to step up and deal with the situation. You choose to do nothing. The King decided to end the threat to the people of the Basin as well as your own people. Now you expect us to believe you had nothing to do with his kidnapping when his removal is something you and your people want?"
"Enough!!' Tarren yelled as he slammed his fist into the table, "The King would be disappointed in both of you. Governor, you are the ultimate Imperial Authority here until the King gets back. Those that have been captured must face justice either under Imperial Law or the laws of Middlebrough. Lieutenant-Commander Ironbark, you are the military commander of the garrison, you are to assist the Governor if he thinks it is necessary for an investigation of the local people. You do not decide though if an investigation will be initiated, his word is finale and you know the King would agree with me. Now the Immortal Darren is overseeing both the captives current imprisonment and questioning. I have contacted Commander Brox, he is dispatching 200 Light Cavalry that is being mobilized as we speak and dispatched as soon as they are ready. We have Rangers and Rogues sweeping the local area for any trace of the kidnappers. Military wise, we need to know which direction the kidnappers would take the King. Governor, you need to figure out what laws you will enforce. Get to work." Tarren glared at them and both nodded before leaving to see to their responsibilities.
Tarren sat back and rubbed his face in frustration, "How the hell does Jacob deal with this shit on a constant basis? I have been trying to give people direction for a couple of hours now and I am about to kill someone."
Yilme snorted, "I think he makes it up as he goes along. The better question is what happens if Jacobs advisory Council or the Nobility find out he is missing? He might face a full-on rebellion when he gets back."
Tarren started cursing, "Ask your husband to contact the commanders of the Dawn Guard and Heart Guard, inform them of what has happened and if those bastards ask where Jacob is, tell them he is overseeing the improvement of the fortifications of the Bloodsoaked Fort. That should by us a couple of days." Yilme smiled and smacked his back in encouragement before heading out.
----------------------------------------
Darren played with one of his throwing daggers, the locals didn't know anything concrete just possibilities, the Immortals were staying stubborn not expecting any real punishment for their crimes. Darren chuckled again at their stupidity as he waited for his contacts to come through. The Shadow Daggers had a lot riding on the success of the Vampire faction, having someone disappear the king right at the onset, would be bad business for them. So Darren knew his old guild had no hand in his disappearance, other guilds...not so much.
Find this and other great novels on the author's preferred platform. Support original creators!
"So boys while we wait for all the dirt on you two, I want you to do me a favor. You can still see the in-game Forums, I want you to look up Immortal Trafficking or Human Trafficking in Fate. Use those words in your search, I want you to know what to look forward too." Darren smiled as he continued to play, he was leaning back, he had a dagger balanced on his nose and in both hands. A training technique that some of the more advanced Rogue trainers used and if you dropped a knife, the master would throw one in you for each one that touched the ground.
A few minutes later, both men had paled noticeable causing Darren to chuckle more as they started to read all the punishments Black Rock and the community had heaped onto players identified in capturing and kidnapping Immortals. Each person who had been caught doing so was Cursed by the Devs, their accounts flagged and depending on the severity of their crimes they would be banned for a certain amount of time including permanent deletion. It didn't matter if they deleted their current avatar, the curses and flags were bound to their account and would never disappear. "So, you now know what you are facing from the system if word gets out what you and your friends did. I want you to think about that as I go talk to some people. Remember my offer is still good until the Governor either convenes your court or simply decides your punishments."
----------------------------------------
Governor High-Tower reviewed the laws of Middlebrough trying to find something that would prosecute the people that had invaded his home and kidnapped his new King. Both Ironbark and the Immortals had made it utterly clear, the kidnappers were not sure who Jacob Longstrider was in the hierarchy of his people, only that someone wanted him kidnapped for their own reasons. The only problem though with Middlesbrough's laws was that they didn't cover half of what they had done. So he would be forced to charge them under Imperial laws that were broader as well as stricter in their punishments.
As he made his way down below to the cells where the Immortals and Locals that had perpetrated the violence, he thought about what he could do and what punishments he could deal out. He couldn't execute them for kidnapping one of the Royal line, which was the ultimate judgment he could deal out. Well, time to find out how they wanted to proceed he thought as he entered the jail. 10 Legionnaires stood about watching and the Immortal Darren followed behind the Governor and quietly leaned against the wall. "Prisoners of the Empire, before we continue you have two choices before you. We can proceed by convening a court which will take the time or you can choose to be summarily be judged for your actions. You will have one hour to decide, the majority will rule your decision and you have one hour to decide. Inform the Immortal Darren what that decision is, he has also informed you that some leniency will be granted if you can provide information on where the Citizen Jacob Longstrider was taken, this is the truth. I expect that information with your decision if you expect any leniency. Good day." High-Tower finished his talk before turning and leaving. It was now up to Darren if they got any information about the King or not.
----------------------------------------
Darren watched as the older man leave while looking at the prisoners. They were even more shocked than before, they knew in nations that they could face some harsh laws so they feared the worse for what they had done. "What can he do to us?" The one single woman that had been captured asked.
Darren smiled, "Worst-case scenario you will be executed. If the Governor is feeling malicious you can face up to a decade of hard labor or a large fine. Immortals will face hard labor and a fine as well as other ramifications if word gets out about what they did." Darren smiled as he looked at her. She started crying and one of her companions tried to comfort her but she hit him.
Suddenly the Immortal Billy stood, "I would like to talk." The other Immortal John tried to rise but the Legionnaires were already moving and opening the cell. The quickly subdued the combative John and pulled Billy out.
"This is what we are going to do, you are going upstairs with me and a few of these fine soldiers. You are going to confess and tell us everything that happened in the attack including your part in it. You will then tell us where the Immortal Jacob Longstrider is currently if you lie even once the offer goes away. Understand? If you attack anyone or try to escape, things will go worse for you." Darren finished while Billy continued to nod his head. Darren studied him before two of the Legionnaires moved forward each one taking an arm and escorting him upstairs followed by Darren.
A little over an hour later the confession was complete with the information on where they were supposed to meet up with some slavers that were going to smuggle their target into the Free City of Uldon. Uldon is the nearest member of the Free City Alliance and nearly 2 weeks north hard ride. If Billies confession and information was to be believed, the slaver was based in Anchorhead but ran goods and slaves to most of the Free Cities in the west. So he had both the connections and means to smuggle a little extra into a city. Currently, they had at least a 3-day head start based on where their portal dumped them. So the 200 Light Calvary and 12 Rangers and Druids were riding hard north. They would be disguised as a band of mercenaries looking to sell their services to one of the Free Cities if someone asked. Only a few within their ranks knew their true goal.
Darren, Tarren, and Yilme watched as the riders raced north from the wall, the light of day was hours away and they each contemplated what was ahead of them. "I am thinking about asking the Shadow Daggers for direct assistance. Meet a team of their people in Uldon and hunt whoever put this in motion up there or ride from there with a group of mercs and intercept these slavers." Darren told his friends.
Tarren immediately shook his head, "No, having their support backchecking guild members here and in our world is putting us in debt as is. Asking for direct support on this would compound the mistake and we have no idea what they would do if they got their hands on Jacob. We still have no idea who ordered the kidnapping and the listen of who could is frighteningly long.