Time to go home.

Elrik walked over to the front of the Morpok Lane watch house, where the desk duty sergeant was, to sign out.

The front of the watch house was, as usual this time of evening, full of milling watchmen, signing in and out as the shifts changed. Cheap Irasik lamps burned a dim orange along the walls.

Someone had opened the windows to let in the cool night air, after the heat of the day. Stench from something terrible came in as well. No one knew what to do about it, and so they put up with it, mustering through, noses wrinkled.

The desk sergeant, an ancient bespectacled old not-yet-pensioner, was known to everyone around as Old Jaani. If he had another name - or a recorded age - Elrik had yet to find it. He’d looked.

"Eh? Who's that?", Jaani cracked an eye to see what had interrupted his nap

"Just me Jaani", Elrik assured the ancient one, "Signing out for the day"

Jaani slammed the book closed on Elrik's hand before he could put down his name

"Captain wants to see you"

Elrik groaned, "I'm done Sarge, I've been with the recruits all day and then some"

The old sergeant's hand, that held the logbook closed didn't budge an inch.

"Captain wants to see you"

Elrik sighed, "Alright, I'll go talk to her"

Old Jaani hummed a tune of satisfaction and let his eyes flutter close once again.

Elrik reluctantly made his way to the back of the watch house

...

"Captain, I heard you wanted to see me?"

Elrik would have knocked on a door if the captain had one. Instead he knocked on the door frame.

One of Lord Commander Vimara's new edicts last year had been to rip out every door out of every watch house in the city. There was a lot outrage, mostly amongst the watch captains, but Vimara insisted, 'No secrets; the watch must watch itself!' and the doors had to go.

Perennially short on money as the watch always was, they'd chopped up most of it for firewood for the winter.

I guess that's one way to make an open door policy stick

Captain Terali Moira of the Morpok Lane Watch house was a squat burly brick-shithouse of a woman.

She was another of Sergeant Kru's generation - a woman of the watch - from back when the watch was little more than bunch of gate guards. She'd survived those hard years, then the purges and reformations that came after, rising up through the ranks to be captain of the Morpok Lane watch.

With her burly, yokel build and her plain, rustic face, Captain Moira had earned a reputation as a simple, obedient hound that served her Commander well and never strayed outside the lines.

It was a reputation that Captain Moira had taken some pain to cultivate.

Elrik, over his time in the watch, had observed that she was, in fact, intensely loyal. She was also, a devious, machiavellian backstabber.. if you got on her bad side. He quite liked her.

Moira, sitting behind her desk, squinted down her nose to see Elrik.

She waved him in, "Come"

Elrik walked in.

"Is that him?". The person who'd spoken was a rail thin gentleman, sitting in the corner of Moira's office. He wore (to Elrik's eyes) an impeccably tailored suit, and sat leaning on a cane. He was old, with a wizened lined face, but had sharp glittering eyes, that were now examining Elrik carefully.

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"Yes, this is Corporal Elrik, my lord", Moira gestured to him

The old man raised an eyebrow, "Good with the sword you say"

"Passable", Captain Moira wasn't given to overstatement

"And he knows to read?", The old man was still examining Elrik like a prize cow

"Ahem", Elrik decided to speak up, tired of standing there like livestock, "Captain, you needed to see me?"

The Captain held up a hand to silence Elrik, "Yes, my lord. Corporal Elrik here even visits the Azuli Street watch house library nearly every day"

Ah.. Someone had noticed

These past few months, he'd been quietly working his way through nearly every book he could get his hands on in this city.

Books were precious, expensive things here - each one painstakingly written - copied out by hand. Luckily for Elrik, Lord Commander Vimara was an rare believer in salting away knowledge - and making it available to his precious watchmen.

The Azuli Street watch house was one of the largest libraries in Kalaghutta - with a wealth of books and watch reports.

Elrik had thought his uncommon thirst for knowledge had gone quietly unnoticed...

Apparently it had not.

Elrik shot a glance at Captain Moira, but the Captain's face remained expressionless.

The old gentleman turned to Elrik, "You - boy - you're local are you?"

Kalaghutta was the ass end of the Imperium, the last little bit of civilization in the west, before the untamed, chaotic wild of the west.

In the city, locals - men and women born and raised near Kalaghutta - were uncommon.

After a heady life in the Imperium, many a soldier and craftsman retired to the quiet, backward little city. It was also a place that attracted adventurers and prospectors like flies to carrion from all across the Imperium. Every few months, another trader looking for new lands, or another little band of adventurers looking for treasure, would cross the Yitka. Few of them made it back

Elrik bowed his head, "Yes, I am, my lord. I was raised near here. A small village a few miles upriver. If it pleases you."

The deference rankled at him. After a lifetime in San Francisco and Delhi and Berlin, it grated against his soul to bow and scrape to every passing noble.

But he wasn't on earth any more. He was in what amounted to a feudal society now. Here, he was little more than a jumped up peasant.

Most of the landed gentry weren't like Lieutenant Akela.. Appropriate reverence from the peasantry was a birthright they took for granted.

Putting on airs would just earn him a showdown with a few thugs an alleyway somewhere - or worse - attract too much attention.

The old man in the suit looked him over up and down one more time. Elrik didn't like the way the old man was examining at him. He half expected the decrepit old noble would check his teeth.

"He'll do", The old noble finally acknowledged Elrik with a nod, then got up and left the captain's office.

"My lord", Captain Moira got up to bow and lead the old noble out.

...

Before Elrik could speak, Captain Moira raised her hand again.

Then, when the old man was well out of earshot she sat back down behind her desk to let him speak, lowering her hand.

Elrik narrowed his eyes, "What was that about captain?"

Captain Moira's stoney poker face collapsed in a "Hrumph" of disdain

"That jumped up pissant", Captain Moira started, "Was Lord Akali - a Baron of Akali branch of the Akela family"

Captain Moira's impeccable deference to the nobility lasted till about a minute after one was out the door. It was one of the reasons Elrik liked her.

"Ah", Elrik waited

The Captain pursed her lips, staring into the distance over Elrik's shoulder

"A hundred years ago Kalaghuatta was barely a hole in the ground. Fifty years ago it was barely a city. In the last few years, suddenly, we've seen more and more nobility trickling into the city. At first, a few exiles from branch families, but now we're drawing the attention of the larger noble houses"

"We're growing", Elrik followed her.

Captain Moira nodded, "These last ten years - there's been one Duke involved with the Kalaghutta city watch - the Duke of Vimara. But, more and more, Duke Akela is becoming interested in involving himself with the watch"

Moira rubbed her chin, "I don't like it. Duke Vimara saved the watch from itself. He saved this city. He built the watch into something that could stand free of the nobles - free of their games. Now, if this Duke Akela inserts himself into the watch, the other families will soon follow"

Moira shook her head, "No.. this is threatening to become political", she spat the last word out like a curse.

The captain tapped on a piece of parchment on her desk, "Baron Akali came here to pass on a request from Duke Akela. The Duke says, his son, Lord Akela, has a.. project - and he needs a minder."

"Ah" Elrik, with a sinking feeling, was starting to understand where this was going.

Captain Moira threw the parchment to Elrik, "You will be that minder. You will guard him. You will help him. You will discourage him. You will steer him, gently, but firmly away from the watch"

Rats.. this was inconvenient

With all the plans and schemes Elrik had doing.. this was the last thing he needed

"Why me?", Elrik's scrambled to find an objection

Moira raised an eyebrow, "You're one of the best swordsmen in the city watch. You're not as cretinous as these other idiots under my command. And you’re a local - so you don’t know shit about politics in the capital."

Couldn't argue with that...

"Captain, I would love to help", Elrik objected, "but I really don't think I'm going to be steering Lieutenant Akela anywhere"

For a second Captain Moira's face was a mask of confusion, before breaking into a chuckle

"Ha! What? No! This is not about Lord Lieutenant Alecis Akela . You're being seconded to Duke Akela's youngest son - Lord Sherlot Akela. He's snivelly little shit - barely twenty if he's a day"

“But-“

Captain Moira held up a hand, "Hush, that's all from you. The parchment has everything you need. You report to Akela Manor tomorrow. Now get out!"