A few days after the trip to the quarry, where Enno feels like they made good progress on designing a boss, the first remittances of the mortuary taxes have arrived to Yutolio, who acts as a steward when Enno is away from the palace.
“Milord, it seems like the ghosts killing off the prisoners have caused the prices of funeral services, including chantry priests, to skyrocket, and for leagues around the city…” Yutolio reports to his lord.
“What is the meaning of this? These ghosts might have debts to repay, but I didn’t expect them to be killing off the prisoners in such a systematic way!” Enno, aghast at the gruesome deaths his ghosts have inflicted on the prisoners, can barely contain his anger.
Enno then goes to the prison annex, which currently has no prisoner, but whose entrance clearly reeks of blood. Especially since several prisoners have died recently within its walls. He goes right up to the trio’s cells, who, in a few short days, have managed to massacre the entire inmate population. Either with the prison’s rack and pinion or at dha-point.
“It seems like you killed off more prisoners in a few days than the electricity wizard calling himself an executioner did in years!” Enno yells at the trio of aswarans. “How much money did you collect from these prisoners?”
Tissaphernes is a little shaky, unwilling to reveal to his lord that they might not be able to repay their debts until their executioner license expires. A shame our limited executioner license does not allow us to seize the deceased’s property… He took a while to count the money the aswarans collected.
“We’ve collected ninety-seven thousand gold, but because some families prove slow to pay, especially the poorer ones, I am afraid we cannot repay our debts in time…” Tissaphernes shares his financial concerns.
“I guess, you cannot take for granted the prisoners’ income level… but perhaps I have a solution” Enno, forced to face the music, might have a better idea of how to repay the ghosts’ park-induced debts.
“What is it, milord?” Ermahgerd asks in a creepy tone.
“We’ll close the prison annex, put it for sale and the proceeds will go towards the construction of the haunted park! Also, impose a new tax on torture instruments, and tariffs on both high-end gear and torture instrument imports! And, of course, for those crimes not serious enough to warrant capital punishment, banishment will replace prison as punishment within the confines of the city!”
“Why not torture rather than banishment?” Tissaphernes asks.
“Torture pushes torturers to kill because they can bill criminals’ families twice: it has become clear that you abused the billing policy for torture!”
“Speaking of torture instruments, our rack and pinion has broken down; we will need to replace it, milord!” Ermahgerd points at the broken pinions.
“We want saws on our new rack and pinion!” Tissaphernes yells at his lord.
“No, you won’t get a new rack and pinion! On top of that, a rack and pinion costs a few thousand gold new! You already incurred three hundred thousand gold in debt, that I am forced to sell the prison annex to repay! Your abuses forced my hand!”
Maybe the torturers’ extortion, especially the extortion committed by the aswarans, might draw the public attention away from the park, at least for the time being. Installation time can’t come soon enough! Then and only then these aswarans will stop being thorns on my side. It’s going to be a long four fortnights! Enno squirms after learning about their abuses.
“Who would want to buy the prison annex? How much do you hope to get for it?” Marzban asks his lord, before turning to Tissaphernes. “You borrowed fifty thousand more than you were supposed to! What did you do with the money?”
“I also bought an axe, a mace, a hammer, a two-handed sword, a dagger and a rifle! Of which only the dagger is ready!” the grivpanvar answers his phantom superior. “And I had the beggar co-signer of the consolidated loan learn a trade! With the money I gave him after taking out the last fifty thousand gold loan”
“I guess, that should make my life easier when the time comes to get to the loot systems” Enno remarks on the expenditures the ghosts incurred by taking out a second loan, which is then consolidated. “Now I understand where the discrepancy comes from between their earlier debt burden and the current one”
“Can the rack and pinion be repaired? Perhaps we can repair it for a fraction of the cost it would take to buy a new one!” Marzban asks his grivpanvar.
“Remember that, if you keep extorting the residents of the city, I will have you all thrown into a cauldron of boiling holy water! And publicly!” Enno warns his aswarans by yelling at them. “Any repairs to the rack and pinion must come from your own pocket, and with torture now being reserved for criminals sentenced to death, you won’t have nearly as much cash!”
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Holy water… he’s going to need a lot of holy water to destroy us that way, even if he threw only one of us in it at a time! Tissaphernes starts planning to buy a pair of long saws, as well as winches that can replace the old pinions. Rather than to replace expensive pinions, 2 winches can be had for a fraction of the cost. For 200 gold, I believe we can put the rack and pinion back in service, just that it would no longer be called a rack and pinion.
The lord then leaves the mostly empty prison annex, which is built like a round castle tower, just without any curtain wall attached to it. As he makes his way to the kitchen, he doesn’t suspect that the prison guards are made to buy two long saws and two winches by the trio of aswaran torturers in their names.
When he arrives at the palace’s kitchen, he meets with Concetta:
“OK, Concetta, now that we have a better idea of what the haunted park bosses are going to be like, I might be wondering if you would like to be a voice actress for one of them” Enno suggests to his cook.
“What makes you think I want to be a voice actress for a haunted park boss, milord?” the cook asks, being left in the dark about the mechanics of the haunted park bosses. “I’m just a cook who uses alcohol magic!”
“Because you’re using alcohol magic, there’s a boss that would fit you like a glove as a voice actress: the last boss, the alcohol lich”
“I don’t follow: what the hell is a lich? Did you think I could be a good voice actress for an alcohol lich just because I have some talent as an alcohol witch?”
“I don’t blame you for not knowing what a lich is” Enno then explains what a lich is to her. “But there are times where you want, for an actor playing a specific part, especially for those calling for a certain expertise, someone who already have the expertise in question, since it’s easier to train them as actors then”
“I’m… flattered!” Concetta blushes. “There’s just not a whole lot of alcohol witches who would even want to be actresses”
“Now I didn’t put on a whole lot of theater plays at the palace, the logistics of putting on one can be daunting. Theater troupes often request a multitude of props, or lodging for many actors”
But as Enno discussed voice acting with his cook, one of the prison guards asks a question for his lord, about the impending sale of the prison annex.
“Since you plan to sell the prison annex, where will we put the torture chamber?” the jailer asks him.
“I’ll try to see if there’s somewhere in the city where the ghosts can reside until their installation in the haunted park. The palace, even in the basement, is not somewhere you want to send prisoners to torture them to death! And not at the gatehouse either…” Enno tries to think of where in the city the torture chamber can be relocated.
“No one wants to live near a torture chamber. I’m not sure, honestly”
“But once a suitable location is found, the ghosts must move to this place immediately! Maybe the executioner’s home”
“With all due respect, milord, the city’s executioner already has it hard enough without ghosts, even if the ghosts moved the rack and pinion they love so much into their home! With three ghosts, I’m not sure he would have loved to keep his position!”
“And you had the gall to tax torture instruments! That’s counter-productive since there is no market for torture instruments in the realm!” Concetta makes her claim.
“Call in the executioner! Now!” Enno yells at the jailer.
The jailer then looks for the executioner at his home, while Enno returns to the great room of his palace. When the jailer returns to the palace, with the electricity wizard in tow, that wizard can’t hide his displeasure at being brought in before his lord.
“Milord! Please forgive me!” the executioner kneels before Enno.
“There’s nothing to ask forgiveness for. The city’s three judges tended to sentence criminals to prison terms for certain crimes, while your job is limited to capital punishment! But don’t worry: these ghosts won’t be torturing people any more in three fortnights’ time! Their executioner license is time-limited!”
“But why did you summon me here?” a confused executioner asks his lord.
“No, you’re not fired. More like some circumstances have changed and we have other needs for you!”
“What do you mean?”
What needs would my liege lord have for me that don’t revolve around zapping criminals to death? The executioner starts sweating upon hearing about the other needs Enno deems he has for the city’s executioner.
“Take your forty days of levy duty as an air superiority wizard immediately!” Enno yells at the city’s executioner.
“Milord, I’m not obligated to serve forty days on levy duty, since I am not of knightly rank!” the executioner protests.
“Air superiority wizards are obligated to serve forty days a year! You will then be able to battle airborne bandits until the ghosts are installed in the park!”
“Just let me prepare my belongings and gear! And tell my loved ones about going on levy duty!” the executioner talks about levy duty.
“Dismissed!”
The executioner then rushes to his home outside the city’s walls, preparing his battle gear for his duty as an air superiority wizard, and telling his family about his 40-day tour of duty.
The following day, Enno meets with the executioner’s family left behind by the head of the family being gone on their 40-day tour of duty as obligated by his status as an air superiority wizard:
“For the next forty days, I must warn you, you will have to live with three ghosts because they will temporarily assume the role of the city’s executioners. Also, we are about to sell the prison annex so it pains me to announce that you will have to suffer forty days of these ghosts torturing whatever criminals are sentenced to death during that time!” Enno announces to the family of the executioner.
“Why forty days?” the executioner’s wife asks her lord.
“He’s on levy duty for that period as an air superiority wizard. Also, we need to clear out the fixtures of the prison annex after these ghosts have killed off the prisoners!”
Oh boy, I hope these ghosts will stay in this home for the next 40 days… Enno crosses his fingers as the ghosts arrange for their broken rack and pinion to be moved there.