Around you, 4 others also wait around, also shackled. Despite your insistence that you don’t know any of them, you were grouped with them anyway. Still, it’s better than being placed in the cell with the other guys; you can hear disgruntled yelling coming from another cell to your left. You’d hate to imagine what would be happening now if they put you in the cell with the guy who attacked you.

You repeatedly tap your foot against the stone floor. The burgundy men took your bag and battle axe, and you’ve no idea where it is; you don’t even know who these guys are! They’re certainly not law enforcers; for all you know, this is just some kind of organised mob.

Your attempts to glean any info from the others in your cell result in grunts and shrugs. You are largely ignored.

Rude.

One of the burgundy men approaches the cell and taps on the bars with his cudgel before pointing at you. He demands your name. You tell him “Val”.

“So you and Khen’s boys were fighting in the street. What’s your part in all this?” he asks.

Managing not to yell at him in frustration, you calmly tell him that you have no part in it; you were just trying to mind your own business when ‘Khen’ and his thugs attacked you. Whatever everyone keeps inferring you’re involved in, it’s not true!

The man stares at you, looking sceptical.

“Why don’t you tell me what you were doing before the fight broke out?” He holds a notepad ready.

You take a breath and describe what happened from the moment you chose to take shelter from the rain at that blasted factory. You tell him about the canal man, the people living in the factory, your confrontation as you were trying to leave, and your encounter with Khen.

As you tell your tale, the man questions you; why you chose to hide when you saw the men running, what certain individuals looked like, and asks you to describe what you meant when you mentioned you ‘lightly threatened them back’.

The man listens carefully and continues his notes, tapping it a few times as he considers. Then, he flips the book closed.

“Alright. I’m going to verify your story. If you’re telling the truth, then you’ll have nothing to fear.”

With that, he turns and walks away. And then the wait begins.

You lose track of time; how many hours are you made to wait? During this time, your cellmates are also questioned, but not as extensively as you were, and a couple are led away. These four are from one of the surrounding areas and were just passing through this one when they got caught up in an attack by “jealous, disgruntled locals”, from what you overhear.

You zone out after a while, trying to get as comfortable as you can, and wake suddenly when you hear “Val!” accompanied by more tapping on the bars. The man who questioned you is back, and seeing you wake, he unlocks the door and gestures for you to follow.

You get up, stiff and sore now, and follow him out of the cell, which he locks behind you. You pass by the two other holding cells; things have quieted down a bit, and there are a few less than when you first saw them, but you receive a few dirty looks from the inhabitants who notice you. You’re led to a room just off the reception area, where a few more of the burgundy men are present, and the man who was leading you turns and begins removing your shackles.

“Your story checks out. You’re free to go.”

You’re a little surprised but relieved, rubbing your wrists once they’re freed. You were fully expecting him to tell you they were taking you to court or, jail, or the executioner’s block, considering your day so far.

Putting the shackles away, the man starts sifting through papers and objects, as he begins returning your confiscated items to you; you refrain from hugging your battle axe when he hands it over. You check your watch; you’ve been in here for about 2 hours.

As you gather your things, you take a chance to ask him what’s actually going on. And who are you guys? You’re not the law..?

“We’re the Reddbarrow Watchmen, and I’m Nermal. We’re not…official lawmen, no, but we do have their backing and help them with their police work. Reddbarrow’s a real handful for them, so they appreciate our help and knowledge. At this point, we’ve pretty much taken over their role here.”

Hmm. Official unofficial vigilante law-keepers and neighbourhood watch.

Glancing about, they do seem fairly organised, but not fully; for a start, unlike the enforcers, they don’t wear a standard uniform, though they all have a grey hat and burgundy cloak and belt.

“As for the trouble, there’s been a lot of unrest recently. There’s plenty of work in Reddbarrow and Dark End, which draws in people from the surrounding areas; Chinminton, Lanor… This, in turn, has driven down the pay, making life harder for the workers. The locals don’t like the newcomers for it; we’ve been seeing trouble like this kick off more and more these days; anyone not from Reddbarrow is seen as a job thief and made a target.

Those guys you were held with were just passing through the Barrow when they got cornered and a fight broke out; people assumed they were coming here for work.

The communities are pretty tightly-knit here, so new faces stand out immediately; you’re new, so…” he shrugs, “‘Outsider’. You got sucked in.”

So, wait, these “outsiders” are just locals from 10 meters further down the road? The way people have been acting, you would’ve thought they were invading foreigners.

“Yeah, stress and frenzy are a real mix, “says Nermal. “It’s tiring, honestly, but there’s not much we can do. Unless they force the pit bosses to stop lowering the wages, things are only going to get worse.”

With your items re-acquired, and some light paperwork signed, Nermal leads you out of the building with the name “Watchtower 3” painted on a signboard above the door. The building is not a tower at all and does not differ much from the buildings surrounding it.

There are a few people milling about, including a few other Watchmen. In order to avoid you having to walk back through the area and run into trouble again, Nermal offered to take you to the edge of the area by cart; now you just need to wait for one to arrive.

“Not the best first experience of Reddbarrow, huh?” Nermal says with a dry chuckle. “It’s a bit late now, but, we’re sorry you got caught up in all this. We have to take this seriously, follow the procedure… I’m sure you know how it is. I’d ask you not to judge the locals too harshly; some of them are really struggling, and fear and hardship change people…”

You wave dismissively. It’s not been a pleasant experience, no, but, you understand. You won’t hold it against them. (As long as you can get out of here in one piece…)

Nermal goes over to speak to two other Watchmen nearby, and you glance about idly as you wait until you notice Khen approaching. Not this guy again–what is he doing here?

He is flanked by three of his friends, and they quickly recognise you, standing out in the open. You sigh and brace yourself for more trouble, stuffing your hands into your pockets. Your lack of terror seems to irritate Khen. As before, he’s still wearing that stupid sword, but, in this clearing, he’d be much more capable of using it now; you’d better be careful. But, if he thinks he can attack you unprovoked in broad daylight in front of the Watchmen…

“You think you’re pretty slick, do you? Skriffing spack-licker…”

OK, what is he on about now? You don’t even have to feign ignorance.

By now Khen is standing in front of you, his friends by his sides. They still have their weapons, though they don’t brandish them like before. Except the guy with the chain, who now has it draped around his neck, and idly swings one end with one hand as he swigs from a bottle with the other.

You consider trying to explain to Khen again, but figure, what’s the point?

You tell him to leave you alone. You don’t move or break his gaze.

“You’d better watch your back, “Val”. I said I’d teach you a lesson. I keep my promises. Sooner or later.”

You frown a little. Why does he know your name? Khen smirks, and you mentally kick yourself.

“These streets are mine-,” he continues.

“Khen! Dart aside!”

You glance over at where Nermal and the other two watchmen are standing, looking angrily at Khen and the others. One of them speaks loudly.

“Any more from you, and the lot of ya will be in the drains by whistim, now karn off!

The two groups stare each other down, with Khen and his group muttering and slinking away slightly, though they don’t go very far; you can still hear them muttering, and they continue to give you wicked glances. Nermal eventually wanders over to you, as a small cart pulls up to the gate and turns into the little courtyard. Finally, your ride is here.

“Ignore them,” he says, waving a hand at Khen’s group dismissively and approaching the driver of the cart; another Watchman. The driver hops down and the two of them talk; you glance back at Khen just in time to see something green hurtling towards you; you just about manage to bat it away with your forearm before it hits you in the head; it’s hard against your arm and something splashes onto your face.

“HEY!”

The two other watchmen dash towards Khen and the others, who in turn sprint out of the courtyard and down the street. You look at the ground; a green bottle lies nearby, seeping a small amount of red ale into the dust.

The two Watchmen don’t go past the gate; chasing is futile but they briefly yell after the group. Nermal walks over to you.

“You OK?”

Yeah, you’re fine. What’s one more bruise to add to the collection? You instinctively use your sleeve to wipe the splashed ale from your face, and then notice the layer of mud, algae and dirt on your sleeve, and the freshly wet, smudged streak across it.

You sigh.

You clamber into the cart and Nermal flicks the reigns, and the two of you trundle down the street. This particular area is slightly better than the rest, but not by much, and it quickly melds back into the horrible tenements as you draw closer to the canal. You idly question if the entire area is like this. Nermal glances over.

“Not all of it, no. It didn’t used to be this bad but it’s getting worse. Once upon a time, this whole area used to be the same as Blackminster. That was before my time though…”

What? What happened?

“It’s hard to maintain a fancy manor with a coal mine on your doorstep.”

It doesn’t take long to get back to the canal, and you cross back into Chinminton, with Blackminster embedded within it. As you ride, Nermal tells you that several of the surrounding areas have historic links, not just Blackminster, and if you’re interested in history and care to give Reddbarrow a chance, there are a lot of hidden gems to be found there too, and at a fraction of the cost.

You’ll… consider it.

He stops the cart near a cab bay, where several drivers mill about with cabs significantly nicer than the rickety cart you’re riding in. Nermal can’t go much further than this, but if you hop in a cab, they’ll take you along the main road back into Whenley; you’ll be back at Slaryn House in about 10 minutes. He pays the fee to the cab driver, and with a salute, he turns the cart around and trundles back the way he came.

The cab driver takes one look at you and smirks before getting into the driver’s seat.

“Rough day?”

Don’t ask.

---

You trudge into Slaryn House, your body sulking. In your room, you prepare a bath, looking at the state of yourself as the tub fills. Your clothes are caked in all manner of filth, and your face is smeared with mud and dirt. Beneath the layer of grime, you have several bruises and scrapes, and a little dried blood adds a dash of colour to the mix. You bundle your soiled clothes into a pile; they’ll need to be washed ASAP. Then finally, after being cold, damp and dirty for so long, you slip into your hot bath, close your eyes, and relax.