Strange Thefts
Dragonsfall Weyr
Amber Hills Hold
Vintner Hall
Healer Hall
Hidden Meadows
Dolphin Cove Weyr
Dolphin Hall
Emerald Falls Hold
Harper Hall
Printer Hall
Green Valley Hold
Leeward Lagoon Hold
Barrier Lake Weyr
Sunstone Seahold
Citrus Bay Hold
Writers: AL, Avery
Date Posted: 15th May 2008
Characters: Corran, Zathris
Description: Corran brings some thefts to the attention of Zathris.
Location: Amber Hills Hold
Date: month 10, day 3 of Turn 4
Corran knocked on the door of the Assistant Steward. He'd met the man only once before, because Zathris had only recently taken up the position; he hadn't been here when the Amethyst Cliff refugees arrived.
He'd heard that the man was married to one of Benaroy's children though, which explained why he was here. Rumors among the other guards were that the man was competent and hardworking, which meant that Corran was inclined to look favorably upon him.
"Come in!" The voice carried easily through the door. Zathris looked up as the person entered and he smiled at the guard. "Yes, what can I do for you?"
"Corran, night shift leader." he introduced himself, just so that Zathris knew he had the authority to be making this report. "I wanted to inform you about a theft that occurred sometime late last night."
The smile faded from Zathris' face. "A theft?" He turned back to his desk and grabbed something to write on and with which to write. "Give me the details. Can you narrow it down to approximately when you think it occured?"
"Sometime between midnight and dawn, for certain, but I personally think it's closer to the fourth candlemark. The guard assigned to patrol the stables passed by there at the third and at the fifth candlemark, which is when it was discovered so it must have been around then." Corran replied.
Zathris nodded and made notes. "No one noticed any suspicious activity before or after?"
"No one reported anything, though the Captain is still interviewing the guards on shift that night." Corran answered. He had spoken to the guard, who had insisted he hadn't seen anyone. "I think that whoever did it must have known the guard schedules though, to be unnoticed. Maybe they're from around the Hold, or from the Hold itself." The other possibilities were worse.
Great, first the tithe getting stolen, now a robbery in the hold itself. Benaroy didn't need all this. Zathris shook his head and made some notes. "That sounds like a logical conclusion. Do you have a list of what was stolen?"
"This part's interesting." In a bad way, though. It was intriguing evidence, but it boded ill. "The stablemaster reports that it's not just small items. A complete set of runner tack was taken, and it was made of high-quality material too. The culprit must have had some way to carry this all away, which makes it more suspicious that nothing was noticed."
"Really?" That was odd, very odd indeed. Zathris tapped his chin, then wrote down the items that were taken. "Now that's a puzzle in a puzzle.
Do you have any other information that you think could be useful?"
"I wish I did." Corran hated not being able to solve a problem-
especially when it showed up on his watch. It wasn't the first problem to happen, but they rankled him. Then he remembered the other rash of thefts.
"Although, a few months ago the Tavern also had some thefts. It was mostly small items, but there had also been no signs of suspicious activity despite guards on duty. Maybe they are related?" It was a tenuous connection, but Corran remembered it anyway.
"Well, there is a possibility. Were the thefts at the Tavern reported?"
Zathris hadn't heard about them, but if they had been several months ago, they probably had occurred before he had come to join his wife.
"Yes, but it was dismissed as a random incident, especially as it was right after the Tavern opened and there was still some building going on."
"I see." Zathris made another note to bring up the matter of the Tavern theft as well, just in case. "Still, it might be something to investigate. Anything else?"
"No, sir. That's all the information I have at this moment."
Zathris nodded, going silent for a couple of moments while he jotted down a few things. When he finished, he looked up and offered the man a tight smile. More things to worry about. He wished Benaroy didn't have to know about these things. "I'll go to Cyrek and let him know. Thank you for reporting this."
Last updated on the May 18th 2008