NOVGO.NET Chapter 1968 It’s Ramor
Chapter 1968: Chapter 1968 It’s Ramor
— Kat —
Kat was coming along as an extra presence to help Steel, while Lily was dozing on Hedera. Not really sleeping, not after the earlier shitshow, but she was resting her body and mind. As they got going, Steel started to speak. “Right, so, that explanation I promised you. The guard station we’re going to is… in the more questionable area of the city. Not really the slums, we like to keep a standard of housing… but let’s call it the more… ’free thinking’ areas. Lots of graffiti that the residents allow so we can’t take it down. Lots of people wanting to leave.
“They sort of congregated together. Not the true problem ones, but the people who are discontent and want to get away from things. The main issue is drugs actually, and the person in charge of the place was the runner up for taking my spot as head guard when the old man decided to pass the torch,”
“Wouldn’t that make his judgement a bit questionable where this person was concerned?” asked Kat.
“His name is Hamor and no, or at least, I trust that he’d want to find out just as much as I do. Hamor isn’t quite as by the books as I am, but we’re fairly similar even if he’s more of a ’spirit’ of the law type person. It’s why he’s assigned to such a difficult area. He’s firm, but fair. Willing to be part of the community but come down on people abusing his friendship. Honestly, he was a great choice for the role,” admitted Steel.
“Why do you think he didn’t get it?” asked Kat.
Steel sighed, “I know why actually. A lot of people, Hamor included, think that it’s because the old man adopted me but… it’s actually because he’s about twenty years my senior. The position I have isn’t one the city likes to change often. If I’m corrupt I’ll get outed but if I’m doing even an ’alright’ job they like to keep from swapping things around,”
“That seems… abusable…” offered Kat.
Steel nodded. “Indeed, I agree. It’s not really something I’m happy about, and I did share as much with Ramor. The issue is that, ideally, the King only has so many advisors and they rotate slowly. We have a chance to work towards long term stability instead of short term gains. Additionally, it helps keep everything running smoothly without any regular upsets. There were arguments about it, but that was all before my time…”
Steel shook his head and adjusted the ropes used to bind and carry the thief that was currently slung over his back. “Ramor knows this two and while I wouldn’t say we’re best friends we get along well. Even if he didn’t get the job he wanted, he’s doing amazing work and has a few benefits that go along with the area he’s working in so in a number of ways he’s not any worse off than me. Don’t get me wrong, I wouldn’t want his job but that’s more because I tend to be… stricter on things that could potentially get a pass, if that makes sense,”
“I guess so? Is there any other reason we’re heading to him?” asked Kat.
“Him and his time are masters of interrogation. They do excellent soft sells. I might join in as the ’bad cop’ if they ask but I’m going to specifically not make the offer. If Ramor hints at it, feel free to let him or his team know that I said it, but I do want to be as hands off as I can manage all things considered,” explained Steel.
Kat nodded. *I wonder if he’s hinting I should just mention it straight up with just TELLING me to do that or if he really means that. No way to know without asking, and no way to ask without ruining it for him. It’s almost adorable how he tries so hard to follow the laws. I suppose that’s a good thing for a guard but he’s really serious about it.*
“So… I know you trust Ramor, but what about his team? If the people involved were targeting you specifically… would this not be the area they’d do it in?” asked Kat.
Steel nodded, “Yes. Though I do trust Ramor to build a good team, and they’ve had to kick out more than a few people for ’granting favours’ to certain people in the district… that’s not the only reason.”
Steel didn’t say anything for a while, but he did glance around. Kat took that to mean they were in a place that was a bit too public to mention the other reason. Kat flipped through her knowledge of the situation to come up with WHY he might want to do this but couldn’t find anything that seemed to fit in her mind. Then again, she wasn’t familiar with this sort of thing anyway.
“So… to change the subject, same plan for tonight for the group?” asked Kat.
“We’ll have to see if we learn anything before that… but if nothing changes and you’re all still ok with the plan, yes stick to that. Though, that does remind me. Do you know when the knockout drug is meant to wear off?” asked Steel.
“Hedera didn’t say, to me or Lily,” admitted Kat.
Steel shrugged, “Not ideal but she was just woken up and had other things on her mind. If it becomes necessary, we can ask the medics to look into speeding up her awakening…”
Kat nodded and the pair jogged in silence as they made their way over to their destination. It was quite a distance and Kat was really bemoaning the lack of public transport. The city was quite large and they couldn’t move THAT fast. There did seem to be an exception for certain wide public roads, and both Steel and Kat used those to their fullest, easily shaving off ten to twenty minutes of travel time when they could go all out. Well, Steel could.
Eventually, the area started to change, more of the houses were odd clashes of colours. They’d be mostly grey and green with drab looking gardens and then a neon yellow roof would be slapped on top. Or they’d keep the fence black, the roof black, the house black and then the garden would be filled with lawn gnomes and Christmas lights. Obviously not for Christmas but the idea seemed to be the same.
There was a contrast everywhere you looked… and the guard post they arrived at was no different. It looked like someone had dropped an old oak cabin, expanded it half a dozen times and then plopped it in the middle of the city. All sorts of carvings were arranged on the outside and of course, the roof was bright red. “What’s with the guard post here? Why is it…” Kat gestured to it.
“The guard post used to be the ’town hall’. Technically, this area is the old town area for Riverwood. A small town near our capital city that was fiercely independent… when the city grew to encapsulate it… it stayed independent even then. Eventually they gave in but it was more of a ’we’re doing this and you can either get on board or move’ type of deals. This used to be where the town would come and discuss important issues… and it was the jail even back then.
“They have a new office for the bureaucratic side of things but it was actually the ’town’ that voted to have the police station here. We’re not really sure why, no writing survived and anyone that did or does know isn’t telling,” explained Steel.
As they approached, a mountain of a man stepped out. He was an elf with grey streaks in his hair and a big smile on his face as, notably, he was NOT wearing a helmet. “Hey! Ramor!” announced Steel with a grin. “Good to see you!” *Wait what? He’s an ELF though. Why the heck would anyone think Steel would outlive the ELF?*
“You come bringing trouble as always. No ’Hey Remor want to go get some drinks’ it’s always ’something serious has happened and I need your help’ isn’t it?” sighed Ramor.
“You know it’s not like that. We had a night out three months ago,” countered Steel.
“YES and it was THREE months ago. I have a night out with the boys who work here at least once a week as long as no big cases come up. Regardless, I do see you’ve got someone for me…” sighed Ramor.
“Yeah, they broke into my house,” sighed Steel.
Ramor stood up straighter at that and gave the thief on Steel’s back a more considering look. “I see… my complaints are still valid but I shall overlook them for something like this. You think it’s just an opportunity thing or…”
“They had backup. Fairly strong backup that escaped. I’ve got some… acquaintances who came through the Trapmaster’s trials staying with me for a bit and they happened to be inside when the thief snuck in,” explained Steel.
“Lucky, lucky. Right, let’s stick them in the chair and I’ll have my medic look them over. See how long they’re going to be out for and we can plan around that. You can tell me the details while they do the checkup…” stated Ramor.