Yiamas!

[Sinuvarakoon Tasza]

Tasza was looking at Ferric as he called back to Darrik, "You'll stand as a witness?"

He'd be heard. They both would. Guards starting fights was something to be noted in Vic's, and it was fodder ripe for gossip. Not only that, it eroded trust in the Guard, and that was something Tasza could never forgive. Off duty they might be, but so long as they were recognized any disorderly conduct was unbecoming of their profession.

Not that much would be done without Ferric's complaint. Darrik would add some credence, but given how he was regarded it might hinder more than help. Still didn't matter to Tasza. The law was the law, and he was sworn to uphold it.

"I am a Guardsman, Ferric, as are you. Your decision to not formally accuse Guardsman Masello has been noted. Either Guardsman Masello takes a walk with me, or we find someone to take him back to Headquarters. He is out of line."

[Darrik]

Darrik nodded and replied "Aye. Any man fool enough to let his temper overcome his training and hit one of his brothers in the Guard needs a damn wake-up call. No matter the provocation." This was also a subtle admonition to Drayel who had at least limited himself to minor property damage.

The dwarf guard let his dissatisfaction with the scenario extend into a small lecture for those present who'd done so little to stave off hostilities "We got laws an' protocols for a reason: so we don't turn into a bunch of worthless thugs. Can't be protecting citizens if we're bloodying each other's noses. In or out of armour, we have a duty to Marn"

Darrik stopped there. He was starting to sound like an old dwarf, and himself only 82. "Anyway, whenever y'need me Tasza."

[Odelina Meltzer]

And now things were completely and utterly out of her control. She was the senior officer of the group, she should have intervened and put stop to it, but right now her spinning head and roiling stomach required all of her concentration. She had zero desire to go against Ferric just now.

Rather to her surprise, it was Tasza who stepped in and brought the situation under control. I owe you a bloody big one. It was slowly starting to dawn on her what she had almost agreed to, and how much of all this actually had happened because of her actions. She pulled herself together as well as she could, and walked up to the group.

"Thank you, guardsman Tasza," she said, trying to sound as authoritative as possible. "Myself and Kasabian will take Masello back to the fort to get some sleep." She forced herself to look Fenric in the eyes. "Kasabian, as I'm sure you noticed, had absolutely nothing to with was just happened. Whatever your private matters are, they can wait until tomorrow."

[Farius Masello]

Sisara was pleading with him, Tasza was being annoying, Ferric was gloating, the other guards were in various states of interest, and Farius couldn't seem to care. He was ignoring them all, other than nodding slightly at Sisara in an attempt to keep her from pulling him out of his angry haze. He'd rather be angry than penitent or rational at the moment.

Farius wasn't good at holding his tongue. He had tried with as much civility as he could muster, but he was done. Want him to go back? Sure, let's go back. Farius shrugged his arm out of Tasza's grip with contempt. "Gimme the bottle," he said to the barmaid, who complied, frightened still by what was going on. He took it and headed for the door, not caring in the least about all the people staring at him. Surprised they're just letting me go, he thought passingly, but didn't let his demeanor slip for a moment.

When Farius reached the doorway, he stared at the floor and yelled. "Kick these limp-dicks out, Vic. If I'm not drinking, nobody is. Happy fucking Yovruz." And he left without another word. Farius decided to take a detour on his way back to finish off this bottle and rut. If he had his way, he wouldn't even go back tonight. Not when that impotent little Tasza kid will be there tattling like a little bitch.

Farius took a swig from the half-empty bottle and trudged on, hoping to lift his spirits elsewhere.

[Drayel]

"and I'd thought I was a moody drunkard." Drayel grumbled as he watched the guard... Farius was it? walk out the door and yell back at Vic. He eyed the other man, Ferric, rub his jaw with a grimace and felt a sharp sense of satisfaction. "Idiot... Got what's comin' to 'em."

He snorted in their direction before simply letting his head drop on the table and he let out a slurred sigh, his face twitching a little at the growing pain in his forehead. His shoulders sagged as he let his eyes close and his breathing slow. Before long, Drayel snored away with his face half mashed into the table. The last thought that'd gone through his head before he went out was one of a past experience.

Hope Vic doesn't keep any icewater around...

[Sisara]

Sisara was pissed. Really pissed. But at the same time she was worried. Farius was getting himself into a lot of trouble and, because she, as per usual, had tried to help him, she was now in trouble too. What on earth did Ferric want with her? She had nothing to say to him so why was he so intent on wanting to talk to her?

But to hell with Farius. She had had enough for one night, and his brief acknowledgement of her presence did nothing to ease the rising temper. As much as she loved him, if he wanted to go off and sulk and be angry, let him do it, she was not going to have her night ruined even further. Though of course, it now was. She didn’t know what else would be in store for her but she wasn’t going to give Ferric the satisfaction of keeping her around for long, and the festivities were ruined for her. At that very moment, she didn’t want anything more than go away and just have a bit of time to herself, without anyone else around, because all of a sudden there were just too many people surrounding her, too many threatening men and Sisara did not like it. At all.

She gave a curt nod to Odelina who attempted to smooth over the situation but it seemed as though there was not much smoothing over to be done anymore. “What do you want then?” Sisara finally muttered as she looked at Ferric, who even managed to look fairly graceful in his manner despite just having been punched in the face. She completely ignored the two guards at their separate table, not wanting to have to deal with even more annoying people. There were enough standing in front of her and the snicker wasn’t making it any better even if Toad was instantly silenced by Ferric and the latter even tried to appease Tasza, though she was sure Sinuvarakoon wasn’t going to have any of that. If anyone knew how much she hated these kinds of cornered situations, Farius did, and the bastard was on the brink of just leave her there, on her own.

[Ferric Vintas]

Ferric smiled a soft, sympathetic smile. It would have been very believable if everyone hadn’t witnessed the incredible fiasco he had just instigated. He made a tiny bowing motion to the woman he assumed was a constable. “It is true that my business with Sisara could wait, but seeing as neither of us has much motive to stay and enjoy the holidays, I find that we may as well take our leave together.” Ferric turned and strode calmly to the door, waving his free hand twice to signal for Kasbian to follow.

As Ferric walked around the tables and desks, he thought of one last statement he could toss into the uneasy air of the tavern. His boots made the wooden floor creak in the now quiet room as he gave a last moment of deliberation to the comment.

Without turning around, Ferric gave one last bit of his kind of advice. “Besides, I am struck by the impression that my actions here tonight gave you a spot of clarity.” He casually raised his hand over his shoulder as his feet carried him out the door, waving a dismissive goodbye. “I’d say you owe me, but rest assured I’m not a man who believes in debts.”

He swung the door open and, with false chivalry, held it open for Sisara to follow. He glanced back to the other guards. “And you needn’t fret, Tasza. Should summons come for me from the inquisitors, I’ll appear in court.” He grinned mischievously, but the rag covered most of it. His tone of voice more than compensated for the missing mirth as he said, “Don’t you think this all feels rather familiar?”

Ferric softly closed the door and strode into the cool night air. The sounds of revelry from other buildings provided a soft background noise which was easy on the ears. He turned his face upwards and sniffed at the heavens, where he caught the scent of ale permeating it. He found the wispy scent fitting, even comforting. People, be they human, elven, or dwarven, never changed.

The corners of Ferric’s mouth turned up as he looked to his company. He could admit he was having more fun than he probably should, drawing out the process of giving her a straight answer in regards to what he wanted.

[Odelina Meltzer]

Granted, they were not on duty, and she wasn't exactly in a position to be rude to Sisara, but she felt her authority could not take another blow. The horny little fucker had already stormed off. She also had no more desire to spend a minute alone with him, and dizzy, nauseous and now also increasingly sleepy, she feared she would not be able to control him on her own.

She grasped Sisara's arm just above the elbow. "Kasabian. Out. Now." Realising she was squeezing harder than necessary, she loosened her grasp and leaned towards the other woman's ear, lowering her voice. "We'll take Farius home to sleep it off. Then you and I are going to continue somewhere else. Okay?" Please.

[Sinuvarakoon Tasza]

Tasza raised his voice; the room had quieted and Ferric would be able to hear him. "Guardsman Darrik and Guardsman Ferric, I ask that you act as witnesses to a superior officer eschewing her duties in the interest of favoritism by excusing a crime and preventing an arrest without reasonable evidence to the contrary of its legitimacy. If so witnessed, I will call for immediate arrest upon Guardsman Farius and report to the present Watch Sergeant to determine Constable Odalina Meltzer's assistance in the matter of defamation of official agents of the Marn Government, and obstruction of the pursuit of justice."

Then Ferric said he would appear in court. A sly man. Possibly not one to be trusted, no matter how Tasza might wish it otherwise.

Farius was getting away. Tasza tried to control the scorn as he planted his feet solidly in a parade rest as he voiced his protest. His eyes went distant to the wall, his chin lifted and his face wiped clean of any emotion. This was why women should not be guards. Everyone knew of Farius' reputation in their watch. It was notable how often his mistakes were covered for, how often he got away with crimes that should not be acceptable in the Guards. Where others were willing to turn aside for fear of reprimand from their superiors, Tasza was not.

No one was above the law.

[Odelina Meltzer]

She went cold with rage. Letting go of Sisara's arm, she turned to face Tasza, cold sober.

"Favoritism?" She spoke with equally loud voice. Few of the guardsmen sitting further away were already returning to their own conversations, but those standing nearby were still listening. "You dare to accuse me of favoritism, and threaten me with arrest, right after the knife threat that happened in front of these very same people and you ignored? You dare to ignore my orders and try to boss me around? You are not in charge here, guardsman Tasza, and by the Changers I'll make sure the brass hears how you have tried to use a situation that could have been resolved peacefully, to advance your own agenda and raise your own profile." She drew a deep breath and continued with normal volume. "I have never been fond of pulling rank, but it seems both you and Masello need a lesson in proper behaviour. Either from me or from someone higher up."

She turned her back to the man. "Sisara, for the love of Changers, will you at least be kind and behave like a sensible person, before these idiots turn this into an all-out war?" Heading towards the door, she glanced at Tasza for one last time over her shoulder. "And the name is Odelina. Not that you have a reason to use it. Ever."

[Darrik]

As one large problem slipped into a drunken stupor in front of him, another seemed to be developing between Tasza and the constable. Trouble was, Tasza was right, and Odelina was wrong. Darrik was, he decided, going to cuff Henrik around the ear when all this was done. Still, politics could go hang. Right was right, and rules were there for a damn reason. If the guards couldn't be seen to abide by them, who blimmin' would? The very fact the constable had let Farius walk out unescorted, despite her words, was dereliction of duty - no matter how the girl blustered.

Darrik tromped over to where Odelina, Sisara, and Tasza stood, intercepting the path to the door so as to ensure reaching them before Odelina could leave as Farius and Ferric had. The dwarf's gruff voice cut between Odelina and Tasza. "Constable Odelina, the fact is that Guard Farius assaulted a guard. That Ferric is willing to be generous does not change that. Guard Drayel is asleep over there if you want to charge him for minor property damage to a mug by means of that knife you mention. Last I checked, though, hot words are not in themselves against the rules. Punching a guard is. " Unlike the others present, Darrik's tone was calm, matter-of-fact, and bolstered by firm knowledge of procedure.

The dwarf knew this would set back his career prospects by another decade, knowing his luck, but Darrik had joined the guard for a reason. "Guard Tasza, if constable Odelina fails to prevent Farius from getting away, and fails to bring him in for formal reprimand before his watch sergeant, I shall stand witness to dereliction of duty for preventing a rightful arrest, then letting Farius leave without escort. But I'll not stand witness to the claim of favouritism. The latter is just supposition. Let's keep calm and hold to the simple facts of the matter, aye? I formally make myself available to any as a witness with regard to this night's proceedings." The dwarf's smile was tight as he added "I think all can agree that there's little danger of my profile being raised. I'm a bit short on promotion prospects, after all. Don't quite reach minimum height for constable."

Not much of a joke, given the circumstances. "But I do have a vested interest in the Guard being seen to follow its own blimmin' rules, no matter how much more unpopular that may make me, or how much extra sewer duty it gets me." That was that. Unless Odelina got Farius in her custody before he made good his escape, Darrik would stand witness with Tasza to her dereliction of duty, whatever the consequences to his career.

[Sisara]

When Lina grabbed her arm, Sisara realised just how much of a difficult situation this had just become. For a moment, while drinking, Sisara had made the mistake of forgetting that the other woman was a superior officer after all – and that Ferric was one too, come to think of it – and that maybe, just maybe, this had just all gone horribly wrong. More so than it already had been. It was bad enough that they had all gone and stepped over their respective lines, but this was just starting to grow worse by the second.

All of a sudden, she was glad that Farius had already disappeared. At least that way he wasn’t going to cause any more trouble for himself and his absence might even be better for him. Damage control and the like.

Ferric wanted her to follow, Lina wanted her to go out, almost wrestling her, and Sisara herself wanted to escape this terrible moment of ‘festivity’ as quickly as possible. She would gladly accept Lina’s idea for getting out, even if it had not been an order; she had merely thought that she could get Ferric off of Farius’ back by staying for a few moments of chatting but obviously that might not have worked as planned either. The young woman was starting to be at a bit of a loss, especially since the alcohol was still messing a little with her thought processes and she couldn’t quite wrap her head around the current power struggles.

When Tasza spoke however, all sense of self-preservation and desires to flee were evaporating within seconds. What had he just said? She was about to open her mouth and shout him down, forgetting rank and authority and anything that was holy to the Guards in her drink-infused desire to protect Farius.
It was a good thing that Lina stepped up before Sisara had the chance to utter the first word because the constable might actually be able to mellow things over a little before it all went to hell. She nodded curtly, again, as Lina addressed her, fighting hard to keep control over her features and the rage inside.

Just as she wanted to turn towards the door to leave the conversation and get to Farius so that he would be escorted, seeing that the fact of him being by himself seemed to pose such a tremendous problem, the dwarf guard stepped up and Sisara inwardly sighed, knowing that yet another problem would now surface once Darrik opened his mouth – because why else would he come over if not to meddle?

“I don’t see any of you going after him if that is so precious to you,” she hissed under her breath, instantly hoping that not everyone had heard it but what had been said, had been said. Straightening her shoulders, Sisara stayed beside Lina. “Masello may have been out of line by punchign a fellow guard, but everyone here also knows that it has been provoked just as Dray’s action had been provoked. If the latter had not had a mug in his vicinity to use as a target, who knows what might have happened. You are all not without knowing that such occurrences are not irregular either, yet I don’t see you making a fuss over that little outburst.” The pit of her stomach had tightened into a tiny but very hard knot, making Sisara feel like she was going to throw up any second and she had to swallow a couple of times before continuing in just as level a tone of voice as she had used until now, even if it cost her a lot of self-control.

“I was under the impression, just as you have all pointed out, that the guards should follow their own rules. But seeing that exceptions are being made for all the male guards around, I don’t see why Constable Meltzer is now being accused of favouritism when you have not done anything to reprimand Guardsman Drayel. Don’t you think that you should turn your accusation against yourself? Or are you merely saying this because she is a woman?”

With the last question, she knew that she may just have dug her own grave, but so be it. Her eyes remained firmly locked on Sinuvarakoon's face, because it was him this specific question had been directed at. She wasn’t going to stand there having her friends accused – wrongly or not – when others could escape without as much as a minor reprimand. There was no need for reports of any kind, in her opinion, and she could slap Ferric senseless for offering to appear in Court. That sly little bastard.

[Odelina Meltzer]

Lina stopped again, and pinched the bridge of her nose. No, neither Tasza nor Darrik would ever make it to constable, but that would be due to thickness of their respective skulls, not any other physical features.

At least Sisara seemed to have some sense left. Maybe there is one person in this bloody pub that I don't have to report for disobeying orders. Then again, her outburst was only aggravating the men further, and giving Masello more time to wander off.

"Thank you, Kasabian." She turned to face Tasza and Darrik, and spoke very slowly and gently. "My dear boys, it is you who are detaining me and Kasabian, who were supposed to escort Masello back to the fort, where he would have slept and sobered up to face disciplinary action tomorrow, after witness statements from everyone present. You, as guardsmen, are entitled to disagree with a superior officer on how situations like this are resolved. You do not, however, get to arrest the said officer because of that disagreement. Tasza, I'm sure I do not need to explain to you how to file a complaint."

"Now, if you two would please excuse me, I have to find Masello, who, thanks to you, has quite a head start. I'd rather he did not punch anyone else tonight. I'll make sure the brass knows it was only because of your eagerness to do your duty that you prevented me of doing mine."

She sighed, suddenly feeling nothing but weary. "I would have rather appreciated your help in finding him, but as of now I cannot trust you to follow orders. I suggest you return to the fort. You will be contacted tomorrow morning. This goes for Vintas and Drayel as well. We cannot tolerate this kind of behaviour, especially under the eyes of the public."

You tell me about vested interest, and the guard's reputation. Changers help me!

[Sinuvarakoon Tasza]

Other guards had entered into the establishment since the fiasco that had gone down. They were, perhaps, smarter than Tasza had ever been. They weren't, however, as concerned as he was about ensuring that the city and its citizens followed the law so closely. Not that he hadn't received warnings for his careful observances and nearly obsessive memorization of every single word in the code. Not that Qe hadn't warned him that he was going to find out one day that if you couldn't bend you would break.

He was frustrated.

His pursuit of perfection, of honesty and integrity didn't come at no cost. He knew how many of his fellows felt about him, and for the most part he didn't hold grudges. They were who they were and he was who he was. Right then, though, he simultaneously wanted to slug someone and scratch himself all over.

He settled for a very long inhale, and an even longer exhale.

Matters with Vic were settled easily enough; property damage such as a single broken mug were -- to his knowledge -- usually settled between individuals at the bar. Vic hadn't indicated he wanted to make it an official charge, but there was still room to file an incident report. Tasza couldn't understand Odelina. According to what he understood about the law, a minor misdemeanor like that was fully dependent on the plaintiff; unless it was a serious amount of property damage the guard typically didn't involve themselves without a complainant pressing charges.

How could she compare a mug to assault? He supposed from her angle it might have looked as if Drayel was attacking Ferric, but that had not been his assessment of the situation. And comparing the two, how could anyone defend Farius?

That was the gist of his report when he made it to the HQ to see his Sergeant. He kept to the facts, except when the Sergeant asked him to clarify or add his opinion about intent. The Sergeant questioned him about Odalina and Sisara. He asked why Farius had not been brought in. He asked why Drayel hadn't been brought up on an official incident report for inappropriate weapons conduct -- since Tasza was reporting Farius, and all. Tasza couldn't help the sinking feeling in his stomach that somehow the odds were against him. That, somehow, his superiors -- men he trusted to exemplify the law and support it in its spirit and letter -- would not agree with him in this.

It wasn't the best holiday he'd ever had. While it wasn't his worse night, at the present moment it was surely hard to remember.

That night, he went home and scratched until he bled. The next morning, he rose and dressed for guard duty, reported in, and went on beat without any hassle or even a whisper of impending summons. He almost made it to the end of his shift when he was summoned, and the message he received made him question nearly everything. It wasn't to the Sergeant that they were to represent their sides.

It was to the High Inquisitor herself.

[Ferric Vintas]

Ferric had been disappointed with Sisara’s choice to not walk with him, but he supposed he shouldn’t have expected anything else. Her fanatical loyalty to that Farius character had apparently overruled acting against his wishes, even for the lout’s own good.

Ferric did not understand the source of her apparent obsession. He thought he had understood the rare motivations which instilled such devotion. Mostly they centered around the source of many a song, the rare emotion of love. But the duo did not appear related and they did not seem to be working their way towards that status either. He had to admit, he was curious as to what had forged such a bond between the two.

He also supposed that the relationship between a drunk and a half-competent woman was a rather poor choice of topics to ponder when one was descending into the depths of the Headquarters. His left hand slid down the railing, making a constant but soft scratching noise as it went. His black Loyalist’s gloves had dulled the sound considerably.

He had always shown up in uniform to these events. Experience told him it was best to remind people of his status as a Loyalist. There was no official privilege for them in a courtroom, but the Loyalists generally got their position by proving their loyalty to Marn and experience in the field, one way or another. Thankfully, a few subtle skills were also essential for acceptance as the men in charge weren’t honor-bound fools trying to stop a rebellion with nothing but glory and bluster. Ferric was a bit of an exception to the first requirement, of course, but it wouldn’t hurt to let the High Inquisitor think his position was acquired entirely honestly. Even if she had done her homework, she’d still find he had been doing well in the job. Though it might be difficult to explain the fact that this was the second time he’d been punched in the face by another guard.

Ferric passed the last step, his boots making a soft tap upon the cold floor. He had come without his helmet, which meant he was wearing his glasses. Another choice based around enhancing his image, this time to imply his intelligence. The fact that they helped him see was an entirely beneficial and legitimate excuse.

Images were everything to people, whether they wanted to admit it or not. Not even a High Inquisitor would be immune to first impressions.

He opened a door at the end of the stairs and made his way to a room he had been in several times before. It was a simple waiting room for witnesses, a chilly stone box filled with seats. He was surprised to see that he was the first to arrive, though he supposed Tasza, as the one throwing out the charges, might be somewhere else in the building.

Ferric gracefully slid about the chairs and took a seat at the front of the room. He spun his chair just far enough that he could observe whomever entered next.