Guard Barracks

[Enter Corvus, having been there a little while already.]

Corvus recently returned from an unusual criminal case in the fast west, near the coast. A small group of men had been ambushing cargo caravans, but not at random. Each ambush was done on wagon trains with special equipment imported at the sea docks from Saddle Arabia shipping trade lines; very important equipment bound for the Capital. It was no coincidence, and the local lawmen called on the Royal Provost to assist. The crime ring turned out to be Lunar sympathizers working under the direction of a spy. That much was expected, however the inside-man was very much unexpected. Typically it is a low level employee of the traders or a lowly dock worker with insider knowledge and enough greed to sell secrets.

Corvus arranged to have a caravan sent from the docks with undercover soldiers, and the trap worked easily on the armature sympathizers who set up a standard ambush away from the port town. Corvus was among the undercover wagon tenders, and conducted field interrogations of the few surviving criminals. It turned out the person giving the spy the information on which specific caravans to target was not an inside-man at all, but a woman. It was the wife of the dock inspector. She did not do it for money, but because she was having an affair with the clever spy. It was not difficult to arrange the setup to catch the two together.

He watched quietly as both were hung side by side for Treason from the local gallows.

That case was closed, and it he had been dispatched to the Capital for a new assignment. Which was why he was currently sitting in the barracks.

He had entered the barracks in the usual way, using passages and entrances closed to the general public. Now he sat and read a fresh report attached to the paperwork of his new assignment. Captain Marcus of Camp Monfort was dead. He did not perish during battle in glory or with honor on a mission. He died of a rock slide; a petty accident. It was sickening to hear. The man deserved a better death.

It was impossible to determine if the rockslide was natural, especially in wartime even in a safety zone. But with the sudden transition in command, it was necessary to increase Provost presence in Camp Monfort to keep order and maintain discipline while the new captain settled in to assume his role.

Corvus was to report to Captain Helmsut and partake in the increased Provost operations within the camp. A simple task on paper.

With a yawn and a grunt, he rose from his seat at the shift desk and filed the papers back properly before heading to his bunk to make ready to return to the field. It did not take long. He had only been back an hour, and off he went again.

[Exit Corvus, heading directly to the Camp Montfront thread]

Corvus took notes on his parchment pad as he studied what was left of Ser Jadus's file. It had been burned. From it he could gather basic information about the man, to include the fact that he had died three months ago.

Cen's file was strangely vague. Typical information recorded in all personnel files were absent from his. There was no dossier. The file was of little help.

Corvus asked the clerk for copies of the files to be made.