Chp.6: Interrogating the baron

Baron Somadì's house was a magnificent villa located in the noble district. Even if it couldn't compare with the palaces or castles of the most highly placed nobles, it was still a very beautiful house. However, Somadì stayed there for a short time: partly for his commitments as a nobleman and partly to manage the enormous criminal network in his possession. Or rather, that was in his possession, since even as he continued to manage it it was clear that the boss was now someone else, someone that neither he nor any of the other leaders of the organization dared to anger. They knew that such a stupid act would be the last bad decision of their lives.

Somadì returned to his house only during the night, and often returned home so late that he found neither his wife nor his children still awake. That day was one of those cases: when he returned, the house was extremely silent and only the footsteps of the servants confirmed that there was still someone inside. Even though he was very tired, however, he still wanted to give himself the whim of taking a bath before going to sleep, and so he ordered them to prepare it for him.

Nobles, unlike the commoners and even merchants, had access to hot water and luxury balms and soaps. Furthermore, they didn't wash themselves, but the servants (usually women) washed the body for them. All very expensive stuff that normal people couldn't afford. Somadì was enjoying his bath when one of the maids came to warn him: "Sir, there is someone who wants to see you"

"At this hour? Who is it about?" Somadi asked suspiciously. Normally nobles would resent being disturbed late at night, but he knew that if anyone came looking for him at this hour, something must have happened.

"She's a merchant. She didn't say why she wants to see you, but she says it's urgent" the maid replied, and then she added: "She said, and here I quote her words, 'Tell the Baron that Sisna Drachia is looking for him and that if he comes to welcome me in five minutes he will regret it'. She seems serious"

Somadì got up so suddenly that a wave rose in the tub, and the servants who were washing his body drew back in fright. "Why didn't you say it immediately, you stupid!?" he growled at the waitress. "Let her in and welcome her in the best possible way! And you, bring me my clothes immediately!"

The servants became concerned: it was rare to see their master so scary. They quickly obeyed the orders, and as soon as Somadì was dressed he rushed towards the entrance to the house. He found Sisna sitting in an armchair in the living room, politely refusing the biscuits the maids were offering her. "Miss Drachia" he greeted her. "What brings you here?"

Sisna gave him a welcoming smile. "Baron, forgive me for coming at this hour, but I need your help. Would you be so kind as to provide it?". Her tone of voice was as delicate as her face, but Somadì knew it was only a trick and that behind that magnificent woman in reality was hiding a monster of the worst kind.

"Of course. Could I ever disappoint you?" the baron asked rhetorically, sitting down in an armchair opposite her. "What do you need?"

Sisna folded her hands. "I will go straight to the point. I'm looking for information on one person, Zamor. He's a lizardman who was incarcerated in the arena on charges of ganging up and preparing an assassination against the king. However, there are some details that they don't fit in this story. I assume you, as the head of the largest criminal organization in the city, know something about this, don't you?"

"Zamor... are you talking about Zamor Adelia, the criminal?" Somadì asked.

"I didn't know his surname, but I assume it's him. How many other Zamor can there be in the arena after all?" Sisna said. "So, what can you tell me about him?"

Somadì clenched his fists slightly. "Zamor Adelia was already responsible for some petty thefts in the city due to his gang, but he was imprisoned following a raid on his lair which also revealed secret plans to assassinate the king. Since then he has been locked up in the arena"

"I already know that, I certainly didn't need to come here to find out" Sisna said rolling her eyes. "What I want to know is the truth. There are too many things that don't make sense in this story. For starters, why didn't 'The spider' do anything to stop his gang? I don't understand that you guys like to share the city, since that you have absorbed all the others. Or how did the authorities discover his lair? Who tipped him off? Too many details that don't fit together. I want the truth, and I want it now"

Somadì began to sweat. 'As I expected... she already knows something' he thought. Obviously it didn't even occur to him that Sisna knew nothing and was actually bluffing: those questions could have easy answers, but the baron was too intimidated to try to lie. "Zamor Adelia... to put it simply... he was snooping where he shouldn't have"

A small light lit up in Sisna's eyes. "Continue"

"Zamor had come to the capital to... denounce certain acts that were being carried out by the army in the Baudonia City Alliance" Somadì replied. "He wanted to talk to the king, or at least one of the ministers. They tried to stop him, but the bastard started gathering some other lizardmen to form a protest group. They couldn't allow it… so they paid us to sort it out. 'The spider' fabricated false evidence against him and put it in his house, committed several crimes which were attributed to him, and finally tipped off the guards. So he was arrested, and after that we just had to deal with the judges to get him convicted"

Sisna's eyes narrowed slightly. "Who were the instigators, and what were the facts that Zamor wanted to denounce?"

"Actually, I don't know". Noticing Sisna's frown, Somalì hurried to say: "I'm telling the truth! We didn't know who paid us, we just took the money since there were a lot of them. But... I can make some hypotheses"

Sisna let out an annoyed snort. She was sure the baron would know something, or at least he imagined it. "Tell me everything" she ordered simply.

Somadì gulped, then he hastened to explain: "The progressism of the current king and some of his predecessors... hasn't gone down well with everyone. Up until less than a century ago, the Jurao Kingdom was a purely human nation and the other races were treated exclusively as slaves. Many nobles and merchants earned a lot from the slave trade, because it was enough for them to find a defenseless tribe and conquer it to make money. But then, everything changed. The rulers not only reduced the armies of the nobles, but also started treating other races fairly. They created this thing called 'citizenship' where if you live in this kingdom for five years then you become a part of it, no matter what race you are. This didn't sit well with many of the old nobles and merchants.The war against the Baudonia City Alliance was for many of them a chance to fuel the hatred towards the beastmen and thus bring the kingdom back to the old situation, but it ended quickly and we won it without too great losses. Back then the nobles hoped at least to be able to make money by reducing the beastmen to slavery, but the king instead chose to extend citizenship to them too on the condition that they worked for only two years on the construction of certain infrastructures that would connect our two territories, such as roads and bridges, as well as the construction of a defensive line on the eastern border. So, the nobles are left empty-handed in the end... so it is possible that they have decided to feed not the hatred of humans, but that of beastmen in order to unleash a revolt and force the king to use extremely repressive measures that would have allowed them to appropriate their territories"

Sisna understood what the Baron was saying. If there was one thing he'd learned from being around humans, it was that those with power and money always wanted more. Consequently, it wasn't strange for a group of nobles and merchants to hope to cause a revolt among the beastmen. If the beastmen had revolted, the king would have been forced to carry out repressive measures against them, and the nobles could have taken advantage of this to re-establish the laws on slavery and reopen their businesses. "However, as far as I know, the ones who control the Baudonia City Alliance are still the military. How would the nobles interfere?"

"They couldn't... unless they have an army aide capable of controlling both the soldiers and the flow of information" Somadì replied. "And I think they've found the help they're looking for. You know the legendary level who's currently in charge of pacifying the Baudonia City Alliance, right?"

"Carrion?" Sisna was a little surprised. "Is he involved?"

"Very likely. You see, the legendary levels are extremely religious people, since they receive their powers from the gods. And some of them can become... real fanatics" Somadì explained. "The goddess Heloisa teaches mutual respect, and most of the priests who worship her follow these precepts. Even the king, being extremely devout, listens to them, and consequently planned to build temples and churches dedicated to Heloisa in the Baudonia City Alliance to convert the beastmen, not by force but with good works and sermons. But unfortunately, there are fanatics in all religions, even the best ones. And among the priests of the goddess there has recently arisen a faction that would like the annihilation of the followers of the other gods. The king has always opposed this precept, since it went against the teachings of the goddess, and in fact the Jurao Kingdom is a nation where freedom of religion is protected by the law... but despite this, this extremist faction has remained and has begun to attract many nobles and soldiers. And while there is no hard evidence, it would seem that Carrion is on very good terms with some of these extremist priests. So, you can imagine how he might decide to run the Baudonia City Alliance..."

As Somadì explained, a precise pattern took shape in Sisna's mind. Of course, it was obvious: if Carrion was part of the extremist faction, then he could cause discontent in the Baudonia City Alliance without the king knowing anything about it. Once riots broke out, the king would authorize more extreme means of appeasement. This would have pleased the extremist priests, who could have eliminated the followers of the other gods, and it would have pleased the nobles and merchants, who would have profited from the slave trade and could have paid a part of their profits to the priests, who they would still use to increase the number of their followers. In short, everyone would have gained something. "So, do you think Carrion is doing something wrong in the former beastmen territory?"

"I can't say with absolute certainty, but I think it is very likely. With him in control of the army and the help of the nobles who control communications, it would be easy for him to fuel dissent without the king knowing anything about it" Somadì answered. "Unfortunately for them, however, Marcus' fame as a righteous king has also spread to the Baudonia City Alliance, and many beastmen have come here trying to talk to him to warn him. And of course, every time, 'The spider' has been paid to get rid of them before they reveal anything. Normally they were quite small groups, and therefore it was easy to eliminate them. But that lizardman, Zamor, was different. He came here bringing a large number of lizardmen and made himself known to all immediately. Eliminating him would have been difficult and above all suspicious. So we managed to frame him. In the past he would have been executed immediately, but now the laws are different and he got away with life imprisonment in the arena"

Sisna rubbed his chin. The information he'd acquired was good enough, but he needed more. "Did you ever talk to one of your victims before taking her out, or to Zamor? Do you know what's going on in the Baudonia City Alliance exactly?"

Somadì shook his head. "No. We've always taken the money and we've never asked any questions" he answered, then he hastened to say: "But I know who might know something"

"Who?" Sisna asked.

"Zamor's companions" Somadì answered. "Since when the authorities questioned them none of them knew anything about the plans to assassinate the king, they assumed that Zamor was the sole mastermind and that he planned to instigate them later, so they received a milder sentence. They are been sentenced to work in the temple of Heloisa for the rest of their lives, without the possibility of leaving or seeing their land and their families again. So if you go to the temple you may meet some of them"

Sisna nodded slightly, considering those words. "Give me a name. If I go to the temple who should I talk to? Who can tell me the right information for sure?"

Seeing her menacing eyes, Somadì understood that she wanted an answer immediately. "Thora Elins. She is the person you are looking for. She is Zamor's wife; she will surely know what happens in her husband's land"

Sisna was satisfied. "Okay. Thank you for your time. I'll go now" she said as he stood up and headed for the door, but she suddenly stopped and turned around before she left. "I hope you understand that this conversation is to be kept secret. Therefore, if you'll warn anyone at the temple of my arrival..."

"Don't worry, I don't intend to say anything to anyone" Somadì said immediately in a cold sweat.

Sisna smiled. "Thank you. You have a beautiful wife and marvelous children; I don't want to have to take a piece of each of them" she said, and for an instant her face twisted and monstrous teeth took the place of her soft lips. That lasted less than a second, and then she turned again and headed for the door, stepping out and quickly disappearing into the darkness of the night.

Somadì gritted his teeth so hard that he almost broke them. His breathing was heavy as if he had been running and his body was filled with sweat even though he had just taken a bath. "Great Heloisa, please let Thora Elins know something! I absolutely can't get on that monster's blacklist!"