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[Thraxas]

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"What is this?" Thraxas, irritated, glanced up from the sheet of parchment dropped suddenly in front of him as he sat working at his desk. He dropped his pen and sat up, awaiting an answer.

Darthos, his newly-appointed Umbran Aide, grinned unapologetically. "New, m'lord. Raiders attacked Yew last eve. What you have there is a montage of eyewitness accounts, including my very own."

Thraxas scowled. "Summarize if you will."

"I got word that there was trouble in Yew. I went there and saw what appeared to be brigands, mages and warriors, moving about attempting to kill and pillage. The militia was there and so were some others. The Raiders were not many, fortunately, and they were soon taken down."

"Where did they come from?"

"No one could tell. They had no uniforms nor insignia. There were no ships, at least at anchor, or else they discharged troops and sailed away."

"Were any of them orcs?"

"Nay m'lord. Humans."

"No elves?"

"No that I saw."

Thraxas leaned forward. "Find out all you can. Inform our spies and allies. Have the guards and the Watch remain on alert. Until we can find out from whence they come, they have us at an enormous disadvantage."

Darthos nodded. "Should we warn Heartwood... the elves?"

Thraxas frowned. "No. Let them fend for themselves! I would not be surprised if they were not behind it in some way. We are putting a strong squeeze on their smuggling operations and this may be their doing---keep us occupied while they exit the area with contraband. If you can link them to the raiders, let me know immediately. In fact, find a way to do so if you can. This may prove a useful bit of propaganda for us."

Darthos bowed and departed. Thraxas reviewed the report and laid it aside.
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"If a criminal has what you want, you do business with him."

[Thraxas]

---

Having spoken at length with his spies and to the Guard Captain in Yew, Thraxas now had some inkling of nature of the trouble. There was a general unrest, a dissatisfaction with the status quo, among the populace, brought about by hunger, lack of goods and services. Class envy lay at the heart of it. Not only Yew, but many other, perhaps most, of the towns and cities of the realm were under siege from within. Citizens had abandoned their residences and were moving around the land, inciting riots and attacking whoever tried to stop them. Less intelligent and poorer citizenry listened to their diatribes and fell in with them, looting, burning and strewing garbage. Something had to be done.

Killing the rioters and looters was not the answer. He had killed a few but found that this only angered the law-abiding citizens, prompting them to sympathize with the rebels. Instead, he ordered the Guard Captain at the Court of Truth to provide supplies of rope so that anyone willing to help, could arrest, bind, and take them as prisoners to the Captain, who would ship them back to their home cities.

The raiders were another matter entirely. They had to be subdued first before being arrested, or slain outright.

Easier to deal with were the protesters, who could be pacified with offerings of goods: food and clothing mainly.

Thraxas had the uneasy feeling that this would be a long process which could flare up at any time. And while he still could not tie it to his hated foes---the Heartwood elves---at least it provided a needed distraction from the mundane rule of a simple rustic town. Now he had a reason to assert his authority, and perhaps, with time, he might be able to blame it on the elves after all.
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"If a criminal has what you want, you do business with him."