“Take your troubles outside city limits. We won’t ask twice.”
– Helegrath, Constable of Venkapor
Constables
A city is not a lawless place, whatever else it may be. Wherever a constable stands their post, the peace of that street is a real thing, watched over by real eyes – and breaking it does not go unanswered.
Most of the time, a constable is simply part of the scenery – standing their ground, wandering their small circuit, taking no more notice of you than the cobblestones do. Give them cause, though, and they will come looking. For most offenses it is a constable’s own eyes that must catch you at it – not merely that you stand somewhere within the walls. Raise a hand against another soul anywhere within city limits, though, and that alone is cause enough, seen or not.
What Draws the Eye
- Petty Theft – picking a lock, be it a chest or a door, in a constable’s sight, whether the picking succeeds or fails; working a hand into another’s pocket the same way; or helping yourself to the crops of a farm that was never yours to harvest, which draws a constable’s notice from a fair distance regardless of city walls. A pocket picked and lost draws a shout loud enough to be heard even by a constable who never saw the act itself.
- Disturbing the Peace – trading blows with some hostile creature, or hurling a fiercer working at one, in a constable’s sight; or simply standing deep enough in drink for a constable close beside you to smell it.
- Assault – raising a hand against another soul, anywhere within city limits.
- Horse Theft – climbing onto a horse that was never yours and riding it well clear of where you found it, in a constable’s sight. A brief hop into the saddle to move the poor animal out of a doorway is no crime; riding off on it is.
- Murder – taking another’s life in a constable’s sight.
- Drawing a weapon, or a spellcaster’s staff, anywhere within a constable’s sight. You’ll earn a word of warning first, and the officer will cross the distance to be certain you heard it – no punishment yet, only a caution given.
- Actually swinging the thing you drew. To hold a blade is one matter; to use it is another entirely. A constable within earshot will come deliver a sharper word for that.
- Striking a constable outright. Don’t. What follows is spoken of below.
Carrying a weapon is no crime in itself – it is the drawing of it, the swinging of it, or the true use of it against another that earns a constable’s notice.
Should You Be Caught
Every one of the five offenses above costs you Honor the instant it’s committed, and earns you a cell besides – the length of your stay growing longer with every repeat, city and constable both keeping a memory of your name.
| Offense | Honor Lost | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | Every Time After |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Petty Theft | 0.2 | 2 minutes | 5 minutes | 15 minutes | 20 minutes |
| Disturbing the Peace | 0.1 | 20 seconds | 1 minute | 3 minutes | 3 minutes |
| Assault | 0.3 | 1 minute | 2 minutes | 3 minutes | +1 minute each time |
| Horse Theft | 0.5 | 5 minutes | 10 minutes | 20 minutes | 40 minutes |
| Murder | 1.0 | 10 minutes | 30 minutes | 60 minutes | death, from the 4th time on |
Take a life once, twice, even a third time, and a cell is still what waits for you. Do it a fourth, and mercy runs out – a constable will end you where you stand instead.
Striking a constable outright is answered the same way, on the spot, with no chase needed – its own separate reckoning, sixty seconds the first time, five minutes the second, ten the third, and five more piled on with every offense after that.
Escape Only Delays It
Outrun a constable rather than answer for what you’ve done, and the matter does not simply end there – it stands open against your name, in whatever city it happened, until an officer’s eyes fall on you again. Walk back through those gates thinking yourself forgotten, and don’t be surprised when one comes straight for you.
Clearing Your Name
A record need not follow you forever. At the Constable’s office, you may pay to have one kind of offense struck from your name entirely – the cost rising with how many times you’ve already been caught at it, and falling back to nothing once paid.
| Offense | Cost to Clear, Per Offense Already on Record |
|---|---|
| Petty Theft | 100 |
| Disturbing the Peace | 10 |
| Assault | 50 |
| Horse Theft | 500 |
| Murder | 300 |
A third petty theft, then, costs 300 to wipe clean – pay it, and the next time you’re caught at it, you’re treated as a first-time offender again. Settling your account does not spring you from a cell you’re already sitting in, though; it only spares you the worse reckoning the next time you’re caught.
The Taking
Being taken is no gentle thing. Your feet cease to answer you, the word ARRESTED fills your sight, and the world fades to black. When your eyes open again, you are already behind bars – the journey there spent before you ever see it happen.
The Serving of a Sentence
The cell door will not answer you again until your time is served – a bar drawn across the top of your sight counts the exact remainder. Move as you please within; only the leaving is denied you, not the standing still. While the sentence runs, your hunger, your thirst, your exposure to the elements are all set right again, as though you had taken a proper rest. Whatever injury you carried in with you goes on healing at its own pace, undisturbed. Whatever sickness or curse you carried in with you, though, cares nothing for iron bars – that remains exactly as it was when the door closed.
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