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[Akhtar]

Date: 14th Spring 513
Time: 22nd Bell


It was suppose to be a calm day.

Or at least as calm as it could get with Lhavit’s lively night life. Akhtar had been pacing about the streets around for a while now, his eyes glancing down the narrow alleys on occasion, with a heavy scowl upon his face. No sooner had he set foot in the area had he stumbled into a merchant, which in turn set the whole series of events of the night off. Apologies were exchanged after the knowledge that nothing had been damaged, but no sooner had they been made had Akhtar realised something was wrong. In his stumble his book had been dropped, and claimed by another that pushed his way through the crowd at speed. He wasted no time, and quickly made after the man. Or at least the best he could. The perpetrator got away, and disappeared beyond his view.

And so the man stalked about the market, hands in his pocket and he watched all carefully. He was not about to let himself get caught again, and if he saw the man he would not hesitate to chase him down. He hovered around an alley way for a bit, his eyes staring in to it. Despite the odd stall there was nothing remotely remarkable, there was a few Lhavitians, a man leaned up against the wall reading a book, a group of women looking at wares with a shop keeper trying to raise the prices where he could. His eyes snapped back to the man, and he made a beeline towards him. He stepped around the women without a word, his feet treading carefully upon the ground, his eyes having now grown sharp as he set his sights onto the potential target. As he grew closer though, his footsteps grew louder, and it was not long until the man’s head turned up to face him. At first, there was an element of surprise on his face, but just as quickly did it rise, did the man recoil away. The reaction confirmed any though and doubt that lingered in the mind of Akhtar and so the chase began.

He darted after him, forcing his legs into a run as he barged through the crowd. He received the curse from a few people, but his focus was too set on the thief. He skidded around a corner as his target dived into a quiet alley, before continuing on his way. His chest heaved, his legs already feeling the trembling ache.
Am I really that unfit? he thought as he charged his way down the alley, and pushed himself on. He struggled to close the gap between them, and if it was not for a pure stubbornness that led him on he no doubt would have given up a while ago. Swallowing Akhtar threw himself at the man, tackling him from behind and sending them both to the floor in a heap.
“Give it back you petcher!” Akhtar gave a shout as he threw his weight into the man. The pair wrestled in the alley, a struggle between the two for the dominant position to force the other into submission. Fingers pulled at fingers, fists shot through the air, as the men scrabbled about.
“Give what back? It’s mine!” the man shouted back “You damned thief!”
A punch was thrown, and Akhtar swayed to the side as the air was knocked out of him. He felt the thief try to pry himself free from his position on the floor.
“Thief! Who you calling a thief?” Akhtar’s eyes snapped back, as he returned his hold to the man “You took my book from me!”

[Lu Gavima]

Having served a year under the light of Syna, Lu had made enough of an impression to get himself on night duty. It was a pay raise, which was marginally pleasing, but his desire to work under Leth's gaze trumped any kina. The light of the moon and the caress of starlight were all the protection the young Shinya needed. Lhavit really came to life at night and as the city awakened, so did the darker elements, those who hid from Syna's watch and waited for shadows to crawl.

Like one of their brethren, Lu chose to also crawl the alleys and hidden corners of Lhavit. Places where light never found purchase. The Shinya's eyes were many, but they also had routines. Pickpockets in the Plaza deserved what they got. Criminals of import were surely hiding out in these lonesome places. As he walked, the click of his staff marking time could be heard. Friendly faces heard its cadence and nodded and smiled. Those who did not, those who turned their backs and disappeared into crevices, those were the faces Lu remembered. Maybe they were preoccupied, maybe they believed he was a young upstart. Maybe something else was occurring. Nothing left to chance.

The alleys were mostly quiet, however. This was a good thing, of course, but honestly, Lu had hoped something would occur to give him purpose other than street walker. He stopped, looking out at the sky, a lone cloud passing briefly over Leth's face. Lu could her the clinking of glasses, the bartering among barterers. He could hear the cry of a wolf out there somewhere. Then, an exquisite sound. Lu cocked his head like a bird and turned his body, to find that sound. Footsteps running. Curses flying. The word.

Thief!

The Shinya's footsteps turned and moved to meet this lovely offering.

[Akhtar]

Akhtar struggled for a little while, trying to use brute force over the squirming thief. Not that it did him much good. He was no brawler after all, and before long the thief was simply bludgeoning him with the spine of the book.
“Don’t! Do! That! To my! Petching! Book!” he threw a wild punch at the jaw of the thief. The men grunted as they continued to scrabble about and fought for the place onto once more. He found himself being thrown onto his back, the spine of his book being pressed against his throat. But then, the thief simply froze in place, his attention being brought to something else of a more worrying nature. Akhtar clicked his jaw and turned his bruised face to the direction that the thief was looking.
“Oh thank the gods you’re here!” the thief broke out into sound “This man! He was trying to steal from me!”
Akhtar stared up almost in amazement at the words of the thief “What!? He stole from me!”

His eyes at that point focused properly on who he was addressing. A Shinya had turned his eyes to the ruckus caused by them. He felt the weight of the thief hold him down, the accusation received having momentarily stunned him.
“Quick! I have him now!” the thief announced.
“Wait! This is wrong!” Akhtar exclaimed as he forced himself once more to struggle “please tell me you’re not going to believe him?”
He felt his hands be pulled away and held in place the book having now been simply tossed aside almost carelessly. Akhtar winced as he watched the cover scrape across the floor, the pages snagging slightly as it came to a stop. He worried for a moment about the condition of it, before returning to the task at hand. No matter what there was indeed a predicament, it was one man’s word against another’s. He just hoped that the Shinya that hovered before them could see the truth of the situation.

[Lu Gavima]

Lu watched the scene unfolding before him. Two men scrabbling in the dirt, neither using any particular discipline. Probably foreigners. The question of thievery was certainly in the air, but fortunately there was evidence. Placing his staff against the wall, the Shinya stepped to the right of the pile of parts, bending over to pick the book up. Looking to the current dominant, his eyes were as stern as his voice.

"Let him up." There was a brief look of astonishment from the possible victim's face. "But, I have him! Just take him away and lock him up!" Lu's attention turned to the book, his hands fondling its body and brushing away debris. Opening the pages, he perused the preface, the subject matter something very interesting to him. Mildly irritated, he looked back over at the man. "Separate or I will separate you." His eyes turned back to the book, curious fingers and eyes flipping through it. He hoped he could procure a copy for himself as he could see why it was such a thing to fight over.

Taking a seat on a few boxes in the alley, Lu crossed his leg and sat the book on the horizontal limb. Fortunately the two combatants were unwinding from their coils. He kept looking at the chapters, already wishing he had found only the book. There was work to be done, of course, but still. Leaning up to his right, he sat on his left hand before resting again. This was a fine way to keep it immobile for Projection while seated. As his astral and unseen arm began to unwind itself, his eyes looked back at the pair.

"Against the wall and take a seat. I think we can find out the truth easily enough."

[Akhtar]

Akhtar felt himself being released, and allowed to steadily get to his feet. He shook himself down as the Shinya gave his instructions before sitting himself down upon the box. He could not tell if the man was angry or not, or if he simply preferred to have time alone to contemplate the book. Akhtar however did not speak immediately; instead he stared at the Shinya and obeyed his words. He placed himself against the wall, the thief letting out a grunt as he followed suit. There the two men awaited judgement from the Shinya. It would no doubt be the last time that Akhtar would be involved with the locals on such a level, but he also knew he was not about to make a habit of it. He kept himself attentive as the Shinya did whatever it was he was doing.

The thief however just sat there shuffling uncomfortably, a frown forming on his face matched with a look of disgust, dishevelled clothing much like Akhtar himself. He rubbed at his jaw, feeling the swelling rise on his face from where a blow hit, along with the nagging hope that it had not caused too much damage. Still, he knew he could get a few stories out of it when at work and tasked with entertaining patrons.
“Come on! Stop wasting my time!” the thief snapped at the Shinya “Seriously, you’re going to do this?”
He cocked an eyebrow “You can’t be serious? Surely if you’re so innocent you shouldn’t be worrying. Men who snap generally are trying to hide something.”
The thief gave a glare to Akhtar before snapping his head away “Ah shut up.”
Little more was said after that, there was a few heavy sighs from the thief, a mumble of a complaint at least once. Nothing that would be a threat, or at least at the moment it was not.

[Lu Gavima]

"Without being dodgy, I'd like you to explain to me what the book is about. As it is your book, Sir." He looked at the frustrated suspect, whose inane wriggling and posturing made him the prime suspect in the first place. The man straightened up, his eyes darting around as if the answer might be written on a wall nearby.

"Sure thing. It's about a woman named Wright who sailed around the continent. She was from some Z place. I don't remember anything else as I just bought it." Lu looked to his left briefly, his astral arm free and floating next to him, should the thief try to run for it. Looking back, his eyebrows raised. "Oh, you just bought it did you? Do tell me where and when you bought it and I can back up your story." Lu's eyes remained on the wriggler before looking over at the assault victim.

"What about you? Could you tell me a little more about this book and its origin?" As the Shinya suspected that the victim was the owner anyway, this would be a fine opportunity to learn more about the book for his own curiosity. Either way, Lu suspected the truth would settle itself shortly.

[Akhtar]

“Zeltiva,” Akhtar spoke with a heavy sigh as he rubbed his jaw “The Z place is Zetliva.”
“I knew that!” the thief snorted “The place is Zeltiva. As for where it was brought… well uh…”
Akhtar listened to the thief stall and stutter, a mutter of a place that was vague and incomprehensible to his ears. He gave a wince as he clicked his jaw, feeling it stiffen as the bruising began to settle in. He gave a light frown, thinking on how he was going to explain himself at work. And then the Shinya turned his attention to him.

He shook his head and looked upon the Shinya before clearing his throat “It is An Account of the Circumnavigation of Mizahar, written by Kenabelle Wright. It features a vast amount of knowledge gained whilst her and the crew of the Seafarer circumnavigated the continent. It begins in Zeltiva, and the crew heads north towards Mura, and from Mura to Avanthal and then around and down to Denval. Then it goes around the west coast of Kalea and down to where the Myrians are in Falyndar,” he gave a smirk “I’ve read it too many times. Its origin is a Sylira print if you want to be technical, about…” he trailed off for a moment as he counted back the years “Ten years old?”
That means I've been in Lhavit for over 8 years now. Where's all the time gone?

The bartender lowered his hand once more, his eyes looking upon the Shinya in wonder. He looked a lot younger than Akhtar, youthful and still in his prime. No doubt full of the ideals of justice and doing the right thing. Much like when Akhtar was when he was that age. He gave a respecting nod to the Shinya, before lowering his eyes to the ground. It was now the choice of the Shinya to make.

[Lu Gavima]

Lu's eyes remained on the victim, his summary of the assailant neatly wrapped up in his mind. His astral arm was at rest, though ready. It looked to Lu, out of the corner of his eye, like a ghostly snake preparing to strike. "I believe I have come to a conclusion. Lhavit prospers as everyone here works for a living. There is no reason to steal things because since everyone works, everyone receives a wage. With that wage, they may buy whatever they like, within their means."

His head turned to the suspect in the case. "If you are this terrible at lying, you have probably been warned before. So you have two options. You may be escorted out of the City, this very moment and exiled from Lhavit for a period of one year. Should you survive and wish to return with new eyes, so be it. Option two, since it is clear you do not have a job, is to become a laborer for the City. Should you develop some kind of specific talent along the way, great." The thief was already standing. Lu expected him to run, but he stood as well in synchronicity.

"One or two. You believe there is a third option, but I assure you that is not the case." The suspect shifted on his feet, mumbling. His eyes darted up and down the alley and then at the staff lying against the wall. It was clear he believed he would flee. They all believed that. As expected, his feet decided for him and the man started running. He made it about five yards before Lu threw a Projected punch into the back of his knee, sending him flying. In a crumpled heap of pain, he grimaced and his tone became one of compliance.

"Okay, okay. I'll be a laborer! I have nowhere to go! Have mercy!" Lu looked over at his staff, the projected limb gripping it and tossing it in his direction. To the laymen, it may have seemed that he looked at it and it jumped to him as a command. Catching it with his right hand of flesh, Lu pointed its length at the thief. "I'll check the labor camp tomorrow. You had better be a new volunteer." With that, he turned and walked back down the alley to the victim. His astral arm was working itself back into its usual home as he spoke to the guy who lost the fight.

"Please, rise. I thank you for your cooperation in this matter. I will need to keep this book as evidence for my report, but if you could tell me your place of employment, I would be happy to return it in a few days."

[Akhtar]

The Shinya dissected the situation with words, and lay down the law before him. He watched the thief squirm, his words falling short as the situation around him began to crumble. The charade had ended, and a choice was laid down. But what was to be chosen was not the choice to be made. Had Akhtar been in the position of the thief, then he would have chosen to work as a labourer, to earn and honest living. To work your ways up once more through society. If that was even possible. He remembered what happened to people where he came from. Punishment was swift, and judgement quickly made. He knew it was the case; after all he was once one of those that laid down the judgement too. But that was now a lifetime ago.
Don’t be a fool and run! Akhtar thought as he watched the thief get to his feet.

It was the sudden movement, the attempt to flee and escape that got Akhtar the most. He watched the thief sprawl out across the ground, the begs of surrender and the submitting to his will. He saw the grimace of pain, the movement of the staff from what seemed to be from nothing. He watched the law unleash itself before him, the stern words of enforcement as it took control. He did not move from his spot, and waited for the words of the Shinya. Sheepishly the man rose, his eyes fixated upon the other as his mind raced to work out just exactly what had happened. Brushing himself down, the man addressed the Shinya.

“It was no issue,” Akhtar bowed his head slightly to the Shinya, a mark of respect if anything “I work at the Scholar’s Sanctum, mainly during the daylight hours. Will I be needed for anything else?” He wanted to make his own way home now and to simply allow himself to hide in the recesses of his room. But should the Shinya still need him he would stay.

[Lu Gavima]

His astral arm returning to the elbow and forearm, Lu listened to the victim, nodding in a regulalr fashion, as one did often with a victim. It was supposed to be one of understanding, but the man seemed perfectly capable and the Shinya was frankly surprised at his inability to defend himself. Pleased with the man's compliance, he tucked the book under his left arm and stood aside.

"The Scholar's Sanctum?" Lu only knew of a location with a similar name, so he assumed that is what the man meant. "I think you mean the Scholar's Demise.Very well. I will see you there." He let the man pass and go on with his business, thinking to point out something of note as he exited. "You might have a concussion, best to go have that head wound looked at." Lu waited until he was out of earshot to chuckle a bit. Who could forget the Scholar's Demise? With that, he continued on into the night and his patrol.