rgv

  child trafficking

  [colpse]

  Aside: Sir Stuart's Quest 1Stuart finished his report on Lady Biyu's activities since parting from Lady Chelsea. Debriefing took longer than it should have, since Lady Chelsea kept interrupting him to ask why he hadn't intervened. At the start she had been scowling over the meeting she attended between Iris and Anya. By the end of his report she was wroth, and he worried she would do something foolish. If, somehow, he had any doubt about how she felt, the tirade she unched bming him for everything he had told her about would have removed all doubt.

  Pointing out, once and only once, that Lady Biyu was now Defender Elderwoods, leaving him no room to gainsay her hadn't gone over well. Instead, he'd received another dressing down for allowing Lady Biyu to make Iris her concubine. After all, she had still been an exiled noble. Rather than arguing fruitlessly, he accepted the rebuke, eager to move on to more pressing matters.

  "My Lady, if you're done taking out your frustrations on me, can I bring up a concern of my own?" That earned him a gre from the Knight-Errant, but she waved for him to proceed when he remained unaffected. "There is something troubling me that I would like to investigate."

  Lady Chelsea let out a sigh. "Is this something about Lady Biyu that you've held back on?"

  "No, Lady Chelsea, although it was because of her that my attention was drawn to it. You see, orphanages have been paying for children to be brought to them. A silver coin a child."

  Frowning, Lady Chelsea pondered, her brows knit. "Orphanages are usually funded by temples and the nobles. They spend most of their money on children, not paying for them. That sounds like a discreet svery ring. Viscount Lonelyknoll knows about it?"

  "He does. The orphanages cim they're being paid to send children to vilges as farmhands. That's not unheard of, by itself. Paying to have children sent to the fields is common in vilges, but they pay for that in coppers. Just not that amount per head. Also, there's the number of children. During my time in the city, I have found very few urchins out on the streets. A city this size should have a few hundred running around making a nuisance of themselves. Lady Biyu's children are the only ones I've seen that aren't accompanied by guardians."

  "Please, Sir Stuart, don't imply that Lady Biyu has already adopted the children."

  "It would be noble if she did, Lady Chelsea."

  "It would be noble to take them in as wards. Adopting them is a much more serious affair. Doing it on a whim is irresponsible outside of stories."

  "As you say, Lady Chelsea."

  "That said, if the Lords of the Lands are paying for farm hands, then while the amount is suspect, isn't this a normal practice? It's a way to ensure that farms have enough hands, and bring in new blood. Usually the kids are grateful for the food, shelter, and the guarantee of work."

  "That's true were we come from, Lady Chelsea, where the nd hasn't been cultivated for centuries and vilges are sparse. Here the nds are so packed with farms that untamed wilderness is the exception, not the rule." He paused, considering. "The Southnds are like Shadow Gate—the province, not the city—from coast to coast. It's what makes them the Southnds.

  "That's why so many young men march to the north war, enticed by promises of their own parcel in the Midnds. That's also part of the reason I find so much coin for orphans suspicious. There are more peasants in the Southnds than they can employee, so why pay silver for orphans? How much did they spend to clear the streets of a city this size?"

  Lady Chelsea was thoughtful as she considered his points. "You're sure of the amount? A silver coin a head?"

  "That's what the man trying to drag away Allie and Bert said. You've walked through the city. Were there any children in the poorer parts?"

  "No, though I wasn't looking. Still, they could all be in the shanty town out beyond the wall. You haven't spent much time there, I'm sure. You haven't shared your concerns with the Viscount?"

  "My concerns are too circumstantial to worry him while he was mourning his daughter. So far all I have is just unusual, not arming."

  "'Mourning his daughter'," Lady Chelsea grumbled. "Very well. You have my permission. Be wary. If there is something off, take care the children do not become evidence to be disposed of."

  Stuart felt grim determination at those words, and he saluted with his fist to his chest.

  Stuart began his investigation at the most obvious pce. There were several orphanages in the city, and he chose one in the residential district for his first visit. It was well away from the main roads, requiring him to twist through unmarked alleys to find the small townhouse. He forwent his cuirass, but wore a mail hauberk, helmet, splinted armor for his arms and legs, and thick gloves along with his sword and a small shield. Over it all he wore his surcoat, deciding after long deliberation to decre himself.

  Coming as a Knight granted him a small amount of innate authority. Besides that, subterfuge was not among his skills. While he might easily make a nefarious organization wary investigating them, he did think he could py the fool well enough to keep them from becoming too jumpy.

  He knocked on the orphanage door before letting himself in. Young children pying with toys filled the room. A middle-aged woman with a disagreeable, pinched face sat watching over them. She clucked her tongue at him before looking out a window crossly. He assumed she was waiting for someone. Throwing up her hands in exasperation, she turned to address him with resigned annoyance.

  "You lost?" she asked.

  "Pardon?" He understood the words, but they were so outside his expectations that he wasn't sure if he heard her right.

  "I asked if you're lost. This is no pce for a Knight, so you can't mean to be here. I'll give ya instructions, but don't— ah, too te."

  Seeing the Knight, the children lit up with excitement while forgetting their shabby pythings. They leaped to their feet and began chattering at him. Some asked if he was a Knight. Others asked to see his sword. One asked to be picked up, her small hands making grasping motions over her head. Another asked for a story. He was certain in the three minutes it took to calm the children he heard enough questions and requests for tenfold more.

  He gave the excited children his most genial smile. "I need to talk to the good woman here, but I'll tell you all a story before I go, alright? Just wait quietly, like good children."

  The woman watched him with furrowed brows, surprised at his calmness in the face of the cacophony. "Like kids?"

  "Not a question I'll answer while they're right here. What I came to ask was, who is paying you for the children?"

  The woman pursed her lips. "Man says his name's Jeremy. Don' know much else."

  The door opened just then, and a man dressed head to toe in fitted leathers came in. He stared at the Knight, before giving the woman an acid look. "Mike! I was waiting for you, you bastard. You're te. I'll help ya in a bit with getting into the storeroom for cleaning. Got an unexpected guest I'm trying to sort out."

  "You were telling me about Jeremy?"

  "Yeah, but like I said, I just knows a name. Don't even know the blokes face! He comes when the other girl is in. Annie. She's got a pce with her kids she stays at when she's not minding the pce. Want me to tell her you'll come calling?"

  "No, that's fine. Just idle curiosity, really. Being a Knight is fine and all, but sometimes you need a little extra coin. Especially when your brothers in service come looking to collect that wager you made while a bit too deep in your cups! Thought I might know where to get some kids, and thought I'd get a little coin for myself."

  He gave her a polite tip of his head and left. Outside he saw a rge cart, just small enough to navigate the narrow alleys, with canvas draped over it. Other men idled around the cart; extra porters to move the cart. He gave them all a polite greeting that they returned with suspicious stares. He wandered off into an alley, and once out of their sight took to a trot to find a path around to another alley. Doing his best to obscure himself as he rounded a corner he was sure led to the orphanage, he found the man in leathers, Mike, had already left. He had the men dragging the cart away. Stuart had only taken a few minutes to come back around, so he doubted the children had been loaded. He thought about following them, but he doubted his ability to do so discreetly.

  Instead, he moved on to the next orphanage. Walking in without knocking, he smiled cheerfully at the minder. The woman looked at him with a frown, uncertain what to do when a Knight walked in. "Hello. I'm looking for Mike? Has he been by yet?"

  The woman snorted. "Nah, and the bastard is supposed to be bringing me my money today, too. About time I give this up, anyways. I ain't making more than seven coins silver a week now, when I used to get one piece steel when we started this racket!"

  "Is that so?" he asked, giving a bob of his head. "I found some holdouts hiding out not far from here, thought I'd try for one st payout before it was done."

  "Some Knight you is," the woman smirked. She gave him another once over. "Say, wanna to get a drink ter? I know a nice tavern, and I do so hate to drink alone."

  He sighed, dramatically. "I'm under a woman, in both senses." The woman took a moment to puzzle out his implication, and chortled when she did. "Sleeping with the boss to work your way up?"

  "If only that was the way of it. No, it's part of my 'duties'," he sneered. He threw up his shoulders in the universal gesture of 'what can you do'. "So, please forgive me. I'm gonna shuffle off, see if I can't track down Mike before the kids decide to find a new hiding pce."

  "Yeah. Good luck with the boss dy." The woman waved, her interest completely gone.

  Stuart gave Lady Chelsea a quick briefing, but he decided to leave out a crucial detail on what he intended to do next. She wouldn't be pleased if he told her he was going to involve Defender Elderwoods.

  He found her practicing with her bow, and he was gd for that. She had made it quite clear that she welcomed being interrupted while she practiced the bow. When asked why, she expined that it was good practice for focusing while paying attention in the heat of battle. Talking to her was fine, but they were not to touch her. Not just because of her aversion, but she said there was no point practicing a scenario that could only end in failure.

  "Lady Biyu, I would like to request your aid."

  The arrow raced into the target, and he was impressed that she hit near the same spot again. Now that he was used to seeing her practice, he found himself enjoying watching her move through her well practiced forms. The fact it was a tool of the enemy had faded from his mind, although he still knew that Knights who could throw their magic, or a stone, would outperform her primitive weapon. There were three more shots before she spoke back. "Do not wait for me to acknowledge you. Speak."

  He felt a moment of irritation at being rebuked for politeness, but he tamped it down. "I am looking into the orphanages, and I find myself in need of your help. I've made myself known to them, and my ability to pass unnoticed is… well, I have no such skill. There are some men with an oxcart I wish tracked. I believe they will lead us to where the children are being brought."

  Another arrow nded, and the st was already aimed and fired. Done, she unstrung her bow. "Have you reason to be suspicious?"

  "A silver coin a child, for a city of children, is a lot of wealth."

  Lady Biyu contempted that before nodding her head in agreement. "I see. You wish for me to follow the men carting children from the orphanages?"

  He nodded.

  She considered. "Do they know you are investigating them?"

  "Most likely. I have tried to pass myself off as a man looking to make coin, but they would be fools not to be suspicious."

  "Are you certain they have not begun to cover up their operation?"

  "I think they may be running out of children, so it might be a moot point at this stage."

  Another moment of contemption. "I have special tricks for tracking I can use, though I will not promise you they will work. Give me a moment to inform my household that I will be leaving, then you can show me the people you want me to follow."

  "Thank you, Defender Elderwoods," he asked graciously, and she gave him a brief smile. His curiosity got the better of his decorum. "You have a tracking technique?"

  "Yes. I use it on my household. Iris, May, and the children. I should be able to use it on the carters too, but… it is better if they do not have blessings. Gods are jealous of their chosen."

  That sounded odd to him, but given he was looking to get a favor from the woman, he decided not to press.

  Once she had told Iris and Anya her pns, to which Anya had an almost pitiful look of gratitude for, they went into the city. Stuart had changed into commoner clothes, and did his best to not look too much like himself. To help with their deception, Lady Biyu wore childish clothes in garish colors, and a scarf to hide her face. Not that she looked like herself, her enchanted mask changing the shape of her face enough that he wouldn't recognize her without being privy to it.

  They walked along as father and child on a casual outing. Her preference for trousers and changed face made her look like a boy. He felt foolish pretending to be something he was not, as if he was some actor. Even he knew the value of deception in cases like this, where the vilin was hidden and likely to slip away, but that didn't mean he had to enjoy it.

  They went by an orphanage, and the caretaker came out with unabashed excitement to see if he was bringing her a child. He smiled and bade off, saying they were merely on a walk. He was thankful it wasn't one of the women he'd spoken to before. After pestering him with offers to buy Biyu that broached rudeness, he brushed her off, taking Lady Biyu with him.

  "That is not normal," Lady Biyu grumbled as they left, her eyes gring at the woman cursing them out. He agreed.

  Eventually they found the cart he was looking for, and the man he knew of as Mike. Lady Biyu looked at him from a distance, and he could feel her invoke a technique. She stiffened, her face turning stern.

  "I cannot use a technique on him," she said, her eyes narrowing.

  "Why not?"

  "He is heavily blessed. A god favors him, and I very much doubt my mark will take hold." She was briefly silent. "He may even be told someone attempted to mark him."

  After more silence, Lady Biyu turn to him. "I know him now. I will attempt to follow him by foot. If that does not work, then I have other methods I can try."

  "You seem agitated, Lady Biyu. What's the matter?"

  "A sense that something is wrong, Sir Stuart. Please inform Lady Chelsea and my household that I will be te coming home today."

  Stuart winced. "Does Lady Chelsea need to hear about this? She'll be cross with me for involving you."

  "She will hear about it sooner or ter. Inform her, Sir Stuart." She cpped him on the arm, reaching up to do so. "You made the wise decision. Hopefully, she will understand."

  He gave her a nod. "Please, let me know what you find." With that, Lady Biyu wandered off alone, pulling off her robes until she became a drab child pying in the street.

  Lady Chelsea was not amused when Sir Stuart reported to her. She then sparred with him, and he was forced to thank her for her instruction while walking off the bruises she left him with.

  The wounds only stung worse when Lady Biyu ter reported to Stuart that she was unable to follow the cart far from the city. There was little cover for her to conceal herself, and she wouldn't risk alerting them. She promised him that she had other methods to try, and that he could leave it to her.