As the sun crests over the horizon, Thalenir can be heard sliding furniture into place within the merchant's hall. After some time, he emerges and props open the door, then returns inside to await the arrival of the council members.
Thalenir smiles. "Greetings, Despair. No, I realized that I hadn't set a specific time in the missive, which is why I showed up so early myself. We'll have to wait until at least two more council members arrive before we can talk about official business, but do come in and have a seat."
He gestures to an open seat. "The Shadow Guard, eh? I like it. It suits you and your company. As for a purpose, my intention was only that you publicly declare your group's objectives so as to put others at ease, not to intrude upon your privacy. Just think of it as a friendly suggestion."
"Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain."
- Wizard of Oz
Alec comes stomping in, breathing heavily. Gecel....has been.....kidnapped. We were walking toward the mine and dirt filled my vision. I hear Gecel call out for his weapon. Then he was gone."
Alec sits down still in shock that his teacher was taken right before his eyes."
Thalenir nods. "An arbitrary number, I must admit, but I wouldn't feel comfortable conducting official business without most everyone present, least of all at the very first meeting." He furrows his brow. "I wonder where Haven and Dreygor are. I had hoped Kevass would show up, as well."
"At any rate, I suppose we have a majority of the voting body, so we can begin discussing the important bits and save the votes until Haven or Dreygor arrive."
At this, Thalenir unfurls a scroll of parchment and scans the text with his finger. "The first order of business on the agenda was... election of individuals to vacant positions on the Town Council." He looks around with a smirk. "Well, I'm fairly certain we can skip that until someone interested shows up."
"Next was... designation of deputies by the Sheriff, which will also have to wait. Then... ah yes, laws."
"Now, it occurred to me that, in any legal system, there are four important elements: A system to classify individuals, the rights that different classifications for individuals bear, public officials to oversee those rights, and the methods by which they do so. This can be as simple or as complex as we need it to be, but without those four things, there can be no law. In this vein, a law is a statement of rights, and a crime is any violation of those rights."
"Of course, we already have public officials to oversee laws. It's already been established that this council is the law-making body of Jastrey, with a duty to define the laws. As the Sheriff, it is Kevass' duty to ensure that those laws are upheld. And, as the Magistrate, it is my duty to arbitrate grievances and hand out punishments for violations of the law."
"What we need to decide, then, is how individuals may be classified under Jastrien law, what rights they have, and how Kevass and I are permitted to oversee those rights."
"To start, I have thought of three classifications that I would deem important, namely, that of Citizen, Traveler, and Public Enemy. Citizens would be those who live peaceably within Jastrey, Travelers would be peaceful strangers who visit our lands, and Public Enemies would be the monsters and criminals that seem to plague us all too often."
"Obviously, Citizens would receive the most rights under the law, followed closely by Travelers, with Public Enemies having few rights, if any. I imagine that anything declared a Public Enemy can, and likely should, be killed on sight."
"I'm interested in hearing your thoughts on this, gentlemen, before we move on. Are there any other important classifications of individuals to consider, and what rights should each type be granted?"
"Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain."
- Wizard of Oz
Thalenir stops mid-speech as Alec walks in. He listens with a look of growing concern. "Do you have any idea where he might have been taken?"
Without waiting for an answer, he turns to Corvax. "Not to cut the meeting short, but would you be so kind as to find Kevass and the rest of the Brotherhood?"
"Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain."
- Wizard of Oz
Corvax quickly gets up and moves as fast as his bulk will let him, over to Alec. "Alec are you wounded" Corvax heals Alec with his most powerful spell." "Tell me again what happened on the way." Corvax looks over his shoulder "Well I guess this meeting is over." "Come on lets go gentlemen."he says to the two sitting at the table. With that Corvax and Alec leave.
As Kevass walks towards the Merchant's Hall for the meeting he notices Alec, Corvax, Despair, and Thalenir emerging from the hall with rather grim looks across their faces. "Ho' there friends. Was I that late to the meeting? It does not look as if it went well. What is the matter?"
After hearing the news from Corvax, Kevass stops Alec to find out the details of Gecel's abduction. "Alec. Calm yourself. Gather your thoughts. Tell me the details of Gecel's situation. I will help you to gather a rescue party, but we must know what we are up against."
Winds pick up and buffet the meeting. The skies darken with unnatural speed and the sound of a battle can be heard in the distance. You can not discern the location as it seems to be above you.
For every minute you are angry you lose sixty seconds of happiness.
-- Ralph Waldo Emerson
Despair enters some time later. " Hello Thalenir how goes it? Am I early? Anyway I got your letter and as far as a name for us we are The Shadow Guard and our purpose is our own but I guess we could also be classifed as adventurers."