Page 73 of Steel & Thunder
“Khazak, good to have you back.” I poke my head around Khazak’s torso to see the brown-haired orc responsible for my capture the other night. “There is a pile of paperwork on your desk.”
“Of course there is.” He sighs. “Just wanted to say good morning and introduce my new assistant.” He reaches for me, pulling me into Ragnar’s line of vision.
“Good to see you, David.” He leans back in his chair a little. “I trust we will not have any issues with keys while you are here?”
There’s a smart-ass comment on the tip of my tongue, but I hold it in, knowing it’ll only get me in trouble. I want that reward. “No, sir.”
He smiles at that. Khazak nods a goodbye and leads us across the hall to a closed door which opens to another office: his. It’s pretty much just like the other one, a large desk in the center with chairs on either side and a couch against one wall. One of the walls has a sword in its scabbard and a longbow hanging from it while another has a large animal skin. There’s a small lantern and something framed on the desk, as well as a stack of papers in the center.
Khazak takes a seat in the big chair behind the desk while I grab one in front. He flips through the top of the stack and sighs. “This may take a while.”
“Do you have to fill all those out?” Seems a little beneath him, assuming their ranks are similar to ours.
“Most just need a signature.” He opens a drawer to pull out a pen and ink. “Though I am certain Ragnar did not make things any easier for me. The man hates paperwork.”
“Who likes it?” No one I’d trust. “So... What is it I will be doing here, exactly?”
“Oh, yes.” He reaches over his desk to grab a mug. “Would you mind getting me some coffee?” He holds it out for me, smirking.
I stare at the proffered mug, offended. “Are you kid—”
“I promise I did not bring you here just to get my coffee, David.” He sets the mug down on the edge of the desk with a chuckle and starts signing some of the papers. “Seeing as I am the one who arrested you, you already know that I am the head of the city’s law enforcement. Our forces are split between two stations, this one and another about a mile east of here. Between them, we have approximately one-hundred officers and fifty rangers, and I am in charge of them all.”
“That’s a lot of people.” Not as many as we had at the academy, but still.
“Indeed. Thankfully, there are two deputy captains to assist me, one based at each station. Deputy Captain Rockfang here and Deputy Captain Keenguard at the other. I sometimes work out of the other station, but as this one is closer to home, I am usually here. That will also apply to you. The officers handle most of the smaller day-to-day problems in the city, but more specialized issues are dealt with by the rangers.” He’s almost robotically signing the papers one after the other while he explains. “About half of what I do is administration, things like coordinating officers and signing paperwork. The other half is handling some of the more serious and high-profile crimes reported. When we are not here, you will be accompanying me on most of my assignments.”
“I’m actually going to be going out with you?” I look down at the mug. I was hoping he’d just have me doing busy work around here. “Is that allowed?”
“It is a bit of a grey area.” He pauses his signing to look at me. “You are technically considered an extension of myself, but you have no actual authority. You do not have the power to interrogate or arrest anyone.”
“What exactly will I be able to do?” Still not any clearer on what I’m here for.
“Plenty, which I will be happy to go over with you as soon as I finish with these.” He looks at the stack and sighs. “I would actually appreciate some coffee. Please.” He looks apologetic at least.
“Yes, Sir,” I say with a little bit of a grumble. “Where is it?”
“Take a left from my office and then left again down the next hallway.” He points with his finger. “You will see an open door on the right. That is the breakroom.”
“Be right back.” I pick up the mug and make my exit. I guess we’ll see if this place is anything like home. I hope not.
The breakroom isn’t difficult to find, and on the counter, I spot a large metal coffee kettle, steam rising from the tip. There’s no oven or hot plate, but I actually know the reason this time: an enchanted kettle. The ones we used at the academy looked different, but I’m sure these function the same. You fill it with water, add in the grounds (or tea leaves, blech), shut the lid, and five minutes later, you’ve got a hot pot of coffee. I hope the gods blessed the enchanter who came up with that one. I fill the mug and manage to find the sugar when I hear someone enter the room behind me.
I turn to look and see an elf standing in the doorway. “There you are,” he says, walking toward me.
“Here I am?” I back into the counter behind me.
“Nice to finally meet you, David.” He holds out his hand. “I’m Nylan.” He does look kind of familiar.
“How do you know my—ah!” I’m pulled in for a hug. Who the hell is this guy? Wait! “You’re the elf I saw in the marketplace the other day!”
“Wow, okay. One, I saw you first, and two, I’m only half-elf, thank you very much.” He cocks a hip as he corrects me.
Way to go, David, offending someone right after they introduce themselves. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to—”
“Woah, just kidding.” His tone sobers and he straightens up. “I mean I am half-elf, but… Hit a little close to home?”
“...Let’s just say that part of the reason I’m here is because I might have had some assumptions about certain groups of people and where they lived.” I sheepishly admit. “Wait, you never told me how you know my name.”
