07.04f: Day on the Town
Re: 07.04f: Day on the Town
Alys nods. "Oh, I won't claim it would be reasonable to expect otherwise. Doesn't make it less of a problem, though."
Re: 07.04f: Day on the Town
Since it's just Alys going on the inspection, a shorthand of what's there. Lots of corruption and extortion with most guards a cross between actual police and organized crime. Overall, not too many are horribly oppressive, most are actually helpful, but they are all businesses. The merchant's Guild keeps a bit of a watch on them, since they operate within the city as well. It's clear that a turf war will eventually happen but as of the moment, it seems at least a few weeks to months off. Possibly years.
Re: 07.04f: Day on the Town
And, just to top it off, there's some definite resentment of the castle guard - the general opinion being that the castle guard takes anyone with actual talent and leaves the dregs behind. Throw in some issues with getting good equipment (especially when a guard group's leader is corrupt and taking a larger cut of the proceeds than they should be), and it doesn't take that long into the tour before someone is willing to admit that there might be some problems here...
We'll name that someone Fitz Holcomb, a young man with perhaps a bit more idealism than experience. Alys listens to him, and then says, "Draw your weapon, and defend yourself," as if this was the most sensible response in the world. After a moment's pause she seems to notice the horrified looks her statement prompted, and explains, "You just told me that you lack both talent and proper equipment. This is the quickest way for me to verify your concerns."
The 'fight' (if it can be termed that, given that Fitz has no intention of attacking even if Alys allowed him the time to do so) is over in five strokes, each one faster than the last. The first one Fitz parries without problems, the second forces him back, the third breaks his sword, the fourth he just barely dodges by flinging himself to the floor, and the fifth hits against crossed blades (what's left of his sword and a dagger drawn in his offhand) and doesn't even slow down until Alys stops her weapon just short of drawing blood.
And then Alys' blade is sheathed and she's offering Fitz a hand to help him stand back up. "I've seen supposedly experienced warriors just stand there and die when their sword broke. The flaws in your technique are a matter of training, not talent."
Those observing with warfare of amber rank or above - which probably just means Oberon - will note that the top half of Fitz' sword ended up pinning the guard captain's cloak to the wall - and the fat businessman has yet to notice that he came within an inch of requiring immediate medical attention.
We'll name that someone Fitz Holcomb, a young man with perhaps a bit more idealism than experience. Alys listens to him, and then says, "Draw your weapon, and defend yourself," as if this was the most sensible response in the world. After a moment's pause she seems to notice the horrified looks her statement prompted, and explains, "You just told me that you lack both talent and proper equipment. This is the quickest way for me to verify your concerns."
The 'fight' (if it can be termed that, given that Fitz has no intention of attacking even if Alys allowed him the time to do so) is over in five strokes, each one faster than the last. The first one Fitz parries without problems, the second forces him back, the third breaks his sword, the fourth he just barely dodges by flinging himself to the floor, and the fifth hits against crossed blades (what's left of his sword and a dagger drawn in his offhand) and doesn't even slow down until Alys stops her weapon just short of drawing blood.
And then Alys' blade is sheathed and she's offering Fitz a hand to help him stand back up. "I've seen supposedly experienced warriors just stand there and die when their sword broke. The flaws in your technique are a matter of training, not talent."
Those observing with warfare of amber rank or above - which probably just means Oberon - will note that the top half of Fitz' sword ended up pinning the guard captain's cloak to the wall - and the fat businessman has yet to notice that he came within an inch of requiring immediate medical attention.
Re: 07.04f: Day on the Town
Oberon just finds this amusing. After all, he's "clearly" out of his depth with this level of swordplay, and Alys has an idea where she's going. So he's willing to let it happen.
Re: 07.04f: Day on the Town
The guard captain starts to step forward, "Ah, actually, that..."* and then trails off looking pale as he realizes what his cloak is caught on.
Alys steps over to him and casually pulls the broken blade out of the wall.** "You may find it wise to invest in higher quality equipment for your subordinates. Someone could get hurt using brittle steel like this."
As the captain starts to say something about not being able to afford, Alys cuts him off again. "Note that I said higher quality, not more expensive. You could have purchased four good spears for the price of this blade, and that would have served your men far better."
"As for the issue of training," Alys' voice increases in volume and shifts to a more formal tone as she makes a proclamation: "Starting on the eleventh, I will offer training to anyone who wishes to make Amber a safer place."
Back at a normal volume, she adds, "But no more than a fifth of any precinct's guards at one time."
_____
* What the captain was about to say - and Alys is well aware of, but choosing to ignore - is that actually, the blade belonged to Fitz, and he doesn't provide his guards with weapons at all, instead requiring them to purchase what they use out of their own payroll.
** Casual, in this case, doesn't just include the strength to pull it out of the wall, but also the durability to handle something that's pretty much all sharp edges without cutting herself; Alys isn't wearing gloves.
Alys steps over to him and casually pulls the broken blade out of the wall.** "You may find it wise to invest in higher quality equipment for your subordinates. Someone could get hurt using brittle steel like this."
As the captain starts to say something about not being able to afford, Alys cuts him off again. "Note that I said higher quality, not more expensive. You could have purchased four good spears for the price of this blade, and that would have served your men far better."
"As for the issue of training," Alys' voice increases in volume and shifts to a more formal tone as she makes a proclamation: "Starting on the eleventh, I will offer training to anyone who wishes to make Amber a safer place."
Back at a normal volume, she adds, "But no more than a fifth of any precinct's guards at one time."
_____
* What the captain was about to say - and Alys is well aware of, but choosing to ignore - is that actually, the blade belonged to Fitz, and he doesn't provide his guards with weapons at all, instead requiring them to purchase what they use out of their own payroll.
** Casual, in this case, doesn't just include the strength to pull it out of the wall, but also the durability to handle something that's pretty much all sharp edges without cutting herself; Alys isn't wearing gloves.
Re: 07.04f: Day on the Town
Fitz will ask... "How will you knwo which fifth you will train? Who decides that?"
Re: 07.04f: Day on the Town
Alys shrugs. "Which fifth gets trained first isn't a particularly important detail; I see no reason not to leave that up to individual guard captains. For that matter, if someone can convince me they can cover their precinct's normal duties with less than four fifths of their men, I would have no problem allowing an exception."
"Where I will not tolerate exceptions, however, is in the initial offer of training; that may not be immediately available to everyone, but it will be available; even if every guard in the city wishes to take advantage of this offer, it should not take more than two years for any individual to receive training."
"Where I will not tolerate exceptions, however, is in the initial offer of training; that may not be immediately available to everyone, but it will be available; even if every guard in the city wishes to take advantage of this offer, it should not take more than two years for any individual to receive training."
Re: 07.04f: Day on the Town
The remainder of the tour proceeds without noteworthy incident. News of Alys' offer of training spreads quickly - faster than she's moving, at least - and the reactions are a mix of cautious optimism, skepticism, and (in the case of those guard captains who have realized this will undermine their authority) thinly veiled hostility.
It's not until they're heading back out of the city that Oberon comments, "That's quite the task you've set for yourself. Are you going to need any help?"
Alys raises an eyebrow. "Why, were you planning on offering some?"
"Sure… Seems worthwhile to help with."
"Good; in particular, it would be useful to have a suitable fast-time shadow available. I'd planned on asking Lyra to try to find one - give her a reason to learn a bit more about how to use Pattern - but I expect having a more experienced traveler along would turn that from 'try' to something I can rely on."
"And you need someone with Trump to help get them back and forth? Makes sense." Oberon says. "Sure. I can find that if you need."
"Excellent." ...And Alys will start running through what she's looking for, in rough order of priority. It's a long list, and a lot of the items on it are "this isn't necessary, but would be nice to have" sorts of things; Oberon can probably clue in fairly quickly that, while this is all stuff that would be useful (things like having an abandoned, half-underwater city around to do training exercises in, or plentiful local food supplies, or the like), it's also Alys testing what Pattern can actually do.
Oberon nods. "I can find anything you want, it's just a matter of time."
"Then I'll leave it as your call - find the things I listed that are worth the time to find them. ...And I'd suggest budgeting at least some of that time towards finding ways to work with another Pattern-user; that should pay off in the long run even if it results in less than ideal training grounds now."
As the two of them reach the point where the road to Ht'gon forks off of the road to Castle Amber, Oberon comments, "You know... If you walked the Pattern, you could come with me."
Alys pauses a moment, then says, "If you can tell me the price of Pattern, I'll consider it."
"Dworkin would say 'why tell you what you already know. If you wish, I can say it out loud for you. For you... you are considering leaving in a few centuries. That won't happen if you walk."
"That would certainly explain why Dworkin hasn't allowed anyone else a choice," Alys muses. "I'll think on what you've said. But for now, I think I should go to Ht'gon and change into something more suited for this evening's ball."
It's not until they're heading back out of the city that Oberon comments, "That's quite the task you've set for yourself. Are you going to need any help?"
Alys raises an eyebrow. "Why, were you planning on offering some?"
"Sure… Seems worthwhile to help with."
"Good; in particular, it would be useful to have a suitable fast-time shadow available. I'd planned on asking Lyra to try to find one - give her a reason to learn a bit more about how to use Pattern - but I expect having a more experienced traveler along would turn that from 'try' to something I can rely on."
"And you need someone with Trump to help get them back and forth? Makes sense." Oberon says. "Sure. I can find that if you need."
"Excellent." ...And Alys will start running through what she's looking for, in rough order of priority. It's a long list, and a lot of the items on it are "this isn't necessary, but would be nice to have" sorts of things; Oberon can probably clue in fairly quickly that, while this is all stuff that would be useful (things like having an abandoned, half-underwater city around to do training exercises in, or plentiful local food supplies, or the like), it's also Alys testing what Pattern can actually do.
Oberon nods. "I can find anything you want, it's just a matter of time."
"Then I'll leave it as your call - find the things I listed that are worth the time to find them. ...And I'd suggest budgeting at least some of that time towards finding ways to work with another Pattern-user; that should pay off in the long run even if it results in less than ideal training grounds now."
As the two of them reach the point where the road to Ht'gon forks off of the road to Castle Amber, Oberon comments, "You know... If you walked the Pattern, you could come with me."
Alys pauses a moment, then says, "If you can tell me the price of Pattern, I'll consider it."
"Dworkin would say 'why tell you what you already know. If you wish, I can say it out loud for you. For you... you are considering leaving in a few centuries. That won't happen if you walk."
"That would certainly explain why Dworkin hasn't allowed anyone else a choice," Alys muses. "I'll think on what you've said. But for now, I think I should go to Ht'gon and change into something more suited for this evening's ball."