SUBJECT: Life Ruiners
PARTICIPANTS: Petrana de Cedoux, John Silver, & Fitcher
CLASSIFICATION: Private to Riftwatch Leadership
DATE FILED: Early Bloomingtide
STATUS: Complete
SUMMARY: A team travelled to Gwaren to ruin the local harbormaster who had a history of aiding the Venatori.

REPORT:

Monsieur B,

I'm unhappy to report that our effort in Gwaren was only a partial success. In an effort to redeem ourselves, I will summarize our work in the hopes that you will understand that we weren't so much outfoxed as merely outrun.

Upon our arrival in Gwaren, Mssr Silver approached the harbormaster with a falsified opportunity to assist in smuggling a 'person of interest' from the Northern army who had agreed to return to Tevinter and act as a double agent on the South's behalf. Our hope was that Gregory would forward the information to his contact (dear Frederick) and so we might arrange to trap two hares in one snare, so to speak.

Meanwhile, the esteemed Madame de Cedoux forged a series of letters between the two colleagues to suggest that Frederick was an assassin the harbormaster had hired to be rid of his wife. Evidently the man had something of a history for conveniently disappearing (albeit rather less mortally speaking) inconvenient family members.

For my own part, I presented this evidence to Gregory's wife and persuaded her to rendezvous at a quiet location so as to confirm her husband's intentions. Naturally, our plan was to have the woman act as our 'person of interest' so as to draw out Frederick. He would attempt to assassinate her, lending credence to our tale about her husband, and we would handily capture the Venatori agent.

I am pleased to report that Gregory's wife—who is quite a lovely albeit somewhat anxious woman—is well and was most eager to stand as witness against her husband before the proper authorities in Gwaren; he has since been stripped of his position and is awaiting trial for conspiracy to murder. Unfortunately, our Northern quarry successfully slipped away into the night. I believe I may have caught him with a bolt, for I was unable to recover it, and so we may never hear of him again. But it is equally possible that I missed him entire and merely failed to find my shot.

I hope you will find it in your heart, which I know to be rather black and demanding and to which good humor is a stranger, to forgive our ambition.

Cheers,
S.F.

P.S. I've heard rumor of a small stage putting on comic adaptations of a selection of the Randy Dowager's works. Tre controversial, I know, but I beg you to come along with me before it's run out of town.

NEXT STEPS: Keep an ear to the ground for Frederick.

NOTES & LINKS: OOC Info | IC Log

SUBJECT: Precious Cargo
PARTICIPANTS: Miriam, Dick, Nikolai, Erik, and Edgard
CLASSIFICATION: Public
DATE FILED: Bloomingtide
STATUS: Complete
SUMMARY: The Gang Evaluates Golems.

REPORT:

Commander Flint,

I regret to say that I cannot give you the glowing report I had initially anticipated to impart, for in the course of our tour we received information I assume our hosts would rather have kept under their hats that vastly changed the light in which we viewed these golems.

I can certainly confirm the utility of the golems themselves. In the course of the initial demonstration, we were all made very aware of what purpose such things could serve on the field. They are slow-moving, of course, but strong and durable. Aside from the obvious maintenance (warding off rust, protection from elements, etc) they require very little other than a set of orders to follow. There is certainly great potential in their use, were it not for some very serious drawbacks that I feel you must be made aware of.

The unscheduled, second part of the demonstration which took place amidst the an unexpected break in and subsequent revolt led by one of the Shapers, who took the opportunity to make us aware of how such entities came to be. Inside the metal casing is a living dwarf, still aware but powerless to resist the commands being given. Further, she impressed upon us the underhanded and low tactics used to coax volunteers into such a fate, as well as the practice of withholding recompense from the victims' families and even the truth of the volunteer's circumstances after the transformation has been complete. You can imagine the horror of such a fate, I'm sure.

I admit, I strongly oppose our purchase of any golems, regardless of their utility. However, among us we have considered several conditions upon which we could feasibly engage in such a purchase, and pressure the sellers to make right in part what they have done to their fellow countrymen.

1. Limit our purchase to the golems already in existence. There were a fair number spared for the demonstration, so I would advise we procure that clutch if the purchase is deemed necessary as they are by admission not needed elsewhere within the city.

2. Require proper payment to be made to all volunteers, current and past. It is imperative that the families of whose who have already been transformed are given their due, as we understand many have not and are also presently unaware of the fate of their absent loved ones.

3. Release any present volunteers from prior obligation in light of this new information and require future recruitment attempts include the entire truth of what is being embarked upon.

4. Impose checks on the production of golems, so as to scale back their production while alternatives are explored and implemented. We understand there is some reliance on the use of them to patrol in the Deep Roads, and believe this a fair way to maintain protection while also turning the industry towards the research of more humane options.

Several among us believe the production of golems should be discontinued entirely, though the hope that we could affect such a change at present moment is perhaps too ambitious. I include this to give you the full scope of our discussion, and to better inform your own deliberations.

Mr. Dickerson also has strong concerns about these measures affecting the price of the golems unfavorably, which I will also include for your consideration.

And on a last note, I would also like to take the opportunity to recommend the institution of a refresher course for your agents on how to identify and interact with civilians, particularly those who are soliciting our assistance, upon our return to Kirkwall. Some instruction on the practice of de-escalation would be helpful in avoiding a knee-jerk inclination towards violence in the future. We were able to avoid the senseless loss of a key informant in this instance, but I would be remiss not to call your attention to the potential for future improvement.

Should you require clarity on any of the aforementioned points, I would be more than happy to make myself available to discuss the matter further.

Respectfully,
Nikolai Lantsov
King of Ravka

NEXT STEPS: Decisions on whether or not to purchase the golems, further exploration and research into golems and their use as a whole, etc.

NOTES & LINKS: ooc info | ic log