First Case, Part 1

First Case, Part 2: Introductions and a breath of change

Main Street was the biggest, and arguably the only, street in InTween. Normally, a town the size of InTween would escape the notice of other towns much less other countries. However, due to its unique placement between two major countries, InTween was getting noticed on a grander scale. Not only was it the flattest area in a large mountain range, it sat almost directly in the middle of Kelgor and Toranus. Thus it became a natural stopping point for travel and trade.

For a small town, it was well kept compared to some places Edwin had visited. Main Street itself was clean of trash, and while it was not paved or made of stone, it was reasonably smooth and lacked any major holes or pock marks.

A few buildings lined either side of the street. Homes and meeting offices made up the buildings on the eastern side where the western side had the businesses the town had to offer: a hotel and bar, the general store, the blacksmith, leather worker, woodworker, and other services that kept a small town and its surrounding farms working. At the far southern end, the framework of the new steam rail station was being built amid a field of warehouses that were just as new. Despite the station not being fully completed, trains carrying goods were already coming to drop goods off or pick them up, completing shipping transactions and trades.

Edwin walked down Main Street, smiling and nodding at any passersby that greeted him. He wore the badge openly now, pinned above his heart on his vest. The townsfolk gave him steady looks that ranged from suspicious to friendly, but he kept the smile plastered on no matter the reaction he got. All were much kinder to the skipping goblin girl in front of him, most stopping to smile at her and greet her warmly. Even those that were busy with their own errands took the time to exchange a word or two with her. Letty smiled and waved cheerily at the townsfolk, identifying them by name more often than not.

Lara originally intended to walk with them to where Letty lived, but her father had called for her as they passed the General Store. Edwin offered to accompany the goblin girl the rest of the way, figuring he would not get lost delivering the young girl. Letty and her mother lived on Main Street itself, above the store her mother owned.

The delicious smell of flaky pastry and savory meat danced in the air as they drew closer to Letty’s home. With every breath he inhaled more and more of the aroma. It made his stomach grumble, and he realized just how long ago breakfast was. The smell wafted from a small but comfortable store that sat almost in the middle of town.

“Mama!” Letty cried, dashing up to a matronly goblin woman sweeping the small landing in front of the shop.

“Welcome home!” she replied, hugging the girl close. The two were obvious kin. Both had the same large bat-like ears and gleaming golden eyes. They both wore their crimson hair the same way, a long braid that was equal parts decorative and practical, containing the wild masses of their hair into a single form.

The smile melted clean away as the older woman looked up at Edwin. He almost recoiled at the intensity, but steeled himself and nodded. “Hello there ma’am. Name’s Tay Edwin. Pleased to meet you.”

“Tila IronHand,” the woman replied curtly. Her eyes narrowed as she looked him up and down. “So you’re the new Sheriff eh? What’s the matter, got nothing better to do than bother folk?”

“He wasn’t bothering,” Letty protested. “He’s a nice man, Mama. He saved me and Lara at the Scraps from those”—the girl looked up and down the street before whispering in a loud voice—“those bully boys.”

“What did I tell you two about cutting through the Scraps!” Tila pinched Letty’s ear, making the girl squeak. “I told you two not to do that, never know what trash you’ll find there.” She glared at Edwin. “What were you doing there, anyhow? Mighty suspicious of you to be there, too.”

Edwin shrugged. “Well I was followin’ those “bully boys” and tryin’ to keep them from mischief. Which wasn’t too hard. You got a smart daughter there.”

“Flattery won’t get you nowhere, Sheriff.” Tila waggled the broom at him.

“Fair enough; how about some questions, then? Why have those boys been bothering you?”

Tila’s face grew even more guarded, and she slid her daughter behind her. “Who says they have been?”

“One of them mentioned they got business with you. Now I doubt they’re the business types, their business usually means thievery and extortion and the like.”

“Even if they were bothering me, it ain’t no business of yours.”

Edwin snorted. “Actually, it is my business. If people in my town are being bothered, then I aim to stop it. I am here to enforce the law, after all.”

“Oh, is that why you’re here?” Sarcasm dripped from the goblin woman’s words. “You think that shiny badge of yours means you’re the law around here? Whose law will you be enforcing?” She tapped the ground with her broom. Fueled by her irritation, the impacts made a louder sound than expected.

“The town’s law of course, made by the Council and the Mayor. I was hired on as the Sheriff, and I know you don’t know me ma’am, but I take my job very seriously.”

“You’re not one of us.”

“Hired on ma’am. Chosen by the Council and the Mayor. I was a lawman of a sorts for a long time in different places ma’am.” A long beat of silence filled the air and Letty’s eyes bounced back and forth between them, narrowed with discomfort. “You don’t much like law folk do you ma’am?”

“Oh we’ve had Sheriffs and Deputies and officers before. They claim they work for the people, but they only worked for themselves. It’s easy to abuse folk when you’re the law.”

Edwin nodded. He had seen plenty of corrupt officers in his time. Those that worked to get rich, to benefit from the pain of others, ones that cared only for personal prestige and wealth. He was not one of them, but of course the majority of the people here would not know that. He knew words were empty to some, especially on the frontier where life was harder. Only action would prove his worth.

“Well, hopefully I can be the exception,” Edwin said as warmly as he could, yet he could not keep his face from flushing at Tila’s snort of disbelief. He resisted the urge to shuffle his feet, as if he were a child caught with a hand in the cookie jar. The savory scent came back to him and he was thankful for the chance to change the subject.

“So, those smell amazing.” Edwin pointed at the small hand pies sitting on the counter.

“I should hope so, it’s a pie shop after all.”

“I’ll buy a couple.” Edwin watched as Letty scampered into the store and came out with two pies in a bag. He accepted them from the beaming youngster with a grin. “Ooh, still warm. How much?”

“1 silver for two,” Tila replied. She stared up at the Sheriff, arms crossed and her broom tucked into an elbow.

“But Mama,” Letty gasped. “They are usually a couple for a copper for the small hand ones. A silver buys a dozen.”

“It’s a Law Tax, in case of damage to my shop or my kin,” Tila said blithely. Edwin had to suppress a smile at how plainly she stated it. Instead, he handed over a silver coin willingly before taking a big bite. He chewed blissfully, savoring the pork sausage and gravy with bits of potato and another kind of vegetable. The pastry was chewy, flaking apart with the right amount of pressure.

“Worth it,” he said and meant it, licking up a crumb and a drop of gravy from his finger. “I’ve paid more for much worse.” He bit into the second one and opened up his watch again, peering intently at the contents. “Well, I’m sure you will be seeing more of me as a customer. Do excuse me ladies, duty calls.”

With a nod he left, his strides picking up speed as he walked down the street. The two goblins watched him curiously until he disappeared from sight.

Far from Main Street, loud sounds emanated from a shack. The sounds were violent enough to make the walls shake. Rorg punched over and over again, grunting with exertion and anger. The beaten-up punching bag quaked from his blows as he worked out his foul temper.

The man with the knife sat against the wall, flicking the blade back and forth between his hands. Though sitting, he shared the orc’s displeasure.

“Still say we could have taken them,” the man growled.

“Feel free to do so next time,” the elf replied sarcastically, grinding his teeth. “I wonder how close you would get before you got shot.” He lounged against a stack of haphazardly pile crates.

“That’s why you magic him,” the orc retorted with a final punch that made the bag sway violently. “You keep saying how good at magic you are.”

“I am very good at magic,” the elf stated icily. “Do you two need a demonstration?” When the man and the orc looked away he sneered. “That is what I thought. The new Sheriff is no matter. He is only one; we are three. When the odds are in our favor, we will handle him.”

“Oh yeah? How’ll you do that?”

The elf turned to the man with the knife. “I will subdue him, and you and Rorg will kill him. Does that sound easy enough?”

The man with the knife stared back. “What? I didn’t say nothin’.”

Three heads turned at a chuckle, eyes widening with surprise at Edwin leaning against the door. “That sure does sound easy,” Edwin admitted. “Wonder if y’all can pull it off, though.”

“How did you get in here?” the elf spat, recovering from his surprise. With a flick of his head, the man with the knife rose to flank the Sheriff while Rorg stood on the other side, cracking his knuckles with anticipation.

Edwin straightened slowly, keeping his back to the door. “Big guy led me here,” he said pointing at Rorg. He grinned as the man and the elf glared at Rorg who looked back bewildered. “To be fair, he didn’t know it though,” Edwin continued as he patted his watch.

A muttered word of magic caused the elf’s eyes to glow, and he stared at Rorg first before looking back at the Sheriff. He hissed when he saw a sparkle of a glyph.

“You marked him, back at the Scraps!”

“Bingo!” Edwin grinned. He unhooked the top of his holster, resting his hand on the butt of the gun. “Now then fellas, looks like we got off on the wrong foot earlier. So let’s be perfectly clear with each other.” The grin melted away, and the sparkle of good humor in his eyes utterly disappeared. “I am the Sheriff of InTween. My job is to protect the folk of this town and to enforce the law. I got no time or patience for any wannabe gangers thinking they can make this town their turf. So, I am giving you boys one chance to stop it.”

“Or else what?” Rorg growled, lowering his head like a bull ready to charge.

“Or else I throw you three in jail for harassment and extortion, and put you on the next train out of here. Thankfully, the town is very willing to extradite.” Edwin looked meaningfully at the tattoo on the elf’s neck. “I know a place that is always happy to take those with that tattoo. Eager, you might say.”

The elf shivered, knowing exactly where Edwin mentioned. “You just made a fatal mistake,” the elf cursed. “Take him!” He began to chant words and his hands started to glow as the orc and the man lunged at the Sheriff.

Edwin brought up his gun with a speed that surprised the three. When the elf saw the muzzle pointed at him he swiftly changed his spell. Magical energies transformed from a missile to a shield as the elf held both hands in front of him creating a translucent barrier.

The shot never came. Instead Edwin aimed at Rorg, and the gun roared. The orc was thrown back into the wall of the shack, causing the flimsy wood to break. Edwin ducked, a knife missing his face with a deadly hiss.

The man snarled and swung again. Edwin stepped into the swing, slamming his shoulder into the man’s chest. He ignored the sting in his shoulder, knowing that he might not dodge another blow from the knife. Seizing the opportunity, he rapped the man between the eyes with the butt of the revolver stunning him. The man went limp from the blow, allowing Edwin to hit him again in the jaw, making him slump to the floor.

The elf dropped the barrier with another curse and hastily incanted, throwing orbs of solid light at the Sheriff. He jumped backwards, grunting in pain as some of the missiles found their mark. Falling flat, he aimed and fired again. The elf ducked, the bullet going over his head. “Ha!” the elf crowed, “You missed!” An ominous cracking behind him caused him to turn halfway before the avalanche of crates knocked him down. He lied on the ground moaning, feebly twitching and mostly senseless.

“Did I?” Edwin coughed, pulling himself painfully to his feet. “Besides, it wouldn’t have killed you if I shot you. These are stun rounds, made to knock people out like your…friend there.” He looked at the gaping hole in the wall, with no stunned orc in sight. “Tough fella,” he muttered. “Where did he go?”

He pulled the watch out and flipped the lid open. “Oh no…” he groaned as he looked into the lid. With the trace he had planted on Rorg, he could divine vague outlines of where the orc was. He saw the orc running through the Scraps, and the edges of Main Street coming into view.