The Chronicle of the Worthy Son

Evidence

The general's aide seemed to be having trouble maintaining his impassive air today as he escorted them back to the general's solar. He fidgeted his fingers and kept glancing back at them. Able glanced quizzically himself at Chessie but didn't understand her responding glance. She had the ability to display a lot of emotion when she wanted to, as well as next to none. Well, something was afoot, good or bad.

The aide stopped at the door and pounded his chest in salute. "Sir."

Pillar was seated behind his desk. "The hall is clear?"

"Yes, sir. And I posted four details."

"Good. Take the door. You two." Pillar pointed to the chairs in front of his desk.

Able and Chessie did as they were told without a word while the aide closed the door behind them.

Pillar examined their faces before he asked, "What do you have?" What was he expecting in so short a time?

Able took a breath. "Well, I've found that Constance Driver, born Dyer, was stationed in proximity to four different insurgent incidents, Ringstone, Bowlwaters, Greenheights, and Longweed. Unfortunately, there's no evidence that she was passing information to the Sons of Justice. None of the members you've arrested gave her up. It looks a pattern to me, of course, but is only circumstantial in practice." With or without Driver, it was plain the Sons had worked with the Stalachai the same way they had with the Borealunders. Probably still were. But to what end?

"You don't need to prove her guilt to me, Houser," Pillar said with a dismissive chuckle. "I have investigators." And they'd done such a good job.

"To the prince I might, though," Able replied before pausing cautiously. This could be risky... "Especially when I believe we found the record of the sinking of my father's boat, in accordance with the Firstfall order."

Pillar scowled and ran his thumb along his temple. "I personally sent the belay of the order the moment our investigators suggested the boy might have been moved by sea."

Able had seen that but still prodded, "I've not been given access to the investigation records."

"I'll...I'll show them to you." Pillar raised a hand and took a steadying breath. "But first, Houser, I want to see what you make of this." He lifted a black binder from his lap and hesitated. "This is beyond first level clearance, you need to understand that. You have no leave to share this information, especially not to publish it."

Able raised his eyebrows. "Should I sign something?"

"No need." Pillar peered hard into Able's eyes. "No, you play this false, and the law won't even get a shot at you." And with that bit of drama, he offered the documents.

Refusing to be intimidated, Able simply took the binder and opened it to find it was the service record for a Black Sword...and then he was intimidated. "Resilience Dyer. She's a skilled hookblade wielder?" Able lifted his eyes to see Pillar's slow confirming nod before he looked back down at a child's aptitude scores on a physical test administered before his parents were even wed. "Are...these marks normal for a Black Sword recruit?"

"Yes, but high even for that." Pillar leaned back and folded his arms. "Resilience Dyer was a prodigy."

"What is this?" Chessie asked with a frown.

"Larbantry only drafts recruits during times of war," Able replied with a glance at Pillar to make sure he wasn't objecting. "The rest of the time, military recruits either come from upper-class families who train their own children or are lower-class children that score well enough on physical aptitude tests that their families are offered a stipend in exchange for their being taken away for training. It's...hm, a controversial practice." Able caught Pillar's surprised reaction in the corner of his eye but still continued, "Driver may well have felt that her parents sold her younger sister to the Crown."