A couple of hours later the coal is all fully unloaded and the warehouse locked up.  A pair of bored-looking enforcers arrive to guard it.   The stevedores head off to the Shack for a well-deserved ale.  One of the enforcers looks at you all.  "Overseer Varnell is in the Torrent.  I guess you'd best go report to him.  And take those three with you," he says nodding to Fallon, Lucius and Trevor.

Captain Aaron and his son Jack thank you for your support and protection.  "You have our eternal thanks, all," the captain tells you. "We will be in the Shack for a few beers this evening.  Should you find your way there, we'll stand you a few jars.  Good luck and may the Light shine upon you."  With that they follow the stevedores off towards the tavern, leaving you alone with three prisoners in the dark.

Claire lights her lantern and then takes Fallon by the arm; of the three captives they have, he seems the most weak-willed and least honorable to her, so she keeps her grip on his elbow firm.  "Let's take them to Varnell and get this over with," she says.  "I care little for the politics between the baronies, but at the least Fallon needs to answer directly for his betrayal to his liege.  I've the feeling Varnell will be less than understanding, however..." she adds, taking a long look at the other two prisoners.

"I shall arrange for a courier to deliver the personal effects of your men to your Overseer Titus.  If you wish to add anything of your own or Trevor's to this collection, I would advise you do so now," she says to Lucius.

Vaclav looks a bit stunned at what Claire suggests. He slides up beside her and whispers. "You had better check those things carefully before you send then. Make sure that he's not trying to send some sort of message with the things he's sending. I don't care who wins either but while we're on a side best to our best for that side." 

Louis has had a chance to get an impression of Lucius by now... does he seem the honorable type? 

“We must remember that we are a merc company; that means we don’t try to second guess our employer.  In that light I have to disagree with you Claire, ‘we’ shouldn’t be sending anything to anyone. Those sorts of things should be left to Varnell or the Baron.” Nos Heliwr shakes his head, “Say he doesn’t want his enemies to know he’s aware that they are behind the hijackings, sending that stuff back would, potentially, alert them,” sounding grim he continued, “information is a weapon and, though I understand you wishing to do an honorable thing, war between kings is never honorable.”

Claire narrows her eyes towards the others.  "Of course we'll vet everything before we send it out," she says passionately.  "But these men are obviously soldiers, just as we are.  Their home is here.  Their family and friends are here!   And if they fall in battle here, those people deserve to know what happened to them.  There's nothing quite as cruel as having someone you care about go missing and then living in uncertainty, not knowing whether they are dead or al--"  She cuts off suddenly, thinking of her own situation.  It takes her a few moments to recover, before she begins again, in a much quieter, more reserved tone.  "... for people whose livelihood is doing this sort of mercenary work, closure is important.  That's all I want to provide."

Louis feels Lucius has all the hallmarks of an honourable warrior.  Trevor is, currently, following his boss' lead and is a little harder to read.  Fallon is a typical coward.

Lucius looks at Claire and says, "Titus and the baron will deny any knowledge of us.  We certainly didn't act under their formal authority.  But, I suppose, if some personal effects were to arrive back in Paradin with the names of the people who owned them, they would probably get returned to their families.  Titus is ex-Legion.  He's as reputable as they come."  Louis senses Lucius looks up to Titus with a great deal of respect.  "Your friend is right, however," he says indicating Nos Heliwr.  "If you send things home, Baron Arbek will know our endeavour did not go well."

"Oh, and thank you," he adds to Claire.  "Not many are as thoughtful to their enemies as you."

Vaclav nods. "Aye, she's good at that. A reminder that the people who fight the wars are not the people who start the wars is a good one. I would say for now, don't mention your idea to the Baron. If he has plans for a secret capture he'll say something. If not, then I suppose a few carefully checked items finding their way back home would be a nice sense of closure for some families. Not through the Baron though, best to just keep things between the little people for now."

Lucius nods thankfully to Vaclav.  "If you could see to that I would be grateful.  I understand your reluctance to send them back to the Baron and his man.  I can give you the name of a contact in Paradin they can be shipped to discretely if I am allowed to pen him a covering letter?  Of course, you can read it before you send it."

Vaclav looks to Claire and the others. "That works for me."

Nos Heliwr gets a gleam in his eyes, “Now a letter to a friend, that be another story. I’d be happy t’ deliver that for you.”

Claire nods silently, a bit ashamed of the fact that she couldn't read the situation and see the potential for subterfuge.  Fortunately, her more worldly companions seem to have come up with a compromise that satisfies both sentiment and practicality.  "Thank you," she says meekly to the others, glad for their assistance.  She looks over at Fallon, still in her grasp, and her stern scowl returns.

"Can I write it now, please?" asks Lucius.  "I suspect my freedom to do so will be greatly limited when I am delivered to your Overseer."

Vaclav nods and hands him a piece of parchment and his ink pen. 

Lucius pens a missive which is short and perhaps a little cryptic.  "I've kept it fairly vague," he explains, "so that should anyone pick it up who you'd rather didn't, it won't mean much.   Send it to Jake the butcher's son in Paradin.  He's an enforcer and a decent man.  He'll understand the message and will send the items on to their families."

Louis is convinced of the man's sincerity and Nos Heliwr can make out no signs of any cypher being used in the message.

Louis says quietly: “why do all this? You’re no pirate. You seem to know that your Baron will leave you to rot or be executed rather than accept responsibility and pay a ransom. What was so important about that coal?”

Lucius turns to Louis and stands tall.   "I'm a solder and I follow orders.  No offence, Louis," he continues, "but I have seen the type of enforcers your Overseer trains up."  At this his eyes flick to the two orange bandana-wearing thugs leaning up against the door to the warehouse, casually chatting away and paying little or no attention to what is going on around them.  "Overseer Varnell is a brute.  He's mean and vicious.  His men fear him, they don't respect him.  I don't know why you follow him."

"Overseer Titus was once One-In-A-Hundred.  He commanded an entire Centuria, one hundred Rodinian Legionaries.  Sure, he is strict and demanding, but he earns the respect of his men, not their fear.  I accepted this order because my Overseer asked for volunteers.  I knew the risks.  All of us did.  We knew if it went wrong we would be denied by the Baron. 

"Now, don't get me wrong, Baron Arbek is no Titus.  He is a land-owner and a relatively poor one from what I can tell.  Your Baron Gilbert is the richer and Baron Isla of Barusi is richer still as I hear it.  Arbek is not an honourable man.  But I work for Titus and Titus for Arbek, so ultimately I go where the Baron directs.  It seems to me that Arbek was taking coal to weaken Gilbert and strengthen his own position.  War may be coming and in war, people do things which are not so honourable."

Lucius stops and blinks as if surprised he's said so much.  He looks down at his feet and quietens.

Louis ponders for several long moments, weighing the meaning. “I ‘ppreciate your candor.”

Louis starts smiling at the others. “A plan is forming... let’s talk after this.” 

Claire's frown deepens.  Everything Lucius is saying tracks with her impression of Varnell and his men.  She chafes, however, at the idea of going back on her word.  "Let's do our job, and hear of it afterwards," she says to Louis.

"You ought to be takin' them there prisoners to Varnell," one of the nearby enforcers comments.  "Ee's expectin' ya.  In the inn."