[align=center]Announcement[/align]
This role play is open to anyone who wishes to join in. The background is that several of us would like to complete some of the Judgmental quests in the Caravan. We thought it would be fun to do this here in the Inn so that everyone can participate either as observers or participants. I have offered myself up as the first criminal and will accomplish two quests in the process for myself.
Quests for this first RP:
What did I do?
Goal: Punish your Steward
Reward: 25
Badly Wanted
Goal: Have a Bounty Put on You
Reward: 100 and 1 hangman noose
Collect a Criminal
Goal: Collect a Bounty
Reward: 100 and 1 hangman noose
Judgmental
Goal: Rule on a case
Reward: 25 and 1 egg
We will role play the crime all the way through to the end. Once this farce is completed, anyone else can volunteer to participate in the next round. The Judge can only be a Councilor, so you might consider running for Council next term if you want to complete that particular quest.
Again, all are welcome to participate and I sincerely hope we all have a blast doing this!
Nikola was in a foul mood. She hadn't had her Johnstone "fix" in some days now, and the Councilors dared...DARED!... to argue with her in chambers! One would think they had brains of their own. Oh, the absurdity of it all. To top things off, Star had thrown a shoe and she had had to walk home for nearly half the distance from Bravia City. Naturally, she had forgotten that she used to walk everywhere, but since acquiring the sweet tempered mare, she had gotten rather accustomed to letting the horse do the walking for her.
After getting Star settled in, she headed away using a small path that led from the side of the barn past her gardens to the house. Upon passing by the pen where Iris, her loyal steward kept her pigs, she stopped short. She could hear the pig, but it was no where in sight. Not only that, the pig noises were distinctly NOT coming from the area of the pen. No, they were coming from the other side of the path where Nikki grew her prized vegetable garden. As Nikki slowly turned from the empty pen to face her precious garden, she stared in shock at the sight of Iris' pig rooting gleefully through her beloved broccoli. After the initial shock she let out a loud yell.
"IRIS!"she bellowed, wondering why the woman had not already noticed the swine's escape."IRIS!"she bellowed again just before the harried woman came running out of the house, her apron liberally smeared with flour where she had obviously wiped her hands clean. She must have been working in the bakery, but that thought was only fleeting as the sow (the actual pig, not the steward) noisily gobbled down another stalk of broccoli."Iris! How in the world did your pig manage to escape? And why aren't you doing something about it? She's nearly destroyed my entire garden!"
Iris blanched at the angry tone, mumbling something that sounded like"I don't know, Miss. She was in her pen earlier and I didn't ...(garbled speech).... Oh dear!"
Poor Iris hurried into the garden patch to catch the errant pig, but said pig wasn't having any of it. It shied away from her and lunged for another of the delectable stalks. Iris lunged for the pig...and missed, landing face down in the dirt, breaking another stalk of broccoli in the process. Nikki watched this with growing temper until she couldn't stand it any longer. With a growl of frustration she ran into the garden and tried to help Iris corner the happy pig.
Some long moments and one very ruined garden later, both women girl-handled the feisty pig back into her own pen whereupon they discovered the cause of Miss Piggy's escape. The gate latch had come loose and with enough force behind her lunges, Miss Piggy had managed to force the gate open when no one was watching. Iris manned the gate while Nikki hurried to the barn to find a hammer and nails to repair the latch. Upon returning with said tools, she set to work replacing the bent nail with a new, straight one. Unfortunately for her thumb, her foul mood set her aim off course and she yelled a very unladylike curse as she jammed the thumb into her mouth, quickly removing it and spitting out the dirt she had just almost ingested.
At last the latch was repaired and Miss Piggy was securely ensconced inside her pen. Iris was covered from head to toe in flour, dirt and bits of broccoli, tendrils of hair that had come loose from the tidy bun she always wore wafting across her dirty face in the breeze. Little did Nikki know that she was just as dirty and just as disheveled. All she knew was that her thumb hurt, she was tired, hungry and thirsty and her garden was ruined.
Casting Iris a disgruntled look, she turned and strode off into house where she disappeared. Before Iris could catch up to her, Nikki had returned through the door to glare at iris.
"Where is dinner? You were supposed to have dinner ready!"
Iris winced, hesitating, and opened her mouth to respond, but Nikki's anger got the best of her."You are grounded, Iris! Grounded, I tell you!"
In dismay, the poor steward fell to her knees at Nikki's feet, nearly sobbing as she pled for mercy. Grounding was a horrible thing to do to a Steward and she had plans for the weekend. Plans! On second thought, Iris remembered that her plans included being escorted to a party she didn't want to attend by that horrible old Mr. Cootie from down the lane. Being grounded would allow her to call off those plans without actually breaking any promises. Her near sobs for mercy turned into actual sobs of joyous thanks as soon as the realization hit her.
As a confused Nikki leaned over to tenderly pull the woman back to her feet, it may have appeared to any casual observers that she was physically abusing the poor woman.
----------------------------------------- What did I do? Quest Completed
Punishments tend to make Stewards less happy, but can improve their loyalty... Fear is a great motivator to some
Iris appears to be ecstatic
Choices: Punish Them! vs Squirrel?
The punishment should be completed by tomorrow. Serves them right!
ETA: Oct 30, 1656 4:00 am You punished your Steward! Iris seems to be more loyal to you. Their mood decreased though. [Mood: pleased]
Last edited by Nikola on Fri Dec 02, 2016 12:59 pm, edited 1 time in total.
A very hasty person was passing along the street where was the home of Nikola. The new finance minister was with hands full of documents with so many numbers that he was going to review them during the rest of the day and maybe the whole night. The ruckus from the near house attracted his attention. Lum came closer to the source and noticed some funny picture of a running steward, a pig and the owner, who was with her back toward him.
The settings were too amusing to miss them after the long day at the office so he decided to stay for a moment and if they cannot solve the problem to offer some help, just before that he had to find a place to put aside the important files. But the picture soon changed as they caught the pig but the reaction of the owner was so sharp, so harsh for such a mild mistake of the steward. Lum got really surprised, but what startled him oven more was that the owner was in fact the new vicerine, he realized it very late, when she moved a little and faced forward.
Lum sneaked for a hundred of meters with his heart beating fast, all his thoughts were about that monstrosity who was ruling the Republic and more importantly was ruling with severe hand the servants. The mere idea that such fate awaited the rest of the citizens was frightening. When he felt far away enough to stop for a moment, looked around and found himself in the town square, he saw the courthouse in front of him and hurried in there. Something had to be done and he was going to report what he had seen.
A week later, a letter was waiting for Vicerine Nikola when she arrived home after a long day's work at the castle, addressed from the Public Prosecutor's office. Nikki frowned, wondering what Sara would be sending to her home that she could not have spoken with her about at the castle. Slipping her thumb nail under the seal to break it, she pulled a sheet of parchment out of the envelope and began to read...
Case #206 has been filed against you in the Viceroyalty of Bravia. You need to enter your plea.
You can view the full case only if you are in Bravia by going to the Courthouse (Viceroyalty > Courthouse). You can also view your case via My Cases (Me > My Cases). Failure to attend or have a defense for you may result in additional punishment
Her jaw dropped open and she read it again to make sure she understood correctly.
"Iris!"she called out, waiting patiently for her steward to appear from the kitchen where she was working on the evening's meal. When the woman appeared, she showed the letter to the steward."Do you know anything about this? What do you supposed this is about?"
The faithful steward read and re-read the notice again, just as Nikki had done. "I've no idea, my Lady,"she finally said as she handed the letter back to Nikola."Shall I have Star saddled for you to return to the Castle right away?"
Nikki retrieved the proffered letter and read it yet again. At Iris' question she shook her head."No, I will take care of this tomorrow when I go to the Castle for the day's work. No point in tiring out sweet Star on a second trip tonight. Besides, dinner smells absolutely marvelous and I'm starving. Is there anything I can help you with in the kitchen or do I have time to get changed before dinner?"
"Nae, my Lady, I have the meal all under control. By the time ye get changed and return, it should be on the table awaiting you,"Iris replied with a smile as she headed back into the kitchen to check on things.
The following day after Nikki checked into the Castle, she completed her work for the day before heading over to the courthouse to see what the summons was all about. Again her jaw dropped as she read the accusation.
Judge: Johnstone
Public Prosecuter: Saraphina
Case #206
The Viceroyalty of Bravia Vs Nikola
(Originally filed on: Nov 17, 2016 1:02 pm)
(Last Modified: Nov 17, 2016 1:02 pm)
Filed Under: Public Disorder (Status/Ruling: Filed)
Indictment by Public Prosecutor: (Entered by Saraphina)
November 17th, 1656
Bravia City, Bravia
Accused: Nikola
Accuser: Lum
Crime: Public Disorder in the set of Abuse of Power for striking Iris Steward of Nikola.
“Striking Iris?”she exclaimed aloud, heard her voice loud enough to echo off the walls. Getting her shock under control, she spoke again, this time the words uttered in a much softer inquisitive tone rather than the loud startled cry of the first, spoken more to herself than anyone else.“When did I ever strike Iris?”
She racked her brain but could not recall any time that she had ever raised her hand to strike her faithful steward. Why would Lum have accused her of such a thing? When would he have had occasion to even meet Iris, much less see something that would make him think Nikki had struck her? Sure, she could be tyrannical at the castle from time to time, but such is the role of a Vicerine, was it not? Sometimes Councilors needed a bit of nudging to get them working in their offices. This was true all over from what she had heard. Lum had never struck her as vindictive, but perhaps there was another side to the man that she had heretofore not seen.
Shaking her head, still confused, she strode into the Prosecutor’s office to get some answers. Unfortunately, Saraphina was out. She looked around the office and found a form that she was supposed to complete to enter her plea. She sat down at Sara’s desk (she was the Vicerine after all, she could sit wherever she pleased, couldn’t she? Besides, Sara wasn’t here, so …) and began to fill out the form.
Defense Plea:Innocent
I, Nikola Ballentyne, do enter a plea of Innocent to the accusations made against my person. I have never, to my recollection, ever raised a hand against my most faithful steward, Iris. I am quite certain she will testify in my defense should this charge actually make it to court. I hereby claim that I have been falsely accused and declare that I am totally innocent of any wrongdoing!
After filing her plea, she strode through the castle, wondering about that Lum character. She wondered what he was up to, what he was thinking. Perhaps she needed to enlist a spy to keep tabs on the man in case he was hoping to overthrow the government...that is to say, unseat her as Vicerine...by any means necessary.
The trial began in earnest, with Lum taking the stand to make his accusations publicly. Nikki’s draw dropped in surprise at what the man had to say.
Lum from Court Records wrote: Your honour,
I saw with my own eyes everything. It was the end of the working day and I was walking along the street. Suddenly I heard some very load noise. It attracted my attention and I went closer to check it out. I observed how the poor steward was running after the animal, scalded by the vicerine, Iris was in the mud, overexhausted and when the scene outside in the garden was over, they went inside. However, I saw through the window of the house how mad the vicerine was and I listened to the shouts and cries coming from there. Then Nikola leaned toward the poor steward and finished the verbal with physical abuse. Such an abrupt act of power abuse and I fear for the citizens of the Republic. My steward was coming to meet me and he saw everything, too, he is here with me to confirm what was said already by me.
After her initial shock she looked over at Iris who had accompanied her mistress to court.”Do you recall anything about this, Iris?”
The woman had a thoughtful look on her face throughout Lum’s testimony and leaned toward Nikki to respond.”Methinks he may be speaking of the day my pig got loose from its pen, my lady.”
Understanding began to dawn as Nikki thought back on that day. Her attitude toward her steward had certainly been frustrated and her temper short, but she did not recall having treated her steward in such a manner as described by her (formerly) trusted Finance Minister.
Before Nikki could think of a response, the Prosecution called Iris to the witness stand. The woman looked at Nikki with wide eyes.”My Lady! I did not know!”
Nikki smiled reassuringly at Iris and squeezed her hand.”It’s alright, Iris. Just tell the truth as you see it. Everything will be fine, I’m sure.”
Iris, normally a stoic woman who brooked no nonsense when in her own element, felt like a fish out of water, she did, as she took measured steps to the witness box. It was only a few feet away, she knew, but it seemed to move farther away with each step she took so it was with great relief when she finally caught up to the witness box and took her place there.
The prosecutor, a young woman whom Iris had never met before, looked upon her kindly enough, but Iris still found that she was nervous, and when she was nervous she tended to prattle on like a ninny. She took a deep breath and tried to keep calm, just like Miss Nikola told her how to do. She looked across the room at her mistress and felt calmer seeing her smile. She bobbed a quick nod, as if to answer a question that had been asked, and indeed a question had been asked, but Iris had not been paying attention.
”My mistress, Lady Nikola, had given me my very own little pig to raise so’s we could have a goodly supply of bacon. I like raising pigs, I do. They are interesting creatures, and don’t need a whole lot o’ work, but this partic’lar pig was more mischievous than most. He was always trying to dig his way out o’ the pen an’ all and well, on the day that Mr. Lum is talking about, he somehow managed to break the latch on the gate and let himself out. The pig, not Mr. Lum as he’s not a pig, you see, at least not in the anatomical sense of the idea although bringing such a charge against my Lady kind of makes me think of ‘im as a pig…”
A look from the prosecutor had Iris flushing scarlet and she stopped to catch her breath as she smoothed her skirts nervously.
”What I mean to say is, the pig got out but I didn’t know ‘bout it as I was in the kitchen working on getting dinner ready so’s when my mistress returned home from her work at the castle things would be just about ready to put on the table for her. I heard her yellin’ out the window…that is, she was outside yelling and I heard her through the window… and I went running outside to see what was the matter and lo and behold if the pig hadn’t escaped, that he did. He was across the lane rootin’ around in her vegetable garden and she was none too pleased about that, I’ll tell you that, so I forgot all about dinner and ran down to the garden to try and catch the miscreant but I missed and landed in the dirt so’s my mistress, the Lady Nikola, ran in after me to help me out, she’s that helpful, she is, even when she’s not very happy ‘bout the situation.”
Iris was into the story now and barely drew breath before plunging on.
”It took us awhile, and both of us were dirty from head to toe, that we were, by the time we caught that miserable little pig and got him back into his pen. O’ course, the mistress had to repair the gate latch to keep him well penned, but once that was done she headed back to the house while I stayed behind a few minutes to make sure that little mischief maker didn’t get back out right away. Anyhoo, as I was makin’ my way back to the house, the mistress came back out…she had got there ahead of me, you see, and went on in before I got there…anyhoo, she came back out and was none too pleased that dinner was not yet on the table. If you remember, I was preparing dinner when the pig escape interrupted me, an’ I couldn’t be in two places at once, so I tried to explain that dinner would have been ready ‘cept for the pig debacle but the mistress, she was awfully annoyed and tired and cranky and she…”
Iris stopped suddenly, remembering the look in her Lady’s eyes at that awful moment, and shook her head. She took up the tale again, in a quieter voice than before as though embarrassed to say what had happened.
”Well, she grounded me, that she did.” Her voice returned to normal with a hint of indignation. ”Grounded! Well, I never! That’s what you do to a cheeky little scrub of a child, not a grown woman such as I! She’s never done tha’ before, so I was shocked, I was. Plus, I had plans for the weekend. Plans! I was so upset that I fell to my knees to beg for mercy, that I did!”
Iris stopped to punctuate her words with a nod.
”I was down there kneeling in th’ dirt an’ all, sobbing my eyes out as I thought about the party I was gonna miss and the date I would have to cancel as a result o' bein’ grounded an’ all. Then it occurred to me that I didn’t really want to go to that silly party an’ only had agreed to go as a favor to a friend. An’ my date was with that awful Mr. Cootie from down th’ lane and I had been a dreadin’ that whole affair, I had, so really my mistress was doin’ me a big favor by groundin’ me and my tears of dismay turned to tears of joy much to my Lady’s confusion. You shoulda seen her face! I’ve never seen her look so confused! But bless my soul if her punishment didn’t save me from an evenin’ o’ misery, that it did!”
Iris had started laughing during this last bit and lifted the corner of her apron to wipe a tear from the corner of her eye as she got her chuckles back under control.
”Anyhoo, she pulled me to my feet. She needed to, you see, as my knees are a bit stiff these days an’ I was kneelin’ in the dirt an’ couldn’t very well lift myself without trouble so’s my Lady helped me back to my feet, that she did. We went back on inside and I finished dinner while she got herself all cleaned up and then we ate and I told her about the party that she was savin’ me from goin’ to and ol’ Mr. Cootie and we started talkin’ about what might have happened and how Mr. Cootie might have tried to take advantage o’ my bein’ alone with him, with me bein’ such a fine figure of a woman, you see, and maybe try to kiss me or some like and we started laughin’ and cacklin’ about all the possibilities. I’m sure we raised quite a ruckus, that we did, and I laughed so hard tha’ tears were streamin’ down me cheeks, but it were all in good fun, that it were.”
She at last looked back up at the prosecutor and made a last statement. "You see, Mr. Lum's story is all a misunderstandin' and my Lady has never meant me no harm."
Confident that the case would be thrown out as absurd, Nikki had seen no reason to speak on her own behalf as Iris has already said all that needed saying. She squeezed her steward’s hand as she returned to her seat next to the Vicerine. As Prosecutor Saraphina stood up to make her closing arguments, Nikki smiled.
I believe you will see the words spoken here by all show Nikola abused her steward.
Nikki’s smile froze at her opening statement. What on earth did she mean that all the words spoken had shown that Nikki had abused her steward? Hadn’t the steward herself clearly stated that she had not been abused?
Maybe not physically as we first thought but by taking her bad mood out on the poor woman.
Nikki’s jaw dropped at the second statement, not realizing that she still held Iris’ hand in hers until the woman’s whimper cut through the shock. Nikki glanced at Iris, then down at her hand and quickly released her death grip on the poor woman.
I ask the court to stop Nikola from taking her bad moods out on innocent people so there may be no more abuse of power.
Stop her? Stop her? How dare ….?
Nikki’s thoughts were cut off as she was called to make her final statement to the judge. She could feel the heat coloring her cheeks but ignored the voice that warned her to calm down. Instead she stood and made her way gracefully to the front of the court. Well, she thought it was graceful. To the casual observer it probably appeared to be more of an angry huff. She sought, very briefly, to compose herself as she stood before the judge, but gave the effort far too brief attention before she opened her mouth.
“Your Honor! I cannot believe that Minister Lum would so impugn my reputation in this way. Or that Prosecutor Saraphina could be so cruel as to twist the words of my faithful steward into … into …. into this farce of an accusation. I do NOT abuse my steward!”
The memory of Iris’ pained look as Nikki squeezed her hand came back to her.
“At least I never abuse her on purpose. Accidents happen, and bad moods come to everyone, do they not? I am innocent, I tell you! Innocent! I have never abused my steward and I do NOT … EVER … lose my temper!”
She punctuated the last sentence by pounding the Judge’s desk with her fist, which hurt like the dickens, but her pride would not allow her to show it. As no other words would come she tossed her head and flounced back to her seat to await the verdict.
Johnstone picked up the papers that landed on the floor from Nikkis outburst. He had pulled the portion out the law book to double check what it Bravia law said about Public Disorder....
III. Public Disorder – Public Disorder is illegal and may result in mild to serious charges at the discretion of the Judge and based on damages. Crimes of Public Disorder may include:
a. Revolt – Any attempt to remove a legally elected or appointed official from a Town Hall or the Viceregal castle is considered a moderate to serious crime.
i. Attempted revolt - if not authorized by the Viceregal Council will be prosecuted.
ii. Successful revolt - if not authorized by the Viceregal Council will be prosecuted
iii. Authorized revolts - must be approved by the Viceregal Council. Authorized revolts are exempt from prosecution.
b. Robbery – Robbery and attempted robbery* is illegal in the Viceroy of Bravia. It is considered a mild to serious crime depending on the type of robbery and the extent of damages. Robbery may include but is not limited to the:
i. Misuse of any Grant inconsistent with the terms of that grant
ii. Refusal to return a Grant upon request of the Viceroy or Finance Minister or a Town Mayor
iii. Robbery or attempted robbery within the Viceregal territory of Bravia*
iv. Theft from the Viceregal inventory
v. Theft from any Bravian Town Hall, regardless of how power was obtained.
The bold words jumped out at Johnstone. John knew Nikki, Iris, and Lum.....
He cleared his throat and began to speak......
"Nikola Ballentyne.....You have been charged with Abuse of Power for striking Iris, your steward. In your own words and in her own words, you have both been able to explain the supposedly act of striking Iris away. Even though Lum in his statement caught the end of your conversation with Iris and thought you were physically abusing her, he did not testify that he saw you physically strike Iris."
Loosing one temper is not against the law, bad moods are not against the law, accidents do happen and sometimes....they may be against the law.....however, you hold our highest office and you should be held to higher standards. So I believe that enough evidence has been brought forward to find you GUILTY of mental abuse.
Your pentance will be in two days time switch places with your steward. She will do your duties and you will do her daily duties as she sees fit."
Johnstone raises his gavel and strikes it on his desk.
