A hand on her sword, the other on her modified stone — this was how the guard approached, immediately “radioing” for backup. A scene such as this needed more than just a single form of authority and a kid, thus the signal was sent, and allies should be arriving soon.

Streckar was no stranger to the proceedings of the law here in Sharn, having face numerous obstacles in his return after his incident. Perhaps, her being a Tiefling and all, they shared some similarity in that matter? Finally the serpent regarded the devil’s words, interjecting to swat away her own accusations. “After you tried to pick my pocket! Don’t think me unwise to your ways, scoundrel! I will not sit idly by and allow your days of thievery to continue. Honored guardswoman, I would double check her papers — they are no doubtedly forgeries of the highest regard!” He was practically shouting now, evidently to drown out her fibbery. To was away her lies in the ocean of his truth. To cast the damning light over her shadowy deception. That, and he found it hard to hide his emotions and opinions, even if he wanted to.

“See, even now she searches her pockets for her weapon! Arrest this thief at once!” Twice — three times — he pointed at Candice as the once sparse crowd doubled in size. Whispers and side conversations spread through the growing audience, their own judgemental words veiled behind the commotion, casting equal side as the aggressor or instigator.

Streckar was almost convinced, teetering on the fence between the sudden realization that maybe he overreacted and piercing the many layers of this elaborate ploy to cover one’s miscalculation in an event to skirt the reach of the law. Sheepishly, as three more armored individuals circled the pair, moving the separate them to dig into the truth of the matter, did he paw at the back of his head. //Oh boy...//

The lady and one of the men asked Candice to step to the side and explain her side of the story, while simultaneously the other two men did the same to Streckar. This, conveniently, gave him the space and distraction needed to avoid a reply to the logic that the tiefling was spouting. Both sets of guards calmly checked either party’s identification, while the other officer listened patiently to their story. As Streckar walked through his recount of the events, more and more started coalesce into a wondrous misunderstanding, and with a dejected sigh, apologized to the guards for wasting their time. He was sure to add any relevant details in why he was at the city archive this day, providing the name of his superior as reference to collaborate his story. Streckar could only imagine the tale that the girl was spinning, and hoped that with his standing and, if needed, the confirmation from the Knights of Recovery would be enough to avoid much of anything. It was likely, but there was a small risk of a fine for causing such a commotion and scene out on the busy streets of Sharn.

Twice throughout the exchange with his guards, he cast an apologetic glance over his shoulder towards Candice, though he knew better than to think puppy dog eyes would be enough to mend the damage bridge that his misunderstanding likely caused.


The guard that had previously took Candice’s papers eventually returned them just as she handed them over, then they convened with the other two, and a single guard made his way back to Streckar, dismissing him.

Streckar, once he was released from the mild interrogation, made his way over to Candice and quickly offered her a sincere apology. He did his best not to sheepishly hang his head and stare at the ground before them, but the way he shifted his weight from foot to foot belied every attempt to hide his the emotions.

“Listen…” the Paladin cleared his throat, speaking up. “I… may have overreacted and jumped to conclusions.” Then he sighed. “... no, that’s incorrect. I did. I shouldn’t make any excuses for the way I acted, and I’m sorry that I blew things way out of proportion. I apologize if I offended you and want you to know that I’m truly sorry for the way I acted.” Try as he might, his gaze faltered and fell to the space between them. No sooner than he did did his set of guards approach from his flank and one of the men placed a hand on his shoulder.

“Sir, are you taking responsibility for the scene that you two caused?” There was authority in the guard’s voice, a pointed spear jabbed at one’s resolve. None of the guards had their hands on their weaponry, and the once blooming crowd had finally begun to dwindle, vacating the area as it looked like it wouldn’t escalate any further.

Streckar threw the guard a look over his shoulder and winced amidst a nod. The guard nodded in sequence, then again to his partner.

“Since there was no need to intervene and the situation seemed to have stemmed from a minor misunderstanding, we’re waving our decision to issue you a citation fine. Instead, we are appointing you eight hours of community service that must be carried out within the week. Your disruption in the streets of Sharn hadn’t gone unnoticed, and likely caused undo hardship to those unlucky enough to witness it. My partner here will provide you with an official Notice of Appearance, and you may convene upon any of our outposts, or our main facility and receive your assignment. Failure to do so will result in a penalty. Completion of your assignment will remove any demerits and effectively erase any blemishes on your record.” The silent partner spent all this time scribbling down on a ticket book full of rich, expensive parchment and checked off a few areas. Once he was done, the current sheet was torn from the book, neatly folded once, and handed over to Streckar, in which the Paladin accepted with minor hesitation and a relieved sigh.