The Capital

The next day, I decided that after practice, I would go out to the city and look into the various administrative buildings unannounced. The practice was just as genuine as yesterdays, with no differences aside from the lectures contents being a slightly different sort of dishonest. After I made sure they left, I headed to the civic building, were citizens could file claims against others, court was held, and verdicts reached. Because I had no formal guards with me, no one knew I was a prince, so I went to observe the proceedings unimpeded.

As the courts went on, I noticed that the laws that govern the city were not designed to protect righteousness, but order. In one case a man beat up a second man with tattoos along his whole body saying that he caught the man with his wife. The judge then said that the first man would be fined for the medical fees and then given a lashing. I thought that was a bit harsh, but then checked the laws posted and saw that the punishment for assault was from one to three times the medical fees paid to victim, at the judges discretion a fine given to the city, and up to 10 lashings. Up to 10 more lashings per week late on payment. In the same case the wife in question was sentenced to 5 lashings for adultery. In another case an accountant stole money from a merchant, but because the money was under a legal technicality his, the accountant got away without punishment.

Afterwards I went to the marketplace. As I entered, I saw a busy crowd moving at a pace neither hurried nor without purpose. As I glanced around I noticed that the section of the market I was in sold food. I saw meat, grain, fruit, and vegetables for sale everywhere, but few spices. At a closer glance I noticed that to sell food to the stalls, you only received a small portion of the selling price. This briefly puzzled me until I recalled that to be a merchant you have to have a license from the guild. Most likely you can only sell to licensed merchants and most merchants buy at a fixed rate to maximize profits.

I then saw another stall, that I had previously overlooked, being confronted by some burly looking people. One of them stood out because, on top of missing the over the top strong man look the others had, he was wearing nicer clothes. Upon asking a passerby, I discovered that the stall was unlicensed, and while the people who showed up were technically criminals unrelated to the merchants guild, the gang leader just so happened to be brothers with the guild master.

Last but not least I decided to try to visit the pub. Without a legal age to drink, most served based on preference. As I went from pub to pub though, I noticed that no reputable bartender would take me, and the other bartenders I didn't trust to hand me a drink, much less pour me one. As I returned, I noticed that some strange people were following me, but then a different group of people followed them into the alleyways and that was the last I saw of both groups. No doubt one group was comprised of thieves and the other my guardians. I should praise them if I get the chance.

On my return I practiced the Rulers Formula and noticed that it was significantly smother than yesterday, as before I was a puppet. I should definitely continue these outings