The Closed Case of Mike and a Potential New Bond

 Journal Entry: June 15, 2026

Location: Port Olni

Mood/Title: The Closed Case of Mike and a Potential New Bond

The morning began with pressing legal duties. I opened the rustic office doors early to find the citizen Mike waiting at the bench, still anxiously hoping the Scribes would process his mandated city regulations review. Before we could begin, Lady Lienyah Thorgard arrived, summoned to answer for the incident at the tavern back on the 9th. When questioned about the charges, Lady Lienyah formally declined to prosecute, explaining that a profound misunderstanding regarding a potential companionate contract had caused Mike to take premature liberties. Given her statement, I officially closed the case file and declared his city arrest lifted. Mike expressed immense relief and remorse, while Lienyah complimented the magnificence of our city and even suggested relocating here from Tharna, inviting me to meet for tea sometime soon.

Once the paperwork was sealed, I spent some time testing the local roleplay message boards, clearing away a few defunct commercial logs from years past before pinning our official, public legal verdict across the town squares. Constable Balkan Sands caught up with me by the walls just as the ink was drying. He thoroughly approved of the decision but strictly questioned whether Mike had completed his mandatory rules training. I explained that due to local Scribe shortages, I am taking it upon myself to act as his instructor.

Balkan suggested moving our administrative and educational notices away from my private quarters and hanging them directly by the main city gates. We walked down to the entrance arches together, discussing ways to maximize class turnouts. Given that most of our residents operate on American time frames, Balkan and the slave Ixia suggested implementing short, mandatory five-minute public safety tutorials during the high-traffic Sunday Open Forums, backed by optional, detailed scroll distributions. Balkan also reminded me that the joint trade celebration matching Olni with the incoming delegation from Lara was due to begin at the Inn gallery by noon, though a real-world medical appointment forced me to depart early, missing the primary festivities.

By late afternoon, I returned to the Olni Inn to unwind, settling into a comfortable cushion just as the tavern girls were finishing up their chores. Panner McDonnell offered me hospitality, and a lovely kennel slave stepped forward to prepare me a goblet of perfectly warmed mead over the hearth fire. Tasting the sweet burn, I realized I didn't even know her name. I called her over to my side, and she introduced herself as Layla, property of the central kennel house.

Still deeply feeling the empty sting of losing Sheena, I asked Layla if she was currently eligible for rent. She eagerly retrieved her official slave papers from her leg binding and passed them into my pocket for reading. Captain Falconer McKeenan joined us by the hearth, praising Panner's recent hard-rock theme night and requesting a bowl of paga from Layla, which she executed with flawless, inn-style grace. I asked Falconer if we could cross-index my upcoming Circle lectures within his weekly city schedule updates. Since he rarely visits the gate boards, he requested I send him a direct scroll manifest of the remaining six classes.

As Panner and Dezora retired for the evening following a grueling day in the gardens, I returned Layla's gaze and expressed a sincere desire to get to know her better. She smiled warmly, promising to attend my morning lecture and meet with me directly afterward to discuss a potential bond. Satiated by the warm mead and carrying a renewed spark of hope in my pocket, I bid Falconer and the girls a pleasant evening and walked home to get some well-deserved rest.

To Do:

• Deliver a direct information scroll containing the remaining six Circle lecture times to Captain Falconer McKeenan for his calendar.

• Conduct the morning class session of the advanced curriculum and meet with Layla afterward to review her slave papers and rental availability.

• Formulate a short, five-minute rules curriculum outline to pitch to Ubar Jarek for the Sunday Open Forum.

• File the finalized, written copies of Mike's closed incident report to the desks of Falconer and Balkan Sands.

• Draft the initial visual layouts for tomorrow's upcoming "Wall of Iron" phalanx lecture.