Councillor Stainton Drune's page

Drune blinks
"I don't know how high up the bribes go. That's the catch. Drugs can bring in a lot of money. That money buys influence. Find out what's happening and report back to me, and only me."
"But yes. It is a lot of money. I've heard very impressive things about your group. I expect..."
The sound from the rest of the patrons flood back, and Drune recovers quickly
"...these fines to go away. Now, I need a 'yes' or 'no'. Get an answer to me by tomorrow. Good day."

"Councillor Drune" whispers the woman, escorting Daria to the back where, she notices, the sound level suddenly drops dramatically. Into this silence the man talks with the voice of someone trained to oration.
”Officer Hearth. So - you’re the special investigation squad, are you? I understand you’re on leave.” he grins grimly ”I had a hand in that. This spell doesn't last long, so I'll be brief."
"Three nights ago Magistrate Fell’s oldest died. We’re not exactly sure how, but we do know his half dismembered corpse killed two more people before it was put down.”
He puts a scrollcase down on the table
”In there is a list of twelve names - Fell is one of them. All dead in the last two weeks. All of them left a grey corpse. All put down as suicides. Most in the vicinity of Bridgefront. At least seven of them were Shiver users, and at least one other was linked to the Shiver trade.”
”I don’t care if the filthy druggies want to kill themselves, but Fell - Fell was a Citizen from a line that goes back to one of Nex's students.”
”The bridgefront guards have been useless. I strongly suspect they’re being paid more by the Shiver trade than their salary. Their investigations are better fiction than the books my wife reads. I’ve gone as high as their Captain and gotten nothing but platitudes.” he pinches the bridge of his nose for a second, looking pained, then continues.
"I'm aware how rarely the Guard discovers misconduct amongst their own, and why. I also understand Guard territoriality. I'm prepared to offer your squad - or I should say the off duty individuals in that squad - sixteen thousand gold to deal with the problem. Not an increase in equipment budget - actual cash money."