I had an interesting talk with Ellany the other night, one that has been on my mind in the last two days. We had run into Shemm, Ewley, and Dani who are all local petty miscreants from the Alley. None are that terrible, Shemm is a fence, Ewley a drunken clod, and Dani a petty thief who all work for Hog. There was a discussion going on, Ellany right in the middle of it, about some abuse that had happened to Dani. As per usual, the thief wasn't talking, especially not in front of her brother. I've known him to be heavy handed with her though it did not seem to be the case this time. I gleaned a bit that there was some concern about the man she had been seeing, the so called Captain of the Bloody Dawn. Dani was not going to talk to be in the their presence so I left it at that.
After they had skulked back to the Alley, Ellany and I sat for awhile and she asked me why the Watch did not just go and arrest Hog and his men for the crimes they commit. It was to the point and not a question I'm very comfortable addressing. I looked her, those innocent green eyes peering back at me, waiting for an answer. I told her that, under Rhyva we let sleeping dogs lay, that the fact Hog and his men controlled the Alley was not unnoticed by the Watch. If they stepped too far out of line, of course we made arrests but the fact was Hog, as crude and cruel as he could be, was someone we were used to dealing with. I told her if we arrested all of them, then it would be a lot worse because of a struggle for power in the Alley. Outsiders would come in and any men left from Hog's gang would fight them and among themselves for control of the poor side of town. Money is to be made from brothels, stolen goods, rackets, things of that nature, though I left that out of my explanation to Ellany. There would be a battle for power and it would get people hurt or killed and someone a lot worse than Hog could take over. It was a necessary evil that the Watch leave him alone and just keep that gang in check. She was not happy with the answer but it is the truth, at least how I see it. What Brigwald will do with the Alley, I do not know though the man seems to spoil for a fight when he can get one.
She then asked me, why the poor could not just get jobs from the town and get out of living in the squalid conditions and the danger. I realize how naive she is, for all her travels and book learning, she's seen very little of the world past what her father would allow for her to see. Part of me wishes I could protect that but that would be a determent as she would be left vulnerable to tricksters and those would take advantage of her kindness and ignorance. I told her that with refugees from the south pouring in and the destruction of local farms that there was not enough work to go around. Trade had been slowed to a snails crawl because of banditry and inflation of prices was affecting everyone though the worst off were the poor. There just was not a way to provide for everyone and over the last year it's just become much worse.
I had to explain to Ellany why Dani did not just leave her brother and the life she lead. It was not so easy, Dani has ties to them and she is not so innocent. While I would love nothing more to remove the young woman from an abusive situation, if she won't help herself then how can we help her? You can't force someone to save themselves but of course if I could I would help. Ellany did not like the answer and seems very troubled by the entire situation. I did not know what else to tell her so we changed the subject to lighter things and then I walked her home.
Billium's plan to take over the Blackwolds and use them for fighters sits ill with me but if it had to be someone I'm glad it is him, he is my best friend and I trust him. I just don't trust men that have become used to banditry as a way of life. But, like Hog in the Alley, the Blackwolds are bastards of Bree and as bad as they are, at least they are ours. In all, they were never so bad until the foreigners came, the Southerners dragging their war with them. If we're able to get rid of them then balance will come back to the Bree, I'm sure of it but it is a long and painful road to pry the brigands out of our lands.
