It had been a rough night for Furley. It had pained him, and he'd been battered and bruised, and he'd merely only had a couple of sips of ale from the tankard he had purchased in the Prancing Pony. Now, he found himself in the Bree-Town Jail, and he wasn't in the least bit amused.
He had complied, and done what they had asked him to do. He had come down to the prison to report the evening to the watcher on duty, Essebrin, and found that she wasn't there. He had then been provoked further, and the watch woman had done nothing about it. The dwarf in prison, Balnirar, had thrown a bucket of s**t at him, and he was then arrested for breaking no laws. Only what the watch woman had assumed he'd done.
Now, he'd been ignored by both Essebrin, a recruit, and by her Constable, Bericoft, who had refused to even take a statement, and had insisted it was only for a night, and that repeated pleas for Furley's statement to be heard would be met with extended incarceration.
Since they had gone, he gave his statement to Altheric and Anastasiar, two members of the Company, who had witnessed much of the commotion. Growling, he waited for Ana to flick her notepad up, and she began to write.
Furley growled as he spoke. "Take this down, every word. On this night, in the Prancing Pony, I unfortunately spilled a bit of beer on the dwarf named Balnirar. There was a throng at the bar, including two musicians. Accidents were inevitable. I proceeded to walk away, and watch the band. The dwarf, above mentioned, threatened me with physical violence. A woman approached, and a watch woman. The woman laid hands on both I and the dwarf without provocation, and throughout the altercation, verbally abused and questioned the skill of the watch woman, who did nothing about it".
He cleared his throat, gently, before continuing. "The watch woman then struck the dwarf after he assaulted me, and then proceeded to subdue him. Another dwarf companion of the assailant then fought me and knocked me to the ground, and after the altercation was over, attacked me from behind and rendered me immobile for a period. The watch woman took the first dwarf that had assaulted me away, and insisted that I report to the Bree-town jail for a report of events. When I arrived, the watch woman or her constable were not there. There were no other watchers on duty. I was met by the dwarf behind bars who had committed the offence in the Prancing Pony, and two of his companions outside the bars. The dwarves then provoked me, and started shouting verbal abuse at me. The watch woman should have been here when requesting me to report to her".
He sighed, at the recounting of events. "Then the dwarf in the cell threw his sh*t bucket at me, and after reasoning with the watch woman, she proceeded to arrest me and put me in a cell. A dwarf civilian kicked me to help subdue me, illegally, but nothing was done. The watch woman and her Constable ranking officer, Bericoft, then refused to take a statement from me, and accused me of being in the 'drunk tank', amongst other things. I was unlawfully imprisoned. Neither watcher gave their names or officer number. Their actions not only violate the code of the Watch but are also illegal. It is, therefore, that with regret, and by slandering of our Company name in the process and defamation of my character, that the Company of the East Road, will be pressing charges against the watchers on duty of this very night and demand that the Mayor provide a formal hearing into this matter, along with an apology to the Company and damages payable for tarnishing of reputation and for breaking the law, which also includes incarceration withotu proper reason or proof".
He sighed, wishing it wouldn't have come to this. Ana wrote down his words, and he would check them in the morning to ensure they were the correct version of events. Shortly after, another officer came in, Mortermon, who provided his name and number willingly, and explained why it wasn't in his power to release him. At least this one had treated him with courtesy. He made a mental note to ensure he wasn't included in the report and in fact to commend his professionalism to the Mayoral office.
Sitting back in his cell, looking at the bars he had been so wrongfully imprisoned in, he sighed. He could've forgiven inexperience from the watch woman. He could've forgiven the Constable for not applying the law properly. But the discourtesy, ignorance, and conscious unwilling to listen and even carry out sentences they had no right in carrying out, had irked him.
"So unprofessional", he sighed. "And they wonder why nobody trusts the watchers of this town". Eating a small meal that Mortermon had allowed his hobbit associate to provide him, he sighed. He knew what he had to do with this town. It had been corrupt for years. But before the stars, he would see to it personally that his home be put right.
But first, he'd deal with the injustice he had suffered this night. He'd been incarcerated by a woman named Tessrah of the watch a couple of months back for not knowing the location of someone she had beef with. But this was a step too far. He'd see to it first that for the first time in a long time, the watch actually become accountable for their actions.
