Conversation · Encyclopedia

A Stas-Rajko! One of the finest Zsiemsk-made motor carriages ever. An oldie but a goldie.

Who drives these?

Not many people outside of Graad – and Revachol West too, it appears.

Bulky frame. Heavy. Hardy. Looks like a tractor.

What a beautiful motor carriage! I want to know more!

Glad to share! The value of the motor carriage has been seriously diminished by its colour: all Stas-Rajkos are baby-blue by default. The paint would be considered unforgivable to collectors.

Zaffer blue was also the colour Zygismunt the Great used for his banners... Strange. This is really all you know about the Stas-Rajko. And ancient Zsiemsk rulers.

Hold up. Is this a tractor?

Yes, built like a tractor. And used as one too in the Zsiemsk countryside! Take note of the Eight Antler emblem, the symbol of the Stas-Rajko. Proudly born to honour its humble roots.

That's cool, but I have policeman things to do. [Discard thought.]

"Hey Kim, check this out!"

"A Stas-Rajko, KK-2. That's a classic model," the lieutenant replies with a nod. "Never thought I'd see another one repainted after what happened last time."

"What happened last time, Kim?"

"An old case from my precinct. A couple of Zsiemsk migrants saw a Stas-Rajko stopped in the street, painted just like this: muddy brown. Murdered the driver on the spot."

"They said it was an honour killing. Hussar-style. The Zsiemsk community protested the trial, flying the banners of some old king or whatever." He shakes his head. "Five thousand came to protest."

Correction: four-thousand-three-hundred-and-ninety-five. The fourth largest public protest of a criminal trial in Revachol.

"Hate to correct you Kim, but only four-thousand-three-hundred-and-ninety-five people were on that protest."

"Is that so, officer? I'll take you at your word."

Were you there?

"Who are the Zsiemsk community?"

"People we're paid to protect." The lieutenant shakes his head. "Let's leave it at that."

"Interesting. Before we proceed, I've got an opinion on this paint-job."

"Yes, detective?"

"They should've left it baby-blue."

"You sure you're not Zsiemsk?" He shares a smile with you, only for a second.

Yes, you're sure you're not! Or if you are, it's only in that Revacholian way. (Four to five percent maximum.)

"I think it looks better brown and black."

"Okay." The lieutenant takes his glasses off to polish. "I'm not going to honour kill anyone over this -- but I've seen it blue and white. It's much better that way."

"What'd they sentence the killers to?"

He studies his reflection in the car window. "Four years for murder in Reunion."

The lieutenant shrugs. "The perps were remorseful. Their sorry knocked eight years off the sentence. That's the system."

The prisons in the Greater Revachol Industrial Harbour are already full. Prisoners are expensive to maintain. The longer the sentence, the larger the cost.

Got it. [Finish thought.]

"Kim... could our hanged man have been the driver of this car?"

"Could it be another Stas-Rajko murder?" He gives you a crooked smile. "Honestly, that just doesn't seem like the type of vehicle our dead guy would drive, so my initial guess is the two are not related."

"Could it be another Stas-Rajko murder?" He gives you a crooked smile. "You really should ask me to brief you on the case. But right now I'm just gonna go ahead and guess the two aren't related."

"I try to avoid drawing far-gone conclusions like this before actually examining the body," the lieutenant says with a slight smirk. "But my initial guess is the two are unrelated."

Hold on, maybe I can impress him -- do I know what happened last time?

No. Only that the motor carriage is typically baby-blue, the colours of Zygismunt the Great, an ancient Zsiemsk ruler. His banners were famously zaffer and white: the colours of the Stas-Rajko.

"Let me guess what happened last time, Kim: Blue and white are the colours of Zsiemsk. Someone painted it, got a Zsiemsk mad, and boom -- murder happened."

"That's... Well, yes. Exactly it, more or less. Except it was a crowd of them. Tore him out of the vehicle and ran him over with his own tyres."

"They said it was an honour killing. Hussar-style. The Zsiemsk community protested the trial, flying the colours." He shakes his head. "Five thousand came to protest."