[Royal Guard] Professor Stygian's statement (Re: Art Harlow's women troubles)

[Dan]

Upon entering the inn this afternoon, I immediately saw a woman (Teagan) 
and a man (Art Harlow) engaged in combat, and a second woman (Vandale) 
chained to the bar's foot rail, screaming that she was being kidnapped 
and enslaved and begging for help. I approached the bar, and bent down 
to examine the shackle woman. When I saw that she was chained with a 
pair of the Guard's shackles, I said as much to her. She then changed 
her story and claimed that the Guard intended to rape her, and that the 
second woman had come to her rescue.

I spotted a Guard rank pin upon the man, whom I later learned was 
Corporal Art Harlow. He appeared to be on the worse end of the fight, 
and the woman told me that this affair was none of my business. I 
disagreed, and advised her to surrender peacefully. She refused and 
retreated from me, claiming that the Corporal attacked the shackled 
woman without provocation. Furthermore, she claimed that the magistrates 
of the realm are corrupt, and refused to submit to their judgement.

Having already given her an opportunity to surrender peacefully, I began 
to cast a spell to keep her from escaping. She began to run and dove 
headlong for a shadowy area of the inn. The lightning spell that I cast 
nearly missed because of her abrupt increase in speed, but the flash it 
created eliminated the shadows, causing her to crash headfirst into the 
wall. She attempted to escape by climbing the walls, so I cast a second 
spell that rendered her unconscious.

Commander Rikneuth, who had been busy with the shackled woman, 
approached and shackled the unconscious woman, and left her under my 
supervision while she saw to the injured Corporal Harlow and dealt with 
his initial prisoner. While I was attempting to transport the second 
prisoner to the Guardhouse, a strange man approached me. (Description of 
Dakkon Blackblade given.) He offered to buy the woman, though I didn't 
ask him what he wanted her for. At best, I imagine that he wanted to set 
her free as some form of protest toward the authority of the Crown. I 
prefer not to think about the other things he might have wanted to do 
with a shackled and unconscious woman. I refused his offer, and he went 
to speak with some other individual and left me in peace to remove the 
unconscious woman from the inn. I prevailed upon a passing wagon driver 
to cart the prisoner to the Guardhouse, and delivered her over to the 
jailors.

I hearby swear in the sight of Menxvan that this testimony is true.

C. Stygian
Lord Archmage of the Royal University

10. IV. 474.

[University seal affixed]