Sapphire:Sessions:20170325
A few hours past noon, while the trial is still going on, Ahn-Lee returns to the alley where he'd left the two attackers tied up. One is awake and struggling, but the one Ahn-Lee thinks of as "the beggar" is gone. Ahn-Lee pulls out the remaining man's gag. Immediately the man (whose name, it will be learned, is Gavin Dimtris) exclaims, "I haven't got any money, why did you kidnap me?" Ahn-Lee retorts, "What's the deal? Why did you attack me?" Gavin claims that last night, after his wife and kids were in bed, he'd sat up thinking about how much he needed money, and next thing he knew he had woken up in the alley. As Ahn-Lee administers a knock-out drug, he cracks, "Hope this isn't the bear poison!"
At the end of the trial, Chalker and Shawna explain to the judging priests that Baroness Sylan Giles (currently in imperial custody) was the inspiration for Countess Harow's dark mithril involvement. Chalker names four of the twenty university students from the psionic group, and the priest of Solash says "We are here to help them as they develop their abilities."
Ahn-Lee leads Chalker, Shawna, and Branamin to where Gavin is tied up. "This guy was mind-controlled and tried to attack me." Chalker checks and there is no implant or changes to the brain. His aura shows he has been "touched" by Aup (envy). Gavin claims that he manages a merchant's shop but doesn't get paid enough and can barely keep food on the table. Chalker lets him go on the condition that in two days time he must report to the envoy from Dolyena.
Ahn-Lee gives the beggar's description to one of the "copper kids," offering a silver piece to the finder. The kid demands another 20 coppers to divide among the searchers. Near sunset, three kids approach the table in the bar where Ahn-Lee has been waiting. They lead him to a market square in a poorer part of the city. The shops are closing up, and Ahn-Lee observes that most of the people have small, incongruous items hanging out of their pouches. The beggar buys a copper's worth of bread and dried meat and walks away, gobbling up the food. Ahn-Lee buys out the same vendor's remaining bread and meat and follows the beggar until the latter beds down in an alley. Sitting down beside the beggar, Ahn-Lee offers a piece of bread, which the beggar eagerly accepts. Only after he wolfs it down does he ask, "Who are you?" "A friend," replies Ahn-Lee. The other man complains "It's been really bad lately... things aren't working for me... people aren't as generous as they used to be." He claims he used to do odd jobs for a living, but had to take up begging last year; "I can't move as well as I used to." Ahn-Lee: "It's not going to get any easier. But if you come with me, I'll give you this big bag of food."
Ahn-Lee leads the beggar to Chalker's house and explains to Jeeves, "Chalker, Shawna, and Branamin need to talk to this gent." Chalker and Shawna are already sound asleep, and Jeeves has accomodations prepared for Ahn-Lee and the beggar. Branamin is elsewhere, playing strategy games and winning gold.