Barl Gaaldur

UP : Trinsic (Sonoma)

    Employment seems to be on the rise again in Britannia, but this time the work was to be had in the dingy and dismal jail cells of the city of Trinsic.

    A cell block full of prisoners was more than jailor Luela Karlth could handle alone. "Many times I'm the only one looking over an entire wing of prisoners," said Karlth, "I have to keep a watchful eye on the front door to make sure none of these scoundrels slip in or out. They would jump at the first opportunity to silently slip into the city streets to begin preying on the good and peace-loving people of Trinsic."

    Karlth decided that delivering meals to the prisoners was more than she could handle by herself, so she called on the town criers to spread the word about a brief temporary job of feeding the prisoners. "I usually need two or three people to deliver the bread and water to the jail cells, and I pay 250 gold pieces a head for my workers. I keep an eye on the front door while they place the pitchers and loaves just inside the cell doors."

    Karlth says that even with extra help in the prison, she still has to be constantly watching her back.

    "Wouldn't you know that my prisoners weren't even the ones that caused me trouble today," said Karlth, "We had just started to dole out the bread and water to the prisoners when I heard the sound of hasty footsteps, followed by the sound of that crusty bread being chewed and swallowed quickly. Now, I know that sound shouldn't have meant anything special during meal time, but the eater seemed to be in such a hurry that I thought I would check it out. Lo and behold, it wasn't a prisoner that was eating their meal, but rather a devious scoundrel who had broken into a prison cell and was starting to eat my prisoner's bread!"

    Karlth says that she is tough on her prisoners, but doesn't expect them to starve. "We run a tight ship here," says Karlth, "but at least the prisoners deserve to get three meals a day without their very food being stolen."

    "Well, I slipped up behind that ruffian and locked the cell door behind him. He didn't stay in prison too long, but hopefully it was long enough to make him think twice about thievery during meal times!"

    Karlth says that other than that small bit of unpleasantness, the operation went smoothly.

    Trinsic citizens responded quickly to the call for work, and there were more workers that came to the prison than there was work. Karlth says she had to divide up the workload a little thinner than she would like, but it was still a satisfying experience with plenty of rewards.

    "My workers did such a good job that I gave them a bonus of a few gemstones to sell at the jewelers. These prisoners often get caught with pockets full of stolen jewels. We confiscate them, but the prisoners won't talk about where they got their stolen goods, so there's no way we are ever going to get them returned. I hope returning them into the hands of hard-workers does some good."

    Karlth also wants to point out that she mostly looks for the fresh young faces of Britannia for a job like this. "Hey, feeding prisoners isn't nearly as exciting as tackling an ogre lord with eight other fighters. I admit that. But I'm mostly looking for those new and inexperienced citizens of Britannia for this kind of work."

From the Town Cryer - The Journal of Ultima Online, Saturday, March 21st 1998