New Rolin City, Day 147

	Torrent looked around the woods.  There was no one there, no one
who might find him.  He made his way forward silently, taking position
behind a row of bushes, his black uniform hiding him in the darkness of the
forest at night.  From there he had a clear view of his subject, a known
member of the Shadow Tal resistance.  Ironically, though, in this case
Torrent was the shadow, following the man West through Xerixes from
Shokoca Town to New Rolin City.  So far Spyre had no evidence of a
resistance cell in New Rolin City, but this person was obviously here to meet
someone, either a sympathizer to the resistance or the local resistance leader.
	Torrent liked it when this resistance member chose such a predictable
meeting place, a dark wooded area on the edge of the town.  Having so
many places to hide made his job easier.  He often wondered if any of them
realized he’d have a harder time spying on them if they met in the center of
town, where there were more lights and fewer places to hide.  Of course
they didn’t, they didn’t have the benefit of Hyru’s wisdom like Spyre did.
	Another man came walking quietly from the town.  Torrent
recognized him as the owner of one of the local taverns.  The two men
started talking.  They kept their voices low, but Torrent was able to hear
them well enough to learn that the Shadow Tal were bringing some of it’s
members to the town in a few days and wanted the tavern owner to hide
them.  Spyre would be waiting for them when they did.
	Satisfied that he had found out enough, he held his position until the
two men left, each going in different directions.  He then looked out over his
escape route, a path that would take him along the edge of the town then out
into the forest toward the Spyre base.  After seeing that it was safe, he
moved quickly.
	When he was almost away from the town, he heard the sound of an
young woman’s voice, "I . . I don’t have the money to pay you this week.  I
was barely able to buy food for my kids.  Please let me pay you next week. 
I’ll pay you double, I promise.  I’ll have the money by then."
	The woman was standing in front of a small, shabby house.  In front
of her was someone in the familiar dark green uniform of the Spyre
Predatory Corp.  The Spyre agent was obviously there to collect taxes,
which the woman didn’t want to pay.  The Spyre agent said, "All right, but
next week you’ll pay triple, not double.  And don’t be late on your taxes
again."
	The woman lowered her head, "Y. .Yes.  I promise."
	Torrent narrowed his eyes and pulled his dagger.  He crept slowly
toward the house, checking to make sure there was nobody else around but
the woman and the fellow Spyre agent.  Just as the Predatory Corp agent
was walking away, Torrent leapt out and stabbed the woman with his
dagger.  She barely had time to let out a whimper before she fell to the
ground dead.  The Predatory Corp member turned quickly and looked at
Torrent and said, "Who . . what?  You didn’t have to kill her."
	Torrent shook his head, "Hyru’s law states that all citizens must pay
a weekly tax.  She broke that law and had to be executed."
	The Predatory Corp member looked as though he didn’t know what
to say, "But . . I was going to get more out of her next week.  And now that
she’s dead Hyru can’t get any money from her at all."
	Torrent just stared at him, "You’re talking like a Talictician.  I’ve
been schooled in Hyru’s laws and the reasons for implementing them just as
you have.  If we allow even one rule to be broken without punishment, then
we can’t protect this continent from falling into anarchy."
	The green suited Spyre agent said, "The laws don’t need to be
enforced to exactly to keep order," and started to walk away.
	Torrent immediately rushed forward and stabbed the Predatory Corp agent
through the back.  If he was unwilling to enforce Hyru’s laws he was just as 
guilty as someone who had broken them.  Torrent pulled his knife out of the body 
and cleaned the blood from it before tucking it back into his uniform.  He then 
reached down and picked up the body of the dead Spyre agent.  If the townspeople 
were to find it, it would make Spyre appear vulnerable.  He carried the body 
with him as he started back toward Spyre’s base.