Prologue: Debitor's Prison

Sterling pulled on his jacket and hurried out the door. He had overslept a bit for some odd reason and didn’t know why. Any other time that him and Delilah slept together, he felt fine the next morning. Today was just off and he couldn’t put his finger on it. He had tucked away five orbs, ready to get to work, and at least they should be easy ones today, perhaps later he could bring home a treat for him to share with his love.

He stalked the shifty looking male, drat him, he keep moving into populated places and he could not get him alone. This would be his fifth soul today and the last one he needed to stay on track. Get him and a stop off at the chocolatiers and get some fresh dipped strawberries. Delilah would love that and it made his mouth water. He could feed them to her as desert and then a nightcap of alone time for them would be just what they wanted. He moved along in the crowd following the male, but he took a turn that didn’t seem to make sense. Sterling paused and was summarily bumped into. “Beg your pardon sir.” The voice came behind him.

“Oh, sorry, didn’t know you were back there. Forgive me.” He replied and started to head off.
“Mind if we have a bit of a chat guv’nor?” The voice came again.

Sterling turned and looks at the man, blinking and confused. “Yes, of course. Is something wrong?”

The man was dressed in a simple uniform, similar to a typical constable, yet the badge was unmistakable. “Just a bit of a chat is all, got a report here and just want to talk it over with yas.”

Sterling seemed confused, but nodded and motioned to a small out of the way place. It was odd that he was being tracked himself and by ‘them’. “If it’s about the male I am trailing, my contractor has the documentation.”

Three other males, each one seemingly larger than the other, followed along. “Nah sir, it’s wif you. You are under arrest for being delinquent in your souls.”

Sterling paled as the man spoke the words. “I have four souls now and I’ve been working every day this week. I don’t understand.”

“That’s to be taken up wif the courts, we is just here to pick you up.” He motions to one of the largest males, the one with a pair of rusty shackles in his massive hands. He moves forward and locks them on Sterling’s wrists.

Rather than fight now, he would have Delilah summoned and she could straighten this mess out for him, or his contractor. In a matter of time he’d be back on the streets and in his home. Surely this was a simple mistake and could be rectified.

An hour later they arrived at the building, it was dark and gloomy inside and unpleasant for a collector of his status. Sterling was strip searched and many of his personal effects were taken away, locked up in bin and recorded as his.

He looks up to the male recording his items. “When will my contractor and girlfriend be contacted?”

The male looks up at him and wrinkles his nose. “We send a kid with word to them; now just shut your mouth unless you are asked specific questions.”

Sterling nods and stands silently as the orbs he had collected that day were recorded in the ledger. “Yes sir.” Were his only words.

From there he was taken to a cell, left for the time being. A meal was delivered to him of water and a thin gruel with a bit of bread. Sterling could only sigh and try to eat his tasteless and unappetizing meal. What had happened? Why was he picked up? So many questions ran though his mind and he had no one to ask.

The night was long and cold on that hard bunk, the sounds of other males and even a few females could be heard from time to time. A cough or sneeze, snoring, even someone must have eaten a bit of cabbage before their night here. Sterling frowned and did his best to get some rest.

The morning came with little fanfare save the rattling of a truncheon on the metal bars. “Wake up now ya lazy sods, breakfast is served for ya candy arses.”

Sterling dragged himself from the bunk to receive his ‘breakfast’ cold tea that was weak and no sugar to even give it flavor, a dry crumpet to go with and a boiled egg.

The male bringing the meal smiled. “Got some eggs today we did, a bit of a treat for yas.”

Sterling nodded politely and took his meal. “Thank you.” No matter what he’d still be polite and considerate, it was just how he was raised.

An hour later passed and they were shackled together in a long line of fifteen. “Best to all walk together, right leg, then left, that way ya don’t get tangled. Keep up or ya get dragged to court.”

“Court?” Sterling almost regretted opening his mouth and speaking that one word as he received a sound thump to the back of his head.

“Aye, court and mind ya mouth.” The male in the lead seemed to be the one with the gas issue as with every few steps he let off a new round of stuttering flatulence. Down a long dark tunnel and up the stairs to where they were made to stand shackled to a rail. One by one they were lead into the courtroom, none coming back the way they had.

When it was Sterling’s turn, the bailiff unlocked the shackle from the rail and led him into the small box where he stood before the judge. The judge looked over the documents before him and shook his head. “Mr. Darkfury, do you have any idea how many souls you are behind?”

Sterling shakes his head. “No sir, I wasn’t aware I was behind any. I had just gone out yesterday and collected four more. I work daily.”

The judge clucked his tongue in disapproval. “It says here you are behind a total of one thousand souls. That is the most I have ever seen in my tenure here on the bench.”

“A… a… a thousand? I assure you there is no way that is possible.” He couldn’t help but stammer. “Where is my contractor? He will tell you that I am not nearly that far behind, surely this is a mistake.”

The judge shook his head and held up the documents. “I have it all right here and now sentence you to a thousand days in debtor’s prison. You may take him away now.” He picked up his gavel and hit the block.

“No, you can’t, I didn’t do it.” Sterling shouted in a desperate attempt to be heard.

The large and menacing looking bailiff dragged Sterling off to a wagon where all of the collectors before him now sat, shackled one by one inside. “Enjoy your holiday.” Sneered the guard as he locked Sterling to his seat.

He looked at the others, many were older males, tired and worn out. Their hay day of collecting had long past. A few were just poor and struggled to keep up with their duties. A woman seemed to look Sterling in the eye for a moment, then away as if she were embarrassed for her fate. None had been dressed nearly as well as he was and as the wagon rattled off down the road they would all be treated the same.

From time to time, Sterling would look out the bars of the wagon as it rolled along. People walking past would stop and point, whispering or jeering at them. Demons, elves, fae, humans, they all seemed to wonder and taunt those being hauled off down the road. The massive draft horse plodded along, its load of misery in tow. It was as if their lives were over and they may never been seen again. Indeed this journey would end not long after the gates of the prison closed, the infirm would die there, yet others would survive and life to go back to life on the outside.

A few of the old men talked, a year sounded to be the average term there, a short trip was six months. How had Sterling managed to be in for a thousand? That would nearly be three years of incarceration for a crime he was sure he didn’t commit.

The ride took hours and it was near dark by the time they arrived at the prison. The fog has started to roll in and it made Sterling shiver, he looked up at the tall stone walls and guard towers. He would learn to live within these walls come hell or high water. He sighed as they were marched into the receiving room. One by one they were given uniforms and boots to wear, then herded off to change and get locked in their cells.

Meals were delivered to them in their cells, if the food at the station was bad, this was worse. Sterling couldn’t tell what it was that he was eating, just that it tasted awful. It resembled a broth of sorts, with cabbage and a tiny lump of gristly beef floating on top. A white thing in there seemed to be a turnip; but again, it was hard to tell in the low light of the cell. The bread was hard and dry, so he dipped it into his soup to soften it up some. He gagged when he bit into something that didn’t taste quite right, but food was food and he had not had anything since his egg and tea. The water he had was stagnant and foul, but tepid, at least it wasn’t hot.

Sterling wanted to cry, but he had heard all sorts of bad things and that would be the last thing you wanted to do. Never show weakness and don’t let them think you are. He set the empty dishes just outside the bars as he was instructed when done eating and sat on his bunk. This would be a very long thousand days.