***Trigger Warning*** - Bigotry, attempted murder

DORE

A tall Agostogian woman with a cap shoved past Dore out of the Croaking Frog Bar. Dore stubbled back as she rushed off without a word. Usually he didn’t frequent the seedy parts of the city but he needed answers.

Vince had never arrived at the University, actually their father had never even enrolled him. Dore had spent the entire day arguing with the admissions staff because he couldn’t believe that they didn’t have a single paper in their files for Vince. 

The last person he knew for sure who had been with his brother was the Captain of the ship Vince left on and according to the dockhands this bar was his favorite. Dore pushed open the old wooden saloon style doors to a bar that was exactly as he expected: filled with sweaty smelly sailors who hollered louder with every drink. Dore took careful steps to avoid any suspicious stains or puddles on the ground.

He recognized the long braided beard of Captain Murphy near the back of the bar. “Captain Murphy,” Dore called out confidently. “I’ve been looking for you.”

He walked to the Captain’s table where he sat with other large sailors.

“‘cuse me, but who are ya?” Captain Muphy said gruffly. He didn’t look amused by Dore’s sudden appearance.

“Dore Von Girdwood,” Dore said with a smirk, he knew just how much weight his family's name held. “My father hired you recently.”

The captain’s eyes widened for a moment at the mention of Dore’s father. “Ahh, Sir Girdwood. What’cha doing here lad?” He asked.

“I’m looking for my brother, Vince,” Dore said.

“Vince? Haven’t seen ‘im,” the Captain responded briefly. The Captain chugged his mug of ale, while Dore glared at him in annoyance. The response was too fast and too simple. If he really didn’t know anything he would have had a little more curiosity around what happened to Vince. He knew where Vince went.

“I know you haven’t seen him.” Dore said coldly. “No one has seen him. He never enrolled at University. He should have arrived two weeks ago with you.”

“That ain’t have nothing to do with me, sir.” Captain Murphy said, with an edge in his voice when addressing Dore. He wasn’t about to back off at such a subtle threat though.

“Really? Because as far as I can tell you and your crew were the last to see my brother.”

“And I don’t know where he went. He ain’t my responsibility,” the captain said and he turned back towards his crew mates giving Dore the cold shoulder. 

Dore was tired of beating around the bush. He had to know something. “Fine. But maybe… maybe you can tell me why my father didn’t even bother enrolling him,” Dore asked, but the answer was too obvious.even to himself. His father had something to do with Vince’s disappearance. His mother likely already received a letter stating that her youngest son was lost at sea or something.

“Can’t say,” the Captain muttered.

“Can’t or won’t,” Dore said in a deadly serious tone.

A silence spread across the room. Captain Murphy stood a head taller than Dore with double the muscle, but he didn’t back down. “Look, Sir Girdwood, you haven’t been very civil to me, and you ain’t in a place where ya can be disrespectin’ someone like me,” the Captain reminded him.

Dore looked around at every sailor at the bar glaring him to death. Dore nodded. “Alright,” he said. He understood he couldn’t guarantee his own safety; this wasn't the place to be setting fires. “I apologize for my disrespect, but if I find out you had anything to do with my brother’s disappearance I’ll be back.”

With that final threat Dore left before the bar devolved into a brawl.

He wasn’t sure where else to go for answers other than returning home to ask his father, but that was exactly what his father wanted him to do. So instead Dore wandered around the docks hoping he’d get lucky and overhear something useful, and after a little while he realized he was being followed.

Dore recognized the blond head of a young shiphand from Murphy's crew. The boy was getting closer with every step. Dore picked up his pace. Why would Murphy send a tail after him? The boy looked too small to be an actual threat so maybe he was a spy.

“Wait, Mister!” The boy called out. So he wasn’t a spy, or maybe just a really bad one. Well he was Agostogian so Dore didn’t expect much. 

He looked back at him. The boy seemed desperate to catch up so he stopped. If he was this bad at being a spy maybe he’d just spill all the Captain's dirty secrets. 

“He- he was lyin’ mister,” the boy said. This was too easy. Dore didn’t even have to say anything yet. The boy looked around nervously. “Th- The capin’ was lying, sir.”

Dore smiled softly. He could use this. “Don’t be scared. You’re not in trouble,” he said. He looked around at all the prying eyes on the street. He ushered the shiphand to a quiet alleyway nearby. The boy became stiffer with fear once they were alone. “I’ll even reward you if you tell the truth,” Dore added to ease his fears.

He patted the shiphand on the shoulder encouragingly. “Really, mister. Really, really?” The boy asked.

“Sure you just have to tell me the truth.” All he needed was answers.

The boy fidgeted with his hands. “Well, umm… See I saw the capin’ he was talkin’ with mister Thomas.”

“Mister Thomas?” Dore asked. That’s a new name, maybe another person he could interrogate.

“Yeah he… he’s the first mate see,  and theys was talkin’ and then I see mister Thomas. He picked up a broom and he- he-” The boy whipped his head back and forth aggressively not wanting to say it. Dore’s gut sank. “He walked ova’ to ya brother and he…. He wammed him.”

Dore’s grip on the boy’s shoulder tightened. “Right in the head,” the boy continued. “Just wammed him and he- he fell overboard, and ain’t no one try to help him.”

Dore’s rage boiled. Not only did the Captain lie to his face but he also attacked Vince. He really was lost at sea. Dore needed to go look for him immediately. He could deal with Captain Murphy and his crew later. Vince needed him now. The shiphand wasn’t done; he kept prattling on. “No one even tried. I didn’t get it, cause I thought we was suppose to ya know deliver him. I thought that’s what the fancy letter said.”

“Fancy letter?” Dore froze.

The boy nodded. “The capin’ had it. It had a fancy wax seal on it, with a tree. He had it when he was talkin’ with mister Thomas.”

Dore shook his head slowly. He knew that seal. It sat on his father’s desk. “That blasted man.” He didn’t want to believe his father would order his own son to be killed, but the more he thought about it the more it made sense. His father aimed to enter the running for a council chair in the fall. He couldn’t use Vince how he intended, but his father could use him to gain sympathy points in the election. The reasoning disgusted him, but Dore knew his father too well.

“Mister, I’m sorry. Ya brother, he’s with the gods now mister,” the boy said in an attempt to comfort Dore.

“Where?” Dore asked. He refused to give up so easily. For once this wouldn’t go his father’s way. “Where were you when he was pushed overboard?”

“Sir, he’s gone. He fell in near the Makei Zune, ain’t no one survive that,” the boy tried to explain, but Dore wouldn’t give up on even the slimmest chance that Vince might still be alive. Sure the newspapers were filled with stories of sunken ships in the center of Lishmeer, so much so that the area had gained the nickname of Makei Zune amongst the sailors. In Lan it meant something akin to danger or death from his understanding. But the newspapers also highlighted stories about people surviving days or weeks at sea in the elements. He chose to believe his brother could survive. Vince would be one of the lucky few. He had to be.

Dore shuffled through his pockets for a few golden gieldes. “Thank you for the information,” he said, as he forced the coins into the boy’s hands. “The payment we talked about.”

“Thank you much, mister, but you shouldn’t be lookin’ for-”

“Thank you for the information. We are done here,” Dore cut him off with a sharp glare. He needed to start his search.

The boy nodded and Dore walked off to the docks. Either he’d find a ship to take him out to sea immediately or he’d find Captain Murphy again. He didn’t know what he’d do if he found the Captain.