This was my thoughts on the Whitewall "underground" as well. Unless somebody is a member of a Volsaxi clan or under the personal protection of someone important, they better not take actions that would justify someone to simply kill them.
I think there is a understandable misunderstanding regarding how Heortling fort-settlements like Whitewall function. They aren't impersonal cities - they are basically overgrown villages. The Volsaxi have mechanisms for resolving disputes within and between Volsaxi clans. Outsiders need to be under someone's protection - in most cases, probably the king's protection. This means that if someone kills a foreigner, they have violated the king's hospitality and the king has a claim against them (which he can demand payment for - or vengeance). So you don't kill foreigners that are in Whitewall.
However, if a foreigner-guest starts ripping Volsaxi (or other foreigner-guests), they run the risk that their victims will (1) complain to the king (who may remove his protection); (2) kill the criminal and say that it was justified (although they will probably have to pay Broyan something); or (3) complain to the king and then kill them.
> Move him into the Lunar Camp with army regulations making all sorts
of
> things illegal and conflicting moral values, and he'll make a fortune
> as long as he bribes the right people.
Exactly.
Jeff
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
Powered by hypermail