"Those guys weren't the regular Watch, were they?" he asked.
"Oh, no. They were Swords of the Magicians' Asso- ciation. Special law-enforcement troops, there." He took another long swallow from the stein; Alaire blanched. "Then they ba -- brr -- ah..."
Kai's eyes rolled up in his head momentarily, as his head tilted forward. Alaire thought he was going to bang his head on the table, but he recovered just in time.
"Ah? What was I saying? Is it dawn yet?"
Alaire had no clue what time it was, though it couldn't be too far from daybreak. "The Association.
You were telling me all about them."
"Oh, right. The troops. The elite of the enforce- ment arm of the Magicians' Association."
Alaire strove to look innocent and interested. "Are they the ones who enforce the laws regarding magic?"
Kai stared at him for a long moment, his head wob- bling slightly. Should I continue this discussion tomorrow? Alaire wondered. He looks like he's ready to pass out. After all he's had to drink, he should have passed out hours ago.
"Not them. The Association. That's all they do, look for unlicensed magic going on." Kai blinked owlishly.
"Then the Association sends out the Swords to bring the poor fools in for punishment. That's what that was probably all about, there at the table."
Alaire tilted his head to one side, and looked puz- zled. "Unlicensed magic? How does one go about getting a license?"
Kai wrinkled his nose. "You don't know?"
Alaire shrugged. "I haven't been here very long."
"Takes a lot of gold. More than that barkeep had."
Kai shrugged. "But without one -- too bad."
"Licenses which, I'm assuming, most of your citi- zens don't have." Alaire continued probing, thinking that it was a miracle Kai was so coherent.
Kai nodded, and took another pull of his mug.
"That's right. The nobles think they should be the only ones to have magicians. You can only perform magic in the Association Hall, with very rare excep- tions, arranged well in advance. And paid for in advance."
Sure -- but what about people like the two in here?
"And those who don't want to bother with that?" he continued delicately.
Kai laughed nervously. "The Association sends out their troops to catch the perpetrators, then fines the one who paid for the unlicensed magic double what the licensed version would have cost"
A good incentive to pay for the license. "And what... what about the magician? The one who actually did the magic?"
Kai's face lost all expression, and he leaned forward to whisper, "He goes to the Prison of Souls."
Alaire shivered at the name. "Gods, that sounds awful."