Red road thief

Red road thief is a chapter in Porteek's "The Movers of our Previous Generation", and probably the most entertaining story in the volume.

It details an investigation into a mysterious disappearance of stones from the road between Estonoh and Ernele back in the 19th CFR.

Account

The investigation is launched after an Uroh from Estonoh is killed when a wheel of his carriage hits a pothole, which is caused by a large stone taken out of the road. More potholes are then discovered and a Mel-Bortoh is assigned to the case. Unsure what to do, she consults an oracle, who predicts that Mel-Bortoh will be unsuccessful in uncovering the truth, alluding to the supernatural character of the situation. Mel-Bortoh, worried about her career, decides to give the case to her colleague, a young and inexperienced Mel-Mederoh (junior detective).

Mel-Mederoh decides to conduct surveillance of the road, but of course quickly discovers that it is over 250 kilometers long. He also consults the oracle, who tells him that the truth will be more than he can bear and that it might break him, but that he will prevail if he decides to proceed. Mel-Mederoh then goes to the Jeenor of Estonoh and tries to persuade him to order his troops to take part in the surveillance of the road. When Jeenor learns about the oracle's prediction, he agrees.

Mel-Mederoh uses 50 thousand troops to surveil a 100 km section of the road, from which the stones have been disappearing, but finds nothing. Nevertheless, his massive operation makes him famous. Jealous of his success, Mel-Bortoh inserts herself back into the case by claiming that the thief must be a superhero warrior, who is strong enough to take out a stone and carry it with them. She points to a lack of evidence of the heavy stones being pulled across other stones or across the surrounding terrain, and the absence of hoofprints by beasts of burden, capable of transporting the stones.

This theory fuels the imaginations and reports of the "red road thief" of varying credibility begin to pour in. Estonoh's Jeenor assembles a special unit to hunt for the mysterious superhero warrior.

Investigation

After relying the account, Porteek proceeds to discredit the story, first noting how not a single involved investigstor even tried to assess the evidence, look for footprints or hoofmarks, or have any theory of the crime whatsoever, including the direction that the stones traveled. He then details his own travels through Maird and how he had discovered an old red stone road. He then hypothesizes that the secessionists from Gordohse, a settlement established at that same time, needed access to fresh water that they could get from the mountains of Maird. He then demonstrates that they most probably stole most of the stones from the road between Estonoh and Ernele, and that the closest portion of the road would be the middle, exactly the portion reported to be losing stones.

This was later independently confirmed by records from Barud, as well as by an account of life in Gordohse made by one the settlers. According to the account, the project to build a road from Gordohse to Maird was, in fact, the central project of the settlement, of which stealing stones was just the first phase. And it is upon the completion of this project that the settlers moved on to the east.

Authenticity

Regarding the authenticity of the story, Porteek mentions several Asdoh sources that document the whole ordeal. He, however, does not provide the names of the people involved, although it is possible that Mel-Mederoh in the story is Unon Toleek, who was a famous detective in Estonoh at the time. It is possible that he became known thanks to the red road thief affair.