Chapter 63 Truthseeker

Konstantin led us back toward the upper city where the portal stone was located. Paval said, “They may have been expensive, but they are comfortable.” He was fingering his new linen shirt. “It is also new. Most of the clothes we requisition at other legion halls may be free, but they are also used. Sometimes, with a hole in it that you need to sew shut.”

Konstantin got us focused, “When you are questioned, you need to answer questions truthfully and use as few words as possible. They will ask you for an opening statement. Say that Castile could not prevent the fall of Macha. Remember the facts. Master Mage Durandus got himself killed, so he was not available to anchor the defense. The Displacement Mage was assassinated days before the Bartiradians arrived. The army surrendered after the lower city fell, which was why we fled.”

“I don’t know about the last one, Konstantin. We left the city before they surrendered. We only heard they were going to surrender,” I said after considering what I remembered. I did not want a Truthseeker to call me on a lie.

Konstantin grunted, “Fine. Just tell them the Bartiradians were cutting through the barricades quickly and were going to reach the inner city walls less than a day after breaching the outer walls.”

Linus asked thoughtfully, “Will they just question us about the siege?”

Konstantin walked a little slower, “They are the Imperial Truthseekers, not the lowly ones you find in a town or city. They can ask about anything. Most likely, they will only ask questions about Castile as that is who you are giving a statement for. Her Tribunal starts soon, so we need to do this now so copies can be distributed to each Duke on the Tribunal.”

I was extremely nervous now. “Can we refuse to answer questions?” I asked.

“If you do, they will just dig deeper,” Konstantin responded with a glare. I felt trapped but made an effort to keep my mind sharp. I knew body language was important from watching cop shows. I needed to look calm and respond calmly. I focused on getting into that state of mind for the rest of the walk.

We reached a building with two beautiful giant marble statues of a woman holding scales and a man holding a sword flanking the entrance. “Who are they?” I asked, marveling at the artistry of the statues. The detail was amazing, and I thought they could come alive at any moment.

“They represent Justica and Ultio, the gods of justice and vengeance,” Konstantin said, pushing the doors open and not looking at the statues. Maybe he had seen them before.

A man in white robes came rushing forward, “All business will be handed on the morrow.”

“We are here to give statements for the Ducal Tribunal starting in the morning concerning Mage Castile. I already talked with Magistrate Aurelia. She approved statements to be given to a Truthseeker.” Konstantin said with annoyance.

The man stuttered for a moment in thought, “Magistrate Aurelia…I-I c-can do that. There are two Truthseekers still in the north wing. I will set up the rooms. Please wait here.”

We were standing in the lobby. Above us, on the ceiling, was a massive mural. The painting showed legionaries fighting back what appeared to be a giant black demon. “What is that depicting,” I asked, pointing up.

Konstantin and the others looked up. Konstantin took in the whole scale of the mural, “It is the arrival of the First Legion during the Abyssal War. They managed to turn the tide and banish the demons. It is probably more myth than truth. To my knowledge, no greater demon has ever been seen outside a dungeon. The mural is more likely showing the First Legion battling the demon in a dungeon.”

The man in white robes returned, “The rooms are ready. The Truthseekers are being pulled from their studies. Which two of you will go first?”

Konstantin gave me a slight push in the back. Shit, I would have preferred to go last. I was soon walking down the hall with Konstantin and following the man who was walking with long, hurried strides. We proceeded through the maze-like building. Many of the walls and ceilings had massive murals of creatures and battles. They seemed out of place in a building that was the court of law in the Empire.

We reached a series of doors made from a bright blue wood. Two men in white and gold robes approached us. One was a graying man with haggard eyes, and the other was a young man, no older than fifteen, with black hair and a bowl cut. Our guide introduced the two, “Truthseeker Nico,” he indicated to the older man. “And the newest Imperial Truthseeker, Yanis,” he pointed at the younger man.

Konstantin looked at both and pointed to the older man, “Truthseeker Nico can take my statement. Eryk, you can have the boy.” Yanis pursed his lips in distaste at being called a boy. I did not appreciate Konstatin angering someone who would be questioning me.

The young Truthseeker opened a blue door and motioned me inside. The room was not what I expected. Two comfortable-looking plush chairs faced each other in the center of the room. The walls were painted an off-orange, and the floor was light yellow stone. “You can take either chair,” Yanis said while retrieving a notebook from a small shelf. “Forgive me, but what is this statement concerning? I was summoned from my studies just minutes ago.”

This was a relief. Maybe I could keep everything focused on Castile. “Our company mage commander is being accused of abandoning her mission to defend the city of Macha.” I tried to make idle conversation, “The blue wood is interesting. Is it stained, or is that its natural color?”

He looked at the blue door, “That is Tace wood from Tsinga. It absorbs sounds so people outside the door can not listen in.” Damn it. I hope he didn’t learn I was from Tsinga, otherwise my question would be suspicious. I decided not to try for further idle talk.

He seated himself across from me and wrote for a few minutes before looking up. He focused on me, “The crime is quite serious.” He turned the page and concentrated, “Please limit your next answers to yes or no. Are you planning to do harm to the Empire or Emperor?”

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My jaw would not work for a second, “I thought I was giving a statement for Mage Castile?”

“Yes. Well, I just finished my training, and we are always supposed to ask three questions whenever we do a reading. Not all Truthseekers do it, but like I said, I just began my training and was told it is standard practice. My teachers would be upset if I did not follow protocol.” He impatiently asked, “Now, Are you planning to harm the Empire or Emperor?”

“No,” he scribbled something quickly. I did not feel anything, so I was not sure how his truth ability worked.

He asked his next question, “Have you done harm to the Empire or Emperor in the past?”

“No,” I answered calmly, and he wrote again in his book.

“And the final opening question. Do you have magics on your person to deceive a Truthseeker?” he was turning a small black ball in his hands, waiting for me to answer.

“No,” I said more slowly than I probably should have, focused on the ball. He scribbled, and the young Truthseeker looked up after disappearing the ball into his pocket.

“Excellent; please give your statement slowly so I can record it. I will ask questions if relevant.” He looked up, waiting, appearing patient.

I tried to remain as relaxed as possible. “Our company was to defend Macha until the Bartiradians arrived and surrounded the city. Then, the Duke was supposed to come and kill the Bartiradians outside the walls. Instead, one of the three mages sent to defend the city was killed, making the defense impossible. Then the Displacement Mage was assassinated with all his legionnaire guards.”

I waited while he wrote. Then, I continued, “Without the portal, we had no resupply. The outer walls fell in the first assault, even though Castile put in a valiant effort to defend the Trader’s Gate. The inner walls were about to fall, and we were told the army was going to surrender. We escaped on the aqueduct and lost a third of our company, and another third were seriously injured during our evacuation.”

He finished writing and waited for me. When I did not add more, he read what he wrote about five times before asking a question. “What was the name of the mage, and how did he die? Did the Bartiradians kill him?”

I used his title, “Master Mage Durandus. A shambling mound monster in the swamp killed him. The Bartiradians were not responsible.” He studied me as I spoke and then wrote in his book.

“I thought he was sent to defend a city. Why was he in a swamp?” he looked up, waiting for my answer to clear up his confusion.

“We were helping with patrols outside the city. A storm giant was digging in the swamp.” I paused, ordering my thoughts carefully, “But we didn’t know it was a storm giant at the time. Durandus went to explore to see if it was a threat, and I was sent with his company to help. When we found out it was a storm giant and Durandus attacked it.” I stopped there.

He wrote furiously, “And the shambling mound was under the control of the storm giant?”

“Um, no. We killed the storm giant. But most of Durandus’ company was killed in the effort. On the way back to the city, the shambling mound killed him.” I replied.

He tapped his writing implement, thinking, “Did you or any of his company play a role in Master Mage Durandus’ death?” he asked, studying me too intently for my liking.

I answered carefully, “No, Mage Durandus was collecting essence from a frozen shambling mound. It broke free and threw him into the swamp. When we found him, he was dead.”

He paused before writing. He spent a long time considering his next question. “Why did Durandus attack the storm giant? They are formidable foes. Was it threatening the city?”

“He didn’t tell me, but I am fairly certain he wanted the giant’s essence. He consumed it as soon as he collected it. He was also interested in what the giant was digging for. But I think he ordered the attack for the essence,” I replied truthfully.

Yanis wrote slowly, thinking on another question. I guessed by his fatigue that each answer took his aether to verify. “What was the storm giant digging for?”

“I don’t know. Durandus said there was a city for the giants buried under the swamp.” I replied.

“There was a what?” Yanis replied quickly.

I realized this bit of information had only been told to me. Castile had not been interested in this detail. “A city where the giants used to live, buried with time. Durandus seemed obsessed with trying to find out what the storm giant was digging for. He couldn’t delve deep enough with his senses, so we were returning to the Macha when he was killed.” The young Truthseeker scribbled furiously.

“And do you know where this dig site is?” he looked up and asked.

“Sure. It is not difficult to spot. There is a massive crater where he was digging in the swamp south of Macha.” The Truthseeker finished his writing, he reviewed everything he had written, and it was a good thirty minutes before he focused on me. The giant city seemed important to him, so I was expecting more questions concerning it.

He was distracted when he asked, “Um, yes. You said the Displacement Mage was assassinated with his guards. How did this happen?” returning to my statement and the purpose of this session.

I spent the next hour telling how we found the first Bartiradian infiltrators and knew others were in the city. Konstantin had warned the Displacement Mage, but they attacked him through the sewer wall in his basement, taking him by surprise. He asked about Mage Castile’s pursuit of the air mage that had killed the Displacement Mage and how he escaped the city and destroyed the aqueduct. Unfortunately, my knowledge was limited in this part of the story.

Then he started to ask questions about our flight from the city. My heart was pounding, just waiting for him to get a sniff of my abilities. I was lucky as the Truthseeker was distracted as he asked questions, and I gave short answers. I assumed he was still thinking about the giant city under the swamp. I didn’t know why, though, he was so young. Why would he be interested in an ancient city that was inaccessible? It looked like he was getting fatigued as well from the aether expenditure.

“I think we are done.” he finally said. It had been almost three hours. “Your statement and all relevant information will be transcribed for the Ducal Tribual in the morning. Where can you be reached if the Dukes seek to question you further?”

“I will be waiting outside the chamber. At least that is what I was told I would be doing.” I answered.

He nodded, tapping his stylus on the pad. Somehow, I had never had to reveal that I had a dimensional space or anything else about myself. He thought I was just a regular legionnaire. I walked into the hallway and found Konstantin, Paval, and Benito. “Who is next?” I asked.

Konstantin, “Next? We finished two hours ago. All of us!” He motioned all of us to walk away. After a good distance, “What did the young Truthseeker ask? I gave him to you because he looked green. All you had to do was offer a statement he could verify.”

“He asked a lot of questions about Durandus’ death and the Displacement Mage’s assassination. A lot of questions. Then he focused on our escape from the city,” I said, throwing up my hands.

Konstantin studied me, “Did you insinuate Castile was responsible for either of the deaths?” Konstantin was calm but looked concerned.

“No!” I chirped at the accusatory comment. “He was more interested in Durandus’ fight with the storm giant and Castile’s pursuit of the air mage who destroyed the aqueduct.”

“Was he trying to tie the air mage to Castile? That they might be working together?” Konstantin said insistently.

“I don’t think so. I wasn’t there, so I could not give him any information. I think he was just trying to confirm Castile didn’t let him go on purpose,” I said hastily.

Konstantin seemed to think. “Okay, we are heading back for just a few hours of sleep, and then we will come and camp outside the Tribunal chamber. We need to make sure the Advocate received our statements. They can make sure the Dukes read them.” Konstantin took off, and we followed.