They came out into the light of day and Joe squinted, bringing up an arm to cover his eyes but making sure he kept moving so as to not block the entrance. Even before his eyes adjusted, he heard several women cry out and he glanced over with some surprise. That was…

“Hey! Joe!” Kilniara let out with joy.

“Well met, Joe,” Gwenvair called out to him with reserved happiness.

Joe took a bit to catch sight of them, but as his eyes grew accustomed to the light, Joe smiled when he saw them, “Hey. Didn’t expect to see you here today. What’s going on?”

Kilniara giggled and skipped up to his side, but said nothing while Gwenvair sauntered up with a confidence that Joe recognized from earlier.

“Kilniara wanted to see you again,” Gwenvair spoke, then grew slightly reticent as she continued, “And… I as well. We thought we could enjoy lunch before the sentencing?”

Joe smiled brighter at that, “I… I would love that! Let’s go!”

Garnedell proved just as excited although he already knew they’d be heading to eat at the guild, so weren’t quite so excited. Zilnek was quite grumpy, however, and even grumbled a bit at having his sister join them, although Joe could tell he was complaining good naturedly.

They made it to the guild and settled in for a good meal. The meal was enjoyable, the company better, and the time a wonderful way to relax. They left shortly after and as they were still quite early, they wandered through the streets for a bit, enjoying a lazy afternoon until the time of the sentencing. About twenty minutes before it, they all walked across the city and headed off towards another direction deeper into the city. After a few turns, Joe began recognizing the location once again and found it was the same place where the outer Epics had been given. Huh… the outer court for the ‘peasants’ I guess?

The massive courtyard was as he remembered it, but now crowded with more semi-permanent shops set up under tents and ringed around with massive extensions of the shops surrounding the edges of the agora. The place seemed completely different, as the shops offered a vast variety of products but none were the typical snack shops that had existed on the night of the Epics.

They were ten minutes early and Joe didn’t notice anything that would make this a place for public speeches. The area was crowded with makeshift buildings which blocked line of sight and Joe couldn’t find anywhere that would allow for a good stage from which to speak. Despite that, Gwenvair seemed certain and knew exactly where to go as well, leading them over to the entrance of a large building with a rather immaculate and gorgeous façade. They arrived there and then paused, Gwenvair simply turning to them and continuing the conversation they’d been having on the way over.

Joe almost asked what was happening but then decided to wait, trusting that Gwenvair knew what she was doing. Joe waited and when the time for the sentencing came around, Joe began to grow less patient. At the same time, however, he heard the sound of marching feet. Gwenvair glanced over towards the inner city and Joe followed her gaze towards the sound of the tramping feet.

The troops were coming from the direction of the inner city and came into the square with authority and no concern for anyone else. As soon as they came in, criers began circling the plaza and yelling out with incredible voices. Joe started in shock to hear how loud and piercing their cries were, although with some thought, he realized it made sense considering it was exactly their job.

With the arrival of the troops and the shouts of the criers, the agora rapidly took on an astonishing change, shops in the center of the area emptying and those encircling the edge pulling back their encroaching wares. Joe watched on as the courtyard suddenly opened up, clearing space for a crowd in the middle. While the yard was opening up after the criers’ calls, the criers continued on into the streets surrounding the courtyard, now crying out the news of the impending event, directing people towards the agora. During all this, several dozen of the troops had come forward and began extending the stairs into an impromptu stage

Joe watched on with amazement as everything changed in only a matter of minutes, the massive outdoor shopping district now an open air courtyard with a decent if temporary stage upon which the whole event could take place. Joe stared around, bemused, as the crowd of soldiers and support worked together like a well-oiled machine. As everything settled and things came to completion, the crowds began to trickle in and several obviously important members of various factions began to come towards the stage, coming to stand upon the stage with them. Huh… guess the gods and goddesses get involved as well? And … hey… Kukurnal. Joe offered a quick wave towards Kukurnal before taking in the other workers of the twenty or so gods and goddesses. Beside the priests and priestesses, a good dozen people representing the Matriarch also came to stand on the stage as well, opposite the priests. Both groups framed the center of the stage, standing in a curved line facing the center of the stage while still angled towards the crowd. This way, they framed the speaker who would end up being at the center.

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Joe frowned at that, not too comfortable being the center like this, but found his distress subsumed by the movement of a small group of soldiers as they pushed the prisoner forward. They brought him to the front of the stage before forcing him to his knees, the man crying the entire time. They had placed the man facing the crowd, tied quite tightly on both hands and legs. As he could not walk because of his bindings, they’d carried then dropped him with some disgust upon the stage and the man struggled to right himself any way possible. Joe struggled to keep the disgust off his face; disgust both for who the man was as well as for how he was being treated.

He turned his eyes away from the man and returned to the conversation quietly occurring between them. Joe tried to rejoin the conversation, but found the crowd growing rapidly and he also found his own bravery quickly waning. That’s… a lot of people! Joe took a deep breath and prepared himself, hiding his grimace and soon withdrew from the conversation as he began fervently rehearsing what he was going to say, the moment and crowd ramming home what was coming.

Joe continued struggling to calm himself and ultimately turned away to face Kilniara. His stomach began to tense and just under his sternum, his core began to quiver, almost vibrating. He took another deep breath and that interrupted the quivering but was still struggling to calm. Suddenly, Kilniara came to his side and wrapped an arm around him, and he looked down to see her smiling up at him. Almost immediately, the tension in his core evaporated as his muscles all relaxed. He smiled and squeezed her back, grateful for her intervention and he smiled softly.

“Thanks.”

Kilniara’s responding smile was beaming as she nodded, “Of course. I’m always here to help you.”

Joe’s thoughts quickly calmed and he put the future out of his thoughts and turned to focusing on Kilniara.

“So. How are you doing?”

Kilniara giggled at Joe, shaking her head, “Still so stupid.”

Joe smiled at that, relief washing through him to see her so free. He didn’t respond, but his smile was bright and unique enough that Kilniara quickly noticed something unusual, and she stared up at Joe.

“What?”

Joe smiled brighter, chuckling softly.

Kilniara’s curiousty began to blend slightly with annoyance as she slapped his arm, “What?!”

Joe laughed and shook his head, holding up a hand, “Nothing. I’m just… really happy.”

Kilniara squinted in confusion, her anger vanishing but her curiosity still strong, “About what?”

Joe smiled brighter, “You called me stupid.”

Kilniara suddenly stilled, her eyes widening even as her breath caught in her throat and her face paled slightly. Her eyes quickly searched his and Joe quickly recognized her fear.

“Hey, hey, hey! It’s OK. I liked it. You weren’t insulting me. You weren’t belittling me. You weren’t disrespecting me. You were showing your love for me and just… being happy and free around me. And you did it without worry or fear. I’m glad that you can be so free with me. Please don’t be scared around me. You just… ”

Kilniara’s breathing returned and she continued to stare up at him, but the quality of it had changed somehow, causing Joe to trail off as he stared in return. He could tell that she’d calmed, but he wasn’t certain if he should continue to explain once again, but she leapt up at him, wrapping her arms around him before kissing him deeply and quickly before pulling back just as quickly, turning away to hide her embarrassment.

Joe’s worry quickly vanished even as it was overwhelmed by shock.

Joe smiled, chuckling, “Good. I’m glad. Please, love me, respect me, and care for me. If you do this, your words … I’m… please don’t be so worried about how to act around me.”

He’d just come to the end of his speaking when Gwenvair came up to their side and wrapped an arm around Kilniara before pulling her aside to whisper quietly to her. It was a bit too soft for Joe to hear, but figured Gwenvair might be able to calm her a bit better than he could, so offered her the time. He silently watched the two speak softly with one another, Kilniara rapidly speaking back before they finished and both looked up at him. Both their gazes were rather strange, and Joe found himself confused as he saw them stare at him with avid interest. Joe frowned a bit.

“Everything OK?”

Gwenvair smiled brilliantly at that and nodded, “More than OK.”

Joe sighed softly in relief, “Good. I’m glad.”

Gwenvair stepped forward, glanced around quickly with what appeared to be a bit of embarrassment before putting her hand on his bicep, “You are truly a good man, Joe.”

Joe felt his eyebrows twitch in surprise but nodded, “Uh… thank you!”

Gwenvair smiled at that even as Kilniara giggled. This time, Kilniara came forward and wrapped an arm around Gwenvair. Gwenvair looked away for a bit before quickly turning back to Joe.

“I brought the artist. I thought you would wish to see him?”

The abrupt topic change caught Joe by surprise for a bit before he nodded, “Oh, yeah. Sure. I’ll see him.”

Gwenvair nodded quickly, obviously still embarrassed and Joe almost thought to ask why but she turned away and led him towards a short mousy looking man who hunched over and seemed to hold his belongings clutched protectively to his chest. Gwenvair waved him over and by the time Joe arrived at her side, the man had already come up and was rapidly bowing towards Joe.

“Great eccentric! It is a wonder to meet you. I hope my services are of use to you. Please, study my work carefully to ensure it matches your desire. I am certain that…”

Gwenvair cut the man off rather imperiously, and Joe hid his frown at seeing it, although he was growing a bit annoyed at the man’s long windedness.