I could still feel the sticky river sludge. Feel the tentacles wriggling. I really hoped it wasn't from my storage. It'd really suck if the tentacles were moving there. It would mean a lot of things I didn't even want to think about. I checked, and it wasn't. Just my memories from yesterday. And probably some tentacle monster nightmare. Damn.

Things backfired miserably yesterday, didn't they? Everything, from the sparring to the river monster to the bathhouse. I could taste bitterness in my mouth from how much they hated me now.

I got up and turned on my lantern. It was still night out but I think it won't be long before dawn. I went to the water basin in a corner of the room and did my morning routine before changing my clothes and sending Dime the feeling that I didn't want to see a rat. Above my room on the roof, the bird cawed in acknowledgment, so I threw the window shutters open. I could hear a female voice humming coming from the kitchen. When exactly did Arwia wake up?

She's cooking for twenty-nine people. That's a lot of food. Maybe I should hire some help? Sere-Naha and Kali-Maru take care of the laundry and the cleaning. Hesha-Doka and Tullius the garden and the backyard. Arwia watches over the children and the guards take turns guarding. Maybe I should ask her if her workload is adequate.

I closed my shutters to avoid insects and debris filing in and went downstairs to the kitchen. Belle's humming stopped when she saw my light.

"Sandra?" She asked.

"Hello, it's me! White light, right?"

She guessed right. Her next line confirmed my suspicion.

"Yes, I doubt anyone that's not a powerful mage could make such a light like yours."

"Belle, I wanted to ask you, do you need help making the food? Because I see you all the time in the kitchen. You are cooking for almost thirty people."

She shook her head, sending her short braid swinging around under her headband. "No problem at all. I'm used to it."

"You don't think the house is understaffed?"

"No. Some of the young girls help out."

"But not the boys."

Another denial. "No. They just loiter and play during the afternoon. Why?"

"They should do chores too if the girls are helping. Maybe excavating. Or training to fight. I'll talk to Aristunn and Arwia later. Can I have something to eat? I skipped dinner yesterday."

"Sure. Take a seat, I'll finish your breakfast soon."

Breakfast was rye bread, hard cheese, and sausages. Belle-Sunu does her best but there's not much variety to their food. It was still good and I cleaned my dishes while the sun rose in the east. I won't even bother if that's the east or not. Oh. I have a compass on my phone. I summoned the device and checked. North pointed to the north. At least that sliver of normalcy. The moon was shot down. That's insane.

I saw movement in the guardhouse and I went to call whoever that was here. It was shamash.

"Good morning, Shamash. Would you please fetch Aristunn for me? I need to talk to him."

"Right away," He nodded then fidgeted a little. "Sandra, I want to take those horses to the caravanserai to get them checked. And I know a person that can clean and do the minor repairs to the carriage. I'd need two silver minas for everything."

"Okay," I said without even blinking.

Shamash stared at me as if I should somehow suspect or doubt him. I summoned my handbag for the two large silver coins and extended my arm with the coins. He took them.

"I trust you, Shamash. Until you give me cause to stop trusting you. You'll depart with us soon."

"I'll call Aristunn right away."

He went away. Was Shamash up to some weird business? I had no idea but I'd check later. I looked at Belle and she caught up.

"Aristunn is trustworthy. You don't need to worry." She spoke then went back to the bubbling stew.

That's another thing. Meat takes days to cook. Beans take days to cook. There's no pressure cooker and the meat is tough and gamey. I used the time I had to browse more random places on the picture database. I wanted to find another town, this location here or the crash site of the moon. Unless it fell on the ocean, that would suck. The exploration of the outskirts of that huge city reached a dead end. It was only connected to the satellite towns and villages.

After a while, I stretched and found both Arwia and Aristunn watching me. I sent the laptop to storage with a wave of my hand and smiled.

"So, Belle told me the boys aren't doing any chores in the afternoon," I said, looking at Arwia.

"Yes, the girls help with the house chores, but the boys are just being boys, I guess."

The eternal dilemma. Since girls are more agreeable than boys, the former gets the chores while the latter horses around.

"Well, I have an appointment at the courthouse this morning. Aristunn, go and buy some training swords. Maybe we can do some training in the afternoon. I bet they will like it."

Aristunn nodded. "I will see to it. It will be good to put some discipline in the kid's hearts."

I gave him a gold shekels and the eunuch went on his way.

"Arwia, how are the children? Did they talk to you about yesterday?"

I knew I'd totally blown it. Both literally and figuratively. The children hated and despised me. I was steeling myself for the harsh truth, that they spent the night awake crying and screaming of the terrors I put them through.

"It was hard to make them sleep. The girls didn't stop talking about the carriage ride and of the captain in the bath. Especially the three that came from the caravanserai, they never dreamed they would experience that. The boys were amazed at the magic you used. I only heard the inn patrons talking about magic, and I never heard of a spell that powerful. You rescued their father's body and they are very thankful. Even Pidda praised you."

The second son that couldn't hide his grudge. He thought I was responsible for his father's death and he wasn't all wrong. I had a hard time believing what Arwia said. Were the people of this world made of sturdier material? Or was it the exposure to danger and constant death that bred in them such stoicism?

"You are joking with me, aren't you?"

Arwia shook her head. "No. It was scary to see you burn the river, of all things. But it was reassuring to see to what extent you'd go for us. You took me from the hands of that terrible man. You released and even gave some money to the people that wanted to leave. You hired guards. You feed us meat almost every day."

I raised a hand. "Wait, almost every day?" Emphasis on almost.

I hear Belle shout from the kitchen, "It is not healthy to eat much meat!"

Damn freckles are eavesdropping on us. But who am I to disagree, "Thank you, Belle-Sunu!" I turn back to Arwia, "you were saying?"

"You cared for the fate of their father. You even rescued his body."

Or what was left of him. Anyway, I had a picture of what was happening. And I suspected a certain lecturer put in a good word for me. I clapped my hands.

"We are burying Hama-Tula's body this morning before I leave for the courthouse. Go and get everyone ready, hands washed and teeth brushed."

Arwia went down the corridor to the children's bedroom. After she was gone, Belle leaned on the archway to the kitchen.

"What she said is true, you know? And I thought it was sweet of you to take them in that monster hunt to share the experience."

Experience? Share the Exp? Startled, I stared at her. "What do you mean by Experience? Will they level up?"

Belle tilted her head. "What? Are you moving them up to the second floor?"

Is this another translation glitch? "No, I mean as in levels and classes," I said slowly, measuring the words to see in which language they'd come out. It was all Modern Akkadian.

"I think that moving them to the second floor is not necessary. And yes, we did go up in class, since we are no longer slaves," She said rubbing the scar on her forearm.

I chuckled. Silly Sandra thinking this would be like those LitRPG isekai stories. "Thank you, Belle."

"Anytime, Sandra. If you excuse me." She waved and went back outside.

Just to be sure, I mumbled: "Status open!" And nothing happened.

Belle came back with a basket of bread, a tray of sausages and a cheese wheel stabbed with a knife. I took my cue and went outside. I found a good spot on the east side of the inner courtyard, a bit out of the way but not hidden. This would be Hama-Tula's resting place. I Decomposed the ground, pressing the silicon to the sides and creating a thick box, not large enough to fit a coffin but I only had ahead. I made a bowl out of silicon for whatever was not silicon. A few tablespoons of salts and metallic oxides, nothing of note. There was an excess of silicon and I raised a headstone. Then I wrote an elegy in Akkadian.

> Here lies Hama-Tula, merchant, father of nine. Blind greed was his downfall.

I would put the date of birth and death, but I had no idea of the calendar. And since the only person that knew what time of day was it was the Enshi, I wouldn't know it so soon. With my spade, I dumped a hand of dirt into the hole, prepared a lid on the side and another pile of dirt to properly bury the head. Satisfied, I returned to the dining room.

And just in time. The kids were already in the dining room sating their ravenous hunger.

"Good morning, Miss Sandra!" Kiya greeted me with a smile.

She was so mature and strong. Even though she was two-third of the age of her older brothers, she was the one to console and give them a nice word of encouragement.

"Hello, Kiya! How are you? Did you sleep well?"

"No. But Arwia talked to us a lot and she made us see your reasons. We are thankful for your care."

I wonder what she said, but I never got the whole story. I was really thankful I had hired Arwia to help me with the children. I had little aptitude with children. Some would say 'but you're a female!' to what my reply was, 'well, maybe that instinct is still dormant or my DNA is defective'. My money was in the former. I really hoped I could become a caring mother. Still not there.

One by one the other siblings plus Mot, Gula, and Bibi finished their breakfast. They were all well-dressed and I suspect the latter three borrowed some clothes from the other girls. Regardless of their apparent lower standing, they also made their life mission to see that no food would be left behind. I just watched them eat with gusto. Arwia came back near the end and snatched the last loaf of bread for herself.

"Okay, everyone," Arwia demanded their attention. "Sandra has something to say."

"I know we started on the wrong foot, and yesterday will be a day each of us will remember forever. My opinion of the former master of this house doesn't matter. Whatever person he was in life, he was your father and a human, he deserves to be treated with dignity. Let's go outside and give him a proper burial. Arwia, get one of Banunu's shawls."

Everyone nodded and I led them to the place I prepared.

"Rimush, as the first son, is there anything you want to say?" I asked. "Any last words for your father?"

He glanced at me with glistening eyes. "He can't hear me."

I used some of the time I had to read what I could about Mesopotamian religion. Even though they had millennia to develop in this world, the people migrated by Tarhun and his pantheon from Earth held most of their beliefs alive with little change. From what I could infer from the conversations I had and that data, they believed that the dead would just go to the underworld.

"No, he probably can't," I replied with a soft voice. "But soon you will be the head of your own family. Your brothers and sisters will look up to you for guidance. They already do. You have a heavy burden, Rimush. To carve out your place in the world with your own hands. I'll help where I can but that's your task. You knew your father the longest. Talk about him to your siblings."

I'd like to say that it was okay to only talk about the good points but that was my stinky opinion. And I was too biased to give any kind of suggestion.

"Father was..." Rimush started, his voice quivering. "Father might not be the best father, but he was the only one we had. We didn't starve, we didn't suffer under his rule. I think he was too worried about status, about showing off his wealth, and about getting every advantage possible. I... I think..."

"It's okay to cry, Rimush," Arwia held his shoulders.

He turned around and buried his head on her chest. Arwia hugged him and we heard muffled sobs.

"We honor him as it is only fair to do to our father," Muranu took over the service. "And we also grow wiser with his last lesson." He stared at me. I took a step back. "Know your enemy. He tried to capture someone stronger than him, and paid with his life."

"Brother," Pidda came after him, also looking my way. "He died because of the monster. I'm sorry, miss Sandra, for suspecting and hating you. I am sure the magistrate would have sent divers to take him out once it was proven he was wrong. It wouldn't have changed the outcome for you, but at least he'd be alive."

I was impressed at several things from his line. First that he forgave me. Pidda never looked at me in the eyes before. Second, that the magistrate would rescue Hama-Tula if he failed to surface. I was pretty sure he wouldn't do the same for me. Third, his certainty in stating that. Were Hama-Tula and the magistrate friends? Fourth, how mature these three brothers were. It is hard to think of them as children when you compare them to modern Earth teenagers. Muranu wasn't even in his teens yet. But adolescence is a social phenomenon. One that was stretched well into the twenties and graduation in some cases back home.

They didn't have this. At fourteen, a boy was a man. I remembered a video about tribal rites of passage where the boys had to run through the forest, hit a hornet's nest and run back to the village. On the same day, they departed as children and returned as men. There was no in-between.

Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road.

"Arwia, the shawl," I called.

She dragged Rimush with her.

"Rimush, raise your arms like this, as if you were carrying a box leaning on your chest. Arwia, could you please put the shawl over his arms and hold the middle from below."

He did, and Arwia placed the shawl over his arms. I summoned the plastic bag with the head, properly tied up because nobody needed to smell that. I put the bag over the shawl and tore out a piece of the plastic, handing it over to Arwia at the same moment I released the bag. To finish, I pulled the ends of the shawl and covered the head.

It was my turn to speak.

"I didn't hate him. I just wanted to be left alone. I didn't wish for your father's death, Rimush. But I had to fight back. I tried my best to help you. I know I failed in several ways and I hope the nine of you can forgive me. Pidda, thank you for your words. I promise to keep you here, give you an education, training. Furthermore, the girls can choose to leave when they reach the age of majority but I'll set one rule. Your prices will be entirely converted into dowries."

I decided I won't start a revolution. That means acceptance of their social values and that I'll work within the system to subvert it. That's the first step. I will charge dearly for my girls, but the money is theirs. I'll call it to myself a wedding gift from the bridegroom family to her. I'll even add gold of my own to the pot. The same amount I'll give the boys when they marry - for the first time.

Rimush rose to say something but Arwia grabbed his shoulder. "Rimush, just put your father to rest. Everything else can wait."

He nodded, knelt next to the grave and placed the shawl on the dirt.

I handed him the spade. "Take just a bit of dirt and gravel. Let your siblings all put dirt on his grave."

The spade went around, each child put a handful of dirt on the grave. Once it returned to me, I finished the job and moved the lid, welding it shut with Decompose. I fought against the custom of saying prayers to the deceased. They didn't do that.

The children spent some time staring at the grave and then left. I held Arwia back.

"Arwia, thank you. I really appreciate the talk you had with the children. I owe you a big one."

She smiled and hugged me. "You better remember that. I intend to call it in."

"Anything, my friend." I took the piece fo plastic from her, triggering the destruction of the bag and allowing the dirt to decompose, lowercase D, Hama-Tula's remains.

He taught me a great lesson. A tragic one nonetheless, but indivisible from who I became. Making sure his children live well was my way of paying back. Rest well, Hama-Tula. May your gods have mercy on your soul.

"For my enemy is dead. A man as divine as myself is dead," I sing Walt Whitman's verses under my breath.

----------------------------------------

I went out with Shamash and Lipit-Ea. Shamash would get the horses checked and Lipit-Ea was my escort for the morning. We went to the courthouse square and it wasn't hard to spot the blonde mountain of muscle shining under the scorching sunlight. Dime didn't come, he decided to take a morning nap. I suspected he ate too many rats. The mighty eagle will get fat.

"Brandon!" I called him.

He turned and waved. "Sandra. How are you? Feeling better? You seemed really tired yesterday at the bathhouse," He asked with genuine concern.

I wanted a hole to hide my head in. "Oh, it was nothing. Maybe the water was too hot."

"You might want to check with master Samus. It could be a sign of magic exhaustion or some other disease. Maybe there was poison in the river water or the monster... Speaking of the monster, do you have the evidence there with you?"

I nodded. "Five tentacles and everything recorded on video. And there's a precedent showing that video evidence is admissible in court."

He made a confused face. "Vi-De-O?"

Way to go, mighty Tarhun. At least let me know I'm using words that don't exist.

"It is a word in my language for a visual recording. A moving picture. Here," I summoned the clean GoPro and showed him the video.

He looked like a child watching their first cartoon. I didn't remember if I showed him a video before, but it seemed like the first time.

"This is amazing. Come, let's go. The magistrate is waiting for us."

"Okay. Lipit-Ea, please watch over the passersby, don't let Penny harass them." She snorted in annoyance. I hugged the mare and patted her face.

We went into the courthouse. Putting on my gold jewelry was the right decision. They were making way for both of us.

"That reminds me," Brandon said, "After the magistrate lets us go, we should drop by Madam Cloe's Atelier to order you some clothes. You need to dress up to your station."

And what, for crying out loud, was my station. But more importantly, did he just diss my wardrobe? I know I brought only camping clothes and the three dresses Theresa smuggled - plus the JK uniform - but he had no right to say so. His unabashed honesty was infuriating.

News flash. Callous guys that speak their minds usually don't get laid.

"Sandra?" He asked. "Is something wrong?"

I showed him a fake salesperson smile, "No. Oh, look, we are here."

The same room where the three merchants met their fate. I took my iPod and started recording audio before slipping it into my pocket. I had no way to leave the camera in a casual place to record video.

The guards at the door stared at us for a while before they opened the door. Strange. There weren't these guards the other time. Was the security upgraded or is it for some other reason? I knew the magistrate was pissed at me because of all the headache I caused him but did it justify these two brutes? Anyway, we entered the room and the magistrate was standing up in the middle of the room with eight guards around. All armed and armored to the teeth in their fancy chain hauberks.

Maybe even the teeth. Their helmets covered their mouths in deep darkness. Or they had a black cloth over their mouths.

"Well, well. Look who we got here. Miss Rinaldi. I would like to say it is a pleasure to see you but magistrates don't lie. You destroyed public property in wanton vandalism. And I am going to give you a penalty. Twenty--"

"Objection!" I shouted to interrupt him. His level of annoyance rose sharply but he shut up. Some of the guards shifted their stance. "I did destroy the pier but it wasn't wanton. It was collateral damage to destroy a monster you authorized me to. So, I'll pay to have the pier reconstructed."

He became even angrier when I said I destroyed a monster. "And I assume you have proof. Out with it."

I summoned the bag with the tentacles, ripped off a piece and sent it to storage before I tossed it down on the ground, the plastic disappearing and the tentacles splashing around. Too bad they weren't twitching anymore. The magistrate's face went pale. His eyes widened and I could swear I saw sorrow under his scowl.

"Inky!" He shouted.

That's a pet name if I ever heard one. "Inky? You knew this monster, magistrate?"

"There's the proof you needed, honored magistrate," Brandon added. "I recommend a fine for miss Rinaldi equal to double the cost to rebuild the pier."

I glanced at him, wondering on whose side he was. But the way this conversation was going, maybe paying double was cheap to get out of trouble. Because the magistrate's face recovered its color and it was an angry red that screamed murder. A theory appeared in my mind. Pidda said Hama-Tula was friends with the magistrate. The judge even asked the merchant to check on my ropes. I remembered how tight they were. He seemed dismayed when I turned around the case against the three merchants. And he gave me permission to go after the monster. I remember how it sent its tentacles to catch Rimush on the pier. Did that monster attack lonely people that go to the pier? Was he expecting me to try it alone or enter the water to get the monster? I doubt he was expecting me to just bomb the thing from outside of the river.

There was an awkward silence. I considered most breaks in conversation as awkward anyway. The magistrate seemed to be considering his options and the guards were tense. I glanced at Brandon next to me and he was also in a state of readiness like Clint Eastwood, ready to draw and shoot.

The magistrate was apparently tired of keeping the charade up. "You killed Inky!" There was a pain in his voice.

"Yes, I'm sorry I killed your man-eating pet, honored magistrate," I told him. I wasn't scared of the guards, I had Brandon with me. "But didn't you think it was wrong to cheat your river trial by having a monster kill the people you threw inside?"

Even the magistrate's guards reacted to my accusation. I knew I was playing a dangerous game but I was tired of taking crap from people in power. Me and Brandon here, against the magistrate and his guards, it would be like Adam Driver and Daisy Ridley against Andy Serkis and his royal guard. A totally badass scene even though I liked the original ones way more.

"Your stunts wrecking the peace of this city end now. You are a threat to everyone. Guards, seize her."

The guards hesitated. Maybe there was hope to turn them around. I was quick on my comeback. If their code of laws was still similar to the Earthen Mesopotamian laws, and I had no reason to believe otherwise, there was one card I could play.

"And you committed several mistrials, cheating with your pet monster, including using the monster to murder people! You broke the code you swore to protect, magistrate! Guards, arrest this man!"

Brandon looked at me sideways with a raised eyebrow. He was keeping as many guards in his sight as he could. Knowing he had my back did flip all the bad evaluations he had with me. A fight was about to break out.

"What are you waiting for, you wretched useless guards! Kill her!" The magistrate shouted with a lot of B-movie villain anger.

Okay, the time to be sassy was over. The guards obviously wouldn't go against the magistrate and if a fight really broke out, Brandon would be hurt. They were betting on us dying and the case would be over.

"Wait, wait, wait. Hold it. We don't need to fight right away, do we? Can't we talk about it?"

"No," The magistrate replied. "Captain, arrest this woman!"

He said that to Brandon. It was the time of truth. Whose side would he pick? The traditionalist, lawful neutral guard captain? He opened his mouth but I wouldn't let him choose.

"Brandon, leave us. It is between the magistrate and me."

It was a huge gamble right here. I was betting on several things. I had a lot of options to fight back if he was not here to be affected. And if I got Brandon out, I'd have a witness for later. And I would protect my... friend. From both physical and political harm. He couldn't regenerate and he didn't have a helmet or armor on. It was better for Brandon to leave.

"Sandra..." He tried to grab my shoulder but I dodged. Four years training a martial art that focused on dodging the shit out of stronger opponents. And I was limber than ever due to my divine boons. I could even do the pretzel for him later.

"Just go. I'll meet you in half an hour!"

Big blockhead, go away. I can't fight them if you stay here. We exchanged a gaze and he faced the scowling magistrate. Scowling and amused. I could see the gears turning inside his wicked head. With Brandon out, it would be his eight burly guards against one girl. That was the kind of guy that liked to stack his deck.

"You are dismissed, captain. If you don't have the discipline to follow orders--"

Brandon cut him this time. "You do not command me, magistrate. Since the issue is between you and Sandra," He roared, clearly pissed at both of us. The magistrate snickered when he called me by the first name with such a passionate voice. I wanted to do a Carrie Fisher and get a 'for luck' kiss. But I didn't. Coward. You'll die a virgin in another world. "I'm leaving. Half an hour, Sandra. It is the time I need to call in a guard detachment."

I nodded and gave him what I thought would be a reassuring smile. I needed one and he smiled back. Yup, I'd die for another smile like that one. Brandon left and the magistrate clapped. I readied a plastic trash bag and the ziplock with the magnesium chloride from my storage.

"Kill her slowly," The magistrate hissed. "Make her suffer for all the humiliation and losses I incurred. She must pay for Inky's death!"

I put my hand in the ziplock bag. "You stop right there. The magistrate is obviously abusing his power and it won't end well for you. I can kill everyone in this room with this powder."

I was bluffing. I wouldn't release a deadly cloud of chlorine. It would put me at the same level as some terrible monsters from Earth history.

"She is obviously bluffing!" The magistrate roared. "Obey my orders!"

I Decomposed only a bit of the chlorine by first separating the magnesium into metal and then repelling the chlorine away from me. A puff of yellow-green escaped the bag and I kept focusing Decompose on moving it away from me. The gas that escaped the bag mixed with part of the sweat in my arm and it stung my skin for a bit. Humans are very sensitive to chlorine. We can smell it in the air at 3 ppm. It smelt of a recently-treated swimming pool.

"I'm not bluffing. You, honorable guardsmen of this courthouse, think for yourselves. Are you here to protect justice or an insane judge? You used a monster to interfere with trials. You are no magistrate, you are a parasite hiding in these halls. I'm going to defend myself here. I'm going to release more of that yellow cloud."

The guards didn't come at me. The magistrate was angry but he was no idiot. Even he could smell the chlorine. Another pregnant silent pause and he relaxed his stance.

"Take your hand out of that bag, girl. Guards, return to your stations."

Strangely enough, now that he backed off, I got extremely annoyed. And I threatened to release the chlorine without even putting the blue bag to cover my head. I'm a walking chemical terrorist. No. I just did what I needed to do to defend myself from injustice. Yeah, let's lie to ourselves like that.

I knew I was scowling but I couldn't avoid. I stared at him and asked, "What happens no, magistrate?"

"You are fined in one gold mina for the destruction of the pier," He spoke with his arms crossed and shoulders were thrown back as if he was looking down on me.

I would have to use both hands to take the gold out. To do that, I'd have to take my hand off the ziplock of magnesium salt. So I sat down and after placing the open ziplock on the ground, stored it. A pile of salt dropped on the floor. This way I could release the chlorine anytime. I wasn't too worried about losing this material. I summoned my handbag and drew a hexagonal gold coin, dismissing the bag immediately after. I tossed him the coin and he effortlessly plucked it from the air.

"Anything else?" I asked from the ground.

"You accused me of a mistrial. That's a serious accusation," He told me and pointed at a guard. "You, go call senior magistrate Sun-Goro."

I had no idea what he was up to. Once the guard opened the door, Brandon came back inside.

"What is this foul smell? Sandra, why are you on the floor?"

I just turned around. "I paid my fines!" I told him. "And now we are settling a mistrial accusation."

He did a double-take. "You are what?"

I knew I'd screwed up again when I saw Brandon's jaw agape. "That guard went to get a senior magistrate."

Between Brandon's disbelief and that magistrate smug smile, I just rested my case. I had the whole conversation recorded. We waited there in silence until the senior magistrate arrived. And when I say senior, I meant senior. The guy could date Nanna.

"What is going on here?"

The smug magistrate pointed at me. "That woman accused me of a mistrial."

The elder glowered at me. "Stand up, girl. I hope you have evidence."

I glanced at the magistrate, then pointed at the tentacles. "Those are monster parts. That man raised a monster under the pier by the river where he often took people for trials. He let the monster eat the people thrown in the river, therefore ruining the fairness of the trial."

Not that it was fair, to begin with. The younger magistrate said nothing.

"Do you have more evidence than that?" Sun-Goro asked.

I played the recording of our conversation. Sun-Goro looked at the younger magistrate, that wasn't expecting to be recorded.

"Guards. Seize this youngster," He pointed at the younger one. "And you lady, what should I do with you?"

I stood up and bowed to him."Honorable elder magistrate Sun-Goro, I'm Sandra Rinaldi. I did my work and paid my fine of one gold mina for the destruction of the pier. Let me go home."

He raised an eyebrow. "That's a lot of money."

"If I can get that man away from my heels, that's money well spent."

Abil-Kisu's money bag was heavy. Hama-Tula's secret stash too but that gold had to be minted or traded for coins I could spend. I would probably save it to make jewelry for sale.

"You did a great service, lass. I thank you," He nodded then turned to the former magistrate, "You are sentenced to death."

The guy tried to struggle against the guards. "I invoke the right of trial! I demand a trial! I also invoke my family's kiddinutu."

The last word was strange at first but it was because of his pronunciation. Like he bit his tongue. He meant a sort of 'privilege'.

"What is that?" I asked Sun-Goro.

"He is the Enshi nephew," He replied without looking at me. "What trial do you request, Enshi Mar-Aji?"

Another ancient term. It meant honored nephew when the nephew was part of the succession line to rule the city-state.

"The deep trial," He said as if shouting 'Aha! I win!' to me.

Sun-Goro looked at me. Brandon was pale. He mumbled something and waved his hand in front of me, making a concentrated face. A bead of sweat dripped down his brow and then I saw pretty lights and everything was fine.

I mean, really, really fine. Sun-Goro would take care of everything, I just needed to follow his wise guidance. Something was off but I could quite poke it with my finger. Probably the chlorine. What a fool I was. Trying to start a fight in the courthouse, the most peaceful place of all!

I wanted to know what the snotty magistrate meant so I asked the magnificent and wise senior magistrate. "Honored senior magistrate Sun-Goro, what does it mean?"

"It means we are throwing you into the deep hole in the Earth. If you get out, he will be thrown too. Usually, the one that requests the trial goes first but he has this privilege due to his high birth."

Oh. Cool. I really wanted to go spelunking. It sounds like a nice place, this deep trial. If the great Sun-Goro thinks it is fine, then who am I to argue against? I'm just a lousy troublemaker on the path of reformation!

The guards closed in. I raised my hands. "I'll go. How long do I have to get out?"

Wise Sun-Goro raised an eyebrow at me. I could sense his curiosity and annoyance because I asked a stupid question. I shut myself up and behave like a good girl.

Brandon protested, "Sandra, nobody comes back from the deep hole. It leads to the underworld!"

"Silence, captain," Sun-Goro uttered and Brandon froze. Such was the might of the senior magistrate. The old man looked at me. "One year and a day. If you come back in less than a year and a day, you are innocent and we will throw that man."

How deep was that place? That was the reason I never tried to participate in game shows. I had this tendency to jump the gun, it was a fault in my decision-making process to reach conclusions with incomplete data. Funny how it never happened when I was doing research. Only in my life choices. But I was brimming in excitement at the prospect of JUSTICE!

But still, there were some details I needed to ask. "What about my household and my people?"

The magnanimous Sun-Goro glared at me and focused. It seemed he had a migraine. I had some pain medication in my first aid kit, should I give him some? I must take good care of Sun-Goro, such a bastion of society.

"The challenger will pay for the expenses. After all, he will own everything if you don't come back in the set time."

And I knew from the face the former magistrate was making, that Sun-Goro had been extremely generous with me by giving me a year to get out. If I survived the fall.

"What happens to him? Won't he escape?"

But the impudent me still had questions to ask. And I did even though I should abide by the infinite wisdom of Sun-Goro.

"He would be a disgrace to the Enshi if he did. But I understand his concern. For one year and a day, that man is to become the captain's slave. His possessions will be seized and kept in my custody. Is that satisfactory, miss Rinaldi?"

"I accept!"

I beamed at him and the all-powerful awesome super-duper-cool senior magistrate smiled. The chlorine might've melted my brain. But after I heard of this trial, it was as if I was compelled to go there. I needed protection. And I knew just the place to go.

"Brandon..." I approached him.

He sighed. "I hope you know what you are doing, crazy woman. I pray to Tarhun that he may protect you."

"Thanks. I'll come back soon. I promise. Thanks for trusting me. It meant a lot."

They took me through the back of the courthouse. I couldn't even talk to Lipit-Ea. My only hope would be Brandon. He had to take care of things. I was getting that strange tunnel vision again when only my goal was important and everything else faded into the background. It was exactly like some external power was pushing me toward that. I only noticed it after a lot of introspection so at the moment.

I could barely move around. One of the guards held my arm.

"Are you ready?"

I nodded. They took me outside the town and after an hour of walking to the southeast, I reached a large crevice in the earth. It seemed deep. Really deep. I saw Sun-Goro, Brandon and the former magistrate. Sun-Goro nodded and the guard pushed me inside.

FOR JUSTICE!

Wait a moment what the FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU...

....

Damn. Sun-Goro is a sorcerer and a mind-bender, isn't he?

...

I fell. Then I hit some rocks on my side. It hurt but not too much. Then I hit more rocks with my back. It hurt a lot. Then I hit rocks with my head as I tumbled down. I got dazed and confused. I think I hit rocks several more times.

And then I lost consciousness.