(Dylan)

At first, Dylan thought the uniformed men were Charles’ defense attorneys. Or maybe attack attorneys? He wasn’t really sure how courts worked on Earth, let alone here on Mother of Dragons. The gnomish woman walked past them and took her seat at the judge’s bench.

As soon as the Judge sat down, Dylan shot to his feet. He didn’t know if standing was the right move, but he was pretty sure that’s what people did back on Earth. The last thing he wanted was to mess things up for Charles over some dumb etiquette mistake.

Still settling into her seat, the Judge paused at the sudden movement from the chubby man. She raised an eyebrow. “Yes?”

Dylan looked between Charles and Nathan—they seemed just as confused as he was. Panic surged, and before he could stop himself, Auto-manners kicked in. “Your Majesty.” He bowed. ‘Why am I bowing? Why isn’t anyone else standing?’

Her eyes narrowed at him, and she leaned slightly forward. “Excuse me?”

“I mean, your Highness.” Dylan winced, dipping even lower, as if doubling down on his mistake might somehow fix it.

The corners of her mouth twitched with amusement. “You may take your seat.”

“Thank you.” Dylan dropped into his seat and leaned forward, wracking his brain for the right title. “Your Honor…?”

Nathan leaned in close, his voice a low hiss. “Please, stop talking.”

The judge took a deep breath, leveling a finger at the rugged elf. “Listen, Charles, I don’t know what game you’re playing, but I don’t care how charming your friend is—I’ve no intention of going easy on you. We’re still processing the paperwork from yesterday’s double-murder.

“And as for you.” Her gaze pinned Dylan in place. “I’m not a queen or a monarch—just a civil servant. Judge Urvana will do.”

Dylan slumped into his chair, his face burning with embarrassment. “Sorry, Judge Urvana.”

“You’re going to be trouble, aren’t you?” Urvana shot Dylan a look and shook her head. “Alright. Let’s get started.”

Dylan couldn’t stop himself. “Don’t we have to wait for the lawyers?”

His hand shot up to cover his mouth. ‘Goddamnit, Dylan.’ He bit his lip hard. “Sorry,” he mumbled through his fingers.

Urvana shot him a withering look before shifting her attention to Charles. “You’re facing the following charges, listed in chronological order.” She picked up her tablet and began reading aloud.

“Reckless driving on a mount—multiple counts. The final count is still pending.” She shot him a sharp look. “You jumped over pedestrians instead of going around them?”

Charles gave a solemn nod, his expression unreadable. With a sigh, Urvana returned to her tablet.

“Fleeing an officer. Upon seeing you—quite literally—bounding down the road, the officer ordered you to stop. You did not comply.” She scrolled to the next offense.

“Resisting arrest. The officer gave chase and caught up to you in front of the hospital. They attempted to detain you, but once again, you did not comply.”

Urvana paused, staring at the tablet for a long moment. Her lips pressed into a thin line as she set it down with a soft thud. “Assaulting an officer. Your mount bit off the officer’s hand, Charles!” She pinched the bridge of her nose. “Fortunately, the menders reattached it. He’s expected to make a full recovery.” Her voice was a mix of annoyance and disbelief.

Charles gave a small, curt nod at each charge, his jaw tightening with each one. He remained silent—there was no need to speak. His face stayed impassive, but a flicker of regret darkened his eyes when Urvana mentioned the officer’s hand.

She sighed and picked up the tablet with one hand. “Fleeing the scene of a crime.” She held up one finger. “First count: failure to turn yourself in and self-report the incident.”

“Parking in a no-parking zone.” Urvana arched a brow at Charles. “You summoned a vehicle right in front of the hospital’s loading zone?” She glanced down at her report. “And it’s still parked there?”

Dylan’s stomach twisted as the charges piled up, each one landing like a punch to his gut—especially the bit about illegal parking. Charles had told him there wasn’t parking that close to the League of Adventurers’ Hall.

‘This is all because of me,’ Dylan thought as he slouched lower in his seat, guilt weighing heavily on him. He glanced at Charles, wondering how he could stay so calm despite the ever-growing list of offenses.

“Fleeing the scene of a crime.” She held up two fingers. “Second count: failure to turn yourself in.” She looked up from the tablet for a moment. “You could’ve at least moved the vehicle…” she muttered.

“Reckless endangerment on a mount.” Urvana stopped and ran a hand through her hair, gathering her composure. After a steadying breath, she asked, “Why did you ride your mount inside the hospital?”

Charles opened his mouth to speak, but the Judge silenced him with a raised hand. “That was rhetorical. We’ll go over everything once I finish this laundry list of charges.” She took a breath. “Improperly stabling a mount…” She closed her eyes, pinching the bridge of her nose.

Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.

“An office without a door is not a proper place to stable your mount…” She sighed but continued. “Petty larceny: you stole a glass jar filled with medical supplies.” A single laugh escaped her. “They’re free, you know that, right? You could’ve just asked.” She shook her head and kept reading.

“Damage to hospital property: blocking an office with medical cabinets so your mount couldn’t escape. I can’t wait to hear that explanation.” Urvana scrolled down her tablet. “Fleeing the scene of a crime.” She held up three fingers. “Third count—and you still hadn’t turned yourself in.”

She had to scroll twice more to get past the list of items Vera had destroyed. “Negligence of a mount: you left a theropod—of all things—sitting in the middle of the hospital. Without food or water.”

Nathan sat stiffly beside Dylan, arms crossed over his chest. He mostly maintained a composed façade. It was his eyes that betrayed him—black with the glimmer of frustration. His lips twitched, caught between a sigh and a grimace.

Urvana set the tablet down and fixed her gaze on Charles. “How do you plead?”

Charles and Nathan both stood, but Nathan spoke first. “Judge Urvana, you can remove the petty larceny charge. I gave explicit instructions for Charles to retrieve the medical supplies on my behalf.”

Urvana gave him an approving nod and picked up her tablet, tapping the screen as she updated the case. “Charge withdrawn. Now, how do you plead?”

Nathan gave a small nod and eased back into his seat, arms folded once more across his chest.

Charles drew a breath. “Gu—”

Dylan shot to his feet, his chair screeching as it skidded back and crashed into the half-wall behind them. He winced at the sound and flashed a weak smile. “Sorry…”

Then it hit him—what he was supposed to say. “Objection!” he blurted.

Charles, Nathan, and Urvana stared at him in a mix of bewilderment and disbelief.

Dylan had their attention. And since no one had stopped him yet, he pressed on. “Technically, since Charles was just following Nathan’s instructions to get the medical supplies, none of these charges should be his fault.” He smiled to himself, thinking he was clever.

Urvana raised an eyebrow. “So, you think I should charge Nathan instead?” She motioned toward the mender.

Alarmed, Nathan’s head snapped from Dylan to the Judge. “Wait, what?”

“No! No, no, no!” Dylan shook his head, waving his hands wildly. “Nathan only did it to keep me alive. I was going to die, and—”

Urvana cut him off, shifting in her seat. “So, you want me to charge you instead?” Her confusion mirrored Dylan’s perfectly.

Dylan opened his mouth, closed it, then opened it again, struggling to find a way out. At last, he looked up at the Judge. “Can I get a mulligan?”

Urvana tilted her head, her eyes narrowing. “A what?”

“A do-over. Can I get a do-over? I’d like to withdraw my objection.” Dylan dropped into his seat. “That is my final answer.” He clamped his mouth shut, determined not to say another word.

Urvana closed her eyes, chuckling softly to herself. “I’ll give you points for being cute and entertaining, but you need to stop talking, or we’ll never get through this.”

Dylan nodded, eyes locked on the desk in front of him, desperately avoiding Nathan and Charles’ incredulous stares.

Urvana folded her hands neatly. “Now, the only person I want to hear speak next is Charles.”

“Guilty on all charges,” Charles said, promptly taking his seat. A fresh wound split open above his right eyebrow—a lingering effect of the Dance with Death debuff. Green blood trickled down his temple before he retrieved a needle and pricked his finger. The wound closed, and he pulled out a handkerchief, wiping away the mess.

“Charles, why are you bleeding in my courtroom?” Urvana’s voice brimmed with exasperation.

Charles folded the cloth with care and tucked it into his pocket. “My apologies. It’s a lingering condition from yesterday’s fight.”

Urvana leaned forward, resting her elbows on the bench. “The same fight where you killed two licensed adventurers?”

Dylan furrowed his brow. “Wait, the double-murder was yours?” He turned to the rugged elf beside him. Charles gave a single solemn nod.

Dylan blinked. ‘Charles killed two people?!’ he thought. ‘Well, technically, he’s killed me three times.’ His brow furrowed deeper. ‘Yeah, that checks out. Not sure why I’m surprised. We’ll have to work on this whole murderhobo phase he’s going through.’

Noticing everyone staring at him again, Dylan shook his head and waved a dismissive hand. “Sorry. Never mind.”

“So,” Urvana said, “since we have no dispute about what happened, please explain why it happened.” She settled back, reaching behind the bench to grab a pitcher of water and a mug.

This didn’t line up with Dylan’s limited understanding of the American legal system. As far as he knew, the law only cared about the what—the why didn’t really matter, except for proving motive. And even then, that only mattered before conviction, not after.

Charles explained Dylan’s dire situation and the plan to save him. He recounted Nathan’s instructions—get to the hospital, retrieve the medical supplies, and return as quickly as possible. He came up with a plan to ride his mount to the hospital and teleport back with one of his magic abilities.

Charles had ridden Vera countless times, having helped raise and train her from a chick. To him, it wasn’t reckless—he knew her exact capabilities as a mount. Urvana frowned but conceded, technically, there wasn’t a law against jumping over people. She removed the charge from his record.

Charles agreed the officer was just doing his job by investigating a potentially dangerous situation, but there hadn’t been time to stop and explain. The chase, the fight, and the officer’s brief maiming were unfortunate consequences.

“Saving one life doesn’t excuse endangering others,” Urvana warned. “Those charges will stay on your record.” She poured herself another glass of water, the first already gone.

Urvana asked about the vehicle next. Charles explained that he knew there would be consequences and he wouldn’t have access to his storage ability after turning himself in. So, he summoned his treehouse and grabbed as much flak as he could carry—it was the only food Dylan could safely eat.

She pressed him to explain. “Why didn’t you dismiss it afterward?”

Reluctant to give details about his abilities, the rugged elf said, ‘It has a daily cooldown, and I might’ve needed something else.’ He offered no further explanation.

The Judge agreed that was a logical approach, but still violated the law. The charge would stay on his record, though she promised to be lenient.

Charles commanded everyone’s attention as he explained why he had to ride Vera through the hospital. Leaving her alone was too dangerous—someone else might temporarily lose the use of a hand. So, he kept Vera close. As they moved through the hallways, staff, patients, and visitors gave them a wide berth.

Reluctantly, Charles explained Vera would become a threat the moment he left her alone to teleport back with the medicine. He filled the sink with water, barricaded the exits, and asked Nathan to send a recovery team as soon as possible. He would have gone back for Vera, but he turned himself in as soon as Dylan had the medicine.

Urvana sat back in silence, drumming her fingers lightly on the bench as she mulled over her thoughts.

“Filling the sink was quick thinking—and an oversight in our investigation. Since you turned yourself in before causing more trouble, I’ll remove the negligence charge. The rest, including reckless endangerment, stays.” She tapped on her stone tablet.

Urvana glanced at the trio. “I hesitate to ask, but if anyone has anything to add, raise your hand.”