Meera walked onto the stage with an unexpected response. The hollering for Kalrina's blood and calls to hang the traitor died almost entirely. She figured it was not because of her but because of the injuries inflicted upon Kalrina.

"Hang the traitor…" The lone woman who still chanted for Kalrina's blood sat in her seat, slowly lowering her arm once she realized she was the only one left.

Even the members of the Five looked horrified, especially Firaan and another woman with bleach-blonde hair and violet eyes. She looked no older than eighteen years old, but looks were deceiving in this place. She was the most beautiful of the Five, or even perhaps the most beautiful woman Meera had ever seen.

[Sorceress of Flames – Level ???]

A stern-looking woman sat in the middle of the Five. She had long white hair and pale, almost alabaster-white skin. Meera would've avoided her even if she didn't know how strong she was. The sorceress steepled her fingers and stared daggers at Kalrina, clearly unaffected by the room's sentiment.

[Sorceress of Papers – Level ???]

Aksha was another who did not care for the witch nor seemed to notice the fear in the sisterhood's eyes as they looked at Kalrina. Contrary to what Meera had thought, she sat in the leftmost seat. She took an unassuming place despite probably being the strongest of the Five.

The last member of the Conclave of Five was a big woman who Meera could tell was taller than the rest, even while sitting down. She was lithe, with a bony frame. She was pretty, with oily black hair, but her beauty paled compared to some of the other women in the room.

[Sorceress of Ink– Level ???]

I wonder if Papers and Ink work together.

Meera didn't bother using Identify on the rest of the sorceresses as there were too many in the room, and she would lose her mind trying to remember all their tags. The jailor clone had taken up position behind Meera and Kalrina.

The orator clone dramatically flourished a hand towards them. "My good ladies, we have a special guest with us today. You all remember the Champion of the great prophecy. He stood in this very room, bringing us the heart of our mortal enemies. But he brought more than that to our doorstep, but we sorted the lizards, didn't we?"

There were only a handful who laughed at the Orator's joke. Most had fearful eyes glued to Kalrina's broken form, who was having difficulty standing straight for this long. Either it was a show, or she really was having trouble standing for so long. Meera figured it was most likely a show.

"But today, we don't have the Champion with us. Today, his sister graces our hallowed halls." Immediately, the whispering began. "Yes, my sisters, the rumors are all true. Standing beside me is Meera Singh, our dear Champion's sister."

Meera wasn't expecting any applause, but not getting one was equally disappointing.

The Orator daughter of Aksha went on. "You are right not to cheer, sisters. For she is no hero like her brother. Instead, she has been aiding perhaps the greatest traitor to the sisterhood since Pelara the Wicked." She pointed to Kalrina as she stared down her nose at her. "This, Kalrina, who we called sister, has done wicked acts against us, and tonight is the night of reckoning for her crimes."

"Who knew Aksha had such a dramatic side," Kalrina's voice trembled as she spoke. Meera never remembered her voice quivering when they talked in the waiting room.

There were some who snorted. The Orator's eyes scanned the room to figure out who it was but carried on. "You will speak when spoken to, traitor? Speak out of her turn next time, and you will find yourself in an even worse condition than you already are."

Kalrina raised an eyebrow and rose to the challenge. "Oh, will that be in my nice little cell, or will we start our lovemaking right here?"

The clone backhanded Kalrina across the face. The blow hit with such intensity that she fell into Meera's grasp, and if she hadn't caught her, the witch would have fallen to the ground.

The witch's lips trembled as she dribbled out. "T-Thank you."

"As you can see, my sisters," The Orator began. "This woman is as insolent as she is vile. She has no respect for our tradition nor respect for the sanctity of these hallowed halls. She has murdered not one but three sisters, all for her nefarious aims. With the blessings of the Conclave, I would like to bring the proceedings before this woman fouls the air with more of her poisonous words."

The woman who sat in the center—the Sorceress of Papers—made a motion with her hand to proceed.

"Thank you, Lady Duinith," the clone said with a slight tilt of her head. "Today, I would like to bring charges forth against Kalrina Dremion, a sister of the Sorceresses of Akhessai." She turned towards Kalrina. "You are being charged for the murder of three of your sisters, Neshi, Isolde, and most recently, Hemera."

There were some gasps, and some women did their best to control their tears. Some succeeded in the endeavor, while others failed. It seemed the deceased women were well-loved by many.

Just what sort of person I've entangled with, but if the witch and Aksha are any examples, they all are rotten to the core.

The daughter went on. "Yes, my good ladies, dear Hemera is no longer with us. Her life wasted, her talents squandered when this butcher shoved one of her infernal mirrors through the back of her throat. She clutched my mother as she lay dying, but she was too powerless to do anything."

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"A bit different from how I remembered it," Kalrina muttered.

"Let's not forget, poor Isolde, one of Lady Nikai's trusted colleagues. Our poor sister's body was marked with many cuts, and my mother's investigation led to the conclusion that her death was slow and painful. How she crawled to the staircase for help but succumbed to her injuries before help could be administered. Her blood still stains the pages of many books in the library."

"Wrong again," Kalrina spoke softly enough for only Meera to hear. "I made sure she couldn't incriminate me."

The Orator glared at Kalrina as she spoke. "And it's recently come to light that she killed Neshi, the last Raven Keeper." More stunned looks and gasps. "Yes, you heard that right, dear sisters. Neshi's death was not a suicide but murder. This evil woman strung her up and made it look like a suicide."

"Can't wait to see how you prove this one," Kalrina remarked, earning another glare from the daughter.

"How does the criminal plead?" Orator asked.

"Not Guilty, of course. I've been framed," Kalrina cooed to many scoffs.

Meera didn't see any way Kalrina would walk out of this one with her head on her shoulders, but then she said she had some plan to get out of this. But Meera wasn't holding out any hope.

The Orator clone of Aksha sneered. She had her back to the crowd, so no one saw her. It wasn't like Aksha would've particularly cared, even if they did.

The woman with the white hair in the middle of the Five raised a fist. "Let the trial to bring Kalrina to justice."

"May I begin?" Kalrina asked. "You've already listed my crimes, so it's only fair that I get a chance to defend myself."

The same woman nodded again.

Kalrina still held onto Meera's hand for support. "Thank you, Duinith dear."

The veins stuck out on the white-haired woman's temples. "It's lady Duinith to you."

"No, not anymore. I'm no longer an initiate, and aren't we all equal here? That's what I was told when I became a full-fledged sister of the sisterhood. Unless things have changed while I was away, and the Five are considered everyone's betters, and we're to pay obeisance to you."

Meera had to suppress a smile. The witch was trying to rile up the woman, and it seemed to be working.

It seems no one is safe from the witch's powers of annoyance.

"Lady Duinith is respected by all," the tall woman, the Sorceress of Ink, said. "And you are well aware of that fact."

Kalrina shrugged and flinched. "It's hard to respect someone who has already declared me the culprit." The Paper sorceress frowned. "Did she not say 'to bring me to justice'."

Ink had no response to that. It brought a smile to Meera's lips.

Kalrina chucked her tongue. "For someone who is the official Scribe of the sisterhood, you really need to pay more attention to what people are saying Nikai or Aksha might replace you with someone else, like she did with your predecessor."

Nikai, the ink sorceress, was not pleased with that remark. She scrunched up the paper in her hand and clenched her jaw. After that verbal slapping, Kalrina moved on to her next victim, and Meera couldn't wait to see what came next from her mouth.

"It's so lovely you all have declared me a criminal based on one woman's accusations, oh sorry, I mean, investigations." She paused, but no one said anything, but some nervous glances were thrown towards Aksha. "Before I even get into whatever half-brained dearie came up with the idea of pinning the death of Neshi on me, I would like to get into the death of Hemera. Can I proceed, baby Aksha?"

Some snorted at that comment, making the Orator whip her head around the room, but she was too late. The culprits had covered themselves up, but Meera had seen who they were. It would be fun to give them up, but having seen what Aksha did to her enemies, she decided otherwise. She wasn't cruel like some of these women, and besides, they had done nothing to her.

"Proceed," the real Aksha said.

Kalrina stared at the Orator and motioned to Aksha with her head. "Aren't you going to thank your mother for doing your job for you?"

The Orator's nostrils flared and spoke through gritted teeth. "Proceed."

"I'm just having some fun with you, dearie," Kalrina cooed. Now, I do have some hard questions for you. Please ask your mommy for help if you get stuck, okay?"

Meera was getting nervous that it was going to devolve into an execution right here. But there were some in the audience who were enjoying the exchange. As she figured, Aksha was not so popular. She was more like the boogeyman who kept everyone in line.

Kalrina began. "You said that your mommy saw the death of Hemera herself, did she not?"

The Orator crossed her arms. "You know I did."

"And in essence, you are Aksha yourself?"

The Orator's chest swelled with pride. "I am."

"Since you, Aksha, are bringing forward the accusation, who is your witness? Unless you're saying it's only Aksha, which you've agreed to is basically you. Now, you cannot be a witness if you're bringing the charges. Then it'll be just your word against mine."

The Orator opened her mouth to answer, but Aksha answered again. "There is a witness."

The Orator didn't seem happy that her mother answered for her. It showed that she didn't know how to do her job, basically trashing her credibility, which, in essence, was Aksha's own credibility.

Meera suppressed a smile. Well played, Witch.

Kalrina, however, was not pleased with that answer. She was looking at someone in the crowd, but given how tightly the sorceresses were sitting, it was hard to see who she was looking at.

"I see…" Kalrina finally said. "Okay, I'll cut to the heart of it. How do you know I killed Neshi?"

"You confessed to it," the Orator replied.

"When you were torturing me. I said it because I wanted you to stop inflicting further pain on me. To stop pouring your acid over my body. To stop breaking my bones. I just wanted the pain to stop. I would've confessed to being Aetheron in disguise."

Her words stunned the room to silence, and it finally clicked why Kalrina had refused the Health Potion before coming here. She wanted the sisterhood to see Aksha's handiwork firsthand.

Kalrina continued. "And when I asked for a Health potion, your mother said, and I quote, the sisterhood will crumble to dust before I give you a moment's respite from this pain."

"That is a lie!" roared the Jailor daughter from behind. "You refused the Potion yourself."

Kalrina scoffed. "Sure you did. Just like you offered to give me rose-scented oils for my hair in the fine establishment of a dungeon, you have."

The jailor's head snapped to Meera. "She was there. She can attest to it."

"I saw nothing. I was busy trying to lift this heavy thing," Meera said innocently as she motioned to the cloudy lockbox at her feet.

The jailor hobbled over her words as she tried to come up with a proper response, but Kalrina rolled over her.

"My good ladies, a game of lies and deceit is being played here. I am being framed for murders that I did not commit. Tragic deaths of our sisters being used by the mad bitch of our sisterhood to satiate her anger."

"Watch your tongue, whore," Orator snapped. "Or I will—"

"Or what? Or you will start torturing me right here, in this hallowed hall."

Meera bit her lower lip to stop herself from smirking. I take the first one back. This was well-played.

"Enough!" Duinith raised a hand. "Stop this bickering. Kalrina, if you are innocent of the three murders—"

"Two murders, one suicide," Kalrina corrected.

Duinith clenched her jaw. She looked ready to start torturing Kalrina herself. "If you consider yourself innocent, then why did you run?"

Kalrina motioned to herself. "Why do you think?" She turned her eyes to Aksha. "We both know Aksha cannot sleep properly if she hasn't gotten her daily dose of torture."

"We saw the shard around Isolde's body. Mirror shards," Duinith emphasized the last two words. "And you were last seen heading towards the section of the library that Isolde managed by Nikai herself."

Kalrina barked a laugh. "If it had been you she had seen and they had found an ink bottle by her body, Aksha would have put you on the chopping block."

Duinith's eyes snapped open as she clenched her fists. Her voice came out strained when she spoke. "You could have come to us and explained yourself. We would have seen justice prevail and your name cleared."

"I have seen firsthand the justice of this Conclave," Kalrina shook her head. "No, I decided to put my fate in my own hands."

"This is all pointless," Aksha said. Despite all the insults Kalrina threw, her face remained as impassive as ever. "Bring forth the witness of Hemera's murder."

The Orator coughed and cried at the top of her lungs. "The Conclave summons the sorceress, Arvena!"