He found the dwarf waiting for him at the bottom of the stairs. The paladin's scowl was deeper than usual. The warrior was glancing around the deck constantly as if looking for signs of trouble. Clearly, he was not happy about Joe’s good reputation with the mass of people aboard the Tide Dancer.
Joe wondered if he could convince Azbelt that did not want to be a fugitive anymore and just wanted to get this over with, then maybe the fiery dwarf would relax. It should be easy, especially since he had barely done anything wrong. At worst, he had been a little flippant with some nobleman. That surely was not enough to warrant any truly dire punishment.
Looking at the scorn-filled sneer locked onto the paladin’s face, Joe doubted it was going to be easy.
“Good morning, sir paladin. I have come down to surrender myself,” Joe announced, walking to the steps.
“I find that dubious, Trickster,” the dwarf replied in a hard grinding voice. Azbekt crossed his arms over his chest and glared around. Joe did not miss the fact that the Phealtian had stayed a few steps up from the main deck. While it was unlikely the dwarf had any insecurity about his height, the elevation did give him a bit more of a boost to intimidation. “Here on this deck, my authority is superseded by the captain’s. If you truly wished to yield then why did you not wait to do so when we reached the dock?”
Perplexed by this odd attack, Joe stammered, “I don’t know. Now seemed like as good a time as any.”
“Bah! The fey lies as good folk breath. I see through your duplicity,” he spat, sweeping a hand to include those around him on deck. “You seek to shield yourself behind these indebted innocents? You would spend their blood to save your own ill-natured skin.”
“No! I’m trying to do the right thing here!” Joe lifted his gaze off the irascible paladin and looked out at everyone else on deck. “I am willingly surrendering myself to the Paladin Azbekt. It is just a misunderstanding. Please, do not do anything to interfere.” Looking back to his accuser. “Are you satisfied?”
“Nay, Deceiver. I have pitted myself against the Courtesans of Fairy too many times to rely on anything you say. Nothing you utter is to be trusted.”
“This is ridiculous. What can I do here? You won’t believe anything I say so there is nothing I can do that will not make you more suspicious.”
“You can start by surrendering your weapon.”
Joe could not help but laugh. “This? It’s just a long stick, and I suck with it. Sure. Here. Take it.” He tossed the quarterstaff to the dwarf, who plucked it out of the air with ease.
“And your magical paraphernalia? That as well.”
“Will I get a receipt for it?”
“You dare to question my honor, knave?” the paladin hissed, thrusting his face forward.
Joe emphatically tossed up both of his hands. “So nothing I say is to be believed, but I have to trust everything from you? Do you see how one-sided that is?”
“You asked how I could afford you a margin of trust. I have told you. Surrender any empowered items, and I will consider offering you a degree of credence.”
As he watched the dwarf’s eye sweep over him searching, Joe realized that Azbekt was trying to spot his enchanted gear, but he clearly couldn’t do so. His [No One] ability must be blocking the paladin from being able to assess even his gear.
The [Band of Beguilement] was in plain sight. With its pink and violet coloring, it was so at odds with everything else Joe was wearing, he knew it must have been spotted. Once it left his body, the dwarf would be able to see what it could do. Joe had a feeling that item would not help his relationship with the Phealtian, who would hate anything that smacked of fairy-like magic. Beguilement fit what Joe knew of fey magic from his gaming.
He considered keeping an item as an ace in the hole since it wouldn’t be detected. The teleportation medallion could be useful if things went sideways. The more he thought about it, the more he was sure that the dwarf would ask if there was anything else, and then Joe would have to lie. The healer had a bad feeling about lying. His [No One] ability must have limits. He was about to be judged by four different churches of law. Surely one of them would have something that would trump his racial trait. If he told no lies at all he might have a better chance of getting out of this than if they could prove he had been false even once.
“Fine,” he replied. He reached into his gambeson and lifted out the [Talisman of the Medic] and then slid off the purple and fuchsia bracelet. He took the keen knife from its sheath and grabbed the slow stone from his belt pouch. He removed his new belt and ring and even added his medical satchel. “Here, this is everything I have.”
“You lie. No one would have just this pitiful assortment of dreck. You must have more.”
“Gee, thanks for rubbing in how badly I’m doing. That’s it, Azbekt. Really,” he stated, pointing at the small pile. “Can we go now? Look, they just ran out the gangplank.”
“I do not believe you, Outlander, but you have one small thing correct. It is time we departed.”
The dwarf placed Joe’s belongings into a pouch at his side. Even his quarterstaff impossibly fit into the small bag. While Joe looked longingly at the extra-dimensional bag, the paladin stepped forward and, in one smooth motion, snapped a single manacle onto Joe’s wrist. It happened so fast that Joe didn’t see it coming.
“Now, you cannot escape me. Come. Your judgment is at hand.”
YOU HAVE FAILED TO ELUDE THE ORDER OF THE GOLDEN EDICT. QUEST FAILURE [ELUDE THE HUNT].
JOE’S HEART SANK. HE HAD FORGOTTEN ABOUT THAT POTENTIALLY HUGE REWARD. HE WAS NOT GIVEN MORE THAN A SECOND TO RUE HIS LOSS. AS SOON AS AZBEKT STARTED TO STOMP AWAY, JOE FELT A TUG ON HIS WRIST. HE JUST BARELY MANAGED TO STAY ON HIS FEET.
YOUR SKILL [STEADFAST] HAS INCREASED TO RANK 5
Joe had planned to say his goodbyes, but he was yanked away from the stairs by an invisible tether. He would have face-planted onto the deck had Yago’s long arm not caught him and kept him on his feet. He could see the concern on the aresian’s face, but Joe just shook his head and gave the big man a thump on the arm.
“It will be okay. Thank you. All of you,” he managed to say as the force on his arm pulled him from Yago’s grasp. Joe was ready for it this time. Jogging, he closed the gap with the marching dwarf.
Azbekt hit the dock and made a sharp turn, bulling his way through the crowds. The bully would have tugged him off the gangplank if Joe had not been right on his heels. Joe quickly found it was easier to follow tightly in the dwarf’s wake. The few times Joe lagged to look at something, he had to struggle to catch back up. The paladin's force of presence and unrelenting march caused people to instinctively move out of his way.
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Joe did not have that domineering aura. Once the crowd closed back behind the dwarf, Joe had to try and slip through the mass of people to stay near his captor. He would not put it past Azbekt dragging him through the streets should he trip and fall. Thankfully, the more the paladin yanked him around, the more surefooted Joe became.
Your skill [Steadfast] has increased to rank 6.
They left the wharves and seaside shops behind and marched along a lane with a variety of businesses. Joe was pulled past a couple of tailors, a bookbinder, a tea shop, and a very wealthy-looking trading guild house. The street opened into a market square. Joe saw dozens of stalls he would have loved to stop at, but Azbekt’s pace never let up. He sighed and reminded himself this was almost over as they crossed straight through the plaza and onto another road angling upward.
Joe noted that the doors to each store were a bit higher than the ones before it. Looking up, he saw that the roofs were likewise offset from each other, each a bit taller than the previous roof. After another city block, the buildings on each side of the road changed from small two-story shops to a pair of massive ornate structures.
On Joe’s right, the building was adorned with glittering obsidian pillars. On his left, the structure was made of tiled mosaics, patterned to look like the sea and waves. As they entered the next plaza, Joe knew this had to be the Temelmont Square Hah’roo had mentioned. All around the open area were dozens of churches. They came in all sizes, from the huge temple of the sea god right next to him, to small shrines, and even a few lone altars around the massive central fountain.
Joe could not help but gawk until the magical tether yanked on his arm. It was almost impossible not to stare at the stunning edifices. The temples ranged from beautiful to ominous. Even the most sedate of them elicited an emotional response. Joe felt drawn to a sandstone temple whose mural showed hundreds of people holding and supporting each other. He recoiled from a dark church made of sharp metal angles that bespoke of pain and violence. He smiled at one that had pillars carved to resemble stacked ale barrels, and what looked like a roof made of beer foam.
Azbekt finally deviated from his straight-line march. He had turned to angle towards a gray marble temple trimmed in both silver and gold. The building was made in perfect symmetry, each column precisely placed, every stair and corner perfectly straight. This building had the neoclassical look of an official city hall. It practically cried out ‘Order’. As the paladin dragged him towards what had to be the temple of Phealti, Joe remembered Hah’roo’s warning.
“Azbekt, wait! I demand to be judged by the Fourfold Court,” he announced to the broad back he had been following.
The dwarf spun on his heel and stomped right up to Joe, practically knocking him over. “Who told you about the Fourfold Court?” the ruddy-faced dwarf barked, spitting with fury. “You have no say in this, you wretched piece of fey filth. Recant that demand, before I make you do so.”
“Are you allowed to beat an innocent ..” Joe did not have a chance to finish before a fist slammed into his stomach. Joe doubled over, gasping for breath.
“You know nothing at all, you aberrant freak,” the paladin of order hissed, standing over Joe’s hunched form. “Do you withdraw your claim, or do I get to thrash you to an inch of your life here and now for defying the Lord of Order in sight of His holy hall?”
“What the hell, Azbekt?” Joe wheezed. A backhanded slap snapped his head to the side and brought stars flashing across his vision.
“Sir Paladin,” a stately voice intruded. Joe looked up, blood streaming from his nose and split lip, to find a towering Leonal dressed in cream-colored robes standing beside him and the dwarf. “This is unseemly here in the Court of the Gods.”
“Mind your own business, Myrrhceeian. I will have this varlet off the street in a moment.”
“No, you won’t,” Joe retorted. “I claim a Fourfold …” This time, the fist hit him straight in the face. Joe could hear the bone in his nose snapping. Pissed, Joe reached up and tugged his crumpled snout somewhat back into place. With tears pouring out of his eyes from the sharp pain, he healed.
Your skill [Healing Touch] has increased to rank 25.
“I can do this all day, you dick! FOURFOLD …” A kick swept his legs out from under him. When he hit the ground, a second one cracked into his ribs. Thankfully this time on the left side of his chest rather than the still tender right.
“Paladin! You must stop! This is ungodly!” the lionman cried.
“Maybe for your God. Not mine!” Akbekt snapped back. Joe could feel heat radiating from the dwarf. The air above his mane of orange hair began to shimmer like the air over a street in the summer.
“It is profane by any standards,” the priest of Myrrhcee insisted.
“We, too, must protest,” another voice declared. A gnome wearing a sash of scintillating gems stepped in front of the dwarf. The small woman was adorned with more jewelry than Joe had ever seen.
“Move, Priestess. Bowntee may be able to buy others, but He has no say here. This is a matter of Law.” The seething dwarf reached out a hand to move the bejeweled priestess.
“Then does my objection have merit, paladin?” grumbled a different deep dwarven voice. Another broad thickly-bearded figure stepped up to the gathering. This dwarf was far less fiery-looking, with black hair and gray skin, wearing friar robes over chainmail. Around his neck hung a clerical stole embroidered with the symbol of a hand resting on a book. “If a Fourfold Court has been declared then Onhur shall not be excluded.”
Azbekt replied with the first hint of deference in his voice Joe had ever heard. “This filth seeks to muddy waters it knows nothing about, brother. You and the faithful of Glauri and Ekwiti need not concern yourselves with this matter. He will recant his request in a matter of moments.”
“FOURFOLD COURT!” Joe yelled from the ground as he repaired the damage from Azbekt’s iron-studded boot.
“It seems your prisoner disagrees with you, sir,” the templar of Onhur remarked dryly. “It is now a matter for the Four Orders, and one you too must obey as well. Where do you wish the trial to be held? As Phealti is the accuser, The Court of the Celestial Throne cannot hold the trial. You must choose either my Abbey of Oaths, the Halls of Justice, or the Cathedral of Glauri’s Rule.”
“Fine,” Azbekt all but spat. “This matter touches on the authority of noble rule as much as it does the preservation of Order. I choose the Cathedral of Glauri.”
“Very well,” the dark-haired dwarf responded with a nod. “Then, if you will give me control of his manacle, I will escort him there while you gather your advocates.”
“No need. I will be his prosecutor. Get up, you wretch,” he hissed at Joe through clenched teeth. “You have changed nothing.”
Joe looked to the second dwarf as he climbed to his feet, holding his aching chest. “Sir, do I have any rights here? I just crossed into this world a couple of days ago, so I have no idea how laws work in this kingdom. Still, I surrendered voluntarily, and yet this maniac is pummeling and dragging me through the city. I really don’t want to be in his custody any longer if that is an option.”
The templar of Onhur leveled his gaze at Azbekt and raised a bushy eyebrow. The red-faced paladin glared at Joe until he could not avoid looking at his peer any longer. “Bah! Take him then. Let him have his moment of ease before he is banished back to whence he came.” He yanked a thick iron ring off his finger and slapped it into the templar's hand. With one last glare, he turned and stomped off toward the temple of Phealti.
“If you would follow me,” the robed clergyman asked. “My name is Orrend Farpeak.”
“Oh, thank goodness. That guy was going to be the death of me. Hi, my name is Joe.” Joe held out his hand to shake. The dwarf looked at the offered grasp but did not take it. He gave Joe a nod instead. Joe realized that the cleric would assume him to be a criminal if he was being held by a paladin of law. Orrend was polite enough to acknowledge the greeting but was clearly not interested in familiarity. Joe lowered his hand, a bit embarrassed, and asked, “Would you mind telling me where we are headed?”
“There,” Orrend replied, pointing at one of the largest churches surrounding the plaza. “The Cathedral of Glauri’s Rule.”
The building looked like a palace. A beautiful arch topped with golden-domed towers opened to a courtyard. It reminded Joe of the memorial arches from Earth, more ornate than the one in Washington Square in New York; closer to some of the French ones he had seen pictures of. Behind that gateway stood a massive octagonal white marble church with a large wing extending away from the square. The octagon was topped by a gold dome of its own. Statues and columns gave the building a regal air.
“Glauri is the Goddess of rulers and rules,” Orrend stated. “She commands kings and guides the commons. She is the Queen of the Fourfold Court. I hope you have your affairs in order,” he added as they walked. “Once you pass into her court, you may not be leaving again as a free man for a very long time.”