Before the tiny woman could elaborate further, the first judge entered the courtroom. Taking her seat on one end of the judge’s bench was an Archon dressed almost identically to how Father Orrend was attired; gray robes over chainmail. The only difference was her stole was a bit more ornate than the dwarf’s was. Her skin looked like it was made of brushed dull steel, not shiny like chrome, but, as she moved through the lighted areas of the room, her flesh brightened in a way typical skin does not. Her features were inhumanly angular, with a sharp straight nose, a pointed chin, and pronounced cheekbones. Her haircut was a short military flattop. Everything about the woman spoke of precision and discipline. The hard planes of her face gave her a stern look, but when she saw Rozzetta, she gave the gnome a cordial nod of greeting.
"Oh good," the gnome whispered. "That is Valek Ghan. She is very straightforward. Only cares about the truth. Not politics at all. She won't let Phealti push her around." Rozzetta stopped for a moment and then said, "The judge coming next is also a good one for us. Listen. You can hear him approach."
Joe cocked his head and listened. He heard the clopping of hooves against a stone floor. A moment later, a centaur stepped into sight. Joe felt his cheeks stretch from an uncontrolled grin. Even with all the trouble he was in, the fact an honest-to-goodness centaur had just entered the room sent a tingle of joy through Joe.
'How cool is this?' fluttering through his head.
The human-like upper torso had chocolate-colored skin with the build of a football player. His heavy muscled chest and arms drew his red formal coat tight across his torso. Long black hair spilled down his back. The contrast of dark skin and ebon hair with the lavish red jacket cut an impressive figure. Across the equine back, he wore a draped cloth. It was not a blanket but an obviously well-tailored garment, designed to flow down his lower back and over his sides. Joe had expected to see the horse-half naked and then realized that would mean the judge would have his privates on display for all to see. Even though he had never considered centaur modesty before, Joe pushed that thought away before it made him chuckle.
"That is Theodanis. Theo is another one of the judges Glauri and Phealti can't bully with politics. His verdicts are often unconventional, but they always seem to be appropriate."
“How much does politics come into play in matters of law?” Joe asked out of the side of his mouth, still gawking at the centaur’s striking figure.
“In theory, never. Honestly, more than I like. Glauri is the main Goddess of the four. She is both the Goddess of laws AND rulers. That is where the problems usually come from. If both arguments are equal, or close to equal, Glauri will inevitably side with the nobility over the commons. Phealti also tends to vote that way as the noble houses and hereditary fellowships are stronger forces of order than the general populace. Ekwiti and Onhur are typically fair, but, if the other two gang up, verdicts can get pushed to the side of the ruling class.”
“Great.”
“No, no. You’re fine. We are not going to fight their battle. Still, just having Theo and Valek here helps us. Even if the Grand Marshal Stelades were to walk out next, she would have no more luck bullying those two than the Gods themselves would. I wonder how you got them both?” Rozzetta mused. Looking down at her, Joe could practically see the gears whirling in his advocate's head as she worked that thought.
A flicker of motion caught the accused’s eye. Joe looked over and noticed words appearing on the marble board. He must have missed the appearance of new text for the first two judges because now, in addition to the accusation, the wall read:
TEMPLAR VALEK GHAN: Judge for the Abbacy of Onhur.
BARRISTER THEODANIS: Judge for the Deaconship of Ekwiti.
HIGH JUSTICAR LILGR OGISÖNG: Judge for the Court of the Celestial Throne
His eyes were yanked off the stone when the next judge arrived. Striding alongside the pitiless Azbekt, a robed jotun towered over the dwarf. The significant height difference might have been comedic with another pair, but the hostility boiling off the paladin and judge killed any chance of levity. Both of them locked scorn-filled gazes onto Joe as soon as they turned the corner into the room. The gray-skinned giant made the domineering Gurda Eldauk look like a schoolteacher. Joe could not help but quail under that unflinching judgemental stare.
“Ok, I was right. That’s High Judicar Lilgr Ogisöng. There is no way he would be judging some trivial insult case unless politics were involved.” Rozzetta uttered in a low voice tinted with concern. “Even with my plan, Ogisöng is going to make this difficult. He is cunning and a gifted orator. We are going to have to watch out for traps.”
She sighed and then asked no one in particular, “Who’s next? The Grand Marshal herself?” the small woman remarked mockingly.
Azbekt crossed the room and chose a spot along the wall where he could see both the judges and Joe but also remain in Joe’s eye line. Trapped in the circle, Joe knew the paladin would be glaring at him the whole time, and there was not much he could do about it. He would just have to try not to be intimidated by him as the trial progressed.
They all had to wait a minute before the last judge arrived. Rozzetta started to fret as the moments passed. When the gold-robed judge finally arrived, the gnome looked relieved at first, as if she began to believe that the Head of the Church of Glauri was actually going to show up. Her relief turned sour a second later.
“Gauldus Meend,” she groaned.
TRIBUNAL LORD GAULDUS MEEND: Judge for the Ecclesia of Glauri
Gauldus was a human man in the prime of his life. He looked like a cover model for some luxury lifestyle magazine with perfectly coiffed sandy blonde hair, a thin goatee, and a strong chin; Ivy League good looks.
“Greetings, Brothers and Sisters,” he announced in a voice filled with confidence. “It looks like we have an interesting one today. A Feyland insurgent. Given the sources, an honored knight and a duke of the realm, this shouldn’t take us long.” The judge slid into his seat, smiling far too broadly. “High Judicar Ogisöng, would you be so kind as to start us off?”
“It would be my honor, Lord Meend,” the deep voice of the giant replied. “Four days ago, Sir Groven Suttrel of Crowfield, esquire to the House of Amberwroth, witnessed this vagabond walking the road from the tainted swamps of Brandy Mere. He was dressed in the ensemble of an outlander. This wandering stray was, and still remains, cloaked in an aura of deception and obfuscation. See for yourselves how he shields himself from honest assessment. Only through the acute senses, bestowed by the God Phealti, was the noble knight able to perceive the taint of the twisted lands of the Fey upon this disquieting gangrel. Clearly, this creature is a spy or seditionist. Why else would he hide his nature from the lawful citizens of fair Duskurg? Thankfully a noble champion of the Celestial Throne happened upon this nefarious agent before he could worm his way into the lives of the simple folk of Crowfield. Who knows what villainy he would have wrought had his presence not been detected so quickly?
Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
“Just hours later, this very same outlander fermented a riot against the knight, turning law-abiding citizens into thralls to his beguiling nature. Using unknown bewitchments to draw the peasantry together to form a mob, he swayed the deluded souls nearly into rebellion against the Duke and his rule.”
“His transgressions continued in his flight from justice in the company of a wanted criminal. Even in his futile attempt to escape, this dissident continued to foment descent with lawful order. We have an eyewitness of impeccable standing here in this court with us today, who can attest to this outlander’s effort to foment chaos and dissension. Please step forward, Sir Azbekt of Barondelve.” The ruddy-skinned dwarf moved into the middle of the room, still glaring daggers at Joe. “Please tell the court what you witnessed aboard the vessel Tide Dancer, which the offender used to flee the legal pursuit of Duke Amberwroth.”
“I watched the alien healer ply his trade aboard the ship. As soon as the outlander discovered that a good man sought to aid and facilitate the process, he grew enraged. The renegade immediately began to cast about for means to undermine these unanimously beneficial contracts for his own selfish aggrandizement. I was appalled that he would jeopardize the well-being of those he claimed to serve, as well as incite conflict, merely for personal gains,” the paladin snarled.
Joe opened his mouth to protest Azbekt’s ridiculous spin on Vaugon Bredalli’s highjacking of his healing session aboard the ship. Before he could make a sound, Rozzetta’s foot shot through the bars and smacked into his shin. He looked down to see the gnome glaring daggers at him, shaking her head in small sharp motions. She held up a finger, entreating him to silence, before turning back to the court.
Joe turned his attention back to the judges. The golden-robed Glaudus Meend was a perfect cartoon villain. His handsome good looks and genial expression didn’t mask his cold contempt lurking beneath the surface. Everyone in that room was beneath Glaudus in his eyes. The man leveled looks of disdain at Joe over the tips of his perfectly manicured steepled fingers. He was as much an enemy as was the giant who was spinning the events of the last few days into the worst possible explanations.
Joe was pretty sure he had an ally in the massive centaur, Theodanis. He had translated ‘Ekwiti’ to ‘Equity,’ which meant the red-robed judge followed a god of justice. So while Law and Order were happy railroading him, Fairness was clearly not onboard. Joe had been watching the man’s expressions grow more and more dissatisfied with the prosecution’s obviously biased telling of the past.
Lastly was the judge Onhur or ‘Honor.’ Joe had no idea where he stood with this one. Velek Ghan could have made a fortune at poker. Her hard angular features gave nothing away, but her shrewd attention seemed to miss nothing. She could be completely on his side, or utterly against him, or anywhere in the middle. He had no way of knowing which way the archon was leaning.
The towering judge had continued his declamation while Joe had been studying his fellow judges. “Contempt, disorder, inciting rebellion, infraction of trade, aiding a known criminal, flight from justice. In just four few days just how many laws has this man broken? How many others are we yet unaware of? How many more will he graduate to in the next four days? He is too dangerous to leave free on the roads of our fair kingdom. Incarceration is the only possible verdict for a malefactor such as the man before us.”
“I could not agree more,” the golden-haired judge crooned from his seat. Gauldus Meend stood, dramatically swishing his luxurious robes smooth. The jotun judge immediately relinquished the floor to Glauri’s counselor, sitting down in the huge chair that had been provided for him.
“Were this person some inconsequential rabble,” Glaudus pronounced, “his crimes would be more than enough to warrant imprisonment, but this is no ordinary heretic. Was is not at the height of his rebellion in the Crowfield, this seditious malefactor became emblazoned with a Mark of Omen. There on his arm is proof of his disruptive nature. Show it, boy. Show us the Mark of Death.” Not waiting for Joe to comply, the slick orator continued. “Is this not proof this viperous stranger embraces disorder and the chance to become an agent of upheaval? How can any duke of the realm discount these mounting warnings from an instigator emblazoned with such a blatant symbol of rebellion?”
Joe’s heart sank. He glanced down at his advocate expecting to see a similar expression of concern. Instead, Rozzetta’s face was set in a triumphant grin. She looked as smug as the cat who caught the canary.
“And there it is!” she exclaimed loudly into the courtroom. Glaudus’ expression flashed through flicker of fury at her interruption, but the man quickly recovered his mask, donning an expression of patronizing indulgence.
“And just what …” he started to ask before being cut off again.
“What am I referring to, Counselor? I am referring to the reason this conversation is moot. We have not one but two clauses that lift this man’s judgment from your hands. First, it has been established that Joe is a newcomer. Freshly minted into our world by the One Above. Therefore in those first crucial hours, he still bore the providence of the Speaker of Fates. And what did He Who Guides Us do next? He stamped this young man with one of his prophetic marks. Now neither of these events absolves him from wrongdoing, but they do make it quite clear that we are the not ones destined to stand in judgment over him.”
“Wait,” Glaudis barked, but Rozzetta ignored him and spoke clearly and forcefully.
“As advocate for the accused, I demand Edict a Deo,” the gnome announced in a loud clear voice over the Glaurian’s objection.
“Point of order,” the golden-robed judge bellowed. “The reading of charges against this man had not been completed. She has no right to make that request at this time.”
“Come on, Glaudis,” The deep voice of the centaur rumbled across the room. “Rozzie may have jumped the drum, but since we all now know what her defense is going to be, there really nothing to be gained adding more to the pile you two are dumping on the new kid. It all falls under Edict a Deo. There’s no point objecting now?”
“The point is there is a proper order to these sessions, Theodanis,” the hard metallic voice of Valek Ghan interjected. “The advocate for the accused should have waited for her proper turn to make the declaration. Still, I must agree that now we are aware of her claim, it does seem pointless to continue.” The woman’s shrewd gaze fell on Joe. “Do you, sir, understand what your advocate has presented to the court?”
“Not at all,” Joe replied, honestly baffled.
“I thought not. Edict a Deo is the legal term for Trial by Quest. If the One Above agrees with Advocate Ithnikcot, you will be offered a choice of quests. If you are guilty, you will surely fail the quest. Unfortunately, for you innocence does not guarantee the surety of success. I have known several Edict a Deos where the guiltless failed to complete their tasks and were subject to harsher sentences than they would have faced had mortal judges declared their guilt. So I must ask you, do you consent to placing your fate into the hands of He Who Guides Us?”
Joe rolled this info around his head for a second. “So, either I let you guys judge me, or the One Above sets a test for me? Those are my choices?”
Rozzetta, Theodanis, and Velek nodded. The others in the room, besides Hah’roo, just glared at him.
“Then, it’s pretty much a no-brainer. Those two have already decided my guilt,” he stated, waving an arm in the direction of Lilgr Ogisöng and Glaudus Meend. “I think Judge of Ekwiti is not buying that completely bogus description of events,” Joe continued, “and for you, Maam, I can only guess that you are on the fence. That means, at best, I’m facing an even split. Since it sounds like ties typically go to the crown, there is no reason for me not to trust Hawk … the One Above.”
Letting out a deep breath, Joe shrugged his shoulders and added. “Let’s do the Edict a Deo thing.”