October, Monday 13th, 1961, 09:00, Havenfort, North Georgina Kingdom, United Countries of Faeldris.
The court was full today. The outpouring of support I got from the People of Havenfort where the case was presiding was genuine and strong. I was glad I held a secret campaign to gather them all to come here. The city that was affected by this case was a small one. Barely a middling city if I was honest. But the crimes were no less legitimate because of its size. I poured over my notes I had painstakingly collected over the weeks I’ve had to prepare for this case.
Tulip Everpetal was with me. Havenfort was the capital of the whole kingdom and I lobbied for the trial to take place here so that the statutes that would support my case would leave some room for recompense to go back to the city for the crimes committed. I ignored the Half-Orc that represented the Defendant. A well recognized and high powered lawyer who had been in the news plenty of times. Beneath his tailored suit you could see the rippling physique the race naturally had.
The bailiff with his pistol on his hip and his pressed green uniform called out to the room that we all sat in, “All Rise for the Honorable Judge Trafalgus.”
I stood up with the rest of the crowd as the small dragon sauntered in from the back room. His tail swished back and forth and his underdeveloped wings flapped restlessly. He walked to the podium he would sit behind. I could hear the rustling of gold and gems as he settled down on the traditional resting place of dragons, a minor fraction of his horde. As he took the pile he called out to the room, “Everyone please be seated.”
I sat with my client and rested my hand on hers. We looked at one another and nodded softly. I looked on as Trafalgus put on his glasses and looked over the court case in front of him. “We are gathered today to hear the alleged crimes of one Grizzlebats the Magnificent versus the Peoples of Springtrove. Mr. Smith, you are representing the Peoples of Springtrove is that correct?”
“That is correct your honor,” I intoned with the utmost respect in my voice.
“Mr. Bloodgorger, you are here to defend Grizzlebats,” The Judge looked at my opponent.
“Point of order your honor. As my client has graduated with honors from the magical colleges of Rale with a full degree his honorific should be mentioned with his name,” Bloodgorgers tone was deep and gruff like two stones being dragged against one another.
Smoke poured from the nostrils of Trafalgus, “I will allow and insist from here forth that Grizzlebats the Magnificent shall be referred to as such should his name become the topic. Will that suit your case?”
“Thank you, Your Honor.” Bloodgorger smiled as the old wizard next to him nodded sagely.
I took a closer look at the defendant and seared his visage into my mind. I had seen pictures but nothing told of the real thing. His eyes were swirling galaxies, a sign of heavy mana use in most mortals, his long beard was a mix of salt and pepper in color and his bald head contrasted to the heavy facial hair that hung down to his navel. He wore the traditional robes of a wizard, in the colors of Rale College of Magic, royal purples with gold trimmings. I could see the sheer magic he wielded like a heat haze around his shoulders.
“Mr. Smith, what are the crimes levied against the defendant?” Trafalgus waved a claw towards me as I stood up and smoothed my suit of any wrinkles it might have. Sure I had sprung for my best enchanted suit that would never wrinkle or stain as a gift to myself for graduating but old habits die hard.
“Grizzlebats the Magnificent is accused of several crimes Your Honor. First and foremost is the Abuse of Transmutation Magic in the third degree, Disruption of Economic stability in the second degree, and Laundering of Uncertified gold in the first degree.” I kept my tone even and matter of fact as I could.
“How does the defendant plead?”
“Not guilty, Your Honor.” Bloodgorger towered over me when he stood up. He was easily seven feet tall, maybe a few inches taller than that. I was far more average for a human.
We both sat as the Judge looked over us all. “You have both agreed on the ladies, gentlemen, and non gendered beings to be on the jury.”
“We have Your Honor.” A said simultaneously with Bloodgorger.
“Let us have opening statements, plaintiff you’re up.”
I stood up and put my hands behind my back and puffed out my chest as I approached the center of the room, “People of the Jury, as you may have surmised by the crimes I am stating today it appears that our accused has done a heinous act against the community and greater country we reside in. With knowing intent he began to transmute metals and minerals into gold. As you know this has been made illegal decades ago and is a foul way to grow one's wealth through illegal means. An abuse against the very tenets of magic, destroying a community's trust in wizards for years to come. The defendant took the trusting nature of Springtrove and used it against them while he laundered his transmuted goods through his small businesses he purchased illegally with money he frankly didn’t have. Today I will prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that this was done intentionally, and with malice. It will be up to you for us to find justice in this courtroom. I simply ask you to listen to the facts and be true with your judgments today.”
I sat back down and smiled as the jury looked at one another stoically. The heavy enchantments placed upon the booth made it nearly impossible to sway the emotions of the jury in any unfair ways.
“Defendant, your opening statement.”
Bloodgorger stood up and straightened the buttons on his suit. As he messed with his cufflinks he took the center of the room. “Ladies, gentlemen, oozes,” he turned and faced them with confidence, “My client is an upstanding member of the community. He has graduated with top honors amongst his class with a notation that he is of upstanding morality. Coming from a privileged family what use would my client, Grizzlebats the Magnificent, have in duping the community he so ordains to grace with his benevolence? He has single handedly stopped a wyvern, and a leyline from rampaging through the town. Not only are these claims unfounded and unjust, they are slanderous. My client seeks restitution from the damage the people of Springtrove have done to his name. I hope you see the truth today, and judge it correctly.” Bloodgorger straightened his bow tie as he walked towards his seat. I watched in dismay as the jury nodded to one another.
“Thank you for your opening statements gentlemen,” Said Trafalgus. The dragon looked at some notes laid out before him. “It appears you have a list of witnesses to call Mr. Smith. Who is your first witness?”
“I call to the stand Marion Runesmith.”
A short woman with fiery red hair came from the pews. Her hair was curly and frizzy in the moist heat of the room. Her beard was a gloriously groomed spectacle, with interconnecting braids and the markings that stated her station in dwarves society as a matriarch of a long standing family. She nodded to me as she passed and went to the box for witnesses.
The bailiff approached and held out a massive tome with dwarven runes on it. He placed it before Marion and she placed her hands upon it.
“Do you swear upon the ancestors and all those before you that you will speak the truth as you know it on the honor of your beard?” Intoned Trafalgus.
“I hereby swear on my beard and ancestors that I will speak the truth on this day.” Her voice was surprisingly soft and sweet as honeyed mead.
“Plaintiff your witness,” Trafalgus waved for me to begin.
Approaching the stand I smiled broadly at the honest dwarven woman. “Would you speak your full name and job title for the court please?”
“Marion Granite Runesmith, I’m the head gold keeper at the International Bank of Yondurous the Eternal.” She leaned forward to project her voice into the amplification and translation crystal placed on the podium.
“This bank is owned by a Dragon, correct?”
“Objection, relevance,” interrupted Bloodgorger.
“Mr. Smith, is this going anywhere?”
“I am just establishing the standards the bank would be held to in the eyes of the law.”
“Overruled, continue plaintiff.”
“Answer the question please?” I promoted Marion. I kept the sound of victory for defeating my first objection out of my voice.
“Yes, all branches are owned by the Dragon Yondorous the Eternal.”
“As a gold keeper it is your duty to measure, verify and determine the value of gold to be deposited. Is this correct?”
“That is correct.”
“I’d like to present exhibit A. A statement of deposits for the defendant.” I handed a sheet of paper to the judge and to Marion. “Now Marion, based on this sheet is it fair to say that Grizzlebat the Magnificent makes more than the average amount of deposits?”
“Objection, speculation.” Bloodgorger was relaxed in his chair and drumming his pen on the table.
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“Sustained, stick to facts Mr. Smith.”
I had to change my angle, “Is it true that the defendant made two deposits a week for three consecutive months?”
“Based on these records that appears to be true.” Marion had been prepped for a less direct line of questions but I had plenty up my sleeve.
“What is the total amount of deposits between the dates of January 1958 to December 1958?” Time to show the sheer extent of the laundered wealth.
“Three million, four hundred and fifteen thousand, and seven Gold suns, thirty silver moons, and two hundred and thirty copper circles. As this bank statement outlines.” Some of the jury gasped at the sheer amount of money.
“By your recollection how much of this was all done with gold ingots and mixed coins?”
“Objection, speculation,” called Bloodgorger.
“Plaintiff?”
My novice status was showing and I kept the embarrassment out of my mind best I could. “The records do give out a rough estimation. I’ll restate my question.”
“Overruled,” Trafalgus motioned me to continue with a claw.
“Based on this sheet what percentage of that wealth was gold ingots?” I made sure to keep my back straight and ignore the stenographer rattling away.
“The sheet states that seventy eight percent of deposits were done in ingots.” Marion looked over the number once more and nodded, “Seems right to me.”
“Seventy eight percent,” I turned to the jury as I spoke. “Is it true that the average amongst most deposits is merely twenty seven percent?”
“The last census actually states it is twenty seven point three percent.” Marion beamed that she had corrected me.
“Thank you for the correction.” I turned back to her as I slowly paced. “What is the protocol when accepting ingots as currency in a dragon owned bank?”
Marion stroked her beard as she began to speak, “When presented with an ingot we use several enchanted devices in order to determine its value. We measure purity, and weight, then we calculate the total value from there.”
“What were the purity ranges for Grizzlebats the Magnificent’s deposits?” Now to make this seem further outlandish.
“At first in the low eighty percent range then closer to December between ninety five and ninety nine percent.” Marion said factually with pride in her voice.
“According to the census done in 1953 the average purity of any gold in the United Countries was eighty three percent. To find such pure gold so consistently is quite surprising. Most ingots come stamped with this information correct?” I half turned and looked towards the jury for emphasis.
“That is correct,” Marion looked a little nervous now.
“How often were the defendant’s ingots stamped?” Finally the nail to this argument.
“Objection, opinion.” I kept my anger from flaring at the interruption to my flow.
“Sustained, without proper documentation we can’t establish this as fact.” Trafalgus looked over the documents.
“I have an exhibit to enter into the court before we continue.” I called for evidence to be brought out. Soon enough a gold ingot was retrieved and wheeled out into the courtroom. “This bar has been confirmed to be from the deposit of Grizzlebats made during the time of high purity. It has been stamped with a 97% purity rating. Using this tool I will measure the alloy levels of the gold so that you can see what has happened.” I pulled up the small crystal lined device and channeled my magic into it.
I brought it over to the jury and showed them. “This shows that its levels have dropped ten percent and has reverted to more tin inside the bar. Isn’t that strange. However, as I will show you later this difference is because he used transmutation magic to forge this bar of gold.”
“One final question Miss Marion,” I looked across the court as I paused for emphasis. “Does anyone handle the gold after it has been deposited?”
“No, the only person ever authorized to handle it after deposit is Yondorous the Eternal. Otherwise it is locked up tight in the safe.”
“That is all for my questions, Your Honor.” I took my seat and clenched a fist under the table.
“Your witness Mr. Bloodgorger.” Trafalgus adjusted his odd spectacles as he looked on.
Bloodgorger looked far too confident for my liking as he stood up and approached Marion. “Miss Runesmith, may I call you Miss?”
I could see the blush from beneath her beard as the half-orc tried to establish familiarity. “Just Miss is fine.”
“Now, when were you appointed gold keeper at your branch?”
“August of 1957,” Marion said proudly.
“I know dwarves' eyes are said to be keen when discerning metals, were you ever tempted to forgo your tools?”
“It is highly against protocol.” Marion glanced towards me. I hadn’t expected this kind of questioning.
“Even still, enchantments often misbehave around dwarves do they not?” Bloodgorger continued.
“Aye, but we have built in redundancy for just that case.” Marion responded looking a little peeved.
“And what are those redundancies?” Insisted Bloodgorger.
“We have alchemical means to measure purity if the tools don’t behave while in my hands. We take a shaving of the gold and process it that way. Dwarves pride themselves on this accuracy.” Marion lifted her chin up.
“Yet, it is found they aren’t quite as accurate as magical tools when functioning correctly. In the months of highest purity it shows you did these alchemical tests on nearly every single deposit. Why is that?” Bloodgorger looked off into the middle distance as he waited.
“The purity measuring tool was under repairs and engraving. We didn’t have a replacement at the time.” Marion looked puzzled but I saw what was coming.
“So all the high purity deposits cannot for sure be said to be perfectly accurate?”
I had to disrupt him somehow, “Objection,” I called. “Leading the witness.”
“Overruled,” Trafalgus waved me away. “Answer the question.”
She looked affronted, “I’m pretty confident in my measures.”
“Do you fancy my client?” It was unfortunate that she blushed heavily at the question. Hinting that she might.
“Objection your honor!” I kept from slamming my fist for emphasis.
“Sustained, ignore that question.” Trafalgus moved his glasses and rubbed his snout.
“So, you cannot for sure say that the ingots you measured are in fact one hundred percent accurate?” Bloodgorger leaned over the podium getting closer to Marion.
“I mean I’m pretty good at it,” Defended Marion.
“But can you be sure without the use of an enchanted device?” Bloodgorger pressed forward.
This time Marion’s face grew red with anger, grinding her teeth she spoke, “No, not by the bank's rules.”
“What happens in this case, when the tool is unavailable?” Bloodgorger queried.
“We set aside all gold bars until they can be verified and credit the account with their estimated value.” She looked even angrier now, maybe a bit embarrassed.
“So, in fact we cannot know the purity of this gold at the time of deposit and therefore, cannot claim it is of such high purity. That’ll be all Your Honor. Thank you Miss.” He concluded with a flourish undermining my argument in one fell swoop.
As Bloodgorger turned Marion hissed out, “Runesmith to you.”
“Any further questions?” Trafalgus looked over us both.
“You are dismissed, Miss Runesmith.” Trafalgus watched the dwarf as she slumped away.
“Next witness,” Trafalgus couldn’t keep the boredom from his voice. I’m sure dragons thought they had better things to do.
“I call Idris Weedsbane to the stand.” I half stood as I addressed the Judge and court.
A rather rotund elf with long pointed ears and thin face mosied his way up the aisle from the rear most pews and sat down with a huff of air. He was sweating fiercely and wiped at his forehead with his handkerchief. I looked at the court and could see several women fanning themselves off.
I approached the bench and addressed my next witness, “Would you state your current position in the city government.”
The man leaned far too forward to get as close to the gem as possible, “I am the city treasurer. We aren’t very staffed at the moment so I do most of the work myself. I’m pretty proud of that, you know. That is a lot of work and if it weren’t for my elvish memory I don’t think I would be able to do it. I should be proud, you know.”
I closed my eyes in an extended blink. He wasn’t this much of a chatterbox when I prepped him for this session and I hoped I didn’t make a mistake when I chose him for this part of the trial. “Thank you Idris. Since Grizzlebats the Magnificent has come to the town of Springtrove how many businesses has he purchased?”
“Oh gosh. He bought the laundry mat, car wash and detailing, a small mom and pop grocery store, and the bowling alley.” I could see him open his mouth to continue and I motioned for him to hold up with one hand.
“Did he purchase these from the city itself?” I had to set up a precedent on how this could impact the overall financial state of the city.
“None of the businesses were owned by the city, all of them were privately owned,.” It seemed he took the hint and didn’t prattle on again.
“What are the protocols for the selling and buying of businesses?” I prompted the next step in the questioning.
“Well, you have to go through a mediator. A loan office, bank, or the city itself. Depending on the choices made by the people in the deal. That way there is an ability to guarantee the funds with a third party.” Idris said.
“What taxes does the city take out of sales and properties to fund the city?” Time to build up how this might impact the city in the long run.
“We take a three percent tax on all sales of goods and services throughout the city. We change a point nine five percent of a property's value in taxes every year as well.” Idris had to take out his handkerchief again and wipe the sweat off his cheeks and forehead.
“I’d like to enter into the records exhibit C into evidence. This is a totalling of the data from the defendants tax records for his businesses.” After handing out the next sheets of paper I walked back to stand.
“In taxes for the year of 1959 what is the total value you were able to take in taxes from the purchasing of the properties, the property taxes, and sales taxes from the businesses of Grizzlebats the Magnificent?”
“In total? Would you like a breakdown?” Asked Idris.
“Just the rounded total if you will.” I straightened my suit as I waited for Idris to scan the page.
“In total a little over fifty three thousand dollars in sales and property taxes.” There was a flash of confusion over the faces of the crowd. I knew that all this numbers talk might lose some of the jury and crowd but it was fundamental to my case.
“In total how much did those properties and businesses produce in the year of 1960? It should be on sheet two.” I instructed both the judge and Idris. “Totalled, please.”
“That would be sixty two thousand three hundred and twenty seven dollars as per the records pulled.” Idris knew where this was going thankfully so there was no confusion on his face.
“With inflation that would be sixty three thousand eight hundred and ninety four gold coins. A significant decrease in tax revenue for the city.” I stepped away. “That will be all Your Honor.”
I took my seat and smiled benevolently to the court as I held a pen over my paper to take notes on how Bloodgorger would approach this witness.
“Your witness Mr. Bloodgorger.” The dragon let smoke trail out of his nose as the heat soothed his cold blooded nature.
Standing up my opponent walked to the stand and in his hands was the papers I had distributed to the court. “According to these records, I notice that there was a significant increase in city taxes the year my client came to Springtrove and became a business man of fine repute. What is that figure according to the sheet, a round number if you would?”
“Eighty three thousand gold coins rounded to the nearest gold denomination.” Idris said with ease.
“A significant boon to the city. What services did that income go to?” Bloodgorger looked so confident.
“Objection, relevance.” I called out.
“I am establishing that my client benefited the city with his purchases and businesses.” Bloodgorger countered instantly.
“Overruled, but this is as far as you're going with this line of questioning.” Trafalgus eyed me curiously as I leaned back and put my knuckles under my chin.
“If you would continue Mr. Weedsbane.” Bloodgorger’s looked at me with a smirk.
“Well we were able to establish the small clinic to provide better health services to the members of the community and even give the doctor some much needed room for nurses to cut down on his need for home visits. Man that doctor sure works hard, heck he even delivered my sons just a few years back. Oh pardon my language.” I closed my eyes with how broadly Idris was smiling and cursed under my breath. He had enough rope to hang my case. If I objected to the testimony then that would undermine my witness.
“Thank you Mr. Weedsbane. That will be all Your Honor.” Bloodgorger had done his damage so easily. Establishing his client as a benevolent man. Just a wolf in sheep’s clothing as far as I was concerned. He was crooked underneath that disguise.
“You are dismissed Mr. Weedsbane.”
The man shot me a smile as he walked by not knowing the damage his simple words had done to my case and I just returned it so I didn’t sully his mood any.
“We are going to take a small thirty minute recess and I’ll see about getting the cooling enchantments going for the court’s comfort. How's that sound?”
Many of the people in the crowd sighed in relief at the thought of a cooler room while they waited for the trial to continue. I didn’t have that problem because of the special suit I had bought with all the enchantments that kept it clean and me cool and comfortable.
I grabbed Tulips hand as she and I locked eyes. This wasn’t going as smoothly as I hoped.