Before leaving campus, Arrjee led us over to greet our guardsmen friends. We had two discussions, because the people we wished to speak with were on guard at opposite ends of the wagon. Wern and Norran Ograth were married and served together in the guard. They had heard there was a Trichyan here, but this was the first time they had seen or met one. Evening Sun was happy to speak with them, although Arrjee or I would sometimes clarify what they said. The guardsmen were surprised to meet our elemental friends, Unbroken Stone and Odd Earth. Even Ferret Drewson’s presence was a surprise.
Our second conversation went somewhat differently. We moved to the other end of the wagon to speak with Captain Randolf Pokka and the guardsman we knew best, Asha Yon. Being a druid, the captain was accompanied by his two wolf companions. After a quick analyze, I realized Randolf’s ‘sisters’ were in fact hybrids of wolf and spirit, named Alf and Bet.
The other difference was that Captain Pokka had positioned his cave stone necklace above his armor, probably while we were speaking to the other guardsmen. This identified him as a bonded friend to all Earth Elementals. As we approached the captain, our Earth Elemental friends and Captain Pokka made mutual bows to each other. Alf and Bet also bowed their front legs and heads. The Captain briefly related the tale of his small squad fighting a roc to protect young Earth Elementals. Elder Stone was also interested in knowing why there were four people with river stones on campus, and Arrjee explained it. . Due to greater common interest, our conversation lasted longer than it had with Wern and Norran.
Eventually Arrjee stated that we had some duties to attend to in town. Unbroken Stone chose to remain because he wanted to speak more with the Skolturi. Skawa told me goodbye, and he was gone before Interface or I could respond. Maybe something important was happening elsewhere.
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[later, Barrie Silverstone’s Point of View]
The senior member of the escort for the royal treasure was Captain Randolf Pokka, a Level 42 Druid and Ranger. He asked to observe the trial as the duchess’ representative, something with which I had no problem. Asiel Windgarden had agreed to preside as judge. While the task would normally fall to me in a small village like Cottages, I had been part of the investigation, which might color my outlook. Besides, I really wanted to watch an actual justicar as he oversaw the trial.
We sat around the large, round meeting table in the campus’ administration building. Asiel was seated most distant from the outside door. Seated on his left was Dorra Marson, here to act as trial empath. With a justicar present, we probably didn’t need an empath, but she and I normally presided at trials, what few our village needed to hold, anyway. At his other side was my brother Ralf Rallee, head of the town guard. His organization was the one most affected by the attack, so Asiel felt he should be a third judge at the trial.
There was an empty seat on Dorra’s left, followed by Captain Pokka, the bandit Corval Hirsut, and the guardsman who had been attacked, Drahm Frahm. I doubted Corval needed to be seated between two guards, but this way he was most likely to maintain decorum. I was seated next to Drahm. The cleric Harron Ronvaldte was seated next to me, with an empty seat to his left.
There were several additional observers. Rhetta’s mother Rhonda Silverstone was seated next to the former mayor Sterbian Morse. Asiel’s brother Orian was in a seat one down from him. It had been pretty obvious Wraiths made Sterbian uncomfortable, and Orian gave him some space. Unbroken Stone was standing at the side to observe the proceedings. I suspected he doubted our chairs would support his weight, and he was likely correct.
Note to self: add two solid stone chairs for larger visitors.
Asiel pounded on the table once to call us to order. He probably added a telekinetic element to the knock; I’m not sure his barely-there fist could have made that sound. “Good evening. I am Asiel Windgarden and will be acting as chief judge. I believe Mayor Silverstone asked me to serve in this position because of my Justicar class. Also serving as judges are Dorra Marson as court empath and Ralf Rallee, Cottage’s senior guardsman. Rhonda Silverstone will be making a written record of the proceedings. Since this matter concerns a treasure of the duchy, Captain Randolf Pokka will be making a report to Duchess Tarbra Jossel.”
I hadn’t known about the report, but now that I heard it, it was obvious he would need to
“Are there any questions to the court before we begin?” He paused for a few seconds to give anyone an opportunity to answer. I casually wondered if I should start asking that in trials that I judge. No one spoke, so Asiel continued. “Young Corval Hirsut has already admitted his guilt as to the assault on guardsman Drahm Frahm, and to being a part of the large gang which had hoped to steal the Formless Abider. Our concern now is to learn what happened and why. A second bandit, Dheck Larner, died during the assault, and we will also ascertain how that occurred.”
Asiel described his Revelation skill and let everyone know he would be using it with any questions he asked. My Good Question skill is automatic, and might trigger on anything I ask, although I didn’t mention it. Its results, if any, can be quite random, deeply penetrating the psyche of the people I ask questions of. And Listen, well if those at trial don’t expect a mayor to listen well, they just aren’t very aware. We always assure that they are fully aware of Dorra’s empathic monitoring, however.
“Guardsman Drahm Frahm, would you please describe your assault and the events leading up to it?” || reveal
Like everyone else, it took Drahm a couple seconds to process his increased wisdom, intelligence, and its associated memory enhancement. “Wow. … It was my normal shift, and I was stationed alone, up top of the main gate. I witnessed the unexpected convoy heading toward town, but I realized it was accompanied by a troupe of guardsmen, so I was alert but not worried. I was surprised when they turned onto campus instead of proceeding to town. Captain Pokka, although I didn’t know who he was then, acknowledged me with a wave.”
“Just a few minutes later, the mayor’s daughter Carrie hurried into town, along with two carpenters who must have been working late. A few minutes later, various groups of people left town and went to the campus. I was very curious as to what was happening, but all I could do was speculate, not very accurately as it turned out. Eventually I heard someone speaking loudly, although my post was too far away for me to hear what they were saying.”
“After a little while more, two figures appeared out of nowhere, between me and our alarm bell. The younger one, Corval, released some sort of sleeping dust in my face that also instantly paralyzed my mouth. I managed to pull my sword sluggishly, and the older one laughed and chopped my lower arm off with one swing of his large knife. I now know that the knife has an enchantment which makes it exceptionally sharp. Pain didn’t really register; the dust must have had an anesthetizing quality to it. By then, its effects were really kicking in and I collapsed to the ground, managing to brake my fall with my good arm. Dheck, the older bandit, just laughed and approached me with his knife obviously held ready to attack me again.”
“Corval told him to stop, they had succeeded in preventing an alarm. He did not, and was bending down over my lower torso with what I can only assume from his knife position was vicious intent. Just then he started coughing heavily and stood back up. He swore at Corval, and now that viciousness was directed at him. My consciousness was very dim, but I managed to reach out at one of his legs, and I think he might have tripped. I don’t remember any more until I awoke later with my arm restored. Thank you, Harron.”
“Oh, no,” Harron responded, “Forrest Rhodes healed you and reattached your arm; I simply informed him that he was capable of doing it.”
Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator.
Asiel asked us if anyone else had questions for Drahm Frahm. I asked him, “Do you have any suggestions concerning how to prevent this sort of event in the future?”
He thought for a second. “Well, the security door was locked, but that didn’t hinder a rogue. We might enchant the door to make unauthorized entry more difficult, as well as always sounding some sort of tone to alert the guard that someone was coming up the steps, friend or foe. Sometimes a guy just has to scratch, you know. Also, it wouldn’t hurt to have two alarm bells at the top of the wall, or even three, so invaders who do make it up have a harder time preventing an alarm.”
No one else had questions for the guard, so Asiel focused on the young bandit. “Corval Hirsut, who are you?” || reveal
After a second to accept the effects of the skill, he began speaking. “I am a bandit and an orphan and I really don’t know who I am. Or rather, I don’t remember who I was originally. I might have occasional shadows of shadows of memories and the shortest of broken snippets from before the bandits took me at age 6. Are those real or imagined? I don’t know. What my life was and who I was is gone. I lived with our bandit chief, who thought I was cute and had me ‘sleep’ with him regularly. I didn’t know any better and it was years later when I came to understand that he thought of me as no more than a toy. Sometimes he would invite other bandits in and sometimes teens of both sexes, all to ‘play’ with me. I’m sure the teens had grown up treated very similarly to me.”
“I remember asking him about my parents. He told me the truth. My parents had been killed by bandits, and their group had rescued me from starvation. I didn’t realize that I was living with those very bandits. The truth was a lie that just happened to be factually correct.”
“Who I became is me. The bandit chief got killed when I was almost 10, and then Mowd adopted me. ‘Mowd’, she has no other name, is from the outlands, a nomad. She was a medicine woman and for a reason I don’t know, left her tribe and hooked up with the bandits. The rumors were that she is the one who killed the old chief, but she never admitted to it, so I don’t know if it is true. I hope so; that bastard deserved to die. Anyway, it was through her example I chose to be an Alchemist. She told me about several other classes which would be useful to an alchemist. I chose the Rogue class as my secondary because it allows me to hunt the wilds for herbs and reagents safely, hidden from any nearby beasts or even people. Rogue was also a good fit for a life of banditry. I remained with the gang until this very day.”
“Who was Dheck Larner?” || reveal
“He was the sadistic prick I killed. I guess I was only able to do that with the assistance of Drahm Frahm. Thank you guardsman; if he hadn’t tripped right then, I’m sure he would have killed me. The pepper powder would have almost blinded him and made him feel like his eyes and nostrils were on fire. I’m sure his throat was feeling like it was binding up too. But with his level being 21, I really didn’t have a chance. Our goal was simply to prevent the alarm from being sounded. Well, that was the ordered goal, not Dheck’s.”
“I had never met him until two days ago. He was part of the city gang, not my troupe of bandits. You should have heard him bragging about numerous horrible things he had done; he was lower than that bandit chief who ‘saved’ me. But since he had stealth and I was a rogue, yesterday they sent us ahead. We camped far outside of town last night. When it was clear he was going to kill or disfigure the disabled guardsman, we ended him.”
Asiel and Dorra shared some sort of silent communication. It might have just been with her eyes, but knowing her, she shared something empathically. I think she shared it with Guardsman Rallee as well.
Asiel’s final question was the simplest, which would likely lead to the broadest answer. “Corval, what happened?” || reveal
He took a deep breath, giving himself time to decide how to answer. “The bandit groups were supposed to arrive around 5, if they didn’t manage to ambush the caravan somewhere along the road. I picked the lock on the security door around 4:35 and we went up. By the way, Drahm, installing an alert on the stairs that affects everyone equally is a good idea. Such devices are harder to detect when they are hidden well and have no intent in their creation to specifically reveal people who don’t belong there. Ideally the notice would be silent and something only the wall guard would sense.”
“I thought that was worth saying, sorry. Anyway, something must have slowed the bandit troupes down, because we didn’t notice them turn that corner up the road until about 6. We were watching from between where Drahm stood and the alarm bell; as soon as we noticed the horses and dust, we acted just as Drahm described. I had a packet of unconsciousness at the ready and released it in his face. The dust is not instantaneous except for its silencing effect. He had time to draw his weapon. Instead of simply blocking his sluggish attack, which he could have done easily, Dheck chose to chop off Drahm’s lower arm. There was no honor in that!”
“It was obvious Dheck was not through with his sadistic ‘fun’, which the stories he had told me should have prepared me for. Yet it was too foreign to how our troupe of bandits act, at least since Mowd’s influence had taken hold. I knew I couldn’t stop him with pure force, so I grabbed a packet of pepper dust and caught him off guard. Even partially incapacitated and unexpectedly tripped, he still managed to stab me and cut me in several places. But I did manage to kill him. I collapsed, bleeding, expecting to die.”
Harron added, “Corval would have died if we had gotten there more than a minute later. He had lost a great amount of blood, and that wicked knife of Dheck’s had come within a fingernail of tearing his stomach wide open It was really amazing that Corval still had some degree of consciousness.”
“I forgot to say I was able to swallow a potion of minor healing. The wounds were worse than you saw. And thank you, Cleric Ronvaldt, um, ‘Human Skolturi Hybrid Primitive’?”
Harran gave a quick laugh. “I just found out I was not completely Human a little while ago.”
Asiel asked if anyone else had questions for Corval. Dorra asked him, “What do you believe a fitting punishment would be for your crimes?”
He thought for quite a few seconds. “Well, that’s a tough one. We did not succeed, and the mayor told me the punishment would likely not be too severe. I did help defend Guardsman Frahm. So maybe two years in a work gang?”
“That’s actually not a bad estimate,” said my brother.
Asiel enquired, “Does anyone else have something to add?”. Trying to be helpful, Elder Stone offered to host the bandit in their mountain caves, for two years of hard labor. That seemed excessive to me, but Asiel thanked him for the offer and said they would consider it.
Captain Pokka asked, “Corval Hirsut, do you know of any further plans by these bandits?”
“No sir. Actually the four groups performing the robbery today had never worked together before, and it is unlikely they will again. I know my troupe is going to be quite angry at the city gang if they don’t get paid anything. We were promised immense wealth.”
“Do you know the name of the city gang?”
“Uh, they were from the capital. Maloney … something Maloney something I think. Dheck mentioned that he and a couple friends had recently joined them after being members of a bigger gang from the First Duchy. That name is too stupid to forget, “The Grease”.
Some of us recognized that quite stupid name, and the implications were not good. From everything Onre had told us, it was not at all surprising that Dheck had such a sadistic nature.
I’ll speak with Captain Pokka later.
Asiel wanted another moment for any further questions. There were none, and he asked Dorra and Ralf to speak with him in one of the backrooms, where they would reach a consensus on the punishment. About 15 minutes later, they came back and took their seats.
“Corval Hirsut, please stand.” He did, facing the judges with no trace of hostility. “You freely admitted guilt, have cooperated with this court, and acted bravely to protect the life of Guardsman Frahm. Nevertheless, if the robbery had been successful, you would have played no small part. Therefore we find that you will indeed work off your guilt, but not as part of a work gang or alone with the Elementals. For a period of one year you shall serve both the village of Cottages and this school. For nine days a week you will:”
ONE: serve five hours per day as a supervised cadet in the village guard.
TWO: serve five hours per day as a janitorial custodian for the school.
THREE: and twice a week you will meet with the empath Dorra Marson for one hour. Your upbringing has led to a partially broken spirit, as illustrated by the fact that you are unable to remember anything of your young childhood, not even your name. Make no mistake, your spirit is healthy and honorable. Yet there are parts of it which bear deep scars and could potentially lead to a tragic future.
“Finally, you will take a Soul Oath to fulfill these obligations with the Potentate Mayor Barrie Silverstone. The guard will determine your schedule with them, and the school will allow you flexible hours, so long as you get your work hours in. You will not be charged for room and board, and you will receive 2 bronze per workday for other living expenses. Do you have any questions?”
“No sir. Thank you, judges.”
The wolfling has a lot to think about, but compared to living as a bandit, this should be a substantial improvement.