Barely breathing hard, Arryl looked for the victim. It did not surprise him when he found no one. The unfortunate had likely crawled off as soon as he had been able to do so. Arryl could not blame the man. There were few whose courage and abilities matched those of a Solamnic Knight.
Arryl was just debating what to do with his two charges when a group of armed soldiers, obviously the city guard, appeared at the end of the alley.
'What goes on here?' asked another man, stepping forward. Unlike the others, he wore the robes of the priesthood.
'These men were beating another. I ordered them to surrender, but they chose to attack ME instead.'
The soldiers began to filter into the alley. Several men reached the two dazed assailants and half-dragged the limp forms away. The cleric, meanwhile, ordered a torch brought so that he might better survey the scene. After observing the alley and the weapons dropped by Tremaine's adversaries, the cleric turned his attention to the waiting knight. Seen by the flickering light of the torch, the priest's pale face and emaciated countenance made him look like a week-dead corpse.
'Why did you not call the guardsmen?'
'They wouldn't have arrived in time. A man's life was in danger.'
'So you say.' The cleric sounded skeptical.
Arryl's temper rose a bit at the thought that someone would dare question his word, but he reminded himself that the priest did not know he was a Knight of Solamnia.
'Is the sword your weapon?' The cleric pointed at the blade lying on the street.
'I had no weapon. These belonged to them.'
The cleric was genuinely impressed. 'You took on two men without a weapon?'
Tremaine shrugged. 'I am a Knight of Solamnia, a Knight of the Sword. I have been trained to fight with or without weapons. The two who attacked were hardly a threat.' Arryl shrugged. 'Swords and knives in the hands of novices are generally more dangerous to themselves than to anyone else.'
The city guardsmen glanced at each other and muttered among themselves. The cleric demanded quiet. Arryl noted the silver stripe running across the man's chest, the same stripe he had seen on Brother Gurim and several other clerics since his arrival. He wondered briefly about its meaning, but the priest demanded his attention again.
'Your name, Solamnian?'
'I am Arryl Tremaine.'
'Arryl Tremaine, I want you to come with us.'
'Excuse me, Brother, but I would like to return to my quarters. I have been negligent in the performance of my evening prayers.'
The cleric smiled. 'I commend your dedication, but this is a matter of justice. The laws of His Holiness and the great Paladine have been broken. Surely you see that this is of much greater import than missing one day of prayer?'
Arryl hesitated, then nodded. The cleric had a point. The law had been broken and Tremaine was a witness. Likely they wanted him to testify against the two.
'Come, then, Sir Knight,' said the cleric pleasantly. 'Walk beside me. It is not often that we have one of our Solamnic brothers among us.'
The city guardsmen suddenly closed in around him and jostled him roughly. Angered at their effrontery, Arryl started to reach for his sword, then reminded himself that not only was he not the prisoner, but that his sword was back in his quarters.
To his astonishment, the guardsmen took him to the Temple of Paladine.
'Why are we here?' Tremaine asked. 'I would have thought felons would be taken to the headquarters of the city guard.'
The emaciated priest, who still had not introduced himself, gave Arryl a look that said that only a foreigner would ask such a question. 'The city guard is the physical arm of justice. Defining and overseeing the law is a matter for the Order of Paladine.'
Despite the merit of the statement, the Solamnian had his doubts. 'You have not yet explained my purpose here. Am I to act as witness?'
'That is up to the inquisitors to decide.'
The temple itself was as splendid as anything in Istar. Immense marble columns rose high in the air. Intricate friezes representing both the history of Istar and Paladine's glory decorated the walls. Sculptures and other valuable artifacts lined the halls. The temple had been built long before the present Kingpriest. The additions made since his rise to power were gaudy and seemed out of place. His banners and masks were everywhere, but here the true wonder of Paladine overwhelmed that of his servant, as was only proper.
A pair of tall silver — true silver — doors led to the chamber where the inquisitors meted out justice. Tremaine and the others waited for several minutes, the knight trying not to grow impatient.
The doors suddenly swung open. Two large acolytes, armed with very solid-looking maces, pushed the doors aside and stood guard. One of them nodded to Arryl's guide.
'Enter.'
The guards shoved Arryl forward, as if HE were the prisoner! He glared at them angrily.
The room was lit by only a handful of torches, but it was still enough light to allow Arryl Tremaine to study his surroundings. The contrast between this chamber and the rest of the temple was astonishing. It seemed that the original builders had forgotten to finish this room once the walls were up. To be sure, the familiar banners and masks commemorating the Kingpriest were present, but little else. The only furniture consisted of a table and three chairs atop a dais.
The doors behind them closed.
Three hooded and robed figures entered from a side door that the knight had not noticed in the dim light. They all wore the same robes that Brother Gurim and the cleric beside him wore, white with a silver stripe running across the chest. Tremaine guessed now what that symbol meant. These specific clerics served as the keepers of justice in the Kingpriest's city.
Their hoods masking their features, the three newcomers sat down in the chairs and faced the group. The one in the center clasped his hands together and asked, 'Is this the one involved in the struggle, Brother Efram?'
Arryl's companion stepped through the line of guards and took a position two or three feet in front. The knight tried to follow him, but the soldiers formed a tight ring around him. Arryl frowned, but did nothing more, assuming that this was merely a matter of protocol.
Brother Efram bowed respectfully and answered, 'This is the one.'
The spokesman for the triumvirate signaled someone beyond the side doorway. Arryl was shocked to see the two men he had beaten enter on their own. The knight was the one being guarded!
'This is the man?' the center figure asked them.
They nodded.
'You are dismissed.'
The two departed. The hooded clerics focused their attention on Arryl, who was growing extremely angry. He was forced to remind himself he was in a temple of Paladine.
'You are Arryl Tremaine, Knight of Solamnia?' the cleric demanded.
'I am!' he answered proudly.
The center cleric folded his hands together again. 'You appreciate the letter of the law, do you not, Sir Knight?'
'I do. What — '
'Then you realize that you have transgressed.'
'I — ' Arryl stiffened. He could hardly believe what he was hearing. 'I am INNOCENT of wrongdoing! What do you mean by saying that I have transgressed?'
