Would there be a civil war? Clearly, a line had been crossed.
“Well, at least the Silver will finally see what we have known for a long time now,” Gwendolyn spoke up. “That our brother is not to be trusted. That he strives to cause division amongst our kingdom. That he caused Kendrick to be jailed unfairly. And that he was responsible for the death of our father.”
The hall grew quiet at Gwendolyn’s final words, as all the warriors turned and looked at her.
“The death of your father?” one of the soldiers asked.
“Those are serious charges, my lady,” Brom said. “Have you any proof?”
“We had proof, Godfrey and I,” she responded. “We had a witness to the crime. The man who wielded the blade, and Gareth’s advisor, Firth. But now he hangs from the gallows. Gareth made sure of that.”
“Then you have no proof,” Kolk said.
“Not anymore. Gareth has managed to do away with whatever proof we could find. But he would not have tried to poison Godfrey, and he would not have tried to kill me, if he didn’t know we were close to revealing him.”
“Still, it remains circumstantial,” Brom said. “The Council is very strict. We cannot oust a King without proof of wrongdoing-we would be considered traitors to the Ring. Unfortunately, our law leaves no room for compromise. Proof is required, however unjustly a King may act.”
“But there is more than the fact that he assassinated our father,” Kendrick chimed in. “He is also endangering us, our men, the Ring, leaving us open to attack. That is why the McClouds’ breached the Highlands: they sensed our vulnerability. One can argue that we have a right, a responsibility, to revolt, and to institute a new rulership, on behalf of the best interests of the Ring.”
“That may be true,” Kolk argued, “but still we cannot take any action while he is lawful King. We need proof of his assassination attempt. Then we can oust him.”
“I think I can find proof,” Godfrey said.
The room turned and looked at him.
“If I can prove who poisoned me, the other night in the tavern,” he continued, “then that may lead back to Gareth. Surely, an assassination attempt on his own brother, a member of the royal family, would be grounds to oust him as king.”
“Yes it is,” Brom replied. “But we would need proof. And a witness.”
“I can find it,” Godfrey said. “I’m sure I can.”
“Then find it, and be quick about it. And in the meantime, we will do what we can to help rebuild and refortify from our fragile state,” Kendrick added. “We are weakened since the McCloud attack. I will lead a group to our eastern defenses and help fortify them, in case of another attack. They have been badly damaged in the raid and we will need a contingent of men to fortify our cities and to prevent another McCloud raid.”
“I will help by dispatching the Legion,” Kolk chimed in. “They can help rebuild the other villages destroyed by the McClouds.”
“In the meantime, we will find proof, and find a legal way to oust Gareth,” Gwen said.
“You better be quick about it,” Brom said. “Because my men will not suffer Kultin and his savages in Silver Hall for long. I fear that if we don’t find a way to legally oust Gareth soon, then we will have a civil war on our hands.”
The room muttered in approval.
“Speaking of traitors,” Kendrick added, “we must first oust the traitors within our own ranks.”
Kendrick turned towards the door and nodded to Atme, who suddenly slammed closed the huge door of the Hall of Arms. It reverberated with a hollow thud and he barred it, not allowing any soldiers to leave. The room grew silent with a thick tension.
“Forg!” Kendrick called out. “Come forward! The time has come for you to account for your actions on the battlefield yesterday.”
A shout rose up, as several members of the Silver grabbed Forg and dragged him forward, cutting a path through the crowd, to the center. He was held in place by four knights, as he struggled to break free.
“What is the meaning of this?” Forg yelled, indignant. “I’m a loyal member of the King’s Army. I did nothing wrong!”
“Didn’t you?” Kendrick asked. “Thor and several of his Legion friends were led into an ambush by the McClouds. You set them up to be killed.”
Kendrick stepped forward, pulled a dagger from his belt and held it to Forg’s throat, as the room grew silent.
“I’m only going to ask you this once. Answer truthfully, and it might just save your life. Was it Gareth who commanded you to do so?”
A thick silence fell over the room, as Forg swallowed hard, sweating.
Finally, he nodded, and lowered his head.
“He did,” he admitted.
An outraged gasp erupted through the hall.
“He admits his treachery!” several knights called out.
“Forgive me my Lord,” Forg pleaded, desperation in his eyes. “It was a command from the King. And I was too weak not to heed it.”
“Yet it was a command to kill one of our own,” Kolk said, stepping forward. “To set up noble Legion members for death at the enemy’s hands. It was a command for treachery and betrayal. And you executed it. You know what the punishment is for betrayal of a Legion member.”
Forg swallowed hard.
“Please, my lords, have mercy!”
“Thor,” Kendrick said, turning to him. “It falls on you to pronounce a death sentence on Forg. It is you whom he betrayed.”
The entire hall grew silent, as everyone turned to Thor.
Thor’s heart pounded as he watched the man before him, waiting to be killed. A great fury washed over him, as he considered how this man had endangered his Legion brothers.
Yet at the same time, to Thor’s surprise, he felt compassion for him, too. After all, it seemed that Forg had once been a good knight; he had simply been unable to stand up to tyranny, to do the right thing when the time came, in the heat of the moment. Thor hated the idea of his being executed-and especially at his own expense.
Thor stepped forward and cleared his throat.
“It is true,” Thor called out, “Forg is deserving of death for what he did. But I would ask you all to have mercy on him.”
A surprised gasp spread through the room.
“Mercy?” Kolk asked. “Why?”
“He may be deserving of death,” Thor said. “But that does not mean we should give it to him. He made a mistake. Gareth is the evil one behind all of this. I would rather not have this knight’s blood shed on my behalf. He made a mistake. And we survived, after all. Most of us, anyway.”
“Thorgrinson,” Kendrick said, “our law prohibits us from allowing a traitor to stay within our ranks. Something must be done with him.”
“Then banish him,” Thor said. “Send him away from your hall. Let him join Gareth’s men, or let him leave the Ring. But don’t kill him.”
Kendrick looked long and hard at Thor, and finally he nodded.
“I can see that you hold much wisdom, despite your young age.”
Kendrick turned to Forg, grabbed him by the chest, and scowled into his eyes.
“You are very lucky on this day,” Kendrick said. “If I see your face before me again, I will kill you myself.”
Kendrick reached over, tore the army’s pin from Forg’s vest, spun him around and kicked him hard, sending him stumbling through the hall. Forg hurried through the room and Atme opened the door, let him out, and slammed the door behind him.
Slowly, the room burst back into life, and as it did, Brom stepped forward.
“We still have not addressed the most important issue here today,” he boomed.
