“This is Ambassador Arkhan of the Empire,” the King says as the man comes forward. Ambassador Arkhan looks with hatred at James as he approaches the members of the court. “He has laid charges against you of the gravest sort,” continues the King. “Ambassador?”
“Thank you your highness,” the ambassador says as he gives the King a deep bow full of flourishes. Standing aright again, he points to James and says, “This villain has killed wantonly within the Empire. He has hurt and degraded one of our most prominent nobles and has completely destroyed an entire island, the act of which ended the lives of thousands of our citizens. We ask that he be given to us to be taken back to the Empire!”
James stares at the man, then turns to look at the King. A snicker can be heard from the group of onlookers and he quickly glances to the source and he’s shocked to see Lord Colerain there. The satisfied look upon his face makes James’ blood go cold.
“How do you plead to these charges?” the King asks.
Plead? he thinks to himself. On the face of it, guilty. I did in fact do all those things, but not in the context this Ambassador is stating. He stands there in indecision while the entire court stares at him. Never good in the spotlight, his anxiety begins mounting and his stress level increases.
Stammering, he says, “Did I destroy an island? Yes, I did.” Around the room, those watching the proceedings gasp in surprise. “I and a friend went there to rescue another who had been captured during the Empire’s sacking of the City of Light. We were rescuing him from slavery.” A murmur can be heard running through the crowd at his words.
“As far as hurting and degrading a prominent noble, that would have to be Lord Cytok.” At that the King’s eyes widen slightly in surprise. “He took several of our traveling companions captive and was in the process of torturing them. We rescued them as well.”
“Enough of his lies!” the ambassador exclaims. “He has confessed the guilt with his own words your highness and we demand justice.”
“But your majesty,” exhorts James. “None of what I’ve done has been done in malice or with the intent to hurt anyone. It was the Empire’s actions which caused me to do what I did, just to survive!”
“Impertinence!” shouts the Ambassador. “The Empire demands that he be given over to us, now!”
“Demands?” the King says back to the Ambassador with an edge to his voice. “You are in no position to demand anything, Ambassador. We shall not be rushed into judgment on this matter.” Turning his attention to where James is standing before him, he asks, “As for you, James. This will not be decided here, today. We must consider all aspects before rendering our judgment. Will you give us your parole not to flee until this matter is settled?”
As James is about to answer, he feels the tingling sensation suddenly spike. The robed man behind the king is staring intently at him. “Yes, your majesty. I shall not leave Cardri until at such time this is resolved.”
Glancing to the robed man, the King receives a nod. “Very well, then. You may go, but we strongly caution you against doing anything while we’re in judgment which would turn our decision summarily against you.”
“Yes, your majesty,” replies James. Out of the corner of his eye, he sees the officious man approaching him. “Follow me sir,” he says.
James gives the King and his court a bow before turning to follow the man from the room. They leave through a different side door from which they originally entered. A page is waiting for them outside the door and the officious man says, “Take this man back to his inn.”
Bobbing his head, the page replies, “Yes sir.” To James he says, “This way.” As the page leads him out of the castle, James tells him to take him to the Silver Bells. He didn’t realize just how long it’s been since he first talked to Ellinwyrd until he leaves the castle. He must have been waiting outside the Royal Court for some time for the sun has already gone down and the first stars are beginning to make their appearance.
All the way back, James’ mind churns over what happened to him back at the Royal Court. Why would they let me go on my own recognizance? Maybe that wizard back there had truth-read me? If so, I should try to figure out how he did it. It may come in useful.
Once past the gates into the middle section of town, the page continues leading him directly to the inn. When they are but three blocks away, James sees a crowd of people congregating near the entrance to an alleyway. “Wonder what’s going on over there?” he asks out loud.
The page says, “Maybe they found another body?”
“What?” James asks.
“Earlier today, they found a woman’s body mutilated in a different alley near here,” he says. “It happens sometimes.”
James is slightly unnerved by the callous way in which the page just shrugs off a woman’s death. Is that sort of thing so common around here that no one pays any attention to it? “Was she a prostitute?” he asks.
“Most likely,” the page replies, “though I’m not entirely sure.”
Could be why the reaction, prostitutes are looked down on in most societies so their deaths tend not to be too bothersome. It does sort of go with the trade.
When they reach the inn, the page makes his farewells and returns to the castle. Inside the inn, James finds Miko, Illan and Dave having their evening meal in the common room. Taking a seat at the table, he relates what happened at the Court and the accusations of the Ambassador.
“Seems that since they can’t get you by force, they’ll try another route,” observes Illan.
“Looks that way,” he replies. “Have any of you heard about the women killed around here recently?”
They all shake their heads no and he proceeds to fill them in on what he learned. “It’s a bad time for this sort of thing to be happening,” he says when he’s done.
“It’s always a bad time when someone dies,” states Dave.
“I know, but now with all that’s going on up at the castle, I just hope they don’t get the idea it’s caused by me,” he says.
“Do you think they’ll decide against you?” his friend asks.
“I hope not Dave,” he replies.
“What do you plan to do if they decide to hand you over to the Empire?” Illan asks.
“I’m not going with them, that’s for sure,” he states with finality. “But I’ll worry about that when the time comes.”
“If you go against the Royal Court’s decision, wouldn’t that put them against you too?” Miko asks, worried.
“Who knows?” says James in exasperation.
Illan and Miko then fill him in on what they’ve learned. Miko was surprised when James didn’t react to the fact Lord Colerain was in the city until he explained that he had already seen him in Court.
“Do you think he had a hand in it?” Miko asks. “You being summoned I mean.”
Shaking his head, James replies, “I doubt it. He’s probably just around to enjoy the situation. By the way, where are Jiron and Fifer?”
“I don’t know,” Illan replies. “They left out of here several hours ago and weren’t too clear as to where they were going.”
“I hope they’re not getting into any trouble,” he says as he digs into his dinner.
The time for the match draws near. Jiron and Fifer begin making their way through the dark streets on their way to the courtyard behind the inn. “Nervous?” Fifer asks.
“Not especially,” Jiron replies. Even when fighting in the pits, he never once became nervous or anxious. Some of the others had thought him somewhat odd because of that, but the closest emotion he ever feels at this time would be a sense of expectation.
Other people on the streets are heading in the direction of the courtyard, the word of the impending fight must have spread throughout the poor section. As they reach the inn, they find carriages of obviously wealthy individuals waiting out front. “Seems this goes on a lot around here, they even attract the nobles.”
Moving through the alley to the side of the inn, they make their way through the milling crowd. As they approach the courtyard, the press of people becomes thicker and thicker until they have to practically force their way through. Jokingly, Fifer says, “I guess we should’ve arrived earlier.”
“It would seem that way,” replies Jiron.
Near the end of the alley, a group of thugs are blocking the entrance to the courtyard. When Jiron tries to move past, one of them says, “Here now, who do you think you are?”
