Chapter 31: Chapter 31 – Grin and Bare It

Adrian, Cali and I had moved into the commons house on the keep grounds. This was where matters of law and punishment were handled. It was open to the public, a concession designed to appeal to the people living here by making them confident in the authorities’ ability to punish criminals. From my experience, they weren’t very good at it. A small bribe would get you off most charges.

The room consisted of an open floor with wooden seats on both sides. Tall windows allowed light inside. At the far end of the room was a raised section where a large bronze throne sat. There were other, smaller wooden chairs assembled around it for the other members of government. The Duke was already seated when we arrived.

You couldn’t miss Benadora. She was wearing a big hat that reminded me of a traditional witch, a heavy bundle of white fur was wrapped around her shoulders. Under that was a long, flowing dress of white and blue. She had long, wavy black hair, piercing green eyes and tanned skin.

Adrian tugged on my arm and pointed to another person on the floor, “That’s the head of the Amendment’s team. Frances Muri.” The tall, robe wearing Ashmorn marched back and forth before the stairs that led to the Duke’s chair. Benadora crossed her arms impatiently. She didn’t want anything to do with this theatre. I could see some of his compatriots sat in the stands, wearing identical clothes.

There was a loud bang as the Duke hammered the arm of his chair with a wooden mallet, “I call this session to order! On the matter of the giant attacks ravaging our homes. I have called forth the Amendment to assist us. Sir Frances Muri will deliver his opening remarks.”

Adrian clutched the paper nervously. The supposed key to freeing his master from an untimely execution.

“Thank you sire. I have worked at a frantic pace to uncover the truth behind these incidents, before any further damage can be caused. It was a simple deduction that the sudden arrival of these monsters is the fault of an individual or group of individuals. This attack is unprecedented in the history of this town, or even this continent as a whole.”

He turned to face Benadora and held out his palm, “To wit, I present you with our chief suspect. Benadora, a so-called master of magic science. Aside from her spurious and suspicious manner – we have eye-witness reports of suspicious activity from her over the preceding weeks. No sooner than when she arrived here in Pascen did the giant attacks begin.”

This man clearly wasn’t a lawyer. Even I could poke a dozen holes in this opening statement. The problem was that Pascen didn’t have a formal legal system. Everything was decided on who presented the most convincing tale to the assembled rulers. Benadora didn’t remain silent. Her voice was dripping with disdain.

“You call yourself a man of logic and reason, yet here you are, throwing unfounded accusations at others. You don’t have a single fact to back your hypothesis.”

Frances scowled and pointed his finger at her, “I know that ever since you arrived, ill winds have blown. Is it not too convenient?”

“Yes, I’ve been studying them closely from a small building here in the town. It took me weeks to arrive here having heard the news.”

He ploughed on regardless, “And utilizing strange devices in plain view of others.”

“Utter prattle.”

This back and forth was doing little to sway the audience’s opinion. The exact minutia of the accusation was beyond them from a heated, one sided summary provided by Frances. “I have reason to believe that you are a witch. You have cursed this town to suffer under the brutal assault of these giant monsters.”

She scoffed, “Even someone with the most elementary education in magic knows that afflicting the ethereal winds in such a way is impossible. The amount of magical power required would be enough to kill, and purchasing the quantity of catalyst powder needed would be both expensive and conspicuous.”

She turned to face the Duke and tipped her hat, “If I may. I’ve been preparing to complete my report into the phenomenon.” She quickly crossed the floor and grabbed the paper from Adrian’s hands. She quickly studied the figures and snapped her fingers, “I can even pinpoint the location of the culprit.”

“Surely you won’t listen to these worthless lies!” Frances yelled, “She’s trying to escape judgement, even now!”

I held my breath as he moved to speak again. The Duke’s wrinkled face was sour with doubt, “Sir Frances, I called you and the Amendment here under the assumption that you would present a solution to the problem facing our fair town. From what I’ve heard thus far, the accused has done more work on the matter than you have.”

There was a murmur of discontent from the crowd. Frances’ strategy of pointing the finger right after arriving was backfiring now. The Duke has cut right through the story he was trying to tell. When a cornerstone of the narrative comes undone so quickly, filling in the gaps with lies would only make his life harder. Those lies could also be unpicked in moments.

The pause in proceedings allowed Benadora to study the figures for real. “I can pinpoint the location but I cannot say for certain what is there. While Frances insists this is a man-made problem, I’m leaning towards it being a natural anomaly. I cannot imagine what type of spell would be needed to cause such a change.”

“Lies, all of it!”

The Duke banged his gavel again, “Silence. I wish not to hear petty squabbling from you! If you think you can pull a fast one on me, you have another thing coming. If this is the full extent of your work, you will find me left severely wanting, Sir Frances.”

He knew the jig was up. He threw up his hand in frustration and stormed over to his ‘corner,’ where the other Amendment scholars were waiting. They huddled together to try and come up with a new strategy. Before they could, the Duke decided to take matters into his own hands.

“Benadora. You will remain in my custody for the time being. However, I will dispatch a team to investigate this location. If we find evidence as to your claim, we will release you.”

Benadora smiled glibly. She turned to Adrian and invited him down onto the floor. He clambered over the small railing dividing us from the main area and approached her, “This is my assistant, Adrian – may I ask that he assists your men?”

Frances didn’t like that idea at all, “Sir, surely this is an attempt to sabotage the expedition, or to even conceal the evidence you seek!”

The Duke remained unconcerned, “A single man cannot hope to inhibit a full-size expedition. Unless you can explain how ending this woman’s life will remove the giants from our presence with no delay, I see no issue with entertaining her and finding the answers for ourselves.”

Frances had one last card left to play.

“Then allow the Amendment to join this expedition of yours! We will ensure than an accurate and unbiased assessment will be reached post-haste.”

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What a load of bullshit. The nerve of this guy!

“Very well. Would the accused like to offer the services of any others?”

Adrian turned to me with a pleading look on his face. I sighed and gave him a nod.

Adrian smiled, “Ah, sir, I would like to bring two of my own guards. I’ve worked with them to gather this data, and they have experience felling giants. They’ll be able to protect us as we head deeper into enemy territory.”

“That is acceptable. I will offer eight of my own men to accompany you. I will organize supplies and numbers for tomorrow, I expect to see the volunteers from both parties outside the keep at nine o’clock sharp. Until then, the accused will remain here under watch. Dismissed.”

The crowd broke out into a loud discussion about what they just witnessed. The Duke was striking a very cautious tone. I was expecting him to execute her on the spot, but Frances had overplayed his hand. His hyperbolic accusations had opened the door to her fighting back with her own evidence and claims.

Adrian didn’t have a chance to speak with her as she was marched through a door at the back of the room by a pair of guardsmen. She quietly dropped her conclusions onto the floor before she was removed. Adrian sprinted over and scooped up the discarded document before the guards could. When he returned, he slumped down against the wooden barrier and hugged his knees.

“My heart is pounding… That was terrifying!”

“How the hell did you rope me into another one of these escort jobs?”

“Sorry. I needed to make sure that I had someone watching my back. The Amendment aren’t beyond sabotage to get their way, having them on this trip is dangerous. Assuming Master is freed afterwards - an appropriate payment of services rendered can be offered.”

I didn’t usually work on credit… that was asking for somebody to scam me.

“What did she conclude?”

Adrian looked down at the pilfered parchment, his eyes widening. “This is interesting, master identified a low-pressure area to the north of Pascen.”

“Low pressure? Like the eye of the storm?”

“Exactly, but for ether it’s where the magic is thin. Think of it as a rock blocking the flow of a stream or river. It causes changes in the direction and force of the ether flow, usually increasing it in violence and variance. An unusual area of magic deprivation sounds like a good place to start in solving this mystery.”

At least it’d be a good chance to test out my new armour, it was supposed to be finished the next day. I couldn’t wait to be rid of the heavy iron breastplate that I’d been using since I left the Bend.

“What do you think we’ll find there?”

Adrian bit his lip, “I’m not sure. They were being honest when they said this is an unprecedented event. If it has occurred before, not a soul had the providence to record the incident for posterity. It could be a mad spellcaster burning away his life for no good purpose, or perhaps a natural development that is not currently understood by modern scholars. For now, I am happy that Master is safe enough. They will not put her to the sword this day.”

“She seemed interesting,” Cali observed, “Especially her manner of dress.”

“What was so odd about it?” I asked ignorantly.

“She was wearing traditional Ashmorn robes, the kind that a powerful spell caster would be gifted. Yet she was not an Ashmorn herself.”

Adrian nodded, “Ah, her clothes! Yes, Master has worked very closely with some eminent Ashmorn thinkers. She admires Ashmorn culture and society - especially their focus on scientific pursuits.”

“Why, was it offensive?”

“No. Merely… out of date. ‘Traditional’ in this sense means three-hundred years after their prevalence as a form of common dress. She must be very in touch with Ashmorn culture to even know of their meaning.”

“She’d be beside herself to have a chance to speak with you, Miss Cali. Hopefully after all of this is over with, she can answer any questions you have! Now, we should be making our preparations. It will take until the early hours of the morning to reach our destination on foot. What must I bring with me?”

I counted on my fingers, “Good boots, a thick coat, food and drink to last a few days, replacement socks. Those are the bare minimum.”

“A rucksack it is,” he concluded, “I’m embarrassed to admit but… Master Benadora has shied away from field studies for some time. A lengthy trip like this will be a first for me.”

“Just stick with us, and you’ll be fine.”

We parted ways after that. I had preparations of my own to make.

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