"Hold up," Eloise tells the guards once they have taken their prisoner inside the building.
If they comply, she steps up to the Bea -- to Andrew. "Stay strong, my friend," she says. "We have found even more evidence to exhonorate you. You have a solid chance."
Unless the guards stop her or Andrew appears overwrought to the point of going berserk, Eloise uses her handkerchief to wipe the tomato and the tears from his face.
"Stay strong, my friend," she repeats. "We are with you."
"Are you going to eat that tomato? I for one could use some breakfast." The bard nabs a thrown onion off the ground and starts cutting the rotten parts off with a dagger. Then he squints at the blade, scoffs, and sets to it with a whetstone, letting the onion tumble back into the street.
Eloise's words seem to comfort the Beast a bit as his sobbing dies down a bit.
As Sour Heck examines his blade, a court guard will loudly proclaim that seating for the trial is limited and the gallery will open in ten minutes.
Sour Heck sighs and divests himself of his weapons to the court bailiff. "If you see a woman bringing her daughter in to the trial, you might want to give her bag a quick check for paving stones," he suggests.
The bard goes straight to the defense chambers to fill the Beast's barrister in on the events of the night. "...so it's all but certain it was the skinstealer, not Andrew, who burnt down Sanctuary. Can't say why, exactly, but maybe Karl will remember something about Brada's dealings with 'Vorkstag'. Anyway, we told the watch to bring a cabinet full of evidence that should convince the judges...well, of something, anyway."
Eloise will quietly cast Detect magic before handing over her sword and going inside. She maintains the spell through concentration.
'This is it...!'
Stifling a yawn, Peredur makes sure his Pharasmin spiral is obvious, then queues up to get into the gallery. If pressed he'll hand over his sword to the guard.
Everyone begins to take their seats as the final day of the Trial of the Beast begins. Chief Justice Khard enters as the bailiff commands that everyone stand.
"I should not need to remind you of the penalties for violence in my courtroom." says the elderly judge. "I will clear this entire courtroom if you do not behave and throw any offenders in jail."
"Mobs do not rule Lepidstadt and if any violence is threatened to the defendant, than you will be whipped out of town or hanged on the gallows." he says grimly.
"You may be seated."
---
The judge ruffles some papers, before he speaks again. "Prosecution, I believe that we are up to the events at the Sancutary. Please call your witnesses for this charge after reminding the jury of the events of that day."
The prosecution details the arson attack on the hospital of Sanctuary on Karb Isle 4 months ago. "It is believed that the Beast set fire to the building, murdering Doctor Brada and his patients in the process." Otto alleges to the jury. "Only
Brada’s loyal assistant Karl survived." he summarizes. "And he will be our only witness for this part of the trial, your honor." Otto calls Karl to the stand to give his evidence.
Over the few hours, Otto is led through his testimony by the Prosecution. One key fact that you notice that Otto never explicitly saw the Beast clearly, but only through fire and smoke, however a creature of Andrew's size is hard to miss or mistake.
At the summary of Otto's testimony, the judge dismisses him and calls you all forward. "It has been brought to my attention that you have found more evidence in the case." the judge states.
"Boooo!" "Give up! He's guilty!" "Why would you protect that monster!" echoes from the onlookers as the judge bangs his gavel to obtain order.
RAP! RAP RAP!
he bellows.
"We will take a 15 minute recess and you can present your evidence." the judge says as he raps his gavel once more and exits the room.
Peredur keeps quiet and watches the proceedings, trying to gauge if any of the lower-threshold potential mob leaders are near him .
Eloise stands tall and straight, her eyes focused on Andrew to lend him tacit supporr. If she pays any attention to those around her who boo the Society's efforts at all, it is with brief, scornful glances.
Peredur eyes the crowd but thinks that the villagers will follow the judge's orders about maintaining the peace. At least, for now...
Sour Heck has spent the first half of this day's trial in Gustav's chambers, "preparing". Guards passing by the door may have been alarmed by the volume of his snores.
As he is brought into the court, he can be seen hastily scrubbing his face with the sleeves of his tunic, managing to push the dust closer to his jaw and hairline. His eyes wide with fear, he bows low and often to the judges as he walks toward the witness stand. The hostile faces of the citizens in the seats, some of whom he recognizes from the torchbearing mob, clearly unnerve him so badly that he slides off his seat the first time he tries to sit.
When he finally gets settled, he surreptitiously gestures at Gustav to remind the barrister of the notes Sour Heck prepared for him, which read:
Karl described beast with animal parts, scaly, pus and fur. Doesn’t match Andrew. Signs of graverobbing at Sanctuary, like there were at Karb Isle. Found evidence there mentioning Vorkstag and Grines. Ask what we found in their warehouse!
The defense attorney is waiting in his chair at the table nearest to the cage holding Andrew when you are invited back into the courtroom after the recess.
The prosecution is quickly scanning through pages of notes that you did not see on their desk earlier as Gustav seems to be a bit more relaxed.
Karl is invited back up to the stand and is cross-examined by Gustav per Sour Heck's notes and, finally, Gustav begins to inquire into the new evidence found at Vorkstag and Grine's.
"So, you did not see Andrew at the incident on Karb Isle and there were reports of grave-robbing in the same location, were there not?" Gustav asks.
"Correct to both, sir, but it could only be the Beast. He is the only person to be that big and I did see a big person through the smoke."
"Interesting. Are you familiar with the proprietors of Vorkstag and Grine's, Karl?" Gustav asks.
yells the prosecutor.
Chief Justice Khard solemnly looks at Gustav. "I'm afraid that I am missing the relevance as well, Gustav."
"Well you honor, new information has come to light about the proprietors of the Butchery and I supplied the prosecution with evidence recovered from said location at my earliest possible time." Gustav explains. "It appears that there may be exonerating evidence at the Butchery found by Peredur and his friends last night."
"Interesting. Objection sustained, but I will allow you to choose one of the lot to testify as to what they found and you will be able to introduce the evidence." Khard decides.
"Your honor, this is highly irregular!" pleads the prosecution.
"I think we have an irregular case, Otto."
"If there are no more question for Karl, then you are excused." Both attorneys shake their heads. "Please step down."
---
After a few minutes of conferring with Andrew, Gustav calls Sour Heck to the stand.
"Do you swear to solemnly tell the truth, the whole truth, so help ye Pharasma?" the bailiff asks the Kellid as he sits in the witness box.
Upon an answer in the affirmative, Gustav begins to question Sour Heck. "What is your relationship to this case?"
“My relationship to the case… ‘It’s complicated?’ I’m a bard. I’d rather be telling the story of the Beast in a tavern. In a roundabout way that’s how I wound up here. Went looking for details, and found…”
Sour Heck’s voice catches. He falls into silence, and stares into the distance. His mouth works and works, but makes no noise, until the courtroom is rapt, then he croaks out:
“Horrors.”
The bard shakes his head, then nervously continues his testimony. “Lots of you have heard the first part of the story—you barristers, of course, and your honors. How I went to Karb Isle and found evidence of graverobbing and other foul things, but no sign of the Beast. Then to Hergsstag, where it turns out that freak over there was witness to a murder, not the murderer. Too bad the town drove him away before asking him what was killing their children, right?”
“So I was nervous when I went to talk to Karl last night.” The bard gives Karl a friendly wave, then winces. “Ah, anyway. Karl described the creature that burned down Sanctuary…I guess you all heard his description? For two hours? Because that’s all the evidence that the prosecution has to connect anyone to the crime?”
“Except that it doesn’t match that freak over there, does it? Damn tall, scales, pustules everywhere, fur coming off one shoulder, that’s what Karl told me. Well, the tall part fits. It would also fit an ogre, or a troll, or … worse.”
“The heroes of Harrowstone, the ones who exorcized the wraith that named itself Brother Swarm, escorted me to Sanctuary to look for more evidence. We found graverobbing there, as we had at Karb Isle. Elder Lazne’s description of the big monster that stalked Karb Isle matched the one Karl gave of Brada’s murderer. Well, the grim truth is there’s lots of money in graverobbing. But who could profit from such a crime? Who could sell cadavers in Lepidstadt to respectable university folk, under the nose of the Pharasman church? We found bottles and a ledger from a Lepidstadt alchemy works, a respectable old firm that made deliveries to the university all the time: Vorkstag and Grines. We figured it was worth going to ask a question or two.”
Sour Heck falls silent again. “Maybe the guards can bring the wardrobe in now? I’m going to have to tell you what we found at their laboratory, but none of you are going to believe it unless you see the worst of it for yourselves, and meet the guardsmen who were there to witness it all.”
[ooc]Sorry, meant Morast Swamp instead of Karb Isle in each instance above. It's been a long time![/b]
Eloise keeps a caregul eye on everything happening and scans for active magic. The corners of her mouth rise in a grim smile at Sour Heck's showmanship and oratory.
Peredur looks for spectators looking at him and the rest of the party.
Iesha resists stopping to lecture the woman on the street, only shaking her head and sighing. She is still upset at the current bigotry as she sticks with the team, and silently supports Sour Heck. Part of her calmness is an attempt to control a slowly rising anger at the folk of Lepidstadt and their willingness to find a scapegoat for all their problems in the Beast. She clenches her hands in her lap, mentally reviewing what she'd like to say as a summary of the situation.
Gustav clears his throat and whispers to Sour Heck under his breath. "How about you let me do the lawyering and introduction of evidence, huh? That's what I'm being paid for." he says with a wink.
Gustav turns to address the judge and jury. "Your honor, the defense would like to introduce Exhibits 1 through 5 at this time." states the man as the doors to the courtroom are opened and the wardrobe is wheeled in as well as several ledgers and boxes are carried by two other guards.
"Exhibit 1 is a wardrobe found within Vorkstag and Grine's. This is about to be very graphic so please look away if you are intestinally-compromised." he says as he opens the doors to the wardrobe, revealing the various skins of humans and creatures.
Gustav pulls out a telescoping baton and hooks the hanger with the "Beast's" skin on it. "And this is Exhibit 2. As you can see, this outfit, and I use that term loosely, fits Karl's description does it not?" The crowd gasps and a woman shields her son's eyes from the horrible scene in the wardrobe.
"Exhibits 3 through 5 are ledgers and alchemical items found at the factory in question, detailing work done at each of the locations submitted by the prosecution, giving the actual perpetrator motive and opportunity." Gustav states as he places the rest of the items on the judge's table.
"Back to you, Mr. Heck." Gustav says as he pivots on his left foot to face the witness. "Can you detail how you found this evidence and where the owners of this evidence are now?"
Up in the stands, Eloise's smile is threatening to turn into a terrible grin... but not quite yet.
Peredur nods appreciatively. Gustav seems much more confident now than he was before...he must be feeling better about the case.
You think that the bevy of evidence that you found has given him some confidence in the case.
Sour Heck looks queasily at the skins. “Look, Gustav, if I have to remember the details about how we found this evidence, I’m likely to introduce Exhibit 6: My Breakfast.” The bard sighs. “Well, if I must. We went to Vorkstag and Grines’ factory late last night and snuck in to find what they might be hiding. Your honors, what you see here is just the few of the horrors we found that could be brought to the courthouse without causing another riot. There was an entire room full of unsanctified corpses Vorkstag and Grines planned to sell as cadavers—those ledgers show what kind of a brisk trade they were turning. There was another room full of inhuman remains, strange tentacled things from the underworld and the like. The creepy little one, Grines, had jars of human parts that he kept by his bedside, I guess so he could admire them at night. And that big wardrobe of skins there, that was in Vorkstag’s room. You’ll notice that one of the hangers is empty. That’s because the thing that called itself Vorkstag was still wearing that skin when the Heroes of Harrowstone found him—he was still wearing it when he died.
“Vorkstag was a skinstealer, an unholy fey monster who killed people and flayed them to make disguises! In fact, the first Vorkstag was probably the marauding fairy’s first victim in Lepidstadt. Look carefully at those skins and you’ll see that other of your townsfellows fell afoul of it too. Did anyone here know Borgo Znojmo? Doctor Katarina Vilt?” The bard falls silent a moment. “We haven’t had time to find their families yet.” He shakes his head. “No telling where it got the freakish skin it wore when it committed the crimes in Morast and Sanctuary, but I bet if you look real careful at the shoulder, you’ll see where a caiman took a bite of it.”
“But the worst crime we found evidence of wasn’t graverobbing, or mutilating the dead, or even murder. Necromancy—necromancy was their blackest deed! Vorkstag twisted alchemy to reanimate the dead to serve him as slaves and guards. There was a freakish hound sewn from the bodies of a dozen dogs and given unnatural life, and a pair of vicious walking human corpses. The Heroes of Harrowstone laid them to rest, and the church has charge of their remains, may the Lady hold them down.”
“Vorkstag’s dead too. The guards have his corpse, still wrapped in its stolen skin. Grines escaped, leaving a note bragging about what he did with his partner—Gustav, the note’s one of the exhibits? Seems he wasn’t a gnome at all, but some devilish creature from the dark lands, where I expect he’s returned, since he doesn’t have Vorkstag’s sinister gift for disguise. If he hasn’t, the Heroes of Harrowstone will hunt him down in short order.”
Sour Heck looks slowly around the room, reading the faces in the court. “So that’s my poor tale of how a pair of murdering necromancers stalked your city—I’ve had no chance to polish it up, as it’s not the story I expected to tell. I came to Lepidstadt because I heard a monster stalked its streets, a bloodthirsty Beast who reveled in violence and plotted against the lives of the innocent. As bards do, I went to find the story of this Beast, but at first I could find no truth to the tales. The only Beast around was this great wretch in chains here, Andrew, an enormous child with no malice towards any thing that lives. But I soon found the Beast was a real danger, a dark shadow haunting the streets of this city, thirsting for innocent blood. I don’t mean Andrew…and I don’t mean the murder fairy the Heroes of Harrowstone caught, neither. No, the Beast is among us right now! The Beast is there!” Sour Heck leaps forward in the witness stand, jabbing his finger at a townsperson he recognizes from the mob that tried to burn down the courthouse. “And there!” the bard cries again, pointing at one of the guards who accompanied the mob. “And there, and there, and there…and yes, there too!” He stabs his accusing finger at townsperson after townsperson, including the prosecutor Otto Heiger, then waves it around to include the entire courtroom. “The Beast of Lepidstadt lives in the hearts of its citizens who would burn a innocent freak for the crime of being different!”
Sour Heck gives a sardonic bow, and oblivious to whatever stunned silence or uproar follows his testimony, steps down from the witness box and marches proudly as a parade marshal from the court. On his way out, he catches the eye of Judge Embreth Daramid and permits himself a little waggle of his eyebrows.
Gustav lets you speak until you speak of a note left by Grine. "I never got a note..." the barrister tries to whisper to you, but Judge Khard seems to hear anyway and tuts.
Sour Heck continues and tries to spin this into some glorious tale, but the prosecuting lawyer yells loudly once Sour Heck stands up and starts to leave the witness box. "Objection, your honors! This is not testimony and now he is trying to leave the courtroom."
bellows Chief Justice Khard as the man struts towards the exit. "Another outburst like that and I will have you in the stocks for a week! I have half a mind to throw out your testimony based on your actions!"
"Guards, drag Mister Heck back to the witness stand!" Khard says as he bangs his gavel to drum up order back in the court as the mood of the townsfolk seems to have turned on Sour Heck and his fellow friends of Lorrimor.
Two of the bailiffs move to seize Sour Heck, advancing on the man and drawing their billy clubs.
---
During the uproar a woman whispers in Iesha's ear for only her to hear. "We are the Beast, huh? You better keep one eye open while you sleep in Leipstadt, b!+&%." spits the woman in her ear.
---
It does not seem that you have made any friends with Sour Heck's outburst...
Sour Heck scampers back from the bailiffs and stumbles back into the witness stand. "Ah. You, uh, had other questions, your honors? I'm at your service."
If she overhears even a whisper of what the townswoman said to Iesha, Eloise slowly turns her head towards her and then suddenly LOOMS over het without saying a word -- but also without breaking eye contact.
(Of course if she hears nothing, Eloise simply uncrosses her arms and stands there, radiating a less-than-subtle menace at anyone who seems to be of a mind to come too close.)
Peredur shakes his head minutely, hearing the change in the tenor of the crowd. Let's finish this quickly. There's something we're still missing here, and I'm anxious to be about it.
The prosecution stands, scowling at Sour Heck as the man is now detained by two bailiffs in the witness stand. Eloise overhears the whisper to Iesha despite the din of the courtroom during that outburst and stands, trying to intimidate the woman, however the aggressor coughs as the Prosecutor is about to begin, drawing the attention of Judge Khard.
He bangs his gavel once more irately. "You there! Standing up! I have been more than patient with you and your friends and now you interrupt these proceedings once more? What is wrong in your head?" the man says, unsure how anyone can be so oblivious.
"You have five seconds to exeunt my courtroom or I will hold you in contempt." the Chief Justice glares down at Eloise.
Judge Daramid places his face into his hands and slowly shakes his head.
Eloise leaves the courtroom in dignified silemce, then runs to reclaim her weapons from the guard that took them into custody. The Magus feels a deep sense of foreboding...
Eloise quickly leaves the room and the Chief Justice bangs his gavel to get order established.
As Sour Heck is seated, the Khard looks to the defense. "Any more questions for the witness, Gustav?" the elderly man asks.
"That will be all, your Honor." the defense attorney states before taking his seat, clearly avoiding looking at Sour Heck after his outburst.
Khard turns to the prosecution. "Otto, rebuttal?"
"Of course, your Honor." says the man with a smile as he approaches the witness stand. "So, Sour Heck, you say that you illegally entered this building and trespassed in order to obtain this evidence? Did you have any authority to enter the grounds of this supposed alchemy lab?" he asks of the man.
-Posted with Wayfinder
-Posted with Wayfinder
“After we found the mask made from the face of Nan Keblem—you remember, your honors, the poacher Elder Lazne identified in the trial’s first day—we feared that something was masquerading as human. The monster Lazne and Karl described couldn’t waltz into the university with cadavers to sell. Then after the riot, we suspected that something was working in disguise to make sure Andrew took the fall for its crimes.” The bard nods in the direction of the cabinet of skins. “We we right there too. It had stolen the faces of several rich, influential people. It's sure as sin some of the rioters got a nudge from the skin stealer in one of its guises. But until we found the cabinet itself, we didn’t know who we could trust. The skin stealer could have been the clerk we asked for the warrant, or a guard listening in…we moved quickly and quietly, before it could hide its crimes or sneak away.”
“This is a Pharasman court in a Pharasman nation,” Heck says, bowing to the priestess monitoring the courtroom. “The Lady knows that sometimes exposing the truth is more important than every little law. That’s why we have judges to make decisions, instead of someone just reading the laws at us. If you really think this court should ignore a hill of stolen bodies and a closet of flayed skins because we called in the guard after we found them instead of before, well, I guess I’m glad you’re not a judge.”
"So you didn't know who you could trust, so you took it upon yourselves to act as judge, jury attempted executioner with no oversight by the legal system in our fair country and without telling a single person with any authority that you had evidence of this?" the prosecutor asks, cutting off Sour Heck before he can go on his monologue about Pharasma. "So you admit to acting as a vigilante, breaking into a warehouse, and attempting to kill the owners when they confronted you on their property?"
One of the judges shakes his head slightly as Otto 'clarifies' this for the panel.
"Additionally, we are supposed to take the word of an admitted criminal that these objects are the property of some mysterious gnome-like creature and the man we found hanging with you and your friends present?" Otto says with a look to the justices. "The only witnesses are your friends and the victims are either, by your admission, dead or have fled town."
Otto turns and looks Sour Heck directly in the eyes. "Seems convenient. How do we know that these aren't yours and you aren't the Beast of Lepidstadt? How do we know that this isn't some elaborate con set up by you and your friends..." Otto begins, raising his voice with every word. "...to free the Beast over there?"
Sour Heck looks impressed and pleased with Heiger's suspicious insinuations. "That's a great question. That's exactly the kind of paranoia that any son of Ustalav should cultivate." The bard ponders a moment. "Well, you could find yourself a scholar from the university who isn't listed as a client for cadavers in that ledger--someone who knew and liked Doctor Katarina Vilt--and have that scholar inspect the corpse of that skin stealer and my own poor carcass. If I were the city's crazed skinner, that would catch me out pretty fast."
The bard shrugs. "But run a con to free that wretch? With the only evidence against it being what you've presented--some confused eyewitness accounts that don't actually match the accused--why bother? I could have done as much to free that freak by showing up and saying that I saw the Beast in Graidmere shagging my sisters on the night of the murders." The bard's voice turns sympathetic. "I know it's hard to look at the horrible truth sometimes. But all this mess--ledgers and cadavers and necromantic fluids and horrid disguises--all this evidence doesn't go away because you don't like me. You're going to lose this case, Otto, I'm sorry."
"On the bright side, you'll be racking up a lot of prosecutorial victories going after the scholars who bought those bodies."
Otto is slightly late on objecting to Sour Heck's testimony, but not late enough as to sway the judges. He cuts off Sour Heck once more as the man goes on a tirade about the evidence. "So, what you are saying is that is that you have no proof to support your evidence that you found and that we must take your word that this evidence is true despite no corroborating testimony." the seasoned lawyer asserts.
Otto grins as Sour Heck looks a bit flustered at the accusation, but the orator quickly recovers and tries to influence the court in his favor while Otto directs the questions. "So, even if you were culpable for this evidence, what is to say that the Beast did not plant this in anticipation for you investigation?" he asks, knowing that you pursued this line of inquiry based on your findings to free the Beast.
Peredur shakes his head at the byplay between the bard and lawyer, but continues to surreptitiously monitor the spectators. A good recovery, but I'm afraid we're going to be in trouble for this. Some of the professor's bequest will likely go to paying off the fines. I only hope the crowd doesn't turn on us after that ill-timed bit of theatrics--I'd best watch closely for any sign of that.
Sour Heck frowns. "If you're the one giving testimony, shouldn't we switch places? I didn't say we couldn't corroborate my story--you put those words in my mouth. Is that legal? I've always thought ventriloquist acts should be outlawed."
"If the judges want to delay this trial again, they could easily send skilled investigators from the guard and the university over to the alchemy labs to confirm everything I've told you. But why would they demand more proof from the defense than from the prosecution? You still haven't come up with more than two eyewitnesses whose testimony doesn't match the defendant."
When Otto desperately suggests that the evidence may have been planted, Sour Heck gives the judges an eloquent, pleading look, one that asks Is this guy losing it? "Your question is how we can tell that Andrew didn't plant a ledger with tiny, neat handwriting, more than a dozen corpses, undead creatures, and a cabinet full of surgically skinned and preserved human hides in a secure alchemy labs a few weeks ago, before he was captured or knew that he would be, so that we could find them last night? Well, Vorkstag and Grines's lab was in operation that whole time. If you found someone planted a dozen cadavers and a bunch of skins in your law office, would you quietly go about your business?"