Aduard feels himself fall, the darkness closing in 'Really? Like this?' Memories flash before his eyes as his conciousness begins to shut down. As the darkness seems to deepen the memories break up, replaced with fractured partials from the very beginning of his very, very long life.
Despite what he knows await him he finds himself accepting the end. Conscious thought has long stopped, and all that remains are emotions; fear, all but overwhelmed by exhaustion.
Aduard's eyes open, and he looks blankly up at Esta. A mind still in recovery from trauma takes a moment to process more trauma, erroneous memories still firing as they re-integrate.
"Who?... Where?..." He blinks, and his eyes seem to dim a little "Ah. Miss Vyrelian." 'I'm alive?' "Much obliged."
Groaning Aduard pulls himself to his feet. "How long was I out?" he rubs at his bee stings "Did we banish the b..." he pauses a heartbeat "beast?"
"Either way, I fear I'll need to use my healing remedy, before I commit myself to a ride home." Even as he speak Aduard reaches for a potion.
Helping Aduard to his feet, the Doctor gives him a quick clap on the back. "We're happy you're still with us, Master Bookman."
Turning to Esta, Karras tips his hat. "Well done, Miss Vyrelian, as is expected."
After reloading his weapon, the Doctor looks around. "Well then, should we do one last look through this house, and then get back to town?"
Aduard looks to Arruk, and blinks. "Did we win, Doctor? Has it been put down, for good? Are the Children still waiting for us, out in the Cornfield? If so, perhaps we should move while our various temporary precautions - such as I laid on Irefist's sword - are still effective?" he pauses "If we are to take some time here, I request at least fifteen minutes - I may be able to prepare something."
He coughs and turns to Radag "Good job with that sword Irefist - and on the repellent."
"Win? Yes, in a manner of speaking, Master Bookman. We survived. Let's not tarry - if you want to make a search of the corn field, let's do it now."
Spinning the barrel on his pepperbox, the Doctor looks at the door, a mixture of apprehension and disgust playing cross his face. "Perhaps, though, we should simply take some of these charred bees as evidence, (), and get back to Leipstadt - our deaths today will do no good for Adam."
"You misunderstand, Doctor. My concern is not that we could find the Children. My concern is that they could find us. I'm in no state to stand off even a single Spawn." Aduard shivers.
"Now, before it heals, we go. We take torches. If the children start to attack we fire the cornfield. The longer we wait to leave, the longer they have to regroup and prepare."
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Torches in hand, the party plunges into the cornfields. The childlike singing follows close behind, although its source is careful to remain hidden. It is difficult to shake the sense that they are being led—perhaps herded—by it to the southwest, where a low hill rises above the town.
Overgrown rows of immense flowers ring the hilltop, while beyond them lie the charred remains of a building flanked by six wooden boxes. The charred skeleton of a man hangs from poles among these strange containers, its mouth hung wide in a silent scream.
Of Brother Swarm or his children, there is no sign.
"We need to leave." Aduard hisses, voice low so as to be all but hidden by the whispers of wind amongst the stalks.
His desire to preserve evidence wanes with the foreknowledge of death that surely awaits them here, among the fields. He contemplates options, and decides on devestation. Torch ready he warns the others, steering them to a relative clearing "Get ready to fire the fields. We cannot..." his voice trails off as he sees the dead man suspended from poles.
The haze of trauma lifts for a moment, and memories buzz as his exceptional mind puts facts together. "Tanta stultitia mortalium est" he murmurs in shock.
Esta rushes behind the others through the field of corn, head swiveling this way and that as she listens and watches for something following.
Her attention elsewhere, she barrels headlong into Aduard and bounces backwards off of him. "Sorry! I didn't—"
Her words cut short with a gasp, eyes wide as she takes in the scene before them. "Oh hell's bells," she whispers. "Is that..?" Somewhat reluctantly, she makes her way towards the body to get a closer look.
The Doctor is silent, other than a quickly whispered, "Gods..."
Drawing his pepperbox, Karras moves forwards towards the skeleton, looking especially at the wooden boxes.
The party creeps towards the suspended remains. Closer inspection reveals the boxes to be old hives, their delicate beeswax frames smashed and thrown to the ground. A beekeeper's suit, threadbare and dirty from explosion lies nearby the burnt body.
The why becomes obvious as you step closer as the clouds briefly part and a sliver of moon glints off the body. The remains of Brother Swarm have been preserved in crystallized honey.
A cold breeze gusts, rustling the corn stalks further down the hill.
"I think this is him. I don't suppose anyone is secretly a sanctified cleric of Pharasma? Never too late for a sanctified burial." Aduard asks, his tone making it impossible to tell if he is joking or genuinely serious.
"Agreed," the Doctor says, pulling on his beard absently as he takes the remains of (probably) Brother Swarm in. "Do you think if we bury him that will put the ghost to rest?"
"Isn't there usually some condition we must meet to do so?"
"I agree, Mister Bookman, but somethin's off," Esta says over her shoulder as she moves in for a closer look. Any hesitation she had before had been overtaken by sheer curiosity. "He shoulda fallen off th' poles awhile ago," she muses quietly to herself. "If this is him, an' his body looks like this, then he should be..." Face mere inches from the charred corpse, it takes a moment for realization to set it, and when it finally does, she jerks away with a small gasp. "He should be more decayed by now, an' not still hangin' up on the poles," she says to the others, and swallows hard. "But he, um... he's completely covered in honey. It's hardened—uh, crystallized, I mean—an' so it's preserved his body."
Aduard straightens. "Honey? Done by people? Or have the bees turned him into a hive? Ms Vyrelian, do you see any sign of inhabitation?"
"The townsfolk did it," a tiny voice explains, echoing from the darkness. A small shape emerges into the torchlight: the translucent image of a young girl, her hair a floating cloud of gossamer. "After the bad stuff 'e did, they strung 'im up, smashed 'is 'ives, burned 'im alive, and covered 'im in the honey from 'is 'ives. A fittin' punishment, if ye ask me."
The Doctor kneels eye-level to the girl. Karras was at a bit of a loss - he knew that ghosts often needed some condition to be met to be put to rest, but would putting Brother Swarm to rest free his victims to attend their judgement, or should they free the victims? And would this reduce Swarm's power?
"I'm sorry." Karras says, his voice heavy with regret - not only for the girl, but his own failed charge. Children. We always fail the children in the most horrible of ways.
"It was a fitting punishment indeed. Tell me, what is your name? And, how do we send you to rest?"
Aduard keeps his eyes away from the girl as he ponders strategies & stratagems.
When Arruk kneels his attention is riveted to the doctor. 'A brave play, doctor. Empathy? Low probability, high effect. I hope you know what you're doing.'
Bookman returns his attention to the corpse, still struggling to see how to lay Brother Swarm to rest.
Esta casts an angry glance at the crystallized corpse beside them. "He got what he deserved," she mumbles, her expression shifting to pity as she turns back to Karras and the small spirit. "I dunno know anythin' about ghosts, or how t' help 'em," she says quietly, feeling helpless. She looks up at Aduard. "D'you?"
"I'm Ellsa Helad," the ghost explains. "Or, I was."
She shrugs to Karras's question. "I don't know. Mebbe killin' Brother Swarm would do it, mebbe not."
"And, dear Ellsa," the Doctor says, his voice as calm, empathetic as he can make it, " Where does Brother Swarm go when he is distressed? When he is angry or scared?"
Gesturing towards the skeletal remains of the man, Karras continues. "Does he retreat into his crystalline tomb? Somewhere else?"
The ghostly girl nods and points to the honey-encased body. "'E's restin'. In there." She looks back to the party. "You should leave, go back to where you came from. Brother Swarm will kill you if you don't."
"We should leave" Aduard interject in agreement "But the children are waiting for us, are they not?"
He waited for Ellsa to answer, then continued "The Beast is on trial for your death. Did he have anything to do with it?"
Ellsa shakes her head. "No, Brother Swarm killed me." She points a translucent hand toward the pond on the eastern side of the hill. "'E found me down there, in the group of willows near the water. It's where the Beast were livin'. 'E and I were friends and I 'ad this book wit' pictures an' things to show 'im."
The little girl screws up her face. "The Beast weren't there, so I waited. All I felt were cold an' then..." She reaches up to brush a non-existent tear away. "I didn't come back as I am until after the Beast were drivin' out."
"I wouldn't worry 'bout the others though. You drove Brother Swarm into hidin'. They're scared o' you."
Karras stands, absently wiping his hands on his pants. "I have some chemicals, dangerous when mixed together. Could try and blow Swarm's remains to smithereens. If it doesn't work though... he could return, angry as a - forgive me the indelicate comparison - battered nest of hornets."
"We should leave well enough alone. We can return in daylight." Aduard argued "Longer we wait, larger the danger."
A cold wind blows through the streets of darkened Lepidstadt, rustling fallen leaves and banging locked shutters. At the late hour, the only evidence of life is the town square, where hundreds of citizens throng about the imposing presence of the Punishing Man, where hard cider and bonfires fight to keep to the autumn chill at bay.
Radag grunts to get the attention of the others. "Think I might go check up on Masozi and the girl. Been a day since we've heard from either of them and it's got my back up. I'll let you know what I find." Before any can protest, he leads his horse down the road towards the university. "Keep your wits about you," he calls back.
Inside the courthouse, you find Adivion sequestered inside the small office reserved for barristers, intently reading from a massive tome. In the corner, seated in a wooden chair dragged from the audience balcony, is a second man, his weathered features sharply contrasting the austere fastidiousness of Adrissant's appearance.
Adivion gestures towards the man with a black-gloved hand without looking up from the book. "You're back, good. May I introduce Edison Wyatt, devoted of Erastil and fellow associate of the late Petros Lorrimor."
At work right now, will post when I get home!
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
With a clink of fur-muffled armor, the man stands. Tall for a human, he stands a couple inches over six feet, his muscular frame wrapped in a brown weathered cloak, and he smells faintly of earth. His eyes are a dark blue, and his roughly-cut black hair and beard are speckled with grey. As he shifts forward, a pendant around his neck catches the light, a whittled wooden symbol of a bow and arrow. Leaned against the wall by his chair is a menacing blade with a buckler draped over the pommel, both clearly well-tended, but with obvious signs of heavy use, and lying next to those is a heavy horn bow and quiver of arrows.
His eyes quickly take in the sight and state of the new arrivals, lingering on Karras’ hat’s azure plume.
Plume’s a bit much.
He makes eye contact with each new arrival, giving the men a firm nod.
M’am, he grunts to Esta, his voice a low, rough baritone.
He flicks his gaze toward Adivion, then speaks again.
I didn’t know Lorrimor too well, m’afraid. He passed through this way some years ago; said he planned on settlin’ down with his daughter. Happened to make his acquaintance right as some trouble from the local woods was worrying folk. He was a good man, stayin’ and helpin’ a town with no name when he’s got a young’n to care for. s’only right I return the favor.
Aduard slumps in a chair, waving a brief - if dismissive - gesture to Adivion's acquaintance.
"Yes, yes. Delighted. Wyatt, you say? Bookman. I look forward to making your acquaintance properly, but I am afraid we have urgent news."
He takes a breath and continues "The Beast" he catches himself "Your client, I mean, did nothing to that village. The villagers had a particularly imaginative way of torturing a man to death, and in the process appear to have managed to create a rather unique undead calling itself 'Brother Swarm'. It in turn converted the children, one by one, into..." he trailed off "Something. Undead. Twisted - but there's a spark left in some."
"We conversed with this Brother Swarm briefly, and it claimed the deaths for itself. We halted it - just - and ran. On the way out we had a chance to interview one of the victims, and she collaborated the story."
He looks to the others "Good news for your case, Adivion. Something has to be done, though. If we can get an adjournment I'd take a force back to the village myself tomorrow. If we can't... I suppose one of the religious orders might be convinced. Else I wonder how long till Brother Swarm goes wandering for new children to bring into his 'family'. Disturbed as he now is we may only have a brief window before he moves to another village."
"Can you send someone for some scotch, please Adivion? I've been riding like a Devil all night, and I think Miss Vyrelian & the Doctor had to all but wrestle a Nosoi to keep me breathing."
"In terms of your case, there's three witnesses. Sisters. Lovely ladies. No-one saw anything directly though, just the Beast coming forward with one body. One could, if your client agreed, argue he was lending assistance to a village in trouble when they set upon him. If the villagers attacked without trial, and he is innocent of wrongdoing, then he should be able to bring a suit against them for assault with intent to murder."
"I believe Miss Vyrelian checked out the room from whence a victim was supposedly taken. Miss Vyrelian?"
Esta pats Bookman's shoulder in sympathy, her lips quirking slightly at his somewhat lighthearted recounting of their encounter. She eyes the newcomer cautiously as he introduces himself, offering one stiff nod of acknowledgement when he addresses her directly.
"I believe Miss Vyrelian checked out the room from whence a victim was supposedly taken. Miss Vyrelian?"
"Oh right, I did!" she says eagerly, turning to Adivion. She was more than ready to provide additional information to help Adam's case. "I went up t' th' girl's bedroom— Karrin's room. She was th' one who was found dead in 'er bed, but," she said, raising a finger for emphasis, "Th' window into th' room was latched closed from th' inside, an' there were no marks anywhere an' nothin' was broken—not th' glass, or th' wood 'round th' window." She takes a deep breath to calm herself, smoothing restless hands over her skirts. "Adam couldn't've gotten inside th' room without breakin' at least th' glass. There's no way."
Karras doffs his hat in greeting to the newcomer, before settling it back onto his increasingly raggedy head. "A pleasure, Master Wyatt."
Catching the man's holy symbol, a slight frown crosses the Doctor's face. "A devout man, are yah?"
-------------
Nodding along with Esta, Karras picks up where she left off. "As Ms. Vyrelian says, Adam's physique and the latched window makes it simply impossible that he was able to get into the room. Now contortions could likely be concocted to try and justify this fact, but the simplest answer is often the truest. We watched this Brother Swarm walk through walls. It would be no feat at all for him to enter the rooms of the children."
"And as for Master Bookman's accounting of our adventures, it will be easy enough to corroborate Brother Swarm's existence, but..." Karras sighs, as he is forced to admit that sometimes matters of faith and death are better handled by priests than by doctors. "Please bring a cadre of exorcists."
Edison turns his gaze on Karras.
Fair to say, sir. Sorry, Doctor? I-,"
He is interupted as Bookman begins his recounting, followed by Esta's. Though his face remains stoic, a creak of leather fills the room as Edison's lead hand balls into a fist, his muscles straining against his glove. His eyes are no longer just focused, they appear to be lit from within by a barely-contained fury. Though he doesn't move, those in the room feel as if he is infinitely closer to them, his presence filling the space.
He exhales, a long, slow, painful thing that's felt more than heard.
He speaks, a low growl, vibrating in the air. If you're taking volunteers back to Hergstag, Mr. Bookman, by all means, count me among them. There're many small, farmin' communities in these parts, includin' my own. I might not be an exorcist, Doc," he inclines his head to Karras, but I've a talent with this kind of...creature. He rolls the right sight of his jaw, a tick perhaps, but there's an audible click as the bone rolls in it's socket.
But, if you think there's folk to handle it otherwise available, he exhales slowly, closing his eyes briefly. Then we should prepare this...-Adam's?-defense. This's city justice he's facin', an' I'd sooner set the Wife's orchids to settle than leave a soul in the hands of the masses.
Bookman hesitates "I've made a commitment - two actually - and I intend to see them through. We'll need to investigate the next accusation tomorrow evening, I presume? Adivion, please tell me this next one is local?" he sighs "The trial - or at least our part - should be concluded in a few days. Once done we can look at righting wrongs."
He looks directly at Edison "A talent you say? Rest assured Mr Wyatt that my companions and I are also talented in such matters, and we barely survived. If any go back to that accursed place they best go back in numbers."
Esta makes a disapproving tut at the fox sniffing at Wyatt's boots before returning her eyes to the man's face, frowning slightly as his countenance shifts darkly. "How much d'you know 'bout what's goin' on an' what we've been doin', Mister Wyatt?"
Edison looks at Bookman intently.
I've got a community in the farmlands not far from here, sir. And you said this Brother Swarm, he growls the name. Targeted children?! Outside of any other duties I have, I would NEVER allow that being to exist so close to my wife and sons. But I know time is of the essence, and that the court might dispatch someone to cleanse Hergstag in the meantime...though I'm not hopeful. Cities and courts move too slow when simple action is needed. But I'm here to do a job, he turns to Esta, catching sight of the curious fox as he does. He lowers a gloved-hand for the creature to inspect if it wishes, clicking his tongue once, quietly behind his teeth.
Adivion's filled me in, Miss Esta. Y'all're puttin' in the work to make sure Adam gets a fair trial, a difficult feat, but a worthy one. From the sounds of it, the charges of both these events are overreactions by folk, misremembered history, and events made to fit their image of the 'Beast of Lepistadt'. He snorts. Utter bull. For my part, I had a brief conversation with Adam earlier, and I'm in the camp with all of you; I don't think he could've done any of this. I'd like to help y'all get to the truth of all this - which's lookin' more and more like he should be set free - if you're willin' to have me. He ends with a simple nod.
Esta studies Wyatt for brief moment before offering a small smile and a nod of her own. "It's... good t' know that there're other people who think he's innocent," she says. "So if that's th' case... your help'd be welcome." She motions towards the fox sniffing cautiously at the offered hand. "An' that's Oolong, by th' way."
He smiles, squatting down to get on the fox's level.
Oolong, eh. Good name. Suits him...somehow. He tilts his head back and forth, maintaining eye-contact with the small creature, then gives a small smile at Esta before rising again, his demeanor stiffening again.
But affection for critters aside: Adivion? Bookman? Doctor? Anyone got a game plan for the morning'? I imagine this's goin' to start bright and early.
Adivion stands up stiffly. "We should have that conversation now, but first I'd have those drinks Mr. Bookman mentioned. I'm afraid that I've been hunched over this book for too long. I actually have a bottle of vjarik in my rooms, I will send Hector for it straight away." The barrister walks over to the door and has a brief conversation with his assistant.
After Hector leaves, Adivion turns back and smiles wearily. "It's an Ulfen spirit, distilled in the Lands of the Linnorm Kings. Quite potent, but I've developed a taste for it. They store it all year for the raiding season and then use it to defend their villages. Fire moats, they call them. It burns blue, possibly because there is no soot...?" The man rubs his face. "My apologies, I'm rambling. Sleep will be a welcome friend tonight." He walks back to his desk and sits.
"Hergstag sounds harrowing and doubtless Brother Swarm is a peril, but you must put it out of your mind. Tomorrow is the trial and then you must investigate Karb Isle. I will have Hector appraise the local Pharasmin church of this Brother Swarm once the trial is underway."
"As for strategy, without the bodies of the other children, we must focus on the circumstances surrounding the deaths of Ellsa and Karin. I will start with Karin, since we have evidence that Adam could not have killed her. I will try to shift the blame to this Brother Swarm. If we can convince the justices that the apparition is responsible for her death, we can open the door for the others."
"I will remind the jury that Adam brought the body of Ellsa back to town and not the others. I will draw their attention to Adam crying when Ellsa's name is mentioned. Miss Vyrelian, could I rely on your medical expertise to determine a reason why he does not generate tears?"
Sitting, Karras again removes his hat, and sighs at just how tired he feels. "Truth is, I spiraled a little after hearing of my assistant's death. When I emerged from my melancholy, I vowed to abstain from the hard stuff for the foreseeable future. Perhaps I'll just have a tea and take a dropper of the vjarik if it is on offer - for research. The qualities you describe are intriguing, from a scientific standpoint."
"I think your plan for tomorrow sounds excellent, barrister."
Esta nods at Adivion. "Aye, I can do that." She sits cross-legged on the ground a bit away from the group and rummages in her knapsack, eventually pulling some wrinkled paper and a pen from its depths. As she starts scribbling, she looks back up. "Oh, can I have some tea too, please?"
Is there any other information about Adam that we don't already have that might help Esta come up with a relatively concrete argument about why he doesn't produce tears when he cries? I'd like to have a somewhat more in-depth explanation than "He's made of dead things so maybe he just can't?" :)
I'll give the Ulfen stuff a shot, sir, if you're offerin'.
He pauses, and takes a closer look at the state of the band.
Look rough. What resources'd they use to survive?
That said, y'all've already been out to that bog, and to Hergstag. Need anythin' for the trek out to Karb Island? Supplies to get refilled before the shops close, or early mornin', otherwise? Don't know what aid I can be for yuns tonight, otherwise.
It would be impossible to tell without dissection, but you find it most likely that, as Adam's origin comes from the combination and revivification of multiple corpses, he lacks the physiological ability to generate tears. Perhaps his lacrimal glands were somehow scarred or damaged, or his nasolacrimal ducts have ossified or have been somehow diverted.
"Healin' potions maybe, in case things go even more pear shaped than they did in th' village," Esta answers, not looking up from her notes. She hastily scribbles out some of her writing, weighing ideas and theories under her breath.
M'am, he grunts with a nod, before finishing his drink in one, hissing in appreciation, and setting out into the night of Lepistadt, gathering his cloak around him.
Outside, gathering his cloak around himself in the night wind, he hisses again, this time eyeing the -relatively- wide avenues that stretch across his vision. He nudges a loose cobble back into place, stomping it to set it, then wanders in what he hopes is the 'market district' of Lepistadt.
Deadeye guide me as I delve into the labyrinth of the fetid mire that is a frakkin' city...
GM R0B0GEISHA, what's the healing potion situation like in Lepistadt? What is available, atm? I'll gather prices, even if I can't afford it all.
"You're a saint, Adivion. Vjarik would be perfect."
At Edison's comment he starts awake "Good man. Yes, potions. I've some money somewhere. Give me a minute. So - place burned down, yes? Undead, perhaps? Possibly ectoplasmic reverberations from the conflagration causing incendiary issues? Something to help with fire. Holy water, perhaps?"
"I'd very much like to do this one during the day, if anyone has any bright ideas about how to get there more quickly. Was an island, wasn't it?"
Adivion nods as Hector returns with a clay bottle and a velvet-lined case containing four glasses. The barrister pours himself, Aduard, and Edison a finger's worth of viscous clear liquor as Hector busies himself to make Karras and Esta's tea. It smells of smoke and solvent and burns fiercely with alcoholic heat as it slides down the throat. Adivion grimaces, the heat subsiding into pleasant warmth as he explains.
"Karb Isle is a deceptively named isthmus that lies only a few miles north of Lepidstadt along the Lesser Moutray River. On horse, it should take less than an hour. If your investigation proves expedient, you could be back before the sun sets."
A chill autumn drizzle does little to drive the throng away from the courthouse the following morning—if anything, it seems larger than the day before. As you pass by, the crowd boos and hisses the party, now recognizable as the defense's star witnesses. A chant starts up from somewhere, quickly sweeping across the square. "Give us the monster! Give us the rope!"
The crowd grows louder and angrier, only quieted somewhat by the closing of the courthouse doors behind you. A guard drops a nervous hand to the handle of his cudgel. "They know this is the day wit' all the kids," he explains. "It's got'm worked up. We'll need to provide you'n escort later."
The trial begins in much the same way as the last, at 10 AM sharp. The Beast is led into the chamber by a trio of Lepidstadt guards. The public allowed to view the trial murmurs angrily, their contempt for the abomination obvious.
Chief Justice Khard, Justice Daramid, and Justice Aldaar take their seats and the court is called into session by the Herald, his identity concealed by black armor. Chief Jusice Khard runs down the list of rules to be followed for the session, keeping his flinty gaze on the public gallery.
Otto Heiger, prosecutor for the county of Vieland, begins the proceedings by carefully laying out the details of what transpired in Hergstag seven months prior, alleging that the Beast slew six children, and was only driven from the village after being discovered with a victim in its arms.
To that end, he calls the first witnesses of the day: the sisters Garrow, Starle, and Flicht. Heiger explains to the justices that the three sisters are the only remaining inhabitants of Hergstag, since after the deaths of the children, most of the villagers scattered to the winds. At the prosecutor's prompting, the sisters tell the sad story of how the town's children began to disappear one after another. Garrow leads the way, with Starle chiming in for emphasis, and Flicht doing little more nodding. Eventually they reach the moment the Beast made his entrance into the woes of Hergstag, ending on the note of the monster laughing as it fled town with Ellsa's body. When finished, the gallery is stunned into silence.
Adivion rises and smooths his black robe out with black-gloved hands before stalking over to the witness stands. "Madams, that is a truly gruesome tale, and by some accounts not the first to come from Hergstag. Do you know the name Gilwyn Treyes?"
The sisters go pale. Garrow's eyes narrow. Starle stares ahead. Flicht slowly nods. "Aye," Garrow confirms. "We knew the man and may the Lady o' the Graves judge 'im 'arshly."
Justice Aldaar clears his throat, his scarred face twisted into a mask of annoyance. "Council, who is this man and what relevance does he have on this trial?"
Adivion turns a placating hand towards the judges' daises. "Your honors, we do not deny that Adam was in Hergstag, only that he did not kill the childre-" Before he can finish the sentence, the gallery explodes in outrage, curses and worse raining from the raised seating. Chief Justice Khard pounds his gavel. "Bailiff, I want the rabble-rousers in the gallery removed this instant. I warned them yesterday."
While the offending observers are escorted out of the building, Adivion takes the time to wipe some errant spittle from his sleeve with a red silken handkerchief. When the opportunity to begin comes again, Adivion completes his accusation. "Your honors, as I was explaining before, the defense believes that Adam, known more infamously as "the Beast", is falsely accused of murdering the children of Hergstag. Gilwyn Treyes is integral to these events."
Justice Aldaar nods. "Alright, Council. Proceed with the questions, but make sure that they are relevant."
Turning back to the sisters, Adivion asks, "Who was Gilwyn Treyes?"
| 3 people marked this as a favorite. |
Garrow answers slowly, the story teased forth by Adivion. Gilwyn Treyes was a local of Hergstag. Several years ago, when plague swept through the Palatinate, the village was forced to ration its limited supply of healing magics. Lots were drawn and the Treyes family drew last. When the time came for a visit from the healer, Gilwyn's wife and children were dead. Overwhelmed by tragedy, Gilwyn retreated from village life, only emerging months later to reveal he had become a beekeeper. Unfortunately for Hergstag, this new hobby was little more than a cover for something far more sinister.
After the death of his family, something in Gilwyn snapped and he had begun to resent those who were spared the ravages of the plague. He grew particularly obsessed with the children, viewing them as a symbol for everything he'd lost. At first, he would gain their trust through gifts of honey and humorous stories. Then when he had them alone, he would subject them to abuse and torture, threatening them to keep silent or else worse would occur. This continued for months until one child returned home with bruises she could not hide.
With the full extent of his depravity unveiled, Hergstag did not wait for Vieland's sheriff for justice. The townsfolk rose up, dragged Gilwyn screaming from his home, and tied him to a stake. They covered him in the honey he had released the bees to do their work. As he died, he cursed the town and all in it that he would take from the town that which was taken from him. Afterwards, the townsfolk burned what was left of his apiary and left his corpse unburied, still attached to the stake.
Adivion clasps his hands behind his back as Garrow finishes her story. "Could you describe Gilwyn Treyes? His physical appearance, I mean. As you might have known him before his demise."
"Aye," Garrow answers, but before she can continue, Adivion holds up a hand for silence and then points towards the party. "Do you recognize them?"
"Oh, yes. That's Mr. Aduard Bookman and his hired help. They visited our home last night, to work on a new novel."
"Had Mr. Bookman ever visited Hergstag prior to last night?"
"No, although I must admit it was a great honor." Garrow replies.
"Such an honor," Starle agrees.
"Do you have any reason to believe that Mr. Bookman met Gilwyn Treyes before his death?"
"Not to my knowledge," Garrow answers.
"They day my client was discovered in town, carrying the body of Ellsa," The barrister raises his voice, putting emphasis on the name. The Beast flinches visibly in its cage, lowering its head. "You're certain she was dead?"
"Quite certain, Mr. Adrissant," Garrow explains. "That thing walked into the village, bold as y'like, carrying the girl's body. We checked after we ran it off."
"Say her name," Adivion asks. "There are so many victims in this case, it might be helpful for the Justices to be reminded of whom we are referring to."
"Ellsa," Garrow says. The Beast groans and leans forward, drawing nervous glances from his guards and mutters from the public gallery.
"Had my client returned any of the children's bodies?" Adivion asks.
"No."
"Was my client seen with any of the other children at all, at any time?"
"No."
"So the only time anybody in Hergstag had seen my client with any of the children, was when he returned Ellsa's body? Why would he only return one of the children?"
Garrow looks puzzled. "I don't kno-"
"Haaaah," the Beast croaks. "Haaaaah."
High Justice Khard looks alarmed and points his gavel towards Adivion. "What is your 'client' doing, barrister?"
Adivion does not respond except to look to the sisters.
"It's laughin'!" cries Starle. "Just like that day in town!"
"My client is not laughing," Adivion replies. "He is weeping. Your Honors, if you will permit me to call my first witness, I will explain all. The Beast is not the murderer of Hergstag's children. That title belongs to an abomination that calls itself Brother Swarm, but is actually the spirit of Gilwyn Treyes, returned from the grave to continue his evil acts upon the children of Hergstag."
Justice Aldaar scoffs, but the other two remain quiet. After a moment, Justice Daramid speaks. "Council, I do not believe that I am speaking out of turn when I suggest that your accusations strain credulity, but we will permit you to call witnesses."
Adivion nods. "Thank you, your Honors. I would like to call Esta Vyrelian to the stand."
