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"Yes!" Meraki says, nodding. "I'd like to commemorate your defeat of that monstrous fish, and it will be very helpful if you can model some poses for me. Thank you!"
She bids farewell with a half-bow and an apologetic smile.
Everything regarding the Baron is working out far better than Amandine had even dared hope for. Given his habits of mind and opinion as she understood them, Amandine had built a case for intervention against Count Lotheed's control of the county based on local concerns, carefully separating Princess Europia's family claim to Meratt from any disputes over the throne. She framed a fundamentally traditionalist argument against Lotheed as negligent and self-serving, and therefore in violation of his oath and duty as a steward, an argument any good Abadaran could get behind.
That Baron Okerra would go even further, voicing support for Princess Eutropia's claim to the throne, was something Amandine had considered out of reach. Yet he had. It was a great victory in every way.
Dro'gan's suggested plan for returning the victims of the sinking leaves her stranded overnight with the Baron at his estate. The thought of it makes Amandine nervous to the point of butterflies in her stomach. She had expected to be able to more or less cut and run soon after her little walk in the woods with the Baron. Amandine, who has never really had much of a personal life, has no idea how to navigate all the time she will now be spending around the Baron.
Dro'gan was right, it was of course best to do as he suggested. She agrees with him and sets things in motion.
"Well considered Dro'gan. We should begin transporting them as soon as possible."
Turning to make eye contact with Baron Okerra she adds "if the good Baron doesn't mind playing host to me and a couple of others overnight?" I believe Lady Mira is in the region for a more extended stay. She is welcome at Betony Manor as my guest. But that must wait until we arrive there. Until then, we are together here."
Turning to make eye contact with Baron Okerra she adds "if the good Baron doesn't mind playing host to me and a couple of others overnight?" I believe Lady Mira is in the region for a more extended stay. She is welcome at Betony Manor as my guest. But that must wait until we arrive there. Until then, we are together here."
Nicolaus is not the first Okerra to grant their approval for the idea.
"Yeah!" comes Selli's shout from behind a nearby garden wall, revealing that the baron's daughter has been eavesdropping on the situation for who knows how long.
The interruption comes as something of a saving grace for her father, since the responsibility of gently scolding his daughter for spying is a distraction from how nervous he is made by the prospect of having Amandine spend the night.
Nevertheless, both Okerras approve of the idea. Selli runs off to ask the servants to prepare rooms for the Betony party guests, and her father follows closely, reminding the 10-year old that such is his responsibility, not hers.
Dro’gan smiles as the young woman runs off.
“I do think Greenly has some competition in the near future.”
"Sir Greenly, I don't think I've ever asked where you're from," Meraki says, setting up her portable easel in a nearby garden. "Are you a native of Taldor, or did your family immigrate like mine?"
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Greenly poses with her knife, shifting from stance to stance, trying to find a spot she feels comfortable keeping that she thinks looks imposing, sexy and mysterious.
"What? Oh yeah, I was, like, born here- well not here here, 'm from Oppara. So's my mom and hers and hers I think, but all the like, men in our family ain't. My mum and me, we're actually, like, Basris, nobles from one of the Taldan great houses," she looks down and half smiles, trying and failing to exude pride in the name. Quickly giving up, she continues "Not too proud of it tho, cause they ain't too proud of us. Even made me work with the servants growin up. But I mean they, like, gave me my knighthood, food and shelter, paid for my education, so I ain't like, mad at them." She continues finicking with her pose, altering slight details like where she's holding her head, the position of her arms, how the dagger sits in her hand, before tossing it all aside and choosing a new one.
"Except I am mad at them, but not for none of that. I'm mad for my mother. When she got pregnant with me, they stripped her of her position with the Ulfen Guard." Silent tears stain her face. "Ten years of service down the drain. Weeks away from walking into the Emperor's Vault and leaving with all the treasure she could carry. But because of me, because I was conceived a bastard, my cousin and the General, like, colluded to punish her unfairly. And now that General's sayin he's the true Emperor. Ain't fair. Nothin ain't fair. But damn fair, I'm stop his claim and I'm gonna get what she was robbed of. They say I ain't Ulfen enough to full join, bein also part elf, half Garundi, but we's in service to the Princess just as they are and that's the same thing. I'm gonna, gonna take revenge for my mother, I'm gonna earn my name and place among them. Among House Basri. Among the Ulfen Guard.
"After all this is done, she's gonna let me walk out those vaults with an arm full of treasure, same as if I'd spent ten years in service. I'll bring it to my mother, her promised payment plus 20 years interest. Together, we will walk out of my cousin's estate, and never return."
Even having been taken into the conspiracy, Meraki has never heard Greenly speak so openly about their cause.
The model sniffs and wipes her tears away before assuming yet another pose. "How's this one?" Dabbing her eyes once more, she returns to the position and deflects onto Meraki. "How about yourself? If y'all are immigrants, how'd you, like, find your way to Meratt?"
When the day is done and Lady Mira, Sir Greenly, and she have had a chance to drop their baggage, Amandine invites Selli to come hang around with them. She doesn't expect Selli will find her very interesting, but Sir Greenly might be a different story entirely for the Baron's daughter.
For her own part Amandine gets a bath in, and otherwise hides in the guest chambers as much as politeness will allow while perseverating. She tells herself that she knows Nicolaus is at least as nervous and ill at ease as she is, perhaps more. She also thinks talking to him directly about the elephant in the room would do them both some good.
Amandine tells herself these things enough to convince herself she must go see Nicolaus.
Maybe not right away because it MIGHT seem eager, or worse, perhaps desperate. So, after some time has passed. But not TOO late, he may not be a late evening kind of person, or it MIGHT imply I'm seeking something he's not prepared for, or doesn't want. But I actually WANT to imply something, just a LITTLE at least, in case he's in the same place I am. Or that I THINK I am, but I'm pretty sure I am.
Amandine finally decides to ask one of the domestics about the Baron's nighttime routine so she doesn't wait too long, and then go to find him later, but not too too late. It's frustrating. She could make him like her if she wanted to, or even perhaps love her (although admittedly certain philosophical traditions would discount the result as truly definable as 'love'). But then she would probably never be able to untangle whether or not he did on his own without any meddling. Also, if she slipped up a little and he somehow realized she was tinkering around some inside his head, what a disaster that would be. Ethical considerations suck sometimes.
‘Gandro’ begins loading the first group of bedraggled travelers into the carriage.
He turns to Mira with a smirk, and a deep bow.
“Im hopeful you can possibly aid me in getting these people home as soon as possible? You can ride the drive bench with me and point the way. Im basically unfamiliar with the surroundings other than this noble residence. Although…I must ask: Do you often bathe in the nude in semi-public lakes?”
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Meraki works diligently while Greenly tells her story, silent except for the sound of charcoal on canvas.
"Very heroic," Meraki answers, leaning out from behind the easel with a soft smile. "Thank you for trusting me with that, Sir Greenly. You must love your mother very much." Setting her charcoal down, she leans back with a sigh as she thinks about the answer to Greenly's own question. As she speaks, she looks off at the darkening horizon.
"We came here from Rahadoum just after I was born, so I don't remember any of our life there. All I know of it is what my parents have told me."
"My mother says I was a difficult birth, which" — she gestures at herself — "is easy to believe. I must have been quite a shock to my parents."
"As you probably know already, Rahadoum has a hatred for all of the gods and their servants. This extends to aasimars and tieflings alike, who have been 'tainted' by their influence, and would have put my parents under suspicion immediately. My father bundled me and my mother into his cart and we fled via ship. Taldor was the first country willing to take us in, though even that was thanks to bribery rather than compassion.
"We settled in Oppara, and which is where I grew up. I learned that I love to paint, and that other people seem to enjoy my work as well. One of my paintings found its way to Dame Crabbe, and she sought me out to offer her patronage. She was very kind to me, always supportive, even if she can be a bit...brassy. I'm grateful for the time I had with her before coming into the service of Lady Betony and, by extension, the Princess."
Meraki is quiet a moment longer, then turns back to face Greenly with that same smile, though it doesn't quite reach her eyes. "I must seem very boring in comparison. I have no noble heritage, no one to take my revenge on. But I hope I can help that dream come true for both you and your mother. That would be enough for me, I think."
Greenly keeps the pose for a moment or two before trying another and another while Meraki talks. At a certain point she stops posing entirely to go look around in her bag for something. She emerges with a brass cricket what once belonged to one Martella Lotheed. Winding its wings, she sets it beside Meraki, where it gently buzzes and chirps, muffling their conversation from potential observers.
As she goes to return to center stage, she wonders aloud, "wait, should I, like, disrobe?"
After a lot of hemming and hawing about this pose or that, clothed or nude, the model steps behind the easel to view the tiefling's progress. "I think you're plenty interesting," she smiles. "You're clever, pretty, nice to talk to. And you're kind. That's like, a lot cooler than being a noble."
With a ginger squeeze of Meraki's shoulder, Greenly squats beside the artist and points at the sketch of herself. "So that's like, me? And is that the pose you want me in?"
The model resumes her place at the front.
Greenly's offer elicits a surprised bark of laughter from Meraki, along with a genuine, unguarded smile. "No, Sir Greenly, it's not that kind of painting."
She steps back to give Greenly a better view of the work in progress, then turns away in embarrassment under the barrage of compliments. "That's...that's very kind of you, thank you. And yes! It won't be finished for a while yet, but this is an excellent foundation to start from."
As the rest of the group enjoys their art-rich slumber party, Amandine follows the sound of clattering pots and pans to the kitchen where she finds a trio of servants cleaning the cookware and cutlery.
"Hope we didn't wake you, dear," a plump, matronly woman says. "The baron hits the hay early, and he's a very deep sleeper, so we're used to getting the noisier housework done at night."
The other servants add that Baron Okerra relishes his good night's sleep, laughing about how it's the closest thing to a vice that he indulges in.
"I guess a lifetime of sleeping in tents, on cots in the army gave him a right appreciation for a good bed. He'll wake with the dawn and be ready for the day, quick as a whip, but one of the few ways to rouse his anger is to wake him early."
When Greenly brings up the sacred stings favor, Mira raises an eyebrow.
Oh, is that so?, her mind wonders as she allows a smirk to show on her face.
And she even offered to pray together in her name. I wonder...where did I stumble into now? They are a interesting bunch, indeed.
But she makes sure not to comment - at least for now - as the situation seemed well unter control.
In the afternoon, she helps getting the people sorted into carriages, helping with priorization and overall administrative tasks, answering Dro'Gan: "I am good with people, mostly. Remembering who they are, getting a hunch about them. So I can help with that, but I'm not a local here, either - I think getting them home would best be left to the Baron's drivers. I may as well get us lost while reading a map - navigation is not my strong suit.", she smiles, then turns away to check progress on another nearby carriage, "As for your second question, I do, indeed - but usually less...exposed. Not all places offer hot baths at reasonable prices, and I like to be clean. Not magic-clean, proper clean. And there is a certain risk to be seen even in hidden places, and I won't deny that the risk somehow makes it more interesting. So if what you saw lingers on your mind, I won't be mad if you try to spy - that is fair - but I certainly won't give you a free show."
She turns back to Dro'Gan and managed to not even blush.
She was not quite ready to share all about her past, but remembers living at the estate. When she was younger, she would sometimes play naked or expose herself to staff on purpose. There had been nothing sexual about that, then, but it was fun to shock them, to place them in a uncomfortable position somewhere between fulfilling whatever duty they came for, giving her privacy, or saying something. It had been fun to find their breaking point - but even as she grew older, it always remained about psychology for her, never something fueled by desire or erotic in nature - she had not been oblivious to the effect her body had on others - but that was just a tool that added to the game and no more.
With Meraki and Greenly painting, Dro'Gan dealing with the remaining refugees, and Armandine seeming a bit restless, Mira instead spends some time with Selli, trying to find what kind of entertainment would be enjoyable to the young girl.
Her goal, and the world at large, seldom gave an opportunity to just relax and let go, to have fun. Finding chances to psychologically recharge, to just 'play' was good for mental balance.
"Thank you, it's nothing that can't wait. I won't disturb him."
Amandine takes the woman's comment as an excellent excuse to chicken out, and does.
Through the night, Selli manages to slip out of her room and evade the watchful servants multiple times to crash your noblewoman slumber party.
In the morning, the last of the survivors of the boating disaster are finally on their way home. Similarly, your party - now joined by Mira - departs to return back to Stachys and the Betony Manor.
Mira finds that Selli is a high-spirited child, apparently having inherited her father's zeal for adventure, even if the baron would prefer to put those days behind him. She seems eager to go riding or to spar, but it takes a reminder that the sun set quite some time ago to dissuade her from the idea.
"Hey, look at this," she says with an excitement only known to be possessed by children with a killer show-and-tell presentation.
She rips off one of her dressing gloves and dramatically shows off how the pinky and ring finger are missing from her left hand.
"I lost these fingers to a fox in a crooked game of cards!" she boasts. "I shoulda won, but that varmint cheated. Only way he coulda beat me. I shoulda rightly won and gotten his pelt. Can't trust those fey critters, am I right?"
Selli speaks like a soldier swapping tales around the cookfire, probably trying to emulate her father.
Growing up hearing the dramatic, larger-than-life tales her father inspires has clearly had an effect on her.
...
Your carriage is rolling through well-worn main road running through Stachys when Tribune Onora runs out from the Wolf's Whisker to intercept you. She doesn't even give you time to disembark before raising the pressing issue on her mind.
"Sorry to grab your ear like a goose's neck, but we've had a spot of serious trouble while you were gone," she says grimly.
"There's been a murder."
Hopping out of the carriage quickly from another apparent 'nap', Dro'gan will turn back for a moment.
"I will find out all the details my Lady. Head home, refresh yourself from the journey as I gather all there is to know of the situation at hand, and I will get the info to you as soon as possible. Give me...ten minutes?"
He turns back to Tribune.
"Mrs. Onora? Give me everything: Start at the beginning..."
Amandine's stomach drops when Tribune Onora delivers her news, more complications. She seconds Dro'gan's suggestion.
"We will return here from the manor straightaway. Until then, inform Dro'gan of all you know."
The suspect is one Partulles Mayne, who owns an outlying goose farm west of town. He has never gotten along with the locals, who likewise keep him - the area's only half-orc - at arm's length. He's got a reputation for skimping on deals and keeping any livestock that wanders onto his land. One such disagreement seems to have turned violent.
A family driving their goats by reported earlier seeing Mayne and Ershal Sutor arguing over a mule that had wandered onto Mayne's land. Later, Onora herself ran across Mayne trying to bury the body of Sutor, who had apparently died from a powerful blow to the head.
"I don't know how Sutor ended up dead on my property," Mayne growls. "The last time I saw him, I told him that I was keeping his mule until he paid me back for the turnips that the animal ate out of my garden. I was only asking for six crowns, well below market price for how much that damned mule ate. I tried to hide the body just because I knew I'd be blamed no matter what. Even if a dragon had dropped his blasted body from the sky, folks would've blamed me."
Dro’gan will quickly inform the others of the situation and then hurry back to make sure the man is not harmed until a trial can be formed. He will start to ask around about the dead man, if he had any family nearby or possibly other enemies that might seek to do him harm then frame the half-orc.
Sutor was a bachelor. Other than his sister and her family, he didn't have a family of his own. Other than the recent dispute about the mule and turnips with Mayne, Sutor was not known to quarrel with anyone else. There is nothing terribly remarkable to say about the man; being murdered is perhaps the most interesting thing to happen in his life.
Dro'gan does learn that Sutor's sister is very vengeful and is already leading the call for Mayne's execution. However, the majority of people around Stachys would be satisfied if Mayne is simply banished, since no one would be sorry to see him go.
Sutor's body has not been buried yet, so it is available if you wish to examine it.
Dro'gan will start getting extremely busy, and will even cast expeditious retreat in order to move around town quicker as needed.
While not a healer, Dro'gan will look at the body for signs of obviousness.
1. Were there any OTHER wounds, other than the killing blow?
(or defensive wounds?)
2. Was the death blow from the front or the rear? Or 'Other'?
3. Is he missing anything of value he might have had on him (Even
if it was just a couple of coppers? A gold tooth?)
4. Does the half-orc show any signs of fighting, bruising, or blood splatter? Does he look 'cleaner' than normal, liked he bathed recently?
5. Any odd personal effects found on either of the men?
Dro'gan then will begin asking around for some general info:
1. Any obvious strangers around town lately?
2. When was the last time anyone saw the dead man alive?
He will then search both men's homes carefully, looking for any clues or possible bloody murder weapons. He will also check out the 'lost and found' mule, make sure the thing is OK and not a fey in disguise or something.
Finally, Dro'gan will speak to Mayne the Half-Orc if the man doesn't mind:
"Greetings. I apologize for the situation, but we truly need to know your side of the story as best as possible. Please...give a general account of your whole day with emphasis on any dealings with Sutor. Please note also if you did do anything of significance between when you argued and when you buried him? Did you speak to anyone else that day? Or...I don't know...cook a meal, chop down a tree, or butchered a goose? Anything could be helpful here to get to the truth. Just don't tell me you took a nap..."
The head wound, delivered from the front, is the only significant injury on Sutor's body. There are no defensive wounds, and the only other marks to be found are rope burns on the deceased's palms. There are still a handful of coppers and a trio of silvers in his coin purse.
Mayne has no injuries of his own, and he has probably not bathed in a couple days. Of course, considering he was found attempting to bury the body, he may just be dirtier than ordinary.
With the revitalized marketplace and infrastructure around Stachys attracting laborers, visitors, and others, there are no shortage of strangers spotted around town. This proves to be a dead end lead.
You do find a witness who saw Sutor heading back towards Mayne's farm after dusk, after their initial argument.
"He was probably sneaking over to steal back his mule," the witness says. "I don't know why he cared so much. That animal is an ill-tempered brute. He should've been glad to be rid of it."
...
When questioned again, Mayne repeats his story. He went out to feed his geese in the morning and found Sutor lying dead in the mud. There are no other pertinent details that he can offer.
Once Amandine arrives with her entourage, Dro'gan will update her on everything he has found out (including his assumption that Mayne is not lying about the situation as far as he can tell), and assures her that if she needs him to look into anything else, to just ask.
Upon rejoining Dro'gan, Meraki takes the time to examine the body herself, relying more on intuition than any practiced skill or education.
Once given the opportunity to examine the body, Meraki offers some spectacular insight.
The initial examination confirms that Sutor died from blunt force trauma to the head - a blow from something round and dense, like a mace or club.
However, Meraki sees past the cursory information and discovers that the wound is more hoof-shaped than weapon-shaped!
"I don't believe this was a murder at all," Meraki says, shaking her head and standing up from her examination. "The killing blow was from a hoof, not a weapon as such."
"So, he tried to retrieve the Mule without paying for the turnips, tried to push the animal to leave swiftly, before Mayne would find him on his land and confront him about it, but the animal was not having any of that and kicked Sutor right dead. That sound about right?"
Mira shrugs:"I suppose we can appease his sister, and sentence the murderer to execution. That man was used to dealing with animals. The fact it still got him suggests it's not just stubborn, but violent and hard-to-read. Dangerous traits, they will be better off making sausage out of that mule."
Amandine is both impressed with the evidence so quickly gathered regarding the killing, and satisfied the conclusion pointing to the mule is sound. She is also relieved to have such a clear conclusion reached.
"Very well investigated indeed! Let's set the trial for a soon as possible, and put this to rest. We will have to make an official pronouncement of Mayne's guilt or innocence."
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Despite her injuries and the need for bedrest, Greenly stays rigidly by Amandine's side throughout the day, tacitly keeping a watchful eye on the citizens in case of violence.
When asked her thoughts on the mule's guilt, all she has to say is "Never woulda f##!en thought a, like, murder would happen here- oh the mule did it? Go fig."
Dro’gan will again volunteer to act as Mayne’s assistant in his defense, if allowed. Before and during the trial, Dro’gan will also be monitoring the crowd with a detect thoughts spell, in case any vigilantes or ne’r-do-wells decide to attempt harm to Mayne before the facts of the case are presented.
"While the true culprit is revealed, I suppose someone should also have a word with Mister Mayne. While I admit that his motivation may be understandable to some extent, I don't think it's acceptable that instead of trusting his lord and law enforcement with finding out what happened, he attempted to simply hide the body. Maybe he could be sentenced to buy a new Mule for Sutors family, within the next year? If not for him withholding the animal, which I was told caused some grudges in the past, the whole thing would not have happened. So even if the mule was the killer, people may point fingers and seek to blame him. Adding some punishment for Maynes attempt to cover everything up could help to appease those people..."
Mira was anything but wise - she was impulsive, flimsy, manipulative, but she had a knack for handling people. And this situation, if anything, would just deepen the rift between Mayne and the other residents if he was considered completely innocent.
"So we should, like, punish an innocent man simply cause it looks better? I think that's sooo not the move here." Greenly scoffs at Mira's suggestion, rudely turning away from her.
Facing Amandine and only Amandine she continues. "You're better than that, Miss. You got, like, compassion, grace, elegance and whatever. Show him that he was wrong and had nothing to fear from you. Like, show f~~&ing Stachys that. Make them feel bad about judging him."
"Hardly innocent, Greenly. He was busy digging up a hole to hide a body...I admit I am no barrister, but where I come from, we reported dead people to the authorities, and made sure to give them a proper burial, to prevent them from rising as undead. His deed would have recklessly put the community at risk by trying to hide the body in a shallow, unmarked grave with no ceremony.", Mira scoffs at Greenly, in turn.
She was merely a guest and certainly did not want to overstep any boundaries, but since she had been asked to add her opinion on the matter, she saw no reason to thread lightly.
"He was not the murderer, but proclaiming him innocent without any fault or wrongdoing on his part will just make the townsfolk hate him more. I give it a forthnight before Sutors sister spreads rumors about him scaring the mule to make it kick, and getting away with the murder. Because why would an innocent man hide a body? Common folk are swayed by such rhetoric, trust me on that. You are doing the man a favor by punishing him."
"He acted out of fear, you wanna prove him right? The rabble needs to be brought down sure, but these are, like, intelligent feeling people, they can be talked to, spoken to, reasoned with."
As Mira finishes, she laughs. "'Common folk are, like, swayed by that,' sure sure, whatever you say, milady. Us two nobles fighting over how the unbearded think, goofy goofy goofy. Perhaps we should let the those of us without titles offer their thoughts."
"Out of Fear? He acted stupid. That is it. Sutor was seen arguing with him. If he then goes missing people would have jumped to conclusions. By dog or otherwise, they would likely have found the body - or otherwise assumed that Mayne had something to do with it, regardless. "
Mira cocks her head, fully turning to Greenly now:"And I have no idea where you got the idea that I'm an actual noble. I am just a common girl working at Calistrias temple. A fancy manner of speaking and high-class clothing are appealing to the kind of clients I prefer. Manipulating people...mostly man, it's my daily bread, so yes, I do know a bit about that. Pretend nobility or not. Alas, you ARE an actual noble? How come you are in service to Lady Betony? Were you a ward in her family?"
On the evening with Selli, when she shows her missing fingers, Mira is shocked to learn it was a fox that was responsible.
She assures Selli that she is right, and that Mira herself would also never trust a fox inviting her to a game of cards - which is wholly the truth, even if she just plays along regarding the fingers, making up some stories about fey tricksters herself to amuse the young girl.
"Call me a pine-tarred porcupine, but I believe you," Onora says when you bring her evidence that the mule was responsible for Sutor's death. "Of course, it'll be a much harder sell to the rest of the townsfolk to simply dismiss the charge against Mayne.
"You might get some more credibility with this lass on your side," she adds, jerking a thumb towards Mira.
"He was afraid, Mira. People make mistakes when they're afraid." Meraki's mouth is set into a grim line, but her voice is soft. "Punishing Mayne for something he didn't do, because other people might try to hurt him if we don't? That would be a mistake, too."
After she has seen the physical evidence related to the murder, as the debate over what responsibility Mayne bear for attempt to hide the body breaks out, Amandine excuses herself and leaves. She does not want to outcome to be predetermined before evidence and arguments are presented in public.
Before exiting, she again states her desire to hold the trial without unnecessary delays. She also asks for Mira's participation.
"Dro'gan has stepped forward to represent Mayne during the trial. Miss Mira, would you be willing to present the evidence against Mayne at the trial?"
" Someone must do it. All that is known by us must be made known to the public. It should be clear to all concerned exactly how and why the trial's results are reached."
Nodding at Mira, Dro'gan fires off a small but casual salute her way with a smile. He pulls her aside for the moment.
"We must all play...I mean DO our part then. By the way...everyone in town knows and calls me Gandro. I would ask that you maintain that fiction for now if possible."
Mira sighs:"No, Meraki, I am not suggesting to punish him for something he didn't do. I suggest punishing him for what he DID do. Afraid or not, he should have reported the death - so the family could say their goodbyes and a proper burial be held. The main blame - that for the murder - is on the mule, but saying that makes what he did okay and excused just because he was afraid after making himself hated in the community? I doubt people would like that - that he is held to different standards than them just because he was acting unlikeable enough to make them hate him and justify his fear."
When Amandine speaks up, Mira raises an Eyebrow: "Certainly, I can do that. But what verdict have you decided on? The way I do present my case would depend on what you hope to achieve..."
When Dro'gan takes her aside, Mira smirks:"Certainly, Gandro. Anything else I should know about you? Or the others, for that matter - in this town, I mean?"
"I'm a knight in service to a landed noble." Here Greenly is cold, stern and taciturn. This she thinks is obvious and does not need to be pontificated upon.
Mira's lie however catches the warrior fully off guard. "Wait then why were you on the pleasure barge?"
At Mira's latest counterpoint Greenly almost loses her temper. "The community already hates him, he wasn't afraid of losing face, like, he was afraid he'd be lynched! His Lord was out of town and who knows how he would have acted with the Lady Betony here, because she wasn't! We were too busy saving your ass. Like, imagine, people already don't like or trust you, you get in fights with one dude all the time, then after a big one that people are around for, he mysteriously drops dead on your property? Do you not have empathy?"
She takes a deep breath and tries a different tack. "Calistria, like, preaches vengeance. I get that, sure. I celebrate it. It's not always helpful. Here, we should take a stand against prejudice and treat him fairly, evenly, honestly, show him and the town that they can come to us, prove that the Lady Betony is a gifted and intelligent ruler, a kind and generous woman, not punish him for not knowing her to trust her when we're still getting settled here." Greenly glances at Amandine, lips pursed, brow furrowed, not enjoying complimenting her.
"Then you're saying we should 'protect' him by feeding into the townsfolk's hatred for him, and that as long as he gets his just desserts, people will leave him alone. So we're punishing him because why, simply reprimanding him will leave them uncomfortable? F##+ their comfort. If they can't see that this man is their neighbor, and one of Amandine's subjects like any other, they need to be made uncomfortable and face the f#@*ing music babes. People forget it here but a ruler serves their subjects, not the other way around. Or that's the way it should be."
Greenly sits, dizzy from the effort.
Mira raises her hands defensively, but replies to Greenly regardless:"So let me get your point right. Because he made himself an unlikeable prick by skimping on deals and keeping animals wandering on his land, it's okay for him to be afraid of the others, and hide a body? Where pretty much every other resident of the village would be held accountable for doing that? How exactly will you explain that to people? That yes, if THEY were to try and hide a body they found and bury it on unsanctified ground instead of reporting a crime, they would be held responsible, but for this one dude it's okay because he is an a!~&#!& to everybody else and thus rightly afraid of being lynched? I'm sure that'll sit fine with all the townsfolk. Look, it's your place, and speaking law is the lords - or ladies - prerogative. You do what you think is right. I am just saying that it wouldn't sit right with me that he is above the law simply because of extenuating circumstances he ultimately caused himself. If that IS how you want to run things, by all means. I've got no stake in this, I'm just speaking my mind. And that tells me that if he is pronounced innocent on all counts, one person will remember the judgement for its mercy and many others will question it's fairness. And that, ultimately, will be neither good for him, nor for the Lady."
Hesitantly, Meraki places a hand on Greenly's shoulder and gives a gentle squeeze.
"Mira, we don't even know if the things people say about him are true. What we do know for certain is that he is the only half-orc in the area, something that immediately marks him as an Other. I know what that's like, what a lifetime of that does to a person. If not for the Redeemer Queen, I might have gone down the same path."
"True that, Meraki. But we do know he kept the mule, so there is some credibility to the stories. The path he chose is his. To me, it seems that he embraced otherness, rather than attempting to overcome it. But I do understand where you are coming from. Yet I still don't think that should grant him immunity from following the law. I am not suggesting we single him out to be punished for being different, I am suggesting we don't give him preferential treatment for it. Not because we don't understand why he acted the way he did, but because those people who already dislike him will not care. If he gets to evade justice on the basis that he is hated by people, someone may turn to vigilantism."