Ragna was seated at the edge of the inner circle, an unknown elf joining her to act as translator while Inefa and Avetho approached the centre to argue their cases before the high druid. The dwarf leaned in toward her translator.
"So when do I get to plead my case?" she asked. The translator shook his head.
"You do not."
"What, not at all?"
"No. Your defense will be managed by the counselor. Speak no further, dwarf, the proceedings have begun." The translator nodded to Inefa, who had taken the stage before the high druid and was speaking.
"<Cacame,>" he said formally, addressing the druid by the name of the forest's resident Force, "<this dwarf stands accused of crimes against the nation of the Fin of Saints and against the Force that runs through all. I will argue that she is guilty of oath-breaking and deception, of bringing blade and flame into the forest and setting them loose upon the glades and worst of all of striking a blow against the Force itself. Shall any elf oppose my accusation?>" After a short pause, Avetho spoke.
"<I shall,>" he said simply.
"<Then let the accuser speak,>" said the high druid, "<and I shall hear the truth of it against the opposer.>"
"<Cacame,>" said Inefa, "<The dwarves of the Seared Crypts were allowed permission to travel through the forests guarded by the Fin of Saints on the understanding that no harm would be done to the land and no war would be brought upon the soil. In both these oaths they have failed and this dwarf stands trial as the sole survivor of her band. All others were slain in the course of their devastation.>
"<The dwarven deceivers travelled through the forests in search of a goblin band, whom they tracked to the site of the betrayal and attacked, slaying them by dwarven axe and bolt. They then set fire to the glade, seeking to burn away the evidence, but the flames turned upon them and consumed the dwarves for their crime. One alone survived for the purpose of facing justice. Somehow, the act was able to pierce the very heart of the Force there, rendering a portion of the land truly lifeless and unholy. Even now, druids struggle to coax the Force's return.>"
"Where's his evidence?" hissed Ragna upon hearing the translation.
"None is needed," whispered the translator. "His word is beyond doubt. If that is what he says, it is what he believes to be true."
"But you need evidence! How can that druid know he is speaking truth?"
"Because he is an elf," said the translator simply.
"But they haven't even listened to my story!"
"Your words are meaningless, dwarf. You have been accused of the crime and your troth is in doubt."
"Damn it, I'm the only remaining witness! I've been trying to tell you all about the human that short fire from his hands, but none of you will listen-" Ragna was interrupted by a stream of Elvish from the high druid. The translator nodded.
"The high druid says," he explained, "that if you speak once again, dwarf, he will seal your tongue with tree-sap. Be silent." Ragna glowered, but uncertain of the extent of Elven magic chose to keep her peace.
"<I make no opposition to the charges of oathbreaking and betrayal,>" said Avetho. Ragna rose with a start, then heard the soft creaking of a score of bowstrings and carefully sat back down under the gaze of the archers surrounding the room.
"<It is patently obvious,>" Avetho continued, "<that the dwarves tracked and hunted the goblins with no intent other than to slay them, and their weapons and the markings upon the bodies prove such. The accusation that the dwarves began the fire, I oppose, though I do not oppose that they broke their oath not to harm the forest by
allowing it to happen. It is my assertation that no dwarf is sufficiently attuned with or has knowledge of the Force to strike at it directly and that the mere razing of a glade, heinous a crime as it is, is not sufficient to work the damage done to the Force at that site. Broken and battered as it is in that place, it appears as if the very power of the Force has been drained from its heart. This is my defense, Cacame.>"
"<Then let the matter be judged,>" said the high druid. "<As no opposition was raised to the charges of oath-breaking, let the dwarves be found guilty on this matter. To the charge of arson the truth cannot be known as to whom first began the fire, so the matter shall be held in abeyance until light is shed upon it. To the charge of desecration the Force finds favour with the accused; I can sense the disturbance in the Force in that place, a vile intrusion recognisable to any who have experienced it before. Your suspicions are made false through your inexperience in the Dark side of the Force, Inefa, and you are to be held blameless for the error. The one who has perpetrated this has escaped for now and must be hunted, but no dwarf can be found guilty for this crime; the secrets of the Force are too closely guarded for any dwarf to conceivably hold.>
"<Let this sentence be placed upon the dwarf, then; to be held within the care of Sealpasses until such time as seven months have passed. She is to have rein of the city, but to cross beyond the borders merits death and war upon her people. This is the penalty for oath-breaking placed upon the Searing Crypts. This is the will of the Force, of Cacame.>"
"<Cacame's will be heard,>" spoke the Elves of Sealpasses in unison.
"And now that the dwarf's word in this matter can be trusted," said the high druid, turning her gaze for the first time to Ragna, "it would please the Force greatly to hear her word on this 'human' of whom she speaks."
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Okay, another short update. Many apologies for the reduced length - play rehearsals this week and a performance tomorrow, plus trying to port Olonkulet as a contiguous story to the writing 'blog. Blaaargh, all very exhausting. -.-
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Topic: Olonkulet - Bloodlines (Read 62827 times)