She waited by the gates of High Palace, watching the faces as they entered there. The guards wandered about, patrolling the masses as they flooded into the castle.
The King had sent out an invitation over the airways: there would be a public trial of Eliezer Webber, the former Ambassador of the Kingsmen and a nefarious enemy of the state. High Palace would be opened at noon and accessible to all. It was a rare opportunity. High Palace had not been made open to the public in years, and King Zephyr himself was a recluse to his p
Eliezer watched as the grand courtroom began to fill with people. He stood at the front of the room behind a partition which came to about the height of his waist with a guard set at either side. He scanned the sea of faces, passively watching the entrance for Benjamin. There were rows of benches throughout the room with people standing behind and a balcony above from which the citizens could observe the proceedings.He saw Benjamin and Avera as they entered, escorted by a red haired officer, his helmet tucked away beneath his
Blackridge watched as Kallida stepped out and addressed the accused. "State your name for the record, please, sir.""Eliezer Horatio Webber," he replied humbly."And, Mr. Webber, could you please state your occupation for us?" Kallida requested, arching around the front of the floor with his hands folded in silent consideration."I am a Kingsmen clergyman," Eliezer stated, his eyes watching Kallida as he circled around him."Mr. Webber, as a Kingsman, do you consider lying and deceit to be immoral?" Kallida asked him with a quick glance and a clever smile."I do," Webber replied simply."Then tell me why, Mr. Webber, you have lived for the past twenty years under false pretenses and a fraudulent identity!"'Kallida's a fool if he thinks this will work. Painting Eliezer as two-faced and self-interested is about as credible a cause as claiming that the sky is grey because it has clouds in it. The fault in the approach is with Eliezer, himself. The man is too meek to be believed as a conm
'They're so cruel,'Benjamin pondered.'It's harmful to their humanity, but still they persist in it.'He had watched helplessly from the crowd as Kallida continued his dedicated character assassination. The conversation had moved from the Ambassador to the Kingsmen, then to the Armorials, and now to Caliphus. They met in a discreet contest of words as two men battling over a ship's rudder, the gentlest t
He sat with his back against the wall, his knees bent, and his hand pressed against the ground beneath him, slowly brushing over the rough and compact dirt. He sighed and closed his heavy eyelids. 'Lord, I'm tired.'"Hey, there! No sleeping!" Benson barked from the other side of the prison's bars.
Zephyr had ordered the mage-royal to the roof of the spire, a defensive position at the palace center from which they would cover the area in magic, surrounding it with a constraining barrier and thereby cutting off the escape of the officials and Caliphus. Additionally, he had called a meeting of the ten to be held in the chambers of the High Court.Blackridge had sent Dehnhardt ahead of him with Kallida and now made his way alone through the empty halls of High Palace. He went quickly through the royal bedchambers patterned in red and gold, into the hidden passage behind the wardrobe,
In the chambers of the High Court of the King were gathered nine of the ten ruling sages. They stood each in his place before the judgement seat where Zephyr sat. Kallida stood in the place of the second with Dehnhardt standing close behind him. There was an emptiness to his left."Where is Blackridge?" Kallida inquired in the form of a harsh whisper directed toward the young man standing behind him.
He felt a pain pierce through his back and deep into his chest, nearly knocking him from the blue roan horse he rode. He grunted as he fell forward, one arm grabbing at his aching body and the other at the horse's muscular neck.'Mm... that should have been me, shouldn't it?' He steadied himself, centering back on the borrowed saddle. 'Well, Marcus, I would have liked to have more appropriately thanked you, but I will do my best to satisfy your request.'
"They're back!" Kypher announced excitedly from his place at the window."It's about time!" Justice responded with his usual curtness, though unable to mask his obvious joy.Kypher laughed. "Justice, if this were a funeral, you'd be mad at the man for dying! Just be glad h