No Good Deed (15 page)

Several months
passed and they enjoyed their down time, practicing, dating, and catching up on chores and visits to the parents.

One lazy day, Obidaan got a mental summons. He stood up in the hammock.

“Is everything ok, sweetheart?” Relina asked.

“Yes, however, I do believe I’ve just been called away on a paladin task,” he got out of the hammock.

“How will you know for sure?” she rolled out of the hammock and put her hands on his shoulders, resting her chin on his shoulder.

“I have to answer the door,” he began walking. She let him go as he moved around to the front of the house. There on the porch was a sealed letter. He opened it. Before she could even inquire, “I have been summoned by Gheriballi Triton, Paladin of Justice, to participate in a Paladin Tribunal. The lands of Lost Peak and Far Gone have violated their non—aggression pact and have gone back into dispute over mining rights in a neutral zone. I am to meet him in Newgartland in two days. It’s a days journey to Newgartland. I should pack and get ready.”

“I’ll fixing dinner,” Relina said. She was disappointed he was leaving but she knew what she was getting into when he got anointed, she just accepted it and did what she could.

They didn’t talk much; Obidaan packed, and then sat down to an excellent dinner. They did make love that night, and the next morning he was off.

Obidaan was concerned as he rode out. This was the first time he had ever been summoned for a Paladin Tribunal. He went over in his head what it meant. Seven paladins, three from each side, and the one who convened it. The six would act as judge and jury. The seventh’s job was two—fold. First, he would see if the guilty parties would immediately settle for justice. Second, if the defendant asked for a trial, his job was to prosecute. The remaining sat in judgment. If the vote was a tie, the defendant was freed.

A Paladin Tribunal was not like other trials. Guilt has already been established. What the trial is for is to allow for extenuating circumstances, like possession, blackmail, or in rare cases, plain old ignorance. The purpose of the tribunal isn’t to determine IF you broke the law, but WHY. If your reason was valid enough, you can be set free and a new treaty will be drawn up. If not, penalties range anywhere from fines to death.

All Paladin Tribunals are called because of broken treaties negotiated by paladins. The paladin whose treaty was broken summons the tribunal. When they start to break it, they will get an initial buzz in their head letting them know they are close. A snapping sound means it’s broken and the paladin their way. The paladin become aware of which treaty it is, who broke it, and when. They must ride out to the area to get the details.

It’s known that these two countries have been at war for decades, the result of sibling rivalry. Originally called Gartland, named after, Felovish Gart. He had three children, two boys and a girl. The boys, Horash and Hondo are first born twins. They grew to dislike each other and always fought for their father’s attention. Three years later, their sister Hashi was born. She was the apple of her father’s eye because she didn’t fight like his sons. Upon his death though, he divided his kingdom into three equal parts and gave each to his children to rule over.

The two sons were still jealous of each other and continued to covet what the other had. Hence, Horash named his Lost Peak, because his ‘favorite’ spot went to his brother. Conversely, Hondo named his land Far Gone because he lost the coastline, his ‘favorite’ part. The sister suggested they merely switch kingdoms, but their stubbornness would not allow it. Besides, had they, they would only have found something else the other one had to bicker about. As a tribute to her father, Hashi named her land Newgartland.

People hoped they would settle down now that they didn’t have to be around each other and rule their respective kingdoms. All was ok, until a small dukedom to the north, touching each boarder, came under dispute. The duke died, leaving no heirs, no government — he was a dictator — and no one in charge. Unaware of the brother’s rivalry, the citizens of the land made a regrettable error. They went to Lost Peak and asked to be annexed by Horash. They offered to pay him taxes in return for protection. Upon the death of the duke the army disbanded and gutted the treasury. It was a land ripe for the taking and the citizens knew it.

Spies in Lost Peak informed Hondo and he was incensed. He marched into the dukedom and demanded that they become part of Far Gone. Horash initially conceded, not wanting to protect a bunch of peasants anyway. Days later, before all the formalities were in place, minerals were discovered, gold, silver, diamonds. Now the land was worth something and Horash wanted to ‘protect’ the citizens again, but Hondo refused. As a result, the peasants broke off with both of them and formed a citizen government. With the newfound wealth, they were able to hire a mercenary army. This enraged both brothers and they declared war, on not only the dukedom but also each other.

The mercenaries chose to take the money and run. With no army, the citizens surrendered. However, the ownership was still in dispute. Through it all, Newgartland stayed neutral and took in a lot of refugees from all three lands. That is when Gheriballi entered the picture. Hashi called for a paladin to end the dispute between her brothers and help bring peace back to the land.

For years they refused, and all Gheriballi could do was escort refugees, protecting them with is life. He had hoped they would resolve the situation. On several occasions it looked like they would, but things always fell apart. Finally, sick of their fighting, Gheriballi called them together and negotiated a peace treaty. Internally, he kicked himself for not doing it earlier. But he was a young man at that time and had only been a paladin for a couple of years. That was 14 years ago. Now the treaty was broken and he was in no mood to negotiate it again.

Obidaan arrived at the gates of Newgartland with no fanfare. Six people stood guard over the gate and archers were deployed on the battlements. The sergeant of the watch approached him. “State your business” she said calmly, coldly, and flatly.

“I am Obidaan Grailann, Paladin of The Seers. I have been summoned here by Gheriballi Triton to convene a Paladin Tribunal.”

“May I see your summons?” still being standoffish and cold. Obidaan showed her his papers. “Very well,” She handed them back. “Corporal of the Watch!” a young man ran up next to her.

“Yes sergeant?” he saluted.

She returned it, “Escort the paladin to the castle.”

“Yes sergeant! Sir, if you will follow me,” he walked to the gate, hoped on a horse and rode next to Obidaan as he escorted him to the castle.

Obidaan tried to make small talk with the corporal, “I take it things are pretty drastic out here?”

“You could say that.”

“What’s your name?”

“Patrick.”

“Got a last name?”

“Sir, if it’s all the same to you, I would prefer not to engage in any small talk.”

“Ok.”

They continued in silence. It took about 15 minutes to wind through the streets and get to the castle. “Here we are,” Patrick handed him off to the castle guards. These guards were equally cold, yet courteous. They put his horse in the stables and fed it, took his armor and shield to be polished, and then escorted him to the war room, where six other paladins were talking along with another man.

Obidaan stood stunned by the door for a moment. He was not used to being around so many paladins and the feelings of their presence overwhelmed him. The power he felt from each one was immense. It passed a moment later; however, for that moment he felt almost inadequate instead of an equal. He did not like the feeling but let it go. He walked into the room, unannounced.

They all looked over at him, one of them dressed in silver and black moved toward him. He was over 6 feet tall, long red hair, tied in braids, and piercing yellow eyes. It seemed they could see right through you. He smiled warmly at Obidaan and his smile seem to light the room. He shook Obidaan’s hand warmly and firmly. “Well met! You must be Obidaan Grailann, Paladin of the Seers. I am Gheriballi Triton, Paladin of Justice. Allow me to introduce you around.” He took Obidaan by the shoulder and moved him into the room. “It’s obvious you’ve never been around this many paladins before. Don’t worry, the feeling will pass quickly if it hasn’t already. Gheriballi seemed to hint at something Obidaan didn’t know about with that comment.

“It has,” Obidaan said.

“Excellent,” Gheriballi said. “Allow me to introduce you to Sahara Fife, Paladin of Knowledge; Brandon Zimmers, Paladin of Seekers; Kimoko Rodenren, Paladin of Strife; Wendell LaVendre, Paladin of Shadows; and I’m sure you know Lucinda, Paladin of War. Everyone, this is Obidaan Grailann, Paladin of Foresight.”

“Actually…” Obidaan began, but he was quickly cut off by Gheriballi.

“Yes, I know you often introduce yourself as ‘Paladin of The Seers’ and that’s fine, but it is more common to introduce yourself by what your god does, not who they are.”

“I wasn’t aware of that.” Obidaan said, still puzzled.

“Yes, it seems there is much you are not aware of,” Gheriballi said. He took Obidaan off to the side. He still had a broad smile, and spoke to Obidaan as a big brother and mentor, “I am aware of many of your exploits. You are turning into one of the finest paladins in this world. The fact that you now have a soul item tattooed to you speaks volumes for your reputation. However, it seems you have not had a chance to fully see the world like many others have. That’s the main reason I summoned you. There is so much more you need to learn, and I will be happy to teach it to you. We never realized you never had a mentor. Still, you have progressed better than some that have had mentors. A few tweaks and you will become one of the greatest paladins in the land.”

“Um…” Obidaan was greatly confused now, “how do you know so much about me? Other than Lucinda, I’ve never met anyone here before.”

“That’s one of the things I’ll teach you later. As for now, we have an unpleasant job to do and must get to it,” he escorted Obidaan back to the table, “Please take a seat and we will begin.”

The only seat available was next to Lucinda. She acknowledged his presence and was civil and professional; nothing more. When everyone was seated, servants brought in plates of food and drink. The food was of the highest quality, cooked by the royal chefs, who only cook for the queen and king. The drink was the best in land. The paladins ate dinner before continuing.

“Before we begin,” Gheriballi called the meeting to order, “are there any questions?”

Obidaan spoke up, “More of an observation actually. It seems everyone has been very cold toward us, almost like they don’t want us here.”

“You’re correct, Obidaan. They don’t.” Gheriballi pulled out some papers and began to flatten them out. “As you may or may not know, this land was once united under one ruler, and then it was split amongst the three siblings. We are in the land of the only one not fighting, Hashi’s. However, they know that our task is to exact justice for the breaking of the treaty. That could mean the death of one or both brothers. She is the younger sister, and still loves both of them. Not to mention everyone else has family and friends scattered throughout the other kingdoms. Some of them may die by our hands. No, we are not a welcome sight. We have a job to do and must do it. Anyone else?”

It was quiet.

“Ok then. Here is the situation. The person here next to me is Vander LaSalle. He is the current administrator of the mine. Recently he had to flee for his life and sought sanctuary here in Newgartland. It was then that I was signaled to the breaking of the treaty. A bit of history:”

“When the treaty was originally signed, all three disputed lands had access to the mines, but could only mine certain minerals. Lost Point mined gold, Far Gone mined Silver, and the dukedom, which doesn’t have a name, mined diamonds. Each day they would present their ore to the administrator, who would weight it, then divide the three minerals evenly among the three lands. If any group mined nothing for that day, they did not get a share of the spoils. If only one group mined, they kept what they got. For the first few months, I personally handed this task, then passed it off to an administrator. For their incentive, they would get 10 percent of the total take. When they got tired of the position, they would hire a replacement, with the rules being the replacement could not come from any of the disputed land or the neutral territory of Newgartland.”

“For the next few years, I would come back and check on them to make sure everything was going ok. It seemed everything was in order, everyone was mining and getting a fair share of the riches this land was producing. The Dukedom was able to make a stable government and an army. The other two lands were becoming quite wealthy, and the wealth was even spilling over to here as people visited friends and family.”

“Seeing that everything was in order, I stopped coming by, hoping they would continue to share and all would prosper. I was wrong. As soon as they realized I was not returning, the two brothers turned to bickering again and each wanted everything for themselves. The dukedom quickly realized they would be no match for them and abandoned the mines. The two brothers then went to war. That is when the administrator was forced to flee for his life. With him unable to get to the mine, the treaty was broken and I was summoned. Currently, war is raging in the mining area, but that is not our concern. Our concern is to punish the monarchs for their violations.”