Spellscribed: Conviction (19 page)

High King Mastadon paused in his speech. “Archmagus Talos doesn’t seem to be present.”

Weldom raised a hand. “Sire,” he began. “He has a… security issue to deal with, as I’m sure you’re aware.” He said, inclining his head as the High King looked at him. “He informed me that he will come as soon as lives are no longer in danger.”

High King Mastadon shrugged. “So you defer having your representative present?”

The corner of Weldom’s mouth ticked, but Endrance was unsure if he had suppressed a grimace or a grin. “For the moment, sire.” Weldom admitted.

“Very well. You may all be seated.” The High King commanded. Everyone obeyed, though Endrance made an intentional effort to not be the first or last to do so. “The preliminary trial will establish the proceedings of the next several days. Any evidence that shall be presented at all, will be done so during this proceeding. If I should decide that the evidence is overwhelming, I will make my judgment clear. Should I cast judgment, it is final and overruling.”

High King Mastadon looked down to Weldom. “You may proceed.”

Weldom stood, pushing his chair in as he left his position at the table. “We are assembled today to test the integrity of one of the newest members of the Circle of Magi, Endrance of Wayrest. He is accused of the murder of not only an official of High King Mastadon, but also his subsequent escape from captivity at the expense of several more lives. Endrance, what have you to say about these accusations?”

“I… I have to say that these accusations are not only false, but ridiculous.” Endrance said, shaking his head. He still hadn’t turned to face Weldom, instead looking up at the trio of kings.

Weldom continued, a sneer evident in his voice. “That’s what this court is going to determine, unless you feel more qualified than three kings to preside over your own trial.”

Endrance shook his head, trying to keep from smirking. “Hardly.” He replied. “I  believe myself a bit biased, wouldn’t you think?”

Weldom turned, looking up to the three kings. “Sires,” he said, bowing his head. “This mage, not even half a year into his title as wizard, killed a member of your courts. A magistrate, this man was sent to be your word and your law in the outlying towns and fortresses. Along his journey to defect to an enemy country-”

“Wait.” Ahmed called out before Endrance could, standing. “Balator is currently in a peace treaty with Ironsoul, as you are well aware. And the position of Spengur of Balator is a well-known, if infamous, position that has been assigned to members of the Circle of Magi since the beginning of the order.”

Weldom’s scowl only etched itself deeper on his face. “This mage,” he continued, adjusting his speech without acknowledging Ahmed’s words. “Came across the Magistrate and killed him so he could continue his journey without impediment.”

Weldom pointed at Endrance. “You see, just weeks prior, he had been here in Ironsoul when a mass murder of citizens happened. That’s not all; the victims of that murder had been seen in the company of this mage!”

Endrance struggled to look impassive while confusion shot through him. How had… they had to have used some form of magic to see who was involved. Still, it was mostly Joven’s handiwork. Why was he trying to associate it to him?

“What are you trying to say, Weldom?” Ahmed demanded, staying by the side of his table. “He’s not on trial for the deaths of civilians.”

“Indeed, such a matter would have been handled by internal restitutions, as would be befitting a wizard.” Weldom replied. “But I propose that Endrance, being new to the Circle, and magic in general, didn’t know that and fled his imagined persecution. Upon finding a magistrate ahead of him, he feared that the official had come because of his crime and killed him to keep from being apprehended.”

“So you’re saying that not only is the defendant guilty, he’s inexperienced and emotionally unstable.” Ahmed said flatly. “That should be easily disproved.”

“We shall see.” Weldom said. “If it is allowed, may I begin questioning the defendant?”

The three kings nodded. Weldom walked out in front of Endrance, standing just outside the circle. Endrance felt the spells imposed on him intensify the closer Weldom got to the edge. “State your name.” Weldom demanded.

“Endrance of Wayrest, apprenticed to High Magus Kaelob, and current Spengur of Balator.” Endrance declared as confidently as possible.

“Did you kill any kingdom officials?” Weldom asked.

Endrance felt a sudden urge to speak. “No.” he blurted. “I have not.” He said, noting that Ahmed has started to object. The spells affecting him were too powerful to resist, though they didn’t seem capable of making him tell.

“Have you killed anyone?” Weldom asked.

Endrance tilted his head, now prepared for the magical compulsion. “I don’t understand.” He said.

“Have you taken a life?” Weldom said. “Ended the life of a sentient being.”

“Yes.” Endrance said.

“So you have killed.” Weldom said, “How many?”

Endrance resisted long enough for Ahmed to interject. “Hold on. You’re asking broad, non-specific questions! Stick to the subject at hand.”

“So you insist you did not have anything to do with the death of the magistrate?” Weldom changed course suddenly.

Endrance immediately thought about the assassin, and how the man would not have died if she hadn’t been trying to ruin his life. He had to answer. He needed to answer.

“I did not kill the magistrate.” Endrance said.

Sensing something, Weldom pushed harder. “I asked if you had anything to do with the death of the magistrate.” He demanded.

“I had something to do with it, yes.” Endrance said. Rolling his eyes and hoping everyone caught that.

“What was it?”

“I was in the area, and an overzealous fort captain decided I had to have done it, because, obviously, only a mage could get through his fort’s defenses.”

Weldom seemed displeased by his response, but Endrance was beginning to not care. This man had been out to get him since day one, and Endrance was at the point that he no longer cared to find out why.

“So you’re saying you didn’t have any other involvement in the death of the Magistrate?”

“I didn’t say that. I said why I’m sitting here today.”

“Well then, how else were you involved?”

“I was being followed by an assassin at the time, and she had circled around to ensure I had a worse reception than usual by Commander Gural.”

“You were being followed by an assassin?”

“Yes.”

“And are you trying to say she killed him?”

Endrance leaned forward in his chair. “I am saying that she killed him. She also killed a few other people along the way, whenever it would make my life more difficult, as these proceedings are just more evidence of.”

A murmur rippled through the crowd assembled.

“Well, aren’t you special.” Weldom snapped.

“Apparently.”

“Who was this supposed assassin?” Weldom demanded.

Endrance knew that this question would lead to a few others that would be problematic for everyone assembled.

“The assassin was the Sha’hdi Jalyin, a servant of the Poisonblades, a guild of elven assassins.” Endrance explained.

“So you believe that there was a highly prestigious and highly competent assassin after you?” Weldom asked. “You must think very highly of yourself to believe you warrant such a skilled killer to come after you. And look, you’re still alive, so you must have bested her.”

“I don’t think very highly of myself.” Endrance shot back in response. “But it does say something about whomever it was that hired her.”

Weldom, surprisingly, avoided the obvious question that hung from his sentence and instead continued on a divergent path. “How did you survive the assassin’s attacks?”

“She hadn’t started targeting me personally until I had arrived in Balator.” Endrance explained succinctly. “By then I had bodyguards, and I had gotten a little tougher than when I had first set out. We managed to barely stop her a few times.”

“And then what happened?”

Endrance thought about the best way to word what he said. “She found out that her employer didn’t intend on paying her as agreed, and she quit the job. Otherwise, I feel she would have eventually succeeded in killing me.” The fact she was betrayed and nearly died in the process wasn’t important to the trial.

“So this person is now free, and mystically not around to corroborate your story?”

“Well, if you had killed a magistrate and someone else was being tried for it, would you come forward?”

Weldom sniffed, turning away. “I am sure many of us here find that hard to believe.”

“Why?”

Weldom turned back, a smile in his voice. “Because you’d been a wizard of the Circle for less than a year, and yet claim you managed to fight off an assassin from an organization known for being able to kill mages ten times more experienced than you. You haven’t even been alive long enough to know your head from your arse, magically. You’re what, fifteen?”

“Just shy of seventeen.” Endrance said defensively.

“Caution.” Ahmed’s voice whispered in his ear. “This is where he baits you.”

“You’ve got less years in your entire life than any apprentice here has training, and yet you say you’re a fully titled wizard?” Weldom exclaimed. “This must all be some sort of fantasy you cooked up to conceal your failures. You’re just a child!”

“I object to this treatment!” Ahmed declared. “Abusing the defendant.”

“Weldom.” High King Mastadon grumbled. “While I am enjoying your treatment of the boy, do try to stay within the laws of this court.”

“Yes, Sire.” Weldom said, tilting his head. “Well then, let’s test your expertise then?”

“Yes, let’s.” Endrance replied, putting on a smile. Here it comes, the moment he would test his knowledge of magic. Weldom would invariably sneak in questions he shouldn’t be able to answer.

“Very well, let us talk about the basics.” Weldom began.

He asked several questions about basic magical processes, a simple theory behind the human aura and how humans developed the ability to use them, and a couple of others that were part of the basic tests that Endrance took as an apprentice. He asked several more questions after that, and Endrance let the answers flow automatically, focusing on catching the first ‘trick’ question so he could honestly say he didn’t know.

Forty minutes later Endrance realized he still hadn’t been asked a trick question, and the audience was in a state of tumult. As he glanced around, the apprentices were staring at him like he was talking about something completely insane, while many wizards were listening on the edge of their seats, wide-eyed. He even spotted a few of them taking notes. In the back, several of the magus were blinking and looking at him, all of them bewildered except for Klaira who, instead, was beaming at him.

He looked back at Weldom, who looked flustered. “I’m sorry.” He said. “I was distracted, what was the question?”

Weldom hesitated. “You were explaining the malleability of the inter-dimensional barrier and common practices in conjuring entities from the other side.”

“Oh, right.” Endrance said. He paused. “Did I answer enough questions to prove my understanding of the subject? I don’t want to bore you.”

“Endrance.” Ahmed whispered into his ear from across the room. “You answered every question Weldom threw at you.”

“I’m sorry.” He whispered in response. “I didn’t notice the trick questions.”

Ahmed tilted his head, looking unsettled. “Endrance.” He replied. “After the basics, they were all trick questions.”

Weldom wiped sweat from his face. “Yes. That should be, ah, sufficient.” He replied.

“I could hear some more!” a voice called from the curving back wall. Klaira. Endrance felt Weldom’s face must have been stuck on upset sometime during the questions, because he didn’t change his expression as he turned to face the High King.

“It seems that he has demonstrated more than basic competency with magic.” Weldom declared. “Though his experience is suspect-”

“Can the nonsense, Weldom!” Ahmed declared. “You and anyone with any magical understanding can see that everything he’s discussed has been tempered with experience. Everything he’s brought up has variations that could only be discovered through experience. You don’t find that knowledge in a book.”

“There’s no way that he could have that much experience!” Weldom countered. “Unless you had prepped him, perhaps?”

Ahmed looked startled. “What, use a mnemonic enhancer spell?” he shot back. “Endrance needs no help from me. I’m just here to keep you in line.”

“Keep me in line?” Weldom snapped.

“Well, Endrance did sock you in the jaw about a week ago.” Ahmed said loudly. “I’m sure that made it personal.”

Weldom looked about to explode, so Endrance raised a hand.

“Excuse me.” He interrupted. “So, since I answered those questions, does this mean that no one is going to argue my competency?”

“No, I don’t think so.” Ahmed said. “Since Weldom needs a moment to compose himself, I would like the chance to ask you a few questions as well.”