Scales Of Justice

by C. R. Daems

  "Why so quiet?" Tenzen asked when the door closed behind them.

  "I find this wealth oppressive," Jola said, trying to find the right words to describe what she felt as she scanned the room. The bed had two mattresses that were each two hands thick, the covers wool with silk-embroidered hound designs. There were handwoven rugs, two tables, four chairs, and wall hangings. Everywhere she looked, there were things worth many hundreds of silvers. And these rooms were for guests. Who knew what the duke's rooms were like? Jola shivered.

  "Why? Please think before you answer," Tenzen said in her best teaching voice.

  Jola wandered around the room, running her finger over a finely carved table and a gorgeous wall hanging before she sat down. Her first reaction was that she wasn't used to it. She had lived in rat-infested alleys for years. In bondage, she had been packed ten or more in a small, bare, and poorly ventilated room. Even at the monastery, her room was small and simple. But that wasn't all of it.

  "I'm ashamed because of all the poor people who had to suffer and go without, to pay for this." She felt better having explained the real reason. "I'd feel better sleeping with the servants."

  "You have a very disturbing way of going directly to the heart of the matter. I first thought that you just weren't used to the luxury. I'm sure that's part of it. But you know who really paid for it. It's a thought that a noble would never understand, and one even I sometimes forget, although my family worked for its wealth." Tenzen looked around the room. "However, we have to stay-otherwise we would insult His Grace, which wouldn't be good."

  "You're right. I understand that sleeping with the servants won't return any riches to the common folks. And, although I don't personally care if I insult the nobles, I'm a judicator, and it would reflect poorly on my sisters. That, I do care about." Jola gave a small nod.

  She had to admit that she enjoyed the luxury of steaming hot water to bathe away the road dirt before she changed into clean, fresh clothes. Then, she heard someone yelling out strange cries-but the sound seemed to come from all around. She jumped up and turned in a circle, trying to determine what direction it came from.

  Tenzen smiled. "Twice a day, there are calls to prayer from the towers." Jola's mouth dropped open. "How strange... " She blinked, trying to figure out what to make of such a strange custom. Just then a servant knocked on the door to take them to see the duke prior to dinner.

  He greeted Tenzen by name when they entered, and she introduced Jola. When the introductions were over, the duke led them down a long corridor to the dining hall, where the master-of-the-hall announced His Grace and Mistresses Tenzen and Jola to the twenty or so guests. Pillars of polished golden stone were set in the white plaster of the walls. Above, leaves and flowers in a frieze circled the room, and ran into the ornate sunken panels of the ceiling.

  As they seated themselves, a lackey brought crystal goblets of a sparkling golden wine. Jola sipped it carefully. She'd never seen the like, and it tickled as it went down her throat. More servants brought in trays of food. She thought she recognized the slices of beef wrapped around cheese, so she took a little of that. It tasted more seasoned than she was used to, but she nibbled at it through dinner as she listened to the conversations around her.

  "Mistress Jola, is this going to be your circuit when you've finished your indoctrination tour?" Serkan said.

  "I don't really know, Your Grace. From what I've seen of Essam and Rador, they're certainly beautiful provinces, and the people are friendly and pleasant." Her viper poked its head out of her hair as it changed positions.

  "I'd like you to try a case we've pending, if you feel ready." Serkan smiled.

  "I'm at your service, Your Grace." She wondered what kind of case he wanted a new judicator to try. Normally, Tenzen would be asked to preside.

  "Excellent, I've two nobles who have been harassing me to settle a dispute over profits from their mining operations. We need someone who is neutral. My minister will set it up for tomorrow afternoon in the great hall."

  She sensed satisfaction and a strong sense of relief. It seemed to her like a long-standing problem he had been avoiding. Why?

  "Will the public be invited, Your Grace?"

  "The public has little interest in mining disputes between nobles."

  "A public hearing provides your people the continuing reassurance that their rulers care about justice." Jola kept her tone casual as her viper, its tongue flicking lightly at her ear, soothed her tension.

  "Yes, they do need pampering." Serkan nodded.

  "Have you been having troubles lately, Your Grace?" Tenzen said with a frown.

  "There is always unrest. Either it's the nobles or it's the merchants or it's someone else. Mistress Jola is right. Everyone wants justice, but no one can agree on what is just." Serkan's face twisted in anger for a moment. "Maybe the seven provinces need to renegotiate the treaty. After all, it's over a hundred years old."

  Serkan said little for the rest of the dinner, and as soon as the table had been cleared Tenzen said they could find their way back to their suite, waving away the lackey standing by to guide them.

  "We're walking on dangerous ground, Sister." Tenzen kept her voice low as they strolled through the quiet corridor. "Serkan clearly would like the laws changed to favor the nobles. The question is whether he's the reason some or all of his nobles are unhappy with the laws, or whether his nobles are causing Serkan to be unhappy."

  "Their logic confuses me. Without the common folks-maids, cooks, farmers, merchants, soldiers, and store owners-what would the nobles be?" Jola shrugged her shoulders, which caused her viper to peek out of her blouse as if it too waited for Tenzen's answer.

  Tenzen laughed. "I'm never going to look at a maid the same way again. I can just imagining a scenario where all the common folks moved out of a province, leaving only nobles. It would be their worst nightmare." She started laughing again.

  * * *

  From under her golden mask, Jola glanced around as she climbed the steps of the dais to the seat of honor. The great hall loomed, ten times larger and more ornate than the dining hall the night before. The glassy marble floor was inlaid with tawny lines. The ceiling soared to a dizzying height-a masterpiece of swags and garlands, and mythical beasts and birds. Double doors sheathed in bronze had been thrown open to admit those who came to hear the judgment. A crowd of people lined the hall, both nobles and commoners from their dress.

  "In the name of King Nicolas, I, Judicator Jola, do hereby call this judgment in session," Jola said as Tenzen and Serkan took their places on each side of her.

  After a moment's hesitation, she sat in the magnificently carved seat.

  "Minister, please read the specifics of the dispute."

  "Baron Gavrel claims he's not getting his fair share of the silver mining operation he shares with Baron Moriz," the minister read from a scroll. "Baron Moriz claims the silver is weighted, witnessed, and divided equally."

  Jola cocked her head as she examined the two men before her. Both were well dressed in beautifully tailored silk clothes. Obviously both had wealth, and yet one was cheating the other, or conversely, one felt entitled to more. Nobles seem never to have enough power or silver.

  "Baron Gavrel, why do you believe you're not getting your fair share of the mining operation profits?"

  "Mistress, the mine operation continues to produce slightly more ore each year, and yet my share continues to decrease." Gavrel's hands twitched restlessly.

  Jola sensed the truthfulness of his statement. Yet, he was clearly uncomfortable and nervous. Why? The outcome of the judgment, or his peers' reactions?

  "Is it possible that the ore is yielding less silver each year?" Jola said as her viper disappeared into her blouse and exited at her wrist, which she had rested on the arm of the chair.

  "No, Mistress. I've had a sample of the ore analyzed each year, and the yield has either been the same or higher."

  She could tell he was still nervous and agitated, although h
e believed what he said to be the truth.

  "Liar," Moriz said, his face turning a dark red.

  "Ten-silvers fine, Baron Moriz, for interrupting the proceeding. I'm quite capable of determining the truth and falseness of every statement." Jola pointed at Moriz with the hand that had the viper coiled around it. She had added the last remark because she had detected the falseness of Moriz's outburst. Interesting. If his outburst was a lie, then he must believe that Gavrel had spoken the truth.

  "You can fine me, but you can't collect," Moriz said, with his face twisted in a sneer.

  "I don't intent to collect the fine, Baron Moriz. You owe the silver to the king. If he has to send troops to collect it, I'd imagine he would also collect your lands and titles at the same time. And you now owe another ten silvers for continuing to disrupt the proceedings. Would you like to try for fifty?" Jola's viper left her hand to coil in her lap, with its mouth expanded and its fangs showing.

  "Are you threatening me?" Moriz said, gripping his hands into fists.

  "An additional thirty-silvers fine, Baron Moriz. I've merely informed you that fines go to the king, not to me," Jola said, as a hush descended on the hall.

  "You bitch." Moriz shouted, and a collective gasp escaped the crowd. As Jola looked around the hall, many of the nobles were smiling.

  "One hundred silvers fine, making the total one hundred and fifty silvers, Baron Moriz. Would you like to try for a thousand, and your lands and titles?"

  In front of the stunned crowd, Moriz drew his sword and began advancing upon the platform. The guards drew their swords and closed ranks around Duke Serkan. Jola stood, her sword in hand almost before he took his first step, as the emotions of hate radiating from Moriz had alerted her to imminent violence. Her golden viper had somehow reappeared and wrapped itself around her left arm as she stood and walked down from the platform.

  Serkan stood up, his mouth agape, and looked to Tenzen, who shook her head.

  "I hereby inform you, Moriz, that you've forfeited your lands and titles by my order, in the name of King Nicolas." She waited for Moriz's attack. He lunged at her chest. She turned, her sword guiding his sword by her. He recovered nicely, circling his sword around to attack her head. She met his sword over her head, letting it slide harmlessly to the left of her. He spun completely around, his sword whistling as he whirled. But she had stepped to the inside, and only his arm hit her. The impact dislodged his sword, and it clattered to the floor.

  They stood face to face, with her hand on his neck. Her viper rose off her arm, fangs exposed and only a few fingers' length from his face.

  "Your Grace, do you wish Moriz, previously a baron, to live? Or die?" Jola said. Her heart was pounding now that the fight was over, but she kept her voice level.

  Moriz's eyes traveled from Jola's sword to the viper that now coiled around her sword arm watching him, and then to Serkan.

  Serkan stood with his mouth open, not speaking.

  "Your Grace, Judicator Jola has been attacked by Moriz. She could have killed him, but didn't. She wishes to know if you wish him dead," Tenzen said in a cool voice that everyone in the hall heard.

  "Live. Guards, take Baron... take Moriz away and have him treated and held until I decide what to do with him."

  Jola ignored the fact that it was her right, not his, to decide Moriz's fate. She was relieved. She didn't like killing.

  The issue of the silver mine still had not been resolved. "Baron Gavrel, how far is it to your mine?" Jola said. She took a deep breath to steady herself and her viper wove itself back into her hair like a golden headdress.

  "Mistress, about a two hour ride." Gavrel paled and looked like he was considering whether he should be groveling at her feet.

  "Good-this judgment is adjourned until tomorrow at noon. Anyone who would like to accompany me for my inspection of Baron Gavrel's and the former Baron Moriz's silver mine may come," Jola said.

  * * *

  Jola had never been to a silver mine before. She had read about them at the monastery so in theory, she knew the essentials, but now she would actually get to see, touch, and smell one.

  For two hours, she watched the miners dig up the ore, haul it out, crush it, refine it and finally, weigh it. Silver was placed on one pan and then on the other until the scale indicated the pieces were of equal weight. Both nobles had a man watching the silver being weighed. It seemed odd to Jola that one scale was colored red for Moriz and one black for Gavrel. Why designate special sides?

  "Please take the silver on the red tray and exchange it with the silver on the black tray," Jola said.

  "Why, Mistress?" the miner who had been placing the silver on the trays asked.

  "Because I said to." Jola smiled, and received chuckles from the small crowd of people who had chosen to accompany her.

  He started to remove the tray, planning to switch trays.

  "No, the silver only." She shook her hand, viper attached, at him.

  Once it was done, the red scale rose, indicating that it had less silver than the black.

  "They're not equal," Gavrel shouted when the scales no longer balanced. "Sorry for my outburst, Mistress."

  The crowd laughed.

  She had them test until she was sure that the scales were off by ten percent. When she asked, Gavrel told her he had received two thousand last year and one thousand, eight hundred this year.

  * * *

  At breakfast the next morning, Duke Serkan was quiet. He kept glancing at Jola and then down at his plate.

  "Mistress Jola, you've caused me a great deal of trouble," Serkan said.

  "How so, Your Grace?" Her viper peeked its head out of her hair, apparently interested.

  "Many of the nobles are mad at you for the way you treated Baron Moriz and want me to do something."

  "Your Grace, Moriz is no longer a baron. And what do they think you can do? My judgment is given."

  He opened and closed his mouth a couple of times.

  Jola raised her hand to stop him. "I don't pretend to know what is in the minds of those nobles, but it was Moriz who caused the trouble. He's cheated a fellow nobleman and he attacked the king's representative with a sword. You were gracious enough to save his life, which he had forfeited to me." Jola put something in her mouth that looked like eggs, but had unknown spices in it.

  "Mistress Tenzen, can you restore his lands and titles?"

  Tenzen gave him a cold stare. "No, I can't. I wouldn't. He attacked the king's personal representative, which is treason, as you should well know. The king won't tolerate that from anyone in Pyxus. Judicator Jola is correct. You had best keep that in mind. Ask yourself whether you or they want to follow in Moriz's footsteps."

  He paled and said nothing further while they finished eating.

  As soon as they rose from the table, he led the way through the maze of corridors to the great hall. Jola again mounted the platform.

  "Let it be known to all citizens of Pyxus that Judicator Jola has resolved beyond any man's right to question the issue before her involving Baron Gavrel and the former Baron Moriz over the share of silver from their previously shared silver mine," Jola chanted. "I decree the following:

  "First, Moriz and his partner at the mine fixed the scales, which cheated Baron Gavrel by ten percent over the past two years. Moriz will pay four hundred, twenty-two silvers to Baron Gavrel for the ten percent he was cheated.

  "Second, Moriz will pay the king the one hundred and fifty silvers fine imposed by me.

  "Third, Moriz is guilty of treason for his attack on a judicator. He is stripped of his title of baron, and his lands, which revert to Duke Serkan to do with as he wishes. Moriz is sentenced to twenty strokes of the cane and ten years in the iron mines at Iron Hills.

  "Fourth, the mine manager is sentenced to ten strokes of the cane and one year in custody for his part in helping to cheat Baron Gavrel.

  "So say the Judicators of Pyxus." Jola finished and paused. During the sentencing, she had heard several
objections and noted angry looks on several of the nobles' faces, but most looked thoughtful.

  Tenzen gave a shrug as Jola stepped down from the dais.

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  Essam Province

  The next day, when Tenzen told Duke Serkan that they intended to travel south to Warring, he urged an escort. She refused, indicating that it would only serve to mask what could be potential problems. She asked that he be vocal in his support of the judicators so that his nobles would understand that he didn't endorse a rebellion.

  "Do you believe Duke Serkan supports us?" Jola asked as they rode away from Etzel. The events of the last few days indicated that Duke Serkan had been strongly influenced by his nobles.

  "No, I believe he'll be more cautious about what he says, but I don't believe he'll openly support the judicators. He would need pressure directly from the king. I talked to several of the young nobles after you left. They commented that they hadn't considered what could happen to those who acted against the judicators." Tenzen paused to take a sip from her water bag. "I pointed out that the laws the judicators enforce were negotiated by their fathers' fathers for their benefit and that of their heirs. They were skeptical that the Seven Provinces' Treaty was intended to help them. They thought the army would have put down the revolution, until I brought to their attention that the army was made up of commoners who had fathers, brothers, and friends participating in the revolt."