Anthony listened to the voices. Tommie and Anthony didn’t say anything as the beast man stood up.
“By Guardian’s Judgement, you will fix what you have broken. You will design and repair a new water treatment system. You will repair this house and you will see your wife and daughter’s grave every week, and visit the market at least once a week and make five new friends in three years who are hobgoblin or human. You will make a public letter of apology and apologize to the families harmed by your actions.” The beast man looked down at Wemtic. “You have gone through a terrible ordeal that will be righted, but striking out against your neighbors to create more issues instead of solving them was a grave error.”
The gnome sitting up front let out a displeased humph.
Mist wrapped around Wemtic’s arms. Gray and purple braided lines appeared on his wrists as the mist faded away.
“This is your punishment. This is the Guardian’s Judgement.”
“Your life is not over, young one. Look to try to help others so this will never happen again. Stand up for those weaker, those younger and live a good life,” the elf said.
“Build, don’t destroy! You’re a gnome—use your mind. Don’t sell to the city lord; sell to the elves, sell to the businessmen! More food, no matter where it comes from, is better!” the gnome said.
“Guardian?” The beast man looked at Anthony. The rest of them looked as well.
“Oh, what is it now?” Anthony said, ruining the professional atmosphere.
“Why did it have to be him?”
The elemental sighed, while the dwarf snorted and the hobgoblin giggled. The beast man hid a smirk and the elf looked at him from down the table while holding her head sideways.
“Go east to Ilsal. Dena needs the Guardians again,” he said.
“But what about the—”
“You still need your memories and you can get them there,” the elemental said.
“Message us when you need it,” the gnome said.
“I feel it will be sooner rather than later,” the dwarf said.
A hammer noise sounded out as the mist receded and the courtroom faded away.
“East, Ilsal? Come on!” Anthony waved his hammer but it was already disappearing. “I have the hammer! You can’t just hammer yourselves off on the judgement!”
They had all left now, with only Tommie and Wemtic in the room, who looked at his wrists to see the purple braids around them.
“Riddles with that lot—so complicated!” Anthony said.
Tommie looked at Wemtic and then back at Anthony.
Anthony snapped his fingers and waved at Tommie. “Dena to Tommie, come in, Tommie!”
“What was that?”
“Guardian’s Judgement—calls on ancestor ghosts from the different races to judge the living. Called up by me. It’s a complicated spell. Thankfully, I had it carved into my armor. Really is a pain to do the ritual—easier with the runes.”
Anthony stood up and moved over to Wemtic.
“Guardian’s Judgement...just who the hell are you?”
“Guardian Anthony—don’t know much of the rest.” Anthony put his hand on Wemtic. Lights appeared around Wemtic. He sat up taller; his bones that hadn’t healed properly now fixed as his scars and bruises disappeared.
“Could you have done that at any time?” Wemtic looked at his hand.
“Yeah. I wouldn’t have needed that spell, though.” Anthony lifted his hand.
“Healing magic? Aren’t you human?” Tommie asked.
“Do you know when the city lord is giving a speech next?”
***
Sacha Geer looked down from her castle window, out over the city and the Deepwood beyond. She had been given the task to take over Laisa in the name of the emperor—by any means necessary.
She was an officer; she had been for most of her life, fighting against the beast men and expanding the human lands.
Out of the races, they were only strong due to their familiars. Humans at the age of ten could contract their first familiar and fight. Goblins required hobgoblins to mature, coordinate and to evolve. Gnomes needed to pass on knowledge; the elves had to take years in training their magic or they would burn out their life-force for a spell. The beast men could fight when they were born, but it was only through their life that they would be given tattoos to gather more power into their body and grow stronger. They bred faster than humans. The emperor, feeling that the war-like beast men would attack humanity, pre-emptively struck, wanting to create a land for just humans. They had clashed with the beast men of Selenus and other groups.
Getting a position in a town with humans, gnomes, and goblins wasn’t an easy task. There were problems all of the time. I thought the gnomes and goblins figured out their new places with the riots a few years back.
“The people are waiting for you,” her senior aide Martin said, looking as emotional as a stone tablet.
“Our people in the crowd?”
“They’re all in position,” he said.
“Things were easier when we could just kill those who stood against us instead of having to worry about opinions.” Sacha adjusted her clothes, warm furs, and embroidered pants. I was able to get this position based on my merit in fighting and what I own is due to the loot I collected. If they worked for the good of the empire instead of against one another... So selfish—when people are dying on the front, they’re blowing up Brilliant Tower of Dark Clouds and creating chaos.
She let out another angry sigh before she turned away from the glass and started walking. Martin was there by her side, wearing his clean armor, his hand on his sword, ready to deal with attackers even in the castle.
***
Sacha stood up on the stage in front of the castle in the noble sector, though most simply called it the human sector.
The crowd became quiet as they looked at her.
Even looking at the humans, she felt derision rising in the back of her throat. She wanted to get among them, form them up into ranks as they were lazing around here next to the Deepwood forests.
If they served as she had, then they might have defeated the beast man threat.
She cleared her throat. “We have arrested a number of people we believe might be involved in the plot to destroy the Brilliant Tower of Dark Clouds. We have assessed the damage. The system is under a lot of strain, so we will be relieving some of that strain into the lower southeastern side, at least until we can repair the secondary waste system.”
The humans seemed to be appeased while those of the lower races that had come to see the speech talked to one another in low tones.
“Hobgoblin Akt!” a goblin cried out in their little voice; the humans looked at them in anger. “Hobgoblin Akt!”
“Who let an unwatched goblin in here?” Sacha waved her hand as guards marched forward.
“Where’s my Hob Akt!” the goblin demanded.
“All goblins are to be accompanied with hobgoblins to their place of work and residence. This is the law!” Sacha said.
“Are you resisting?” A guard put his hand on his club as he faced the goblin.
“We must stand together or chaos will take over,” Sacha said.
“I want my Hob Akt!” the little goblin said, running up to the larger guard.
Sacha hid her smile. A little brutality calmed the minds of others quickly.
“Filthy—” There was a sickening cracking noise as the guard screamed out.
She looked down to see a knight in full armor grabbing the other guard and throwing them clear of the square and hitting a wall.
“City Lord Sacha Geer, you will be judged,” the knight said. A purple emblem with a gray iris appeared on his chest as mist appeared underneath him and he sat at a table of seven.
“Who are you to—” Sacha was cut off as she was surrounded by mist and restrained, dropping to the seat below her as she sat in front of the knight.
“Mages!” Martin yelled out. His body showed blue lines as he joi
ned with his familiar to increase his speed and reaction time. Just as he was about to attack, he dropped to his knee, panting as his familiar appeared, bowing toward the man.
The other familiars in the square all bowed down.
She looked up at the man who was looking at the sniveling and crying goblin, petting it as if it were just a small child, not a disgusting goblin.
The guards fired their arrows but their arrows dissolved. They were covered in mist, dropping to their knees as purple braids appeared around their wrists.
They tried to get up but they couldn’t do anything.
The knight said something in Gob, unaffected by the world around him. The goblin looked up at them in shock before talking back.
The knight put them down and the goblin walked down stairs beneath the knight.
The knight took his seat and a hammer appeared in his hand.
Sacha was fuming seeing all of those lower races, the non-human races, positioned above her in their chairs.
“You stand accused of dereliction of duty to the residents of your city. For wilfully inciting a riot, attacking those who you were sworn to defend, selling their food for your own personal gain, for attacking others without due provocation. To these charges, how do you plead?” the knight asked.
“Guilty.” She was compelled to speak the truth. A feeling of panic rose in her chest.
“Do you have anything to say in your defense?” the knight asked.
“When I arrived in Laisa, there weren’t many humans but there were plenty of goblins and gnomes. The gnomes were still holding onto the last bit of power, complaining about their taxes. They didn’t care that those taxes went to the armies of the empire, that the armies wouldn’t have had food and weapons to defend their homes.” She was scared as she couldn’t stop herself from talking.
“They were too greedy for the taxes. They owe us—owe me—a debt that they can never repay. They’re what we’re fighting against. They should be pleased that the emperor continues to let them exist!
“With the decreased food that year, I did what I needed to. I could thin out the people in the city—lose some goblins and gnomes, have more humans. I used the riots as a way to get rid of the underground elements and establish control over the people. The money from the food was then sent to the military—a great contribution that helped my brothers and sisters survive.”
“You desired to help the people in the military, feeling that the civilians you worked for owed you a greater debt?”
“Yes.” Sacha didn’t even think that was the real reason.
The people were talking among one another, of all races.
“Quiet! When in judgement!” The knight smacked his hammer. It sounded like the heaven’s thunder. He looked at them all and silence fell.
“Kill him!” she yelled. But as she looked around, all of her guards were immobilized. The people of Laisa didn’t lift a finger to help her. They could see the accusation in their eyes, disbelief in others.
Sacha felt furious and frustrated.
“Who made you a city lord?”
“Colonel Rae,” she replied.
“Making you the city lord was his oversight.” The knight turned to the elf.
“A record has been made,” he said in a silky voice.
“Guardian?” A creature that looked like swirling wind and blue light in the shape of a sphere with the same symbol on its surface spoke.
The knight nodded to them.
“Sacha Geer, tell me your crimes,” the sphere said.
“When I was active, I slaughtered a village down to the women, children, and old. They had surrendered.”
“Your defense?”
“We didn’t have the forces to arrest them and we were in enemy territory. We lied to cover it up and killed a few who couldn’t stand the lie.”
“Continue.”
The square was cold and silent as people looked at her as she talked, unable to stop herself. No one talked to their neighbor as they looked at Sacha. In their eyes, she could see that all of them looked at her as if she were some kind of monster as she revisited the times she had killed the innocent, those who were unable to defend themselves. How they had attacked humans who had tried to broker peace, how they had slaughtered and captured elves, sold non-human slaves because it was good money and what half-breeds deserved.
“I threatened the lives of the gnome and goblin’s families in Laisa so they would turn control over to me without issue. They kept the secret but still, I killed a few as an example.”
“Your defense?”
“They needed to learn I was the ruler of the city.”
“Continue.”
She didn’t know how long it had gone on for.
“Where possible, I have kidnapped, tortured, and killed those of the lesser races in Laisa and where I could, I would use their corpses to create rifts between the groups. Using it as a reason to get three different goblin tribes kicked out of Laisa. I had them hunted down and killed so they wouldn’t cause issues.”
“Your defense?”
“Less goblins and hobs is better. I needed to kill them so that they wouldn’t cause issues to trade caravans and sending food to the front.”
“Continue.”
“I know of no more.” Sacha’s body slumped as the hold over her relaxed.
Piercing quiet ran through the square. Some people shivered, more from the words than the wind. She could see the damnation in their eyes.
“Judgement?” The knight looked to the others.
The seven people in the seats talked to one another but no one could hear anything.
The knight stood up.
“You are a spiteful and anger-filled woman. Death is but a release. For your hatred of others, you will take on their mantle.” He smacked his hammer against the table.
A powerful force filled the air, gathering upon her. She felt that power entering her body, changing her. Her bones started to break; her muscles started to change as she lost her connection to her familiar. It seemed relieved to have their contract severed.
She felt alone as the pain took over.
It stopped after several minutes. She looked at her arms. They were covered in scales.
“You will become a person of the beast race. You will be unable to commit suicide, or use someone else to kill you. You will not amass wealth, you will only be able to amass enough money to live on for a month at any given time. You will have to aid three people a month who are not human. If you do not help three people a month, then you will have to help six every remaining month for the rest of your life. Every time you do not help enough people, then you will have to help three more people for the remaining months of your life. You will not be allowed to enter any pure human territory. You will not kill or hurt others unless they mean you harm.”
Sacha let out a scream as she looked at her body, her scaled body. Her eyesight was different. She had a tail; her clothes were torn from her new body.
Suddenly, she stopped talking.
“You will be unable to speak, only listen and hear.”
She tried saying something—anything—but there wasn’t even a hiss.
Mist appeared around her hands and branded her with that purple braid around her wrists.
“The new city lord will be Grand Alchemist Gixai,” the elf said. “The gnomes were good rulers, the humans were not, but all of Laisa has forgot what it is to belong to a tribe, to a group that cares for one another. We can all learn something from goblin tribes and clans.”
“This is human land. What of the emperor?” someone asked.
“This is the land of Dena, the land of those who breathe! This is the land protected by the old spirits and enforced by the Guardians. If he comes, tell him this: he will be judged based on his actions,” Anthony said.
Sacha had never felt so powerless in her life. She looked up and stared around, looking for someone, anyone, to help her. She looked at the guards, who all had the purple braids aro
und their wrists and the people in the square. She had thought that she flinched at the anger and hatred she saw in their eyes.
“Judgement will be carried out.” The knight hit the hammer on his desk.
Her body turned and she started to run for the gate before her body dropped down to all fours. She first scrambled forward and then started to run, not like a human but like the beasts that she had waged war against for the majority of her life.
She felt the anger burning in her, the shame as people watched her running through the streets.
Once the colonel learns of this, he’ll send someone to aid me and get rid of this curse! That thought burned in her mind as she heard the hammer hit again.
“State your name,” the knight said with an impassive voice.
“Martin Scorse,” a familiar voice rang out.
“What crimes have you committed, Martin Scorse?” the knight asked.
How, how can he have this much power? Sacha screamed in her mind and tried to yell out. But still there was no noise, even as her throat hurt.
***
Aila was at the back of the crowd. She looked up at the knight dispensing justice and rendering punishments. She heard the crimes. Chills ran down her back as she felt horror and then burning anger. She wished death down on many, a thought she hadn’t had before.
Though none of the offenders died due to their actions, their punishments were severe and binding.
The guards were interviewed; the different mist judges started to take on multiple cases, going through the population. It was not just the guards; merchants and nobles were summoned from within the court or a “record” was made of their actions to be carried out later.
How can someone so unreliable be like this? Aila couldn’t help at looking at the undead death knight. He was goofy; he was irritating and annoying; he got himself into more trouble by just walking around—or falling into it.
Seeing him up there on the stage, he seemed like a paragon of justice. He had an indomitable and inviolable aura. The judges worked for hours, cleansing and purging the city of Laisa.
People who heard what was happening came to the square, filling it in and moving down the streets. Merchants moved through the crowds, selling refreshments.
Death Knight Box Set Page 8
