Twisted Justice

Twisted Justice is a part of Tales of Arkain.

## Synopsis

Sir Edoarus the Executioner manipulates rules inside Rengar's Quarantine Zone for the Master's ends.

## Story

A group of knights rode through the streets of the capital of Rengar. The bright rays of the sun filled the streets with light, yet there was not a single soul to be seen on the streets of the slums. The new laws forced them all to stay inside their homes. The soldiers and knights made sure that everyone who left their building was either convinced to get back inside or else... The knights stopped. There was the sound of movement in a street ahead. They dismounted and followed the sound. Two stayed behind to watch the horses. The sound got louder, someone was running away. So the knights began to run, following the noise through several roads until, at one corner, the pursuit stopped. A group was waiting for them, armed with bows and crossbows. Lawbreakers. Scoundrels. Rebels. Yet the knights seemed unimpressed. It was hard to tell, their full helms prevented their faces from being seen.

"Return to your houses, peasants. You are breaking the law of the king by not staying in your homes and threatening his knights with your weaponry - weaponry that I am sure you are not allowed to possess." one of the knights demanded. His voice was without any sign of worry, bored even. The armed rebels did not move. They all wore simple leather armor, probably made by themselves - along with their weapons. Their leader stepped forward, his leather armor also had some parts of iron on it, protecting some parts of his body. "The law of the king prevents us from getting access to important provisions. We bear you no ill will, noble knights, but our families need to eat and drink. The king has ignored our calls too many times. He even refuses to see his people, locking himself inside his throne room." he explained. "He's probably getting fat with all the food they have locked inside the palace! Guess that's more important than taking care of the people who pay taxes." one of the rebels murred. "The king has no time for such petty matters." the knight replied, still sounding bored and uninterested. It was obvious that he did lack ANY form of empathy. "PETTY?! Does your fine king know what the situation out here is like?! No, probably not! And you do not even care, you arrogant little-" one of the rebels exploded until their leader looked at him and made a calming gesture. Then he looked back at the knights. "Since you are obviously not interested in our plight, noble knights, you force me to make an ultimatum: Bring us to the king... or die." he said. His followers were reinforcing the grip on their weapons. The knight looked at the bolts loaded in their crossbows.

"You would raise your hand against the knights of your king? You would kill the protectors of your nation?" he asked, his voice still sounded unimpressed, but rather than bored, it was now calmer. And terrifying. The peasants did not falter, however. And their leader nodded. The knights formed a line and laid their hands on their weapons, moving to draw them. That moment, the leader cursed and his rebels shot. Bolts and arrows flew through the air, piercing even the heavy plate armors of the knights. It was fine work, one of them must have been a fletcher. The knights looked down. All of them now had bolts or arrows going through their hearts. And yet, they did not fall. They stood still and looking at the shafts, then looking up at the peasants. The rebels and their leader were frozen. About fifty arrows and bolts had pierced through the armors of these knights - some even had them piercing through their HELMETS - and yet they were still standing. The knights slowly drew their swords and attacked. Some of the rebels immediatly tried to run, but as soon as they turned around, the other streets were filled with more soldiers. Unlike the knights, their armors did not hide all of their faces and bodies and so the last thing that the terrified rebels saw were the faces of dead soldiers, brought back to life by unholy magic. Only the fewest of them fought and died. Most of them just dropped their weapons in fear and then fell on the ground. The knights did not move at all. Only one of them, the one who had spoken, stepped towards them, as they covered in fear. He slowly drew his sword.

"You all are hereby charged with violating the laws of your king and raising your weapons against his knights and soldiers. You have attempted to murder several members of the royal forces and both threatened and insulted the King of Rengar. How do you plead?" he asked. The leader of the rebels, also lying on the ground, looked up in fear. "You... you are monsters! All of you! Abominations!" he screamed. The knight just looked down on him and stood there, silent for a few minutes. "You have been judged guilty. Your punishment will be death." he explained. Then he rose his sword and beheaded the leader of the rebels. The other knights slowly surrounded the peasants. One by one, the peasants fell under the heavy sway of the blade of the knight. Until they were all dead. The knight looked around to make sure they were all beheaded, then he sheathed his sword. Without a single word, he and the other knights returned to the horses. Meanwhile, the soldiers collected the dead bodies and took the weapons and ammunition. A dozen dead bodies laid on the ground around the two knights who had stayed behind to guard the horses. "I see the lawbreakers were also thieves." the knight who had just executed the peasants said. One of the guarding knights nodded. "Yet another entry to be added to the list of their misdeeds." "The number of the living in the city wanes, Sir Edoarus. With those added who just attacked us, another eighty died today." one of the knights said. Sir Edoarus mounted his horse. "Yet, most of the citizens are still alive." he replied as the other knights mounted their horses. Three years had passed since the end of the Second Voidwar. Shortly after the plague had struck the capital of Rengar, Edoarus had entered the city, alone. Now he had an army inside the city, built by himself. He was not sitting on its throne, but the palace was under his full control. Slowly and carefully, the living within the city were... 'converted'.

He did have help from the outside still, however. Unliving agents had infiltrated every village, every town, every outpost, every keep and castle surrounding the capital. Most of them were already under the control of Edoarus. The mining towns had been the first to completely fall under his control and were producing weapons and armors for his growing army. When Edoarus' work was done, all people of the heartlands of Rengar would be part of his army. Edoarus did not pity the people of Rengar. They were all the same. Sooner or later, each and everyone of them broke the law. In death, they could serve a higher purpose than failing to achieve their hopes and dreams as they did in life. He would lead them against Salria. His master, the Watcher of Arkain, had ventured deep into the Dead Mountain after the Bonelords had failed to destroy this 'Dominion', leaving Edoarus without directives to follow. While Krom had left to hunt some beasts, Edoarus had instead decided to finish what the Bonelords had started. However, rather than lead an army of the dead to Salria, he operated from the shadows to forge his own army in Rengar. Rengar was neighbouring Salria, it was the perfect place to prepare an invasion. Not only because of its location but also because it would draw no attention from the other mortal nations. An army of the dead would surely catch the attention of Bloodclaw, who still had a score to settle with the living dead. An invasion from Rengar, targeting the rogue Orc lands would be ignored or even applauded. Of course, the Order of Flame and the father-in-law of the king would want to investigate how this massive army came out of the area they had locked off, but until they'd be able to see the truth, Edoarus and the entirety of the people from the heartlands of Rengar would already invade Salria. Every soldier, every villager, every noble. They all would serve in his army. He only needed time - and as an immortal undead being, he had lots of it. "Double the patrols. Kill everyone who breaks the new laws. Let them serve a greater purpose in death."