Law and Order

***Far, Lharvion 20, 993 YK***

**196 days until the Day of Mourning**

Gin hastily removed Castellan’s head, stole the note that had been delivered to the medusa, and fled into the city before the guards arrived. The rest of the party at the restaurant waited for the guards and submitted themselves to due process of the law. Their equipment was removed and they were arrested, kept in holding cells to be questioned. Gin met with another contact of the Cult of Sight Unbound and delivered the head, being promised that they would speak to the Oracle to set up a meeting. He also investigated the note to Castellan, which read: “ILTHANE THE BLACK, DISCIPLE OF THE CORRUPTOR, SEEKS AUDIENCE WITH MIRAJ VIZANN, DISCIPLE OF THE STONE HEART. PLAGUELANDS AT LAST LIGHT.” Returning to Althaea, Gin informed her of the situation and she, in turn, told him that the party would likely have to face trial for Castellan’s murder. She identified the six council members that would oversee the trial and judge the party:

* **Adrastos** – *Master of Growth*, a medusa.
* **Rasmus** – *Master of Tides*, a minotaur.
* **Turannos** – *Master of Labor*, a medusa.
* **Dianthe** – *Mistress of War*, a medusa.
* **Ioanna** – *Mistress of Architecture*, a medusa.
* **Ophelia** – *Mistress of Word*, a goliath.

Though Althaea could do nothing to directly help the party, she provided Gin with a writ of patronage, allowing him to travel relatively unrestricted through the city. After forging a set of non-magical writs of patronage as backups, he set out to get as much information as he could about the council members in the hopes that the party may be able to use something to their advantage. Someone had begun to fast track their trial, making sure it would be completed at the end of the day, giving Gin enough time to investigate 4 out of the 6 nobles. Using a network of homeless in the city, he learned that Rasmus is a fairly neutral party, unaligned with any factions, and admires cunning. Ioanna is also neutral, but the Order of the Sacred Stone has been trying to court her, unsuccessfully. She abhors inelegance and has a distaste for the Dhakaani architecture on top of which the medusa city was built. For the last two, Gin felt it important to try a personal touch, so he set up meetings with Turannos and Ophelia.

Gin offered Turannos the same thing he had Althaea: vengeance against the Cult of Sight Unbound. Being no fool, the medusa was aware there would be a price for this “gift”, and Gin merely inferred that he’d like Turannos to vote in favor of his companions during the trial. Midway through the conversation, Gin realized that one of the medusa’s servants had partially-petrified skin, indicating that Turannos was likely already a member of the Order of the Sacred Stone. He shared a brief drink with the man before seeking out Ophelia. He found her in a garden tucked away in a lesser merchant district, near the goliath tamers. She was in the middle of some oration with an audience of younger civilians, so Gin waited. At the end, she met with another individual: Nimira, the Noldrun clan duergar with whom they had fought and later liaised during their brief journey into Khundrukar. Nimira departed without noticing Gin, and he took the opportunity to speak with the goliath councilor. He realized that Ophelia seemed to maintain a neutral stance, holding the law itself in high regard and being assured that the outcome would be just, so long as there was no tampering by the Order of the Sacred Stone.

With only limited time remaining, Gin gained access to the rest of the party and provided them with what details he could. They were shortly brought to the acropolis palace for their trial. The court itself was circular and tiered. In the center, at the bottom, stood the party. They were unshackled, but heavily guarded by multiple medusa and gnoll guards with basilisks for extra measure. The next few tiers were audience seating for those with noble patrons. The uppermost tier sat the six council members, as well as Sheshka, positioned just slightly higher than them. Once everyone had arrived, the chamber was sealed, and the trial began.

The party was allowed to open with their account of the events. They held to their story that they were unaware of the identity of the individual that instigated the attack against Castellan and, ultimately, killed him in the ensuing battle. Their combat with Castellan was purely self-defense. It was clear that some of the council wasn’t buying their argument completely. This worked both for and against them. Adrastos seemed to feel that Castellan’s death was a good thing, and voted in favor of the party. Rasmus had an inkling that the party wasn’t telling the truth, but respected their clever plan, and voted in their favor. Turannos, having heard of the party’s previous exploits, questioned the absence of Gin (as Destir) and whether or not he could be the shapechanger seen attacking Castellan. Ultimately, despite Gin’s offer, he voted against the party. Dianthe was on the attack from the beginning, bringing up the party’s status as foreigners and noting the weapons they brought with them. She was quick to vote against them. Ioanna spoke little, asking only whether or not they felt that what they did was just. She voted in their favor. Ophelia, as the last council member, was uncertain what she believed, so she asked the party if they had given the council the entirety of the truth, and not simply cleaved to the letter of the law. Ultimately, she voted against the party, believing them to have manipulated the law to their advantage.

With the council tied, the final vote would be cast by Sheshka. She looked the party over, making sure they were aware that the punishment for this crime would be death if they were found guilty. Her ruling was that she found the party…

…guilty.