The Trial Begins

Some time passed—not long, but long enough for Corvin to get bored. He began tapping a rhythm against the metal bars, steady and irritating. Mira glanced over but said nothing. Then came the humming—a low, aimless melody.

“Can you shut up?” she snapped finally.

“I’m just trying to make this a little less miserable.”

Mira stepped up to the bars of her own cell, glaring over the hallway toward him. “Well, it’s annoying as hell, and everyone would be happier if you shut the hell up.”

“Likewise.”

“What was that?”

Corvin raised his hands and backed away from the bars. “Nothing… nothing at all.”

Thunk.

The iron door creaked open. Four of the masked shadows entered the cell block. Two stopped at either side of the doorway, the other two approached Corvin’s cell in silence. As they loomed closer, Corvin instinctively stepped further back into the cell.

Shadow Four—easily recognizable now by the group—stood just outside the bars.

“Prisoner One. Your fate is scheduled to be determined at sundown. The trial has been moved up and will begin immediately. Do you wish to represent yourself or name someone to speak for you?”

Corvin’s face paled. “Wait, sundown? There can’t be more than thirty minutes left!”

“As I said,” the shadow replied, “The trial was moved up and will start now.”

Corvin swallowed. “Okay—uh, Sai. I want Sai.”

“Who is Sai?”

“He’s the swordsman,” Corvin said, pointing towards his cell.

Shadow Four turned to Sai’s cell. The second shadow moved, unlocking Corvin’s door while shadow four approached Sai.

“Prisoner Four,” she said, “are you willing to represent Prisoner One in his trial?”

Sai sat on the floor with his back to her. “Yes, but I’ll need the other two prisoners as witnesses.”

Shadow Four let out a faint sigh, then signaled to the guards by the door. “You better not try anything out there. Or you’ll join him in punishment.”

Corvin was roughly grabbed and hauled out of his cell. The others were let out without struggle, following silently behind as they made their way back out into the fading sunlight.

The plaza was bathed in warm orange as the sun slipped lower behind the hills. Townsfolk had gathered, clustering near a wooden platform set up in the square—not just for judgment, but execution if necessary.

One half of the platform held a long table and two chairs—for the judge and places for witnesses, in front was two more tables, one for the defendant and one for the prosecutor or Gladius, who sat already with a composed, unreadable expression. The other half bore a stark wooden gallows. A single rope hung loose from the crossbeam, swaying slightly in the breeze, its shadow stretched long across the stage.

Corvin saw it instantly.

“You’ve got to be kidding me,” he muttered.

“Just keep calm,” Sai whispered beside him as they climbed the steps. “Let’s make sure this ends with words. Not a rope.”

They were placed at the left table both Sai and Corvin felt their nerves starting to be shaken under the weight of every eye in the crowd. Some villagers crossed their arms. Others looked uneasy. No one looked pleased to be here.

A man in grey robes took his place behind the table—middle-aged, with narrow eyes and a well-trimmed beard. He tapped a wooden mallet against the surface.

“This hearing is now in session under village law,” the judge said. “The accused: Corvin. Charges: unlawful entry, threatening a citizen, and resisting arrest.”

He glanced over his spectacles.

“Who speaks for the accused?”

“I do,” Sai said, stepping forward.

“And your name?”

“Sai”

The judge nodded once. “We begin with the aggrieved party—Ebron Harven, owner of the mill.”

A man in his fifties climbed the steps, shifting awkwardly beneath the attention as he sat in the witness chair. His clothes were dusty, hands rough and calloused, and an old apron hung from his waist.

He as he sat his eyes moved around the setting, casting glances at group. “I… I didn’t want things to go this far.”

Gladius rose smoothly. “Ebron,” he said in a gentle but controlled tone, “you only need to speak truthfully. I’ll help you thru this.”

The judge raised a brow at that but said nothing—for now.

“Yes, of course,” Ebron muttered.

“So… the boy—Corvin— i assume he broke into the mill. during the night. I wasn’t expecting anyone inside my mill this morning. I—I thought the door might had locked itself so i hit it some trying to loosen it.”

“And that was when he threaten you?” Gladius asked calmly, stepping closer.

Ebron hesitated. “Well yes… but not exactly.”

Gladius rested a firm hand on his shoulder. “He had locked himself inside of your property, and as you tried to rightfully enter he threatens to kill you if you continued?”

“Yes. Yes, that’s true. But”

“You feared for your safety?”

“I…“ the man rubbed his own arm. “yes i did, i instantly headed for the gates to get a guard.”

The judge leaned forward. “And what came of that? Can you say he complied?”

Ebron shook his head quickly. “I cant tell exactly what happened, as i was in the crowd a bit away.”

Gladius smiled as he moved away from Ebron’s side “Judge i would like to call in Shadow number four to the stance one of the guards sent to solve the situation”

The judge nodded as Ebron soon was switched with Shadow four without her mask on.

“Please state your name”

“C-ti Eldo”

The judge wrote it down on a paper before he gave approval to continue.

“So C-ti, what did you find as you tried to solve the situation?”

As C-ti spoke she held the same emotionless expression thru out the entire time.

“Once the door opened i along with my then companion spotted an aggravated man with an axe, we decided not to leave anything to chance and went in to apprehend Corvin.”