Jindleyak Justice

Began a polish of 16.1 — 25m20s — 2020/09/19

Polished 16.1 — 1h56m18s — 2020/09/19

The wood planking of the platform was well worn. Meriona wondered who else had taken these steps in cuffs, and what their punishments were. Several dwarves and a handful of children, dressed in colorful motley, where brushed from the stage. A cheer rose from the crowd, to applaud both the preliminary show, and the main event.

Meriona was sat in a chair facing cockeyed, halfway toward a box full of jurors and halfway to the general audience. Toddles and Naiphan were seated around her. The square was already packed and the crowd cheered and jeered to see them finally brought into view. The accused Jay stared across the stage at the gathered jury.

The jurors were not as Meriona expected. They were not a serious and pedantic lot with regal apparel, exceptional grooming, and sharp eyes. Instead, they were a sordid bunch with dirty cloaks and abused hats.

Although the others all had matching hats, one juror did not. His hair was a wild tangle that begged for scissor and comb; fit only for rats, or roaches. With wild-eyes, he twitched and fidgeted as he stared about the massive crowd of commoners that gathered before them. Despite his weird behavior, this juror was not an anomaly among his peers. Another ducked her head and picked her nose with a vigor. Meriona watched, aghast and embarrassed, as the filthy woman examined her treasure, then placed it between her stained and jagged teeth while she glanced about and challenged anyone that dared look at her. Another was a young and disheveled man that held a bare foot in his lap and picked at his toes with a bit of a stick. His feet were dark with dirt and filth, and despite the distance between them, Meriona was quite sure she could smell him.

Another juror looked as dirty and old as time itself. She had a menacing scowl about her face—mostly for her fellow jurors. The fifth juror stared wide-eyed and mouth agape at the audience and generally exaggerated their mood; laughing and clamoring when they cheered; hissing and cursing when they booed. The sixth juror appeared to be nothing but a common drunk sleeping off a hangover; his face was dark red with a deep purple and bulbous nose slopped on kind of sideways. Despite the chill of the morning air, he refused any cover—except his hat, with the edge pulled over his eyes—as he lounged at an awkward angle and snored. His cloak served as a blanket over his lower half, and Meriona half expected it to slip and reveal he was naked underneath. How any of these idiots came to wear the robes of authority was beyond the Jay. What sort of a backward people were these Jindleyak to let such simpletons sit in judgement?!

A thick knot of fear formed in Meriona's stomach. There would be no reasoning with these judges. Indeed, she figured the deal was already made. This was nothing more than a show for the general public—and Meriona would play the goat.

The hatless juror realized the accused were now in attendance. His face turned red, and lit with a rage as he glanced between them and the milling crowd. He leveled a finger at Meriona, Toddles, and Naiphan. "Hang ‘em!" he yelled as he stood to his feet and leaned out of the juror's box. "Hang 'em all! Burn 'em up, their meat for the fire!"

The crowd cheered and laughed to have such a quick verdict. Several of the other jurors clapped and clamored; but the bailiff tugged the juror's robes and whispered in his ear.

"Fine!" The wild-eyed juror pulled from the large armed bailiff and flopped onto the bench with a pensive frown once more. The next juror turned to the pouting man and began to mock him with snivels and snorting, and poked the man with the filthy end of his stick. The first took offense, and the two slapped at each other several times. After a half dozen exchanges, the two were separated by a peacekeeper that took up a post between them. The serious and placid peacekeeper sat between the jurors, quite calm, despite the enormity of such a wild exchange. Still, the jurors tried to strike each other without drawing the notice of the large and sober man between them,, and the gathered masses responded approvingly to the show.

Meriona glanced at Naiphan and Toddles and found them also puzzled and frightened by what they witnessed.

The bailiff took the center of the stand, banged his staff against the wood boarding, and brought the trial to its official start. "LADIES AND GENTLEMEN!" he roared to the gathered crowd, "IF YOUR HONORS WOULD BE SO OBLIGED!" he bowed to the seated jurors, "AND WITH THE CONSENT OF THE ACCUSED!" the bailiff waved a hand at Meriona and the throat-cutters. "THIS TRIAL BEGINS!"

The crowd cheered. Meriona turned to her advisor—a bored and detached cleric that seemed to be capable of the job—if only he were interested—and asked, "What if we do not consent?"

The advisor shrugged. "Then you shall be locked in the jailhouse until you do," he stared at her. "It is best to see these things through as quick as possible. But I shall ask them to stop. Shall I tell them you do not consent? That you require more time? You’ve tried the food. It will not get any better.”

"And what of my punishment? Will it be any better?" Meriona asked.

The cleric shrugged. "If you have something to confess, or perhaps some further bargain to make, it might be best. But if they think you are simply trying to avoid judgement, it will be worse."

Meriona shook her head. There would be no delay. She began to wonder the worst. She thought perhaps the mercy she'd bargained for would only be a slightly less grisly death. Would they hang her instead of boiling her in oil? Might she take a bit of painless poison instead of being drawn and quartered by horses? Would she see the executioners axe instead of being burnt at the stake? The only way to know was to allow this masquerade to continue. Even if this meant her death, at least she should not be captive to these backward people any longer.

The cheering of the crowd died down, and the bailiff continued. "Now, let us hear from the accusers! Scurra, Aim, and Elpis of the family Yockupp! Andrus, Homoth, and Duboha of the family Trandhill! Creigal berDuvante, Duke of Gaurring; and his good men, Baetolamew, and Carringten! Celesi of the Bouge, and Wenifas, Priestess of the Blooded Moon!" he called.

Meriona sneered at the reverence given the title of priestess—as if it said she was anything more than simple breeding stock. The lot of ‘em stepped onto the platform and took seats near the jurors.

"Please tell us of what occurred," the bailiff continued.

Scurra stood and stepped forward to speak for the accusers. Meriona tried to keep a stoic face as she stared at the Jindleyak lady dressed in green and silver. Even with finer clothes, she looked lean and sinewy tough—but not in the used and undernourished way of the priestess. Scurra's toughness was trained and intentional—and rather foreign to the Jay.

"Thank you," Scurra began. "Your esteemed honors, keepers of the peace, ladies and gentlemen of the gathered crowd," she bowed as she faced each group. "Several nights ago these men and this woman, and two more of their company that have sadly perished..."

"How have they perished?!" Someone called from the crowd. A smattering of whispers rose from the audience though no one else raised their voice. Scurra turned to the bailiff, and the officer approved the question.

Scurra launched into the stories of their arrest, and how throat-cutter#4 assaulted Duboha and was subsequently killed; and also the tale of the cloud kraken and how it crushed Humfries. The stories caused quite a stir among the gathered masses. Even a couple jurors sat in rapt attention at the talk of the cloud kraken. "Neither would have died at all if we had not caught the lot of them trying to kill our esteemed colleagues and friends: the Duke of Gaurring, and the lady, Wenifas," Scurra noted.

"These are foreigners!" someone called. "And this crime happened across the border. Why are they charged in a Jindleyak court?"

The bailiff gave a nod and Scurra answered. "These individuals travel in the Trohl Freelands under the care and service of a Jindleyak militia, the Oak and Beast. This militia has high standing among our people, and also the Pulbouge. Since it the duke and preistess traveled with the protection of this militia, since this militia captured these foul agents, since the duke and priestess are agreed to see this matter settled under their authority, and since our Pulbouge brothers have seen fit to let us bring them here to the borders of our land; we ask the good people of Excergie to administer God’s justice in the Jindleyak fashion," Scurra proclaimed.

"Burn ‘em!" the first juror interrupted. He stood on toe tips as he leaned out of his box, fingers and eyes accusing. “Burn ‘em all!”

Elements of the crowd scoffed and cheered. A couple more jurors took up the call, and as the peacekeepers tried to settle them down, several individuals among the crowd broke into song as some cheered the antics of the jurors and booed the interceding peacekeepers.

"Boil 'em in oil!

Kill 'em with fire!

Until they're as black,

as their heart's desire!"

And so they sang.

Meriona sagged as she imagined this day would not pass well for her. She stared at the floor of the platform and studied the wooden grain—but the trial did not end just because the Jay was no longer interested. Instead, each of the Jindleyak party was called to witness. From time to time some random member of the audience cut in to ask a question of one of the witnesses. Some of the questions were shrugged aside by the bailiff as irrelevant—but a surprising number were allowed. It was different with the jurors. Although most questions came from the audience, occasionally the jurors asked a question, always through a peacekeeper, then whispered to the bailiff.

The worst of it all was the testimony of Wenifas. She was the last of the party to be called center stage, and by Meriona's estimation, the most dramatic and heartfelt of the speakers. her story was also the longest. She spoke of Camp Calderhal and the attacking bugbear. Then, she told how she met many of the party as they journeyed to Ebertin. Meriona noted she covered up a few convenient details, like her loathing of Creigal's guard. Finally, she finished with her banishment at the hands of Meriona, and her harrowing journey east. She was not the first to talk of the cloud kraken and the naga, but she was the first to weep openly. The effect was further exaggerated as her entire testimony was given in Ministrian and had to be interpreted for the jury and crowd. There were such pauses between her words and the interpreter that birds could be heard across the square. At one point, the audience waited so quietly and for such a long time, only to find that the interpreter was crying and had to take a moment to continue, only to inform the audience that the lady’s son had died.

There was a long pause as Wenifas sobbed with her hands to her face. Although she was sorry for the boy’s death, Meriona was disgusted. That conniving priestess was using the death of her own son to seal the Jay’s fate, and her passionate plea caused quite a stir—especially after the matter-of-fact testimony provided by so many of the military men. The cynical side of the Jay had to admit that it was a smashing piece of theater. Twice now, she’d seen Wenifas hold rapt the attention of an entire court.

Her story ended, and the crowd whispered and counseled among themselves as the messy-haired juror turned purple with rage once more and launched to his feet. "HANG 'EM, EACH AND EVERY ONE!" He roared at the accused. "FEED THEIR EYES TO THE RAVENS! REDUCE THEIR BONES TO ASH AND SCATTER IT IN THE ROAD! THE EVIL IN THEIR SOULS SHALL BE DISPERSED FROM HERE TO OLD TALLIA, OR WE WILL SUFFER FOR ALLOWING IT TO REMAIN!" He screamed as the peacekeepers tried to settle him down.

Many of the crowd cheered and jeered to see the juror act just so. Several of the crowd took up a chant. "Haaang 'em! Haaang 'em! Haaang em!" they sang as the juror encouraged them with wild waving arms, and took up the call himself.

Several of the other jurors joined him, though a few remained disinterested, or simply oblivious. The drunk did not include himself—though he was now wide awake. He stared about the others, frightened and disoriented by the noise. Then, as he realized the noise was unlikely to subside, he curled into an uncomfortable looking pretzel once more and covered himself with the cloak.

The bailiff and his peacekeepers discouraged the jurors and crowd with their firm stance and frowns—but it was not enough. Finally, the bailiff smashed the blunt end of his staff against the floor of the platform.

"SILENCE!" he bellowed, and stared down the general audience, as well as the jurors. The uproar died down. though a few errant calls of “Haaang em!” continued for several more seconds. Then, as he turned away, a bit of clapping and laughing rippled through the audience.

When the uproar had died enough, the bailiff addressed Meriona and her men. "Will the accused speak on their own behalf?" He asked. The advisor looked at the men and woman he was supposed to inform and simply offered up a shrug. He would be no help at all.

"We did not do it!" Naiphan called to the crowd. "We are guiltless!" Though he spoke Ministrian, he was understood by a good number of the crowd. They hissed and booed to hear the denial.

Meriona snorted. She stood, took a step forward, and bowed her head. "We beg the court for mercy, though we know we don’t deserve it," she began in a calm manner. "Since our capture, we were promised leniency for our cooperation, and we have fully cooperated."

"Then it is true?" the bailiff asked. "You intended to kill the duke, the priestess, and anyone else that stood in your way?"

Meriona hanged her head. "Do my words fall upon deaf ears? How many times must we condemn ourselves?"

A thick murmur washed over the crowd and the bailiff banged his staff. "Very well," he began. "If there is nothing else to present," he looked to Meriona, Toddles and NaIphan, and then at their accusers. Neither had anything to add. "Court is adjourned for one hour!" He smashed his staff on the platform.

The crowd turned to themselves abuzz with the news. The jurors were escorted to a fine table set up in the square and bombarded with questions from the public. Meriona and her cutthroats were escorted from the platform by the bailiff and a thick knot of peacekeepers as another round of "Haaang 'em!” began and a knot of onlookers sang another chorus of Kill ‘em with Fire, though it was a halfhearted effort.

"What shall become of us?" Meriona asked their council.

"We shall take a break in the shade," he said.

The man would be absolutely no help. Meriona attempted a smile. With her men in tow, she was escorted from the platform and asked to sit upon some blankets under a massive oak. While they waited, no few commoners approached with bread, cheese, fruit, meat, and other delicious morsels. They gave food to the guards, and the guards graciously took it. They ate it while the commoners offered some bits to the captives too. Seeing the high quality of the food, and being quite hungry after the long and arduous trial, Meriona and her cutthroats took the offered food, though they were pestered with additional questions. After a short time, there was too much given to the guards, and also the captives. Though the commoners continued to give them bits to eat, as they asked their questions, none of them were in the least bit violent. Indeed, they treated the accused quite kindly, and Meriona wished they were the judges.

"Why do they give us so much?" Meriona asked.

The advisor shrugged. "They think that if it should be your last meal, why not let it be a good one?"

The hour ended and the accused were taken before the jurors once more. Although the crowd had thinned, there were still several hundred commoners to watch the finale. "THE JURORS HAVE REACHED A CONSENSUS!" the bailiff announced, and a cheer went up from the crowd. "THE ACCUSED ARE FOUND GUILTY OF ATTEMPTING MURDER AGAINST A GOOD MAN AND A GOOD WOMAN THAT GAVE NO CAUSE! THE PUNISHMENT TO BE CARRIED OUT MOST IMMEDIATELY IS THE WORST TO BE SUFFERED UNDER JINDLEYAK JUSTICE—FOR THE WISE KNOW IT IS WORSE THAN DEATH!" the bailiff said to the gathered crowd. He turned on Meriona, Toddles and Naiphan. "THE ACCUSED ARE BANISHED FROM THE FREEST LANDS UNDER THE SKY, NEVER TO RETURN, ON FORFEITURE OF THEIR VERY LIVES!"

A buzz of conversation washed over the crowd as the bailiff continued.

"SINCE YOU ARE FOREIGNERS AND BORN TO BACKWARD WAYS, YOU MAY NOT RECOGNIZE THE TRAVESTY OF THIS JUDGEMENT! IT MAY SEEM A LIGHT PENALTY, SIMPLY TO RETURN TO THE LAND OF YOUR BIRTH! ASSUMING IT IS SO, TAKE THIS FOR LENIENCY! IF NOT, IF YOU WISH TO REMAIN IN THE GREATEST LAND THE EARTH HAS EVER KNOWN, BEG US FOR DEATH, AND YOU MIGHT HAVE THAT INSTEAD!" He stared at the accused as if they might actually take him up on such an offer.

A roar of approval went up from the crowd—though the bailiff and his peacekeepers ignored it. They simply stared at Meriona and her cutthroats and waited for their answer. After a long pause, the bailiff banged his staff once more. "SO IT SHALL BE, AND SO IT IS!" he said and banged his staff again. The crowd cheered as the the bailiff signaled to his peacekeepers to escort the accused from the square. Meriona, Toddles and Naphan breathed a collective sigh of relief, happy to know it was only banishment.

The crowd continued to cheer as the accused were led to the back of a wagon. Meriona felt light as though she would not suffer much longer! How had she avoided death with such a vindictive lot of imbeciles to decide her fate?! To think her life was hers so long as she never returned to these backward lands?! It seemed the best possible verdict—except that Gliedian might be disappointed. There was that to attend… but what had he expected when he gave her only four men?!

Yet, this was not the end of their punishment. Instead, the people pressed on the wagon, and after they handed small silver coins to the guards, they were allowed to see the prisoners once more.

"You have brought this on yourself!" he yelled as he threw a handful of small steel coins at the prisoners. Meriona and the throat-cutters yelped and cursed as the coins stung them. Then it began in earnest: a storm of steel coins rained down on the captives and bit them in a hundred different places, only to happen again and again. It did not end as they passed under the gates of the village. Now, children ran after the wagon for the better part of a mile and threw coin after coin after coin. A few of them threw the coins by the handful. Some were snipers, and launched them one at a time.

The guards ignored the protests of the accused. The barrage ebbed and flowed as the wagon bounced along the rough road. The coins resumed their rain as violent as ever, and Meriona thanked the gods that she could hide most of herself, especially her face, behind Toddles. As they wagon pulled further and further from Excergie, the crowd dwindled to just a few brave children with nothing better to do than throw coins at convicted criminals. Then, eventually, they faded away too.

Meriona looked at her co-conspirators, dotted with tiny red welts, and noticed they were as shocked as she was by the rough and strange treatment. At the bottom of the wagon was a small sea of coins. "Oi!" she called to one of the guards as they continued down the road at a staid pace. "Who keeps all this?"

The peacekeeper shook his head. "It is bad luck for any but the accused to take that coin. Indeed, it is your reward for providing the day's entertainment," he told them.

Meriona's eyes were wide as she wondered at the wealth that swam about her. "I've never seen such a coin. What is it worth?"

"It is ten to one from that to the large, then it is ten large to one copper bit," the peacekeeper informed. "It is enough for a good dinner and perhaps the night's lodging for the three of you. Indeed, if you are frugal, it may see you all the way back to Ebertin."

At the border, Meriona, Toddles, and Naiphan were allowed to gather all the steel coin, which was heavy indeed. The guards had several small cloth sacks so the accused had something to carry the mass of coins. The peacekeepers stood and watched as Meriona and her cutthroats continued down the road and finally passed out of view.

~!@#$%^&*()_+ 16.2 +_)(*&^%$#@!~

"So that's it?" Celesi asked. "That's the last we shall see of them?"

"Quite likely," Scurra shrugged. "The steel coin marks them as criminal. Even among the Pulbouge, they'll be watched as long as they spend it—and they have nothing else. If they return, if they are caught, they will be sent to the mines to dig coal, or to the swamps to harvest peat. If they refuse to stay out of Jindleyak lands, they are welcome to toil for the betterment of our nation," she noted.

"When do you hang a man?" Wenifas asked, her eyes cruel.

"Winnie!" Celesi admonished her friend, then turned to Scurra, curious to know.

Scurra shook her head. "They managed to do nothing aside from threaten us, yet they’ve lost their possessions and are banished. Is this not enough?"

"At Camp Calderhal, their were two or three hangings a week! It was not uncommon to see someone hanged for spitting on the wrong man!” Wenifas revealed.

Scurra shook her head. "We are not like that. You will see. You are now among a free and loving people. These lands are like few other," she said proudly.

What of your rulers?" Celesi asked. "Your governors? Are they not given greater protections? If one commits a crime against them, then one suffers more?"

Scurra shook her head. "You are truly among the free. There are few rules among us, and they apply to all of every station. We do not have many laws for the many and few laws for the few. Such hierarchies breed contempt and hostility. In Minist, the rich may rule and have more than their fair share—but they sleep with one eye open, because they cannot trust those they subject. You can ask the duke, for it is true of the kingdom too, only less so, for their laws are not as onerous. On the other hand, all are equal in the eyes of Jindleyak law, because equality breeds cooperation and community. If everyone is prosperous, then few envy their brother."

Celesi's face furrowed as she considered this. "So there are no greater protections for great and honored men?"

"There are natural protections," Scurra smiled. "If you injure a great man among the Jindleyak, his friends, brothers, and sons will hound you to the ends of the earth. If you are truly great, your friends, family, and neighbors are all the protection you could ever want; and if you do not have the respect of your friends, family, and neighbors, can you call yourself a great man?” Scurra shook her head. “There is no need to codify such things and pretend that the words of man's hand come from the lips of the gods. We know the proper way of things, and we keep them."

Celesi nodded. "But how do you counter chance? How do you make life fair?"

"And who are we to pretend we can make things equal?" Scurra shook her head. "One day fortune favors a man and dooms another, and the next day their roles are reversed. Our people understand that we are subject to the whims of fate. We do not pretend to know the will of the gods, and we certainly do not pass judgement on unknowable things. If we have limits, then we work to overcome them, for that is the path to greatness. We are not a people that cares for equality, for fairness, as both lead to mediocrity. We want opulence, adventure, splendor! We strive to be as great as we can be, and do not mourn our fates! Is that not noble?! Instead of having everyone conform to some base and low equality, that the rich and powerful shall never share?"

"Aye, it is noble." Celesi beamed as she marveled at Scurra's eloquence. Although their ways were foreign, she longed to understand them, that she might be one of them. It was all very exciting for the former apprentice! She'd marry Toar, and they'd settle and raise their babies among these new friends. Maybe she'd keep in contact with the duke and maybe visit his princely estates on her honeymoon with Toar. Then she remembered the sore of condition of the man—and the part she played in his accident. She turned her attention to little things, like the birds, so she would not weep.

"And where do you find such jurors?" Wenifas returned them to the subject of the trial. "Considering that only two of them seemed very passionate about the verdict – and violently so – I was surprised by such an even-handed judgement."

The one juror seemed intent on boiling them in oil," Celesi noted.

"There's always one," Scurra laughed. "We take the theater of a good trial very seriously – as you can tell by the size of the crowd. Mob rule isn't such a bad thing when the mob is educated and civilized. The public jurors with the robes are least among us, and they give us the extremes of our arguments in their rather showy and self important manner. But the crowd is always whispering its subtle councils and hoping for a more measured resolution. In the end, it comes down to general consensus. Solutions are proposed and counter proposed throughout the trial, and then after, as the luncheon continues.

"The jurors of the box are found in the streets. They are not wanderers, or simple men of simple ways. instead, they are the ditch-dwellers – from among the ones that refuse to help themselves. These fools bluster and make a scene – especially in a case as scandalous as a missing finger," Scurra smirked. "To intimidate and confuse the guilty."

"The guilty?" Wenifas eyed her. "It'd intimidate and confuse me."

"That's because you're not expecting it," Scurra smiled. "A little pressure usually reveals a truer version of ourselves. It makes spotting an honest man caught in the crosshairs of civic justice that much easier. Days like this allow the town a golden opportunity to shower a bit of love on the lowest of the low – especially the guilty. That is why we feed them good food and speak with them after. All of them: family, friends, neighbors, strangers, the jurors, the peacekeepers, the accused – they all mix and share their opinions – if they are only willing."

"Sneaky," Celesi stated. "That's the sort of mess I'd expect from the baradha – but with a happy twist," she smiled.

Scurra shrugged. "Lots of natives are immune to the tactic. Many simply ask for a trial among the people. Then if a vagrant truly cares, they can attend of their own accord. Otherwise, we leave the nitwits to their own petty squabbles for a good deal of our proceedings. Usually they prefer it and find our arguments boring – but we had a real scandal today!"

Wenifas nodded her head. "I like that," she admitted.

Celesi nodded, then changed the subject as the three continued on their walk home. "These houses are so large and rich, yet they grow fruits and vegetables in their yards," she noted. "Some even have livestock."

"Are vegetables so strange to you?" Scurra asked, confused.

"No," Celesi shook her head. "But these people all seem so fine and opulent. They appear rich by their fashion – rich enough that they need not grow food."

This statement only added to Scurra's confusion. "And why should they not grow their own food?"

Celesi shrugged. "The baradha never grow their own food. Only the poor labor to grow food in their yards – if they are lucky enough to have yards. The rich are rich enough that they can purchase all that they eat. They leave the farming to lesser men."

Scurra sighed. "Food mostly grows itself, if you know how to keep it, and it tastes best if your willing to feed it just a bit of your of your effort." Growing food is one of the things that makes us rich, so we can all afford such large and wonderful houses. But that is just another difference between Jindleyak and other peoples. We do not have poor to be suppressed and dominated by the rich. Instead, we are all rich, and we all do things to make ourselves richer."

Celesi frowned, "Yet you say those jurors are homeless. How can you pretend to be part of such a utopia when you too suffer homelessness?"

"There are always a few that refuse to better themselves or contribute in any real way, and even among our people there are genuine troublemakers. A few even have a fair deal of power and influence, but much of Jindleyak lands are governed quite to my liking," Scurra said.

"I have high hopes," Celesi replied with a smile. "I am told Hearthstone is like no other city in the world. Is it truly so grand?"

"Like nothing you've ever seen," Scurra beamed. "In all the world, there has never been another place like it. Not even in Old Tallia, before it was corrupted and finally devoured itself. Still, even Hearthstone has its dangers. though they are few. There is no perfection in an imperfect world.