Ring One was a lot more practical-minded than I had been expecting. It was obviously rich. The lights shone brighter than even on Ring Two, and there were many statues lining the thoroughfares or adorning the corners.

But where Ring Two had mansions with far too much space in between, here the buildings were closer together, almost like a downtown area for the city of Zairgon.

There weren’t many people there, and the few I saw had the same style of uniform as the Scalekin officer who had visited the temple. Almost nobody paid us any attention, too busy taking care of their own tasks.

“There’s a new statue every few years,” Hamsik, pointing at one of a Scarseeker. The sculpture was made of the same abalone-like material as everything else here, though their hair and eyes often sported different kinds and colours of metal.

“Are these real people?” I asked, looking at the different figures.

“Yes. The Council decides who to immortalize on Ring One, depending on their contribution to Zairgon. Surprisingly, the majority aren’t nobles, like you would have expected.”

Actually, I had at first thought that sounded like a neat idea, and only after Hamsik had mentioned the possibility of there just being too many statues of nobles had I considered that potentially negative aspect to a seemingly wholesome idea. I was a little taken aback to learn that wasn’t the case, especially when I saw a few statues of actual humans too.

No reason to be really surprised, though. As morally corrupt as the Great Houses sounded, the Councillors had drawn a whole House into a trial with lightning-fast alacrity.

We arrived at our destination soon enough. The streets were wrapping around and curving now that we were so high up on Zairgon, but that didn’t hide the courthouse for long.

I could only stare. It was huge. I had thought the wide street lined with more buildings made of the abalone-like material and covered in shining glass were a bit much. Maybe not as rich as some of the manors on Ring Two, but still ostentatious in their own right.

Then the circular courthouse blew me out of the park. It was the biggest building I had seen in Zairgon yet. The construction reminded me of Ancient Greek temples with all the columns outside, save for the fact that it was round and had a roof that seemed to be made of coppery material, with more large opaque glass lining the walls.

As with the gate, we were allowed to enter without trouble. In fact, a guard accompanied us and quickly took us through a strange maze of hallways with incredibly tall ceilings before we finally emerged through large doors made of real wood.

The actual courtroom was huge too. Easily big enough to pass for an airplane hangar. Hamsik and I were guided to a small podium off to one side, not that far from a raised dais with a series of simple, similar chairs. All around us were rows upon rows of bleachers, slowly filling up with people.

I had seen a small crowd in front of the court, but it looked like a lot of them were already inside. And a lot of them were rich.

Hamsik was glaring to the right, where a bleacher was filled with folks I very easily pinned as nobles, what with their fancy getups and the way they held themselves.

“Glad you made it in time,” a familiar voice said. I turned with a smile to see Revayne approaching my little podium.

“Oh, hey.” I looked back to see just how many people were arriving. “This is a big deal, isn’t it?”

Revayne followed my gaze. “Quite. But I don’t think there’s any reason to be fearful. The Councillors are… well, you’ll see. Fair fortune, Ross.”

She headed off to join the rest of the guards.

The lights dimmed not long afterwards, leaving patches of light focused on each of the chairs on the raised dais and a central spotlight on the middle of the courtroom. Voices hushed all of a sudden.

“They’re here,” Hamsik said. “Ah, right. This is the first time you’re seeing them, isn’t it?”

Them. I was tempted to ask who he actually meant, but it became pretty obvious with the way everyone was quietening down.

The first figure to take up one of the chairs on the raised dais gave me the same kind of feeling I had faced in the estate of House Kalnislaw, with the Scarseeker nobles and their overwhelming presences. The Scalekin with the forest-green scales who sat down had a similar magnetic gravity, but with a fiery tint to it, like if I got too close, I would literally start burning.

Which made sense considering he was more a dragon than just another Scalekin. His head was adorned with crests and dark horns, and what I had originally thought was a cape were actually shimmering wings furled tight against his back.

I didn’t even note his combined armour-and-robes properly before I was distracted by the woman who appeared next.

She was more nondescript compared to her companion. A navy-skinned Rakshasa woman of indeterminate age in mage robes, who had a certain… translucency about her.

I blinked when she phased right through the big, draconic Scalekin before taking her spot one seat away from him. The Scalekin didn’t seem to mind.

“The others shall arrive in due course,” he said all of a sudden, his voice booming through the courtroom. “Trikurag. Fetch forth the accused, that they may stand in judgment.”

An immediate burst of heavy murmurs flooded out from the seats with the nobles.

One of the guards left. A large, familiar guard. Oh, so the guard commander was Trikurag. She returned moments later, dragging her captive behind her. Despite the Ogre’s naturally large height and bulk, and despite being in chains, Lady Kalnislaw didn’t really look that small next to her captor.

She was deposited in the central spotlight, still shackled.

My eyes hardened as I stared at Lady Kalnislaw. She was the one who had turned Elder Escinca into a Scarthrall. The one who had, ultimately, killed him.

“To wit,” the Scalekin Councillor said with his booming voice again. “Before us standeth the accused, charged with lending aid and counsel to a criminal Scarseeker who hath sown discord throughout Zairgon, and by fell design hath forced many into Scarthralls. First, we shall hearken to the testimony of those who did bear witness to these grievous deeds, that all accounts may be set forth ere judgment is pronounced.”

I blinked. That Councillor certainly a had a fondness for Shakespearean English… which was stupid because he wasn’t speaking English. Probably an older version of New Zair.

Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

“As always,” another Councillor said. A third had appeared, another Rakshasa, this one dressed in robes that were almost cult-like in a way. Unlike the phasing mage, his skin was silver and his horns glowed like they were his version of a halo. The spectacles on his face flashed as he took everyone in. “We will not use a truth serum unless absolutely necessary.”

“They’ve probably got evidence from too many sources to need it,” Hamsik muttered.

Jury duty had never appealed to me back on Earth, and I wasn’t looking forward to speaking up here either. It was merely a formality, just spouting everything I had gone through so everyone was on the same page, like they hadn’t already heard some version of things from a source they trusted more than me.

But when it came to my turn to talk, after Hamsik, Commander Trikurag, and Captain Revayne had all had their turns, I explained everything as best as I could, leaving nothing out. The others hadn’t shied away from anything either. Their stories corroborated mine.

The entire courtroom seemed to stare at me as one when I got to the part about fighting and killing Glonek. They stared some more when I mentioned I had used Soul Sight to peer inside his head.

There were statements from other cultists, such as the Wind and the Fire cults, and even from the shepherd with the lost cave-sheep.

“That is an apt summary,” the third Councillor said, his spectacles flashing again. “We have received ample evidence of the truth of the events. Even now, the guards control a sizeable number of Scarthralls, most of whom have willingly corroborated what we have found.”

“We will now summon Lord Kalnislaw,” the mage woman said. Her voice had a strange, ethereal quality to it, like several versions of her were speaking at the same time to make her words ring with a compound note. “Stand before us and testify, Lord Kalnislaw. Was it not your estate that led to this? Was it not an employee of your House who caused all this massacre?”

I now began to understand why Hamsik was glaring so determinedly at the nobles’ bleachers. His father was there too. Not chained like his stepmother, but free and standing on his own two feet, just like Hamsik’s stepbrother.

Lord Kalnislaw descended to the same level as his wife. His face was a mask of expressionless stone. He didn’t glance down at his wife.

“You are correct, Councillors,” he said. “It was an employee of my own estate that was the root cause of all this.”

The draconic Scalekin leaned forward. “As Lord of House Kalnislaw, dost thou understand that thou must needs take responsibility for all that doth ensue from thine House?”

“I do, Councillor. It is a grave sin, a shame for all of House Kalnislaw, that such a thing came to pass under my stewardship. I take full responsibility.”

“No.”

The contradiction was quiet, but it carried enough force and came from a source surprising enough that everyone, including me, stopped to stare at Lady Kalnislaw. She had finally raised her head, her face bearing no more of an expression than her husband.

“I was the one who aided and abetted Glonek,” she said, resolute and unyielding. “I was the one actively converted many of the stronger… targets into Thralls that he couldn’t. The responsibility lies squarely on my shoulders.”

She stopped short of demanding them to blame her and only her, but the words were pretty obvious. They didn’t need to be said.

I slowly let go of my breath. Did she really care about House Kalnislaw so much that she was willing to shoulder all the blame?

“That is true,” a fourth Councillor said. Unlike the rest, he was the first one that looked actually old, sporting a salt-and-pepper beard that didn’t hide his tusks. Like most Ogres I had seen, his head was bald too, though dotted with liver spots like Durica. “You are indeed the most responsible party now that the true instigator of all these incidents has been killed.”

“I am.” Lady Kalnislaw bowed her head. “Therefore, I beseech the Council that all blame be laid squarely upon me. My family has nothing to do with the matter. I hid it all from them. I never allowed them to get a whiff of what was going on. They are innocent in all this. It is the truth.”

The Councillors didn’t look at each other or communicate among themselves, only continuing to stare at the accused. It genuinely made me wonder if they had some way of mentally communicating with each other.

“This is a stupid conspiracy!” Zoltan shouted. He, like his father, had remained on the stands, but now he was trying to get down to where his mother was chained. The only reason he hadn’t made it down was because a few other nobles were holding him back. “It’s stupid!”

“Quiet, please, Zoltan!” Lady Kalnislaw said.

“No, I will not be quiet.” He raged where he stood, others desperately trying to stop him from rushing off. “This is a ploy to ruin House Kalnislaw, nothing more. I will not stand it! If you all intend to remain such cowards, to go along with this incredible farce, then I will make sure that—”

“Enough

.” The barked command from Lord Kalnislaw did make Zoltan shut up. He was still furious, but a small part of him seemed to realize he was making things worse.

He had created an opening, though, one that the other nobles were ready to take advantage of.

“We would like to suggest some motions,” a richly dressed Rakshasa said. He looked vaguely familiar, but I wasn’t sure why. Then I saw that he was sitting close to a guy I did recognize. That asshole from House Brasvay. Those two must have been related, like father and son or something. “I have the will of the Houses behind my motions.”

None of the nobles reacted to that statement, so it looked like it was the truth. The Rakshasa from House Brasvay did indeed posses his compatriots’ support. I had no idea when they had even discussed what they were about to propose. Probably before the trial.

“To wit, the first motion,” he continued. “We suggest Lady Kalnislaw be allowed reprieve. In her place, let her son be held accountable for the actions of House Kalnislaw and be punished instead.”

There was an immediate uproar. Zoltan blinked stupidly while his young noble friends stared aghast at their elders. Lady Kalnislaw protested hotly, while Lord Kalnislaw sent a severe look into the stands. Even Hamsik jerked where he stood like he couldn’t believe the nobles would dare suggest something like that.

So much for having the entirety of the nobility behind him. Although, I did note none of the older nobles, who were no doubt the leaders of their respective Houses, complained.

“Motion dismissed,” the draconic Scalekin Councillor said.

The Rakshasa noble looked only minorly miffed for a second before plunging into his next suggestion. “The second motion is that we allow leniency for the whole House. The crimes, if they can be truly called that even when we are discussing matters divorced from the true perpetrator of the acts, were relegated to Ring Four. Surely that doesn’t merit harsh sentences.”

That suggestion, unfortunately, didn’t have anywhere near as many people complaining as the first one. In fact, pretty much no one said anything against it.

I had clenched my fists hard enough that my knuckles were white, and it was pretty evident that Hamsik’s anger was reaching its tipping point too.

“Can they really do that?” I asked, trying my best not to sound mad. “Just listen to what the nobles say and agree to it? I thought there was going to be a better process.”

Hamsik scoffed lightly. “A better process?” He closed his eyes and took a moment to calm himself. “Admittedly, they are following a better process. The nobles form one bloc that can float a motion to the Councillors, which, if it doesn’t face too much opposition from within their own bloc, will be a serious consideration against the Councillors’ judgment. That goes for the bloc from Ring Three as well. They all can form one bloc as well.”

“Let me guess. No blocs from Ring Four.”

Hamsik’s baring of his fangs was all the answer I needed to that.

“Unfortunately, we were already considering that motion,” the mage Rakshasa Councillor said. “It is why we seek to only to truly punish Lady Kalnislaw, while Lord Kalnislaw and the Kalnislaw Young Master will be spared, though they will of course be held accountable as well.”

“What would the sentence be, Councillor?” another noble asked.

“Banishment.”

The nobles muttered among themselves, clearly not appreciative of the sentence.

Hamsik couldn’t hold back his snarl. It wasn’t loud enough to disturb the rest of the proceedings, but several guards near us frowned at him.

“Control yourself,” the nearest one said. “Do not speak out of turn when you have no say in the matter.”

“No say in the matter?” I said, stepping up as well. Before the rest of the guards could close in, I raised my voice to a volume that would carry across the courtroom. “Does the human who killed the Scarseeker really responsible for all this not have a say in proceedings?”

A nearby guard rushed me down, but a Councillor—a new one, who had just arrived—cleared her throat loudly.

She was a Se-Targa, the shiniest one I had seen yet. Like her draconic companion, her wings were folded close to her back, but that didn’t tamp down the prismatic shimmer of her feathers or how her waterfall of inky hair was interspersed with glowing golden threads. Or the fact that she was at least ten feet tall.

“Ring Four resident,” she said, imperious voice rippling across the courtroom. Her liquid gold eyes pierced me even from that distance. “We have heard much of you. But others may not have, despite your testimony, so allow me to properly introduce you.”