Excerpts from the notebook of Jan Kormick:
May 18
Terrain: Well-kept Sovereign roadway. Day 2 of travel to the District of the Rich Hillsides Terraced for Growth, aka Hillside District.
Sovereigns.
It seems we have left the family drama and the ensuing violence behind, for the moment, and we have resumed our travel to the Hillside District in our role as Inquisitors. Savina is intent on getting there as quickly as possible, and I cannot blame the girl—this Nishi character is
abusing his authority in the most repugnant way. This man must be taught a lesson: authority should be abused only in the right situations. One with authority must learn to tell the difference.
On the road, we are shunned by fellow travelers, who cower at the sight of our gray Inquisitors’ robes. In Dar Und, there is seldom a difference between respect and fear. Here, I find I would rather be respected. Curious.
Speaking of respect, Arden has become quiet again. I liked it better when she was talking, if you call a few words a day talking. She had a sense of humor, believe it or not. Now she’s back to mystery. Best to know what your murder-slave is thinking, I say.
May 21
Day 5 on well-kept Sovereign roads. Hills by the road are terraced for agriculture.
We have crossed a river now and are approaching High Pass Village, the home of the couple to be married. We should arrive there this afternoon.
A peasant approached us today, standing tall and not kowtowing. Apparently this simply is not done among Sovereign peasants, and Nyoko was quite scandalized. Come to learn that as Inquisitors, our power includes the execution of insufficiently subordinate peasants. Without question, in matters of power, the one with the hammer does all the agreeing for everyone…but there is power, and there is power. Where is the proportionality?
It turns out the peasant had good reason to be angry, although not at us, specifically—his daughter was ordered to take place in this wedding-night business. She (quite sensibly) chose to postpone her wedding rather than participate. Lord Nishi—he’s the one we’re after—apparently sent his guards to bring her. They either did not know or did not care that the wedding had been postponed, and when she refused to go with them they executed her. The previous Inquisitors sent to Hillside District saw nothing wrong with this. Add it to the list of abuses.
May 21, cont’d
Have arrived at the Keep at the Village Near the High Pass Leading to the District of the Rich Hillsides Terraced for Growth. Kettenek help me if I have to write the name of the whole place again. From now on, it is the Keep at High Pass Village.
It is also heavily guarded. As if preparing to be attacked.
Myosho Hokuta (the husband, also Masa-san’s cousin who brought this whole matter to the Adepts’ attention) and Lady Oroko Cho (the wife and noble-lady) recounted the situation in greater detail than we had from Lord Ono. It seems we have made a close shave of the timing: Lady Oroko is expected to present herself to sleep with Lord Nishi tomorrow night, and the wedding is the following day. That wouldn’t leave us much time even if Nishi’s estate weren’t nearly a day’s travel away.
We have two tasks: determine whether Nishi’s rape scheme is a heresy (it seems they will not just take Savina’s word for it, although I don’t see why not) and punish those responsible. But the legal formalities make a hash of this whole thing. Nishi’s men will show up here tomorrow to collect Lady Oroko. She can’t refuse a direct order from her liege lord (even if that order is to sleep with him), and we can’t give her permission to decline until we've proven, with evidence and everything, that Nishi's actions are heretical.
In fact, according to Nyoko, by declaring that she won’t sleep with Nishi, Lady Oroko is already in defiance of her liege lord, which is against the law. Nishi’s men have probably already left for High Pass to collect her. So when they show up tomorrow, her choice will be to go with them, be killed for insubordination… or begin an open revolt by resisting with force. She has already chosen open revolt—knowing that if she does not die in battle, the Ring of Peerage will hand down an order of execution for treason. Death or death. Her husband has offered to go perform the rite in her stead, but she forbade it. She is willing to delay her wedding by one day, but (understandably) not for more. (“Would your Goddess of love demand that I forestall my love for my betrothed?” she demanded) And if we stay here to defend her—
i.e., delay our investigation of Nishi—we’ll be violating our oaths as Inquisitors by defending an insubordinate woman without cause. Madness.
It is as if Savina has steam coming from her ears, and I can see why. What's the point of having a legal system if you can’t manipulate it?
It seems our only choice is to get ourselves over to Nishi’s estate, investigate, and get this declared a heresy before Nishi’s guards arrive here in High Pass. It is as easy as feeding cabbage to a goat…if the goat were a day’s ride away and the cabbage were protected by a small army.
Now it is dark; we will set out first thing in the morning.