11x02
Mena awoke at dawn to the sounds of Savina's prayers mingled with the groans of bound derro. Across the coals of the fire, Rose sat up from her bedroll, blurry-eyed. The girl looked like she was having trouble waking up – which meant, to Mena's scant relief, that at least she had slept a little.
At least she'll feel a little better, physically. We've got to find a way to give her hope again or she'll give up before we finish this. Mena glanced around and realized the rest of the party didn't look particularly cheerful, either. Clearly sleep hadn't done much good for anyone's mood.
As they finished breakfast, Tavi cut his eyes toward the prisoners. "So," he said. "We have to decide what to do with those guys. What's the punishment for illegal enslavement in Pol Henna?"
Kormick, with disheartening predictability, shrugged. "We're not in Pol Henna," he said, covering what Mena suspected was ignorance. Mena opened her mouth to comment, but Tavi didn't miss a beat.
"Lady Nyoko," he said, "what's the punishment for illegal enslavement in the Sovereignty?"
"All slavery here is illegal," answered Nyoko. "A local lord might intimidate or force someone into bondage and dependency as a serf with impunity, as his word in his realms is law. Now, if he's
stealing serfs from another lord, obviously the Council of Peers could intervene. Such issues are on the far side of the Circle from the Adepts, of course, though we might be called to testify."
Everyone stared at her blankly.
Wonderful, thought Mena.
We've managed to find a place with dicier politics than Pol Henna.
Yes, sleep had definitely not improved her mood.
"Hmm," said Kormick.
"Was I not clear?" asked Nyoko.
"Not … precisely," ventured Tavi.
"Forgive me, I was trying to speak plainly. As I said, the local lord's word is law."
"And who is the local lord here?" Tavi asked.
"We're in the midst of the Ketkath, in unclaimed lands. And among those affected by the crimes of these derro – that is to say, among myself, the dwarves, and your party – I believe you hold the highest rank, Signor Octavian-san."
"Are you saying that Sovereign law allows Tavi to decide the fate of the derro?" asked Mena.
Send the boy out into the wilderness to help his sister thwart a goddess, force him to kill to save lives, but don't ask this. Please don't ask this.
"Indeed. I will stand as witness to the legality of his actions should you ever require testimony in that respect."
"And what fate would an average Sovereign lord assign to these derro?" asked Tavi.
"Execution."
"And thus we come to it," said Kormick, and silence fell.
Of course, they'd all known it was coming. It was the penalty they hadn't dared to think about enforcing yesterday. Mena watched Tavi as he considered what he had been told. "Rose, Savina,” he said, squaring his shoulders, “you stay here with the dwarves. Kormick and Lady Nyoko, if you would come with me…"
Mena stood to join Tavi without being asked, and he nodded his thanks.
Sertani, the dwarven matriarch, walked up with her hand on the seven-year-old Thurran's shoulder.
"That won't be necessary, Sertani," Tavi said.
"We're coming," Sertani answered. "These creatures murdered Lord Rockminder's father, enslaved Lord Rockminder and others of his kin, and in so doing insulted us all. Honor requires us to see them answer for these offenses."
"But Thurran's just a boy … " Savina began.
"If this is his duty," said Tavi, "then who are we to stop him? Let's go." Tavi stalked away toward the derro prisoners. Thurran struggled to shoulder the heavy warhammer that Kormick had given him as he and Sertani followed Tavi. Kormick, who didn't speak dwarven, fell in beside Mena, jabbed a thumb at the boy, and muttered out of the side of his mouth, "Why’s the kid coming?"
"Gods-damned dwarven honor," answered Mena.
The things we force children to witness in the name of "honor" and "duty." No wonder the Twilight Lurker has such an easy time of it when we turn such principles into weapons for her.
They slashed the ropes on the derro’s feet and got them up and moving in a mass, spurred onward by glares and brandished weapons. The derro hung their heads and skittered, looking servile and cowardly – all except Dolax, who glared at them with his one remaining good eye and twisted his arms, trying to free his bound wrists.
They marched the prisoners down the valley, leaving the spring far behind in its protective copse of new flowers and trees. Only after they were definitely out of earshot as well as sight of the spring did Tavi call a halt.
While Mena, Kormick, Nyoko, and the dwarves waited to one side, Tavi stood before the derro and spoke in dwarven. "I am Signor Octavian di Raprezzi, and in accordance with the laws of the Sovereignty I charge you with the following crimes: highway robbery, kidnapping, false enslavement, assault upon the person of an Adept, attempted murder, and murder." He raised his eyebrows at Nyoko, asking if she had anything to add.
"So witnessed," she said simply.
Tavi turned back to the derro. "The punishment for your crimes is execution." Mena bit back a snarl.
This is wrong. Wrong that it's Tavi, wrong that the victors seek vengeance when the battle is over, wrong that we turn so easily to death when it's not needed. That's just doing more evil, not good. You know better than this, boy. Think, damnit!
As the derro cowered and Dolax shouted imprecations, Kormick nudged Mena for a translation and she quickly summarized Tavi's words.
"Technically, he's skipping the
trial," muttered Kormick. Mena nodded. She and Kormick exchanged a look.
"I have witnessed their crimes," responded Nyoko. "That is evidence enough for any local lord to reach a conviction. There is no irregularity."
"Signor Octavian!" Kormick called out anyway. "A word?"
Tavi cast a warning glance at the derro before stepping over. "What is it?"
"I – " Kormick began, and hesitated. Mena had never seen him struggle to explain himself, but he struggled now. "At the spring. We have just been part of something … something … " He paused, then continued in a rush. "Look, no one is more shocked than me that I am advocating such a disturbingly heartwarming deed but I think we shouldn't kill the prisoners."
Tavi's eyebrows shot up. The beginnings of relief were flickering at the edges of his eyes, but doubt hung there as well.
He just wants someone to tell him the law and his duty allow leniency.
"Unacceptable!" Sertani crossed her arms.
"They're criminals," said Nyoko.
"—
All the prisoners," Kormick amended. "We shouldn't kill
all of them. Dolax and his lieutenants, I'll happily crush their skulls myself. But the little guys… they were just following orders. They lack – what is the word – culpability."
The group was skeptical, but they were listening.
Kormick pressed on. "Furthermore, if we kill them all, none of the other derro will ever hear of how fearsome we are. These guys" – he motioned to the cowering derro footsoldiers – "they will be rushing back to their caves, arms flailing, screaming ‘the mighty humans killed Dolax!’
If we leave some alive to carry our legend back, I think the derro won't be bothering anybody for a long time to come."
"I wish we could be sure of that," said Tavi.
"Let's ask," said Mena.
If we can give Tavi enough reason to believe that his sister would be safe from these creatures, perhaps he'll choose not do Sedellus's work for her today. She strode over to the derro and picked out a sturdy footsoldier who looked a little less craven than the rest – he hadn't wet himself yet, at any rate.
"You there. If we let you go, what will you do?" She remembered asking a similar question of the very
first derro they'd met. This one, however, gave a different answer.
"Return below," he said.
"And …?"
"Return below!"
"Will you seek to follow us?"
She liked the way he glanced fearfully past her at her comrades before answering, "No."
She grabbed his topknot and forced his head back so he was staring straight up into her face. "If I find that derro have tried to follow us, I will personally destroy every member of your family" – she pointed to the footsoldier standing next to him – "every member of
his family, and on down the line. Make sure everyone understands. All right?"
The derro, trembling, nodded as best he could beneath her hand. She let him go, shoving him backwards so he fell, and turned toward her comrades. "I like Kormick's plan," she commented. Her eyes met Tavi's and she prayed that this would be enough, that all his training and lessons would be enough.
Sedellus wins or loses here, child.
"We do not," said Sertani.
Tavi considered for a moment. "Can you accept it?" he asked her.
Sertani pressed her lips together angrily, but nodded once. "The Lord Rockminder has not yet reached his majority," she said. "Thus we shall accept your leadership. But the day will come when my son, Lord Thurran the Derroslayer of House Rockminder, returns for his revenge." She had raised her voice, glaring at the derro, and they shivered.
"That will be his decision," said Mena gently.
Thurran hefted his warhammer. "I'll come back," he said.
Tavi turned once more to Nyoko. "If we only kill Dolax and the three big guys – the lieutenants – are you all right with that?"
Nyoko said, "My emotions must be irrelevant to your judgment." The way she bit off the words made her emotions clear, however, and there was vengeance in her eyes as she surveyed the prisoners.
"But does Sovereign law permit such a solution?" pressed Kormick.
"As I have stated, Sovereign law in this place is whatever he says," answered Nyoko, once more nodding at Tavi.
"Then we'll kill Dolax and the lieutenants and let the rest go," declared Tavi. Mena smiled grimly, proud of her student.
"Huh," was Kormick's final, pleased comment. "I think I just did my
actual job."
Without wasting more time, they hauled Dolax and his lieutenants to the front of the derro group. Their deaths were quick: Tavi's blade flashed and Dolax's head went rolling across the grass. Kormick raised his derro ax and struck the head off the first lieutenant. Mena dispatched the second with her sword, and Tavi took the third. With the four leaders' bodies lying on the ground, the closest derro backed away, expecting to be next. They looked genuinely shocked when Tavi lowered his sword and announced that they were being shown mercy. They were so shocked that none of them even ran.
"Leave this valley," Mena told them. "Keep your place, underground. We will know if you do not. And it would be very, very wise for you to stay out of our way. For several generations." She paused, and her armor chattered and hissed. "You should get out of our sight now," she suggested quietly, and at the threat in her voice, they ran, hands still bound, away into the trees. She sighed quietly in relief and exhaustion. This battle was done, at least.
Kormick stuck his derro ax into the ground beside the corpses and left it there.
###
Rose, Savina, Twiggy, and Arden looked up solemnly as the group returned through the thicket to the water's edge. It was obvious that they wanted – and dreaded – to know what had happened. Tavi looked disinclined to speak.
Still worried he's put Rose in danger by not killing them all. "We punished those who chose to fight," Mena said simply, "but those who were commanded to be there, we set free."
Kormick grunted, a satisfied noise, and set about packing up supplies. Tavi began cleaning his sword.
Mena noticed with a start that Savina's long hair had been hacked off: it now hung raggedly around the girl's ears.
"Child, what – ?" she began.
"I am mourning the sacrifices we made for the gains we won," said Savina, at her most formal. "Since I cannot wear traditional white mourning garments, I – I have decided on another gesture."
"I finally got to use my dagger," added Twiggy, flashing the blade she carried but never drew. "I could have done a lot better with proper scissors, but …"
"It's not supposed to look pretty," said Savina stoutly, although Mena guessed that Savina – being a nearly-sixteen-year-old girl – was nervous that it might be truly ugly.
"It was well done," Mena told her. She glanced at Rose, who, after looking up to hear of the derros' fate, had resumed staring at the water, unresponsive. She looked at Tavi, silently cleaning the blood from his sword, at Twiggy, at Savina.
Gods, why should children be asked to shoulder such heavy burdens? She realized with a start that none of them could fairly be called children any more, not really, whatever their age.
The sacrifices we made…
They packed their camp with quiet efficiency, and as the sun's mid-morning rays spilled down, they turned their backs on the pond and set off on their long journey through the mountains to the road they'd abandoned nearly a month – and so many sacrifices – ago.