18x01
The wind fluttering their clothes was more summer than spring, warm and humid, perhaps running ahead of a storm. It made the mounds of snow and hunks of ice seem especially uncanny. The remains of Kawazu's summoned angel were melting rapidly, and Kawazu himself lay motionless, unconscious. Tavi kept a wary eye on their foe while Savina circled through the group, dispensing healing prayers.
Arden sat against a rock, so light-headed that she felt like she was melting, too. She watched trickles of red trace steadily down her arm, pool around the cuff on her wrist, and drip onto a heap of snow beside her, her life's blood staining the whiteness. She didn't think the slashes she'd suffered were her biggest problem – something in her knee was out of joint, and she'd been hit on the head, she was sure – by the monster – the angel? An angel of Kettenek? An angel of law summoned by a lawbreaker… trying to kill us, of course, because nothing is simple with Kettenek, nothing is black and white with Kettenek—
She broke off the mental blasphemy. Divine justice was, of course, inscrutable, and mortal justice had to do its best. Mortal justice said that if a criminal like Kawazu channeled Kettenek's power to attack them, then they got to fight back. Maybe he enslaved Kettenek's angel to support his crimes… maybe we freed it. Can an angel be enslaved? Her blood was still dripping onto the snow, and she was slipping into a dream, down a long, black tunnel where the snow monster tramped toward the caverns of the underworld... Maybe we sent it home... down... and down... a cold white light at the end of the deep tunnel, growing brighter, the light flashing in the darkness on the angel’s icy limbs, brighter still...
Savina was beside her, murmuring another prayer. Suddenly solid again, her wounds whole, Arden thanked her mistress politely, stood up, and went to see about collecting the scattered horses.
By the time she came back with two stragglers, the group had decided to camp a hundred yards from the roadside. It was only mid-afternoon, but they were exhausted, and they needed to decide what to do with their prisoner. "Do we have the authority to dispense justice here, on the road?" Tavi asked Nyoko.
"Of course," nodded Nyoko. "You are deputized Inquisitors. You were empowered to determine whether there was an Alirrian heresy in Hillside District. Having discovered that there is, and that this man is guilty of it, you are also empowered to deal with it."
"By 'deal with it,'" Tavi pressed, "you mean – "
"Deal with it, conclude the issue, in whatever way you see fit, Inquisitor-san," said Nyoko. "I will point out that the penalty for heresy is, of course, death."
Arden watched as a number of people – Tavi, Mena, Twiggy – cut their eyes toward the unconscious prisoner, clearly worried about what they might have to do. Savina, surprisingly, did not. "He – he must die," she said. "For the Alirrian heresy of aiding and abetting rape – the – the appropriate method is dehydration."
And… that's my mistress, thought Arden, underlining a mental note to never, ever underestimate the Blessed Daughter, despite her apparent sympathy and mercy.
"We must make sure that the Twilight Lady doesn't rule our decisions through vengeance," said Mena.
"It is not vengeance," said Savina. "It's the law. He – he must die." She looked around at the group with wide, sincere eyes.
"You're being disconcerting again," Kormick told her. "I’d feel better about what you just said if you were scowling instead of looking so sweet. Dame Mena, if you would demonstrate the proper alignment of facial muscles…?"
"This is serious, Justicar," said Savina.
"That's why I joke." Kormick paused. "So the question is: do we bring this man back to civilization to face his death, or do we kill him here?"
"If he must die," said Mena, "I would like it to be public and aboveboard, and the Hillside District peasants should be able to see it if they wish. As victims, they deserve to see their enemy pay for his crimes."
"We could let them kill him," said Kormick. "Mob justice is ugly, but effective."
"No, I'm with Mena," Tavi said. "This needs to be impartial, official. The mob can watch, but they can't tear him apart."
"If we return him to Hillside District," said Savina, "I will take responsibility for observing his death and offering the appropriate prayers. I – I know it won't be pleasant, but I really think that's what we have to do."
"If that is what we have to do," said Mena, "I will stand watch with you during his death."
"And I must, too," added Nyoko. "In fact, I will request if there is any chance that you may elect to order his execution, that we rest here and that I have a full night's sleep before we begin, because once his execution is underway I must Witness its entirety."
Arden knew she'd be sitting vigil, too, watching the man die of thirst. She wondered if Savina and Nyoko were prepared for it. Despite everything, they were still so young, so innocent.
Never underestimate your mistress, she reminded herself.
"We should try squeezing him for information, though," said Kormick. "You never know. If he can point us toward the guys who burnt the Temple in Lord's Edge…"
Twiggy spoke up. "We gave his accomplice, Yutaka, an honorable death in exchange for information. A quick death. If he has information, and we can get it . . . Dying of thirst would take a long time. And – and we have other matters to attend to in Cauldron. The prophecy… " She trailed off.
"We can't keep bargaining with heretics," said Savina. "We have to do what the law says."
"With respect, Nyoko-san says we are the law," said Twiggy. "We can do this however we see fit."
"Gentlefolk…" Arden spoke up, deciding that two brushes with death, several men killed, and an angel defeated, all in this one pursuit, had earned her the right to set aside propriety for once. She agreed with Twiggy and Kormick, to the extent that Godsforsaken mortal justice was going to require that they find a stable balance between punishing this man and learning everything he knew about the wider Tide conspiracy. "If I may suggest, perhaps we could bring him back to Cauldron. We could place him in custody there while you investigate what he knows, what his sentence should be, whether you're prepared to negotiate with him, and in what ways."
"With respect, Arden," said Nyoko, "if you were to bring this man to Cauldron it would be a grave insult to yourselves and to the Inquisition. It would be admitting weakness."
Arden wanted to ask "why?", but despite Nyoko's exceptionally polite phrasing, the Adept's tone was both cutting and final. Arden bowed her head and silently accepted the rebuke. The conversation resumed without her.
In the end, as the sun set, the debate about Kawazu’s fate died without clear resolution: they learned that death by torture was not a pleasant dinner topic.
Sometime in the night, Arden heard the bound prisoner begin to groan. He'd returned to consciousness, but he was gagged, so words were impossible. He only groaned.
Arden rolled over and prepared to tune him out, but then she heard the crunching footsteps of Kormick, who was keeping watch. There was a strangled noise in the dark as Kormick, no doubt, gripped the man's throat. "Greetings," the Justicar murmured. "If you fail to keep scrupulously quiet until we allow you the use of your voice, you will discover new and surprising depths of fear and pain."
Kawazu gurgled in assent.
The wind fluttering their clothes was more summer than spring, warm and humid, perhaps running ahead of a storm. It made the mounds of snow and hunks of ice seem especially uncanny. The remains of Kawazu's summoned angel were melting rapidly, and Kawazu himself lay motionless, unconscious. Tavi kept a wary eye on their foe while Savina circled through the group, dispensing healing prayers.
Arden sat against a rock, so light-headed that she felt like she was melting, too. She watched trickles of red trace steadily down her arm, pool around the cuff on her wrist, and drip onto a heap of snow beside her, her life's blood staining the whiteness. She didn't think the slashes she'd suffered were her biggest problem – something in her knee was out of joint, and she'd been hit on the head, she was sure – by the monster – the angel? An angel of Kettenek? An angel of law summoned by a lawbreaker… trying to kill us, of course, because nothing is simple with Kettenek, nothing is black and white with Kettenek—
She broke off the mental blasphemy. Divine justice was, of course, inscrutable, and mortal justice had to do its best. Mortal justice said that if a criminal like Kawazu channeled Kettenek's power to attack them, then they got to fight back. Maybe he enslaved Kettenek's angel to support his crimes… maybe we freed it. Can an angel be enslaved? Her blood was still dripping onto the snow, and she was slipping into a dream, down a long, black tunnel where the snow monster tramped toward the caverns of the underworld... Maybe we sent it home... down... and down... a cold white light at the end of the deep tunnel, growing brighter, the light flashing in the darkness on the angel’s icy limbs, brighter still...
Savina was beside her, murmuring another prayer. Suddenly solid again, her wounds whole, Arden thanked her mistress politely, stood up, and went to see about collecting the scattered horses.
By the time she came back with two stragglers, the group had decided to camp a hundred yards from the roadside. It was only mid-afternoon, but they were exhausted, and they needed to decide what to do with their prisoner. "Do we have the authority to dispense justice here, on the road?" Tavi asked Nyoko.
"Of course," nodded Nyoko. "You are deputized Inquisitors. You were empowered to determine whether there was an Alirrian heresy in Hillside District. Having discovered that there is, and that this man is guilty of it, you are also empowered to deal with it."
"By 'deal with it,'" Tavi pressed, "you mean – "
"Deal with it, conclude the issue, in whatever way you see fit, Inquisitor-san," said Nyoko. "I will point out that the penalty for heresy is, of course, death."
Arden watched as a number of people – Tavi, Mena, Twiggy – cut their eyes toward the unconscious prisoner, clearly worried about what they might have to do. Savina, surprisingly, did not. "He – he must die," she said. "For the Alirrian heresy of aiding and abetting rape – the – the appropriate method is dehydration."
And… that's my mistress, thought Arden, underlining a mental note to never, ever underestimate the Blessed Daughter, despite her apparent sympathy and mercy.
"We must make sure that the Twilight Lady doesn't rule our decisions through vengeance," said Mena.
"It is not vengeance," said Savina. "It's the law. He – he must die." She looked around at the group with wide, sincere eyes.
"You're being disconcerting again," Kormick told her. "I’d feel better about what you just said if you were scowling instead of looking so sweet. Dame Mena, if you would demonstrate the proper alignment of facial muscles…?"
"This is serious, Justicar," said Savina.
"That's why I joke." Kormick paused. "So the question is: do we bring this man back to civilization to face his death, or do we kill him here?"
"If he must die," said Mena, "I would like it to be public and aboveboard, and the Hillside District peasants should be able to see it if they wish. As victims, they deserve to see their enemy pay for his crimes."
"We could let them kill him," said Kormick. "Mob justice is ugly, but effective."
"No, I'm with Mena," Tavi said. "This needs to be impartial, official. The mob can watch, but they can't tear him apart."
"If we return him to Hillside District," said Savina, "I will take responsibility for observing his death and offering the appropriate prayers. I – I know it won't be pleasant, but I really think that's what we have to do."
"If that is what we have to do," said Mena, "I will stand watch with you during his death."
"And I must, too," added Nyoko. "In fact, I will request if there is any chance that you may elect to order his execution, that we rest here and that I have a full night's sleep before we begin, because once his execution is underway I must Witness its entirety."
Arden knew she'd be sitting vigil, too, watching the man die of thirst. She wondered if Savina and Nyoko were prepared for it. Despite everything, they were still so young, so innocent.
Never underestimate your mistress, she reminded herself.
"We should try squeezing him for information, though," said Kormick. "You never know. If he can point us toward the guys who burnt the Temple in Lord's Edge…"
Twiggy spoke up. "We gave his accomplice, Yutaka, an honorable death in exchange for information. A quick death. If he has information, and we can get it . . . Dying of thirst would take a long time. And – and we have other matters to attend to in Cauldron. The prophecy… " She trailed off.
"We can't keep bargaining with heretics," said Savina. "We have to do what the law says."
"With respect, Nyoko-san says we are the law," said Twiggy. "We can do this however we see fit."
"Gentlefolk…" Arden spoke up, deciding that two brushes with death, several men killed, and an angel defeated, all in this one pursuit, had earned her the right to set aside propriety for once. She agreed with Twiggy and Kormick, to the extent that Godsforsaken mortal justice was going to require that they find a stable balance between punishing this man and learning everything he knew about the wider Tide conspiracy. "If I may suggest, perhaps we could bring him back to Cauldron. We could place him in custody there while you investigate what he knows, what his sentence should be, whether you're prepared to negotiate with him, and in what ways."
"With respect, Arden," said Nyoko, "if you were to bring this man to Cauldron it would be a grave insult to yourselves and to the Inquisition. It would be admitting weakness."
Arden wanted to ask "why?", but despite Nyoko's exceptionally polite phrasing, the Adept's tone was both cutting and final. Arden bowed her head and silently accepted the rebuke. The conversation resumed without her.
In the end, as the sun set, the debate about Kawazu’s fate died without clear resolution: they learned that death by torture was not a pleasant dinner topic.
Sometime in the night, Arden heard the bound prisoner begin to groan. He'd returned to consciousness, but he was gagged, so words were impossible. He only groaned.
Arden rolled over and prepared to tune him out, but then she heard the crunching footsteps of Kormick, who was keeping watch. There was a strangled noise in the dark as Kormick, no doubt, gripped the man's throat. "Greetings," the Justicar murmured. "If you fail to keep scrupulously quiet until we allow you the use of your voice, you will discover new and surprising depths of fear and pain."
Kawazu gurgled in assent.
