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Message: <blockquote data-quote="talien" data-source="post: 4455257" data-attributes="member: 3285">Belly of the Beast: Part 5 – Kham val’Abebi’s Sentencing“People of the jury,” began Anders. “I ask you to consider the plight of poor Kham val’Abebi.  Today you see him in a sorry state.  But his life is in your hands.  And it is a precious life indeed.”Anders began to pace.  “Kham val’Abebi is a noble man from a humble upbringing.  His father is none other than Corinalous val’Abebi, recently deceased at the hands of Drak Scarbelly. It is no wonder, then, that he incited a riot with orcs; knowing his father was assassinated by one of their kind, we’re fortunate that Mr. val’Abebi did not do more harm to an orc or to himself.  While his actions are not laudable, the pitch of emotions he must have felt at the time certainly ran hot.  We must forgive him for his impertinence in sharing his beliefs on orc heritage.  It was poorly timed words during a sensitive row in the street.”Anders’ heritage suddenly seemed like a stroke of genius to Kham. Anders nodded towards Kham.  “As for the subsequent murder of Elijah Quelch, it is believed that Mr. Quelch had connections to one Michael Coombs, a vicious thug also tied to the bombings.  When Mr. val’Abebi accosted Mr. Quelch in the street, he resisted.  Slipping on the ice, Mr. Quelch fell off the bridge and into the murky canal.  Had Mr. val’Abebi planned to commit murder, he would most certainly have simply shot him with his pistols, of which he is well known for.”Anders turned towards the jury.  “Taking into account Mr. val’Abebi’s good standing, his noble heritage, and his efforts in the Freeport community, I ask you to consider leniency in your sentencing, and merely confine Mr. val’Abebi to The Tombs.  Thank you.”Bozfoz took the stand.“You have no doubt heard the pathetic plight of the defendant.” He pointed at Kham.  “But I am here to examine not Mr. val’Abebi’s character but the nature of his crimes.  I think you will see when I am finished here that this man deserves the Hulks.”Bozfoz put his hands behind his back.  “What Ms. Anders failed to elucidate upon was the despicable form in which Mr. val’Abebi’s crimes were perpetrated. On the charge of murder, Mr. val’Abebi hunted down Mr. Quelch and, we believe, shot him several times.  The reason Ms. Anders didn’t mention the bullet wounds is because we have yet to recover Mr. Quelch’s body.  It was last seen floating down the canal into the ocean. Rest assured, the reason Mr. val’Abebi is here is because of the loud retort of his gunshots, which were heard by several Freeport citizens.  That, and all the screaming.”Bozfoz shook his head.  “After that, high on Ghoul Juice, Mr. val’Abebi then proceed to burglarize Mr. Quelch’s home, stealing at least one book and setting the dead man’s basement on fire.”He paused.  “Shall I go on?  When Councilor Verlaine’s guards came to arrest Mr. val’Abebi, he shot the sergeant with two pistols…in the face.  When Mr. val’Abebi couldn’t get the answer that he wanted from Mr. Reed, Freeport’s esteemed record keeper, he shot him in the leg.  There’s more, but I will let one of my first witnesses testify, who will most assuredly reinforce the importance of confining Mr. val’Abebi to the Hulks before he hurts someone else or himself.  I call to the stand Mr. Kolter.”A small gnome with a limp took the stand.“Mr. Kolter,” said Bozfoz.  “Please tell the jury what your relationship is with Mr. val’Abebi.”The shifty-eyed gnome hesitated before squarely looking at Kham.  “My family had suffered harassment from citizens of Altheria, who by their nature are a prejudiced breed, as evidenced by Mr. Kham’s rioting.”Justice McGowan cleared his throat.  “You’re not a barrister, Mr. Kolter.  Please stick to your testimony.”“Ah, yes.  Well, my family and I finally decided to move out when Mr. Kham ambushed us. He held us up at gunpoint and stole our plans for our family business, Kolter Clockworks.”“Please tell the jury what it is Mr. val’Abebi stole, specifically?”“The plans to the Clockwork Pistol,” said Kolter.“I object!” shouted Anders.  “Mr. Kolter is in league with Dirwin Arnig, a member of the Captain’s Council and, thanks to Arnig’s bankrolling, just recently opened the Kolter Clockworks Factory.  This information is prejudicial—““Overruled,” said the magistrate.  “Mr. val’Abebi can share his version of the story and we’ll let the jury decide.”Kham swayed at the stand.  He raised one finger, undoubtedly the prelude to an eloquent defense.  Instead, it came out as the bastardized child of a frog’s croak and a hoarse scream.“You no good little twisted maggot!” shouted Kham.  “The flintlocks are a gift from Althares!  You stole it from our people!  I was doing my country a favor by taking those plans from you!  I should have shot you when I had the chance!”McGowan banged his gavel to no avail in attempt to shut Kham up.  It finally took Price, who squeezed Kham’s shoulder, to calm him down.“Well,” said Price.  “You showed ‘em.”The magistrate summed up the evidence, including Kham’s defense.  The jury was directed to consider their verdict.The officer of the Court put the usual question: “How say you, do you find the prisoner at the bar guilty or not guilty?”The foreman replied, “Guilty.”“Kham val’Abebi is hereby remanded to The Hulks, effective immediately.”</blockquote>

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