No Good Deed

by Jerry Jackson

  The mercenaries chose to take the money and run. With no army, the citizens surrendered. However, the ownership was still in dispute. Through it all, Newgartland stayed neutral and took in a lot of refugees from all three lands. That is when Gheriballi entered the picture. Hashi called for a paladin to end the dispute between her brothers and help bring peace back to the land.

  For years they refused, and all Gheriballi could do was escort refugees, protecting them with is life. He had hoped they would resolve the situation. On several occasions it looked like they would, but things always fell apart. Finally, sick of their fighting, Gheriballi called them together and negotiated a peace treaty. Internally, he kicked himself for not doing it earlier. But he was a young man at that time and had only been a paladin for a couple of years. That was 14 years ago. Now the treaty was broken and he was in no mood to negotiate it again.

  Obidaan arrived at the gates of Newgartland with no fanfare. Six people stood guard over the gate and archers were deployed on the battlements. The sergeant of the watch approached him. “State your business” she said calmly, coldly, and flatly.

  “I am Obidaan Grailann, Paladin of The Seers. I have been summoned here by Gheriballi Triton to convene a Paladin Tribunal.”

  “May I see your summons?” still being standoffish and cold. Obidaan showed her his papers. “Very well,” She handed them back. “Corporal of the Watch!” a young man ran up next to her.

  “Yes sergeant?” he saluted.

  She returned it, “Escort the paladin to the castle.”

  “Yes sergeant! Sir, if you will follow me,” he walked to the gate, hoped on a horse and rode next to Obidaan as he escorted him to the castle.

  Obidaan tried to make small talk with the corporal, “I take it things are pretty drastic out here?”

  “You could say that.”

  “What’s your name?”

  “Patrick.”

  “Got a last name?”

  “Sir, if it’s all the same to you, I would prefer not to engage in any small talk.”

  “Ok.”

  They continued in silence. It took about 15 minutes to wind through the streets and get to the castle. “Here we are,” Patrick handed him off to the castle guards. These guards were equally cold, yet courteous. They put his horse in the stables and fed it, took his armor and shield to be polished, and then escorted him to the war room, where six other paladins were talking along with another man.

  Obidaan stood stunned by the door for a moment. He was not used to being around so many paladins and the feelings of their presence overwhelmed him. The power he felt from each one was immense. It passed a moment later; however, for that moment he felt almost inadequate instead of an equal. He did not like the feeling but let it go. He walked into the room, unannounced.

  They all looked over at him, one of them dressed in silver and black moved toward him. He was over 6 feet tall, long red hair, tied in braids, and piercing yellow eyes. It seemed they could see right through you. He smiled warmly at Obidaan and his smile seem to light the room. He shook Obidaan’s hand warmly and firmly. “Well met! You must be Obidaan Grailann, Paladin of the Seers. I am Gheriballi Triton, Paladin of Justice. Allow me to introduce you around.” He took Obidaan by the shoulder and moved him into the room. “It’s obvious you’ve never been around this many paladins before. Don’t worry, the feeling will pass quickly if it hasn’t already. Gheriballi seemed to hint at something Obidaan didn’t know about with that comment.

  “It has,” Obidaan said.

  “Excellent,” Gheriballi said. “Allow me to introduce you to Sahara Fife, Paladin of Knowledge; Brandon Zimmers, Paladin of Seekers; Kimoko Rodenren, Paladin of Strife; Wendell LaVendre, Paladin of Shadows; and I’m sure you know Lucinda, Paladin of War. Everyone, this is Obidaan Grailann, Paladin of Foresight.”

  “Actually…” Obidaan began, but he was quickly cut off by Gheriballi.

  “Yes, I know you often introduce yourself as ‘Paladin of The Seers’ and that’s fine, but it is more common to introduce yourself by what your god does, not who they are.”

  “I wasn’t aware of that.” Obidaan said, still puzzled.

  “Yes, it seems there is much you are not aware of,” Gheriballi said. He took Obidaan off to the side. He still had a broad smile, and spoke to Obidaan as a big brother and mentor, “I am aware of many of your exploits. You are turning into one of the finest paladins in this world. The fact that you now have a soul item tattooed to you speaks volumes for your reputation. However, it seems you have not had a chance to fully see the world like many others have. That’s the main reason I summoned you. There is so much more you need to learn, and I will be happy to teach it to you. We never realized you never had a mentor. Still, you have progressed better than some that have had mentors. A few tweaks and you will become one of the greatest paladins in the land.”

  “Um…” Obidaan was greatly confused now, “how do you know so much about me? Other than Lucinda, I’ve never met anyone here before.”

  “That’s one of the things I’ll teach you later. As for now, we have an unpleasant job to do and must get to it,” he escorted Obidaan back to the table, “Please take a seat and we will begin.”

  The only seat available was next to Lucinda. She acknowledged his presence and was civil and professional; nothing more. When everyone was seated, servants brought in plates of food and drink. The food was of the highest quality, cooked by the royal chefs, who only cook for the queen and king. The drink was the best in land. The paladins ate dinner before continuing.

  “Before we begin,” Gheriballi called the meeting to order, “are there any questions?”

  Obidaan spoke up, “More of an observation actually. It seems everyone has been very cold toward us, almost like they don’t want us here.”

  “You’re correct, Obidaan. They don’t.” Gheriballi pulled out some papers and began to flatten them out. “As you may or may not know, this land was once united under one ruler, and then it was split amongst the three siblings. We are in the land of the only one not fighting, Hashi’s. However, they know that our task is to exact justice for the breaking of the treaty. That could mean the death of one or both brothers. She is the younger sister, and still loves both of them. Not to mention everyone else has family and friends scattered throughout the other kingdoms. Some of them may die by our hands. No, we are not a welcome sight. We have a job to do and must do it. Anyone else?”

  It was quiet.

  “Ok then. Here is the situation. The person here next to me is Vander LaSalle. He is the current administrator of the mine. Recently he had to flee for his life and sought sanctuary here in Newgartland. It was then that I was signaled to the breaking of the treaty. A bit of history:”

  “When the treaty was originally signed, all three disputed lands had access to the mines, but could only mine certain minerals. Lost Point mined gold, Far Gone mined Silver, and the dukedom, which doesn’t have a name, mined diamonds. Each day they would present their ore to the administrator, who would weight it, then divide the three minerals evenly among the three lands. If any group mined nothing for that day, they did not get a share of the spoils. If only one group mined, they kept what they got. For the first few months, I personally handed this task, then passed it off to an administrator. For their incentive, they would get 10 percent of the total take. When they got tired of the position, they would hire a replacement, with the rules being the replacement could not come from any of the disputed land or the neutral territory of Newgartland.”

  “For the next few years, I would come back and check on them to make sure everything was going ok. It seemed everything was in order, everyone was mining and getting a fair share of the riches this land was producing. The Dukedom was able to make a stable government and an army. The other two lands were becoming quite wealthy, and the wealth was even spilling over to here as people visited friends
and family.”

  “Seeing that everything was in order, I stopped coming by, hoping they would continue to share and all would prosper. I was wrong. As soon as they realized I was not returning, the two brothers turned to bickering again and each wanted everything for themselves. The dukedom quickly realized they would be no match for them and abandoned the mines. The two brothers then went to war. That is when the administrator was forced to flee for his life. With him unable to get to the mine, the treaty was broken and I was summoned. Currently, war is raging in the mining area, but that is not our concern. Our concern is to punish the monarchs for their violations.”

  “Aren’t we going to do something about the war?” Obidaan asked.

  “No,” he said almost too blunt for Obidaan’s taste, “I understand your feelings. Go to the front, get the generals to cease fire, and then go after the monarchs. That’s not how it works. The treaty has been broken; the violators must be punished. All else is inconsequential.”

  “So those people are just going to keep fighting and dieing for no reason?” Obidaan asked almost sarcastically.

  “Not exactly. Once we punish the monarchs, we can stop the war. We have to take it from the top down, not the bottom up.”

  “I understand,” Obidaan said.

  “Good, because we ride out for Lost Peak now. Mount up.”

  They left the war room and headed for the stables. There, they all donned their newly polished armor and weapons and mounted their rested and fed horses. Even Obidaan’s equipment got a fine buffing. The servants did not speak as they handed out weapons and horses.

  They formed up in two columns behind Gheriballi, the paladins of light on the right, the paladins of darkness on the left. He led them out of the castle and once out of the city and on the road they formed a gallop.

  As they approached the castle in Lost Peak, they could see the effects. Refugees marching on the road, crops not being tended to, and the land in general disrepair. As they approached the gates, the land was very flat and open. They could see the city walls from over a mile away. Gheriballi raised his hand and the formation halted.

  “Wendell,” he said without looking back, “give me a scouting report.”

  Wendell closed his eyes, a shadow broke off from him and headed toward the gate and a high rate of speed. A few seconds later he spoke, “The gate is guarded by only four guards, and are currently closed. There is no garrison surrounding the wall. We may approach with no resistance.” He opened his eyes.

  “Very well,” Gheriballi said, “Forward,” and they began trotting to the castle.

  Once at the gate, the joviality Gheriballi displayed while talking to Obidaan was gone. A dead seriousness now encompassed him. He asking for nothing, all his statements were demands. “I am Gheriballi Triton, Paladin of Justice. The treaty your king signed has been broken. You will open the gate and one of you, and only one of you, will escort my team to the castle.”

  Without asking for credentials, without speaking, without asking a single question, the guards complied. They opened up the gate, one of them jumped on a horse and escorted them to the castle. Now Obidaan knew he was missing something. He started paying closer attention to Gheriballi to see if he could figure out what it was.

  There was an unusual silence inside the city. The usual hustle and bustle of marketplaces, music, even beggars were absent. No one was on the street. An occasional face could be seen behind windows and curtains. The town was scared. Bards sing how a tribunal can destroy a town that does not cooperate and devastate it army.

  Soon they were at the castle. The drawbridge was already down and the portcullis was up. “You are dismissed,” Gheriballi said. The guard quickly turned his horse around and returned to his post.

  Obidaan was fascinated by what was going on. He had never seen a paladin wield such power so forcefully. He knew paladins were above kings and emperors, but he never really understood what it meant until this point. No request, no courtesies, no nothing. They walked like they owned the place because they did.

  The tribunal entered the castle, not a word was said. They spoke to no one until they got near the door. There they dismounted. Gheriballi shot a look over to the stable master. He ran toward the group and began to gather the horses. “Make sure they are watered and bathed,” was all Gheriballi said to him. The man nodded and motioned others to help him.

  Still in formation, Gheriballi put his hand on his paladin symbol, and then waved it at the door. It flew open with a resounding ‘thud!’ He wanted them to know he was there. In front of them, an administrator, holding a clipboard and pen made a vain attempt to engage them in conversation.

  “May I inquire…”

  Gheriballi slapped the clipboard out of the administrator’s hand, sending it flying across the floor “Move!” was all he said. The administrator disappeared into the waiting room not bothering to retrieve the clipboard. Gheriballi’s temperament seemed to be getting worse the closer he got to the king’s chambers. He had business the king himself. He had no concern for any lackeys.

  He continued through the castle, loudly opening doors; each one louder than the last. When he got to the royal chambers, he motioned the double doors to open, and they opened so forcefully that they splinted against the stone walls and echoed through the near empty chamber. In the chamber were the king and queen, as well as his vizier and the captain of the guard.

  Obidaan had never seen power like this before. He was in awe and admiration at the demonstration. He looked around. The other paladins were serious but didn’t seem surprised. He vowed to stay quiet and only speak when spoken to while on this tribunal.

  Gheriballi drew his sword, something forbidden in almost all royal courts. “King Horash, I am here to see you answer for your crimes!”

  Though they knew he was a paladin and he had a tribunal, the captain of the guard still felt he should show respect in another man’s home. He began to draw his sword and head toward Gheriballi.

  “Call off your lackey, Horash, before I eviscerate him!” He called the king by his first name and put no moniker in front of it.

  “Hold your sword, captain. Return to your post” Horash said, “I know why you are here Gheriballi. When the treaty was broken, a letter arrived saying you would convene a tribunal for me on this day.”

  Gheriballi still had not calmed down, though the king seemed too calm almost resolved to his fate. “Do you wish to defend yourself? If so, who will be your defender?”

  King Horash stood up and sighed heavily. “I do not. I have allowed my greed and foolish pride to get the better of me. Where we once had a nice accord, we now have war, all for a few coins more. The most ironic thing is we had an independent third party survey done on those mines. They will be belching forth riches for decades. Decades! We feared the mines would run out soon, but instead, this area one of the most prosperous areas in the world. And I couldn’t wait. No, I am prepared to pay for my crimes. I throw myself on your mercy.”

  Gheriballi began to calm down. He thought for a moment. “In a situation like this I would have no problem taking your head and leaving your queen in charge. However, you are lucky. You asked for mercy and I have a new charge with me I am mentoring.” He points to Obidaan. Obidaan bows his head in acknowledgement. “So, I shall show mercy.” He thinks for a few more moment, “Remove your crown; you are abdicating your thrown. My queen, I leave you in charge. If this conflict does not get resolved, I will return.”

  “I understand,” she said weakly. It was obvious she was not prepared for that.

  Horash removed his crown and placed it on the thrown. He began down the steps to the paladins. “Hold!” Gheriballi said. He stopped. “Kiss your wife for the last time. You will be going into permanent exile. Also, remove your rings and bring them to me. Consider yourselves divorced as of this moment. This will allow both of you to start over again.”

 
“You call this mercy?” the captain of the guard said, “You separate him from everything he loves and knows…” He was going to continue but Gheriballi cut him off.

  “I can still take his head, there is nothing preventing me!” Gheriballi yelled, “And if you speak in my presence one more time, I shall have yours. Know your place!” The captain was quiet for the remainder of the time.

  “It’s all right.” Horash said. He turned to his queen, “Millicent, my love, I am truly sorry,” tears began to form in his eyes.

  “It’s ok, my sweet. I only wish you and your brother could have gotten along,” she put her hand his cheek. They embraced and kissed for the last time. She then removed her wedding ring and handed it to him.

  Horash slowly descended the steps and removed his ring as he did so. He handed them to Gheriballi. Unceremoniously, he placed the rings on the stone floor. Removing a hammer from his pack, he smashed the rings. He then turned to Horash. “Put your hands behind your back.” Horash did so. Gheriballi crossed Horash’s wrists, and then pointed at them and made a “thhhh” sound. Rope appeared around Horash’s wrists and bound them behind his back.

  “Let us leave now, this part is done.” Gheriballi escorted Horash out of the room. The paladins did an about face – why Obidaan knew that that was what he needed to do eluded him, but he went with it – and marched out.

  Outside, Gheriballi called for the horses. No one said a word. They just got the animals. As they began to mount up, Gheriballi gave another direction, “Brandon, tie Horash to your horse. Since you are the paladin of seekers, he shall go back to your church for sanctuary. Perhaps your people can help him seek a new path.”

  Brandon placed him on his horse. Using the same divine spell Gheriballi did, Brandon strapped him securely to the back of his horse, almost like a prize deer.

  “Can I get a little dignity as you ride out? I do not want my people to see me like this,” Horash was pleading.