So, if not to prevent the spread of disease, why then, would the ceremony have been conducted so quickly?
To hide evidence of foul play. It was the only reason Lord Caladen could think of. It was the only explanation that made any sense. Obviously, something was amiss.
And when he thought of how quickly Soth had remarried, and how soon after Korinne's death a second child had been born.
Clearly, an investigation was in order.
"Fenton!" called Lord Caladen, summoning his assistant Garnett Fenton,
Knight of the Sword.
"Yes, Lord Caladen," said Fenton as he entered the lord's office.
"Send a message to Dargaard Keep…"
Chapter 22
It was several weeks before Lord Soth was Able to make the trip to
Palanthas and by that time the rumors were circulating among the
Solamnic Knights of Palanthas like snowflakes in a blizzard. The many knights stationed in the great port city were split as to the reason why
Soth had been summoned to the Hall of High Justice. Some believed that he had been negligent in his duties as a Knight of the Rose or had otherwise broken the code of the Oath and the Measure. Others believed he had done something worse, breaking not only the laws of the Knights of Solamnia, but the laws of good conduct by which all in Solamnia- indeed most of Krynn-aspired to live. Still, others emphatically believed him to be completely innocent of everything and anything. To them, this summons was simply a ruse to discredit the good Soth family name.
The lengthy wait for Soth's arrival provided Lord Caladen ample opportunity to make inquiries about what Mirrel had told him. Much to his dismay, many of the most crucial points had been corroborated by others, some of whom had absolutely no other motive than to speak the truth.
His findings left him no alternative other than to make sure that justice prevailed, no matter what it might do to the reputation of the
Knights of Solamnia. In his mind, the knighthood would be better served by the quick and severe condemnation of a guilty knight than by any attempt to ignore or hide the truth. Truth was an unstoppable force and would eventually win out over lies. When that happened, it would bring down more than just a single knight; it would cripple the entire knighthood. No, this was something that had to be dealt with swiftly.
And the more swiftly the better.
Soth was greeted by a party of six knights-two from each of the orders-at the base of the High Clerist's Tower, the stronghold of the
Knights of Solamnia that guarded the mountain pass leading into the city.
"Beg your pardon, Lord Soth," said Sword Knight Garrett Fenton, leader of the escort party. "But the high justice requests that you enter the city alone."
While this was somewhat irregular, it wasn't totally unheard of. Still,
Soth didn't understand why he couldn't remain in the company of his own knights for the rest of the journey. He had been summoned to the city on a matter of routine business, after all. Nevertheless, he respected the wishes of the high justice and parted company with his loyal knights, saying, "Wait for me. I won't be long."
"We'll be here, milord," said Caradoc. "Or more precisely, we'll be waiting for you in The Drookit Duck."
Soth laughed. The Drookit Duck was a popular tavern on the southeastern rim of Palanthas. Visitors to the city who stopped there quite often never made it further into the capital. "Save a tankard for me."
"I make no promises," said Caradoc.
All of Soth's knights laughed.
His six escorts did not.
Soth was taken along a route that led directly to the Hall of High
Justice. As they rode the streets, Soth noticed that there were a lot more knights out and about than usual.
Suddenly, he began to have a bad feeling about what was going on. Not only were there knights lining the route, but many of them sat atop their mounts with their swords drawn and at the ready.
Soth took firm hold of the reins and tried to break ranks, but found himself blocked in on all sides by his escorts.
Then he reached for his broadsword, only to see it pulled from its sheath by the knight who had been riding to his left.
In mere seconds Soth had gone from being Lord Soth, Knight of the Rose to Lord Soth, prisoner of High Justice Lord Adam Caladen.
"What is the meaning of this?" he growled at his fellow knights.
None answered.
"Have you all gone mad?"
Again silence.
He struggled to dismount but found it too difficult to move in the tight space left for him by the other knights.
Nevertheless, he continued to struggle.
"Lord Caladen will explain it all to you when we arrive at the Hall of
High Justice," said Garrett Fenton. "Until then, Lord Soth, I ask that you conduct yourself with the utmost dignity and honor."
Soth bit his bottom lip and inhaled an angry breath, but made no more attempts to escape. As they arrived in the courtyard in front of the hall, there were a dozen knights there to receive him, all clad in armor, all with their broadswords drawn.
And at the edge of the large crowd that had gathered, he recognized a familiar face that did not belong to any knight.
It was a woman's face.
He looked closely at her, realizing it was Isolde's former lady-in-waiting, the same lady-in-waiting who had served his first wife
Korinne so faithfully in the year leading up to her death.
What was her name? Miriam? Miranda? Mir… Mirrel, that was it. She'd been banished from the keep by Isolde.
Everyone had thought she would travel to Istar, but apparently she had gone straight to Palanthas instead.
Straight to High Justice Caladen.
"You may dismount now," said Fenton.
Soth got off his horse and the knights moved in around him.
Mirrel moved in closer too, no doubt to get a better look at him in a state of disgrace.
Soth saw her standing there, just a few feet away, separated by a ring of Knights of Solamnia.
Lucky for her, thought Soth.
If not for the knights, she might have already been dead by his hand.
The mood inside the Hall of High Justice was somber.
Despite there being many windows along the walls of the hall, little light would shine in until much later in the day.
For now the hall was a shadowy place and that cast a pall over the proceedings.
Lord Caladen sat on a great chair that looked almost like a throne. To his left was a young Crown knight, or perhaps just a squire, whose job it would be to make records of the proceedings. To his right was Rose
Knight Drey Hallack, who served as an advisor to Lord Caladen on matters of the Oath and the Measure-a subject he had spent most of his life studying.
Farther to the right sat Lord Cyril Mordren, the High Clerist and Olthar Uth Wistan, High Warrior of the Knights of Solamnia. They would not be participating in the inquiry, but were present to show their solidarity with and support for Lord Caladen. An empty chair sat at the far right in honor of Solamnic Grand Master Leopold Gwyn Davis, who had recently died after a long illness. A Grand Circle of Knights was being organized to elect Davis's successor, but the gathering, which required at least three quarters of the established circles of knights to send two knights representatives to vote, was still many months away.
Over to the left of Lord Caladen sat seven Knights of Solamnia-two
Crown, two Sword and three from the order of the Rose-whose simple majority vote would decide the fate of the accused.
Seeing the Hall of High Justice set up for a hearing told Soth that things were far more grave than he had imagined.
If he had been called to Palanthas on a simple matter of a breach of the knight's code, an audience with the high justice alone would have sufficed. The presence of the seven-knight jury told him the charges were much more severe. The only other time Soth had seen a juried hearing had been when
one knight had been charged with the murder of another.
Obviously Soth had been accused of murder. Luckily, although he'd been taken prisoner by his escorts, he was still considered innocent until his peers had cause to find him guilty.
Lord Caladen raised his right hand and the murmur that had been a constant background noise in the hall slowly died down.
Soth remained standing in front of the high justice, his shoulders squared and his chest thrust proudly forward.
He would concede nothing to his accusers.
"Lord Loren Soth of Dargaard Keep," said Lord Caladen. "You have been called to the Hall of High Justice to answer questions in an official inquiry into the death, and circumstances surrounding the death, of your wife, Lady Korinne Soth and her newborn child."
A collective gasp swept through the hall as the rumors were finally laid to rest and the reason for Soth's summons was made known to all.
Soth felt his face grow hot as his blood began to roil in anger within him. It was only an inquiry, but he could still be found guilty as a result of the information that came to light. And even if he was cleared of any wrongdoing, his good name would be tarnished for all time by the mere accusation. When this was over, he vowed, those responsible would be made to pay.
A heavy, heavy price.
"A great tragedy," said Soth, his voice even and noncommittal.
"One that has wounded me deeply." He paused. "I had wanted nothing more than to forget the catastrophe, and had begun the journey down that path." He paused again. "But of course, in the interest of justice I will answer any questions you may have. Then this matter will be put to rest in my mind, heart and soul."
Lord Caladen nodded.
The sound of voices rose in volume until the high justice leaned over to the recording secretary and asked for silence.
"Silence!" cried the recording secretary.
Once again, the hall grew quiet.
"Lord Soth," began Lord Caladen. "There seem to be those who believe that Lady Korinne did not die while in the process of birthing her child."
"People are entitled to their opinions, however vile," said Soth.
"They say that instead of dying naturally during the birth, she was murdered by a blade after the fact."
There was another collective gasp. This time it was peppered with whispers of, "No."
"An opinion entirely without merit."
Lord Caladen brought his hands up in front of his chest and brought them together as if in prayer. "Perhaps," he said. "Perhaps not."
Soth was silent.
"Most interesting of all is that those who believe Korinne and the child to have been murdered have also made known their beliefs about who it was that wielded the deadly broadsword."
"And who might that be?"
Lord Caladen drew in a breath. "You, Lord Soth."
The doors of The Drookit Duck burst open and a young man ran into the tavern, frantic and out of breath.
"You're liable to bust a button running like that," laughed Caradoc.
"Are you the knights who arrived with Lord Soth?" asked the young man when he was able to speak the words.
Caradoc put down his tankard. "We are. What of it?"
"Lord Caladen has just accused your lord of murder in the death of Lady
Korinne and the child."
"What?"
"Lies!"
"A joke, surely?" cried the other knights, incredulous at the news.
All except for Caradoc.
Upon hearing the inevitable news, he simply lifted his tankard and took another sip of ale.
"I did no such thing!" shouted Soth, his voice strong and unwavering. "I loved my wife dearly and would never have done anything to hurt her." He glanced around the hall. "What gypsy would make such a wild and unfounded accusation? Who dares make such an outrageously damaging claim?"
"Lady Korinne's former lady-in-waiting for one," answered Lord Caladen.
Soth laughed contemptuously while shaking his head.
"Would you take the word of a simple maid over a Knight of the Rose, a man sworn to live his life by the strict code of the Oath and the
Measure?"
"No," replied Lord Caladen. "Young Mirrel's words were not enough to convince me to begin these proceedings.
There were others."
The high justice gestured to a knight standing guard at the back of the hall. The knight left the hall and a moment later he returned, leading an elderly elf-woman through the crowd toward the high justice.
Soth recognized the old woman and felt a brush of relief. He had saved the woman's life and rescued her party from a band of ogres. Surely, she would be moved to speak well of him.
"What is your name?" asked the recording secretary.
"Olsla," said the old woman. "Olsla Stirling."
"And would you please tell me what you know about Lord Soth and his relationship with his former wife Lady Korinne?"
The elf-woman looked at Soth, her eyes narrowing slightly. A clear sign of derision.
Soth realized that the woman was likely upset that he had stolen Isolde out from under her nose. He wasn't aware that she had come looking for
Isolde, but that is what he guessed must have happened.
"Many months ago," the elderly woman began. "I journeyed to Dargaard
Keep to reunite Isolde Denissa with her fellow elf-maids."
"Why had she been taken there?" asked Lord Caladen.
"She had been whisked to the keep by Lord Soth in order to receive attention from the healer of Dargaard Keep."
"So Lord Soth saved her life?"
"I cannot say. He might have. Then again, she might have lived even without his help. What I can say for certain is that when I tried to bring Isolde back home to Silvanesti, she refused to rejoin our party."
"Why was that?" "She told me she had decided to remain in the keep. She said that Lord Soth needed her there."
Lord Caladen nodded. "Why was that?"
"Apparently, he found comfort with her"-the elf woman's voice cracked slightly-"because his wife could not bear him a child."
The hall suddenly became very noisy.
"Ridiculous!" bellowed Soth. "If I am to be charged with such a serious crime, I expect such charges to be backed up by more credible witnesses than a former laundress and a senile old elf-woman." He turned to face the crowd.
"It is their word against the word of a Knight of Solamnia, a knight of the highest order possible." "Hear, hear!" shouted several in the hall who were obviously pro-Soth.
"Agreed," said Lord Caladen, who waited for the noise to die down before continuing. "Agreed. Would you then accept the word of Istvan the healer, the only man who was present when Lady Korinne gave birth to the child?"
Soth was at first surprised by the mention of the healer's name as he was unaware that Istvan had made the trip to Palanthas. But knowing that
Istvan would soon be speaking on his behalf allowed him to breathe a heavy sigh of relief. Istvan was loyal to him alone, had been loyal to the Soth family for decades. He would surely corroborate Soth's claim of innocence.
"Absolutely, Lord Caladen. The word of Istvan should be the final word on this matter so it may be settled without doubt, once and for all."
"Agreed," Lord Caladen said. "Bring in the healer."
Again Lord Caladen gestured to the knight standing guard at the rear of the hall. Moments later, the hunched figure of Istvan was led through the crowd of people.
Soth nodded toward Istvan as he passed, but the healer did not return the gesture as his frightened eyes were focussed on the high justice.
"What is your name?" asked Lord Caladen.
"Istvan," he said. "Istvan, the healer."
"Do you go by any other names?"
"No."
"You are the healer of Dargaard Keep?"
"Yes?"
"Did you treat the elf-maid Isolde Denissa when she was brought to the keep?"
"Yes."
"And what did you make of her injuries?" "Well," said Istvan, hesitating. "Well, she was quite severely injured and, I might add, if
Lord Soth hadn't brought her to me when he had, she might not be alive today."
Soth cracked a slight smile. Istvan was part of Soth's inner circle. If the high justice thought he could persuade Istvan to speak afoul of him, the man was grossly mistaken.
Lord Caladen's face remained impassive as he continued questioning
Istvan. "You also were present when Lady Korinne gave birth to her child in the keep?"
"Yes."
Lord Caladen inhaled a breath. "Did she and the child survive the birth, or did she die while in the process of giving birth?"
Again Istvan hesitated a moment. "It was a difficult pregnancy and Lady
Korinne was in pain almost daily as the child came to term.
Unfortunately, the pain became too much for her and she died while giving birth to the child.
Sadly, as a result of further complications, the child died as well."
Voices grew louder at the back of the room.
Soth smiled broadly. If the only eyewitness to the birth said Korinne had died birthing the child, then the high justice would have no option but to issue a full and public apology for this travesty. Soth would be dismissed at once.
But Lord Caladen did not look to be satisfied with Istvan's statements.
It was as if he didn't believe what the healer was saying. Then he looked over at Soth and saw the wide smile on the knight's face.
"I warn you, Istvan. As healer of Dargaard Keep, you are bound to live by the code of ethics outlined in the Oath and the Measure."
"Of course, milord."
"Then you understand that it is a grave breech of honor to tell a falsehood, especially in such a place as the Hall of High Justice."
"Yes, of course."
"Good. Then you would be more than happy to take part in a little test that will settle once and for all the fact that you are indeed telling the truth."
Istvan had been backed into a corner. He had no other choice but to agree. "As you wish," he said.
Soth glanced around, wondering what in the name of Paladine was going on.
Lord Caladen raised his right hand and beckoned someone in the crowd to come forward. A short, thin figure wearing dirty white and yellow robes moved away from the crowd.
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