Malak led Elias through a cavernous, rectangular great-hall toward another set of limestone doors at the far end. These doors opened into an audience hall teeming with activity. Rows upon rows of Enkilder sat to either side of the central walkway. Yet more souls were squeezed onto balconies above the entrance and to either side in multiple tiers. Elias guessed that the amphitheater-like chamber might be utilized for all official audiences as well as Arbitration. He wouldn’t be surprised to learn that every of-age Enkilder in Illedium was present.
At the far end of the room on a raised platform sat seven Enkilder. They didn’t wear a uniform garb, but it was clear that they had dressed for the occasion. Cormn sat in the center of the Arbiter, a not insignificant position, which was not lost on Elias. He guessed Cormn to be their leader, if not by design than in practice. This explained why Mordum had befriended Malak, and sought his aid in bringing his plan to fruition. Elias made a mental note of this, along with the plan to turn this to his advantage if he could.
Malak sat him at a table twenty paces before the Arbiter, beside Teah. Back iron-straight, she gazed ahead without a flicker of emotion. As Elias took his seat she turned her head and offered him a spare nod. At that scant gesture, Elias felt a wellspring of emotion surge in him, from black fury to gnawing guilt. The thought that the gentle woman had been dragged here like a common criminal incensed him as much, if not more, than his own imprisonment. If he held himself in honest judgment, he had done far more to earn his seat than she.
Malak took a seat in the first row of the assemblage, directly behind Elias. Elias offered him a wan smile and then glanced about the room. Murmurs rushed through the audience chamber like the rustling of leaves through a deep wood. A second table stood in the same line as his own on the other side of the central walkway. At it sat two Enkilder, one male and one female. Behind them, in the first row on the other side of the room, sat Mordum, resplendent in a cardinal tunic trimmed in gold piping. Fitting, thought, Elias—the colors of blood and money, though the Enkilder professed to traffic in neither.
“Peace,” said Arbiter Cormn, his voice clarion clear and commanding instant silence from the assemblage. “We have assembled the Council of Arbitration on this, the fifth of Arkus, to hold the preliminary hearing for crimes in question committed by Teah, daughter of Cyril, and her houseguest, one Elias, of origins unknown.
“Teah, you are charged with two violations of the Third Law. On the first count, you offered sanctuary to a foreigner without his being vested by the Elder Council; on the second count, you breached our borders without seeking the permission of the Elder Council. Furthermore, you are charged with violating the First Law. You employed the use of deadly force, albeit against a cogent threat to your person.
“Teah, daughter of Cyril, how do you plead?”
Teah stood and, without as much as a glance around the chamber, said, “Innocent on all counts, Arbiter.”
“Let it be noted,” said Cormn, “that Teah, daughter of Cyril, pleads Innocent. Teah, who will you choose to barrister your case?”
“I will represent myself, Arbiter.”
A murmur cascaded through the chamber. Cormn held up a hand. “That is your right.” The Arbiter turned his attention to Elias. “Elias, you have been charged with breaking the laws of our people, the prime being our First Law, the use of lethal force against another living creature. Do you understand this law?”
Following Teah’s lead, Elias stood. “I do, Arbiter, yet I must protest that I was not approached by any official of your people and told I was beholden to your laws.”
“Your grievance has been noted,” said Cormn. “How do you plead?”
“Innocent.”
“So noted. The Enkilder have also brought another, more nebulous, charge against you, under the tenets of the Second Law. Your adversaries, barristers Byrne and Cedrica, seek to prove to this council that you have committed crimes against nature by using forbidden Arcanum, either temporal Arcanum and or inter-dimensional Arcanum to breach our boundaries. Do you understand these charges?”
“I do.”
“How do you plead to these charges?”
“Innocent,” said Elias without hesitation.
“So noted. Elias, all those who are tried under this council have the right to utilize a barrister to argue their case. This council recommends that you avail yourself of this right, as you are unfamiliar with our legal system. As you lack the proper contacts within our society, the council is prepared to select a barrister on your behalf. What say you?”
Elias felt the weight of hundreds of eyes upon him, but he considered for but a few beats, counted out by the thundering of his own heart. “I am prepared to make my own selection, Arbiter.”
The only indication of Cormn’s surprise was a long blink and a moment’s silence. “Very well. Who do you choose?”
“I choose Malak, son of Cormn.”
Chapter 17
Barrister
“Objection!” cried the male adversarial barrister, presumably Byrne. “Malak is your son, Arbiter, and lives under your roof. This presents a gross conflict of interest.”
Cormn eyed Elias. “Barrister Byrne makes a notable argument.”
Elias glanced around the audience hall. “I can’t imagine that there are any among those assembled that don’t already hold some prejudice against me. Of the few Enkilder I’ve come to know in the short time I’ve been in your domain, one is dead, one stands accused, and one is a child, who I will remind the Council has gone missing. The only others I have had any interaction with are you, Arbiter, Malak, and Speaker Mordum. I understand that the Speaker cannot participate in Arbitration, and in any case I much prefer his predecessor.”
An ocean of whispers erupted in the chamber. Cormn held up a hand. “I will warn you but once, Elias, that this is not an arena for your editorial commentary.”
“Understood,” said Elias, who bowed his head in concession. “My apologies. Back to point—the only eligible Enkilder I have any rapport with is Malak. I will remind the council that I am being held in your house, despite the fact that you preside over these proceedings. In comparison to having Malak argue my case, this is a much grosser conflict of interests. As long as this council intends to house me under the roof of an Arbiter, I can hardly think that my choosing a representative of his household is a logical cause for objection.”
Cormn sat back and looked to either side, soliciting response from his compatriots. When none was forthcoming, he said, “Very well. You have won the point.”
Bedlam, at least in Enkilder terms, broke out in the auditorium as hundreds of voices began to whisper in protest. Cormn held up a hand and said, with not insignificant force, “Peace! Peace, I say!”
When the throng quieted, Cormn leaned forward and said, “Malak, you are hereby appointed by the Council of Arbitration to represent Elias, known as Wayfarer. It is your duty to represent him to the fullest of your ability and without bias. If this council finds during the course of these proceedings that you have been remiss in your duty, you will be held accountable to the fullest letter of the law. Do you understand?”
Malak stood. “Yes, Arbiter, I understand.”
“Let it be noted,” said Cormn. “The Council of Arbitration is hereby disbanded. We will reconvene two days hence at nine o’clock.”
Teah turned to face Elias, her face alight with a broad smile. “Well played, Wayfarer.”
†
Later that afternoon Malak burst into Elias’s chamber without so much as a knock and blurted out at once, “Are you mad? Why have you chosen me? Are you trying to damn us both?”
“Would you please close the door?” Elias asked.
Malak complied with uncharacteristic vehemence. “There. Now answer me, Wayfarer.”
Elias remained seated. “It is clear that Mordum has sought to gain advantage by befriending you. I can’t take the chance that he, through you, will influence the Arbiter or the populace against me. By having
you join my cause, I deprive Mordum of an ally.”
“Mordum has nothing to do with Arbitration, and in any case he only wants what is best for the Enkilder.”
Elias studied Malak, his red face, his shaking knees. He prayed that he had not made his gambit in error. “I think you may know that’s not true, but you were too enamored by the thought of currying favor with the Speaker to think deeply about what he asked of you, and the moral implications. And don’t think I’ve forgotten how you accompanied him to capture me, and how you yourself broke the First Law by striking Teah down.”
Malak’s face went from livid crimson to bone white. “You couldn’t have seen that. You were unconscious.”
Elias sighed inwardly in relief. “At least you don’t deny it. I’ve more wit and grit than you have given me credit for. But don’t worry, I’m not going to blackmail you. I know that you acted in error, because you were afraid, caught by surprise.”
“Yes. Yes, that’s right,” Malak said, returning to a modicum of his former color.
Elias leaned forward and rested his arms on his knees. “The thing is, Malak, where I come from I have a reputation for being able to see through people, to tell when they’re lying to me. I think that you are a good person, an honest individual. Mordum is not. I don’t know what his game is, but he’s a villain, and he wants to see that I never leave Illedium.
“Now, I don’t know why that is, but like you, I’m a good man who’s made a bad decision under duress. Fact is, the only person that can put it to right is me, and the only way I can do it is to leave your domain. This trial is a farce, Malak, and I need your help to end it as soon as possible. I have the feeling that time is against me.”
Malak weighed Elias with his eyes. After what felt long minutes to Elias, but was likely mere seconds, Malak nodded. “Very well. You win. I don’t share your misgivings about Mordum, but I will help you. You don’t seem like the men I’ve heard about.”
“Thank-you, Malak.”
Malak grunted, a sound that seemed at odds with his impeccable dress and bearing. “Don’t thank me yet. We’ve a lot of work to do, and it begins tonight. I’ll take dinner with you, whereupon we’ll discuss your case. In the meantime, I’m going to pay a visit to my father’s library and do some rereading of our laws.”
Elias forced a smile that he hoped conveyed warmth. “I’ll be here.”
Malak paused at the door. “You’ve done well to choose me; I am my father’s son. I take my oath seriously. I will defend you to my utmost.”
“I know you will. That’s why I took a chance on you.”
In the hours following Malak’s absence, Elias had little to do save look out his window and rehash the events that had led him to his present predicament. It seemed the entire Enkilder populace had become aware of his existence, evidenced by the heavy traffic in the streets below. He caught more than a few of the lithe inhabitants of Illedium peering up at the townhouse, hoping to catch a glimpse of the barbarian held captive in the floors above.
During his first two weeks among the Enkilder, while he was licking the wounds he had incurred from his trip through time, he never would have guessed the Enkilder civilization was so developed. Granted, all he knew of their society was the murky ritual of the Abeotium, much of which he didn’t remember, and the quaint life Teah and Nyla enjoyed. He knew that his hosts were highly advanced in the arcane arts and philosophy, but from the spare window he had into their way of life he had concluded that theirs was a tribal, clan culture. The advanced architectural wonders of Illedium grossly contradicted his preconceptions.
He supposed that Teah and the other Enkilder had not refuted his conclusions by design, and he understood why. He was an unknown, perhaps dangerous, entity. Still, it brooked the question, why were Teah and Nyla so far removed from the heart of Illedium? He imagined that there must be some number of the Enkilder who preferred lives of austerity or solitude, but he reasoned a figure as prominent in their society as the Speaker would reside within the center of their civilization. Unless the explanation was that the speaker required a life of quiet meditation. Elias, however, sensed that the reasons for the location of Leosis’s and Teah’s abode went deeper than that. For one, it had a relatively close proximity to the edge of the wood, and the ruins of Lucerne.
There were other inconsistencies as well, that kept Elias’s mind turning in the long and lonely hours since Malak’s departure. The most notable being that the forest that Elias had once known as the Hartwood, seemed to be a great deal larger than it was in his time. He knew that much time had passed, but his every sense told him this was an ancient wood. In his time the Hartwood had been an impressive wood, spanning some five square-miles whereupon it met the edge of the granite plateau that elevated it and the city of Peidra high above the plains of Galacia.
Also of note was the river that Illedium was built upon. There were no rivers in either Peidra or the Hartwood, save for the subterranean waterway deep beneath the palace. As he understood it, this was a geological feature of Peidra being situated high above the plains on the fifty square-mile plateau. A couple of spare brooks bubbled up from the aquifers below ground, but all their water came from wells dug deep into the bedrock by the wizards of old. These thoughts led Elias to a few conclusions; either the land had changed drastically since his time, or else was a function of the curious Arcanum that secreted Illedium away, according to Teah’s explanation in a place between dimensions. That, or the fey had the power to shape the land to their will—a thought that struck both wonder and fear into his heart.
A knock came at the door as the sun began to dip below the horizon. Elias had to give it to the Enkilder, they were polite captors. The door opened to reveal a young Enkilder with a tray laden with two plates, a bottle of wine, and a pitcher of water. Behind her bustled Malak, who was burdened by an armload of books. As he laid the tomes on the table he said, “I’ve discovered a good bit of news, which will benefit you and Teah whilst confounding our adversaries, but first a toast!”
Malak poured them each a modest bit of a pale red wine and offered a glass to Elias. “To providence and unlikely friendships,” he said and raised his glass.
Elias, bemused despite himself, touched his glass to Malak’s and took a sip of the floral spirit. He looked at the contents of his glass and grew thoughtful. “Malak, grapes aren’t native to this wood.”
Malak’s exuberance withdrew somewhat. “Right you are.”
“I only mention it because yours appears to be a self-sufficient society. I was led to believe it to be a crime to leave the safety of your hidden domain.”
“You have the right of it, more or less,” Malak said.
“More or less?” Elias pressed. “Someone must have left to procure this wine, or else the grapes with which to make it.”
Malak cleared his throat. “The letter of the law states that it is forbidden to breach the boundaries of our land without the express permission of the Elder Council.”
“Ah,” said Elias sitting back in his chair. “One must wonder, then, if Mordum had the express permission of the Elder Council when he came after Teah and I.”
Malak grew still. “Not as such, but the Speaker is allowed a little more latitude than the general public.”
“Convenient, and yet another shrewd reason why he enlisted your help. Taking along the son of an Arbiter is practically implicit permission in and of itself, and what father would prosecute his own son?”
Malak put his glass down. “I don’t know why you remain so fixated on Mordum.”
“Relax, Malak. I’m certainly not going to voice my objections and risk you. I’m merely making a point. I am curious about your way of life and customs. The more I know, the better able I will be able to defend myself.”
Malak took a measured sip from his wine. “That is what I’m here for—to guide you on your defense and also to educate you in what ways I can. To that end I have brought these books for you, but if you have any questions, I
will answer them if I may, within the precepts laid out before me by the Arbiter.”
Elias poured a glass of water. “Fairly said. You mentioned that you had good news?”
“Yes,” said Malak, exuberance lighting his eyes once again. “A little known caveat of the law states that in breaches of the First and Second Laws wherein two persons are being accused of the same crimes, occurring in tandem, the Arbiter may choose to argue their cases as one, with a single adversarial barrister and single defensive barrister.”
Elias felt a surge of hope rush through him for the first time since he had come to the future. “Malak, if I get out of this I owe you a whiskey.”
“What’s a whiskey?”
“Never mind,” said Elias with a laugh, “something from another life. Does this mean that we can meet with Teah to prepare my defense? I am anxious to see her so that I can work on some contingency plans.”
“I plan to plead that point with the Arbiter, but you’re missing the larger boon, Elias.” Malak leaned forward, his eyes dancing with lamplight. “Teah is the wife of the much-loved former Speaker, and herself is a person of great respect in Illedium. The Arbiter will most assuredly show her clemency. By undergoing Arbitration together, the caveat states that both must be found innocent or guilty on each account.”
Blood rushed to Elias’s head and he dizzied under the implications. “If you can hitch my wagon to hers, my chances of acquittal have gone up dramatically. Thank you, Malak.”
“Thank me if it works, but I am optimistic. I would propose another toast, but we have to keep our heads clear. We’ve much to discuss.”
“Agreed,” said Elias. “Where do we begin?”
Malak busied himself with pulling the lids off their dinner plates. He cast Elias a sidelong glance. “Perhaps you better tell me the whole story of how you came to be here. Where it is that you come from?”
Elias considered Malak, his mind spinning through myriad scenarios. “Do you think those details will benefit my case? It seems more likely they’ll hurt it.”
Wayfarer (The Empyrean Chronicle) Page 15