BXBX NOVEL Chapter 149 - Witnesses
"You all look like you\'ve gone through a lot," said Li as he watched everyone stream in.
"That would be an understatement," said Meld as she came up to Li\'s table and found only three more seats.
She remained standing, letting Triple Threat pass by her and take up the seats.
Sylvie rushed next to Li. "You\'re fine? Thank the gods," she said with a relieved sigh. "I thought with all that has happened, perhaps you had sensed something wrong, ventured out and then found yourself in trouble."
Li raised a brow and pulled out the chair next to him. "Trouble? Sit down and tell me what happened."
Triple Threat took up the remaining seats around the table, and as they talked about what had happened, Li gauged their expressions. Sylvie and Jeanne were concerned, likely wondering about the strange events that they had witnessed at the mansion. Azhar, though, looked knowingly at Li, and it was evident that the bowman could piece together that Li was the spirit.
As Li tried to scrutinize Meld\'s expression, he found that once again, he could not. There was a proverb that he remembered about eyes being the windows to the soul, and that felt particularly true here. With the blindfold covering her eyes, Meld\'s expression was hard to divine, not to mention that she herself had been trained to maintain as neutral a face as she could regardless of the situation.
"That\'s…quite odd, to say the least," said Li as he nodded several times, pretending to be taking in new information. "It\'s quite worrying that a spirit of that caliber was roaming around Riviera this whole time."
"I thought you had known," said Sylvie. "You always seem to have a sharp sense for danger even when it has not fully manifested. I worried that you had moved on your own to face a spirit of that strength."
"No, not at all," said Li. "As a herbalist and healer, I can sense the flow of energy in the world around me and sort of tell when something is off. Tonight, I did feel there was something wrong which is why I had to head back to the farm to check on Old Thane and send my assistant here instead. Still, to think that the situation was as strange as this?"
Sylvie cast a momentary glance at Iona, her lips pursed in minor annoyance, but only for a mere instant before she regained her regular composure.
"And Old Thane?" said Jeanne. "Is he well?"
Li nodded. "He is. Snoring as loud as ever."
"Then he\'s definitely alive and kickin\'," said Azhar.
"I see," said Meld. "That explains your absence."
Li could not tell from her voice whether she doubted him. "And I\'m noticing an absence on your end. Thunderstrike hasn\'t recovered from the attack?"
"Sadly, no," said Meld.
"More like happily," quipped Azhar, though he quickly coughed and settled back into listening when Meld did not react to him at all.
"Thunderstrike suffered grievous wounds. He will have to be sent to the nearest hero healer, but as Riviera lies far from such resources, there is some doubt as to whether he will survive," said Meld.
"Well, I\'m sorry to hear that," said Li, trying to keep his voice as steady as possible.
Meld paused. "There is no need to feel pity for him. Heroes understand that their lives are constantly on the line, that we face risks at every waking moment. He understood the risks, willingly played with them, and was burned as a result. That is the simple truth of it."
"Quite a cold philosophy you have there," said Li.
"Cold and realistic often lie close together," said Meld.
"That, I would agree with." Li eyed the doors of the Flagon. "And the squadrons of knights by the door? Is that a realistic number to bring here? Right in the heart of the city? It seems to me that this whole ordeal is largely over. Chevrette is dead and his sins are corroborated by that spirit."
"Speak some sense to her," said Azhar. "She\'s still thinkin\' to round up the beastwomen. It ain\'t right."
"There is also no reason for this," said Jeanne to Meld. "These women have suffered enough, and Chevrette has already passed, his soul to be judged by the gods."
"It\'s not simply a matter of him dying," said Sylvie.
"Precisely so," agreed Meld. "There is the matter of his family name. All that falls under that once gilden name, his vast estate, his many businesses, the bank itself – all of that stands on trial here also. A true verdict must be reached against him to determine by law where those assets go."
"But a true verdict has already been decided," said Li. "And what does it matter what happens to Chevrette\'s assets? If I remember the law correctly, if he\'s condemned, doesn\'t the crown seize everything? Wouldn\'t that be to your benefit?"
"Justice does not seek monetary reward, though yes, you are correct in that regard," said Meld. "However, that is not a path I wish to truly go down. A full condemnation would strip the Chevrette name entirely from the records and cast the late lord\'s daughter into poverty and homelessness. But beyond that, it is a matter of principle.
This investigation must be settled through the proper channels, with proper witnesses and a proper trial where evidence is laid bare and considered thoroughly under the scrutiny of lawpseakers."
"Even if that means, as you say, Chevrette\'s daughter will suffer?" said Li. He actually did understand where Meld was coming from. The law should be blind and enforced uniformly and at a rigid standard for everyone.
Too often, that did not happen in his past life, leading to so many corporations and authorities flouting any law when convenient. Li was not heartless either, and he would have Count Alexei take care of Ella Chevrette as no daughter should suffer from the sins of a father whose sins she knew nothing about. It was suffering enough that Ella would have her world turned upside down at the thought of a father she thought loving and caring be accused as one of the worst evils in the city.
At the same time, Li could not let her keep her family name and estate. Without condemning Chevrette and breaking up all his business ventures, the farmers would still be bound to their contracts, and settling that would take even more time.
"Justice cannot discriminate, unfortunately," said Meld. "Proper testimonies must be produced before court."
"And the spirit\'s words aren\'t testimony enough?" said Li.
Meld put a gloved hand to her back, where splinters from the Howling Ursine\'s descent had embedded. The wounds had been cleaned and patched over with bandages, but the bandages themselves still stood as reminders of the incident.
"I certainly would not wish to anger the spirit, but alas, taking the word of but one spirit, a spirit of tenuous mention in any historical record, that we cannot even question would not prove beyond reasonable doubt Chevrette\'s guilt."
"You\'d be more comfortable with real live witnesses you can talk to is what you\'re saying?" said Li. "Is that how you want to justify imprisoning these beastwomen?"
Meld was quick to respond. "It is not imprisonment. Simply temporary detainment."
"Don\'t smell a difference there," said Azhar.
"I can guarantee their safety and release after we have questioned them enough," said Meld.
"What about the language barrier?" asked Li. "The logistics of securing all of them without having them suffer? The knights here can\'t handle their strength, either. You\'d have to bring in more heroes or a much stronger force."
"There are Arcana scholars that know the tongues of the north. I will send for one. And the divine magic that the beastfolk rely upon will be severely dampened in the presence of anti-magic material."
"Only anti-magic stone walls I know are the ones in the dungeons," snorted Azhar.
"And That could take days to arrange," said Li. "Maybe weeks considering travel. You want to keep them locked up that long? How are you even sure you can even get them to the cells in the first place? What if they do escape?"
Meld sighed. "I agree the situation is not optimal, but I attempt to use what I have at hand. At the least, I can guarantee I will personally oversee their detainment such that no harm falls to them."
Li stood up and walked behind Meld. "How about we reach a compromise?"
"What would you propose?" said Meld.
"You need testimonies you can write down and produce in a court, right? Then how about I give you witnesses, human witnesses far easier to work with than beastwomen that will literally fight you tooth and nail every step of the way. Witnesses enough to land a guilty verdict on Chevrette beyond any doubt, and in exchange, you let these beastwomen go?
"I could order you to hand them over now by the authority vested within me through the crown," said Meld.
"And I could refuse," said Li simply, allowing her to determine what the consequences would be if she pushed her authority.
Meld thought for several seconds – the first time she had ever spent an extended period of time thinking before speaking. "Very well. The night has been messy enough. Let us settle this smoothly."
Li walked out the Flagon doors and, illuminated under the lantern light of the entrance, waved his hand – the signal for Alexei\'s men to come.