Justice

[[Roll: 17]]

When Runa arrived, she saw seven women who had been naked a moment ago, although some had received suit jackets to cover themselves with from men who'd been in the gallery. Some were crying, overwhelmed by a combination of fear, confusion, and embarrassment at being naked in public. A muscular woman with a beautiful face, whom Runa recognized as a knight who had rejected Count Hines' offer to serve him as his personal knight, was grabbing a member of the Count's security by the collar asking where he was with rage on her face. There was also a woman with facial features similar to the Count, likely his elder sister, who seemed very cold and calm in spite of the chaos.

Runa heard a couple of nobles chattering about how the women had been statues only a moment ago, and in a too-loud voice Runa asked, "What do you mean those women were statues a moment ago?"

Fortunately, much of the crowd who'd run to investigate the scene heard her, and many eyes turned to Count Hines. His claims to have created lifelike statues were famous. But now his decision to flaunt the women he'd petrified in public was coming back to bite him.

Count Hines tried to salvage the situation. He ran up to the women. "Sister, it has been many years, I cannot believe that you were cursed and disguised as my statue!"

His sister turned and glared at him. "Friedrich, my brother, do you take me for a fool? I clearly recall you bragging about the artifact you had acquired before everything went dark, and these women have stated they had similar memories of their final moments before the curse hit."

The knight stomped up to Count Hines, unbothered by her nudity due to her rage. "You smug bastard. You bragged to me that my strength meant nothing before your artifact, and that you would masturbate upon my petrified face. I have something for your face as well." And with that, she punched him with enough force to knock him off his feet.

The crowd gasped, but no one ran to help him up. The members of his security team simply stood around, unsure of what to do. Some were shocked by the truth of their employer's actions, and did not wish to defend him if he was truly guilty of this. Others had been aware of the truth, but did not wish to openly side with him in front of many witnesses now that the truth was out.

The Count's elder sister stepped up to him, unbothered by her nudity. "Given the fact that we are free, Friedrich, I suspect your little artifact has broken. You were always careless with your toys. Tell me, do you have a plan to silence the many witnesses standing behind you? If not, I suspect you will be off to prison and I shall finally inherit the title that was meant for me."

Count Hines clutched at his nose, which he quickly realized was broken. "You impudent bitch, this is why I could never stand you! You always looked down on me Lara, just because you were smarter than me! Well, look where it got us! You were petrified for a decade, on display for the whole world to see! While I rose to become the kingdom's Minister of Justice! I've proven I'm better than you!"

His elder sister, Lara sighed. "You think that makes you a better heir than me? That you happened upon a fancy little trinket? With the ability to petrify your enemies, you simply gathered a gallery of women who were too good for you. Had I found the same, I'd rule this kingdom. This is all you've accomplished in an entire decade as Count? Pathetic."

Amidst the argument between siblings, as well as efforts to clothe and comfort the less confident women, no one paid attention to the center of the gallery. Runa swiftly picked the lock on the door to the cage around the Golden Gavel. She opened the door, and removed the glass covering without issue. The main defenses for the gavel were supposed to be the guards, but all eyes were focused elsewhere. There were no magical traps or other defenses inside of the cage in case the gavel was needed for a trial on short notice. And so, Runa was able to grab it, return the glass case, and close the door to the cage.

The argument between siblings continued. With control out of his hands, Count Hines proved to be a short-tempered fool who shouted out all manner of incriminating things in front of a crowd of fellow nobles. Runa, who'd prepared a special holster on her thigh, hid the Golden Gavel and returned to Patience's side. "Mission accomplished," she whispered. "Should I return to his office to gather more evidence?"

"Good work. But for now let's simply wait for this to finish. The guards will be here soon. Best not to get greedy, as your arrest could distract from his," Patience advised. Runa agreed, and the two waited, offering comfort to the distressed unpetrified women.

It didn't take long for the city guard to arrive. Given the circumstances, they had little choice but to arrest the Minister of Justice himself. The witnesses, many among them nobles, gave statements as to what happened and were largely in agreement on the details. The victims were led away for their safety, and to make their own statements. The nobles couldn't be kept long, so the guards were forced to let them leave, and it was only afterwards that they realized the Golden Gavel had been stolen.

Word would quickly spread, as there was no way to stifle rumors of such a public debacle, and both Runa and Patience awaited word on what the Count's punishment would be.