The Slow Arm of the Law

Gods. If you had been asked a couple of weeks ago, you would have said that criminal trials aren't fun. That was before you were exposed to the full legal process, which as it turns out, is a long one. Not wanting to have a guard posted outside the mansion to make sure you two don't skip town, Irina opted to ask for accommodations to be provided. Which you suppose is fair, and at least the accommodations are nice enough you suppose. You've certainly had worse.

And it's not as if it's been all bad — with Irina being the only other person in accommodations, and not exactly liking it any better than you do, it has been a bonding experience. Bonding over your mutual distaste for the justice system and its proceedings. The past couple weeks started with the guard spending a day or two just talking to the two of you, getting independent narratives of both the events in question and the events leading up to them. Then, it was just relative isolation with Irina. The house does have plenty of amenities, at least, and the guards do bring fresh food and water daily. And so, you and Irina spend this sixteenth day in accommodations playing yet another game of chess. Not the most interesting activity in the world, but it does pass the time, and you've gotten half-decent playing it, too. You hear word from the guards that the first trial is tomorrow. Good, at least this will be over soon.

Famous last words, you suppose. The next five days are filled with nothing but trials, as you're **** to give back to back testimonies in about thirty trials: by the end of it, the judge seems just about as tired of it as you are. But, your and Irina's testimonies do result in the conviction of just about every single person you saw not in some form of cage:

• For the two bodyguards, convictions ranging from conspiracy to peddle wares to trafficking of sentients to use of property in connection to a crime; most significantly, conspiracy to traffic sentients, for which they get execution as a sentence
• For the thugs, convictions are less ****, but they still receive conspiracy to peddle wares
• The would be customers mainly get slapped with trafficking of sentients, which interestingly winds up with a higher penalty for them than for the thugs

There is one exception, however. One of the customers was a marquis. Infuriatingly, their lawyer manages to argue — successfully — that as they exclusively purchased foreign nationals of non-noble status, their activities fall under their feudal rights: they uphold their military duty to Cyllian, tend to their properties with due care, pay all fees and taxes, and provide properly for those in their jurisdiction. Furthermore, no charge of **** of lessors sticks to them when the prosecution attempts that angle: they do not violate any current laws in regards to culpable treatment of others.

The law may not have a way to get even with him, but that doesn't mean you can't. You swear, if you ever see the smug face of Marquis Horacio Cicero again, you are going to wipe that smug look right off his face.

With the last of the trials over, the two of you are released from duties. It almost feels odd walking back to the mansion rather than accommodations; nevertheless, it is a definitive positive. As the two of you continue walking, you look to Irina, a look of exhaustion on your face from the past few days, which you see that she shares. The two of you walk up the stairs, ready to turn in for the night.