PRELUDE:
After a general introduction to all assembled and explanation of how the court proceedings will take place, you are brought in for your chance to stand trial.
As you (Oberon) enter the courtroom, it is hard not to notice that your hands are securely bound with rough and thick iron shackles. You are pretty confident that you could not break them and the chafing and slight bruises being formed are sign that you won’t be able to wriggle free.
You take your place in a small box with a podium that sits facing a raised seat with a larger podium. In that raised seat is the honorable Judge Vincent Avan, Senior Judge of Lictor Mary cul Tricuspis and the appointed judge for this trial. He is weathered but not old, with a non-aggressive yet stern looking face and demeanor.
You look around the room and notice the jury, all 12 of them, sitting off to the side of the judge. You pick out representatives, two each, of the clans and colonies assembled. You are hoping that the mixture of ulven and colonist jury members gives you a fair verdict in the trial. The main person that sticks out to you, clad in armor and a wolf fur despite the heat, is Khulgar Graytide. The Warleader of Clan Grimward is in attendance, surely to report how the trial goes back to his Clanleader. The significance of this is not lost on you.
You take one last look behind you to see a courtroom packed completely full of onlookers. People came out to witness the trial and seem to hail from all corners of Mardrun. There are almost two hundred people backed into the courtroom pews or standing in the aisles. Almost a dozen fully armored Lions of Arnath stand resolute and vigilant, keeping security during the trial.
The judge’s voice grabs your attention as you face forward again.
“Oberon of the Ravens. You are being charged with collaborating with agents of corruption and refusing the summons of the trial.” reads the judge from a scroll.
“The maximum punishment for crimes such as these are fines, indentured servitude, time in prison, and being indebted to repay the cost of your bounty. Do you intend to confess or state your defense? You may plead guilty to each charge or you may state not guilty to each charge and state your defense. This is also when you may provide evidence and proof for the court to consider. You may speak, but do not ramble on for too long.”
OBERON:
“For the charge of collaborating with agents of corruption, I plead not guilty. Although as I have yet to be informed as to the nature of this charge, I cannot, at this time, provided an applicable defense.
In the charge of refusing the summons of the trial, I plead not guilty. I willingly answered the summons upon appearing today. Upon receiving the summons at the fire isle last month, I spoke with the man the Order of Arnath’s Fist dispatched and he agreed to not take me into custody should I agree to appear at trial. If this man was not authorized to make such an agreement, it is frankly preposterous to charge me for his incompetence.
JUDGE:
Oberon, of the Ravens, your defense has been noted to the court.
To clarify and summarize your charges:
Collaborating with agents of corruption, the court has been made aware of your involvement in discussions with the red-eyed Syndar, the agent of corruption known to be aiding the mordok, and providing them knowledge that is damaging to the greater good of Mardrun.
Refusing the summons of the trial, a public decree was given and you were named and summoned, and your untimely presence was noted. It has been documented that you did not come willingly with the agents of the Order but instead were brought in by a bounty hunter.
Moving on to the testimonies, you may listen to them and then state a final defense at the end, which then the jury will decide your punishment.
TESTIMONIES GIVEN TO THE TRIAL:
Brother Ventaris, Order of Arnath’s Light, attending in person
“Oberon was helpful in the investigation of Serai and helped the Inquisition.”
Laertes of the Phoenix, attending in person
“This one would like to say in defense of Oberon that his character seems sound and that the accusation of conspiring with corruption seems dramatically out of place. Oberon has on numerous occasions dealt amicably with the Phoenix. Perhaps the resisting of being brought in is a misunderstanding of the official authority placed upon the Order of Arnath and their involvement in the trial, and this one requests that leniency be given in regards to this being a misunderstanding.”
Anariel of the Phoenix, attending in person
“Oberon is also my friend. He turns his attention to me when I call him friend, so that is how I know he’s my friend. He doesn’t talk to me much, but he has never been mean. He actually doesn’t do much at all, but that is ok. So, I don’t think he would do anything bad.”
Alestear of the Ravens, attending in person
“This one would like to give statements about many in this trial but we will see what time this one may be afforded. This one shall first speak of Oberon. This one wishes to address each charge individually with the first being the charge of failure to attend the trial. This one believes this charge to have been a jump past reality. The first any charges were heard of was on the Fire Isle at the market faire. The order had sent an inquisitor to ask question pertaining to certain individuals. Oberon and myself had requested a trial date in lieu of being carted off in chains. The Order’s inquisitor had asked for both Oberon and this one to give word that he would be in attendance of the trial, word was given and no other misgivings arose at that time. As you can see Oberon is in fact in attendance of the trial and this one believes those charges to be false. On the second charge of working with agents of corruption, this is the first this one has heard of any alleged correspondence and as such this one is not sure as to what this refers. This one will speak on the nature of Oberon. He has been loyal to all the people of Mardrun and has fought for the greater good. He was of great assistance to the Pack Longfang on their quest against the Mordok to find the answers to some artifact of theirs. He has been a great representative for The Ravens as well as Newhope while out in the field and has served this one as an exemplary Castellan.”
Shiloh, attending in person
“Dealing with agents of corruption is not the way of Oberon. He is a wonderful man with goodness in his heart, even if he has a weird way of showing it. I would trust him with my life and more, which is why he was one of two across Mardrun (the other being your own Brother Oliver) to receive my original testimonial letter. With all due respect, I almost fear that his presence in the trial is a flimsy disguise of the racism against the Syndar people known to be in the history of the Order. I pray it is not, though I fear this worry may prove justified if this clearly innocent man is found guilty.”
Vazra of the Archons, attending in person
“Let me tell you about Oberon…. Everything Oberon has done has been motivated by the greater good. This guy has been thanklessly looking out for us all for years. When it comes to the Undead, there is no room for indecision. A moment’s hesitation and the plague could have spread beyond our control. Who is to judge the gravity of his contributions? For all we know, if not for the actions of Oberon, the threat of those Undead abominations could still be growing. This was a flame that had to be extinguished, there was no time to pause and dawdle over methods.
Oberon is a hero who acted against the Undead threat as soon as anybody, with every resource he could muster. So, he had a chat with some Mordok preaching lunatic, big deal, so did everybody at Onsallas Outpost that day. Are we going to start throwing people in prison for conversations? Hear me out on this; if you accuse him of being in cahoots with corruption for speaking with an agent of corruption, doesn’t that make everybody in this room guilty of the same crime for speaking to him? No, of course not. That would be completely stupid. The only crime I have witnessed here, is that this man stands trial rather than receive our thanks.”
These are the testimonies spoken to the court by witnesses or those willing to speak out in regards to your charges during the trial. You will be given one final chance to defend yourself and your actions against the charges and the testimonies levied against you. Be specific but be brief; this case will be taken to a jury and your punishment and fate decided.
OBERON:
In the charge of collaborating with agents of corruption, to the best of my knowledge I have never been in the same place at the same time as this Red-Eyed Syndar, much less had any interaction with said individual.
As far as the charges of failing to answer the summons of trial, as I have already stated, this charge is preposterous. As has been previously stated by Baron Alestear and myself, when asked to come into custody from the Fire Isle it was agreed upon by the man dispatched from Starkhaven that on the sworn word of Baron Alestear and myself that I would appear for this trial I would not need to be taken into custody, a man that I cannot help but notice the Order has not brought forth to testify today. When I, true to my word, came to Starkhaven of my own free will the so-called bounty hunter took me from the gate under the guise of the castle steward and delivered me to those within and collected the bounty that had been placed on me, a bounty which I would argue had been unlawfully issued. If anything, this charge seems to be based on the internal dissonance of the Order rather than on the facts involved and only serves to show how truly fractured the organization has become.
As there has been no evidence brought against me, I move that all charges against me be immediately dismissed so that I may excuse myself from this farce.
JUDGE:
Your final statement is given and the judge and jury listen intently.
“The court will now take a recess to give the jury time to decide your sentencing. The court is now in recess.” he says plainly as he bangs his gavel on the wooden pedestal.
The jury is out for several hours and the waiting is excruciating. Then suddenly the court herald announces that the judge has returned and then the court is back in session. The jury members return from the back room and hand a piece of paper to the judge. He takes a moment to read it, his face displaying no emotion… no hint of what your fate will be decided.
“Oberon of the Ravens, you have had charges placed against you, a full investigation into your actions and your character, a chance to state your defense and a to hear out the testimonies of your peers and other free peoples of Mardrun.
On the charge of collaborating with agents of corruption, the jury finds you not guilty.
On the charge of refusing the summons to trial, the jury finds you guilty.
There is a moment of silence as the gravity of the charges and decisions made sinks in. The judge scribbles down some notes on a piece of parchment, reviews the paper that was handed to him by the jury, and says nothing else for a time; the void of silence seeming to last for an eternity, framed by the hushed murmurs of the audience in the court room. The Judge speaks, finally breaking the silence.
“Oberon, the court recognizes that you are of sound character and the evidence proves that you were not involved with agents of corruption. However, the court has found enough evidence in your refusing the summons of the trial that punishment must be administered. Based on the severity of a charge lasting on your record within the colonial judicial system, the charge of refusing summons is being lessened. As you have stated, there was enough error in the system involving your bounty that the charge seems out of place.
However, due to your lack of respect and your ill-advised statements during your defense, you are found contempt of court and are legally required to pay back your bounty fee. The charge will be dropped upon payment.”
“Your trial is concluded” ends the Judge as his gavel strikes down on the plate; the noise echoing through the courtroom.