"Raider 02: Accusations" by Richard Lorenz

Accusations

What are the crimes of which I am accused? They are many, and they are varied. The lightest sentence for the least crime of which I stand accused would be the loss of both hands. Theft would lose me one hand, but I was accused of worse. The deliberate and systematic fleecing of an entire village. The villagers were left with very little food, after giving what they has for a fictitious army coming to their defense against the mountain goblins. It was supposedly encamped in the next valley, as a barricade against encroaching predators. The poor people were promised gold to buy more, but ended up with useless script instead. Cut off by winter storms, no food and no money, only a few people survived. And that was because they lowered themselves to cannibalism.

Cannibalism, of course, carries a much stiffer penalty. The tormented remains of a family were found on a little farm several days from the capital. Evidence indicated that someone had tied them to their kitchen chairs, had a nice meal at their expense, and left them to starve. In their own kitchen, surrounded by the remains of meal.

“Something Evil was done to these people.” Scryers can be very perceptive people. They were called in by their neighbors. (I must apologize for my lack of details, such as names and places. I heard most of this second- and third-hand. After all, I am innocent of these crimes.)

Back to the Scryers. They came in with their mirrored bowls filled with water, wine, urine, or whatever their gods required, burned the right herbs and spices, and saw their visions. And that is where they saw an image of me.

They saw the father subdued first, and the mother raped. Then their little girl was killed, prepared, cooked on their hearth, and eaten in front of them. The girls eyes sat on the table until the end. Presumably so she could watch her body being consumed. This was the meal found on the table.

Even this wasn’t the worst. There were more atrocities, many more. Rivers of blood and mountains of bones. Wells poisoned and plagues spread. Slaughtered animals left to rot for the pleasure of destruction.

And then there was the unicorn. To even attempt to harm one is punishable. To actually succeed in harming one, although very rare, was a Great Crime. And Great Crimes were the domain of the Temples, which made things, potentially, a whole lot worse for me.

Curious side effect though. Church and State were fighting over the right to kill me, so I wasn‘t executed on sight. The Duke’s Men were discussing hangings, unpleasant archery contests, and other such nonsense. The Priests and Mages talked more of burning, preceded by a lengthy stay in the Temple dungeons entertaining the Inquisitors. Small men trying to entertain themselves by scaring me.

It didn’t work.