“I told you meddling hens not to influence that boy’s testimony!” the head arbiter snapped at Mrs. Koraski and Mrs. Hadam. He stood at his full height and jabbed his finger at the two ladies. “I’ll have you charged for witness tamperi…” his voice trailed off suddenly as both Mr. Koraski and Mr. Hadam stood and crossed their arms. Several other large men in the large hall started to stand as well, all friends of the two families and none too happy about how their friends were suddenly being treated.
Braun faked a cough to cover up his stumbling words and waved his hand dismissively, “Perhaps the boy is still confused from the ordeal,” he admitted. It was a paltry attempt to assuage the angry mob yet still maintain his illusion of control over the proceedings, but that level of pathetic pretty much summed up his life. “You have to admit, Crazy Cooter being a knight and this nonsense about a lady in white? It’s ludicrous!”
Kre’s face flashed an angry red and he jumped up from his chair, at least as much as the chains allowed him. Even stooped over with his arms outstretched as far as they could go, he seemed to tower over the weasel of a man. “Ser Terync WAS a knight and, even if he weren’t, he was still more of a man than you could ever be. And the Blue-eyed Lady is real…” he closed his eyes and continued in a softer tone, more to himself than to the room, “…wasn’t she?”
Art Wylen stood and walked over to the boy. He gently placed his large hand on Kre’s shoulder and helped him back to his seat. “I believe your story,” Art told him reassuringly. “After all, why would you make any of it up? At no point did you deny your involvement in the deaths of two people.”
Lowil Marxin nodded, “Quite the opposite really… your testimony only served to provide the context and confirm your admission to killing both men.”
Braun settled back in his chair, a wide smile playing underneath his long hooked nose. “I believe that all three of us have come to a consensus. Kre Nevynar is guilty of two counts of murder.”
The hall went silent again as every ear listened to hear what Art and Lowil would say next. Both men looked at each other and seemed to have a deep telepathic conversation between themselves. The tension was almost electric in the air. Art was the first to turn his eyes down and break the stare. Lowil sighed and rubbed at the bridge of his nose.
“Braun is right,” Art muttered. His voice got a bit louder as he addressed the room, “Braun is…”
Lowil snapped his fingers and smiled. “Partially right. Pardon the interruption, but Braun is only partially right.”
The town’s teacher stood and walked over to the townsfolk. “Kre IS involved in the deaths of two people. That much is indisputable. However, Kre is also obviously in a state of mental shock, to say the least. Even Braun admitted the insanity of Kre’s insistence that Cootsman is a knight using a different name and that a blue-eyed lady came in to ask him to kill Cootsman.”
A few heads nodded around the room, and even Art felt a smile tug at the corner of his mouth, knowing that Professor Marxin had something in the works that would save the boy. The only one not feeling the rising level of hope was Braun Osser. The little man could only see his tenuous control over the town slipping with every word and he did not like it one bit. Still, he needed to let it play out just a bit longer until he could spot a weakness in Lowil’s argument.