Art nodded his agreement with the plan as stated. “I’m afraid I’m at a loss when it comes to these covenants though. Mintas has not needed to enact any since I’ve been alive.”
With a smile and a dismissive wave of his hand, Lowil tried to reassure his friend. “They really are just formalities. They’re a set of rules that Kre must swear to abide by until he is either found innocent or proven guilty. Breaking any of the covenants will mark him as a fugitive though, so I suppose I shouldn’t say that they’re just formalities.
“Regardless,” Lowil smiled again, “they are easy and as long as Kre abides by them, there will be no issues. For instance, the first covenant is usually that the sworn will abide by all laws of our society.”
“That seems proper and easy,” Art agreed.
Lowil continued, “The second is typically that the sworn will not leave a certain area. In our case though, I would propose we modify that to ‘will travel with all haste to the Citadel, whereupon he shall report this court’s opinion to the Citadel authorities and await their judgment.’”
“Agreed,” Art and Braun both said at the same time in a rare moment of consensus.
“As for any additional covenants, I must defer to our Magistrate as those are the most common ones that I know of.” He gestured back to Braun and graciously ceded the floor to his rival.
The weasel nodded and smiled, but before he could speak, Lowil shook his head and interrupted him. “I do apologize, but I did forget one thing. The covenants are sworn in order of precedence. For instance, Kre cannot break any laws even if it means that it would get him to the Citadel at a faster pace. If there is a third covenant to be sworn, Kre could violate it only if it kept him from moving forward towards the Citadel or if it kept him from breaking any laws.”
“Yes, yes, of course,” Braun snapped. “For our third covenant, Kre cannot speak of the details of this case to anyone that is not a government official or affiliated with the Citadel. And four,” he paused for a moment, “Kre wears the symbol of shame for as long as he is bound by the covenants.”
Braun closed his eyes and basked in the angry retorts from the crowd. He didn’t care anymore how the lowly townsfolk felt about him, he knew that soon he would be destined for greater things and he would leave this mud-stained town far behind.
“Hold please,” Art bellowed. It was obvious that he was getting frustrated by the constant arguments “This accomplishes nothing except delaying my dinner.” He got a few laughs from that and the large blacksmith turned to face Kre. “Kre, do you solemnly swear to these covenants?”
Kre looked up into Art’s eyes and shrugged. “I have no problem with the first three, but is the fourth covenant really necessary? It seems like a dirty kick to my dignity rather than anything having to do with justice.”
“It’s critically important,” Braun snickered. “How else are people to know that they cannot trust you and that you are bound by covenants of justice? You cannot pick and choose what you want from the covenants.” Having been able to throw Lowil’s words back at him only made Braun that much happier about how things were turning out.
Closing his eyes, Kre sighed, “I don’t suppose that I really have a choice in this matter, do I?”
The blacksmith put his hand under Kre’s chin and gently coaxed the boy to look up at him. “No lad. Not if you intend to truly see justice done and honor the memory of Ser Terync Sandiscoot. If you arrive to the Citadel in chains, looking like a criminal, they’ll surely treat you like one while you give your testimony. If you show up of your own free will, they’ll be more likely to hear you out and trust your words.”
“For Ser Terync then,” Kre whispered. “He always used to say that pride was like greenberry leaves. In moderation and in certain situations, they’re necessary to life as a medicine. Outside of that, they’re poison and should be avoided. Like a lot of things he told me, it didn’t make too much sense at the time, but now I’m starting to understand. In this, I’ll push aside my pride and wear that idiotic symbol, if only to ensure I can see Ser Terync properly honored.”
Art leaned down close and spoke in a whisper meant only for Kre, “No matter what you discover on this journey, those words of Terry’s are as noble as any I could imagine passing from the lips of a Dragon Knight.”
Kre nodded and raised his eyes to stare at Braun. “Then so be it. I swear to abide by your covenants until justice is served.”