Murder

Rothox walked through the streets of the Trispector disguised as a blonde-haired, green-eyed human. The noon sun shining on the bright market which was fairly busy at this time. Swaths of buyers mingled with the merchants each trying to make out with the better end of the deal. Ahead of him, he saw Julius talking with a random trader. The others were hidden, keeping out of sight in the event something went horribly wrong considering there was a chance someone could recognize them. Rothox approached Julius and the trader.

"Hey, you!" He called out towards the birdman. A few other people turned thinking they had been the receiver of the shout.

Julius stopped talking and looked at the fast-approaching figure. He pretended to panic and opened his wings to flee. Rothox threw one of his enchanted fake daggers which hit the right-wing. Julius pulled the wing in reaction to the pain.

"You owe me money, you piece of shit." Rothox looked around, all eyes were on him. 'Good, he thought, the more witnesses the better.' He threw another dagger at Julius' feet, this time it was a real one. The metal stuck into the volcanic rock a foot from the birdman.

Julius backed up defensively. "I…don't…have your money…I'm sorry." Julius was performing well as a scared debtor.

"Do I look like someone who cares…I want my money now." Rothox threw another dagger, this one hit Julius in the leg. It was another fake but the sound Julius cried out made it seem very real. 'Damn, he is really selling this.' Rothox thought.

"Fuck you," Julius spat clutching his leg. The trader he had been dealing with ducked behind his counter, not wanting to deal with any of this, still peeked up over the edge. The crowd was still fixated on the unfolding events. Some of them began shouting for guards when Julius cried out.

"That's the wrong thing to say…" Rothox pulled out a real dagger and stabbed down into the chest of Julius, stopping a few inches short of any real damage, just deep enough to draw blood.

"What the fuck Rothox," Julius whispered in his ear with very real pain.

"I had to make it look real, don't worry, nothing vital hit, just enough to make you bleed." Rothox pulled the dagger out and let the birdman stumble back and fall to his knees before he fell to the ground dead. It looked very real. Only Rothox saw him mumble a spell before he fell forward. A lady screamed as she saw the body flop to the floor. The dagger already vanished back to the bracers. Rothox went to rummage through Julius' pockets, pretending to steal any money on him. The loud marching and clanging of heavy armor signified the incoming Brand.

"Stop what you are doing!" A stern voice commanded. "And put your hands where I can see them." A nearby Brand had arrived on the scene, he had his sword lowered towards Rothox and his partner behind him leveled a crossbow.

Rothox slowly stopped, raised his hands, and stood up. "He owed me money."

"Tell it to the High Bearer, you just stabbed a man in the middle of the street with a dozen witnesses." The Brand grabbed him by the arm, spun him around, pulled his other arm down, and clasped him in irons. He shoved Rothox to the side to let his partner inspect the body. As he led him away from the scene, stopping for a brief second while the other guard knelt down and felt the pulse of Julius. He shook his head to the guard holding Rothox.

"Well, this just went from assault to a murder, you piece of shit. You are fucked." The guard roughly pushed him forward, marching him through the crowd towards the Hall of Judgment. A few more were making their way to the commotion, slowing when they saw the man in chains.

"What happened here?" One of the arriving Brand asked the arresting guard.

"This man killed another in an argument in the market, taking him to the Hall now."

He glared at the disguised Rothox, "Filth...Where is the body?"

"Through the crowd, my partner is still there but you can send someone to deal with it." The Brand holding Rothox said to one of the others.

One of the new Brand rushed past to find Julius's body already surrounded by a guard and another man. A disguised Harim was at the body claiming to be a friend of the deceased, saying he would take care of him. One of the crowd, a disguised Erigos, offered a cart for them to load the body onto. Harim thanked the guards before going with the Erigos to a secure place so Julius could come out of his spell. The guards allowed them to go since they didn't need the body for evidence as they had the offending inclasps.

Julius woke from his trance a few minutes after they arrived at the abandoned home of Lord Dunlan. From there the four of them waited for nightfall.

The Hall of Judgment was an enormous marble and limestone structure that towers over all the other buildings in the city. It is a monument of power and religion in the Empire. Located in the Holy Ring as all laws in the city and Empire fall under the veil of Omnitheos. The Bearers are the dedicated priests of law and they use the Brand as the police force in the city. Rothox was led by a cluster of Brand into the large open archway into the grand hall. Six large marble pillars hold up the side of the curved ceiling. The walls and ceiling are painted with depictions of Omnitheos and the rulers of Sa'vour. Statues of the past Bearers line the grand hall and there are multiple hallways branching off to different areas of the structure. At the end of the hall behind a ten-foot-tall monolithic marble slab sat the High Bearer. From his elevated position, he appeared daunting and formative. Standing beside the large raised stone desk was the enormous helmeted man known as The Executioner. He is the hand of the High Bearer and as his name suggests he executes prisoners that receive the death penalty. Normally a rare sentence in the past, but under Ottothal he has been busy.

"High Bearer," The guard addressed the judge. "This man has murdered someone in cold blood on the streets of our fair city, in front of dozens of witnesses." The Brand shoved Rothox forward. "We have relieved him of his weapons." He showed the High Bearer a bundle of daggers. They were not aware of the cloak and the bracers due to their nature, appearing as simple clothes, blending in with Rothox's illusion.

The Higher Bearer leaned over to look down from his pedestal, designed to showcase his authority and power and eyed Rothox. High Bearer Welatyko Cicar was a large man, with chubby cheeks and large hands each with its own ring. He had a full head of dark hair with faint rings under his eyes. Lately, he had been busy dealing with long days and late nights because of Ottothal cracking down on all criminal activity. "What is your name?" He asked, his voice full of authority.

"Lars." Rothox used a simple name.

"Lars…these men say you have killed someone on the street, how do you plead?" Judgment here was swift and dealt with immediately if the crime is serious. His patience had been worn down. The High Bearer makes all the decisions on all arrests.

"Guilty," Rothox said. "But he owed me money." He tried to plead his case.

"And you think that gives you the right to take his life?" The High Bearer questioned.

Rothox played along, "No, I didn't mean to kill him. I only meant to scare him. I went into a rage, I don't know what came over me."

"Well unfortunately you did and we have witnesses." He gestured behind Rothox where the Brand had gathered a handful of the people from the crowd. "Because you have confessed we do not need to hear from the witnesses. You shall be sentenced to spend a week in the Ashen Ring before a public execution for your crime. Take him away." The High Bearer commanded the Brand to take him away. Judgment was swift.

'Shit, they aren't taking me to a holding cell, this just got much worse,' Rothox thought. They grabbed him roughly and led him down a side hallway followed by a set of stairs and another hallway. A few more sets of stairs lead quite a distance underneath before stopping in front of a large metal door guarded by two heavily armed guards in black and red armor. Their armor was more jagged with a more menacing appearance as well as a sheathed sword and crossbow on their backs.

The Brand that had arrested him shoved him again. "One week in the Ring, awaiting execution."

"What is his crime?" The right one stepped forward.

"Murder."