☆ The Trial of the Rathmores

[faileas]

The trial of the Rathmores and their associates takes place on a cold, drizzly morning at the very beginning of Feoveuer, in a large audience chamber of Parliament, broadcast to the Watches by Sowilo (and Theodore, when Sowilo is speaking) for any who cannot or do not wish to attend personally. The trial itself is public; any who show up are allowed in, and any who were hurt by the Rathmores are invited, though not forced, to testify against them during the proceedings. Mhairi is present, as Speaker for the Coven, as are all those members who hold a Judicial Seat, and many of the Civic Seats, along with the Witches and Guards present at the raid. Mhairi and one Lady Denholm are outspoken about the Rathmores' crimes all throughout, prompting more hard-hitting questions when things grow too silent or sympathetic toward the wealthy elitists.

The proceedings last for several hours. During that time, the Judges hear testimony from Mirrorbound, those who were kidnapped and those who were affected by the fires and losing loved ones alike, refugees who were kidnapped or had their homes damaged during the fires, the aristocrats who were in on the kidnapping, and the remaining Rathmores themselves. Notably, two of the twenty-two Rathmores died when the Mirrorbound staged their escape, so are not present, and a few others are in poor shape, one even wearing a gauze eye patch, tended to by nurses from the hospital. This fact causes just a few furtive, disapproving, even fearful looks from a small section of citizens in the viewing boxes, and there are whispers during recesses coming from this group - you never know what they'll be like when they come out of those mirrors, some are nice enough, quite civilized people, but some are worse than animals, aren't they?...

Still, these mutterings have no effect on the progression of the trial. The presiding Judge Colton has a frown on his face throughout, though he listens to every word on both sides, stone faced and silent, except to ask probing questions. The truth comes out.

The 21 aristocrats who participated in the kidnapping all plead their cases that they did not know what was going to happen. They all thought the Rathmores had devised a spell to send the Mirrorbound home, but that the Coven wouldn't allow it. This is determined to be false. There was never a spell. Nerissa Bell testifies that no magic has been found to date that allows them to send Mirrorbound back through their mirrors, and this lie is determined to have been a ruse to encourage cooperation. The Judge sentences all who fought against arrest to hefty prison sentences with hard labor, up to 20 years, for crimes including kidnapping, arson, imprisonment, destruction of property, and resisting arrest. Those who gave themselves up to the Guard and the assault team are granted a bit of leniency - an average of 7 years of prison and hard labor. All are subject to fines as well.

Each aristocrat is taken away in chains after their individual sentencing, heads hung, miserable.

The Rathmores are dealt with last, in ascending order of perceived involvement, from the flunkies up to the head. Each is convicted of all counts brought against them, though the Judge waits on sentencing. For now.

Thomas Rathmore, long-term member of Parliament, approaches the podium last, stil cuffed. His speech is long, his words smooth poison. He talks about the Mirrorbound being obvious dangers to Aefenglom, invaders in their city who will turn it upside down the way they did Dorchacht. He points to nephews and nieces with shattered limbs in casts and splints, and asks, "These strangers are not held accountable. They are not subject to our laws. Who will pay for this? For the deaths of the children of my brother, Rodolphus?"

As an angry uproar begins in the stands, Judge Colton slams down his gavel and answers, "You will, Mr. Rathmore. And may all forgive that I ever called you colleague.

The atrocities you committed are not representative of the heart of Aefenglom and will not be condoned or brushed aside. You have not proven that the city is unsafe because of the Mirrorbound - only that it is unsafe as long as your extremist family remains here, using your influence to ruin everyone around you.

We have failed visitors to our city, blinded to the pervasive creep of corruption into our systems. The Rathmore family has been like the Cwyld upon us, infecting Aefenglom from the inside. The only thing to be done with infection is to cut it out.

To those who were hurt, you have Aefenglom's sincerest apology, and those who helped to right the wrongs done here, our sincerest thanks."

The court falls silent for the final sentences. All twenty Rathmores on trial today will meet the guillotine tomorrow. It will be a closed session, not open to the general public, but Mirrorbound will be allowed in to witness, in an effort to repair a broken trust and to reassure that no trick will be pulled to allow the family's escape. On top, the Rathmore family estate will be repossessed by the city, along with all their assets. The money will be used to repair areas damaged by the fires, especially in the Haven and the refugee housing, and to pay out a decent sum to kidnapping victims, about 4 months of an average salary, as a gesture of goodwill and to help cover costs of living while they recover from the ordeal.

As the trial concludes, Lady Denholm spots Sowilo filming with a Watch, and approaches to deliver a sincere apology to the Mirrorbound for all that they've had to suffer.

"It is clear that we in Parliament do not understand the needs or the struggles that you and yours face daily in our city. Many of us tend to be secluded by our privilege, in a way, but that is no excuse. With the Rathmores sentenced, that leaves three seats open in Parliament." She gets a certain glint in her eyes as she regards the camera, and those who have gathered in person to watch the trial. "Perhaps it is time the Mirrorbound come to the table and represent themselves. If you have an interest or a knack for politics, send a letter to my office, and we'll start the process."

This is just a summary to give everyone an idea of what happened. Feel free to use this post to mingle with each other and discuss in person or over the network, but none of the NPCs will be replying. The guillotining will be open to Mirrorbound to attend but we will not be posting anything separately for it.

In lieu of IC letters, if your character would be interested in working with Parliament as a sitting member, EDIT: comment to this dedicated Council post! Don't let numbers stop you - we've got something in mind for if more than three characters would be interested that will let everyone get a chance. This is a way for PCs to make their needs known through representatives outside the Coven and advocate for themselves on a higher level.

Comments

QUESTIONS

[moustre]

[fulgency]

Are the repair efforts going to be something that's going to be semi-organized similar to when the Dorchacht refugees were brought to Aefenglom (given the scope of the damage), or is it going to be more each individual occupant is going to be responsible for their property? Asking for a friend who happens to like building things.

post trial ; anonymous text

[escardos]

That was definitely a trial. Any opinions?

[beariot]

I didn't watch, but I heard the results.

I'm not sure how to feel.

[fieryimpulse]

Sure. Yeah.
They're getting what they deserved.

Given what they did, and what they would have continued to do, the consequences match the crime.

[fiddlestick]

Honestly, I think I'm surprised they got as harsh of sentences as they did.

Not that I don't think they deserve what they got, but... [Rich nobles get away with a lot of crap ok]

anonymous text as well

[sealeted]

Some. What about you?

[fabrications]

It was remarkably similar to the trials I'm familiar with, subject matter aside.

I'm surprised the involved aristocracy was given such strict treatment.

[omnicrafter]

It was the only outcome I could have foreseen, personally. If naught else, it should scare other detractors into silence.

Even so, I have to wonder if death was too good a punishment... yet they were too dangerous to keep alive, either.

anonymous too - for all the good that does him

[spaghettimonster]

I DIDN'T KNOW TRIALS WERE SO... DECISIVE.

IT'S ALMOST FUNNY.
THEY WORKED SO HARD AT BEING THE WORST POSSIBLE PEOPLE.
AT HATING US, AND HURTING US...
BUT IT'S THEIR NEIGHBORS STOPPING THEM FOR GOOD.
BET THEY DIDN'T SEE THAT COMING.

un: leslie

[foundfamilies]

They do not think that what they did was wrong. People like that never understand that they can be wrong.

Un: lady maria, and she doesn't care who knows it

[whomthebelltolls]

It was a far better outcome than I expected. It doesn't completely endear the city to me, still, but I was expecting something lesser the family could simply buy their way out of in short time.

action

[futhark]

[ Caster is attending the trial and adding his testimony to the many voices present. It's subtle but he does keep making an eye-contact with the half-blinded Rathmore. Persistently, even if his expression barely changes. (It was self-defense after all)

He sits the rest of the trial quietly and will linger afterward to make contact with fellow Mirrorbounds if it's clear it would be welcome.

Next day, he will attend executions, but there is no— no satisfaction, no joy on justice delivered, there is really nothing, or rather nothing showing outwardly. It's just seeing it through the end ]

And so the chapter ends.

[escardos]

[ flat is there, of course. if not, he wouldn't have made that anonymous post on the network. he himself watches with a look that is not so much dull as it is...

slight disappointed.

towards who, though?

he glances at the man that looks so much like his bonded, raising an eyebrow. ]

I wonder if people would call that a downer ending.

Action

[kuroi_taiyo]

[ There was no way that Judar was going to miss the trial. Even if he had to be carried in, or they had wheelchairs available to keep him in place, the faun was ready to help give these people their due.

Now, he'll admit that he heard many of the accomplice aristocrats yelling about the situation not being the plan, and how they expected all of the Mirrorbound to be sent home with a hidden and obscured spell. However, it didn't change that some did their best to help the Rathmores at the time of escape, or when the raids occurred.

There was no way he was going to let the Rathmores get away with garnering sympathy for the accumulated damages in their family. Not when Judar had to be brought in with help, given the broken and bandaged state of his legs and hands. He'll even hit on the emotional and further personal point of the injuries by reminding people how he played music in both Aefenglom and Dorchacht for his main wages.

Not that he came in to simply counter the attempts at sympathy. Judar had quite a list of things they were doing to the prisoners, not just himself. At how much of it was to harvest as much as they could from every person that was taken. That they were planning on getting special collars from a contact in Dorchacht so everyone that was taken could be sold off for a final large sum. Then, when their aims went from greed to just pure cruelty, about the experiments and atrocities they put upon the kidnapped, and pitted against one another. Spells and concoctions to induce starvation past what was already being done and the dangerous feral natures that monsters could be pushed into. Sometimes both at once. Monster on monster, monster on witch, it didn't matter. It's a list, with as many names of the guilty as possible, said with far too much clarity and fact that it was hard to argue him being emotional and conflating things further.

Judar's able to stay around for a little after the trial, especially while waiting for the Rathmore's sentencing. This is the only day he's been out of the hospital so far, and his recovery wasn't finished. However upon finding out... ]

Tch. So much for pulling them into despair and humility before all that. Guess that was too much to hope for with that damn festival thing going on.

[ It's said with bitterness, but understanding of the reasons. Understanding didn't take away the rage that the faun was keeping. It'd take a little more incentive to have him willing to go out for a second day in a row, with how much it took to go out in the first place ]

[sealeted]

[Hakuno has seen cruelty before. She has seen, firsthand, the kind of charnel house that twisted nobility can whip up for sport. She has seen it, but it doesn't make sitting there, listening to the laundry list of crimes and heinous deeds go on and on, any easier. Each testimony is like a nail in her feet, rooting her to her chair. Each witness hammers it home, more and more as the trial unfolds—

She missed this by a hairsbreadth. If she had come in even a month sooner than she did, this might have been her, with torn skin and broken bones and even more bitter, chilling memories than she came in with.

But her expression is still. Even when the sentence is called out, she merely jots it down in a notebook filled with bulletpoints as cold and cruel as a barrage of bullets, when read together.]

...well, they probably also didn't want to sacrifice the moral high ground of 'torture is bad,' among other things.

[And swift, decisive ends are... cleaner, from an organizational perspective.

It puts a sour taste in her mouth, and makes her quiet voice even quieter.]

action

[clickclickbang]

[Prompto wasn't here for this bullshit, but they got Caren.

And, well, he wants to see it. Get as much information on it as possible. Figure out just what the hell happened.

He doesn't like what he sees, obviously, and the entire time the trial is underway he's hugging himself or twisting the wristband that covers his barcode. It's...not the same as what happened to him, but it still brings up some nasty memories.

But he needed to see what happened.

He sort of just hovers outside the courthouse when it's all said and done, not really sure what to do.]

That was...yikes.

Action!

[showsnopiety]

[Caren went up, as she promised she would. She told everything. Everything she had heard-from the bribes to the torture to the whispers in the halls. She told everything she could. She showed them her wings, feathers still missing as evidence she wasn't lying.

And she watched. She watched and listened without a word after, watching and listening to the to the outcries, the attempts to make them into something they weren't, the sentencing. The bribe for Parliament seats.

It all felt...so empty, somehow.

Once it was done, Caren shakily arose, and started walking away, silent. She didn't know how she felt about all of this.]

[cardtrick]

[ When Trucy hears the word trial, she feels like she has to go. After all, she's a defence attorney's assistant! Or, well, that's one of her jobs.

But she doesn't expect it to be this hard. Not because of anything she remembers — no, there's nothing about this trial which reminds her of how she met her now-daddy — but simply because of everything people are saying.

Everything people aren't saying. Those little twitches in their body language, their nervous habits which she only wishes she didn't see, for once not indicating lies.

Just... pain.

So much pain.

She wipes her tears in secret and fails to brighten up as she leaves the seating, immediately searching out a place to get a drink as the break begins. Water to wash away the things she's just heard.

(Of course that won't help. She's not that silly.)

And it's then that Trucy spots a face she knows, if only because she was just on the stand a moment ago, speaking about the terrible things which happened to her.

Trucy is somber as she approaches, fingers curled into her cape tightly. ]

... Do you want a drink?

[ She has half of hers left, but maybe she can get this woman a fresh one. ]

action - post-execution

[freeing]

[ Daenerys is still somewhat weak, somewhat in the process of healing both mentally and physically. She comes with Drogon proudly perched upon her shoulder, noticeably covered instead of once showing her pale flesh. Long sleeves, pants, gloves – she keeps a cloak pulled down but it was very different than the gowns she had worn prior.

This was no occasion to be regal, no occasion to allow anyone to see the scars on her body. For the most part... Dany sits quietly, watching over the display put forth. There is no sense of satisfaction – for a flickering moment, she would have pity for their family but they knew the consequences of their choices. If she was the one to burn them all to a crisp, would the judgment feel more satisfactory?

It was good enough.

Thud after thud would barely twitch her brow – the impact of the blade to their necks and severing the evil minds behind their plan... Daenerys stays until the very end before quietly gathering herself and leaving.

She can be caught for idle talk during or after! ]

[hippocarnival]

[Yuya doesn't go to the execution.

Doesn't want to hear about it, so he isn't too close to where it's being held. Just close enough, because now that it's all finally over there's some people he still wants to seek out, comfort or find comfort in. He remembers seeing flashes of Dany, particularly during their escape, so he knows she was among the captured.

He moves to fall in step with her when she leaves the execution, not sparing a glance back.] Hey. How's recovering?

action

[prayerwheel]

[ Azura attends, and she does give her testimony, which she remains entirely flat-faced through despite the things she has to recount, same as everyone else.

It's the execution that rattles her more. She debates not going, but most people seem to be, and...maybe this might give her some kind of satisfaction? It doesn't, though, it just makes her stomach twist and an ache go through her broken arm despite the painkillers she'd taken. ]

...I don't understand.

[ said very, very quietly, only so as the people nearest her can hear ]

Would it not be more fitting to put them in prison for the rest of their lives? Does the blood they shed have to be met with more blood?

[ She knows saying that might make some people think she's soft, but. This all feels so off. Like a really hollow victory. ]

[escardos]

Isn't there a phrase for this?

[ flat looks at azura with a somewhat confused look. his gaze is distant, like the punishment had knocked him off center. ]

An eye for an eye...makes the world blind?

Action-post trial

[beautyisthebeast]

[The trial is the first time Marianne has ventured out of the house since her abduction. She does give testimony, halting and nervous, that she doesn't think adds very much.

Not long after the trial she can be found sitting on a bench, resting her broken ankle. And contemplating the results.]

Execution...

[She's honestly not sure how she feels about that.]

[bergamotrose]

...They won't ever be able to harm anyone again,

[Lorenz intoned quietly, noting Marianne's discomfort with the whole affair. He would have attended the trial anyway for his own peace of mind, but Marianne's decision to testify had given him incentive to make his presence known. The delicate lilies on his antlers were worn in support of Marianne-- anything to help give her a semblence of comfort in the grim atmosphere of the audience chamber.

There wasn't anything they could do to change the past, but they could ensure a safer future.]

Post Execution | Action

[mirshikar]

[ After the execution, a lone bonfire burns, its flames contained in the same runic circles as the festival fires of Faiolleach. Perhaps you heard it from Asura himself at the trial, that this roaring pit of flame is ceremonial. Embers to Ashes, he called it, a rite where something old is cast away, into the fire, and as the flames feed upon the past, new words are spoken into the present, ushering in the future with a promise. And you, as a Mirrorbound comrade, are invited to participate with open arms.

Asura, donning his Summer colors, his Freehold's golden emblem displayed on the lapel of his coat, can be found:

I) Setting heavy parchment and ink-pens aside for those who do not have items to burn, and wish to write words of unspoken sentiment to cast away into the flame instead.
II) Placing a pair of manacles into the heart of the fire, his arms unburnt by the flame upon his withdraw.
III) Speaking the words "I, Asura, Imperator of all Courts and sovereign of Summer, will allow for no one to forget this day, when the hammer of justice fell upon those who would return us all to bondage."
IV) Collecting the ash from the blaze in small vial after the fire has burned out. ]

[getting_better]

[He was watching nearby, lost in his thoughts, after the events of the day. The execution left him feeling as he expected, slightly frustrated and tired. He wasn't any closer to understanding the whole situation beyond what was mentioned and he was beginning to think there was nothing past it, but he knows that can't be the case.

He watching with idle curiosity as Asura proceeded with his ritual and eventually found himself coming closer as it neared it's end. "Hammer of Justice", huh? He wondered about that.]

May I ask what your ritual is meant to symbolize?

[He asked as Asura collected the ash.]

action

[fordola]

[ Fordola had not spoken when she had first been freed.

But when she was called up to testify, the words came flowing out. Though she was a terrifying chimera, a griffin, she could finally speak about what happened to her. Cold, clinically, as if she was giving a report to her surperiors. (She explained that she was a commander, as she gave her name.)

Forcing her to lay eggs. Cutting into her, keeping her injured. She didn't spare any detail - well, except for how she felt. That wasn't needed.

But she did not linger after giving her testimony. She moved outside, she moved to nest just outside. Oh, how she hid her pain under the mask of a soldier. She was so tired. She'd moved to watching it on the watch, for she didn't want to be there. In case she lashed out.

And she still didn't believe in the convictions of the people. She truly didn't. ]

...pah. Don't believe their words. Any of them.

ota!

[enkidoh]

Testimony
Do I have to testify because I have killed the smaller Rathmore man?

[Okay, very well. Enkidu holds their hands up and starts to tell in a soft voice, the look on their face completely neutral.]

A couple of fingers have been lost. [After that they hook a finger around the sleeve of the sweater they are wearing and pulls it down, revealing a bandage.] There has been an attempt to cut off my hand as well. As you can see my hand still remains. [To emphasize this they wiggle the three fingers left attached to said hand.] See? It is still there… Normally it isn’t difficult for me to overcome injuries like this but my clay doesn’t regenerate here. Thus it has been quite a painful ordeal. I wonder if this means that my body has turned more human. Made of flesh.

[Then they point at one of the taller Rathmores.]

He beat Cu for not responding to what they did to me. [The others all…look the same.] Hmm…there has been the matter with the cage. Eventually they locked me up in a cage that was far too small for me. It did not fit and it hurt. But I am sure that it has been part of their plan. To make me experience such discomfort.

[Then they hum for an awfully long time, their feet tapping on the ground. Being here makes them restless and uncomfortable.]

Ah…I rather not serve the Coven anymore. I also do not want to be a witch. Will you make note of that?

[After that Enkidu moves to stand so they can return to their seat in the back of the court room. That is where they left their coat and some food. And they’re hungry.]

[OOC: feel free to steal their food, snacc on their food, ask them about their statement. Shoot them a message.]

[showsnopiety]

[Caren doesn't say anything. Instead she silently presents Enkidu with one of the festival cakes, still cooling, near their selected seat.]

post-execution, action - ota!

[plasticasshole]

[Connor had spent the whole time staring dully as the Rathmores were executed. He doesn't feel satisfied that they got what was coming to them, he just feels... empty. He's not happy, or sad, or even angry. Though he doesn't look away as each Rathmore meets the guillotine, he doesn't look like it's doing much for him, either.

Afterwards, he can be found milling around outside, looking disheartened. It's over now, but the hard part will be trying to move on. He's been gradually losing faith in himself as a fighter, as someone who can protect himself or the people he cares about. Maybe he could use a distraction?]

[fuckingpassw0rd]

[Hank didn't know how he felt about the entire thing. He'd been in the system for so many years. This was one of those cases that seemed to be airtight, but the speed of it was, well an example of a system that seemed to be working, but also much faster than he had expected. That was good - the shitheads were clearly guilty.

Still, he never was a fan advocating the death penalty. Let them rot in jail or attempt to help the younger ones no doubt influenced by the poison that was the older members. When he comes, it's mostly because Connor was going to, and hell if Hank was going to let him do this alone.

He knew, perhaps from his own experience, that you don't get any satisfaction from it. He can't watch it, himself, looking away when it happens.

When they go back outside again, he looks up at the sky, taking in the clear air before speaking;]

Hey uh...know we already talked about it before, bit you know I'm there.

Post-Execution

[whomthebelltolls]

[She had watched the whole proceeding - not on the Watch, she had been there. To watch the trial, the sentencing. She had girded herself - completely ready for some kind of milquetoast sentence. Some light jail, a stain on their reputation - give them five years, and they'd buy their way out. Give them five years, and they'd talk Parliament into reducing their sentence. They didn't mean it, honest! Then, the cycle would renew again; or it would, unless Maria got to them all first.

And then the sentence comes down, and Maria's lips press first into a thin line, like she doesn't quite approve of it. Of course, her first thought is that it should be the victims to pull the lever, to behead them, to cut their throats, but then she recognizes that for nothing more than a revenge fantasy borne out of her own anger from the whole situation - from feeling her Bond sever, from seeing Alex beaten and abused (and feeling the pain and fear in glimpse and snatches over the event), from seeing what had become of the rest of the Mirrorbound. No, this will be satisfactory; anything more than that is simply self-serving.

So she goes to the execution, as well. She wants to see it. Wants to watch it happen. Wants to hear the thud of the guillotine as it falls and the splatter of blood as it all collects and cascades down the steps of the platform. Watch the pool of it grow and grow as a whole family line is wiped out.

She doesn't stand at the front - she stands head and shoulders above the majority of the Mirrorbound, and doesn't want to block the view, but she does find a place a couple rows back and slightly off to the side, where she can keep a good vantage point.

Maria's look is as icy as usual, impassionate, but observant. No illusion magic here, she wants to know that this is all of them, and that they are going to be gone after this. Then, as the first kneels, her lips turn upward a little in a look of grim satisfaction.

Oh yes, Maria is pleased. She would prefer it be the victims doing the executions, she would prefer it be herself, but so long as this "justice" is served swiftly and efficiently, she won't complain.

She stands out, above the crowd, and she draws attention - some of the Rathmores she and Kaede arrested are there, and they recognize her, a glimmer among the dull fear and resignation of their fate. Still others simply know her from around town, or think she's some kind of a Monster, or just know she must be a Mirrorbound, considering the crowd. And every one that meets her eyes, she mouths the same response to -] Beasts must be Hunted.

[Sick animals must be put down, and what are humans but the most dangerous Beasts of all? That is the first real lesson a Hunter learns.

Once it's over, she lingers long enough to burn the memory of all the blood into her mind, to slake her thirst for vengeance one last time, then turns to leave with a satisfied glimmer in her eyes, indeed. The city guard are still worthless, Aefenglom as a whole is still too soft for its own good, but at least she knows they can occasionally do something right.] I need a drink. [Time for a celebration! Or just to drown the memories of this event with booze; she won't judge anyone who didn't have the stomach for it. That is one of those concessions she's made with the worlds the other Mirrorbound come from.]

[getting_better]

["Beasts must be hunted" was an interesting thing to say at a time like this. Was the crime so bad that they were no longer human? Or was it because they were human that they should be called beasts? He scoffed. As amusing as the thought exercise would be, it doesn't really get him closer to his objective but he thinks he has an idea who can.

He watched the executions take place feeling only the faintest amount of pity for the convicted, more of a general courtesy than anything real, as he waited for his opportunity to approach the mysterious woman. His moment came when the crowd started to thin and weaved his way through just in time to hear her desire for drink.]

Mind if I join you?

[He says coming up to her side, a hand resting on his katana and a smile on his face.]

After that spectacle, I'm in the mood for a drink myself but I don't know any good places here being new and all. You look like you know your way around these parts, so I'm hoping you could point me in the right direction. If you don't mind that is.

[wordsinthesoul]

[… There are things that need to be seen through to the end. This is one of them, in Thancred's opinion. He's done what he feels he could- documented what he was able to see and brought that back. As far as presentation goes- he's been in two minds, but he does his best to look presentable and what he is, a flash of red in his pocket, green at his wrist. His ears twitch as the mutterings reach him, but- that's why, after all. Not everyone is bound to agree to everything here- but it is up to them to prove that they can be of aid. Whatever they may have come to be, in this world- they are still capable of their own choices.

He's tense before the verdict is declared, wings tucked close- but punishment is delivered. It gives him enough confidence that this is something Aefenglom is willing to take a stand on- that is, at least, unlikely to be bought.

He does attend the executions. That's important, too. To witness- because there are, always, consequences…

Is it what should be? He mulls it over, turning the question over as he finds himself a drink and a seat in one of the city's pubs- but it's hard not to see that the Rathmores could still have been a rallying point. It puts a defined edge to what will be tolerated- what acts, and those that perform them…

And then… there's the offer, to represent themselves. And so, if he catches a chance, he'll ask.]

What did you think of that offer?