The plain and grey stone walls of the cell were depressing to look at and the crying from within made them even more so. For the two guards that had been here since the night before, it was torture. The young woman within had not even spoken a word and even when the interrogator arrived, still nothing. They only had to keep watch for a bit longer before they were rid of this sinner. Soon, the Heirophant would pass judgement upon her and she would be burned under the light of the Holy Sun.
Bells from atop the steeple of the Academy rang out and it seemed as if the world stopped for that moment. The entire village froze as well as everyone around knew what the sound meant. A verdict had been reached. The air was thick with the tension as all of the villagers, almost as one mind, turned and looked to the village square. The square was directly before the gates of the Academy. From the gates came a small procession of people, it was the guards and their criminal. The still lovely wife of Uthgerd Detman, Alice walked forward, her head hung low and her eyes despondent. She seemed lost and alone, yet all were mistaken in the reason as to why. They wrongly believed that she was merely accepting that she was in the wrong, when in reality, she was lost due to her innocence was taken. Her faith had been shaken by two things. The first being the loss of someone she viewed as a great friend, and if the situation were different, maybe more. The second was that the Heirophant did not even bother investigating the so-called crimes and merely gave out a verdict based upon the claims of one man.
They led her to the center of the square, to a pole amidst a bevy of logs. The townsfolk were stunned as they knew she would be burned at the stake for the crime of adultery. Surely, it was a little much, to say the least, but the Hierophant himself had proclaimed the sentence. With a nod from his balcony, his Eminence gave the order silently. She was tied to the stake and the guards surrounded the soon to be bonfire. A lone man in an executioner's hood walked forward, a simple torch in his hand.
"Objection!"
The crowd stopped and from entry of the square stood one man, his long coat swaying gently in the breeze as he posed triumphantly with one finger pointed at the Heirophant. 'I always wanted to do that!'
Kano strode forward toward that circle of guards and only stopped when their spears blocked his way. His head lifted so that his hat no longer hid his face, and the villagers recognized their Gravekeeper's assistant. Murmurs filled the air as rumors began to spread like wildfire.
"Necromancer. It seems that the report of your demise has been exaggerated. Your dark powers will not taint this village any longer." A quiet yet powerful voice emerged from the Hierophant.
"My dear sir, such a title as Necromancer is undeserved as I am still a novice, and I fear your village was tainted long before my arrival."
"Impudence!" roared a man in full plate armour. Without another word, he leaped from the balcony and landed in the courtyard of the Academy with a resounding crash of metal and stone. As if he were made of the same material as his armour, he walked forward without a sign of any injury.
"Ah, good, it seems our resident paladin is here. You can help us unravel the true mystery surrounding this farce!"
The Hierophant's face reddened in anger at the young man's words and even the paladin, Kalsie Huntington stopped short at this man's audacity. "What do you mean, vile wretch?" His voice came out as almost a hiss as he angrily wrenched off his own helmet, revealing his golden locks and stupidly handsome features. Kano had to admit, that the entire Huntington family must have good genes, unless only this man and his cousin Nastalia were simply lucky. Nastalia herself stepped forth from behind Kano and held her hand up to her cousin, signalling him to wait.
"Cousin, please listen. I fear that the Hierophant has been misled."
For a moment, she held her breath as she feared he would draw his blade and cut down the man she had started to have feelings for. Kalsie Huntington was a prideful man, his faith and his lineage were his only guides when it came to his decisions. Then when her cousin nodded slowly with squinting eyes, she let our her relieved sigh. The guards moved aside as she stepped forward and the townsfolk were glued to her every step. "Cousin, did you perform the Rite of truth upon the blacksmith?"
The paladin arched his eyebrow up before a small shake of his head occurred. "Uthgerd has been a pillar of this village for many years, along with his forebearers. Why would we not take him at his word when his wife ran away to live in another man's home. Especially a young sorceror whom happens to have a pretty face."
Giggles swept quietly along with quick hushes from various young women and housewives. Everyone was well aware of the affects of a handsome face upon bored young women. Many of these young women, and not a few housewives among them, cast a glance at the young man in question and all too well knew that they also had at one time or another allowed a quick fantasy to play in their thoughts about hi. Kano himself could not stop from winking at Nastalia as she too cast him a quick furtive glance as if he was already aware of her thoughts. 'Rascal, not now!' she thought to herself. She hurriedly composed her mind before speaking, "Cousin Kalsie, please, use it upon our young grave keeper. Ask him yourself."
The young paladin stood silent, pondering as he glared daggers at the new arrival. Even the formerly despondent Alice began to have light in her eyes once more as she gazed intently, almost reverently at the seeming cause of all of this commotion. "Fine." His voice carried finality as his eyes glowed with a holy light.
"Cretin, what is your purpose here?" The paladin was obviously speaking to Kano as it was plain he did not like the looks of the dark powered hero of the day.
"To save her life."
"What is your relationship with the accused woman?"
"Friend? Savior? I'm not sure myself, you would have to ask her for clarification on that, honestly speaking. I have only known her after saving her from a grisly end." Three women had similar views on how they felt about these words, though with completely different thoughts on why. One secretly rejoiced and could not stop another sigh of relief, albeit a small one, from escaping her freckled face. Another felt conflicted at her own sense of relief that emanated from her heart and was trying to process why she felt such. The third was conflicted as well, but only due to the disappointment she felt that it was not more, even though she too felt that it was too much to be harboring such feelings as a married woman.
"What do you mean by savior?"
"She attempted to drown herself, just like her sister did. I happened to be heading home at that time and happened to witness her attempt. When I dove in to stop her, she was under assault by a rogue dead, a drowned one I fear has made its home there."
The village became full of whispers and even a few guards paled as they had never once imagined such a creature could be living near them. Kalsie narrowed his eyes and spat out, "If such a vile thing is indeed there, then you put it there!"
"Nope, again I am merely a novice. To create such a monster would require a lot of expertise or a lot of despair. It was probably drawn to that spot after many people drowned in one location. That means that quite a number of lives were lost there to the same thing, drowning. Except, it could never be accidental, no, for an undead to be created requires a lot of dark energy. Only from suicide or murder could such energy be created and it would not be from just a few."
The villager waited with bated breath as they stared hard at Kalsie, waiting for his response. The young paladin's face was made of stone, not even a single emotion could be drawn from it. Finally, after an eternity, he turned to the Hierophant and gave him a small quizzical look, before returning his gaze to Kano, though he no longer looked at him with contempt, only arrogance.
"Final question. Have you been with this woman?"
All eyes were upon Kano and a few young women were blushing profusely as many people were imagining the beautiful Alice and the handsome assistant in the throes of passion. Among them, two women were also holding their breath while trying not to imagine such an event. They all watched as a simple smirk appeared on the young man's face.
"Contrary to popular belief, I am not that kind of man. There is a line, I do not cross. So, your answer is no. No I have not been with her, even if we shared the same roof for many nights, I have not seen her without clothing, nor have I shared her bed as a lover."
The crowd began whispering again as Kalsie himself looked stunned, his usual stony demeanor was completely broken with his shocked face. "You... are not lying..." The sharp intake of breath from many made the air sound as if thousands of snakes were about. Many men were amazed at this young man's restraint, for many amongst themselves doubted they would be able to contain their desires for so many days. Alice was indeed a beauty and a lot of the village youths around her age had been disheartened when they heard that Uthgerd, the blacksmith, declared his intent to marry her.
All eyes returned to the Hierophant whose face remained as impassive as ever, yet a fiery fury still burned beneath his steely gaze. After a few breaths he raised his hand and waved the guards away, "Release them. All charges are dropped. Let her return home."
Kano maintained his own level gaze at the Heirophant even as he walked up to untie Alice. The second her bindings fell away, she leaped into his arms, sobbing uncontrollably. Yet, his gaze still matched the Heirophant's. The few magic users amongst the crowd could feel the energy in the air and even those whom were uninitiated knew that something was up. "Your grace, what about the dissolution of her marriage? Surely a woman would not attempt to kill herself to escape a man unless it was indeed dire."
Sparks flew where the two men's gazes met. For an instant, the Heirophant's eyes narrowed, but quickly returned to normal. He gave a nod to Kalsie whom turned to the village blacksmith, Uthgerd.
"Is what this woman said true?"
The heavy handed man turned pale as he noticed that the Paladin's eyes were still glowing with holy light. He knew he could not lie as he glanced back and forth, trying to find a way out. This woman had dared to turn against him, and this damn grave keeper had helped her! No one offered him any assistance, as they too wanted to know the answer. Finally, he hung his head and nodded once. Stunned whispers erupted but surprisingly, no one was surprised among the men. Many had heard of the rumors as only a select few had actually been privy to the truth and they were not living amongst the villagers.
"Very well... under the gaze of our most benevolent lord, let this marriage be dissolved."
There were no cheers or applause at this news, merely some nods of ascent. As Alice continued to cling to Kano as if he were the only lifeline in her world, he could only grin sheepishly as he held her while glancing at two other women nearby. Nastalia did her best to ignore the scene while Li na turned away and made her way back inside the Academy. "Come Alice, let's go find your parents."
She shook her head against his chest and clung to him even tighter. "No, they would only seek to sell me again. I have no home other than with you. No man has ever stood up for me as you have. Even if you never see me in such a way as I want, I will stay by your side always."
Kano was stunned as he listened to the words that emerged from her heart. It surprised him, but at the same time he half expected it. He had rescued her, from a terrible fate twice over. He smiled gently as he started to guide her away, away from this place with bad memories and terrible experiences. Away toward a new beginning and home. For a short moment, he considered taking Uthgerd to task as he watched the wretched man slink away, but after a look from Nastalia, he knew it was already enough to have rescued Alice. "Well then, let's go home then."