The Book of Terrus: Rising Tides, Falling Stars

Chapter 12 - The Court of the Seven Clans

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"I killed Kirban G'Hesh."

Tarun didn't know what he had been expecting, after publicly admitting to the murder of an eimir. To be executed by The Guardians on the spot? For Lord Kazimir to vault across the table and attempt to avenge his father's death? To be cursed by every voice in The Weeping Keep's feasting hall simultaneously? Some combination of all three at once?

What he had not been expecting was the silence. Ominous and deafening, it stretched on and on, making Tarun wish The Guardians would just get on with it and kill him. Every pair of eyes in the hall were fixed upon Tarun, positively agog with disbelief. None moreso than Derrian, whose life Tarun had just saved with his confession. The lowlander's mouth hung open, jaw working soundlessly yet producing no voice.

"Murderer!"

Kazimir G'Hesh's bellow of outrage rang off every surface in the hall, breaking the spell which until then had kept the crowd silent. Before the echo even had a chance to fade, there were hundreds of clansfolk all shouting at and around Tarun. All seven of the eimirs were on their feet, as were their attendants. Bronze-plated movement could be seen from every corner of the hall; The Guardians were on the move.

Borse's heavy hand clamped down with bruising force on Tarun's arm.

"Run!" he shouted, shoving Tarun backward through the crowd even as Erland and Garrit made to flee with him.

Whatever else might come to pass, Tarun had no intention of fleeing. By right of the Hilmarhlǫkk and by his own sheer will, he was Chieftain of the Mountainfolk. His reasons for forcing the men of Trosk to remain in Derbesh were his own, but that did not change the fact that he now held hundreds of lives in his hands...including Derrian's. If he ran, even if he somehow managed to escape, who knew what kind of vengeance Clan G'Hesh might attempt to mete out on the remaining mountainfolk? There really was no other choice, not anymore.

"No," he said, and refused to budge.

"Tarun, they'll kill you!" cried Garrit.

It was too late though; The Guardians were already closing in on all sides. The clansfolk around them were only too happy to clear the way, skittering aside while watching with horror-laden anticipation.

To Tarun's surprise, The Guardians did not kill him immediately. Although they rested their hands on the pommels of their falchions, their only move was to fence Tarun in, effectively separating him from Borse and the others, until he stood alone. Then they snapped to attention, their shields brought to bear, creating an armoured channel through the crowd. It led straight to the center of the hall, and the raised dias before the seven judges.

"Chieftain Tarun the Heartless of the Mountainfolk," said Lord Rhadu gravely. "Step forward."

Defiant in the face of what was probably going to be his fatal trial, Tarun followed the pathway presented by The Guardians into the ring of tables. He could hear Borse snarling and struggling like a caged bear beyond the blades of The Guardians, and Garrit trying to argue in his defense, but there was nothing that either his cousin or Trosk's former tanner could do. Tarun put everything except the eimirs out of his mind. It was they who would determine his fate now.

For what was probably the first time in his excruciatingly vocal life, even Derrian didn't seem to know what to say. He stepped down out of the way as Tarun approached the wooden dias, making room for the real murderer of Kirban G'Hesh. When he tried to leave the ring at the center of the hall though, The Guardians were quick to block the way. So, it seemed that Derrian was not entirely cleared of blame yet. Bearing that in mind, Tarun waited without speaking until he was addressed again by Lord Rhadu.