The Emeralds

XV

This evening promised to be long and hard for the rebel leader. In the hideout, everyone had been talking to each other since early morning only about the court, whose hour was just striking. It seemed to Rainer that for the majority of the rebel community the "Tri-court" was just a formality to be completed so that Colin could be sentenced to death by torture in good conscience. It is known that Rainer, unable to allow this, had been thinking for days about a strategy to defend the boy. He had been thinking of questions to ask both the wounded Noa, the accused Colin and Liv, who was the only one with Colin at the time of the crime. However, he knew that during the trial, anyone who came at him would be able to ask any questions to determine what really happened.

For Wolf, the selection of judges was also stressful. According to the law, any person who was not directly connected to the crime could become one of the two jurors. Rainer took advantage of this opportunity, and shortly before the trial began, he went to the main table, where there was a large purse filled with stones. Despite his hopes, Rainer was unable to draw the red stone that would make him a judge. Instead, he received a white stone, which meant that the wolf would not be given any special position, and would have the same influence on the trial as the rest of the people who had drawn the same colored item.

Of course, Agape did not have to draw lots. She was a judge by the very fact of holding a religious office. Nor did she have much choice, for the presence of a druid or seer was required during the "Tri-court". If the rebels didn't have either of those two people in their lair, then the "Tri-court" wouldn't even be allowed to take place.

So for an hour Rainer nervously watched as more people drew stones. One of the wolf's companions, Olaf, who was competing to be the judge, luckily for Rainer, also drew a white pebble. The black fox's sister, Noa, also tried to pick up a red pebble, but she too failed. However, this did not put the man at ease. There was a long queue of other people who wanted Colin to die for the sins committed by his cruel father.

The first person to draw the red stone, surprisingly, was Liv's father. This caused the rebel leader to have to hold back the urge to wag his tail in a fit of excitement, lest people see that he cared so much about the boy's life. Rainer knew that Liv's father, Per, would try to vote to spare Colin's life if the arguments in his case were compelling enough. Not because he wanted to help Rainer just because he didn't want his daughter to be labeled a liar. He certainly did not want his daughter to be reproached for the rest of her life for having confederated with an enemy and murderer, for having defended him. For Rainer, however, the motives for which Per could vote in Colin's favor were not important. What was important was the very fact that he was very willing to do so.

The next person who managed to grab the red stone was one of the warriors at Rainer's side, Olivia. The wolf knew the woman quite well, as did most of the people who fought alongside him. Although Olivia did not come across as a blind believer in the gods, she did not seem to be the most comfortable judge of Colin. Olivia's family had joined Rainer's rebellion about a year ago after Jarl Magnar had seized much of these farmers' winter supplies. As a result of the famine, her two daughters, parents, in-laws, and brother-in-law and their offspring did not live to see the spring. Unfortunately, just as Olivia seemed to have mourned her loved ones who had died, a deception by Magnar about two weeks ago resulted in the loss of her husband during a battle at the walls of Jarl Knut's settlement. Now her only family member was her minor son, who could not be of any support to her. So what could a widow who has lost everything in the world possibly want? Revenge. Nothing more.

So Rainer had to be very careful about what he said during the trial. He knew that Olivia was not an envious woman...yet how could she not desire to avenge the death of her beloved husband and family? After all, Rainer himself had started the rebellion as revenge against Magnar. The difference, however, was that the wolf had no intention of exacting revenge on anyone but Magnar himself. War by the very definition of the word is cruel and brings with it death along with destruction. The man had no choice, however, for he could not kill the Jarl of Magnar alone. Death in battle for the Vikings is one thing. Murder, however, is quite another.