Adam Peaks and the Living City

Chapter 31: ... And A Twist

"Adam!" a voice hissed from right behind him, "hey, Adam! Back here!"

He turned around and saw Jake waving at him desperately from the bench situated right behind him. Sitting on either side of him were Naomi and Camilla, both looking incredibly worried.

"How ... how long was I ..." he cleared his throat, not realising just how dry it was.

"Five days," Camilla snarled, "and they refused to allow us to see you, as you're apparently a vicious murderer," she rolled her eyes and then relaxed. She gave him an unconvincing smile of confidence, "do not worry, New Blood. You are innocent, and it will be proven so. We will aid you in any way we can; everything will be alright, I promise."

"Thanks, I-" Adam was silenced when a door across the courtroom slammed against its wall, swinging uselessly on its hinges. A Nelluth clad in ill-fitting riot gear stomped through the door and growled, pointing at him aggressively, "stay seated, whelp!"

"O-okay!" He stuttered and watched as another Undying came through the door.

This one was dressed in a large, black robe with golden trim and a well-groomed, powdered wig atop his head. The judge glanced at Adam and then made his way up a set of small stairs to sit behind his bench. His three chins waggled as he took his place in the court, and he took an absorbent amount of time to put on a pair of thick, round glasses.

"All rise!" the Nelluth bailiff shouted over the murmuring of the crowd.

The judge cleared his throat, "you may all be seated!" he sat down, adjusted his robes, and then pulled a large birdcage from somewhere beneath his seat. Inside the cage was a bulbous, purple frog covered in shimmering boils. It looked out on the court with three, multi colored eyes and croaked quietly to itself. The judge leaned into his microphone and made eye contact with the strange amphibian as he cleared his throat again, "my name is Judge Ferala Corga, High Justice of the Court of Night." he waited for a few moments and then nodded at the frog. He opened his mouth again, "I am not an Undying. I am, in fact, three Goblins standing on top of one another, in a judge's robes."

He stared into the frog's eyes and waited. The frog swivelled away from him and opened its mouth wide. Adam jumped as a shriek akin to that of an injured cat gargling oatmeal erupted from the creature's throat.

"What the hell is that thing?!" Adam hissed at Jake.

"It's a Firrin," Jake replied in a whisper, "they can detect when a person is telling a lie. It works, unless the person really believes their own lies. If it goes off, it's not technically admissible in court, but juries tend to put a lot of stock in Firrins."

"Wait, if it's not admissible, why is it here-"

"Order in the court!" Judge Corga smacked his gavel against his bench, "the Court of Night is officially in session. Prosecution, approach the bench!"

"Thank you, your honour," a slim woman wearing a tailored suit entered through the iron gate and passed Adam's table without giving him so much as a passing glance.

"State your name and Family for the court," Judge Corga ordered.

"My name is Matilda Allard," Matilda announced, "of Family Balluth, representing Mr. Adrian Chopkith, deceased, former head of the Senna party."

"Thank you," Judge Corga nodded and waited for her to take a seat at a desk several feet away from Adam's, "Defence, please approach the bench."

Camilla stood and marched through the iron gates, slamming them haughty behind her. She strode towards the bench and bowed deeply before Judge Corga, "your honour. I am Camilla of Family Adarbu, representing Mr. Peaks. It is his intention to plead not guilty to the crime of murdering Adrian Chopkith, and furthermore-"