Unforeseen

Judgement

For a minute, the whole crowd in the chamber was silent as the Allfather simply sat there in thought, twisting his golden spear between his fingers as he stared out over the accusers and accused and over the citizens of his realm. My own mind and heart were torn by the testimonies of the presented case. Both sides seemed to be genuinely telling the truth! How was anyone supposed to figure out who was right?

No wonder Lord Foresti had deferred the decision of this case to the king! Loki must be feeling the weight of the world on his shoulders now as he weighed the stories presented to him... I wanted to reach out and put my hand on his shoulder or arm just to give him a bit of comfort, but I knew that would not be appropriate right now. Not when we were in the middle of this trial ceremony with so many eyes upon us.

Finally Odin-Loki spoke up, turning to the Lord at the bottom of the dais's steps, "Lord, Njord, tell me of the fanged eels."

The lord of the sea nodded his head, explaining in a voice deep as the roar of the ocean, "It is true that they are highly dangerous creatures, my king. They are piranha-like in their swarming and devouring habits. They have been known to strip a boar clean in seconds. However, their flesh is considered a delicacy as you well know, my king, which is why fisherman brave fishing for them. High risk, high reward."

Lady Hariasa, who had been examining the blade she was holding, spoke up next. She sighed with her brows furrowed, "That fact is what makes this case so hard, my king. The eels, like they said, would have gotten rid of any of the evidence the corpse could have given us."

"That is correct, Allfather." Lady Eir agreed, "Without the body, it is hard to tell if the boy had been stabbed before going overboard or if the eels had simply taken another victim."

After another minute of thought, Odin-Loki turned back to Asgard's head physician and the lord of the seas, "Were the bones of Kerr found?"

Njord sighed heavily, "No, my king. The currents probably took the body over the realm's edge."

"And the knife? Kerr's blood tells us nothing?" The king probed the physician more.

"There is only a small amount of blood left from that day. Most of it is eel's blood and sea water has washed away much of it as well. The lack of blood makes it impossible to say if Kerr had merely been pricked by the knife during a struggle or if he had actually been slashed or stabbed lethally." Eir explained, gesturing to the blade held in Hariasa's hands.

I listened with rapt attention as the court and the king continued to swap questions and information that they would know to help the case, trying to wheedle through the testimonies and the severe lack of evidence to find the truth of the matter. Every so often, for clarification or to delve deeper into their statements, one of the lords or ladies would voice a question to the accused or his accusers. Could Finnur remember seeing any actual stab wounds or rips in Kerr's shirt? Did Olle say anything to anyone when getting off the ship? What were the exact threats Olle had sent Kerr's way in the past? Each question pulled more specifics from them, painting fuller pictures of that fateful day and everything that had led up to and happened after it.

As the other, far more experienced court members questioned the accused and the accusers and deliberated amongst themselves and the king, I stood there simply watching the chained up man. Questions flew through my mind as I weighed his defense. Was Kerr purposefully pushed or had he slipped from a grasp intending to save him? Could Olle truly have the mindset and hatred to have sent a man to his doom? I didn't doubt that Gudbrand believed his own claim. I knew grief and the pain of the loss of loved ones. Gudbrand's grief was real, but at the same time there was so little evidence to prove Olle's guilt one way or the other. Was Olle just a gruff, unpopular man who'd been unable to save the man he'd always hated, or was he clever enough to have put together this crime where his guilt could hardly be proved with such a lack of evidence?