Her Quest

Chapter seventeen

Nyctimus' heart broke when he saw Penelope in that cell. She looked so distraught and hopeless.
He wished that for once, things would go in his favour.
He was so close to freedom; he could almost smell the fresh, cold air from the snowy mountains in Arcadia. But, now it was time for his trial. He wondered what it would be like. Would they cross examine him relentlessly? Would the council be fair in their judgement?
Before he came to see Penelope, he cornered Oswald in his quarters and threatened to expose him for stealing rations of foods meant for the Gods.
If he was exposed, he would be imprisoned.

Threatening others was not something Nyctimus was used to.
Luckily for him, Oswald almost shit his pants when he saw Nyctimus' wolf eyes and claws.
He prayed that that would be enough for him to speak in favour of Nyctimus at the trial.

Nyctimus stopped outside the great hall, where all the important council meetings were held. The door was wide open, so he walked in.

"You are late, the head councillor awaits you" A guard said and motioned for Nyctimus to stand in front of the head councillor. Nyctimus rolled his eyes but obeyed.
The head councillor was a woman with braided hair.
Apart from that he couldn't tell if she was a goddess or a being from a lower caste - although, that was most unlikely.

Nyctimus looked around the room he was in.
There were no seats, everyone present was standing behind him, patiently waiting for the trial to begin.
The council members from the feast were there and so was Zeus and Poseidon.
Next to Poseidon, stood a young man or god with silky blonde hair that touched his shoulders.
He had similar features to Poseidon, so Nyctimus assumed that he was Triton the traitor.

It actually had a nice ring to it. Nyctimus smiled as his wolf's comment and looked to the side of the room.
He saw Oswald standing with a guard at his side to the left section of the hall and he made sure to give Oswald a malicious stare.
Heracles was there as well.

Another guard stepped forward. "Bow before Goddess Themis, the lady of good counsel, divine order, fairness and custom". Everyone in the room did as they were instructed, so Nyctimus followed.

"Rise" The goddess Themis spoke and they stood up again. "Members present at the trial of Nyctimus, son of Lycaon of Arcadia, conspirator to Olympus in the eyes of the council, take the divine oath with your right hand over your heart. Repeat after me, I willingly swear to be witness of the following trial, without being biased, will answer any questions truthfully, only when asked".
All of the member's present raised their right hands over their hearts and repeated the oath. "Nyctimus, place your right hand over your heart" Themis instructed, and he did as he was told. "Nyctimus, son of Lycaon, conspirator to Olympus in the eyes of the council, do you swear to be truthful while answering questions relating to the events that occurred earlier today?".
"I swear I will be truthful". "Witnesses of the trial, raise your hands over your heart". Nyctimus turned around to look behind him. Oswald and Heracles both put their hands over their hearts, which meant that Heracles would be questioned as well. He hoped that he wouldn't say anything that would seem suspicious to Themis.
"Oswald and Heracles, do you both swear to be truthful while answering questions relating to the events that occurred earlier today?". Both answered yes and Nyctimus sighed in relief.

"Nyctimus, step forward". Nyctimus walked forward, closer to Themis. "How do you know Penelope?". "I met her at the start of the week, when she was assigned to the same duty as I was, but I knew her as Sophia".

"When you met her, did you notice anything different about her?". "Nothing out of the ordinary, we didn't converse much". "According to another patron, Penelope was or is your significant other, is that not true?".
Fuck. Nyctimus had forgotten about Benni. He took a deep breath in and hoped his facial expression was placid.
"It is false. I lied to Benni on the account of getting Sophia, I mean, Penelope out of having to clean the harem room". "And tell us, why would you help her out?". "She said she wasn't comfortable in being there, I didn't think it was a big deal". "Tell us the reason for you being in the store room with Penelope and Delphin".
"I was the one who kept the room's key. I went to the store room to check up on Penelope. To see if she had completed cleaning up the mess which she had made earlier. When I got there, she was conversing with Delphin. It was there that I had learned about her quest. I was about to report her to the guards, but Oswald beat me to it".

Themis stared at Nyctimus. He knew he was only telling them what they wanted to hear, he only hoped that they didn't pick up on any of his lies. If the things which Benni had said hadn't come out, he might have been cleared.

The room was unnervingly quiet while Themis looked at Nyctimus.
Nyctimus waited for his next question, but Themis didn't say a word. She just continued staring at him. He suddenly felt very nervous. Finally, Themis spoke.
"I call upon the witness of the trial, Oswald. Step forward". Oswald nervously stepped forward. "When did you meet Penelope?". "Also at the start of the week. She and another girl was brought to me by Heracles and I was told that she was from Mavro vouno". "Did you notice anything different about her?". "I was under stress and we were understaffed, I didn't pay attention to her".
"How well do you know Nyctimus?".

"It's about three or four decades now". "And do you think that he is involved in the events which have occurred earlier today?". "I don't think he is involved, no". Nyctimus let out a shaky breath. "So tell us then, why was he arrested by your order?". "I only did that so he could be questioned by the council. He spent some time with Penelope, so I thought that he would be able to answer questions about her".
"You don't have to be arrested to be questioned by the council, surely you should know that. Look at our other witness present here today, Heracles was not brought here in cuffs".
"I did not know the rules of the council". "You have spent so many years living and working in Zeus' name, yet you don't know how things are run around here?". It was more of a taunt than a question. Oswald was starting to look uneasy.

"I'm a head waiter, I don't really know much about the council rules". Themis nodded her head once then looked in the direction of where Heracles was standing.
"I call upon the witness of the trial, Heracles. Step forward".
Heracles stepped forward and gave a slight acknowledging nod to the head councillor. "Warrior, tell us how you met Penelope and her friend". "I received word from Hecate herself, saying that two women were arriving from Mavro Vouno, and that she would be grateful if I could assist them with a job".
"You are one of the greatest warriors of our time. Did you not notice anything out of the ordinary?". "No. I double checked the letter they had produced and it checked out". "If they were from Hecate's home, surely they had presented you with the black ash from the mountain". "They did. I have it here with me, as well as the letter".

Heracles stepped forward after taking Themis' permission and presented her with the letter and a small glass bottle. The rest of the members of the council murmured their opinions to themselves while Themis inspected the items Heracles presented to her.
"These articles are definitely from Mavro Vouno" She said and looked back at Heracles. "With the council of Olympus as witness, I, Themis, free you, Heracles, from the questioning of this trial. Step back". Heracles stepped backwards. Did this mean that Themis was close to giving her verdict? "With the council of Olympus as witness, I, Themis, free you, Oswald, from the questioning of this trial. Step back".

Nyctimus had never felt this nervous before, he was sure he was trembling. "I, Themis, lady of good counsel, divine order, fairness and custom, hereby declare Nyctimus, son of Lycaon of Arcadia, innocent in the ploys against the major Gods of Olympus".
Nyctimus slowly shut his eyes and took a deep breath in. "In saying that, I conclude this trial and thank the council of Olympus for bearing as witnesses. Considering that the accused is termed a high safety risk to all, I declare in her absence, tomorrow as the day for Penelope, daughter of the thief of the flame, to hang until death for the crimes committed against the Major Gods".
Themis gave a stiff nod of the head and with that, the members of the council of Olympus started to leave the room.