Ophelia gasped above the thrum of machines as she stepped into the minimalist chamber. Twin
magical apparatus emitted a pillar of light, restraining the captive in a short
hover in the center of the room. Naked excepting a set of engraved restraints at his wrists and ankles, Razel blushed slightly and
spoke to his visitor.
“Oh. Glad to see you stopped by.”
Ophelia grimaced as she inspected the room, noting a
honeycombed lattice reinforcing the walls. A field projected from the building
itself, its materials enchanted specifically to prevent any sort of non-mundane
travel. It left an aetherial pressure weighing down on the two planeswalkers,
forcing the free individual to walk in the proper sense. Her odd raiment
implicated her method of infiltration, bunching about her legs as she circled him.
“Roz…what happened?”
He shrugged as much as his bindings would allow.
“Not entirely sure. One moment I’m on top of the situation, nearly enjoying myself,
the next someone trips a lock and binds me.”
“That quickly?”
“These folks have had experience with us, I think. If not,
they’ve had a string of very specific
problems.”
Ophelia sighed, shaking her head.
“Why did you involve yourself with the Telese?”
“Combination of boredom and circumstance. They keep a vault
full of some nifty things, and I heard rumor of one in specific. Sounded like a
possible example of Night’s worship outside her home.”
“Why not ask her about it?”
Razel frowned.
“My instinct is to hint cryptically, but you’ve earned my
honesty time and again. She…one of the things I do for her is to search out
these focal points and try to bridge a connection between her and the
representation therein. She is a consciousness of a constant, and by bridging
with like entities she becomes a unified whole.”
Ophelia blinked a few times.
“…I never realized you actually…helped her.”
“Downside to being bound to your constituent is that Void
has a hell of a time working in the physical realms.”
"Did you retrieve it?"
"Gave it to Wodehaus and sent him home."
"Why didn't you follow?"
"There was more to be retrieved."
“You know I can’t break you out of here, right?”
He nodded.
“No, I’m well aware. You try, fail, they catch both of us.”
“Have they told you what they plan to do?”
“I overheard something about a Tribunal. I suppose I’ll get
more information there.”
She caught the gleam in his eye, deciding to press the
issue.
“What are you planning?”
He smiled darkly.
Ophelia took an impulsive step back, regaining her composure
with a deep breath.
“That kills you. Weakens you. Leaves you vulnerable and at
risk.”
“I get better, after a while. A long while, but still.”
“You don’t know as it won’t kill you for good.”
“I’m pretty confident.”
“Why haven’t you done it yet if you’re going to?”
“I want to know what they know in case I need to return
after the fact.”
Putting the pieces together, she continued.
“So you’re going to kill them all?”
He nodded.
“That’s the idea.”
Irritation flushed her face. She raised her hand to slap
him, stopping herself when she remembered the forcefield. Lowering her arm, she
condemned his plans.
“I thought you were better than that.”
Confusion washed over his face.
“…they kidnapped and imprisoned me.”
“Did they abuse you?”
“I…well, I mean, not outside of reason…they didn’t go out of
their way to be cruel, but…”
“But what? They hit you a few times while trying to restrain
you?”
“…yeah…”
"Were you using lethal force?"
"I only directly killed a few people...mostly I think the hole did more damage...It brought the roof down, at least."
“So you’re going to incinerate a council that probably had
never set foot in that fight?”
He tried to shuffle in place.
“If they’re part of the council, they are complicit in the
actions of those they command.”
“How do you know their intent is malign? How do you know it
was ordered? I am assuming you broke into wherever it was they caught you.”
“…maybe…”
“Damn it Razel, do you only keep in touch to use me as a conscience?”
“While that is a definite benefit, no.”
She shook her head.
“Well, unfortunately you’re right about it being your only
way out. I’ll stop lecturing you about the when. How, though? What’re those
binders doing if not suppressing your mana?”
He grinned wide.
“There’s the question. See, these only redirect your Mana,
not prevent it from being drawn. Close as I can tell, they siphon a part of it
to power themselves and redirect the rest back to your pool, ideally to a
burning discomfort.”
Ophelia nodded as she caught on.
“Which is exactly what you want. To fill it past capacity.”
“Right.”
She sighed again, looking him over a final time.
“Well, I wanted to see what was going on, and at least I
know you have a way out, even if I don’t approve of it.”
She walked back to the doorway, stopping when he spoke.
“See you on the other side?”
She looked sadly over her shoulder to him.
“As always.”
<=>
“ORDER, COME TO ORDER.”
Her voice booming over the collected company, the Arbiter
gestured to the guards at the far side of the hall, beside the enormous
doors.
“Bring out the captive.”
They opened the doors with a great creak. Four heavily-armed
individuals flanked the cylinder of light projected between the caps of his
cell. Set upon a simple gurney, they rolled it over the bridge to the center
platform, a circular gathering of the justices looking down to their prize.
Slight murmurs bounced through the hall, silenced by a bang of the gavel. The
Arbiter spoke once more as her amplified words reached into the furthest parts
of the room.
“Anomaly 24, you are brought before this council to answer
for your crimes and to face justice.”
Razel chuckled.
“Not the first or last time I’ve had those designators.”
The Justicar narrowed her eyes as Razel’s own response was
amplified through the same systems.
“You are charged with the following: Sixty-Four counts
murder, Three-Hundred and Twenty-Seven counts slaughter, property damage in
excess of Sixty Thousand marks, Breaking and Entering, Conspiracy, Grand Theft,
and Five noise complaints.”
Razel cocked his head.
“Complaints? They don’t like when the beat drops mid-fight?”
A hardened glare stayed trained on him as the Justicar
continued.
“Near Four-Hundred individuals have died due to your direct
actions.”
“They came at me first.”
“Yet you respond like a child. FOUR HUNDRED DEAD.”
“Is this supposed to phase me?”
Losing her temper, the Justicar screamed above the
amplifiers.
“FOUR. HUNDRED. DEAD. DECADES OF RECONSTRUCTION. PRICELESS
ARTIFACTS LOST. WHY?”
Razel arched an eyebrow, looking about the gathered
individuals to try and get a read on them as he responded.
“Curiosity, mostly. Boredom. I didn’t intend to trawl a
bodycount, but once they attacked me I defended myself. Apparently too well.”
The Arbiter fumed in her robes.
“They defended a priceless artifact. You responded with
unequal force.”
“Hardy my fault your security is ineffective.”
Unexpectedly, the Arbiter smiled. Razel frowned heavily at
that while the woman went on.
“Ineffective enough to capture and keep you?”
She cocked her head.
“How are you liking your magebinders?”
The justices chuckled amongst themselves while Razel frowned
through the mockery.
“They’re a bit tight, but well made. Who’s the engraver?”
“Hiding behind wit will not help you here, criminal. Before
we receive your plea, I am bound to inquire – where is the Umbral Mantle?”
“Is that the fancy robe? Where’s my robe? I’ll trade for it.”
“It is a piece of our cultural heritage and it belongs in a
museum.”
“Is that why it was in a Lab?”
This time the Arbiter shuffled in her seat.
“Immaterial. The artifact by right belongs to us and our
usage therein is one of your concern. Now, before you change the subject and with
the charges as read, how do you plead?”
“Do you have any recordings with which to prove my association
to these events?”
“How do you plead?”
“So no?”
A charge of power was sent through his bindings, the runes
flaring as pain consumed his limbs. A shriek and heavy breathing told them it
had the intended effect as the light began to slowly fade.
“How do you plead?”
Razel looked up to them darkly.
“Guilty.”
