Chapter 23

Truth and Preference

Seval immediately hid behind the table, his heart beating rapidly in his ears. He saw nothing but the scene at the ball. It was truly embarrassing to think about on the basis of his relationship with Marien, which was just a simple friendship or even less than that, but he couldn't help it. Something drew his mind toward it, unable to be helped. He didn't like Marien. But the Raven? That was a different story, despite him knowing very well that the two were the same person. Or could they be two completely distinct characters?

You're one pathetic human, aren't you? Beaten by love. I bet you'd drop your sword if your enemy was a lovable girl. You'd just let her kill you because love. What a sorry excuse of cowardice, Omni commented, disgusted, and Seval shook his head.

No! It's not that. I'm just thinking about what the dwarves would think about her, Seval lied, his face hot.

Huhuh. We'll see when you're staring into the back of her head the whole journey, Omni replied amusedly, which made Seval stick out his tongue.

Why would I do that? That's creepy. He was extremely confused on Omni's choice of words. He didn't like Marien at all. It was a mutual feeling surely.

"Are you ready? We have to move," Marien declared, startling Seval into glancing at her. He nervously gulped at her appearance as he averted his eyes off those behind the black mask.

"Of course, yeah," Seval replied, before jumping to his feet. He followed Marien to the front of the room where the whole party was gathered. Shimmer and Trinity both had cuffs in their hands, badges proudly sitting upon their armor, much like those of the cultists.

"Don't lose character at any time. Got it?" Marien mandated, as the two knights exchanged amused glances beneath their visors.

"I'd find that almost impossible to do with how brilliant they are," Trinity replied, and Shimmer laughed pleasedly. "I could see myself bearing this new role for the rest of my life." Shimmer continued to laugh, with Trinity throwing up his gauntlets. "What? I'm serious?"
"Oh, okay. Human Traitor Two," Shimmer remarked, rolling her eyes under her visor. She walked behind Natáshia, while Trinity did the same on Marien. The cuffs snapped around their arms behind their backs, prisoner style. Seval was the last and in dread at seeing Trinity confiscate his precious sword.

"That's not my name. And if it was, I'd be number one, not two," Trinity proclaimed, as he and Shimmer fell into a formal march behind the three restrained prisoners. They left the room and headed down the hallway very rhythmically. The casual chatter didn't stop, however.

"If anything, you wouldn't have a number. It would just be Human Traitor. That's how important you are," Shimmer decided, amused.

"Actually, I would be The Human Traitor," Trinity corrected her, and Shimmer scoffed.

"Oh really? How'd you find that idea? It must come from a far stretched dream many nights ago," Shimmer responded, eager to outrage Trinity, who shrugged behind an irritated Marien.

"Can you two shut up? This is serious, you know," Marien requested, and was squeezed on the shoulder by Trinity.

"Yes, I know this is very serious and your life is at risk. But I need some amusement around here." Trinity leaned over to Marien's shoulder, as she squirmed out of his grasp. "Not to say Shimmer is amusing because she truly isn't. I'd find company with a band of slurring dwarves better than her."

"And you say that from how much you desire my company," Shimmer interjected knowingly, so Trinity backed off from Marien, who was relieved that she didn't have somebody breathing in her ear.

"No, I say that from how much I want to fall asleep at your voice and jokes. Borrring," Trinity remarked, and was stomped on his greave. He just chuckled, like he was tickled. "Really cute. You ought to do that more. It's the funniest thing you've done all day."

"Oh, so you'd like this?" Shimmer said, as Nam'ill appeared to bulldoze Trinity to the floor. She stood there with folded arms, clearly amused at how the two bulky knights wrestled with another. It couldn't be said that Marien was in the same boat.

"Stop taking this so carelessly! We have jobs to do, tasks to complete. Keep this up and we're all doomed," Marien snapped, after turning around to glare at her two captivers. Nam'ill disappeared into thin air, a tense Trinity standing up and brushing off his shoulders. He and Shimmer wouldn't look at another.

"It's her fault, not mine," Trinity declared, as Shimmer glared and pointed an accusing finger at him.

"You started it," she responded, the two about to fall into an endless debacle.

"Stop it!" Marien exclaimed, so the duo fell into silence and carried on with their tasks after looking everywhere but at another. They were soon marching through the hallway again, the faint yelling of dwarves in the background.

"They're going to break act, aren't they?" Marien muttered, not hopeful in the slightest.

"No because I'm the greatest actor that ever walked the land," Trinity claimed boldly, as Shimmer groaned.

"You're far from that title. If anything, you'd be the worst actor," Shimmer argued, tense.

"I would say the same about you, but that'd just be insulting me." Shimmer was about to fire death threats at him, but Trinity mopped up his mess quickly. "Or I'd be complimenting myself. You're not such a bad actor. Maybe we're both great." Behind the stone-faced visor, Seval knew Shimmer was blushing.

"I've done my fair share of acting to infiltrate enemy lines. I don't know about you, though. You just seem like the guy to declare you're an enemy to everyone when walking into a tavern."

"Hurtful but fair." Trinity had actually accepted his defeat, surprising everyone. It was unlike the egocentric knight to admit such a thing. Maybe people do change after all.

"So . . . you do admit I'm better than you?" Shimmer inquired, like a clear victor.

"You're better than me in a lot of things. I just don't think acting is on that list," Trinity answered. It was a perfect reply that was a win-win. On one side, Trinity complimented Shimmer. On another, he complimented himself, while not attacking Shimmer all too much. Clean and simple.

"I think that's a solid statement," Shimmer decided, pleased in the final outcome. The case was closed at last. Maybe the small talk would end.

It didn't.

Through the rest of the way out of the large building, they two knights kept chattering about whatever was on their minds. It had grown customary and almost a background noise for Seval; however, Marien didn't like one bit of it. She kept her lips pursed, but underneath them, she was clearly pissed and about to scream at them to shut up. Somehow and miraculously, she withheld such words.

When the doors outside, the ones that he had walked through everyday to and from the academy, Seval gulped. He didn't know if he was going to get shot on sight or beat or tortured or jeered at by the angry crowd. He didn't even know if anybody was going to be around. But the overall threat of every single possible outcome had him on edge.

"Aha, here we go," Trinity announced, before Marien kicked the doors open. The five of them marched outside, a whole camp of dwarven guards standing about. It took less than a second for their attention to be caught. They all stared at the prisoners in utmost wonder, their jaws agape. Only the most brave dared to walk forward to provoke the group.

"Who be ya and how did ya find the most wanted outlaws?" a guard dressed more appropriately demanded. He was accompanied by four others that had their spears in thrusting position. Trinity just shrugged and marched forward to make his dominance clear.

"I'm the Hunter." He gestured behind him. "And my associate is the Tracker. We've been searching for the outlaws since day one, so we had a good amount of resources at our disposal." The dwarves dumbfoundedly looked at another, unsure of what to think.

"I've never heard of ya names. Where ya from?" the officer asked suspiciously.

"Well, I'm from the center of Might, raised by the nobles and trained by them as well." Trinity pulled Shimmer toward his side, the two glued to each other. "That's when I found my associate and we knew we could run a business on our own. She tracks and I hunt . . ."

"Don't those mean the same thing, eh?" a guard asked, so Trinity waved his gauntlet around.

"Of course not. I wouldn't give names that mean the same exact thing, now would I?" As the guards fell into murmuring and questioning, Trinity cleared his throat. "As I was saying before the rude interruptions, I joined forces with the Tracker. We became bounty hunters and only listened to the wealthiest and powerful people. It's why we're the richest in the whole land."

"Oh really? Ya be wealthier than the great God?" a guard sneered, the others voicing their approval. Trinity just laughed, his whole body caught in the motion. Shimmer had no choice but to follow, almost nervously and forced.

"Not of my greatest dreams, no! I could never be greater than the great God, for I'm just a mere human." The dwarves fell silent, satisfied, so Trinity was in control again. He brought Shimmer closer to him as he fanned a gauntlet into the air toward the ceiling.

"We came here in search of even more wealth. Also because the tyrant banned bounty hunting and killed our business, so we had no choice." He pointed his thumb over his shoulder at the prisoners behind him. "First thing we did was find them. It was no easy task, as you know, and it took many days of loose and deadends." The dwarves nodded, like the story checked out; however, the officer narrowed his eyes in suspicion.

"I've seen ya before, no?" His eyes darted up and down the two knights. "The armor, voice, all of it seems a bit familiar. I dunno why, but it just does." Now that the officer pointed it out, the other dwarven guards nodded. Under siege, Trinity went silent until gesturing toward his badge that all the guards had on their armor.

"I'm a member of the Draethan Arts, so it makes sense that you have heard of me." He flashed his badge to make it very apparent of his status. Shimmer did likewise, her acting completely reliant upon Trinity. She was a bit lost at what was going on, and so were Marien and Seval, who both had no clue what nonsense Trinity was spouting.

"Ah, dat makes sense!" the officer exclaimed, like he had found a long-lost friend. "I think dat I have seen ya around from time to time." His voice dropped, with his eyes reflecting sorrow. "After da massacre, I dunno what friends still remained. So many died, so many . . ." He suddenly lunged at the Raven, his eyes hateful and lip curled. "You! Ya be responsible! Ya bloody monstrosity! I hope ya get ya head torn apart and body pumped full of bullets!" Trinity was forced to hold the angry dwarf back because the guards weren't going to do a thing. They were also angry, but they held back any attacks.

"In due time, she'll suffer. But you must give it time. All the dwarves must witness her death, so they'll know she's truly dead and that all her victims didn't die in vain," Trinity claimed, calming down the officer into backing off. "Let the justice system work. The authorities will know how to handle her properly as well as all of them." He brushed off the officer's shoulder, while the officer kept a hateful glare toward the prisoners.

"Good. I'll be sure to be there and hear their screams of agony." The officer spun around, disgusted, and departed with his soldiers. "Da city square is where it will be held. I've already notified da glorious leader of dis wonderful news. Ya will be living in a mansion by the end of dis."

Trinity watched the dwarves fall out of eavesdropping range, so he laughed and spun around to face the others.

"See? Easy as that. Now we know where to go. Hah!"

"You put on one hell of a show," Shimmer admitted, surprised at the performance. She took her place behind the prisoners alongside Trinity to resume the march. "I'm still not a fan of the Tracker. What a stupid name."

"I know it's not flashy or worthy of your name, but it'll do," Trinity replied, as he guided the prisoners through the masses of spectating dwarves. All of them stopped what they were doing to set their focus onto the prisoners, mostly the Raven. They spat, shouted death threats, and brandished their weapons at her. She kept her chin high and ignored it all, however.

A growing buzz of chatter filled the background, becoming louder as they approached the city square. The streets were littered with guards and no civilians at all. They must've been waiting at the square then. Seval could imagine thousands of dwarves clumped up into one tiny spaces, jeering and booing him. Not a pretty sight, especially with the stench of ale assaulting his nostrils nonstop. Hopefully it wouldn't be that bad.

As they neared the loud uproar of dwarven pride, guards rushed out to greet the group. They too were confused about the Hunter and Tracker personas, but they had their own duties to perform. Two of them grabbed the Queen and brought her elsewhere, with everybody else just storming ahead. Everyone was a bit concerned about the situation.

"This wasn't part of the arrangement," Trinity declared, uncertain.

"Well, it be da arrangement now," a guard answered, unwilling to face the group behind him. Trinity wasn't about to give up there.

"Will you at least say what's going to happen to her?" The guards snickered amongst themselves until falling silent, one of them finally turning around to face the knight with a steely gaze.

"Just some questioning here and there. Nothin' serious." The group was led through a narrow passageway surrounded by towering walls on each side. At the end of it, a wooden platform met them that had a lone dwarf shouting to the hungry crowd before him. Everybody but Marien was brought over to a wall adjacent of the platform, but mostly in the background type of ordeal. Seval glanced over at Marien and saw her cower at the sheer amount of dwarves she had to speak to, but when she looked back at him, she became her old self: all fierce and confident. Seval couldn't dream of accomplishing such a feat because he would just stutter for hours on end and get jeered at.

"If anything goes wrong, you know what to do," Trinity whispered into Seval's ear, after the guards were looking elsewhere. The responsibility put much stress on Seval, who could only think of failure and more failure. Deaths at his hand, guilt, embarrassment, misery, all of it. He would mess up, no matter how hard he would try. It was just who he was.

"Remember, your sword is right nearby," Shimmer added, also in a hushed whisper. She was on his left, as Trinity was on his right. They kept their stances tall and mighty, like professional bounty hunters would. The armor just made the job easy, hiding their true motives. If only Seval could employ such a shield. That would be his saving grace against all onslaughts, mental or physical. Or maybe that was an overstatement.

"We be gathered today for big event!" the leader suddenly exclaimed, which disrupted Seval's thoughts. "For da past week or more, we be living in constant terror! Our young be endangered! Many loved family and friends died during these horrible nightly attacks. We count ourselves lucky to be standing here." The leader pumped a fist into the air, the crowd mimicking his powerful gesture. "But we be here not to stand but to do! We must enact justice upon da one dat put us in dis turmoil and disrest! Such power is within our grasp and we only must search for it!" The crowd exploded in wild cheering that was once wild but soon became rhymitic and organized. It was going to be hard to sway such unified and hateful people, but Marien could do lots of things. Maybe she had it in her.

"Ahuha the Raven!" the leader shouted, once the cheering died out to leave behind expectant and eager dwarves. Something about those words made Seval narrow his eyes, like an old memory was within his reach. An image would flash into his vision, then vanish seconds later.

Through the flashing images, Seval watched Marien get forced toward the front of the podium. Hateful jeering and booing ran through the crowd, so loud and unified that it could wreck a person's confidence in the snap of a finger. Apparently not for some people, the most bold and confident of the lot. One of those just happened to be Marien, who took her spot on the front of the podium regally and respectfully, despite the disapproval flying her way. Her chin never dipped down in shame or sorrow. It remained toward the sky.

"Hello," Marien greeted the dwarves before her, a string of booing and curses drowning her out. She persisted. "I'm the Raven and I'm here to show, not tell or lie or excuse, but prove to you that it's not my fault your friends and family died." The booing rose in volume, so Marien had to act fast. "Give me a chance! I may be a human and the most hated one at that, but you must listen! What could be the worst that could happen? I insult you?" Her reasoning seemed to make sense to the once mindless crowd that slowly grew silent. They were intent on a story, real or false, to entertain them. Their minds were not to be changed throughout the course of any of it. This was really just to satisfy them in watching her soon demise.

"As I'm sure you all know, there is a cult rooted within these caves that has operated in the shadows." The crowd murmured and showed uncomfort at the mention. "Well, this very cult stands for suffering and domination. They want their message clear to all that may oppose them or not already brainwashed. Sadly, by now, most of you are already off that list. You are in the cult itself, so why am I up here in the first place? Trying to sway members of a cult I'm exposing as of now?" Marien fell silent, with the crowd doing the same. Faces of hate as well as worry appeared all throughout the various dwarves. There were workers, soldiers, the old and young, wealthy and those in rags. Every dwarf of every imaginable class could be seen within that large, unified crowd. It was a miracle of a lifetime to see such diversity pummeled and forgotten.

"Well, quite frankly, I have no reason not to." Marien chortled. "I mean, what do I have to lose? I'm already dying after this worthless speech that will accomplish next to nothing. What's the point? What really is my goal in this? Waste time? Spare my fear of dying?" Her voice went grave and low all the sudden, the dwarves caught in her emotional trip of either guilt or pity, perhaps both. "Maybe. I don't know myself. I'm just here because I'd like to speak the truth. It may be hated and looked at as false, but it's the truth. Such a fragile concept." She clicked her tongue as she paced back and forth on the podium, all eyes set upon her. Interest was piqued, hate was erased, and something close to a play was being performed. Even Seval was watching her every move intently, like a coded message was somewhere to be located.

"On the night of the grand ball that was meant to unify us all, I came across something." Marien abruptly halted and faced the crowd. "Papers. But not just any papers. These told of assassination targets, ploys if you will. On that list, many of those deceased can be found. I bet most of you can find your own names on their as well." She frowned. "This cult wants everybody dead. And I mean everybody. Diplomats to average workers, sick elders to young children, mothers and fathers." Sick, she threw her cuffed hands as far up as possible. "Do you not see how disgusting these murderous fanatics are? Mothers? Elders? Children? How can people be involved in such a terrible organization?" Her eyes were daggers toward the crowd, most of whom looked away in their inability to challenge her gaze.

"Every single one of you is a part of this sick game where you think you're so high and mighty under the fake god you worship day and night." The crowd loudly booed and jeered, even the guards next to Marien about to have a tantrum. "That's right. Ignore it. Act like you haven't watched a friend die for some stupid cause. For your 'great god.' But the cold and sad truth is you've all laid witness to it." Her voice shifted to an accusing and disgusted tone. "All of you! How can you live with such a thing? How? You'll find nothing but guilt for being a part of this! In the end, you'll just die alone and drowned in thoughts of those you watched die a long and horrible death. And you enjoyed every bit of it." The crowd actively yelled at her in utmost hatred, their eyes feral and hands forming fists. Some tried to climb the platform, but it was too steep and high.

"Enough! Dat is enough!" the leader exclaimed, as he hurried in front of Marien to calm down the crowd. "Her words are but poison, my brothers and sisters! She wants only for us to attack another! But she doesn't know the bonds we share. All of us." He fanned a finger around the crowd that slowly hushed into appreciative and listening silence. "We all be dwarves! By birthright! By character! We be responsible for everything da elves and humans take for granted. Everything!" The leader thrust his hand out toward Marien, the crowd already won in his favor.

"Now we watch a criminal get what she deserves! Those she had taken from us will not go unheard and forgotten like she hoped! Forever in da heart! Forever in da mind! We shall not forget!" The leader chopped his hand downward, which made a guard beside Marien swing a club at the back of her legs. She yelped in anguish, forced on her knees. Seval could hear her sniffle and desire to cry, but she kept her dignity strong.

"Look at her! It be where she belongs! Kneeling to da greater beings as ourselves! She has no right to speak against us! Let us see her without words to slither her out of any situation!" the leader continued, as a guard fished into his bag he had tied around his waist.

"There is still hope. You can leave and admit your wrongs." Marien thrust her head up, her eyes desperate toward the crowd as a last resort. "It's not too late! You may have made mistakes in the past, but it can be forgiven! Now is the best time than any! Please . . . for those that had their lives taken unnecessarily, please heed my pleas." She dipped her head down, finished. In proper timing, the dwarf had found a muzzle and wrapped it around her mouth. She lost any spirit to fight or scream against it. Instead, she sat there on her knees, accepting. She had failed.

Dwarves in the crowd were uneasy now. They looked regretful and pitiful. Others were still resentful of the whole speech. But no matter their stance, they were all silent. The cold truth struck them all, but it wasn't enough. They needed a spur to make their voices heard. Right now, they've only been informed. There had to be a follow up, something to advance the movement. Otherwise, it would all be for naught.

"My brothers and sisters," the leader broke the silence, nervous. "She's just trying to break us apart. It's what she wants. It's what da tyrant wants. She's an agent of da tyrant!" Seval couldn't help but chuckle at the logic, soon to be silenced by a glare from Shimmer under her visor. It was clear when she was angry, even with armor to hide it.

"Now, we have da dessert, da finishing touch!" the leader went on, attempting to rally together the crowd like before. He fell short, only receiving scattered applause and cheering that immediately died off.

"Bring in da Queen! Da Queen of Lies!"

You know what's going to happen. You know what you have to do. So do it before your life is ruined. Before you have only yourself to blame, Omni announced, fresh memories flooding into Seval's mind. It was clear now. He remembered everything. He knew what he had to do.