Evidence

Writers: Estelle, Miriah, Suzee
Date Posted: 5th November 2024

Characters: Jorghan, Bryvin, Silgan
Description: Jorghan brings his suspicions about Lusilk to the Lord Holder
Location: Sunstone Seahold
Date: month 13, day 8 of Turn 10
Notes: Backdated due to LOA
Mentioned; Wirnan (not by name); Lorican, Lusilk

Bryvin

Jorghan had waited, biding his time for almost a month before he decided to make his move. He'd found out as much as he could about the smith's wife from the Hold. Perhaps he'd learn more at the Weyrhold, where she'd been before, but if he went there he might return to find her gone and he couldn't take the risk.

He waited with the others who had business with the Lord Holder, going over again what he planned to say. This would be his best chance. Surely Lord Bryvin wouldn't want the killer of his fellow Lord living in his Hold - if only he could convince him that was what she was.

"Jorghan?"

He looked up to see a young man wearing the knots of the steward's staff. "Yes, that's me."

"The Lord Holder will see you now. This way."

"Welcome," Bryvin said without rising and indicated the chair across from him.

Silgan, humming softly, looked up from a small desk in the corner where he was laboriously writing letters on a hide in obvious mimicry of Bryvin. He frowned as Jorghan entered and his hand went still. Glancing at Bryvin, then back at Jorghan, he slightly shrank back and fell immediately silent.

"Thank you for seeing me, my Lord..." Jorghan hesitated by the door, thrown off balance by the boy's presence. He'd seen him briefly when he'd first confronted Lusilk, and further investigation had revealed that he was her son. He couldn't imagine why he should be here in the Lord Holder's office. "Ah - the matter I have to discuss is rather serious. It's not for a child's ears."

Bryvin looked closely at Silgan and noticed the posture and wary eyes. "Silgan? Do you know this man," he asked in a calm voice and held out an arm inviting to the safety of his side.

Silgan very slowly approached Bryvin, his eyes never leaving Jorghan as he approached the Lord Holder. He had spent so long being silent in the face of danger, that initially he didn't answer Bryvin, instead shifting back and forth on his feet, glancing between Bryvin and Jorghan before he spoke softly. "I don't like him. He's a bad man." He turned to Bryvin and whispered to him, holding up a hand to shield his mouth.. "He made Mama make the danger hand sign and I had to get Papa and stay in the forge. Then Mama had the baby. Mama said to not talk to him." The whisper was not as quiet as Silgan intended and as he finished he tried to tuck himself behind Bryvin's chair.

Bryvin turned his head slightly. "Would you like to go to the creche and play with Brylex?" He could tell the young one was very uncomfortable and might wish to be somewhere else.

Silgan nodded slowly. "Yes. But I can come back later?"

"Of course," Bryvin nodded and took his had to lead him around the desk to the door being careful to place himself between Silgan and Jorghan. Once the door closed, Bryvin turned and went back to his desk. "Now, what is this all about?"

The guard took a moment to recover his composure. Had the boy's mother talked to the Lord Holder before him? If so, what had she said? Not knowing, he could only proceed as he'd planned.

"I've come to make an accusation," he said, falling back on the words of a formal report, such as he would have made to to the captain or the Lord Holder at Garnet Valley. "I believe that Lusilk, a woman living at your Hold, killed Lord Rorigraff of Beryl Peak, and a young holder girl on his staff."

"I see," Bryvin said with a tilt of his head. "And what evidence do you have to present to me to back up your accusation?"

"I have this picture." Jorghan took the sketch from his pocket and placed it on the Lord Holder's desk. "It matches a drawing the guards at Beryl Peak showed me of the murderer. Apparently it wasn't the first time she'd been in their cells. If they saw her, I'm sure they would recognize her. She had a long list of crimes to her name. Also, when I confronted her, she drew a knife on me. No ordinary crafter's wife would do such a thing."

A dangerous note rose in Bryvin's voice. "You confronted her, In _my Hold_ without coming to me first?" Bryvin was very aware of Lusilk's history, even much that she'd not told him. But that was no excuse for this guard person to try such a maneuver here.

Under the Lord's desk there was a low growl at the tone of his master's voice and Captain slowly emerged from where he'd been sleeping.

"I wanted to be sure it was her before troubling you," the guard replied, a little defensive but knowing he'd have to convince the Lord Holder if any action was to be taken. "I didn't expect the attack, or her condition. If I've acted out of turn, I apologise."

"You have," Bryvin glowered. "I take any assault on my people quite seriously."

"I didn't assault her," Jorghan protested. "I informed her of the accusation against her and my intention to arrest her. She assaulted _me_."

"You came uninvited into a pregnant woman's home while her husband was away and informed her that you were going to arrest her. How is that not assault?" Bryvin lifted an eyebrow. "Seems to me she was just defending herself. Do you perchance know the definition of assault? It is attempting to cause physical harm or unwanted physical contact to another person. You were attempting to arrest her and in doing so caused her to go into labor, endangering another man's child. That was unwise."

"You may have guard status in Garnet Valley but I extend no such privilege to you here at Sunstone. Anything you wish to do here must go through either myself or my steward. Are we clear?"

"That's clear, my Lord." His expression was stony, but he made no argument. "I have found work here in the port, and can support myself without making a claim on the Hold. But I'd still like to know what will be done about the woman I accused. She's a danger to you and your people. If not you, then the new Lord Holder of Beryl Peak will surely want to see her pay for her crimes."

"Well, there I disagree with you," Bryvin said with a small smile. "I am fostering here at the hold the new Lord of Beryl Peak. Do you recall the young man who was here with me when you entered? That is Silgan the grandson of Lord Rorigraff. The lady you so malign was repeatedly raped by Rorigraff's son, the boys father. So, now both he and she enjoys my protection and indeed the protection of Sunstone. I hardly think the boy will want to prosecute his mother."

A big smile spread across his face. "I'll be happy to review your evidence and then decide on a course of action. if it's sufficiently powerful I'm sure we can arrange a trial.

After his many Turns in the guards, very little surprised Jorghan, but the Lord Holder's revelation hit him like a blow he'd not seen coming. He stared at the man at the desk in open shock, unable for a long moment to speak.

"That's not possible," he said eventually. "She's deceived you." But he couldn't keep the uncertainty from his own voice. He'd not known the details, but no one could spend time at Beryl Peak, even for the short time he had, without getting a sense of the kind of man Rorigraff had been. Nor was it likely Bryvin would have accepted the boy's parentage without proof. "Even if... It's still murder."

"Is it?" Bryvin asked. "Or is it self-defense?"

"He was asleep in bed," Jorghan objected. "She went to his room - to his Hold - for the purpose of killing him, in cold blood. She could have stayed away."

"After several times he sent people to take the boy? How else is a small weak woman to even reach a Lord? Staying away wasn't an opt..." Bryvin's eyes narrowed as he realized all these protests weren't really about Rorigraff. No one, not even a loyal guard, had even liked that man.

"So, you're curiously persistent. I begin to wonder why that is." He leaned toward Jorghan slightly. "Who is this about really?"

Jorghan went still for a moment. He'd hoped to keep her name out of this dismal story, fully expecting that the Lord Holder would care far more about the killing of one of his peers than that of a drudge. Now he wondered if he'd been wrong about that. Wasn't her life worth as much as that corrupted old man's?

"There was a girl, a maid. She was bringing a tray to his rooms. It was only chance that she was there." He refused to believe the disgusting lies that woman had told about where she'd been found. "She was no threat to anyone. She was only eighteen, and she didn't deserve to die."

“Oh, I see,“ Brian replied. “And what was she to you?”

"It shouldn't make a difference." Jorghan's expression hardened. "She should have justice, no matter who she was. But if you want to know, my Lord, she was the daughter of a man I knew who died doing his duty. I promised I'd always take care of her...and I failed."

“Yes, you failed when you allowed her in Rorigraff’s bed. She was a mistress, not a maid, bringing him a tray. You lied to me. I have witnesses.”

For a moment, sheer blinding rage filled Jorghan, overwhelming his senses and sending his pulse racing. His fists clenched tightly at his sides. How did he dare to slander the good name of a murdered girl? He hadn't known her!

**He's trying to make you lose your temper.** He breathed deeply, forcing himself to stay still, to keep his furious response behind his gritted teeth. **Don't give him an excuse to have you thrown out of the Hold. Or...** He wondered suddenly why the Lord Holder was so keen to defend a ruthless killer. Had he made use of her skills - or even used her to eliminate a rival and take control of his young heir? The thought of the danger he might have unknowingly walked in to sobered him, draining the last of his anger. If he wanted to leave this Hold alive, much less win justice, he'd have to tread very carefully.

"I'm not lying. I went to Beryl Peak myself, and I heard nothing to her discredit." He silenced the nagging thought that no-one would have been likely to tell a grieving relative such a thing. "But whatever the reason for her being in Lord Rorigraff's room so late, her death was still a murder, and the murderer is in your Hold. If it's more evidence you want, then I will find it."

"So, what you're saying is that no one witnessed what happened in that room. You're assuming that my Master Smith's pregnant wife did this? Am I hearing you correctly?" He raised an eyebrow. "What kind of proof do you think you're going to find? A lost coat? If I remember correctly Rorigraff was a large man. How could such a tiny woman have done this? Are you sure your... whatever friend didn't kill him and then herself?"

"Yes. I'm certain." Jorghan couldn't hide the disgust in his voice. "My lord, I tried to warn you about that woman, but if you have nothing better to offer than insulting the memory of a dead eighteen-Turn-old girl, then I can see I've wasted my time." He bowed his head, but slightly. "Will you excuse me?"

Bryvin lifted his chin with a slight smile. It was dangerous in ways this man didn't understand to take that tone with him. "You may leave my presence but you are not excused. Your tone offends me. Be gone until you have your evidence."

Last updated on the November 23rd 2024

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Evidence