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-----"Thou art charged with the crime of banditry upon thy fellow citizens of Oakwood," the armored priest announces to the ones behind the bars. "You shall face the Almighty Justice of Lord Joren. Thou hast till the morrow to prepare thy defense. I shall soon bring ye food and water." At first, Zan appears to have trouble getting the large key to lock the cell while he talks. However, as he jiggles the key, the cell is finally secured.
-----"Come," Zan says to the four adventurers, "there are official documents to tend to. Tell me what ye know of the transgressions." A light of excitement fills Zan’s eyes as he turns to climb the stairs into the temple proper. He momentarily looses his balance and Raven helps catch him before he falls to the floor.
-----Raven says, "Easy there. Are you okay?" Raven motions to a chair, "Why don't you take a seat and tell what has you so troubled."
-----The Dread Pirate raises his eyebrows at Zan's near mishap, then sneaks around behind his back as Raven catches him. From this vantage point, the diminutive pirate raises his hand in a drinking gesture and looks meaningfully at the priest.
-----"Yes, yes, quite right," Zan says to Raven patting the ranger’s arm. "No need to rest now. Justice must be served." The priest runs up the stairs, his armor chinking as he climbs the steps.
-----Sol gives a look of relief to Raven for catching Zan. The look he gives the rest of the group shows Sol's apparent reluctance at dealing with this priest.
-----In the sanctuary, Zan takes a seat behind a lectern almost knocking over his feather pen and jar of ink. "And now," he says to Sol with an eager expression, "please state the transgressions of the offenders."
-----Sol begins to relate how the group came upon the site of a skirmish between elves and humans, and how the bandits arose and attempted to rob the group. He then says that the three locked up downstairs are what's left of a group of nine.
-----As Sol speaks, Zan jots down quick notes with a staccato sound from his writing instrument. At one point, his hand moves so fast, he fumbles and drops the pen. His hands clumsily grasp at the falling feathered instrument and mostly at empty air.
-----Recovering his position in his chair, the armored priest sits upright looking at Raven, Rinda and Gimplefwick. Consciously slowing his motions, Zan folds his hands and asks, "All of ye were witnesses to these crimes?"
-----Rinda slowly nods her head at the befuddled priest, not daring to speak. A look of pity shines in her eyes but it is evident that the huntress fights the urge to laugh aloud.
-----Gimplefwick then states, "Arrrr, see here, yer holiness, it was like this. These wretched sinners were laying in wait fer poor, unsuspecting travelers to be passing by. They had ensconced themselves at the scene of a battle and were waitin fer good samaritans, such as ourselves, to come up and check things out. The vile miscreants then leaped out to kill and rob us. Fortunately, I managed to fight 'em off, with a little help from these good fellows," The Dread Pirate vaguely waves his hand at Sol and Raven.
-----Gimplefwick then continues, "Shiver me timbers, but things got tolerably heated fer awhile there. Sadly, all that we could reasonably spare were those desecrating vermin currently locked up in yer jail. Methinks a sound flogging and then a walking of the plank, ought to teach 'em a lesson. Or' if'n yer the merciful type, maybe just run 'em straight up the mizzenmast."
-----Sol confirms Rinda's answering nod, "Yeah, we're all there. Sir, if ye don't mind, could we move on from the bandits? Ye've got all the evidence we can provide, and we'd really appreciate hearin' about the undead and other unnatural creatures that have apparently been roaming around nearby. Normally I wouldn't bring up such evil matters in a holy temple, but we're here to uproot what is causing these problems. Anythin' ye've heard would be invaluable." Sol's tone is almost soothing.
-----The priest of the god of justice literally falls out of his seat. "Flogging? Walking a plank? mizzenmast?" he blubbers out and catches himself before he hits the floor. "Nay, I do not think that those are listed as penalties in our holy doctrine." Zan double-checks a page in a heavily bound book. Turning back to the Dread Pirate with an inquisitive look, he asks, "Tell me, are those considered suitable consequences where you’re from?"
-----The Dread Pirate grins happily at the priest's query, "Aye, let the punishment fit the crime. Whether it be a flogging, keelhauling, hanging, or scrubbin the deck with yer own hair, the Pirate's Code is strict and unswerving."
-----Focusing his attention on Sol once more, the priest throws his hands in the air chuckling. The glove on his right hand flies off which Zan quickly recovers. "Undead? I doubt it be the undead, although our blessed village of Proat has been victimized lately." A look of tired concern crosses his face as he puts his hands behind his back and as he begins to pace, he continues, "You see, the fair people of Oakwood have been besieged by bandits such as the ones you have brought here to the holy temple. There have been a few of our children that have been taken in their sleep during the night. Crops and livestock have been damaged, killed or . . . worse. Some want to blame the elves, but I cannot in my right mind accuse them as I have no evidence to that fact. Sir Hampton and I secure this area for the Fief of Oakwood. Sir Hampton holds a keep about seven miles to the northwest from here. I must admit we are a bit overwhelmed with recent events." Zan stands still for a moment and just for an instant seems less clumsy.
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