Chapter 11: Deceit

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WHAM! The door of my room slams open as an armored guards shouts, "Stand still devil!"

He slams me with the end of his spear bashing my head against my bed. My vision sharply shifts, but my sight does not blur - all remains clear without disorientation. He lifts his spear slamming against my head once more, but his spear breaks.

He shouts, "Devil! You've been corrupted!"

His partner slams his spear against his partner's face while rolling his eyes. The taller partner owns a swirly mustache, so I call him Swirly. He shouts, "What in the fiery inferno is wrong with yuh Karsh!"

I rub my head and wrinkle in irritation while Swirly peers back at me saying with authority, "I heard about what happened here yesterday son. I still call yeh The Merry Musician. You done sung fur me daughter's birthday. I remember seein her smile. No demon could make a child laugh like that."

I lean over my bed standing up as I ask, "Whats happening?"

Karsh yells, "You done murdered a man in cold blood! I saw the whole thing. He done seen yah dragging a poor girl out ah yur bar by her hair. She was a screaming in hollerin, so Mell decked yuh to stop yeh! Afterwards you done up and killed the man in a fit o rage."

Deluge jerks control hissing in rage, "So you watched as I was assaulted by a grown man? You saw a mere child struck down and watched the child kill the man over several minutes without acting? Now you attack him before he wakes breaking a spear across his head? This entire village reeks with corruption."

Karsh pales as Deluge's words sink in while Swirly peers down in shame as well. Swirly says, "I'm sorry fur what happened to yuh lad. Please furgive me, but I gotta take yuh tuh the court fur judgment."

I shake Deluge's conscious before responding, "It's alright. I understand. Thank you for hitting your friend."

He smiles spreading his mustache as he says, "At least I can dish out some justice here."

The guards tie pieces of rope and wood around my back arms leaving my arms crossed in an X shape with my palms facing away from me. They then tie piece of wood around my wrists leaving my arms immobilized. They drag me out of the room while several people stare at the inn.

They lead me outside where a carriage waits for me. I saunter up into the carriage before the coachman snaps the horses. The scenery bounces as the carriage rumbles through the city. Several villagers stare as I ride in silence. After another minute of riding, I link with Deluge saying, "Deluge?"

He responds with an annoying pleasure leaking from his voice, "What is it Jack?"

I hiss, "I am about to be imprisoned. Neither of us may achieve anything there. Why are you happy?"

He replies with an even greater level of nonchalance, "This world simply blinds me at times. That is all."

I roar, "Do you not see what you have done? You destroyed my plan! I will never live a happy life. Instead I will lie here rotting in prison!"

Deluges says with his unique calmness, "What is wrong with prison? There you are safe with regulated food and shelter."

I reply, "Are you really that moronic Deluge? In prison we have zero freedom., and do you honestly believe the prison will be so pleasant for a murderer? "

Deluge replies, "So you believe you have freedom now? You're limited to a very specific set of actions by your beliefs and goals. You want recognition for your talent, so you spend everyday singing at your bar and fountain. You have done so for months now. You will simply be restrained by physical bars rather than mental ones."

I roar, "Those are no bars forced on me. I choose those limitations myself, and that isn't restricting my freedom. It's expressing it."

Deluge responds, "Really? Regardless of your morals, you still never leave that same 500 foot stretch of dirt. Even if you were controlling your actions, your physical form limits you. Compared to a bird you can only slide along the earth like a worm. What difference does it make being trapped in an only slightly smaller cell?"

His tone changes to a thoughtful one as he concludes, "This world is vast Jack. You limit yourself far more than these people will."

My thoughts reach disparity. In some ways Deluge is correct, I have placed myself in my own cage for months. I...No. I rattle these thoughts from my brain and focus on whats in front of me. I focus on my trial.

Deluge says with a logical dismissal reminding me of a disdaining noble, "This is just another event that stands before us. We shall handle this as we have all other obstacles."

The nature of his reply spurs my thoughts. My previous plan showed no success after several months, even working against me in most cases. This change may be unpredictable, but at least there remains a chance for my initial goal's success. I love Morne and Kless, but they stagnate.

The best example I can make is there traveling habits. They've never left twenty miles from where they were born. The fact saddens me while injecting me with unease since my own ambitions contrast with theirs like ice and fire. They’re a harbor for resting my wings, but my soul saturates till I lay obese and jaded. I won't accept that. I can't accept that.

I say, "Then how will we evade imprisonment?"

Deluge says, "I spoke with an orphan yesterday after my disposal of the body. She spoke of the horrors of the church you referred to as an orphanage. They..."

As he continues, his voice creaks with repressed rage, "They manipulate souls there."

I snap, "What?"

"She couldn't explain any details, so all I know is they warp souls. I can't understand why or how, but they do. Only the children of the church perform the duty."

I nod my head thinking, "So that's where the stigma against children spawns from."

"At least partially. We can use this."

"Hmmm...I'm starting to see a picture here. I think I found an escape from this hell, though it's somewhat simplistic."

After we discuss the obvious ploy, the carriage stops. The guards shove me out of the carriage with gruff hands exposing a tall, wooden building with a stone foundation. Banners stream down from ornate metal banisters lining the buildings walls. The windows glisten with a pink sheen while the red and green flags banisters wobble as the wind makes waves in their fabric that flow across its length.

The excess of the building astonishes me as I walk through the twenty foot doorway. The ceilings push against the sky without any reason wasting space yet emanating power. I cringe before saying, "Do you honestly believe this will work?"

"I have no idea."

My unease evaporates as I roll my eyes saying, "Thank you for the reinforcement.

The guards pull me through the doors as we reach a room lined with rows of long benches like a church, yet only thirty people litter the front of the room. Several of the faces resemble the same faces of yesterday when Deluge killed Mell. Many impale my figure with their stares with a deep abhorrence, yet they demonstrate an astonishing variety despite the general malice.

Some peer with sadness as others glare with the outrage that long held bigotry spawns. With his own stare, a noble in colorful, silver lined clothing oversees the event. He stands behind a pedestal sizing me up scrutinizing with the apathy of a child smashing insects out of boredom.

I slouch with the weakest fragility my gangly frame may muster. I know of one principle fact my father taught me of nobles - appeal to their sense of superiority. In many ways, manipulating nobles proves easier than normal townsfolk, so I make myself small while preparing a heap of wordy compliments. I hope that works.

I stop bowing my head and torso with an artificial but convincing subservience. At least I pray it be so.

The noble recites from a sheet of paper, "You stand accused of murder of heinous origin. Multiple eye witnesses state you brutally murdered a man with your bare hands after he defended a woman from your assault. What say you.?"

Deluge's plan involves lying to the noble, and this requires my own convincing performance, so I evoke all of my talent for acting as I look him in the eyes saying, "I performed no such evil sire."

Several villagers gasp as he looks at me in surprise saying, "Oh ho, so you think I will believe the testimony of a murderer with over five eye witnesses?"

I stand firm, "Yes your sire. I am but a simple and humble musician of thirteen. I sing every day at the fountain then later at The Choice Brew. My hands are fickle, brittle things. I could not have beaten such a large man with such brutality."

I show him my hands. Deluge had shrunk them while smoothing the skin and thinning my fingers giving them an appearance similar to pencils. The noble observes my uninjured knuckles and face with open shock.

He looks at the others in outrage shouting, "How can you all lie to me with such obvious evidence to the contrary? This skinny boy's hands are managed well for his music. They are uninjured even though each of you told me he beat the man's skull to mush with his hands alone."

One of the onlookers shouts, "He must ah had rocks in his hands!"

Another chimes, "Yeah, that must of been it!"

I quell my growing loathing at their lies before Deluge reminds me, "Tell them to check the body's location. They will find nothing."

"Thanks for the reminder," I think before saying, "My sire, is there even a body for what they speak of?"

Several people hiss, "Yeh monster! Of course their is. He's in his house. His three days ain't passed yet."

The noble raises his hand suppressing the congregation's noise. He says, "It's a simply procedure to check the body." He gazes down at me saying, "You had best not be wasting my time."

I put on the expression of a scared child as I say, "I wouldn't dream doing so."

He looks around saying, "I'm beginning to doubt your words citizens. I can't even imagine this little boy beating a girl let alone a brawny man."

Karsh shouts, "Jus wait till yuh see what he done to the man. There ain't nothin left of his face."

We walk towards Mell's house as the building lays close by. Whenever we reach the establishment, we enter through the doorway finding no remains on the table. The customary practice for a death is to place them at their home's table. The family will normally stay with the body for three days grieving over their death.The process helps speed the mourning process while buying time for funeral preparations.

Due to the vicious nature of this particular killing, the family decided against staying with the body during the process. Deluge even cleaned the area with a pristine care I believed impossible for him. The evidence before me decimates any questions of his abilities or competence. He's reliable.

As I turn these thoughts over, a man shouts, "What the hell happened to im!"

A man says, "He done hid the body while noone wus lookin."

Another man smacks him as Geralt howls, his face purpling in anger, "Do you all take me for an idiot? His hands are fine, his face is undamaged even though you told me he was leveled by a brute, and now you can't even produce a body. The man's family isn't even here. This utter nonsense."

A man says from the crowd, "So many people saw it happen. Why dontcha just trust us?"

Another common folk shouts, "Yeah, do yuh not trust yur own town?"

Geralt thunders, "Silence! I shall not hang a child because of the fanciful whims of a bunch of bigoted rabble. This boy speaks properly with actual logic behind his words, and unlike every single word you villagers have spit, he has said only the truth."

I wince at the irony of his statement while guilt bears down on my shoulders, but I need to prevent my imprisonment while gaining opportunity. So I swallow my shame pushing further as I say in a rhythmical tone,

"Thank you Geralt. I wish to repay you for saving my life. Please, let me play you an orchestration. A single song serenading your splendor."

Geralt smirks saying, "Trying to butter me up aye? Well your words have convinced me more than this drivel's. I shall grant you an appointment later today. One of my servants shall escort you from your inn."

I bow as I say, "May my music grace your ears with my earnest effort, and may the stars shine on your evening with the same elegance as you granted my own."

Several villagers shout and howl, "What? This is madness! We all saw im beat the man tuh death!"

"He should be hanged!"

"What justice is this?"

The guilt I experienced earlier evaporates in face of their hatred. Geralt shouts, "Justice based on the facts presented to me. If I hear another word of this issue, I shall double the taxes on whoever says it."

The roaring transforms into whispers and murmurs, but their words sound into my ears with a remarkable clarity. They say,

"Look at that. He can murder a man in daylight without even facin a crime."

"His hands are fine look! How did e manage that."

"He aint no Merry Musician. Hes ah merry Murderer."

"Yeh, that's exactly what he be."

I steel myself despite their verbal jabs. I faced greater evils than the muttering of townsfolk, and even though I disagree with Deluge's killing, I consider it excessive self defense rather than murder. The man's strike broke my teeth. If not for Deluge's powers of regeneration, I'd be eating through a straw. Hell, I may have even died.

The guards escort me back to the inn removing my restraints. Swirly smiles while Marsk grimaces at my freedom.

As I step out of the carriage, the glares from the villagers transcend their earlier contempt from anger into utter hatred. I shrug their concerns off as I own actual problems.

After I run back to the inn, I collect my mothers harp while putting on my best clothes which are still simple. When I run down the stairs, Morne shouts at me, "What in blazes is wrong with yeh boy! I hear yeh done killed a man."

He slaps the side of my head with an open palm. He cringes as his hand reddens.

He snaps, "What is yeh head made of boy. Anyway, yeh need tuh let me know what happened. Whats goin on boy?"

I say with irritation siphoning from me, "I had to vacate a drunk prostitute. When I was dragging her out, Mell misunderstood before he hit me hard enough to break my teeth. When I got back up, he attacked me again."

The horrifying memory tears at me before I stare at my hands rasping, "All I could feel was red. I wake up on top of him with everyone just staring at me. The townsfolk would watch me die to the man's anger Morne."

My throat burns as I say, "They knew me as the Merry Musician, yet they watched me burn..."

Morne raises an eyebrow as he places his hand on his chin. He says after a moment, "Dontche think it may be the townsfolk was afraid. I know ye-"

Why is he taking their side? He shattered my jaw. With outrage spawning each word, I snap "I WAS AFRAID. I was helping an old man when I'm assaulted by a grown thug who aims not to stop me, but to hurt me. He kept attacking even when I had stopped holding the woman. He mocked my father."

I close my eyes as I breath a lungful of cool air before I say icing my words, "Excuse me, but I have an appointment to attend to Morne."

As I leave, I pass through the door as Morne stares at me. I hate these people. I toiled for months serving this community with my songs, yet they abandon me the moment I am in danger. They watch me crumble. They gaze upon my suffering. The hateful, spiteful glares I received afterwards...

Deluge whispers his words, "You can't expect a single thing from your fellow humans Jack. All the time you spent amounts to nothing to them. They have forsaken you."

A profound bitterness leaks into me as I say, "Then I shall forsake them."

I reach the manner. The elegant marble entrance leads towards stone walls with two pillars in the front of the building. The windows compose a large portion of the structure, and I find the same pink sheen on the glass. The building seems stately like the structure emanates influence. The crisp greenery polishes the look between ancient and new. This man harbors vast fortunes.

My breathing strains. I sweat despite the cold. This is the moment I have been waiting for all this time. All of my efforts for the last five months culminate here. This one focal point is my only chance.

Deluge snaps, "You may simply travel to another town and try my method if this fails. You do not stand at a life or death cusp. Calm down."

I blink for a few moments before I say, "You're right Deluge. I am only defined by this moment if I allow."

Deluge responds, "Suuuure. Of course."

"Deluge."

"What?"

"That's your first time ever being sarcastic."

"Hmmmm...I guess it is. What of it?"

I raise my eyebrows as I say, "I don't know. You just seem more...human I guess."

He says radiating discomfort, "You prod to deeply Jack. I am simply learning from your experiences."

Strange. Deluge acts very different from when we first contacted each other. In many ways I am as well. My language and even my thoughts have become more concise much in the same manner as Deluge. He speaks with a eloquence he lacked before. His sharp mind parades itself as he uses his new words.

He makes for a far better conversationalist. I like it. It makes me feel less alone...

As I roll my shoulders easing my strain and racing thoughts, I pause before the doorway and collect myself. I focus on the reasons I propel forward. I live with my mother and father's memories against my back. I live for my future.

After a moment of peace, I open the door and step into destiny.