--- Tolwin

The man in front of Tolwin was coated with sweat, and his face warped in terror.

Marzio Fabeles was a merchant of Orinna, middle-aged, married and with three kids, but was also the suspect of a crime. He was charged of being the culprit of future murder against one of the members of the Council of the Merchants, the powerful organization that ruled over the city. The investigation on him had revealed that he had been a business competitor with the other man for a long time, and that fact was supported by the same anonymous sources who had informed the authorities about his killing intent.

In a normal situation the intervention of the Order would have never been necessary, yet the Council had made use of all its connections and requested a specialist from the Holy City to shed some light on the story. The suspect, on the night before his trial, was abducted from his house and brought to that courthouse, where the officers questioned thoroughly. Still, even after a long and violent interrogation, he still denied everything.

The room was unnaturally quiet that day. Every now and then, the armour of the guards who held Fabeles on his knees rattled, the metallic noise echoing across the luxurious marble walls. The only constant sound, however, was the anxious panting of that poor guy. Without any doubt to the eyes of a normal person that kind of trial must have seemed more like a mysterious, esoteric rite.

Alright, merchant. Let's see what you hide.

Tolwin tapped into his own spirit, invoking the Eye. Like many times before, he began following the river of light that took form in his mind, advancing through the life of Marzio Fabeles towards his true fate. With his power the paladin was able to search for any detail that confirmed a future guilt, but couldn't properly focus on the rest of the events that involved the suspect. Not that he wanted to, of course. It wasn't his job.

Luminous trails flowed in the darkness, and Tolwin wondered if there was really anything to be found.

Maybe this poor fellow won't do anything, after all. That's what I hope. Maybe I'll be able to send him back to his family in one piece. Knowing this city, he could have just been framed by someone who was envious of him, or something like that...

It was quite a childish way of thinking, but how wrong could it be to have some faith in human goodness? Nonetheless, there was a catch. As a paladin, he had a vow to report his every find. And sad but true, almost everyone was bound to do some evil in the future, whether he knew or not. Tolwin's power was able to spot even the smallest action and then it was up to him to decide whether it was a crime, be it the murder of a person or the mere theft of an apple.

Eyes closed, the paladin went on with his silent analysis for a long time. When the image of a powdered poison being dropped into a glass of wine finally appeared, he knew to have found what he was looking for.

"Marzio Fabeles, I've seen the future and confirmed your killing intent," he coldly announced, after a moment of pause. "I declare you guilty."

The yelling of the merchant was useless. He tried in vain to free himself from the grasp of the guards while they dragged him away towards his newfound fate.

The word of the Order is law.

"Justice in the name of the Light." whispered all the witnesses together, as they left the hall.

Finally alone, Tolwin sighed. He had grown accustomed to what happened after condemning a suspect but every time, for a couple of minutes, the atmosphere remained fouled by something. It was an intangible feeling, yet an upsetting one. The picture was always the same. The person going pale, eyes wide open, screaming that they were innocent, that it was a mistake, then begging for mercy and asking to see their families, but in the end all that fuss was for nothing. Each part of that show repeated and repeated, in every trial the paladin took part to.

To be fair to those poor folks their crimes were often found many years into the future, and it was completely possible that at the moment of judging them most had still to be conceived. Still, it was a matter of fact that the Eye of Judgment was never mistaken and that all the events it foresaw were going to happen just like Tolwin had seen them, unless someone stepped in with a radical intervention. That intervention, more often than not, had to be a sentence to death.

That power was the reason why a young paladin like him had been able to become a respected judge. During his childhood, when he couldn't control it, he spent his days shut in his room, incapable of looking at somebody else's face without starting to see the future. Scared by that luminous river, full of grim and nasty images, Tolwin suffered for years until a priest discovered his ability. Then the Order took him in, helped him to develop his special power, and saved him from a tormented existence. His power was a blessing, they had told him, a gift that could save many lives.

Nevertheless, even after sending hundreds of men and women to the gallows, the paladin kept feeling that something was off. He had spoken with his superiors about it, but nobody could exactly figure out the real reason behind his uncertainty. The Eye of Judgment, so impartial that sometimes it could seem unfair, always told him that his decision was right. Yet it wasn't enough to put Tolwin's mind at rest, especially while the culprit was dragged away, desperately looking for a way to change his fate.

The man pushed those thoughts aside, signed the papers that confirmed the legitimacy of the trial, waved at the guards and left the building. He headed towards the harbour, where he had a room at one of the inns. The crimson light of the sunset painted the sky above Orinna, crowded with seagulls looking for their last meal of the day, all while sailors and workers walked back from their respective jobs.

It was a busy, industrious city, in which the air smelled of salt. Born as a simple seaport, over the centuries Orinna had grown into one of the most important trading hubs of the entire Old Crown. Then, after the collapse of the ancient dominion, the independence and subsequent founding of the Council of the Merchants, the size and wealth of the town had increased even further. With a good amount of territory under its control, Orinna was now known as the richest place in all the Free Kingdoms, where you could find whatever kind of merchandise you could possibly desire. Due to that fact, the ruling class could afford to indulge in pleasures and to live in the lap of luxury.

The paladin proceeded on the street without any rush, shaking his head every once in a while at the occasional vendor who offered his products. The merchants of that city loved profit and were willing to do almost anything in order to obtain and preserve it.

Even to put the suspect of a mere business crime under the judgment of the Order. It's not like Fabeles was innocent, but... What would have happened if I hadn't found a single clue?

Tolwin already knew that. The Council wouldn't have allowed that guy to get back home. He would have been simply taken out. Human malice, for what concerned the paladin, was a sad reality but still amazed him at times. Whenever he was sure to have already seen the most vicious and unprincipled individuals, inevitably fate itself forced him to reconsider. That, in short words, was the essence of Tolwin's job.

***

After a long stroll, the paladin reached the harbour inn.

Thank the Makers. Time for some rest, at last.

He had scheduled his departure for the next day, at sunrise, earliest that he could. From his point of view, all Tolwin wanted was to leave Orinna and forget about that merchant, punished for a crime he hadn't even started to plot.

This sensation of wrongness... It's gotten stronger lately, hasn't it?

The man entered the building, finding the place already pretty crowded. He ordered his dinner and sat down at a corner table, where nobody would have picked a fight with him. With his tabard clearly showing the fact that he was a paladin, he had often been the target of unfriendly glares during his travels. The warriors of the Holy City never went anywhere without a good reason, so sometimes they were also addressed as bringers of misfortune.

To think that priests are so popular among the folks, on the contrary. It feels weird that we have to act so discreetly when we carry out our missions. Oh, whatever...

People kept pouring into the tavern, to the point that there was barely any space left. The counter was packed and all the previously empty tables were now occupied. Tolwin smiled to himself, happy to have chosen to eat a bit earlier than usual. Just a couple more minutes and he would have reached his room upstairs, leaving all that fuss behind, and given in to a pleasant night of sleep.

In that moment, however, a man came towards him.

"I beg your pardon, sir," said the newcomer, with a joyous voice, "May I sit here at your table, while I eat?"

The paladin lifted his gaze, crossing the eyes of the cheering stranger. He was around his same age, with scruffy hair and an innocent, almost childish face. Dressed with poor and dirty clothes, which created a bit of contrast with his overly friendly behaviour, he carried a wooden bowl full of a steamy liquid. Despite not exactly liking the local patrons, for some reason Tolwin decided that the newcomer wouldn't have been a problem and let him take the free spot for common courtesy.

He must have noticed my tabard, but didn't show any sign of mistrust. Maybe I finally met someone who doesn't dislike paladins just because.

"It seems difficult to eat that stew while standing. Be my guest."

The stranger thanked him with a respectful bow, sat down and began chewing on his meal in silence, while the paladin lazily studied him. There was a weird scar on his right hand, similar to one he had seen sometime in the past, but he couldn't be certain of it. It was only while he was distractedly looking at some guards dragging away one of the customers that it came to his mind.

"Funny," commented Tolwin. "When I was a child I had a friend with a scar like that. Did you by any chance grow up in one of the northern republican provinces?"

The other man gave him a curious face. "Yes... I was born in a village near the Rien. How did you figure it out? Do we know each other?"

"It's me, Tolwin!" exclaimed the paladin, "Don't you recognize me, Svonn?"

Svonn's spoon fell from his fingers. The man seemed surprised, and quickly answered back.

"Tolwin? Makers... You changed so much!"

The two friends shook hands, after long years. That encounter, completely unplanned, had just changed Tolwin's evening in a very unexpected way.