SPQT -- Trial and Tribulation

October 12 - (The first part of the entry contains notes made during trial; includes main points of prosecution's opening oration, observations on the crowd, the absence - determined by True Seeing - of any doppelgangers besides those in the docks; also, which of her acquaintances at the trial are using cosmetic illusions, some doodles, etc. PCs are called to testify; basically they tell their story straight. After a break, the entry resumes:)

Uncle lingered to talk to various acquaintances, and we proceeded home, with Gaius carefully but not ostentatiously surrounded. He chafes under the confinement, poor boy. Our caution was justified, however, when three bolts shot down at us from a nearby roof about a block and a half from the courthouse. One struck Gaius solidly in the side and the other two missed. I at once stepped in front of him, donning my Cloak of Righteousness; Alfredus overturned a nearby pushcart to provide cover; and Robyn ran for the relevant building as Decimus attempted to polymorph the sniper, then flew up to apprehend him. A magic mouth appeared in the bolt in Gaius's side, warning him not to testify. I remarked, as I removed the bolt and healed him, that our assailant obviously didn't know Gaius very well. He maintained his tough facade and agreed, but the wound was a grievous one and he was visibly shaken, as who can blame him. He was sufficiently himself that he was glad my first attempt left a small mark, because he wanted to be able to show the other boys where he'd been attacked, and it wouldn't be nearly so impressive if I'd healed it all. It seems to me he could show them the mess on his clothes, but I suppose that's not enough to impress a boy.

Meanwhile, Robyn and Decimus's attempts to locate the sniper were in vain. A lingering transmutation aura on the roof indicated that he had some magical means of escape, but Decimus couldn't even determine what spell it was; Dimension Door was among those suspected, and he immediately took to the air again, but failed to catch sight of the assassin, perhaps suggesting an indoor destination for the transport.

This bolt has a slimy, queasy aura about it, not unlike the aura of the Eye of Charon. I don't like to handle it.

October 13 - Borrowing Corvus's Ring of Chameleon Skin and Hat of Disguise, Robyn and Gaius swapped appearances on the way to the court this morning; Uncle also loaned Gaius an old breastplate and placed Stoneskin on him. Decimus flew, invisibly, above us, providing cover, and thus saw the invisible assassin appear on another rooftop immediately after he shot at us. Our precautions proved barely adequate, for though the bolts did not penetrate to harm either Gaius or I, a poisoned one pierced Robyn's armor and did him great harm. Fortunately I had my Neutralize Poison and Restoration scrolls, so he was in a fit state to give his testimony regardless. Meanwhile, Decimus's pursuit of the assassin was foiled by his producing a scroll and using Dimension Door to escape (thus confirming one of Decimus's suspicions of the previous day.) This gave us search parameters, since Decimus was able to make a reasonable guess at how far away he could have gone, and mark out an area of several city blocks that fell within that distance of both shooting locations; but we could scarcely search every apartment building within 800 feet, and the search turned up nothing.

Nevertheless, the guilty have overplayed their hand. The prosecution made good rhetorical use of the dastardly attack made upon key witnesses. The jury was looking daggers at Sextus and the hapless doppelgangers. Gaius - made up, under protest, to look even younger and more vulnerable than he is, and coached within an inch of his life by Uncle - behaved just as I would have him, but telling the story in the first place is the easy part!

October 14 - No attacks on the way to the trial this time. The defense is off to a slow start. It's plain that their chief hope is to discredit Gaius's testimony and to float the alternative theory that Uncle is the real culprit, having set us up to frame the Valerii. Alfredus was nervous about being cross-examined, and doesn't think he acquitted himself well; but in fact he took refuge in his "dumb barbarian" act and the jury appeared to eat it up. The defense advocate hammered at me longest, but he could not push as hard as he would have liked, due to my position in the church. He gave up on Robyn within 10 minutes, no match for that blank half-elven stare! You might as well chop logic with a cat.

Finally bringing myself to handle the tainted crossbow bolt again, I scryed the location of the bolt's owner. He's staying in a small basement room, probably in an insula near the courthouse, but I couldn't get a fix on it. Corvus is researching deeds for us, looking for a Valerius property in the vicinity.

Oct. 15 - Gaius's day, and he's very tired, but came through with flying colors. As Alfredus joked, you might have thought he'd been in court before! No more attacks, I'm happy to say. Robyn, noticing Sextus arguing with his attorney, managed to overhear snippets of conversation, to the effect that "I'm not going to hang for Quintus! It was his idea, and I'm not dying for it." Quintus is the same Valerius who originally owned our ratboy doppelganger. Robyn has told the prosecutor, who is pleased as can be.

Oct. 16 - Fifth day of the trial; no testimony from any of us.

Oct. 17 - No trial today. Someone sent "an air creature" to Sextus's cell in an apparent attempt to assassinate him. I think the Valerii are frightened.

Oct. 18 - (Notes on defense's summing up; the defense rests.) We took a leisurely lunch of a couple of hours, and on returning found that the jury was back - guilty on all counts. The families of the victims rushed to file claims for damages against the Valerii. Robyn thinks we should file assault charges, but I would like to have slightly firmer ground - such as the assassin's person in hand, or some link between the assaults and the Valerii.

Oct. 19 - We rose early, and took some locate object spells to the vicinity of the assaults, hoping to locate a light crossbow of the type I saw in the crystal ball, and triangulate a position for his lair; but no joy. However, it seemed not unlikely that he would be out and about on the morning of sentencing, so we returned home and scryed him again. He was strolling down a street not far from the Valerius townhouse, and Decimus teleported himself, Primus and Corvus, all invisible, out to follow him. We waited so long we were almost late for the sentencing, but in time Decimus arrived with good news.

They followed him to a wine bar, where he received a missive from a half-orc. He forebore to read the missive until he came to a second wine bar, but since Corvus and Decimus were invisible, there was no difficulty in reading the contents over his shoulder. "Services no longer required, payment arranged at usual spot. V." Returning this to his pocket, he went down to the docks and arranged passage to Khmet before returning to an insula nowhere near the places of assault. Primus, sharing spells with Decimus, invisibly followed him in, and explored his rooms. One of the first things noticed was that, though he had appeared unarmed, as soon as he entered the room he laid the crossbow down on the table. Primus located a pack and a chest, dragged the pack - though it was twice his size - under the bed, so that anything useful in it would be inaccessible to the assassin. Decimus then lapsed the invisibility spell, but not the fly spell he had cast just before entering the insula - this point is important. Primus strolled up to the door and meowed to go out, much to the surprise of the assassin. Naturally suspicious, he picked up the crossbow, listened at the door, and opened it a crack. However, since Decimus was seeing all of this through Primus's eyes, he and Corvus were ready for him. Corvus wrestled the crossbow from him and ran, being grievously wounded in the process. Decimus pumped magic missiles into the assassin until Corvus escaped, at which point the assassin cast fly on himself. Decimus polymorphed him into a fish, which promptly flew away - but since Primus could also fly, this availed him little. Primus was very annoyed when the fish turned into a man as soon as its head got bitten off, but we have gotten him the best fish in the market and he is presently purring and licking his whiskers, well-satisfied with himself.

Thus, we have the weapon - an unholy thing, with an interdimenstional clip that will hold a hundred bolts, and these with special qualities, such as the poison, or frost damage, which can be called up at will. Except for the unholiness, it's a fine weapon, and Corvus is pestering me to find a way to remove the unholiness aura so he can use it freely. I'll certainly talk to my fellow priests about it. He deserves a reward, for he and Decimus not only apprehended the assassin, they retrieved that incriminating note. The prosecution made much of this adventure before sentencing, and the rumors are flying all over town - none of them flattering to the Valerii.

The verdict is death for the doppelgangers and life imprisonment for Sextus, who I understand has "cut a deal" as Gaius sagely puts it. Gaius was cheered when he entered the court room, and is fairly well pleased with life. I have given him a week off with which to do as he likes, only asking that he come home once a day so that I know he's still alive. Orus knows, he's earned it. He confessed he was afraid I'd never let him out of the house again, for fear of V's revenge; but this is much like contemplating the possibility of your friends being replaced by doppelgangers. The threat will never go away, and there is nothing to do but to trust Orus, and live your life.