" " ' ' Wenn stood, looking blankly at the guards. "What?" he asked.
"Sir, we must make you arrest," said the guardsman. He held a three foot rod of some strangely dark metal. "Let us not make a scene of it."
Wenn and Crissa both cringed away from the almost hostile emanations of the staff. By sight other than normal light, they could see malevolence about it. It hated magic, and disliked mages, even without anything magical about.
"Captain," asked Marrat, himself visibly taken aback by the staff's negating aura, "must you wield a wizardsbane so offensively?"
The captain held it downward, in a less threatening manner. "I apologize, but to us, Master Wenn is an unknown quotient, sir."
"I understand that and I vouch for his behavior," said Marrat, giving Wenn a meaningful look.
Mandran nodded curtly and turned toward one guard, who held a large wooden case. The staff was placed within and the lid closed. It was as if a fire had been snuffed in Wenn's mind. He hadn't even heard the buzzing sound in his ears until it was gone. "What was that thing?" he asked Marrat.
"A wizardsbane, a weapon to render mages helpless," said Marrat.
Both of they young apprentices looked at the captain with newfound upset and worry. "Would it hurt us?" asked Wenn, eyeing the casket, but talking to Master Marrat.
"Not in and of itself, but if you tried to use magic around it, it would suck your energies dry," explained Marrat. "I cannot know about Crissa, her abilities are so different from ours and powered differently, as well. It might hurt her.
Crissa gave the box one last look, then turned toward the captain again. "What do you mean that he killed that ass Lentan?" she said. "We just saw him not an two hours ago, and he was hale and hearty and full of piss and vinegar."
"As you say, Mistress Crissa," said the captain, trying very hard to remain professional. "But he is quite thoroughly dead now, and it was known that Master Wenn had accepted challenge to duel him this very night."
Wenn bowed up at this point. "So you call my honor into question by laying claim that I ambushed him and killed him rather than face the cad in a fair fight?" he asked.
"That is the charge, Master Wenn, though the details must come out in the trial," said Captain Mandran. "For now, you are made arrest, please."
"Go with him, Wenn, and offer no resistance," commanded Marrat in a quiet voice. "Do not dishonor us by adding real crime to the charges."
Wenn blinked at the old wizard, then nodded. "Yes, Master Marrat," he said.
Crissa tried to follow them as the guards formed a rough box around the young apprentice. Marrat stopped her with a old, callous, and surprisingly strong hand. "No, dear," he said. "You need to stay."
Her eyes turned to his, wide and pleading. "But he needs me," she said.
"He needs you to stay here, and clear of the confusion that his arrest will cause," said Marrat, gently nudging the doors to his foyer closed.
"You do know he didn't do it, don't you?" asked Crissa, blinking back tears.
Marrat shook his head. "I know no such thing, though I do not believe he did it," said the old wizard.
"How can you say that?" asked Crissa, almost screaming. "You know he didn't do it!" Tears now rolled down her cheeks and she clenched her fists into tight knots.
Again, Master Marrat shook his head. "I fear I cannot say that," he said.
"Then look into his mind and see the truth," she said.
"I cannot do that, my dear, even if I were able," said Marrat, a odd placidity coming over his features.
"You won't lift a finger to defend him?" she asked, her expression incredulous. "What the hell is wrong with you?"
Marrat moved toward the library and sat upon a small stool within the massive room. "I cannot take any side in this," he said. "I must remain impartial."
"Why?" she asked. "You are his mentor, you have to take his side."
"Because," said Marrat, taking out his pipe and starting to pack tobacco into the bowl, "as he is a wizard, and I am the senior wizard of the duchy, I must be his judge."
- - - - - - - - - -
"I cannot simply recuse myself, Crissa, you must understand that," said Marrat, sighing. "We are wizards, and held to a higher standard, we must simply become impartial, even if it hurts inside to do so."
"And does it hurt?" she shot back. "You don't seem terribly upset."
"It does, my dear," said the old man.
She turned about again, hammering both her fists on the end of a large bookshelf. "One protect me, I want to throttle you right now," she said.
"I understand that feeling," he said mildly.
She blinked at him. "Who will be his defender in the court?" she asked, a small spark of hope dawning in her eyes. "He is a freeman and such is his right."
Marrat nodded. "Indeed, it is," he said. "I have sent for a friend from Morrovale to assist in that endeavor, to act as his barrister."
She nodded and said, "At least you did that much."
"I had to, as the judge, it is my duty to ensure he is represented," said Marrat. "I did him no special favors."
"I suggest you go to bed and begin afresh on the morrow, Crissa," said Marrat, picking up a massive tome and carrying it toward his own bedchamber. "You have much to do."
"What have I to do, except watch my lover be tried for a murder he didn't commit?" she asked.
Marrat gave her a weak smile. "I assume you wish to clear his name," he said. "Such things are best done with clear heads and well-rested bodies."
She blinked after him as he closed the door to his chamber.
Crissa could not think straight. Wenn was now prisoner and her life was twisted out of alignment. She stormed up to their shared tower room and threw herself onto the bed and wept, frustration bled as she wailed into the pillow, her heart hurting for her missing mate.
- - - - - - - - - -
She awoke to the sun beaming into her face. The sun did not come into this part of the room till near noon. She blinked at the blinding light and slipped from the bed.
