Chương 20: A Simple Matter of Theft

"I thought the room would be larger," Corso muttered as we filed in behind Dast, taking a seat behind a long table on the left side of the courthouse hearing room. I could only agree. The raised desk at the front of the room was empty still, and we sat crowded together. To our right, Master Vieri was alone behind a similar table. Standing alongside the rear wall were Maestro Bravio and two Bellandi guards, one of whom was holding our sword in one hand and my satchel in the other.

It was my first time inside one of those hearing rooms, but I knew the system well. Varenza's legal labyrinth ran on magistrates like the one we were waiting for—trained less in the letter of the law than in resolving conflicts and disputes. What they could not settle went upward, to a court of law and an Iudex. I hoped, very much, that we would stay on this side of that line.

Master Vieri was already organising his documents into three neat stacks, and if their volume and order were intended to invoke fear, it succeeded. I glanced somewhat nervously at our advocate, who was leaning forward over a single sheet of paper. At first I took it for a page of random scribbles, but as I watched, Dast produced a pen and used it to make another small annotation in one of the few unused margins on the page.

Behind us, a law clerk was speaking to the guard who was carrying the items, and the guard reluctantly gave a nod. Then he proceeded up through the room and deposited the relics on the magistrate's desk. Only after this was done did the magistrate enter the room. A small, thin woman of perhaps fifty with grey at the temples and a walk that spoke of painful joints passed us before sitting down. She nearly disappeared behind the desk, and cursed under her breath and signalled to the law clerk.

A few moments later he carried a large cushion up to the magistrate. After re-seating herself, she finally looked up, first at our opponent.

"Advocate Vieri," she said. Her voice was strong, and deeper than I had expected.

"It is good to see you again. Is your wife doing better?"

"Magistrate Bardi," he replied, bowing slightly before pausing, seemingly searching for what to say.

"Frankly, no, she is not. But she will be pleased to know that you asked about her health." The magistrate smiled at Vieri in understanding.

"Well, then. I hope her recovery takes a turn for the better." She thought for a moment before turning to us.

"And you are—" she looked down at her desk, and I realised then that there must be documentation there, not visible from where we sat.

"Advocate Verin Dast. I do not believe we have met?"

"We have not, Magistrate Bardi, but I have seen you before."

"Yes?" she asked, curious.

"During my time at the academy, between lectures, I would sit in on hearings. Yours more than most, Magistrate. I remember a dispute over a donkey and a mule. Between two merchants. I forget their names, but I remember a discussion about value and worth. You resolved that one quite elegantly."

"You have a good memory, Ser Dast." The magistrate smiled, visibly pleased despite herself.

"That was only two years ago, and now here you are, seated at the advocate's desk?"

"Indeed, Magistrate Bardi." He bowed to her.

"Right," she said and sat straighter.

"Let us get this matter sorted out." She looked down at her desk again.

"And I consider the hearing of the Bellandi family, represented by Superior Advocate Cesare Vieri, and Messirs Vale and Corso, represented by Advocate Dast, as open. I see here that the dispute was filed by Advocate Dast, which means I will first give the word to Master Vieri. If you will." Cesare Vieri got to his feet, making a small production of the event.

He picked up a sheaf of papers from the first stack and paused as if to read it one last time, although I was sure he knew every word and had no need of his notes to begin with.

"Magistrate," he began, nodding to her.

"Master Dast," he continued, turning to our advocate and giving a small bow.

"I come bearing good news. This matter should not take up much of your time today, so I should be able to give you some back, for you to use as you please. Because this is a simple matter of theft." He held up the papers in his hand.

"This is a proposed confession and adjudication of the matter at hand, which I have already shared with Messirs Vale and Corso. At this time," he paused, looking at us and pausing, "it is still available for them to sign. If they do so, this matter goes away, and the day continues as before." He paused again, and I was admiring his performance. His shoulders slumped, and he got a pained expression on his face, as if his next words caused him genuine distress.

"However, if they do not, I expect the case to be escalated to an Iudex before the morning is over."

"You do not seem certain, Master Cesare," the magistrate interjected.

"Normally, certainty does not require flourishes, acting, or superfluous words. If you can please proceed, perhaps we will gain some of that time you have promised us?"

"Certainly, Magistrate. And accept my apologies. It is not every day that I get a chance to—""Master," the magistrate interrupted, looking pointedly at him.

"Right." Cesare appeared momentarily flustered, and even dropped a paper, which he slowly bent to pick back up. I suspected it was nothing more than some attempt to curry favour, to indicate to the magistrate that since she had interrupted his rhythm, he was now due some unnamed consideration. This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. It seemed our advocate was in agreement with that assessment.

"Magistrate," he said.

"I agree and concur with Cesare. This is a simple matter, if I may—" She held her hand up.

"A moment, if you may. Master Cesare?" she said, and this time her voice held more flint. It appeared that the Bellandi advocate was also adept at picking up the signs that told us the time for theatrics was over, and he straightened, this time with empty hands.

"Fact one: yesterday morning, we discovered that a brick wall making up part of the river abutment below the Ponte delle Botteghe had been smashed in. We found a passageway behind that broken wall, and when we followed it to its end we found a funerary chamber. In that room we found that the coffin had been disturbed. We found silver coins on the skull where the dead person's eyes once were, but nothing else. We started investigating."

He cleared his throat before continuing, and the magistrate made a gesture to her clerk.

"We spoke with experts, who shared that this is not the first chamber with this style of architecture found, and they further shared that the burial custom associated with these funerary chambers always includes certain… artefacts, buried with the dead. We proceeded to alert our network to be on the lookout for recently discovered relics." The clerk handed the Bellandi advocate a glass of water, and he gave a grateful nod before drinking and continuing.

"Fact two: earlier this morning, Messirs Vale and Corso sought our assessor Maestro Bravio, who I might add," Cesare gestured to the assessor who was standing by the back wall, "is presently here with us if you wish to speak with him. In that meeting they presented the assessor with relic objects that the Maestro believed to be consistent with the alert we had put out, and he called for Bellandi guards to apprehend the men." He was more confident now, and picked up another document.

"This action is, I believe, fully aligned with the rules and regulations that permit private guardsmen to capture individuals suspected of breaching the peace and to seize any proceeds that are unlawfully gained. I am prepared to argue this matter in more detail, if that becomes necessary." He looked at our advocate, who grabbed the opportunity and rose to his feet.

"Yes, Master Cesare. I believe that is necessary. My clients, their actions, were in no way unlawful, and it follows that—""Advocate," the magistrate interrupted.

"Let us defer the matter of the apprehension of your clients, as I believe the heart of this case is necessary to resolve first." Dast bowed to the magistrate and sat down.

"Fact three," Cesare continued.

"When asked for information about the provenance, the source of these items, the accused were not able to explain from whence they came, or how they came to be in their possession. What I ask the hearing is therefore that—" Dast rose again.

"Magistrate," he said, "I object to the classification of my clients as accused. This is a civil hearing. We are discussing property distribution, and the matter before us has nothing to do with the criminal codex." The magistrate considered this for a moment, but nodded quickly.

"I find myself in agreement with Advocate Dast. Master Cesare, if you can please describe the case in a way that is more suited to resolving the matter amicably, and refrain from… let's say, increasing the temperature in this small room, which is already hot enough, I would appreciate that as a courtesy." Advocate Vieri bowed to the magistrate and said, "My apologies, Magistrate. Anyway. I believe these three facts, when considered together, demonstrate why I expect this to be swift and simple.

To summarise: Someone broke into a Bellandi structure, proceeded to pilfer valuable artefacts, and later tried to pass them off as lawfully owned. As I said to begin with, we would be entirely within our rights to bring the case directly to an Iudex, but from a place of wishing to close the matter without undue duress to these two gentlemen," he gestured at Corso and me, "who I understand have recently become unemployed, we have offered to them this simple solution." He tapped the first document again.

"Sign this, and it all goes away." He sat down, and just when we thought he was done, he added, "Magistrate Bardi, may I please request a swift resolution." He continued from his seat.

"The facts should make this case clear, and a small indication from yourself at this time, regarding the… clarity and lack of ambiguity these facts combine to provide… Perhaps that would be of assistance to Messirs Vale and Corso, so that they can choose the sensible option before we have to take this further." Magistrate Bardi did not look pleased about this request.

"Superior Advocate Vieri," she began, and her voice was ringed with the steel from earlier.

"I asked you to stop with the theatrics. To be blunt, I find it condescending that you would even suggest I speak on this matter before I have heard from the opposing party." Cesare Vieri held her eyes for a moment and gave a slight bow, pretending chastisement. She turned to our advocate.

"Advocate Dast. Although I am not particularly happy with Master Cesare, he does have a point. The Bellandi family owns this land, I checked myself. Do you argue otherwise? Or that the items in question come from some other place?" Dast half-rose, but the magistrate lifted a hand before he could find his feet.

"Before you answer, Advocate, I would like to hear it from the source." Her eyes settled on me.

"Messir Vale. Stand, please." I stood, my knees strangely wobbly, and Dast gave me the smallest of nods.

"You were there, two nights past," Bardi said. It was not a question.

"Yes, Magistrate."

"The wall that was breached. Did you breach it?" I glanced at Corso, who was studying the grain of the table with great interest.

"I did, Magistrate."

"With what?"

"An… an iron bar, Magistrate." She raised an eyebrow.

"An iron bar," she repeated, flatly.

"So, this was deliberate. And it took some time, I would imagine."

"Yes, Magistrate."

"And what did you believe the wall to be, when you struck it?"

"I believed it was part of the old bridge works, Magistrate. The abutment on the Bellandi side."

"You knew it was a structure. Not natural stone. Not a fall of rubble."

"I knew it was built, Magistrate. Yes."

"And you broke through it anyway."

"I did." The clerk's pen scratched on. Bardi folded her hands.

"Why?" I took a breath. It was very strange saying these words.

"Because I believed there was something of value behind it, Magistrate. An old chamber, perhaps a tomb. We had been looking for such a site."

"Looking," she said.

"So your presence on that land, at that wall, was not chance. You went there seeking valuables."

"Yes, Magistrate."

"And you found them."

"Yes, Magistrate."

"And the items now before this hearing—you removed them from that chamber yourself?"

"Some of them, Magistrate. Messir Corso carried the rest." She held my eyes for a long moment, and whatever she found in them, her expression did not soften. She gestured, and I sat back down. Dast's jaw was tight. Vieri, across the aisle, shone with satisfaction. Bardi turned back to our advocate.

"Now, Advocate Dast. You have heard your own client confirm, in his own words, that he knowingly broke a built structure on Bellandi land, that he entered it seeking valuables, and that he removed goods from within. So, it is your time, and let me begin with a question. Do you argue the land is owned by the Bellandi, or that these items come from some other place?"