An Honest Man

Writers: Paula
Date Posted: 26th January 2019
Series: The Great Bandit Trial

Characters: Zandan, Terren
Description: Zandan questions Terren about his involvement with the holdless bandits
Location: Emerald Falls Hold
Date: month 7, day 4 of Turn 9

Six prisoners at one time was an unusual number, so the cell under the
guard barracks was crowded with the captured bandits. Terren huddled in
a corner, trying to make himself as inconspicuous as possible. He was
relieved to find that the others blamed the missing Tedek for having
betrayed them, and mostly ignored him. Even if their leader was dead,
there were still some he didn't want to get on the wrong side of.

For most of the long, painfully slow journey back to Emerald Falls in
the cart, he had been numb with shock. In his younger days, Terren had
not always stayed on the right side of the law, but he'd managed to slip
away with minor punishments for petty crimes. Then he'd married and
inherited a cothold from his wife's father, and had thought that part of
his life was over - not without a touch of regret.

This was completely different. He had been caught with bandits. If he
didn't find some way to convince the guards he was innocent, he could
lose his hold. He could go to the mines! Terren shuddered at the thought.

He wondered where his wife was. Lirena would help him. She had family.
Solid, respectable family. He had never exactly got on with his in-laws
- they were a self-righteous lot who thought the aim of life was to wear
oneself out with the dull grind of farm labour - but surely they would
speak up for him...wouldn't they?

The rattle of a key in a lock and the scrape of the door opening made
his heart start to race. Terren pressed further back into his corner,
staring at the floor in the hope that he wouldn't catch the eye of a guard.

All prisoners were dragged out and divided. Then they were marched up to
the main building to be interrogated separately. Most of the
interrogations were done by assistant stewards or senior guards. Zandan
had chosen to interrogate the cotholder himself. The guard escorting
Terren was none too gentle when he plopped the man down and chained him
to a sturdy chair facing Zandan. Zandan studied the cotholder like he
was some sort of bug found crushed under his boot.

Terren quailed under the captain's gaze. Why did Zandan want to speak
with him, and not one of the real bandits? He didn't think Terren was
the mastermind of the band, did he? The idea sent chills down the
cotholder's spine. He had to talk his way out of this somehow! He'd
spent most of the journey trying to think of a plausible explanation,
but was hampered by the fact that he wasn't sure how much the guards
knew already.

The silence lengthened and became unbearable. Finally, the holder
cracked. "I don't know why I'm here! I didn't do anything! I thought
they were honest traders, so I agreed to store their goods for them."

"Honest traders don't operate in the darkness of the night and use
secret signals. You're either very stupid or bad liar. Or both," Zandan
sneered. "Tell me, what made you to mix up that bunch of sorry losers?
You had a nice little cothold and wonderful family. Whatever could made
you ruin that?"

Terren was wondering that himself. Right now, the tedium and drudgery of
his former life were forgotten. He would have given anything to be back
in his cothold, sitting in his chair in the cool shade of the veranda,
with a glass of ale in his hand and the pleasant smell of his wife's
cooking drifting out from the kitchen. He wondered where she was. She
had told him she would see him at the Hold. Why wasn't she here,
standing up for him?

She had also told him to keep quiet. But he had to say something! If the
guards thought he was stupid, that was fine by him. Right now, freedom
was worth more than pride.

"I swear, I didn't know they were doing anything wrong," he protested in
his best imitation of a simple, dull-witted cotholder. "They told me it
was normal for them to work by night. Said that the sun was too hot in
the day."

"In Emerald Falls Hold? I'm from Coral Bay, compared to it, this place
is _chilly_", Zandan sneered. Coral Bay was tropical seahold, while
Emerald Falls sometimes even had snow during the cold season. It was
rare but it happened, especially near the mountains.

Zandan picked up a record from his table. "You know, I was not surprised
to find out you had a criminal record." He waived the hide under
Terren's nose. "You were it of a gambler, weren't you? And tendency to
skip payments? Several complaints from the Tavern Master and some
accusations of cheating in dragonpoker."

The cotholder froze. How had the guards known about that? It had been
back before the Pass began - he hadn't even been to Emerald Falls in
Turns! Should he pretend to be insulted and claim they'd got the wrong
man? But if he did that, and someone recognised him from the tavern, it
would be even worse for him.

Instead, he tried an ingratiating smile. "It's true, I did some foolish
things in my youth. Who hasn't? But I've left those days behind me. I'm
an honest farmer now, with a wife and children to take care of." He
shifted his expression to one of concern - not difficult, given the
circumstances. "They must be worried sick. Who will be running the farm,
if I'm not there?"

"I don't know, I don't _care_", Zandan said, leaning over the cotholder.

Terren shrank back in his chair, his heart racing. "Please - I just want
to go back to my cot. I'll never have anything to do with people like
that again." He thought fast. What could he offer the guards? "I can be
useful. I'll say anything you want, to help convict the others."

"I'm sure his Lordship will take your co-operation under consideration
when the time of judging comes," Zandan leaned backwards. "However, he
also hates dishonest holders." They already had Tedek, so they didn't
need Terren, although it wouldn't hurt to have them both testify against
others.

"I'm not dishonest!" the man protested. "I'm a good holder. I keep my
cothold in fine condition, and I always pay my tithe on time." As he
spoke, he suddenly remembered that he still owed Galveden for the last
instalment, and hoped his neighbour had not said anything to the guards
about it.

To distract Zandan's attention from that dubious claim, he continued.
"And my son is a dragonrider!" He'd heard the Lord Holder supported the
Weyrs; maybe that would count in his favour. "Dragonriders don't come
from dishonest families."

Zandan burst out to a laugh. "That's two sillies statements I've heard
in ages. I bet my knots there's a small army of assistant stewards
looking into your Holding right now. As for dragonriders don't come for
dishonest families, what a utter whershit. If that holdless thief J'ackt
can become a bronzerider, then anyone can."

The cotholder had turned rather pale at the thought of the stewards
examining his hold. He was fairly confident that their records were
accurate, since they had been kept by his wife; Terren had never had
much time for figures and hidework. But what if they asked around the
nearby holds and found out about the missing ovines?

"My boy will stand up for me. He'll prove I'm an honest man," he said,
deciding his best course was to keep up the pretence of being wrongly
accused. He needed to find out whether having a dragonrider on his side
would help or harm his case, though. "I want to speak to a harper."

"Fine, I'll get you a one," Zandan sighed. It was his right by charter.

"Thank you." Terren decided that it couldn't hurt to be polite to the
man who had you chained to a chair. He smiled, with a trace of the charm
that had won over many a sceptical holder before. "I'll prove that I'm
innocent, and help you see the guilty ones punished if I can."

"You keep forgetting that we overheard you talking with them, just
before the arrest," Zandan remarked with a feral smile. He left the
cotholder stew with that and went to fetch the poor harper who usually
handled the defence in Lord's court.

Last updated on the February 3rd 2019

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An Honest Man