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Sir Zug was roughly prodded awake. He opened his eyes and was startled by the sight before him. A large crowd was looking down on him. "One of us! One of us!" they chanted, and hardly in unison.
"Order! Order I say! ORDER IN THE IUZ-DAMNED COURT!" A voice suddenly screamed louder than the others.
Sir Zug looked to the source of that voice and saw an isolated pedestal bearing Jumper the Boneheart archmage. He was dressed in the full regalia of a Furyondian noble judge. His right eye bore a patch - a patch that failed to fully cover the ugly scar that Sir Zug had left in battle less than a year ago. The crowd was laughing wildly and Jumper seemed satisfied with this.
Sir Zug found that his limbs were restrained by chains and that he had been dressed in a work smock that would not look out of place on a simple farm girl. He turned his gaze toward a noise to his right and beheld the sight of the Champion of Iuz, still dressed in the golden armour and the skull mask. Sir Zug felt strangely revolted by the sight of this Champion, and turned his gaze away in spite of himself.
"Sir Zug," called Jumper from his high pedestal, "you have been found found horrendously GUILTY... of having no sense of proper dress whatsoever! How do you plead?"
Sir Zug was not granted a chance to answer, as he was showered with offal by the crowd. His sense of dignity would not allow him to answer regardless, and thus he remained silent. From the corner of his eye, he saw the Champion begin to slowly walk around him. Sir Zug found his fear rising, and was ashamed.
"You are also guilty of harboring false aspirations, pig-face! You think that you are some sort of hero to your colleagues? You are nothing more than a half-orc bastard child! A simple gutter-rat playing at being a great holy warrior and liberator! You will make a splendid trophy in the court of our great Lord in Dorakaa..." Jumper allowed that last comment linger and the crowd gasped in awe. Sir Zug began to tremble, in part from rage but also in fear. He began to speak but Jumper had not finished playing with him. "The sentence for your crimes is death. The Divine Champion of Iuz will carry out the execution immediately."
Sir Zug had time to hear the crowd applaud the judgment and to see the Champion unsheathe a massive notched greatsword... time enough before he was cruelly beheaded with a single stroke. The crowd of Gibbering Gate roared with approval.
"Am I not merciful? AM I NOT MERCIFUL?" Jumper screamed to be heard above the din, but no one was listening to him. A hush soon fell on the court as the sinister figures of Kermin Mindbender and Kaquizel the Snake entered the pedestal of the judge. As the two most talented and accurate seers in service to Iuz, their appearance together was never to be taken lightly... all eyes had turned toward them. The baklunish archmage and the afflicted drow looked down upon the Divine Champion of Iuz who returned the stare. In moments, the three exited the arena and met in a private antechamber. A single figure waited for them there.
The Champion was tense and impatient. "You have new orders?"
"We do," said Kermin, literally overshadowing Kaquizel who was shrinking back from the presence of the Champion, "we have advised the Lord of Pain of a great prophecy, we can both validify the truth and urgency of the prophecy. You are apparently pivotal to the outcome and He has given you leave to hear the words of the one who brought our attention to this urgent matter. You will listen and listen well."
The Divine Champion and the two diviners turned to face the unimposing figure who was seated nearby. Kormath Burrsten rose and spoke without flourish.
"Tharizdun stirs, and his children are on the move!"
To be continued this summer... The Blackest Day.