"I say foul," Lady Christine answered a few moments later, breaking the stunned silence.
"Aye, foul and now fear," Dugald agreed.
Gareth motioned for Kane and Emelyn to join him at the dais. Then he instructed Jarlaxle to leave and wait in the anteroom—and several guards accompanied the drow.
"Why do we bother wasting time with this obvious lie?" Christine said as soon as they had gathered. "His plans to rule Vaasa crumbled and now he tries to salvage something from the wreckage of ill-designed dreams."
"It is a pity that he chose the route he did," said Gareth. "He and his companion might have made fine interim barons of Vaasa."
All eyes turned to Gareth, and Christine seemed as if she would explode, so violently did she tremble at the thought.
"If Olwen were here, he would have struck you for such a remark," Emelyn said.
"You believe the drow?" Kane asked.
Gareth considered the question, but began shaking his head almost immediately, for his instinct on this was clear enough, whatever he wanted to believe. "I know not whether it was a ruse from the beginning or a convenient escape at the end," he said.
"He is a dangerous character, this Jarlaxle," said Emelyn.
"And his friend has no doubt committed countless crimes worthy of the gallows," Christine added. "His eyes are full of murder and malice, and those weapons he carries…"
"We do not know that," Gareth said. "Am I to convict and condemn a man on your instinct?"
"We could investigate," said Emelyn.
"On what basis?" Gareth snapped right back.
The others, except for Kane, exchanged concerned glances, for they had seen their friend dig in his heels in similar situations and they knew well that Gareth Dragonsbane was not a malleable man. He was the king, after all, and a paladin king, as well, sanctioned by the state and by the god Ilmater.
"We have no basis whatsoever," said Kane, and Christine gasped. "The only crime for which we now hold Artemis Entreri is one of treason."
"A crime calling for the gallows," said Christine.
"But Jarlaxle's explanation is at least plausible," said Kane. "You cannot deny that the actions of these two, whatever their intent, solidified your hold in Vaasa and reminded the half-orcs of Palishchuk of heroic deeds past and the clearest road for their future."
"You cannot believe that this… this… this drow, went to Vaasa and arranged all of that which transpired simply for the good of the Kingdom of Bloodstone," said Christine.
"Nor can I say with any confidence that what has transpired was anything different than exactly that," said Kane.
"They sent an army of monsters against us," Dugald reminded them all, but his description drew an unexpected burst of dismissive laughter from Emelyn.
"They called a bunch of goblins and kobolds to their side, then put them before us for the slaughter," said Gareth. "I know not the depths of Jarlaxle's foolishness or his wisdom, but I am certain that he knew his monstrous army would not even reach our ranks when he sent them forth from the gates. Much more formidable would have been the gargoyles and other monsters of the castle itself, which he did not animate."
"Because he could not," Dugald insisted.
"That is not what Wingham, Arrayan, and Olgerkhan reported," reminded Kane. "The gargoyles were aloft when first they went to see what mischief was about the castle."
"And so we are left with no more than the crime of inconvenience," said Gareth. "These impetuous two circumvented all protocol and stepped far beyond their province in forcing me north, even if it was for the good of the kingdom. We have no proof that what they did was anything more than that."
"They tried to usurp your title," Christine said. "If you are to let that stand, then you condone lawlessness of a level that will bring down Bloodstone."
"There are darker matters at hand," Emelyn added. "Let us not forget the warnings we were given by Ilnezhara and Tazmikella. This Jarlaxle creature is much more than he appears."
The sobering remark left them all quiet for some time, before Gareth finally responded, "They are guilty of nothing more than hubris, and such is a reflection of our own actions those years ago when we determined the fate of Damara. It is possible, even logical, that Jarlaxle's ruse was exactly as he portrayed it, perhaps in a clever—overly clever, for he wound himself into a trap—attempt to gain favor and power in the wilds of the north. Maybe he was trying to secure a comfortable title. I do not know. But I have no desire to hold Artemis Entreri in my dungeon any longer, and he has not proven himself worthy of the noose. I will not hang a man on suspicion and my own fears.
"They will be banished, both of them, to leave the Bloodstone Lands within the tenday, and never to return, on pain of imprisonment."
"On pain of death," Christine insisted, and when Gareth turned to the queen, he saw no room for debate in her stern expression.
"As you will," he conceded. "We will get them far from here."
"You would do well to warn your neighbors," said Emelyn, and Gareth nodded.
The king pointed to Emelyn's robe, and the wizard huffed and pulled it open. He produced from a deep, extra-dimensional pocket the scroll they had found in the Zhengyian castle.
Gareth waved his friends back from the dais and motioned to the back of the room. A few moments later, Jarlaxle, his great hat still in his hands, again stood before the king.
Gareth tossed the scroll to the drow. "I know not whether you are clever by one, or by two," he said.
"I lived in the Underdark," the drow replied with a wry grin. "I am clever by multiples, I assure you."
"You need not, for it is exactly that suspicion that has led me to conclude that you and Artemis Entreri are guilty for your actions north of Palishchuk."
Jarlaxle didn't seem impressed, which put all of Gareth's friends on their guard.
"Exactly what that crime is, however, cannot be deduced," Gareth went on. "And so I take the only course left open to me, for the good of the kingdom. You are to remove yourself from the region, from all the Bloodstone Lands, within the tenday."
Jarlaxle considered the verdict for just a moment, and shrugged. "And my friend?"
"Artemis Entreri or the dwarf?" Gareth asked.
"Ah, you have Athrogate, then?" Jarlaxle replied. "Good! I feared for the poor fool, entangled as circumstance had made him with the Citadel of Assassins."
It was Gareth's turn to pause and consider.
"I was speaking of Artemis Entreri, of course," said Jarlaxle. "Is he under similar penalty?"
"We considered much worse," Christine warned.
"He is," said Gareth. "Although he was the one who assumed the title of king, I note that the castle was named for Jarlaxle. Similar crimes, similar fate."
"Whatever those crimes may be," said the drow.
"Whatever that fate may be," said Gareth. "So long as it is not a fate you discover here."
"Fair enough," Jarlaxle said with a bow.
"And if it were not?" said Christine. "Do you think your acceptance of the judgment of the king an important thing?"
Jarlaxle looked at her and smiled, and so serene was that look that Christine shifted uneasily in her chair.
"One more piece of business then," said Jarlaxle. "I would like to take the dwarf. Though he was entangled with the Citadel of Assassins, as you discerned, he is not a bad sort."