Probably someone bribed to denounce me, he thought bitterly. Kiv doesn't miss a move.
They had him neatly penned, all right. Like a fool, he had walked straight into their ambush, and now they had him. Would his death crush the movement? He didn't know. Norvis was still at large some place, and Ganz peDel—but could they carry on alone? There was no certainty of that.
The priest finished administering the oath to the man in the testimonial box, and returned to his seat. Kiv, from the platform, said, "Stand forth and speak, Bryl pePrannt Hebylla!"
Of course! Kris recognized him then. It was Bor pePrannt's brother, who had been with Bor when the two of them had tried to hold up his office that day—so long ago!—when he was changing money.
"Tell the Council what you know, Bryl pePrannt," the Elder Grandfather said.
What does Bryl know? Kris wondered. And why would he betray a man who had befriended him?
"All I know, Ancient Grandfather, is what my brother told me. But my brother is innocent, Ancient Grandfather; he only did what this man"—he indicated Kris—"told him to do. He didn't know there was anything wrong."
"Never fear, Bryl pePrannt," the Elder Grandfather said. "Your brother will be freed."
So that was it! That was the dirty, filthy, underhanded trick they were playing—letting Bor go free on the condition that Bryl talk! Kris felt his muscles tighten and his stomach seemed to be a cold lump within him.
"Well," Bryl said, without looking at Kris, "on the fourth night after the Feast of the Inner Light, my brother was with this man on board his ship, the Krand. They came up to Gelusar with the cobalt hidden in a false bottom of the ship. They went overland from the bend in the river south of Gelusar and took the money to the Bel-rogas School—"
"Mourn its holy name," a lesser priest intoned.
"Yes ... uh—" Bryl seemed a little confused by the interruption, but the eyes of the Council were still on him. "Anyway, they took the cobalt and buried it on the School grounds and then came back to Tammulcor."
"Excellent," Grandfather Kiv said.
"Just a minute!" Kris shot to his feet. One of the acolytes standing nearby raised his peych-knife, but a signal from the Elder Grandfather stopped him.
"This man is a thief and a liar!" Kris shouted angrily. "What evidence do you have to back up this ridiculous story?"
"The evidence will be shown," Grandfather Kiv said coldly. "We have witnesses who saw the Krand come upriver with many deests on its deck—but we know that the ship never arrived at Gelusar. Also, we have the ship itself—and the double hull has been found. That, I think is enough to substantiate the story Bryl pePrannt tells."
Kris felt as though he had been slapped in the face. The Krand captured?
"Do you call that evidence enough to stone a man?" Kris asked loudly. His voice was still as firm as ever.
"It is," said Grandfather Kiv. "It is, and more than enough. But we have still more." He turned toward his left and called out: "Bring in the other witnesses!"
A group of acolytes appeared, bringing with them four men— members of Kris peKym's own crew. Kris sat down slowly.
The Elder Grandfather addressed the four crewmen. "As you have been told, it is no crime to follow the orders of your captain. Indeed, to fail to do so is mutiny. But it is one thing to commit a crime because you were ordered to do so, and another to comply freely with the act. To fail to testify here would indicate that you condone your captain's actions, that you deserve the same death as he does—stoning.
"Your testimony, however, will indicate to us that you were merely following orders and are, therefore, innocent of any crime. Will you testify?"
The sly snake! Kris thought. Loyal as they might be, what else could they do in a situation like that but spill everything? A bath of cold perspiration spangled his forehead as he saw now that there was no way out for him whatsoever.
The answer of the four was pure formality. It was obvious to Kris that they had already decided to tell the Council what had happened.
They did. One by one, they climbed into the testimonial box and told their stories. This time, unlike Bryl's testimony, they were questioned for detail. They gave detailed and explicit answers.
Kris could see the whole pattern. Bryl had come to Gelusar somehow —maybe he had blabbed what Bor had told him—maybe he'd thought he could get paid—maybe a lot of things—
And the shrewd old man had used Bryl's worthless, undocumented testimony to club the crewmen into giving testimony that was far from useless. It clinched the case against Kris peKym Yorgen perfectly. Like a meat-deest being led to the butcher's, like a peych-stalk under the farmer's knife, Kris peKym would be put to the stones.
When it was all over, the Council conferred for a few minutes. Then Grandfather Kiv peGanz Brajjyd rose ominously and said, "Have you anything to say before sentence is given, Kris peKym Yorgen?"
Kris stood up slowly. "Yes, Elder Grandfather, I do." He turned and looked at the hushed crowd in the auditorium. "The Council will condemn me to death. I will die for what I have done. But let me tell you this: they have condemned me because they are still under the influence of the devil Earthmen, the demons of the Outer Darkness. They condemn me, but I do not condemn them—they have already condemned themselves far beyond anything I could do or say."
Then, as the crowd began to whisper, he turned back to the Elder Grandfather. His hand jabbed out in a sharp gesture. "And I tell you, Elder Grandfather, that for this day's work, the Great Light Himself will condemn you even more than you have already condemned yourself."
"I stand ready to assume responsibility for my deeds," Grandfather Kiv said. "May the Great Light deal with me as I deserve, if I have erred this afternoon." He drew his robes solemnly about him. There was a long, tense, crackling moment of silence.
"Kris peKym Yorgen, we, the Elder Grandfathers of the Sixteen Clans of Nidor, in Council assembled, find you guilty of the multiple crimes of sacrilege against the property of the Great Light, blasphemy against the Great Light, and high treason against the governors appointed by the Great Light. As the Law of our Ancestors dictates, you and your men shall be stoned to death at firstlight tomorrow. We speak in the Name of the Great Light."
The blazing twin lights from above winked out suddenly. The trial was over.
Chapter XVI
Norvis peKrin Dmorno brought his deest pelting up the road toward the Great Temple, and reined the animal up and tethered it near the Temple wall in the Square of Holy Light. He dropped off, tired, and leaned against the panting animal's side for a moment, recovering his energy.
It had been a hard ride, down to Tammulcor and back—but it had been necessary, in order to save Kris peKym. Norvis had made the journey to the southern port in what must have been record time, despite the nuisance of having a deest die under him en route.
Outside the Temple, he encountered a boy passing by, and stopped him.
"Tell me, boy—how did the trial of the blasphemer go today? I've only just arrived from Tammulcor."
"Found guilty, Old One," the boy said. "Guilty and sentenced to die at firstlight tomorrow. The trial just ended a few minutes ago."
"Thanks," Norvis said, and walked on without bothering with the formalities. He entered the Square of Holy Light and looked around. The place was deserted, here in the dim light of late afternoon.