“I do know,” Beorf said. “But it’s a long story and I am too sad and too tired to talk about it now. Come see me tomorrow and I’ll tell you all I know about those horrible creatures.”
The two boys shook hands warmly. Amos was pleased to have met Beorf and promised to come back early the next day. He started off and was nearly in the thick of the forest when he heard the galloping of horses. He turned around and saw a dozen Knights of Light throwing a net over Beorf. Transformed into a bear, the humanimal was struggling to free itself of the trap. The bees were stinging the armored men furiously. One of the knights knocked Beorf out while another one set fire to the wooden house. Once the beast lay unconscious, the bees stopped their fight and returned to their hives.
In the net, the bear morphed into his human form. His feet and hands were tied up before he was loaded onto a horse. Amos wanted to run to his aid, but he wisely thought that rather than confronting the powerful knights, it was best to find another way to try and save his friend. Hidden in the woods, he saw the knights take Beorf away. Huge flames were now consuming the cottage. The sight made Amos remember Beorf’s words: “Sadly, humans never trusted us, and killed many of us.”
Frantically he ran back toward Bratel-la-Grande.
5 THE GAME OF TRUTH
When Amos reached the capital, he was out of breath and exhausted. But he went straightaway to the Shield and the Sword. Barthelemy was at the inn, chatting with three other knights. They had all removed their armor and were applying ointment over the many bee stings that covered their skin. They had been stung everywhere: under their arms, behind their knees, in their mouths, even under their feet.
“Those bees are real devils! Look, they stung me on the palm of the hand I use to hold my sword,” said one knight. “How’s that possible? My hand was solidly around the handle of my weapon, and yet those blasted bees managed to sting me there!”
“That’s nothing compared to what they did to me,” complained another one. “Look at my right leg; it’s almost paralyzed because of the swelling. I counted exactly fifty-three stings. And yet there is nothing on my left leg. Those bees knew exactly what they were doing by concentrating all their efforts to deprive me of one leg. An enemy on the ground is an enemy vanquished! Those little devils knew how to keep me down.”
“And they stung me in the mouth and around the eyes,” said the third one, with a lisp. “I can hardly see anything! At least I can still talk!”
Amos approached Barthelemy and told him that he wanted to speak with him in private. They moved away from the others.
“You made a mistake when you captured the young humanimal in the forest,” Amos said. “He has nothing to do with the misfortunes that have befallen the realm, and he’s the only one who knows something about the real enemy. You have to set him free!”
Barthelemy seemed surprised. “How do you know this? In any case, there is nothing I can do. He’s going to be put to death tomorrow at sunrise.”
“We have to save him,” Amos insisted. “If there is nothing you can do, who should I speak to to gain his freedom?”
“Yaune the Purifier, my young friend!” declared the knight in a respectful tone. “He decreed that any person accused of witchcraft was to be put on the pyre. The knights obey their master and never criticize his orders. Humanimals are treacherous beings that deserve to die. Tonight you’ll be able to attend the boy’s trial. I advise you not to defend him. You could meet the same outcome and end up with him on the fire.”
Amos asked Barthelemy what the trial consisted of, since it was evident that Beorf’s fate had already been decided.
“The humanimal will be submitted to the game of truth. Yaune puts two pieces of paper in his helmet. The word ‘guilty’ is written on one, ‘innocent’ on the other. The accused draws one of the pieces of paper. His choice determines his guilt or innocence. I’ve never seen any accused pull out the piece that says ‘innocent.’ The light inspires Yaune the Purifier and he’s never wrong. If your friend is innocent, the truth will come out and he’ll be saved. But by my word as a knight, that would be the first time it has ever happened!”
Amos walked around the city as he waited for Beorf’s trial. The market square had been transformed into a tribunal. In a few hours, the trial would start. His friend, imprisoned in a cage, was exposed to the eyes and insults of passersby. Some of them threw tomatoes and rotten eggs at him. Beorf fumed silently but his hatred and disdain were clear. Amos met his gaze and gave a quick nod.
Why did it always have to be this way? Amos wondered. Why was ignorance always pushing humans to imprison innocent people, to humiliate them publicly, and to threaten to execute them? Maybe Beorf would be placed on the pyre as his parents had been, condemned without any proof of wrongdoing. And all the villagers gathered in the town square were already salivating at the thought of the upcoming spectacle. Didn’t they have any compassion? Hadn’t this town, under the pretext of protecting itself, killed enough innocent victims? It seemed they needed still another, and probably more, to satisfy their appetite for blood. All these knights thought they were doing the right thing; none looked farther than the tip of his nose to question his actions. Amos, his stomach upset and his heart constricted, felt suddenly nauseated. He threw up behind the dilapidated wall of a deserted house.
An impressive crowd was assembling in the town square when Amos returned. He started pacing up and down, his brain working at full speed. He had to save his new friend, but how? Unable to explain why, he was convinced that Yaune the Purifier’s game of truth was a mere ruse to instill fear in those he ruled. But what was the trick?
Amos picked up two stones of the exact same size but of different colors and put them in his pocket. The darker stone represented the word “guilty,” the pale one the word “innocent.” After ten tries, Amos drew the pale stone six times, the darker stone four times. Again and again he tried, with much the same results. But not once did Amos pick the same stone ten times in a row. So he concluded that it was impossible that Yaune’s game of truth could be fair. According to Barthelemy, there had been many trials and none of the accused had ever won their freedom. They had all been found guilty, which went against all logic.
Suddenly everything became clear in Amos’s mind. If every accused person invariably chose the word “guilty,” it had to be because the word was written on both pieces of paper! Clearly, Yaune was a player who lied and cheated. It was the only explanation. Now Amos had to figure out a way to prove the lord of Bratel-la-Grande’s treachery so Beorf could go free.
The trial was set to start and Amos was still looking for an answer to his problem. When he threw the dark stone on the ground for the last time, he hit upon a crystal clear solution. He laughed. He had just found a way to liberate his friend.
Yaune the Purifier moved toward the dais. He was a tall man of about sixty years. His long gray hair was gathered in a ponytail, and he had a thick gray beard. A long scar went from his right eye down to his upper lip. His armor was the color of gold. Two white wings adorned the sides of his helmet, and around his neck he wore a long chain with a big skull-shaped pendant. The skull was carved out of a green stone, with two eyes that seemed to be huge diamonds. Yaune was an imposing ruler, and his solemn expression commanded respect.
The crowd was agitated, milling and feverish. The gates of Bratel-la-Grande had been closed for the night, and all the knights were present. Under a thunderous round of applause, Yaune the Purifier started to speak.
“We are gathered here so that the light will triumph once more. Dear citizens of Bratel-la-Grande, the boy that you see before you in this cage is a sorcerer. Several knights witnessed his transformation into a beast. A knight never lies, and the word of my men cannot be doubted. The magic of this sorcerer is powerful, and just like the others we’ve caught, he will be condemned to the purifying fire so that our realm can be saved. That is, of course, unless the game of truth proves his innocence. Only if we eliminate all forms of witchcraft will we overcome the curse that is upon us. Truth and light are our guides and until now our intuitions have been just and our actions courageous. If any among you doubts the guilt of the young sorcerer, let him be heard now or forever be silent!”