The Constable thought the matter over and then came to a final decision. Looking at the barmaid he announced, "Very well, Belle, this one" Pointing to Ral "can stay with you to clean up your inn. If you like, you can wake his friends and get them to help you." Pointing to Sterling, the Constable said, "But this one is coming with us! You may have forgiven him for destroying your inn, but I haven't forgiven him for disturbing the peace and breaking the peace bond on his sword."
Turning to the Swordsman, Stinkwell's chief peacekeeper continued, "You need not worry, Drow, the penalty for both charges is a night in jail. Then, before the third sun rises, I'm going to march you to the North gate, give you your sword, and let you go! And if I ever see you in Blossom again, I swear I'm going to stake you out in the swamp as bait for the Bullywugs! Do you understand me?!"
"Yes, sir." said Sterling much relieved.
"But I have to confess that I was expecting a trial of some sort."
"A trial?!" smiled the Constable for the first time as his men mockingly laughed along with him. "You've just had one! There hasn't been an Adjudicator in Blossom since Venger cursed this place. I am the law, and you should be grateful for it! Any other man in my position would probably have had you drawn and quartered by now! But because you were defending yourselves and helping Belle here, I'm going to go easy on you. Don't worry about your other Drow friends, we'll find them before too long!"
Looking over to the Deputy who held the Swordsman, he commanded, "Take him away! And don't let his weapon out of your sight!" Turning back to the innkeeper, the Constable concluded, "A good evening to you Belle, I am sorry about what happened here, but I guarantee you that it will not happen again!"
Whistling for the rest of his men, the Constable recalled all of his Deputies and marched out of The Wildflower Inn with the Dark Elf in tow. "Oh," reminded the Constable turning back to Belle. "By the way, tell his friends what happened and that they have until the second sunrise tomorrow to get out of town! If not, THEY are going to end up as Bullywug bait! Thank you, Belle, and good evening to you!" And with that he and his men left the inn.
As the Deputies ushered Sterling through the streets, some of the patrons that had exited the inn began to gather and hurl insults, vegetables, and other objects at their prisoner. A few of them sought to push through the Deputies in an effort to get at him, believeing the Swordsman to be the source of their trouble.
The Constable stepped forward, gave another high pitch whistle, and cried out, "Back Off, all of you! There is nothing to see here! Justice is being served! Go to your homes or the Drow won't be the only one in my jail tonight, I promise you!"
Some of the townspeople walked away upon hearing the Constable's warning, while a few of them backed off and watched from a distance as Sterling was being marched off to jail.
"Can I expect a visit from the friendly neighborhood lynch mob in the middle of the night, Constable?" said the Swordsman more than a little concerned by the crowd's reaction.
"Not if I have anything to say about it!" returned the Constable with utmost certainty in his voice. "You should consider yourself lucky that you and your friend didn't hurt or kill anyone in there. Because if you had, I assure you that I would have had the both of you swinging from a rope by the fourth sunrise! If nothing else, the citizens of Blossom love to see justice being done!"
It did not take the Constable long to march Sterling to his jail which was only a few blocks away from the inn. The jail looked solid enough to withstand a bomb blast, while the inside of it was quite clean. As the Swordsman noted, there were plenty of cells, all of them empty, and more than a few Deputies to keep an eye on everything.
As one of his men opened a cell, the Constable untied the Dark Elf's hands and pushed him inside, slamming the door behind him.
"For what it's worth," added the Constable before he left, "I do believe you when you said that you take no joy in killing, that you only do it when you have to it. But you have to understand something, that inn is the only security that the people of this town have left! It's a safe haven for them, and tonight's little escapade took that away from them! Besides, the law is the law! It applies to everyone, there are NO exceptions!"
"Take this," continued the Constable, handing the Dark Elf a handkerchief. "You're bleeding, apply some pressure to that cut and I'll have the healer drop by and check you out a little later."
Sterling took it and thanked the Constable, who only nodded his head in return.
Turning to his remaining Deputies, the Constable reminded them, "Keep an eye on him and that weapon of his! Don't play around with it! Don't even touch it! You never know what kind of enchantment he may have on that accursed thing! Keep sharp, I'll be by in the morning to escort him and his friends out of town." With that, the Constable stormed out of the jail and into the night.
Sterling walked over to his cot, leaned back and stretched out on it. "Well, at the very least, I can get my three hours of sleep now."
A Point To Ponder
((NEXT))
