About an hour later, Tom made his way to the knights' sparring chamber with a belly full of food and a heart full of gladness. His brow wrinkled in confusion, however, when he approached the doorway and found a pair of his fellow knights standing at either side of it as if they were guarding something inside. They let him inside without an issue, but Tom found himself perplexed. 

Once he entered the chamber fully, another sight gave him cause to raise an eyebrow. Peter Raska sat with crossed arms on a small bench, which really consisted of just a plank of wood bolted to the wall, and from there, he supervised all five of his students besides Juan Feliz. They sparred under his watch and appeared to throw their whole hearts into every strike, every block, and every shift of stance. 

Tom grinned at the sparring knights' enthusiasm. They all gave their best, wooden swords swinging at dizzying speed. And when one swordsman prevailed over another, a spirit of friendship remained between them, the loser of the round giving encouragement to the one who had bested him before rising back up to go at it once more. 

Tom sat down next to Peter. "They're remarkable." he commented with a smile, "You must be proud." 

Peter gave a grave nod and kept his eyes fixed on his students. "More than I can express. I only wish I had more time." 

"What do you mean by that?" 

"I've gathered them here for their last lesson ever." 

Tom frowned. "I don't understand." 

"My trial's at noon today, in case you have forgotten. And as far as I'm concerned, the verdict has already been decided." 

"I wouldn't lose hope if I were you, Sir Raska. The so-called evidence against you is scanty at best." 

"But at the same time, the evidence for me is equally thin, and mostly only my word." Peter groaned. "Besides, Juan is convinced of my guilt, and his persuasiveness is unmatched." 

"Well, he hasn't persuaded me. Don't worry, Sir Raska; I won't give up on you lightly." 

"I'm grateful for that, but I hardly find any comfort there. The High Council has already examined all the others and absolved them." 

Tom frowned. "Even Sir Feliz?" 

"Indeed. His examination was this morning, and he both entered and exited the Council chamber in high spirits." 

Tom exhaled a long sigh. "Who do you think is the culprit here? I simply can't bring myself to a conclusion, because all candidates appear equally unlikely." 

"That's the difficulty." Peter said with a shrug, waving a hand toward the five sparring students before them, "I can't possibly imagine any of them are behind this. Each one them either isn't skilled enough or not malicious enough to be capable of such treachery." 

"I agree. And you are far too passionate about Monterayne's welfare for me to conceive you betraying her. As for Juan, I feel he has too much to lose." 

"My thoughts exactly. But we cannot merely say such things and then count the matter settled. The fact is, somebody did train this unmarked swordsman, and only seven men could have done it." 

Tom met Peter's gaze with concern. "I certainly hope the Council doesn't condemn you merely for being the last to be examined, or for unrelated faults." 

"I'm almost certain they will. And that is why I must return to giving my last lesson." 

Tom watched grimly as Peter rose to step into the midst of his students and give more particular instruction. The Raskan master started rearranging them and setting pairs against each other, apparently based on his intimate knowledge of their individual strengths and weaknesses. 

For his first pairing, Peter set wooden longsword-bearing Jay Martin against a tall Kemarian man simply called Tao, who held an oak replica of a sword unique to his people in his left hand. Longer than most one-handed swords, it possessed a rigid and slender blade clearly conducive to cutting with minimal effort. This will be interesting. 

Peter counted off, and the match began. While Jay clearly held the advantage in strength and speed, Tao displayed a unique technique. Instead of folding his free hand behind his back like Juan Feliz always did, he used it to his advantage, grasping Jay's hands and moving his sword aside to open him up to a stab from his own blade. After simulating the stabbing maneuver, he let go, and Jay graciously accepted his defeat. 

In their next round, Jay fared better. Anticipating the grappling from Tao, he merely kept his blade moving to increase the risk of simulated injury. When Jay came in with a mighty strike from his own two-handed blade, he overwhelmed Tao and knocked his hand aside long enough to give him an imaginary beheading. 

The burden lay upon the third round to make an overall winner. Both men appeared acutely aware of that fact. Once Peter counted them off, the two men exploded into action. Jay utilized the same heavy-handed strategy, only Tao adapted and used the strong of his blade to block, giving himself more leverage than before. Jay used the connection between their weapons to pivot and stab into Tao's chest, but the tall Kemarian simultaneously nailed him in the belly. 

Both men backed off and eyed their teacher for the verdict. His lips twitched and eyes narrowed in thought. 

"It's a tie." Peter declared, "On the battlefield, such things will happen. Even in their dying breaths, a vanquished opponent can do something like that, and no rules or fairness will save you." 

Jay and Tao readily nodded at his words before giving each other a handshake. Tom smiled and stalked off to another part of the chamber, where a number of his fellow Halotinian swordsmen sparred. The whole trial situation weighed heavily on his mind, but exercise sometimes helped him distract himself for a time. 

**** 

About ten minutes remained before noon, and that being so, Tom emerged from his morning reading to present himself in the Council chamber. Usually, only the High Council would be present for a meeting like this, but Alden had ordered that for this one, "certain men of great utility and high standing in the order" should attend. Juan had informed Tom that he stood among that number, and that was that. 

So Tom currently strolled down the hallway with hands folded behind his back and teeth busy gnawing at his lip. A heaviness descended over him and upset his stomach. He found himself dreading what seemed to be inevitable. No matter how utterly convinced he was of Peter Raska's innocence, he couldn't help but wonder if Peter had been right. Maybe the Council would condemn him just to feel they had accomplished justice. As if it were a matter of checking a box and that would be the end of it. 

A door creaked open in the hallway behind Tom, and then the familiar click of high-heeled shoes tapped the wooden floor he'd just walked over. He turned to see who was behind him, and at the sight of a familiar redhead with a pleasant smile, he smirked. 

"Good morning to you, Keely." Tom greeted her while she picked up her pace to walk alongside him, "What brings you to the knights' hall today?" 

"Sir Juan Feliz actually requested that I attend Sir Peter Raska's trial to transcribe the proceedings. At this point, I may as well be his intern." 

Tom chuckled. "I'd say you are, only without the title." 

"You may very well have a point there." Keely said with a smile, "So, clearly the fact Sir Raska is in Monterayne now is testament enough to the success of your mission, but still, I'll ask. How did it go?" 

"I'd be the last man to lie and say it was easy fighting across a battlefield dominated by Innutukian horsemen, but as you can see, I survived and retrieved him as ordered. I also engaged the unmarked swordsman again, together with Sir Raska and Sir Feliz." 

Keely's lips parted. "Ah, I see! Did you slay him?" 

"I'm afraid not. He injured Sir Raska and slipped away." 

"How unfortunate. I've been praying that he be caught and brought to justice for his atrocities." 

Tom nodded. "All of Monterayne and Alconte, nay, the whole civilized world, prays the same with you. But for now, all we can do is attempt discovering the traitor who trained him." 

"Sir Feliz told me all other Raskan warriors have been examined already, and they were declared innocent. So doesn't it stand to reason that Sir Raska is almost certainly guilty?" 

"Not at all. I was not present to the other examinations to ensure they were either fair or thorough. And if we find Sir Raska to be innocent this day, that only means a second trial for all the others, and one with much more scrutiny." 

Keely stared up at Tom with wonder in her light blue eyes. "So I take it you will be attending this trial?" 

"Yes. And please, Keely, stop calling it a trial. He is only being examined." 

"I apologize." She walked in silence for a minute before looking up again and clearing her throat. "So, what are your overall thoughts on this situation?" 

"I find it vexing. Each Raskan swordsman strikes me as having no reason to have done this treachery, and on the contrary, a host of reasons appear stacked against their desire to do so." 

"But yet it is undeniable that somebody has." Keely said thoughtfully, "What a conundrum this is." 

"Indeed." Tom said as he approached the wide door to the Council chamber and gracefully opened it for Keely, "But the Lord's will will be done, and a just God he is." 

"Amen. Thank you." Keely said, stepping through the entryway before Tom with her head bowed slightly. 

Tom drew in a deep breath, sighed it out, and stepped into the Council chamber after shutting its door behind himself. I suppose this is where the fun begins.

**** 

A/N: An insight into the Raskan classroom of sorts, followed by our build-up to the trial! Seven men who had no reason to have done this treachery, but yet, none of them have any apparent motive supporting it. As Keely said, what a conundrum this is. 

(And what a conundrum it would be if you didn't vote and comment, am I right? 😝) 

Anyway, do you have any pre-trial suspicions? If so, please do comment them. Granted, to keep spoilers from exiting my lips, my replies will be somewhat minimalistic, but I'd love to see what conclusions you're all coming to. 

Well, with that, I'd better get moving to get ready for work! I hope you have an awesome weekend and subsequent week ahead of you, and I'll see you next Friday's updates.