Chapter Seven - A Dish Served Cold

It had been eight months since Savant Viggo Helmsman had set foot in the city of Geon, and much had changed. There was the chill February wind, the lightly falling snow, the icicles hanging from the eaves. Of course, there was also the scattered debris, shattered city walls, and thirty foot burn marks crisscrossing the pavement.

"They say revenge is a dish best served cold." said Field Marshall Holland, standing to the Savant's left.

"Well, your men certainly burnt the hell out of 'em, but I'm not complaining." Helmsman replied.

The siege of Geon would have been incredibly difficult, due to the anti-siege engines Helmsman had been hired to install the previous fall. With the Savant and his knowledge of the devices' weaknesses on their side, the Sardipan military had made short work of the engines. King Rarc had drawn his own forces in from the outlying provinces, but Bellaraphon was barely a tenth the size of Sardipa, and Holland's force had trounced the defenders with ease.

Not much of Geon's exterior remained, but Rarc's palace still stood and had been converted into the base of operations for the Sardipan occupying force. A Sardipan flag flew above Geon now, and the paperwork for the official annexation of the entirety of Bellaraphon had begun. A single city in the South still stood against Sardipan interested, but the King's crushing defeat at Geon had inspired compliance on the parts of the remaining feudal lords of Bellaraphon.

The Savant, Holland, and a few officers stood on the balcony outside the throne room. Inside, the tribunal was being prepared. Two men were waiting to be tried: King Rarc II, and Hector Antilles. They waited in chains.

"By the way, Field Marshall, I appreciate the effort you went to to track down that damn assassin." said the Savant.

"It was hardly trouble. His fellows sold him out in exchange for mercy rather quickly." said Holland.

A soldier stepped out onto the balcony. "Sir, we are prepared. You and the Savant need only take your seats, sir."

A clocktower across the city chimed three times as the Field Marshall took his seat. The time was just after two in the afternoon--the tower was being tested to see how much damage it had sustained by errant cannon fire during the assault.

"This military tribunal is now at order." said Holland. "To be tried are Hector Antilles, on charge of homocide, and former King Rarc Desamides II, on charge of conspiracy to commit homocide, and obstruction of justice. We shall begin with Mr. Antilles. Mr. Antilles, how do you plead, guilty or not guilty?"

"Not guilty!" said the less dejected of the two chained men.

"The defendent has plead not guilty. Let this tribunal commence with its first witness, Savant Viggo Helmsman."

Helmsman stepped up to Antilles. As he did so, he felt rage overwhelm him. When he came close to the bound man, his vision became clouded with the pure hatred coarsing through him.

"Savant Helmsman, is this the man that killed you?" asked Holland.

"There is no doubt in my mind." spat Helmsman. "It takes every ounce of my self-control to keep from wringing his neck right here and now."

"But how can you say that?" called out Antilles. "You were shot from behind! You don't have any idea what your assassin looked like!"

Helmsman looked Antilles straight in the eye, and Antilles drew back. "You filthy cur. You have perhaps never heard of Taximification? I know I hadn't heard of it until a few months ago, as I carried out research about my condition. Taximification is what happens when a man is killed under the most unjust of circumstances. His need for revenge becomes so great that he crawls out of his tomb and seeks bloody satisfaction against the man who wronged him.

"Mr. Antilles, I am a Taxim. I don't need to know what my assassin looked like, I can feel it. And I've never felt anything stronger than what I'm feeling from you right now. If you didn't shoot me through the heart with a crossbow bolt last April, may any god listening strike me down!"

The court waited for a few stunned seconds.

"The prosecution rests." said Helmsman, stalking away from Antilles.

"You are certain of this feeling, and it is documented in previous cases?" Holland asked Helmsman.

"I have all the relevant documentation waiting in your office in Ulgotha, Field Marshall. And yes, I am certain."

"Then I, with the power vested in me by the State of Sardipa, declare the Savant's testimony to be sufficient evidence of guilt."

Antilles tried to cry out, but a soldier gagged him before anything comprehensible came out.

"Now, then, King Rarc." said Holland, turning to the defeated king. "You are aware that, as a conquered king, you have no rights here. I will ask you only once, did you hire this man or any other man to kill the Savant in the hopes of keeping the secrets of your defense engines' weaknesses from leaving Geon?"

Rarc said nothing.

"A refusal to defend oneself can be interpreted as an admission of guilt under tribunal procedure, sir. Answer the question, and I may be lenient. I will not ask you a second time. Now is your only chance." said Holland.

Rarc sighed, utterly defeated. "I did."

"Evidence stands. King Rarc, you have admitted to your role in the murder of the Savant Viggo Helmsman. In addition, you are a conquered king and are not required mercy under Sardipan law. In light of your crimes, I sentence you and Mr. Antilles to death, to be carried out immediately." said Holland, cold as ever.

Rarc said nothing, merely slumping forward. Antilles squirmed.

"Field Marshall, may I make a special request?" asked Helmsman.

"Speak." replied Holland.

"In my research regarding Taximification, I fear my condition may become irreversible if I am not able to obtain my revenge. As such, I request permission to kill these two men myself. It is reasonable to assume that, as the mind and hand that slew me, their destruction will free me from undeath."

"Your request is granted. Let the record show that Savant Helmsman has no previous recorded incidents of violence on his record, and this action can be considered reasonable within the context of the situation." said Holland. "Savant, you may dispense your justice."

Helmsman reached into his pocket and took out a large-calibre revolver. He stepped up to Antilles first.

"Ten months ago, you shot me through the heart with a crossbow." he said, gesticulating with the gun. "You're a Bellaraphonian, so you use a crossbow. Let me show you what Sardipa has to offer a man like yourself."

Antilles' eyes begged for mercy, while his mouth screamed behind the gag. Helmsman fired from twelve inches away--Antilles' heart was shattered, and his death was nearly instant.

The Savant strolled leisurely down to the stricken king. He said only one word before pulling the trigger:

"Checkmate."