An Arsonist and a Necromancer Walk into a Bar

Chapter 34 – Trial Aftermath

“Are you an idiot!?” Chiara hissed, the echoing of her voice through the spider causing Palmira to wince. “What were you thinking, you impulsive dumbass!?”

“I don’t think I was, really,” Palmira grimaced, digging around in her hair for the spider. Finding it, she yanked it out, tossing it back to the half-elf. “After a certain point I kind of blacked out and just started cussing him out. By the time I calmed down enough to think straight the Rettori were declaring their verdict.”

Chiara looked like she wanted to continue digging into her, but Lorenzo placed a hand on her shoulder. “Why don’t you let this one go,” he gently pulled her back a step. “She won, didn’t she? And in a way none of us quite expected her to, either.”

“It was reckless,” she grumbled.

“So was our backup plan. And at least this way, we’ll be able to walk out of the city.”

“Speaking of…” the guildmaster spoke up, causing all eyes to turn to him. He’d just been sitting there for a bit, working through his relief and shock at the outcome of the trial. “What was your backup plan anyway? …Please tell me it’s not what I think it was?”

“We had Johanna sitting nearby with our weapons to break us out and flee the city,” Anima confirmed, causing the guildmaster’s head to fall back into his hands. “Ah, come to think of it, I should probably go tell her the good news. You coming, Teresa?”

The crusader shook her head, keeping her eyes locked on the other side of the room where the Podesta was directing the guards on how to move the still encased Ado Visconti out of the building. “Not yet. Today’s been a stressful day for everyone involved, and I worry that the outcome of this trial won’t be so easily accepted. I don’t want to leave the guildmaster or Palmira alone until we’re out of this damned city.”

“Hey,” Chiara scowled. “They won’t be alone! Lorenzo and I are here too!”

Teresa gave the girl a dry glare, before turning back to the Podesta who was now creating some bizarre octopus shape with the basalt.

Chiara looked like she was still willing to argue, but the guildmaster stepped in. “Why don’t you two go help the others pack up our belongings,” he told her. “Meanwhile, the rest of us will fill out any paperwork they need us to do before we leave.”

His sister huffed, but grumbled out an agreement. She turned to leave, only to pause. Spinning around, she wrapped her brother in a hug, before nearly throwing herself off him and rushing out of the building, an amused Lorenzo following after.

“Thank you,” Teresa said once she was gone. “I don’t think I’d be able to handle her today. I don’t think I’d be able to handle anyone today—there’s a reason we made Johanna wait outside.”

“She’s a good kid,” the guildmaster defended his sister with a sigh. “It’s just been a stressful couple days, for all of us.”

“What are we going to do next?” Palmira asked, shuffling her mask between her hands in place of her staff.

“Next?” he rubbed his forehead. “Next we’re leaving this fucking city. I’d take running back to my father over having to spend one more night in Iscrimo. Beyond how poorly I’ve been treated, I don’t like the thought of them suddenly changing their mind and arresting me again. Or you, for that matter. I can’t believe you didn’t tell me you were a wanted criminal in this city! That’s the kind of thing you tell me before we get here!” Then he paused, eyes narrowing at the door where the others had left a moment ago. “Actually, why did some of you not seem surprised?”

“Excuse me, Signor, Signorina,” she was saved from having to answer that as the Rettori Primavera and Autunno stepped up to them, smiling and stern respectively. “Follow us, please. We would speak with you.”

--

“We aren’t still under arrest, are we?”

The two Rettori had brought them out of the main room into a much calmer hallway, where they no longer needed to worry about the crowds. Daylight trickled in from the open windows, revealing that despite her exhaustion it wasn’t even noon yet. As it was, she kept herself a step behind the guildmaster, feeling somewhat exposed without Morte, Malocchio, or even her mask. Beside her Teresa marched in lockstep, eyes darting between every opening and shady corner, wary for even the slightest sign that this was a trap.

“Oh, did you want to be?” the Primavera chuckled, waving them off. “Don’t worry, the Rettori have made a unanimous decision, and that’s not the kind of thing we can roll back so easily.”

“I see…” the guildmaster hummed, looking more exhausted than tense. “Speaking of, I find myself surprised. Why did you vote against him? Even if we had provided suitable evidence, I always saw you picking our side over his to be a long shot. What changed?”

“Nothing changed,” it was the Autunno who answered. “The Visconti have been a plague on this city for far too long. I don’t know how well you know our positions in this city, but when my father served the Rettori was a respected position. The Seasonal Lords each ran a quarter of Iscrimo, and we answered only to the Podesta, our elected ruler. But then the Visconti sold this city out to the elves and Aventio began gutting the powers of every position he could get his hands on. Ah, that reminds me.”

Rettori Autunno turned to Palmira and bowed, her head dipping low to the suddenly flustered girl. “Thank you. Every day he lived was another day Aventio Visconti dug his slimy fingers further into our fair city, and if you hadn’t stopped him when you did we likely wouldn’t be having this conversation.”

“Ah, well, I mean,” Palmira stuttered, moving to hide even further behind her guildmaster. “I wasn’t really thinking of politics, when I did it.”

“Still. He killed my father, so even if nobody else will appreciate it—even if you hadn’t known what you were doing when it happened—I need to thank you, for putting an end to the Dukes of Iscrimo before they could truly begin.”

Rettori Primavera, after taking a moment to be suitably amused by Palmira’s flustered stuttering, coughed lightly into his hand. “Yes, thank you both. To tell the truth, there were… other plans we had for getting rid of them. But what would you know, sometimes opportunities simply fall into your lap!”

“How wonderful,” Dante smiled dryly. “Though, if you really want to thank us, we originally came here for a reason. I was going to meet with the Duke about it before… well, everything.”

“Oh? You mean you weren’t just here to kill the Duke? Color me shocked!”

“We actually came here looking for work,” he replied, barely refraining from rolling his eyes. “We were hoping our adventurer’s guild could take requests in Iscrimi territory.”

“…I see,” Primavera muttered, frowning. He didn’t exactly look thrilled by the idea. “While I stand by the fact that you have done immeasurable good in our city, your guild has also been directly responsible for the deaths and dethroning of three of our political leaders over the past twenty years. I hope you can understand why we wouldn’t want your guild running around our city all willy nilly.”

“Most of those were only Palmira’s fault!” he disagreed, ignoring the girl’s annoyed ‘Hey!’ behind her. “Surely that’s not worth banning the whole guild over?”

“Well…” he hummed, making a show of thinking. “…I stand by what I said, I want your guild out of this city. …However, I would not be opposed if your guild looked for work say, a bit further south. In Opida or Fornata, perhaps.”

“I… would not be opposed to that,” he begrudgingly agreed. Mostly because they didn’t have any other choice. “Will you send word down for us?”

“Of course!” he clapped his hands together with a smile. “Oh, and if you go to Opida, send young Palmira, would you? The current Doge has been embezzling far too much tax money, and it would be to our benefit if he, you know… disappeared.”

“Hey!” Palmira snapped, burning with embarrassment. “I don’t kill the leader of every city I enter!”

“Oh, just ours then?” he sighed, a hand resting on his cheek mock disappointment. “A shame. And here I thought you’d be willing to add another dethroning to your collection. I suppose you’ll be stuck being Three Dukes Palmira forever then.”

“…What?”

“Ah, do you like it? It’s a title I came up with for you, one that I feel truly encapsulates your experience in our fair city.”

“Oh Goddess,” Palmira whispered, her face falling in realization. “This is going to follow me forever, isn’t it? They’re going to be calling me something like ‘Three Dukes Palmira’ for the rest of my life.”

The guildmaster placed a calming hand on her shoulder. “Don’t worry, Three Dukes Palmira, I’ll always remember your sacrifice.”

As a betrayed Palmira moaned into her hands, a guard suddenly burst through one of the doors, practically sprinting down the hallway towards them. Teresa jumped between them with her sword already out of its sheath, but the man merely skidded to a stop before them.

“Rettori Primavera, Rettori Autunno,” he gasped, eyes wide in alarm. “We have trouble in the north!”

“What?” Autunno stepped forward, her face somehow growing even more severe. “What happened? Was it the Visconti again?”

“No, it’s,” he gasped, barely managing to catch his breath. “It’s an army! In the north, an army of Demons have been spotted approaching the city!”