CHAPTER THIRTEEN

CRIME AND PUNISHMENT

Halfway there. Halfway left. Shaphas stops to clear the sweat from his brow. He pants a bit as the long journey takes its toll; little by little. Braving on, he does not falter. There can be no hesitation for the will of Aion must be done. The turn of the tide brings a refreshing breeze; his breath materializes at the coming of a slight chill. In the distance lies a small village. Next to it, a mountain towers with countless sharp stone spikes atop it; it bears spears of stone.

“Praise be to Aion. As good as place as any to rest,” Shaphas says as he makes his way forward.

Arriving at the abandoned village, he can see a dozen houses or so. Unattended, crumbling, poor, or all of the above. One house stands out as… somewhat reasonable; compared to the rest. No signs of life. Haven’t been for some time. A village long forsaken.

“A good place as any,” Shaphas repeats with a smile.

When only one choice is available, that choice is usually the best one.

Entering what seems to be an empty house, Shaphas sees two men and one woman standing in a face-off, daggers pointed at each other. Fear and panic adorn their faces. On the ground, in a pool of blood, a dead man with his throat slashed. Shaphas enters the house to their surprise. They turn towards him with their daggers still held high in trembling hands.

“W-w-who are you?” a short man stutters.

“My name is Shaphas. I am a priest of Aion. I am his soldier, I am his judge, and I am the bringer of his will,” Shaphas proudly says.

“A priest?” the woman says in surprise.

“You? A Priest? Are you versed in the ways of trials?” a tall man asks.

“I am. I dabble i...n inquisition,” Shaphas answers with a slight pause.

The three characters look at each other as they nod with reservation to themselves one by one.

“Can you help us?” the woman asks.

“The situation seems clear but explain it to me and I shall, by the will of Aion, do everything in my power to correct it,” Shaphas says as the three of them lower their weapons. Not too much.

“We are traveling merchants. We work in the same merchant company that is... was under the ownership of Mr. Taylor. We were traveling for some time as we took a rest in this abandoned village. When we woke up, we found Mr. Taylor dead. Killed! We don’t know who did this, but it was someone here,” the tall man explains looking at his compatriots.

“One of them did it,” the woman yells in frustration. Keeping herself from barely quivering.

“Like you couldn’t have done it?” the short man yells. Adamantly pointing at her with a stern look.

“He was my husband. I loved him, unlike you who...” the woman screams as she gets cut off.

“Enough! Let us start with introductions first. My name is Shaphas as you have heard. Tell me your names and what is your connection to the deceased,” Shaphas says.

The tall man approaches Shaphas as he slightly bows.

“My name is Tom. I was a long-time friend of Taylor. We started this company together some years ago,” Tom says.

The woman approaches with red-tired eyes; they betray her previous tears.

“My name is Maria. I am... was... his wife. I got into the business to help my husband,” Maria says.

The short man approaches next.

“I am Joseph. I also worked with Taylor and am his brother,” Joseph says.

“Good. Now tell me about what happened yesterday and today. Do not spare any details,” Shaphas says.

The three look at each other in a slight pause; Joseph comes forward.

“Yesterday, we were finishing our business in the city of Alspan. We sold a lot and made a small fortune. Taylor wanted to buy a certain product, I will not bore you with the details, but Tom objected; they fought over the idea of...” Joseph says as he gets interrupted.

“It was a business disagreement. I didn’t find that the...” Tom says as he also gets interrupted.

“Let the man finish talking. I shall hear all sides. No more interruptions,” Shaphas commands. The others calm down at his insistence.

Tom moves back to his spot.

“As I was saying, Tom and Taylor argued about the acquisition of certain new items. It was a heated argument and a lot of yelling was involved. Later that night we all went to sleep as we needed to get up early and continue our route to Penetia, Arbun, Misleton, and finally to the port city of Abuana,” Joseph explains.

“What happened when you woke up, what happened today?” Shaphas asks.

“Early in the morning, we started traveling. The journey was rough and long. We found this place on the path. It was unplanned but a welcome sight; though we didn’t expect it to be abandoned. We took a small rest here. We ate some food, talked, and went to sleep. To rest before continuing our journey. I doubt we were asleep for long but when I woke up, I saw Taylor- dead,” Joseph says as he covers his face to hide the troubled expression. He takes a step back and a deep breath to compose himself.

“He admitted it. He said he was the first to wake up,” Maria yells from the side.

“What?” Joseph blurts out.

“Stop! It is reasonable if one killed the man in question that the culprit could go back and pretend to sleep. This barely means anything. There are still questions that need answering,” Shaphas says.

Maria says nothing, but she glares at Joseph with eyes full of suspicion; Tom approaches.

“There are certain parts of that story that are missing,” Tom says as he approaches Shaphas.

“Speak your part,” Shaphas says as he ponders.

“Before we finished our day at the Inn before we went to sleep, I heard an argument. Maria and Taylor shared a room next to mine. I couldn’t get to sleep for some time as they were quite vulgar. This was not the first time they had such a heated confrontation...” Tom says as he gets cut off.

“What are you implying? Because someone argues it doesn’t...” Maria says as she gets cut off.

“No more interruptions! I shall also hear your part of the story,” Shaphas says as he shakes his head. They test his patience.

“Who made you the boss? Why are we even explaining ourselves to you?” Maria yells out of frustration.

“Fine. If you don’t want me and my years of experience with dealing with issues such as these I shall leave. If you don’t want my knowledge in the ways of investigation and trial, then I shall be on my way; you can continue where I found you. Standing in fear with daggers drawn at each other’s throats ready to kill yourselves, ready to spill blood. It was you who asked for my help and by the grace of Aion I have accepted, but if I do not need...” Shaphas says as he turns his back.

The three of them glance at each other as their initial suspicions weigh too heavily. Who can they trust?

“Wait! It is a stressful situation. I spoke too soon,” Maria says as Shaphas grins and turns back quickly changing the smile to a grave look.

“Good. Let us continue,” Shaphas says as he turns his attention towards Tom. It is important to seem like you know what you are doing even if that may not be the case.

“Maria and Taylor argued a lot. He always had a thing for her but she wouldn’t give him a time of the day; not until he made a fortune,” Tom says as Maria looks at him in silence and scorn.

“There is one more part Joseph failed to mention. While we were on our way, before reaching this place he also fought with Taylor. You see, Taylor and I are equal owners of our business. Joseph wanted a part of it, and I’m sure Maria also wanted. With his death only they stand to benefit,” Tom explains.

“I see. Maria is there something they failed to mention?” Shaphas asks. She walks up to him as Tom takes a step back.

“Yes. Tom is under the wrong impression; if only one. Taylor and I fought a lot. But what couple doesn’t? It did not mean we didn’t love each other; we did. I would never do something as heinous as this!” Maria says as tears flow.

“All of us fought with Taylor. He was a hard man. Hard, but fair. I know something I believe Tom also knows. I would have gotten his share in this company, Taylor told me so. Tom never liked me, he believes I am not fit for this job. He is wrong. I have married for money, but I found love. I did!” Maria explains, tears flow.

“I understand. I shall leave you here and take into account everything we discussed. Wait for my decision,” Shaphas says as he walks out of the abandoned house.

Tom, Maria, and Joseph sit across from each other in faraway corners, distraught. They wait in silence. Only glancing at each other. A dark cloud floats above them as they ponder about Taylor, each other, their lives, and themselves. Ponder in silence...

“It is not true,” Tom says, breaking the silence.

Joseph and Maria look at him as if awoken from their own little worlds.

“I don’t believe both of you are bad for business. I think you both bring something to the table. Even if I owned everything, I would still keep both of you around. I strongly believe the success of our trade lies in all of us,” Tom says.

“Is that true?” Maria asks as Tom gently looks at her.

“It is,” Tom responds earnestly.

“I don’t think I can lead this business as well as you or Taylor. I think I need you… both of you,” Joseph adds.

“I can’t believe any of you could do this. I know how much he hard for you, how much he loved you, and you for him,” Maria says.

“But someone must have done it?” Joseph says.

“Wait!” Tom says as he quickly gets up and makes his way towards the body of his dead friend.

“The items!” Tom yells.

“The items?” Maria and Joseph ask in unison.

“The wares Taylor had on him are gone! How did we not notice this before?” Tom says.

Joseph and Maria rush towards.

“This means someone stole them,” Maria says.

“There is no way one of us would do this. There is no point in stealing from ourselves. There is no point,” Joseph yells with enthusiasm.

“Does that mean it was a fourth party?” Maria asks.

“It has to be! Otherwise, it makes no sense,” Joseph says, "It has to be!" he adds.

“But Taylor is still dead,” Tom gently says as he looks at the body of his friend.

Joseph and Maria approach as they stand side by side. Their weapons are no longer raised.

Shaphas enters the abandoned house.

“I have made my decision,” Shaphas says with a domineering voice.

“Thank you for your help, but we have figured it out,” Tom says.

“Yes! You see...” Maria says as she gets cut off.

“I cannot be sure about the guilty party. By the will of Aion, I cannot allow the guilty to walk free, so because of this there is only one solution...” Shaphas says.

“No! It wasn’t us we have figured it...” Joseph says as Shaphas cuts him off without paying heed to the words.

“... all of you must pay the ultimate sacrifice. The innocent and the guilty,” Shaphas says.

“What?” the three of them say in unison and confusion.

Shaphas turns his back as he closes the door to the building. They hear something.

Tom, Maria, and Joseph look at each other as they rush towards the door. They try to open it, but the door will not budge.

“What are you doing?” Tom screams.

“Why won’t this door open?” Joseph yells in panic as he joins in the attempt to open it. Slamming the door with all his might; it does not budge.

“Rejoice!” Shaphas yells as his loud voice echoes, “Through the grace of Aion, you shall receive forgiveness for your misdemeanors,” he adds from the outside.

“What is he talking about?” Maria asks as tears and fear cover her face.

Suddenly, the building bursts into a blue flame. The consuming fire encircles them.

“What is going on? What is happening?” Maria screams.

“No! Stop this! Stop this!” Joseph yells.

“We didn’t do it! We didn’t do it!” Tom yells as loudly as he can.

The blue flames quickly close in on them- devouring.

Outside, Shaphas walks away as in the distance the blue flame shines brightly, accompanied by a symphony of screams.

Forgiveness for all those who sin.

Fire to cleanse them.

Fire and forgiveness.

Praise be to Aion.