Lithoniel

When Garluin finally arrived, he first bowed to Naevys and Elwin. Then he glanced at Tinesia. He didn't look happy. Tinesia immediately shuddered and looked away like she was unable to bear the intensity of his gaze. She seemed scared, maybe even a bit ashamed to look at him.

That's a pretty big hint about the real nature of their relationship. But why is she so scared of him?

Lithoniel wasn't the only one to notice this.

"The accuser seems a little shaken, Loremaster." Shylin said. "Maybe it's better if I question him first."

"Tinesia, is that alright with you?" Naevys asked but Tinesia was looking at Garluin.

He stared back at her and nodded. The movement was very subtle, almost undetectable, but Lithoniel saw it.

"It's alright, Loremaster." Tinesia answered, her voice soft and timid.

She looked like a completely different person.

"Go on." Naevys said to Shylin.

"Thank you, Loremaster." She said and turned to look at Garluin. "Garluin, you heard what Kolvar said. Is it true? Did you insult Lithoniel on purpose just to wind him up?"

"I didn't."

Shylin frowned. "Are you saying he lied?"

"I think he misunderstood." He looked calm, unperturbed like he expected Shylin would ask him that. "There was a lot of noise at the time and everyone was tired. I said something about Lithoniel but it was a compliment." He said, his face perfectly neutral.

"Are you trying to say this was just a misunderstanding?" Shylin sounded skeptical.

"An unfortunate misunderstanding, yes. I knew what Kolvar thought about Lithoniel, but..."He shook his head. "I misjudged the situation. I can just say that I'm sorry." He sounded distraught, his face emotional and his voice raw. It almost looked like those words came from the bottom of his soul.

The frown on Shylin's face deepened. Lithoniel had a pretty good idea about what she was feeling at the moment. Garluin was slippery as an eel, but what annoyed her most was that he still managed to look like the good guy.

"Why did you ask Lithoniel to swore that vow, Garluin? Why did you give her the Nighstalker's ring and a position that was rightfully yours?"

"You weren't there that night. You can't know what we went through, the horrors we were forced to face. At the time, I wasn't thinking about titles or honors, but to survive. Lithoniel was the best choice. I trust her abilities and that's why I wanted her to protect Liara. She was vulnerable, the weakest of us. I didn't want to see another hunter, a fellow elf, to die before my own eyes." He sighed loudly. "I never thought that a vow made in the spur of the moment would bring such trouble. I'm sorry about that." He said to Lithoniel and bowed deeply to her. "But don't worry, I already found a solution, a way to make things right."

"Loremaster, Garluin is a witness. It's not his place to..." Shylin started.

She was immediately booed by the crowd, her words meeting with a chorus of disapproval.

Elwin sighed. "Let him talk. If he's able to find a satisfying solution I don't see why we shouldn't listen to him." He nodded to Garluin. "Continue"

"Thank you, Master of the woodcarvers." Garluin bowed. "The outcome of this Conclave is still undecided, but I can't bear to see Lithoniel pay for a crime she didn't commit."

Lithoniel snorted. "How generous how you." She muttered under her breath.

"She can be a bit reckless, but it would be a mistake for the tribe to lose her. That's why I think we should give her the honor she deserves."

"Honor?" Naevys frowned. "What are you getting at, Garluin?"

Garluin grinned. "I think she should be the next Nighstalker."

And then, all hell broke loose.

"I know you have doubts. After all, you didn't see what I saw, you didn't watch Lithoniel fight and defeat the Zaruk." He wasn't speaking to Naevys or Elwin anymore, but directly addressing the crowd. "That's why I propose a different kind of test, one more suited to Lithoniel, to prove her innocence."

"What kind of test? Where are you going with this, Garluin?" Naevys asked.

"I'm just saying we should trust actions, not words. Let her solve the problem that plagued our tribe for so long. Let her find the tribesmen who had gone missing, and lastly, let her find the culprits and bring them to justice." Garluin stared at Lithoniel. "I already know there is just one person who deserves the Nighstalker's title, and that's you, Lithoniel. You did the impossible. You defeated the Zaruk. Now it's time to show the tribe what I saw. Show them what you are capable of."

He made her skin crawl, and when he smiled, her instinct started screaming.

He is dangerous, don't let him talk!

But she was dazzled, and she wasn't the only one; Lithoniel, Shylin, Naevys, and probably half the people here, were all bespelled by his voice, charmed by the soothing flow of his words or the hypnotic glimmer in his eyes. Lithoniel blinked like she was waking up from a dream, but the damage was done.

"And if she...no" He shook his head, correcting himself. "When she does, nobody will call her half-blood or oathbreaker because she will be one of the most important people of this tribe. She will be our Nighstalker."

Once again his words risked starting a riot.

"Silence!" Elwin said, his voice booming like a thunderclap."Loremaster" He said to Naevys. "You are the only one that can say if Garluin's proposal is doable. Are any precedents in the annals of our history?"

Naevys closed her eyes like she was trying to take a decision.

Then she reopened them and sighed. "There are."

"I object, Loremaster! Lithoniel broke an oath, she can't be..." Tinesia said, her voice regaining a bit of its former strength.

Garluin proposed this...why is she objecting?

"You are the only one saying she did, Tinesia!" Shylin countered. "The verdict is still undecided."

"Precisely. That's why..."

"That's why, Tinesia, the people will decide, not you." Naevys said.

Tinesia's answer was milder than expected. "Very well, Loremaster. However...this is Lithoniel's trial." She said, a crafty expression on her face. "This is her task, it's only fair if she completes it alone. No one should help her in this endeavor."

"Tinesia! That's suicide!" Shylin said. "Loremaster..."

"Why don't we let Rolim and Kolvar help her?" Garluin interjected. "Three people like the members of our council."

"Very well" Tinesia conceded. "But the situation must be solved quickly. We need a time limit. Let's say...three days?"

"Three days?! Are you out of your mind?!" Shylin shouted, starting to lose temper. "It has been more than a month since the first person went missing, and we didn't discover anything! Lithoniel needs more time. A month, at least."

"A week, no more than that." Tinesia rebutted.

Shylin opened her mouth, probably to refuse, when Garluin said: "What about ten days?"

The crowd started cheering and applauding. They seemed to like his proposal.

"I don't think we have a choice." Shylin said bitterly. "We accept."

Naevys looked at Shylin and Tinesia before saying: "The accuser and the defender seemed to have reached an agreement."

"Almost. There is one last thing..."Tinesia said.

"Tinesia, what else do you want?" Shylin sounded annoyed.

"I just want to make sure the conditions and the results of this trial are clear. If Lithoniel succeeds, it means she is innocent. As the former Nightstalker's wife, I'll be the first person to offer my congratulations to the new Chief hunter. But if she fails..."

"I don't think it will happen. But if that's the case..." Garluin frowned like it pained him to say those words. "It means she is guilty. She'll have to leave the tribe and never come back."

"That's not enough." Tinesia added. "Not only her, but Rolim and Kolvar too will have to leave."

Shylin paled. "Tinesia, what are you..."

"Is just fair, isn't it? After all, if she fails, it means they helped an oathbreaker. The punishment for that crime is just one: exile. If Rolim and Kolvar decide to help her, they have to be aware of the consequences."

There is nothing fair about this.

Judging from the scowl on her face, Shylin seemed to agree with her.

"Very well, I think we can vote." Garluin said.

"Wait...!" Lithoniel tried to stop him, but it was too late.

"Everyone who agrees with this proposal, stand up!" He shouted.

One by one the elves on the stands rose until everyone - or nearly everyone - was standing.

It's done.

There was nothing she could do at this point. It was already decided. There were just two results: win and survive or lose and be exiled. The worst part was she knew what Rolim and Kolvar would decide.

I might take both of them down with me.

That's when Garluin smiled, but it wasn't that smug grin of his or the mocking smile he usually liked to show. That smile was different, slight, almost imperceptible, but satisfied like everything went according to his plan, as if the people around him were just pawns, easy to move and manipulate, use them to hide his true purpose, the real reason he'd staged this elaborate farce in the first place.

When the realization hit her she staggered, her lips trembling.

...I was never his target to begin with, but just the bait for a trap set for someone else.

And there was just one person Garluin hated more than her. Naevys had told her before, but she had been careless, unable to see through his plan. Unable to predict the real target wasn't her, but...

Rolim!

But even if she knew, she could do nothing about it. Maybe that's what Garluin was trying to convey with that smile. He was trying to tell her they were just insects caught in his spider web. No matter how much they struggled, they couldn't escape.