“Order, order in the court!”

A short, fat man stood in the judge’s chair angrily waving a gavel as he tried to get everyone in the courtroom to sit down. His emerald eyes commanded the respect of everyone in the room, and soon the small crowd had settled down. Soon silence filled the room, and the judge spoke once more.

“Bring in the accused.”

The wide oaken double doors that led into the building creaked open and two men manhandled Vincent Cain down the center aisle of the court. His usual purple robes were tattered and dirty, his blonde hair was greasy and disheveled. His tanned skin was caked in dirt, mud, and blood and bruises. Despite his degraded state, the scholar’s sapphire eyes shone with defiance, and scanned the room looking to assess the situation.

The courthouse was small, one room with only about forty or so chairs for spectators to sit in. To the left of the judge sat seven people, four men, three women. To the right of the judge, three man sat at a desk glaring daggers at Vincent. Between the judge and the jury, was a simple desk with no one sat at it. The guards slammed the scholar onto a bench before the judge and cuffed both of his hands to his seat. There would be no funny business during court. The judge looked down at the mess of a man before him and scowled..

“Who beat him?”

There was a deathly silence in the room as the Judge rose to his feet. The scholar had not been nearly as bruised in his past appearance, and such cruelty would not stand in his court. When it was clear nobody would answer him, the judge sighed.

“Where is Mr. Cain’s lawyer?” he asked. His emerald eyes scanned the room for a moment. “He has the right to a fair trial, regardless of his crimes. He has the right not to be abused, but we’ve failed him there. So tell me, where the FUCK,” The judge slammed his gavel on the pulpit before him, “IS THE MAN’S LAWYER.” After a moment of shocked silence the prosecution rose from their seat.

“Your honor, there’s not a lawyer within three cities who would touch this man’s case with a ten foot pole. We were unable to find council for the accused. We put in a request to the capital for a state lawyer, but we have yet to hear back.” The man sat down and crossed one leg over the other. The crowd murmured slightly, of course such a heinous criminal would have a hard time finding help.

“Mr. Cain, you have a right to an attorney.” The judge rumbled as he sat down. “Do you wish to forfeit that right and represent yourself in the court of law?”

The scholar glanced from the prosecution, to the jury, to the judge. “Well your honor, first I would like to know what exactly I’m being accused of.” The entire court burst into a rage as people flew to their feet and began to screaming at the belligerent scholar.

“QUIET!” The judge thundered, silencing the crowd. It took a moment, but the beet faced judge managed to settle the courtroom with several bangs of his gavel.

“Mr. Cain, you stand accused of attempting to steal our sacred relic, the shield of the Aegis.” The judge declared. “How do you plead?” The scholar adjusted in his seat and looked the judge in the eye.

“To be fair your honor, I had no idea it was sacred.”