Short Fiction: Scales of Justice

 S C A L E S   O F   J U S T I C E

"Crossbows at the ready- Fire!" Broderik the Holy compelled the company of crossbowmen to open fire, the hail of bolts catching the humanoids in the gully below them by surprise. "Push them back to their caves."

"Siege engine!" Broderik looked at the Heavy ballista no sitting on a raised mound. The crew were slowly winding the mechanism used to pull back the bow. "Would you like me to help?"

"Wind this bastard back..." Broderik physical strength made easy work of the ballista winding mechanism and it cranked back into fire position. "I'll handle the winch."

"Load." The crew placed an iron spear into its notch and stepped away. "Ready to fire."

"Fire." Broderik watched as the spear closed the distance across the gully to the old temple and impacted the outer wall inflicting zero damage... "Shit."

"I'll need to do the aiming as well if you don't mind lads." This is going to be a long day. "Now... Relode."

...

"Broderik!" The tired warrior winced at the familial use of his name and turned from the Ballista he was winding back for the next shot to stare at the scruffy looking soldier marching towards him with a sack in hand. "Broderik of Muttonwood."

"What do you want Tomar?" Broderik returned his attention to winding beck the winch on his siege engine. "I'm a little busy."

"So I see." Tomar of Muttonwood climbed the rocky rise glancing over his shoulder at the giant Skull-shaped Temple procariously perched on the pale pinnacle of rock across the gorge. "Doing the Patriarch a favour are you?"

"Something like that." Broderik locked the mechanism and loaded an iron spear, lit the cloth-bound tip soaked in Tar, lit it with a burning candle,  lifted the engine by its hand-hold and fired the round through a nostril on the giant skull. "As I asked... what do you want?"

"I'd like you to stop firing on my temple." Several of Roderik's crossbowmen turned and pointed their loaded crossbows at Tomar at the statement. "My friends and I just want to pray in privacy."

"I hadn't realized..." Broderik placed his hand on the sword-hilt atop the blade in its scabbard, the chainmail coif tightening against his suddenly shifting muscles. "...you were a convert."

"Well... you went and joined the Church and became a Paladin of the Faith." Tomar, dropped the sack at his feet and placed a wrist on the hilt of his own sword gestured with an open palm towards his Birth-Brother. "You showing me up... I couldn't let that slide?"

"A sword?" Broderik knew he couldn't let this slide either. His Brother in arms was confessing the sin of being an unholy sword of the Cult that had plotted against the State and Church. "...for that bloody cult?"

"Sword of a Bloody cult?" Tomar looked around at the crossbowmen cutting down Kobolds who decided they could make the distance between boulders by the stream and the caves below the temple. "Thats rich coming from you Roderik - butchering folk just because they're not human."

"They were alive." Tomar felt resentment at their childish oath. "They may not have been human but they were alive."

"From the day you and I parted company with Muttonwood, We both fought for Justice." Tomar reached down and picked up the sack at his feet and Broderik noticed the shadows were casting wrong. "The difference was yours was until now always a little more final than mine Broderik."

"Its a Projection." Broderick understood he was looking at projection magic. "Where are you?"

"Hah... of course you noticed the shadows were off." Tomar smiled and stepped off the cliff descending into mid air. "Alright Kerrik, you can increase his field of vision now."

"Where is that?" Broderik could see that Tomar was now standing in water at the edge of a pool of water as he pulled a canoe from his bag of holding. "Why show me this?"

"I'm showing you what Justice looks like Broderik."  Tomar dragged the corpse of an old man in bloodied robes from the magic sack and laid it in the canoe and whispered: "Vengance is mine."

"No." Broderick reached out as though he could stop what was now happening out of his reach. "What have you done?"

"I'm an Avenger." Tomar kicked the canoe with its corpse out into the water. "You know precisely what I do.."

"He indoctrinated my brother into his vile church." Tomar climed back up out of the water onto the bank. "I let that slide because it was your choice."

He ordered my brother to butcher living, sentient creatures because they were not human." The canoe began sinking as corpse-like hands of ghouls clawed at it and pulled the remains of the Patriarch from it into the water.  "I dispensed Justice."