World Boss: Break the Narrative

Okay, that was me being negative. A huge chunk of the crowd was on the ‘violence against mobs is A-OK’ train. I was pleasantly surprised to also learn that my righteous hatred of snow lions was a popular opinion. That said not everyone was cool with this. An appreciable contingent did pick up on the fact that I could almost instantly murder things that scared them. Which didn’t comfort everyone.

There was also the one guy who shouted, “Wait a minute. Are you the motherfucker that splattered thirty of these things all over my house?”

Shit! I did do that.

“That is not why we are here!” Toad dismissed loudly. He then nodded to Nanny Shank. “Your Honor?”

Nanny Shank eyed Madigan and Grimset, “The prosecution still has questions.”

Grimset stepped forward, “Do they, Your Honor, or do they simply wish for more opportunity to harass and bully?”

“How dare you!” Toad took the bait. “We are acting in good faith.”

Nanny Shank pounded her hammer down. “Defense, Prosecution, approach the bench. Now!”

Grimset, Toad and I walk up to Nanny Shank. She didn’t quite glare at us. She started with Grimset, “Is your client going to have another outburst?”

“Can you blame him Nanny-,” Grimset started

“Yes,” She shut him down.

“It is hard to control him. He legitimately believes this to be a political hit job meant to kill him,” Grimset explained.

Nanny Shank considered, “If he has another outburst I’ll have him put in chains.” Then she rounded on us, “What are you idiots doing antagonizing people in my court?”

Toad opened his mouth to speak.

“Before you try lying to me, I heard your short joke,” Nanny Shank added.

“It won’t happen again.” I promised.

“Goddamn right,” Nanny Shank hissed. “If I can’t trust you, I can’t trust you. Do you understand me?”

The little old goblin may not have any physical leverage over any of us, but she could certainly hold her own politically. Her message was loud and clear too. Run the case above board, or she wouldn’t support me as Warlord.

“That was my fault Nanny,” Toad admitted.

Nanny nodded and scowled at all of us, “Alright, let’s cut the bullshit. Do you have any actual questions to ask, or are you just going to keep making implications while he refuses to answer?”

Toad opened his mouth, but paused before speaking, “I am willing to end our questioning if the defense is willing to forego cross examination.”

Grimset looked over his shoulder to see Madigan and Angelica glaring at each other. Things currently were not violent, but they sure hell weren’t peaceful. I don’t know what Madigan was thinking. Angelica had manhandled him easily. Philip was hanging back but mere yards away. He was outclassed and out-numbered.

Was that the point? Make this look as lopsided as it was.

Grimset did some more mental math, “The defense agrees.”

Once we were back at our tables, Nanny Shank took another drink from her medicine bottle, “Procesecution, call your next witness.”

“Wait! They aren’t going to let Madigan have his defense!” Someone in the crowd shouted.

“Let him speak! Let him speak! Let him speak!” dozens chanted.

Once they were quiet Nanny declared, “The defense gave up the opportunity for cross examination.”

This set everyone off. People from the Mandir screamed in outrage. More troubling still some well meaning goblins joined them. “Let him speak! Let him speak!”

As Nanny worked to restore order Grimset met my eye. He grinned in satisfaction at the result of his maneuver. He wasn’t just trying this case. He was attacking me at the same time. To make matters worse he was pretty good at it.

More people had to be kicked out of the court. The place was packed when we started. Now, though, people had elbow room to spare. Each side of the aisle could hold about five hundred people. Looking at it now I would say there were a few over three hundred on each side.

Minoru Chino

“Call your next witness,” Nanny Shank demanded.

“We would like to call, Chino Minoru,” I said.

The old man needed some help getting up to the stand. A woman from the Mandir assisted him walk up to the stand and seat himself. She then darted back to her seat not wanting attention.

The old man gazed at me through the thick lens of his glasses.

“Could you state your name please,” I said.

“I am Chino Minoru,” He answered, in an even clear voice.

“You are a resident of the Mandir?” I continued with the soft ball questions. Part of it was stalling, but most of it was I wanted to have the crowd hear him answer a few questions. I could feel the subtle pressure of skills. Might as well let them get a bunch of true answers.

“Yes, sir. I have lived in the Mander for 43 years,” Minoru said.

“What do you do at the Mandir,” I asked.

“I am the head Greenhouse keeper. I organize the layout, and maintenance of the crops within. That is the main source of food for the Mandir.” He explained.

Oh shit, I didn’t realize he was a pillar of the community. That was actually kind of a bad thing. I needed to quit asking questions I didn’t know the answer to.

“I take it that is why you live close to the greenhouses?” I steered the conversation.

“Yes. That and I don’t move around as well as I used to,” Minoru held up his cane.

“Were you home last night?” I prompted.

“Yes,” He said.

“Could you tell us what you heard?” I asked.

Minoru delivered. He told the story well. He clearly and concisely told the audience about being kept awake by the party after the mob attack. He then explained a harmonica continued after the rest died down. He described the altercation between Chet, Waldo and Tazia. He even explained Howard being a witness but not participating in the fight.

“What happened next?” I asked.

“It took me a long time to get dressed. I fell. By the time I got out there, I found you, and Howard standing over Tazia’s body. I could see that her head had been stomped on.” Minoru explained.

“Did anything else happen?” I asked. This was getting dangerous again.

“Yeah Travis Madigan showed up and demanded you stop speaking with Howard. When you asked Madigan if he was involved in Tazia’s murder, he lied to you and said no.” Minoru answered.

“Objection! Speculation!” Grimset shouted. “How is he supposed to know the thoughts of my client?”

“A Perception check would clear that up,” I pointed out.

Grimset scoffed, “maybe those skills are common to you, but everyone below Heroic Scale doesn’t get access to them so easily. Are you going to say he has Analyze next.”

“I do,” Minoru said plainly, “Both Perception and Analyze. I am a Mystical Alchemist. I made a Perception check. Madigan ordered his students to kill a goblin.”

There was a moment of silence. Again the weight of scrutinizing skills pressed down on all of us.

Nanny Shank shrugged, “Overruled. Do you have any further questions?”

I looked to Toad. he shook his head, “No Further questions.”

Nanny Shank nodded, “Does the Defense wish to cross examine?”

“Yes your honor,” Grimset stood. He walked toward the center of the room. “Mr. Minoru, Do you know Travis Madigan?”

“Yes,” Minoru said flatly.

“How would you describe your relationship with Travis Madigan?” Grimset asked politely.

“Extremely bad,” Minoru said. He frowned at Grimset.

“Why?” Grimset asked.

“Travis Madigan is from the Musical Valley,” Minoru said.

Grimset blinked, “Could you provide more context to that please. Us, goblins do not know the meaning of that.”

“The Musical Valley lies between the Technacoast, and the Fantasy Coast.” Minoru paused and seeing that the goblins didn’t understand continued, “When they fight they tend to class in the Musical Valley. Travis Madigan has a chip on his shoulder for anyone from either location. I am a proud citizen of the Fantasy Kingdom, the inland part of the Fantasy Coast. That upsets Madigan.”

Thank you,” Grimset considered, “Is there any other reason you two would quarrel?”

“He got my son killed,” Minoru said bluntly.

“Could you elaborate?” Grimset prompted.

Minoru sighed. “About eighteen years ago, Madigan, my son, and two others went hunting. Normally hunting parties are ten or more. Madigan insisted they could handle it. My son never came back.”

“Did you say anything to Madigan that day?” Grimset asked,gently. He almost sounded sympathetic.

Minoru did not answer for a long time. “Yes. We talked about the events of the hunt.”

Grimset pressed, “Did you threaten Travis Madigan?”

“Yes,” Minoru admitted.

“Could you please repeat what you said?” Grimset prompted.

I felt the floor fall out the bottom of my stomach. Shit! I should have spent more time talking with Minoru. I should have bothered to learn if he had a massive obvious grudge against Madigan. Then again, the list of people who lived in the Mandir, and the list of people who had problems with Madigan were basically the same. Was this actually a surprise to the humans in the crowd?

The goblins seemed a lot less certain.

Minoru mulled it over, “I told him, ‘I don’t care how long it takes, or what I have to do. I would find a way to fucking bury him.’”

That kicked off a rumble of mutterings.

“I should have known,” I grumbled.

“How?” Toad asked quietly.

“By talking to him?” I whispered.

“When? After protecting the camp from heroic mobs, but before feeding a hundred thousand goblins?” Toad hissed back. He elbowed me hard, “Stay focused.”

Nanny Shank silenced the crowd, “Do you still have questions?” She asked Grimset.

“Yes,” He nodded. “Mr. Minoru, Why is the Left Hand of the Titan offering you a pact?”

“What?” Minoru asked, baffled.

“You don’t know that you will soon be given a year long pact from the Titan Spawn?” Girmset asked.

“Objection Relevance!” Toad pounded the table. That is not a good sign. When the facts were on our side we beat them hard. When the rules were on our side we hammered them. When neither the facts or the rules were on our side, Toad pounded the table.

“The prosecution influencing witness seems extremely relevant to me,” Grimset pointed out.

Nanny frowned at us again. “Overruled. Answer the question.”

“I do not know about any pact nor was I offered anything in exchange for testimony,” Minoru said, sourly. He wasn’t quite glaring at Grimset but he wasn’t happy with the goblin.

“Fair enough,” Grimset started pacing again, “And, what level is you Deceit Skill?”

“Objection! Improper Impeachment! The witness has provided no reason to be accused of lying,” Toad glared at Grimset.

“The witness has shown hostility to my client, and his testimony is based on the results of Skill rolls. The prosecution brought that into play.” Grimset argued.

“I am going to allow this.” Nanny Shank declared. “Stay on topic Grimset.”

“I will,” Grimset agreed, “Mr. Minoru, How high is your Deceit Skill?”

Minoru sighed. “Grand Master, but I am telling the truth.”

“How would we know?” Grimset asked.

“Your Honor!” Toad began.

“Yeah that’s done,” Nanny Shank. She stared down at Grimset, “Do you have any further, relevant questions?”

“No,” Grimset stepped back.

“You may go,” Nanny Shank Told Minoru.

The old man needed help to stand and walk back to his seat. The crowd was muttering again.

“Do you have any further witnesses to call?” Nanny Shank asked.

I was confused for a moment. Nanny Shank had been in the room when we established witnesses. Oh, I guess she wanted me to say we were done. “The prosecution had wanted to call Madigan’s pupil Howard Price, but he is not in attendance.”

Everyone looked to the door leading into the court. Since literally everyone else had turned I did too. Peer pressure is real.

No Howard.

Somebody in the crowd flat out said, “Shouldn’t he be here?”

I was about to think that was stupid, but then I remember a literal pack of blue assholes were actively messing with reality for the drama. People are good at pattern recognition. It actually made sense that after a couple of decades people would begin to expect and even predict melodrama. Pity Howard didn’t show up.

I guess we are having this trial run on normal mundane logic… in a room full of magical martial artists and goblins.

“Does the prosecution rest?”

I looked to Toad. He nodded.

“Yeah we are done,” I said.

“Does the defense have any witnesses to call?” Nanny Shank asked Grimset.

Grimset stood, “The Defense calls Rachel Blum.” He was very dramatic. The moment was undercut, when Rachel didn’t walk up to the stand.

The blatant stalling of proceedings kicked off more muttering from the crowd.

After about a minute of everyone wondering one of the Chimera soldiers raised their hand.

“What?” Nanny Shank demanded.

“You sent the Lieutenant outside. Someone has to go get her,” They said. This person had to be an NCO. They managed to state the blatantly obvious past actions of someone in charge to them without sounding sarcastic. That is a required skill in that role.

Alright then. So my feelings about Rachel are complex. She is a person. Not just that, but she is the obvious victim of an autocratic regime. This woman had been indoctrinated and mutilated by a state that planned to weaponize her against its enemies. She and everyone like her require patience and empathy as you do what you can to deprogram them. That said as she was testifying, I could help but wish I had hit her harder when we fought. I was desperately trying to will her to shut up.

Commune chec-

Skill Roll aborted.

Nope. Nope. Nope. No influencing people through the system. Especially while I was technically their god. That specific line in the sand needs to be respected.

Rachel was just the worst… witness for my case.

She point by point explained how she attacked Madigan in the night. She spared no detail about the brutality of her raid. She even provided specifics on how she stomped on Madigan several times, because “You got to stomp out the resistance. Otherwise they will keep getting up to cause trouble.”

“Why did you abduct Madigan? What was the purpose?” Grimset asked.

“To hand him over to Doug,” Rachel answered as she pointed directly at me.

Toad let his head drop on the table with a thud. I could feel the crowd turning on us. I will admit hiring a jack booted thug to steal someone in the night, so I could put them on trial, was not a good look.

“I see, what is your relationship with the Titan spawn?” Grimset asked.

“Objection, relevance,” Toad challenged.

“Again the Prosecution has influenced events throughout this case,” Grimset declared. “Where his influence ends and others’ choices begin is the core of the case.”

Nanny Shank looked to me, “Do you have a counter?”

Yelling ‘fuck you’ at Grimset was right out. “No, Your Honor.”

Rachel shrugged, “Not much. We literally met yesterday. He stopped me from killing Seth Cohen yesterday.”

“And today he is your god?” Grimset asked.

“Yeah, it is better than Grond,” Rachel nodded.

“What about the other soldiers, is the Left Hand of the Titan their god as well?” Grimset asked.

“Yes,” Rachel said.

“How long did it take for you and your soldiers to go from fighting the Titan Spawn to being his followers?” Grimset pressed.

“Like 19 hours,” Rachel said. To her credit she wasn’t trying to cause trouble. She was just innately gifted at it.

“Thank you no further questions,” Grimset concluded.

“Prosecution, do you wish to cross examine,” Nanny Shank asked.

“Yes,” I said standing.

“Don’t waste time on her,” Toad hissed.

I paused. I messed up badly once already, not listening to Toad. “I have just one question.”

Toad considered, “Ask it.” he said it like the damage was already done. Fair.

“Rachel, Who ordered you to abduct Madigan?” I asked.

“Goddess Lola,” Rachel said, “She told me Madigan had gone against her wishes. She wanted new leadership in the Mandir. She specifically said he should be with the goblins.”

The silence that followed was thunderous. Maybe she wasn’t that bad of a witness after all.