The Chosen King Collection

11. The Law Room

Trunculin paced in front of the king"s chair, still wrestling with the best way to move forward. Corinn, the first healer, came into the room, holding a small jar. “This came from Gordon.”

“What do I care about Gordon"s blood?” asked Trunculin.

She took the seal off. “Smell it.”

Trunculin looked confused as he took the jar. Corinn was the only person he could not see through, and he hated games. “It smells…”

“Sweet. The boy has the sweetblood illness. That could be a way to hold another choosing,” said Corinn.

“Interesting… maybe. Maybe not. If it comes out, it may build sympathy for the boy. "A boy who fights a daily struggle with a terrible illness." The people may love him more and demand he make an appearance. You know how easily the people are swayed by emotion. No one can find out he"s left the kingdom,” said Trunculin.

“I told you I would help you control the new king,” said the firsthealer with the slight accent that Trunculin used to like hearing late at night in the dark. “My ways are a better control than some mystic slithering inside a person"s mind.”

“That may be so. But I"ve told you that the control is not tight enough. I"ve sensed Stathen slipping away these last months. I wanted to be sure with Gordon. I know that made you angry. I know that"s why you don"t… why we don"t…”

Corinn the firsthealer didn"t let him finish, “There are many reasons why we don"t…” Trunculin shot her an angry glance. “Oh, sorry, still hate to be interrupted?” Corinn smiled sweetly.

Trunculin hated that Corinn still had any power over him. He hated that he missed her. He has stayed away from women for so long, he was angry with himself for playing with fire again. “Yes, well… I need to consult the law room, to find a legal excuse that the people can swallow…”

“What do the mystics say about it?” asked Corinn, walking with him.

Trunculin answered, “They can"t see him. They have been acting strange since all this happened.”

“If he"s in the outlands, he may never be found. Or the outlanders may kill him for you. It"s a big world to hide in,” said Corinn.

“I doubt they went that far. Brenddel is tracking each ship they may have been on. We have sent waterships to search,” said Trunculin.

“Saying what? That we lost our king?” asked the firsthealer.

“Of course not,” Trunculin reassured. “We are saying there is an escaped lunatic murderer named Loren, travelling with a girl and a boy… and that there is a reward.”

“That should do it. No one likes lunatics with children. What are you going to tell the people? There are even more crowds coming to the kingdom, worried for their new king…,” she continued, “He is our king, isn"t he?”

“The crown was on his head and Stathen has returned to his village, a local hero no doubt. The law doesn"t allow Stathen to return as king. I may be able to convince them Gordon wasn"t properly crowned, but I have to consult the law book. If not, I will tell the crowds that he is being cared for by the best healer in our kingdom…” Trunculin said.

Corinn said, “And I would have been doing just that, if he was still here. Loren must be a better healer than I thought. The fact that he"s kept his nephew well and secret with the sweetblood shows us that. It is always a death sentence. But I appreciate the complement, Trunc. Still hate being called that?”

“You know I do,” Trunculin said curtly through tight lips.

“Good,” Corinn said, as she walked away. “You should have chosen a queen this time.”

“You can"t be serious,” Trunculin said. “Have you ever been around a teenaged girl?”

Corinn shook her head as they walked their separate ways.

Trunculin tried not to stare after her as she walked away. The firstcouncilor finally reached the law room. It was the only level that had just one purpose. He passed by guards and the waiting chamber, where dozens of people were waiting in line to see a law keeper.

One wall was three men high with a series of small rectangular wooden holes. There were hundreds of holes and a ladder leaned up against the wall to reach the higher ones. Each rectangle held a different blank form, depending on what law the person was trying to get clarified.

Trunculin walked past the room, holding his breath. He came to the entrance door to the law room. The guards let him pass without a word. He came to a small desk, piled with requests almost as tall as the law keeper who was sitting behind them.

Trunculin let out his breath. “Uhhh, I can still smell them. I don"t know how you work so close to the reeking masses.”

The man offered no response to Trunculin"s query. “How may we help you, firstcouncilor?” said the man with no emotion at all. Trunculin barely registered it as a question.

“I need the grand keeper,” said Trunculin.

The little man nodded once, got up and left the room. He came back shortly and resumed his work.

The grand keeper came out. “Firstcouncilor. I thought we might get a visit. How may I help?” said the grand law keeper warmly.

Trunculin didn"t bother to hide anything. A law keeper worked all day in a dimly lit level with no windows. He reasoned that they were not even ambitious enough to gossip. The complexities of the law book kept their minds too busy. “I need to know if a king was crowned correctly, if there is any legal way to replace him immediately. Also, if there is any historical precedent for removal, due to illness.”

The grand keeper was not surprised. “We will need to consult areas 47, 326, and 2239. Right this way, firstcouncilor.”

This level was vast, and there was only one way in. Trunculin was not looking forward to this visit. He needed the information, and he could not trust it to an underling. He needed to see the words himself, in order to know which way he could twist them.

The law book is a collection of pages on a seemingly never-ending long winding set of tables. There are hundreds of tables that support the law book. It winds through the level just like a snake, Trunculin thought. It was mounted in such a way that when a new law needed to be added, any section could be opened to receive those pages. Trunculin thought of each section as a chapter of the book, winding around on the tables. Of course, no law was ever removed.

It winds through the level just like a snakeThis level was originally sectioned off into small rooms of offices and living chambers. The first law room had held just one small book written by the first thirteen. That was a long time ago, Trunculin knew. Eventually, walls were taken down and the floor was supported from underneath to account for the vast weight of the serpentine book of laws. Since it was like one continuous book, they would have to walk by the entire thing, only stopping at the relevant sections.

Trunculin always felt like he was in a dark tunnel, the rare times he came here. True, Trunculin had written many of the laws himself, but he did not care to look at the consequences. His job was to pass laws, not keep track of them. Until he needed to trap someone in them, of course.

They stopped by each section and Trunculin was annoyed to find the laws concerning how a king was chosen were very clearly written. Most of them were written many years before, even before Trunculin. They had a different philosophy then. The first kings believed that only a few laws would do. Trunculin had always believed that there must be so many laws, often conflicting, that anyone could be called a criminal when it was convenient.

They came to the last relevant section, number 2239. It was a law concerning an obscure king. Trunculin smiled. That might just work, he thought to himself. He left the law room relieved to be away from the great snake.

That might just work