This place, certainly, was where the High Hall had gotten its name.
The room was darker than usual, but its vastness imposed itself on someone as soon as they walked in. A tall ceiling overhead was supported by a ring of pillars on the left and right, around which a wide walkway wound. The pillars, adorned with blood-red banners bearing the crossed heart of the Order, stretched to the ceiling, but each was also the setting for a small sconce.
These sconces gave everything a warm, gently flickering glow — they used real flames, not magelights, from the look of it — and their illumination was amplified by torches on each surrounding wall, about ten feet distant from the pillars on every side.
At the center of the High Hall was a fine chair carved from marble, which lay at the feet of a twenty-foot-tall granite statue of Torm the Loyal Fury. The image of the god showed him as a sage warrior in full plate and carrying a shield. A mane-like head of hair fell around his shoulders and his square jaw; he surveyed everyone below him with stern eyes. All the statue's features were crisp; this one had been carved only ten years ago, commissioned shortly after Torm had risen in godly power.
But the chair at Torm's feet was empty. Instead, a half-ring of ten stout wooden chairs had been placed on a carpet rolled out for this occasion, so as not to scratch the polished stone floor beneath their feet.
In each of these chairs sat a knight of the Order of the Radiant Heart. Some, seemingly, were from the Most Noble Order — barred to all except paladins that had served well and lived to the age of forty. Some of them were probably members of the Radiant Heart Auxiliary, Lidia guessed — the troop of foot soldiers, squires, and knights that served as the Most Noble Order's arm.
The man at the head of the ring, vigorous, wearing a ceremonial set of brass-colored field plate, was about sixty with a clean-shaven head and mahogany-colored skin. He was Sir Barris Wessalen, leader of the knight-commanders and Prelate of the Order in Athkatla. At his side was a wiry man in an expensive, well-fitting doublet; Lidia later learned that this man was the Prelate's secretary, a squire named Cathras.
As soon as Irlana escorted Lidia and Anomen inside, Prelate Wessalen called the meeting to order. Then, after a round of names and titles for everyone present, he continued:
"Lidia, as leader of this adventuring company, you have been called to account for the deaths of Sir Jurian Ulvax, Sir Ajantis Ilvastarr, Dame Anneki Targos, and the squires Richard Vanstraaten and Arrius Wintter. And since you, Anomen, represent the Order as a member of the Radiant Heart Auxiliary, you also must account for your actions while traveling with this company.
"While the fact of our compatriots' loss has not changed, we have gathered to consider what crime was committed and by whom. As our Order can and does avenge itself upon its enemies, we must pursue this matter with the utmost seriousness and commitment to the truth. Sir Grady and Lord Windspear have already submitted their statements. Let us now hear yours, and may Helm see all and lead us to judge aright."
Lidia had little desire to tell this story, so she listened as Anomen related how he and Lidia had met, how Lord Jierdan had hired them, and the knights' deaths. When he got to the part where the knights turned from beast to human, a shorter, fair-skinned man named Sir William objected, and the Prelate gave him leave to speak.
"This powerful magic is beyond Lord Jierdan's means," Sir William said. Though his voice was calm, it was clear that he held within him barely contained fury. "It seems almost fantastic that the lord can alter the appearance of others without them knowing."
A gray-haired man who had been identified as Lord Keldorn replied, "Faerûn is filled with wonders that defy description, both fantastic and terrible. Perhaps Lord Jierdan had a being of great power in his employ."
Lidia spoke up. "Or if he is one himself. I believe that Lord Jierdan Firkraag is a red dragon who has masqueraded as a human man. He claimed that he had lived in the Cloud Peaks for centuries; his home in the Windspear Hills has a dragon's lair. I heard from witnesses that he's been sighted in dragon form, and I felt a great evil emanating from him when we parleyed."
"But you've never actually witnessed his dragon form?" Sir William asked.
She was forced to admit that she had not.
"What you describe can be considered circumstantial evidence at best, as Lord Windspear's daughter did not see him in this form either," the Prelate said. "And while the impression Lord Jierdan leaves is…memorable, to say the least, it is not the same as proof. He turned to the older knight again. "Still, Lord Keldorn, could a red dragon work magic of this kind?"
"Yes, an older one could," he replied. "Our hearts are still torn with anger and sorrow over these deaths and eager for justice," — here he glanced at Lidia — "but let us not haste towards judgment. Anomen, if you would finish your tale."
Anomen then told the story of coming to Garren's house and rescuing his daughter, maintaining an uncharacteristic lack of embellishment in the tale as he continued. It probably had something to do with the stakes involved, Lidia thought, and having this many high-ranking paladins in one room.
She glanced up again at the statue of Torm, her heart pounding. She reminded herself that, despite his unwillingness to suffer evil, Torm was known for tempering justice with mercy and was a steadfast ally of Ilmater. But she snapped her mind back to attention — she couldn't let herself waver now.
"The relevant point here, I believe," Lord Keldorn said, "is that Lidia gave our knights the chance to depart peacefully. She tried to stop the battle when she realized what her group was doing."
"Respectfully, Lord Keldorn, I have my doubts of this," Sir William replied. "From what we've heard, her words conveyed that she was spoiling for a fight, and from this accounting, some of her other companions seem to display a worrying lack of restraint."
The Prelate raised his hand, and they both fell silent. The Prelate said, "You may have guessed by now, Lidia, that much of the discussion around your actions concerns your character and nature. Sir Grady spoke well of you, as did Lord Windspear and Sir Crolus; we know your hand brought down Sarevok and stopped the war in the north, but otherwise, you are a mystery to us."
As soon as the Prelate alluded to her time in Baldur's Gate, Lidia saw out of the corner of her eye the shocked look from Anomen's direction. She didn't return it.
"Before Sir Grady found you," the Prelate continued, "our scholars had debated whether the Children of Bhaal were even capable of discerning right from wrong. It was a great surprise, to say the least, when Sir Grady said that he had found the Bhaalspawn bearing the symbol of Ilmater the Crying God. How did your devotion come about?"
As she thought through her answer, she had to smile a little bit, at least to herself, when she remembered her longtime mentor. "A monk from the Convent of St. Rhynda named Sister Herrad stayed for over a decade at Candlekeep to work on her book. She instructed me in the ways of her god, and I came to consider him my own," Lidia said. "I also trained as a soldier under the Watchers and learned at the feet of many teachers in the fortress. But it was Sister Herrad who taught me the ways of Ilmater and how to serve his cause, and she was the one who confirmed me shortly before I was forced to leave my home."
"And you truly think that the Crying God has chosen you?" the Prelate said.
"I do," she said. "He grants me signs of his favor."
"It is well known that Bhaalspawn can manifest otherworldly power," he said. "Might you be mistaken about the source of these 'signs'?"
She thought she could tell what powers came from where — the difference between the dark well and the river flowing through her and the warm worry stone nestling in her chest. The thought that she might be wrong was disquieting nonetheless, and she had no way at that moment to prove otherwise.
"I've never believed that," she replied. "But regardless of the source of my powers, upholding the cause of good is something I've dedicated my life towards. I would never harm any of your knights intentionally, Prelate — we met in the pass that day because I had hoped to aid them, and my company sent them a note expressing our intentions. That's what the result of that meeting would have been if not for the deception we all suffered."
The room fell silent for a moment, except for one or two knights having a muttered exchange with someone seated nearby.
Sir William spoke up. "I have always respected Sir Grady's judgment. When he informed us of his actions, I wondered what could have moved him to disregard his clear orders to destroy you, let alone delegate his work to your company. But, after hearing the Baron's assistants' accounts of the Shade Lord, I begin to understand why."
"What of the Baron?" Lidia asked. "I'd heard he was taking the Order to court."
"He did not pursue a suit, as he'd threatened," the Prelate said. "Yesterday, we tried another round of mediation with him instead. Magistrate Ianulin ruled that he has a claim to Imnesvale but that he must pay its people several decades' worth in wages, for they took care of the land in the Metrich family's absence. This verdict so enraged the Baron that he chose to appeal by challenging the Order to a judicial duel. He claims that he will resolve this duel personally and to the death, so great is the insult to his honor."
"How could such a man claim honor?" Anomen said."The way he has abused these people shows he knows not the word's meaning."
"I agree," the Prelate replied, "but he may yet call our bluff as it is. None of our knights have volunteered to oppose him. We could compel one of them to do so, but they will either die by the Baron's hand or be forced to execute a scion of a powerful merchant family. The former is yet another loss we can hardly afford. The latter would almost certainly spark attempted revenge killings from the Metrich family and their allies, catching innocents in the crossfire.
"Lidia, from what you describe of your training — and I have no reason to believe your accounting is untrue — though it is unconventional, you seem to demonstrate the spirit the Radiant Heart requires. Would you be willing to stand for the Order in this matter? You have done so before, but this time you would have our full sanction."
"I would," Lidia said. "The people of Imnesvale have suffered enough."