"When placed in command, take charge." - Norman Schwarzkopf
With the mob gone, Bredin went back into the Watch station. Lieutenant Coffee and Lord Austin followed. The white-faced watchmen on duty looked at Bredin with new respect as the three went into Captain Valen's office. Bredin took the Captain's chair, the lieutenant took the chair opposite. Except for the small neat piles in front of Bredin, every chair and surface bore haphazard stacks of records. Lord Austin leaned against the wall.
Bredin gestured at the clutter. "Look at this mess! There are years of incidents, reports, letters and complaints in these stacks. They're in no order or organization. Not even by date. How am I going to find anything?"
::You're whining.::
"Guilty as charged." Bredin said. At the others' looks, he passed on Lacaral's comment.
Lieutenant Coffee smiled. "Whining or not, you are right. You need a clerk to sort this out. Several of them, in fact. I can lend you my staff clerk for a while."
"I'll ask father's secretary to help as well." Lord Austin added. "I'll bet we can round up a few public clerks to lend a hand."
Bredin slumped in the chair. "That would be Tholan's Own Blessing."
"You are tired. You need to rest." The lieutenant said. Lord Austin nodded.
"I have got to get these records sorted." Bredin reached for one of the piles.
"Enough of that." The lieutenant said. "You were up before dawn and have been going all day. When you're not at the court, you are racing out to help find the bodies or in here sorting files."
"I had a nap at lunch time." Bredin said.
Austin snorted. "How long? A quarter-candlemark? Plus you've been doing that Truth Spell all day. That must take a lot of energy."
"It does." Bredin admitted. "But I can't question Cartmill without it. He'd probably tell lies just to stir up the crowd."
"You've got to get help." The lieutenant said.
Bredin shook his head. "My Senior is tied up trying to prevent a blood feud."
::Mani is coming tomorrow. Others are on the way as well.::
::But he's got that feud down in Dunby.:: Bredin said. He accepted that Lacaral and Caiseal would keep the Senior Herald informed. ::They were getting ready for their own little war there.::
::When he realized you had a serial killer here, he worked dawn to bedtime to get it cleared up. The rest of the visit can wait until he gets back. He's leaving the mules and coming at speed.::
"I remember that look." Austin said. "Riker used to have it when he talked to Styron. What did Lacaral say?"
"My Senior is coming tomorrow." Bredin said. He gave the others the details.
"Handy, the way your Companions talk to each other." Lieutenant Coffee smiled.
Bredin snorted. "Except when they gossip like grannies. Everyone in the Collegium knows if you and a friend are sharing a bed."
::And who keeps asking us where their yearmates are?::
The others snickered at Bredin's comment. Lieutenant Coffee noted something else. "You called him your Senior? You said something about being an intern. What does that mean?"
Bredin quickly explained how the internship worked.
"You mean you're not a full Herald?" Austin Halmar looked worried.
"I am a full Herald from the moment I gave my oath to the Queen and the Circle. I have full authority from the time I get my Whites. The internship is about getting practical field experience but I have all the powers of any other Herald."
"When did you 'get your Whites'?" The lieutenant asked.
"Less than two moons ago." Bredin said.
"That's what I call being thrown into deep water." She said. "In any case, you need some sleep. I can't order you to go to bed, but I can order some troopers to drag you out of here and tie you to a mattress."
Bredin grinned. "Sometimes you have to give in to threats."
The three left Captain Valen's office.
##
Four people met Bredin at the Captain's office the next morning, including Sir Prescott Halmar, who was both Secretary and cousin to the Viscount. The others were Corporal Drew Tolland, who was clerk for Lieutenant Coffee and two private clerks hired by Sir Prescott.
Sir Prescott already had a plan for arranging the records, which he suggested to Bredin. Bredin thought the plan good and the five set to work. They were busily sorting the records when Captain Valen arrived.
"Now what are you up to?" The Captain roared.
Sir Prescott spoke before Bredin could. "We are providing you with some necessary assistance, Uncle, in getting your paperwork in order." The look on the secretary's face was pure poison.
Valen Halmar's face showed the dislike was mutual. "You are not needed, nephew. Get back to your office in the Residence. Your cousin needs you there."
Sir Prescott did not budge. "I am here at the express command of my cousin, who is not at all pleased to hear of the – ah, 'disarray', shall we call it? – in this Watch Post."
The Captain shook with anger. "How dare you interfere? This is my Watch Post. I give orders here."
The secretary stared coldly back. "You serve here at Gustav's pleasure. You can talk to him if you think our help is unneeded. I suggest you think carefully about what you say to him. He is very unhappy right now and may decide it is you that is unneeded."
The Captain's mouth hung open. He fought for words. Glancing around, he spotted Bredin. "This is your doing, you impudent puppy. I'll have your hide for this."
Bredin looked calmly at the Captain. "Senior Herald Mani should be here this afternoon. You may discuss it with him when he arrives. In the meantime, please leave us to do our work."
Valen Halmar's face turned so red that Bredin feared the man was about to have a brainstorm. He turned and stalked out of the room without another word.
"Shall we resume sorting?" Sir Prescott said. Bredin saw the other three grinning broadly.
The temple bell rang a few minutes after and Bredin headed for the court.
Due to the number of people who wanted to hear the proceedings, Viscount Halmar had ordered the court moved out into the square. Bredin thought the arrangement good and readily approved the idea. There was a canvas awning over the judge's bench, the prisoner's dock and benches for the witnesses and highborn. Viscount Halmar had borrowed benches from the local temples and filled the square with them. Every seat was full and there were rows of people standing around the outside.
Before bringing out the prisoner, Bredin called Aedna Weems to the front once more. The Healer said had identified five more of the bodies and gave their names. She had previously warned most of the victim's families already, so the crowd was mostly silent as she spoke. Bredin thanked her for her efforts. She requested permission to speak to the crowd. When Bredin agreed, she turned and asked anyone who had a lock of hair or other personal article from the missing to bring them to her to help identify the remaining bodies.
Bredin thanked the Healer and nodded to the bailiff to bring out Fenir Cartmill.
"Stop this nonsense right now!" Everyone turned to Captain Valen Halmar, who pushed through the crowd to stand in front of Bredin's bench with his hands on his hips. Two of his watchmen stood at his side.
Bredin looked at the Captain. "Would you mind explaining yourself, Captain?"
Captain Valen pointed at Bredin. "You don't have the authority to try this. You're not a real Herald; you're just an intern. That's probably why you haven't passed sentence on Cartmill."
Startled, the crowd looked back and forth between Bredin and the Captain.
Bredin looked at the Captain. One of his Watchmen must have overheard Bredin talking to Lieutenant Coffee and Lord Austin last night. "I swore my Heraldic Oath to the Queen and the Heraldic Circle two days after Midsummer Day. At the moment the Queen accepted my oath, I became a Herald, with all the duties and authority of any Herald in the Circle."
Valen Halmar interrupted. "Pah! You are just an intern. You said it yourself."
Bredin smiled. "You have become an expert on the Laws of Valdemar? Yes, I was interning with Herald Mani to gain practical experience, but that in no way diminishes my authority. I am expected to perform any and all duties of a Herald whenever I am required to do so."
Valen snorted derisively. "You snot-nosed boy in a white coat. I doubt you are even old enough to serve on a jury. How old are you, boy?" The Captain put every bit of scorn he could manage into the word 'boy'.
"He's old enough to have found my sister in two days. You couldn't find her in three years, you fat fool." Dornan Loedel shouted from the crowd. Several others shouted agreement.
Captain Valen looked around in outrage. The crowd glared back at him.
Bredin replied calmly. "I will be seventeen in three sennights."
Valen Halmar pounced on Bredin's words. "See! You are not of legal age. You can't make judgements."
Bredin looked over at Magistrate Royce Halmar. The Magistrate was the Viscount's younger brother. The Magistrate had excused himself from trying Fenir Cartmill for the same as reason Viscount Gustav, but was assisting Bredin with the paperwork and organization. "Magistrate Royce Halmar, would you kindly enlighten your uncle on the law regarding Heralds, specifically regarding when they are empowered and what effect a Herald's age has on those powers?"
Royce Halmar stood and faced Captain Valen. He projected his voice to carry over the crowd. "A Herald has full authority from the moment the Queen accepts his oath. He may be over-ruled by a Senior Herald assigned to supervise him, but unless there is a Senior Herald present, his authority is unquestioned. The law specifically states that the age of the Herald has no effect on his authority, whether he has achieved the age of majority or not. Further, the law also states that even a Herald Trainee has full authority in some situations. Both my brother and I have recused ourselves and deferred to Herald Bredin."
Royce Halmar sighed. "Uncle, I suggest you sit down and shut up before you embarrass our family further." The crowd cheered the magistrate's words.
Valen, who looked ready to burst with anger, glowered at his nephew for a moment. He spat on the ground and left with his watchmen trailing after.
::He isn't done yet.:: Lacaral warned.
Bredin agreed, wondering what the Captain would do next. He looked at Lieutenant Coffee and flicked his head at the Captain. She nodded and whispered to a trooper, who left.
Bredin turned back to Fenir Cartmill, who had watched the incident with amusement. "Well, boy, what's next?"
Ignoring Cartmill's sneer, Bredin placed the Truth Spell on the prisoner and resumed questioning.
A candlemark later, Bredin had just tentatively matched another victim's name to her home village and one of the graves when one of the private clerks ran across the square. "Valen's attempting to destroy the records!" She shouted.
"Tholan's balls!" Bredin swore. He jumped over the bench and sprinted towards the Watch station. Lieutenant Coffee and several of her troopers followed, along with some of the crowd.
Two watchmen tried to block Bredin at the door. Bredin didn't even try to argue with them. Neither man was trained in fighting; in three breaths, one was unconscious and the other staggered away with a broken arm.
Inside the station, two more watchmen took one look at Bredin and the mob following him then turned and ran. Bredin reached Captain Valen's office. Valen and two of his men were fighting with Sir Prescott, Corporal Tolland and the other clerk. Bredin dropped the two watchmen with blows to the neck. By the time he turned back to Captain Valen, Sir Prescott and Corporal Tolland had him pinned against the wall.
Bredin glared at the Captain. "What is the meaning of this?"
"I've had enough of your interference, boy." Valen shouted. "Get out of my office. You have no business here, boy."
Bredin composed himself. "I have every right to do what I must. These men were assisting me in sorting your records. I need them to clear up the case before me and any other matters requiring my attention."
"This is my office and the records are mine!" Valen kept shouting.
Bredin made a decision. "Not any more."
"What do you mean?"
"I am dismissing you from office. You are no longer Captain of the Watch. You are no longer a member of the watch. Get out of here." Bredin said.
"You can't do this!" Valen roared, struggling against the men holding him. Two of Lieutenant Coffee's men came up to help hold him.
"I can. I have." Bredin turned to the others. "Get him out of here."
Sir Prescott stood back. Corporal Tolland and the other two guardsmen frog-marched Valen Halmar to the door of the station. "I'll be right back." Bredin said to Sir Prescott, who smiled with satisfaction, then followed the guardsmen.
Bredin emerged from the front of the Watch station just as the guardsmen released their hold on Valen Halmar. Valen stood in the middle of the open space between the station and a crowd that had followed Bredin from the trial. "By my Authority as a Herald of Valdemar, I have permanently dismissed Sir Valen Halmar from the position of Captain of the Watch in Hunberston. I appoint Lieutenant Inez Coffee of the Guard as Acting Captain until a permanent replacement can be found."
"You can't do this." Valen shouted over the cheers of the crowd. He spotted his nephew in the front. "Gustav. Tell him he is wrong."
Magistrate Royce Halmar answered instead. "He can, uncle. You brought this on yourself."
Valen looked at the Viscount, who shook his head and turned his back on the former captain.
Valen faced the crowd alone. Bredin saw the menacing grins on their faces. He caught the eye of Dornan Loedel. "Sir Valen Halmar is to be allowed to go in peace. Anyone who harms or harasses him is breaking the laws of Valdemar and will answer to me."
He stared at Dornan Loedel until the latter bowed his head.
Shoulders slumped, Valen Halmar walked away. The crowd parted silently to let him pass.
"Goodman Loedel." Bredin caught the man's attention. "I regret that I must take a candlemark to make arrangements here. Would you please ask the bailiff to return Fenir Cartmill to his cell? The trial will resume two candlemarks after noon."
Loedel smiled. "I'll be glad to do that for you, Herald."
Bredin returned to the office, where he found Lieutenant Coffee talking to Sir Prescott. She gestured at Bredin with clawed fingers. "I may kill you for this, Herald."
Bredin laughed. "Sorry to saddle you with this, Lieutenant, but I had to appoint someone independent from the Viscount's family." He glanced at Sir Prescott. "No offense intended, Sir, but I think anyone from your House would be looked on with prejudice."
Prescott Halmar shrugged. "I understand completely, Herald. I have repeatedly told my cousin that we can't treat every official post in the demesne as a family sinecure. Uncle Valen is an example of why. If it hadn't been for the family connection, Gustav would have removed him years ago."
The three discussed reorganizing the watch station right through lunch, which they took in the Guard Post. Afterwards, Bredin returned to the judge's bench in the square.
##
"This was in Corn Moon, three years ago, near the village of Sagewick?" Bredin asked Cartmill as he tried to identify yet another of the victims.
Before the killer could answer, Bredin heard the sound of a Companion's hooves chiming on the cobbles. He grinned broadly as Mani and Caiseal cantered in from the south side of the square. The blue glow of the Truth Spell around Cartmill ceased as Bredin turned to his mentor.
Before Bredin could say anything, Mani spoke. "Hello, Bredin. I'm here to lend you a hand. How can I help?"
In mindspeech, Mani added. ::Continue as you were. This is your trial.::
::But you are the Senior Herald.:: Bredin protested.
::This is your job. Do it.:: Mani retorted. ::I'll explain later.::
Bredin saw that the crowd were looking uncertainly back and forth between him and Mani while they mindspoke. "Thank you for coming, Mani. Would you please hold the Truth Spell on the accused while I question him?"
"Gladly, Bredin. I'm amazed you have been able to hold it for so many candlemarks." The last was clearly for the benefit of the crowd. A moment later, the blue glow once again surrounded Cartmill.
Bredin repeated his last question and followed up with others to pin down the identification.
By the time Bredin adjourned for the day, he had tentatively identified two more victims. Healer Weems would attempt to confirm the identities using her Gift.
As the bailiff took Cartmill back to his cell and the crowd slowly dispersed, Mani came up to Bredin. He grinned broadly and patted Bredin on the back. "Well done, Greenie. You are doing a great job."
"Herald, I wish to speak to you about your intern." Bredin and Mani turned to see Valen Halmar standing in front of the bench. A few of the crowd moved closer to listen.
::Let me handle him.:: Mani mindspoke. ::I am going to enjoy this.:: Aloud, he said "How may I help you, Sir?"
"Do you know what this young pipsqueak has done?" Valen said.
Mani nodded. "I've been kept informed through the Companions."
"He has exceeded his authority and undermined my position here." Valen looked indignant.
"I understand he dismissed you from office." Mani said.
"He tried to. He has no right to do so. He is not of age." Valen repeated his argument.
Mani nodded his head. "Well, it is not what I would have done." He spoke agreeably.
"I knew it." Valen said triumphantly.
"I would have arrested you and charged you with obstructing a Herald. You'd be on your way to Greyscarp Prison in chains right now." Valen Halmar's face fell and the crowd roared with laughter. "However," Mani continued, "this was Herald Bredin's decision and I am not going to interfere."
The former captain stood dumbfounded. He flushed with anger, opening and closing his mouth several times as he fought to speak. "How dare you!" He finally managed before storming away through the crowd.
The crowd took up a chant of "Prison! Prison!" as Valen Halmar pushed through.
Alarmed at the mood, Bredin spoke up. "I remind you that I will prosecute anyone who harms or harasses Sir Valen."
The crowd fell silent. Ostentatiously, they turned their backs on the former captain.
Mani turned back to Bredin. "I understand they provided a nice field and shelter for Lacaral. Let's take Caiseal there and we can talk along the way."
Mani untacked Caiseal at the Guard Post, then he and Bredin walked between Caiseal and Lacaral to the field. On the way, Bredin filled in the details of what the Companions had passed to the Senior Herald.
"That's the essentials." Bredin finished. "I can pass anything you need to know through mindspeech when you question Cartmill tomorrow."
Both Companions snorted. Mani kept silent for several sunwidths. The only sound was the chiming of the Companions' hooves on the cobbles as they walked along. A little girl darted out from one of the houses and shyly offered apples to Lacaral and Caiseal. Bredin and Mani thanked her as the two Companions lowered their heads for the girl to stroke their faces.
They resumed their walk. "Bredin, who has been conducting the trial for the last three days?" Mani stared straight ahead as he spoke.
"I have."
"And who has asked all the questions? Who has heard every bit of testimony? Who has read every report?" Mani raised an eyebrow as he looked at Bredin.
"I have, but…."
Mani cut him off. "Who really understands what is going on here?"
Bredin swallowed. "I haven't gotten it all, yet."
"'Yet.'" Mani retorted. "But you know it far better, inside and out, than I do."
"But I'm only an intern!" Bredin protested.
"You are a Herald." Mani corrected. "You said that yourself, earlier today. What is the first thing they teach you about managing Field Reviews?"
"Finish what you started." Bredin had heard the admonition so many times that he replied automatically.
"Exactly. You started this, you must finish it." Mani said.
They reached the pasture and the Companions jumped lightly over the fence. Bredin and Mani leaned against the fence, watching as both Companions rolled vigorously in the grass.
Mani put a hand on Bredin's shoulder. "I never should have dropped this load on your shoulders. If I'd known at the beginning how serious this was, I'd have put off settling that Dunby feud and come myself. This was a hell of a first case for a new Herald, but you have been absolutely splendid. That Farsight Gift of yours has been a big help, but the main thing is that you have kept doing exactly the right thing all along.
"You might have gotten rid of that asinine captain sooner, but that is pure hindsight. Trying to enlist his help was the right approach. You had no way of knowing he would be such an obstructive fool. I wouldn't have sent him to prison, either, despite what I said. That could have caused more trouble in the long run. Removing him from the post was exactly the right thing to do."
Bredin smiled at his mentor. "Thanks, I guess. But there is still a hell of a mess to straighten out after we're done with Cartmill."
"You see that? Good." Mani replied. "There is one other thing, too."
Bredin looked at Mani expectantly.
"Who do the townspeople trust?" Mani asked.
"They trust Heralds." Bredin said.
"That's your first wrong answer since I got here." Mani smiled. He pointed a finger at Bredin. "They trust you."
"Me?" Bredin said.
Mani just stared at him.
Bredin thought carefully. He remembered the looks that he had been getting lately. Other than Valen Halmar, people had been hanging on his every word. "But I'm a Herald. Any one of us would have done the same thing."
"I hope we all would." Mani nodded. "But it was you who actually did it. You were the one who captured Cartmill. You were the one who uncovered his other crimes. You were the one who found the bodies. And you were the one who faced down Valen Halmar's obstruction and exposed his incompetence.
"Everything you have done has shown that you are trustworthy, competent, clever and brave. You have lived up to every good thing they have heard about Heralds. In their eyes, you are the ideal."
Bredin looked at the Companions, who were now grazing. "But I'm not perfect."
Mani and both Companions snorted. "None of us are. But right now, you are the one they trust. And you are the one they want to see this through. Right now, you are their hero and must take the lead."
Bredin looked down. "I can't do this alone."
"Actually, I think you can." Mani said. At Bredin's look of alarm, he added. "I'll be here to lend a hand and I'll advise you if you think you need it, but you are going to see this through."
Bredin smiled.
"Now, let's get back to the Guard post for dinner." Mani said.