"Your Majesty I request that disciplinary action be taken against Count Dellock."
Murmuring erupted from the observation balcony.
Within the Royal Court those who came to report or request something couldn't speak whenever they wanted to, they had to be given permission by the court or His Majesty to speak. And even then, you would normally only speak about the topic of the hearing.
Suddenly asking for a disciplinary action like this would get you thrown out immediately and punished for the disrespect.
Unless you had a very good reason for speaking out.
As the murmuring in the court increased King Roderick Von Leighla stared at Chronos. This wasn't what they had planned at all but if Chronos thought it important enough to break decorum he would give him a chance.
After several moments King Roderick raised his hand and silence descended on the court.
"Chronos if this isn't important or is just you trying to lash out at the court, I will have you dragged into the dungeon for punishment."
Chronos maintained his kneeling position.
"I understand Your Majesty."
Seeing the king accepting the situation, Count Dellock, who was sitting in the third row of the court and had caused problems, suddenly had a bad feeling.
"Your Majesty there is no reason to hear out an impertinent young man. I move that we remove him from the court for today."
Several of the court's nobles agreed with Count Dellock calling for the knights to remove him. Although from the sound of it they just wanted an excuse to make Chronos wait like he had made them wait.
King Roderick tapped the edge of his seat's armrest.
The sound echoed throughout the room causing everyone to stop talking before the king returned his gaze to Chronos. Seeing Chronos' posture the king could tell that he was indeed taking this situation seriously.
"Then speak. What are the grounds for requesting disciplinary action against Count Dellock?"
"The trade ambassador from the nation of Kharad Vorn has come to make a request of the court. This required him to pass through the Counts lands. However, Count Dellock instead of being hospitable has chosen to torture the ambassador in an attempt to annex the lands in the border of Kharad Vorn. Furthermore, he has tried to use the power of the court to force the ambassador to give in."
Bang!
Count Dellock stood up so fast that he knocked over his chair.
"Lies! This is all lies, Your Majesty!" Count Dellock yelled.
Murmuring broke out in the observation balcony once more. Those who were close to the count defended him but there were many others that preferred Chronos's version as the end result would be more entertaining.
And when the nobility spread rumors they didn't have to be accurate, just entertaining enough to keep people's attention.
Raising his hand once more, King Roderick called for silence.
"What proof do you have of this?"
"Your Majesty! Are you really going to take the word of some child over your faithful servant?" Count Dellock asked incredulously.
King Roderick turned to face him. Under the King's gaze Count Dellock suddenly felt a lot smaller than the front he was putting on.
"That is not what I said Count Dellock. I said is there any proof of the torture? And unless you have some way to disprove it right now, I will continue."
Count Dellock withered under the king's glare returning to his seat as he confidently thought that no one in the court staff would betray him.
Given how the Count was acting King Rodreick was fairly certain that Chronos was telling the truth but without evidence to prove it there would be nothing he could do. And he would have to punish Chronos.
"Continue Chronos."
"Yes, Your Majesty. The proof is right outside the court's doors. Mr. Rurik Emberbraid is sitting in the vestibule and has been stripped of all of the dwarven distractions that any dwarf carries. Furthermore, the staff and knights have been specifically instructed not to let him use anything and have instructed the others waiting to not interact with him or they would lose their chance to meet the court."
Chronos wasn't entirely sure of that last point but given that the Count's complexion had paled when he said it, it probably wasn't far from the truth.
"This is nonsense. I am a member of the court. Why would I cause problems for the court with my own actions?"
"As I said you seek to annex the land near Kharad Vorn to be added to your territory. As for why exactly you want that land I am not certain."
Murmuring broke out once again as the gathered nobles started trading ideas about why the count might want the land.
Several people suggested that the count had found a new ore vein on the border and wanted to take it. Others said that there was a particular herb growing in that area and the count was after that herb. Still others claimed the count just liked torturing others and had chosen the trade ambassador as his next target.
That last one received a surprising amount of backing, enough that Chronos started wondering if it might be true.
"This is ridiculous. There is no proof that I have done anything. The staff could easily be paid off or threatened by the Young Duke Ulv and anything else could easily have been planted."
Several nobles agreed with him on that. It wouldn't be hard for someone in Chronos' position to convince others to go along with him.
But his next sentence shut down that line of thought.
"I am willing to be subjected to a truth spell from the High Priest of order of the Tri-Goddess Temple to prove that I am not lying."
Everyone knew that even if you were a prince you couldn't lie in front of the gods. One spell and the priest would know everything about your life from the moment you were born.
And unfortunately, the priests were under a holy oath to tell the court everything they had learned.
That's why nobles rarely used the priests of order in their courts. They had too many secrets in their lives to call upon them, but it was the best way to prove that he was telling the truth.
"I don't think we need to go that far yet. For now, call in the trade ambassador and let him speak."
King Roderick motioned for the herald near the door to fetch him.
A few minutes later a red-haired dwarf walked into the room causing the King's expression to sour.
He could easily see the signs of mistreatment that Rurik had endured from the lacking tools, missing metal fittings, and torn off baubles that a dwarf would normally carry.
Worst of all was what the herald said next as he read from the day's schedule list.
"Introducing Mr. Rurik Emberbraid, trade ambassador of Kharad Vorn." He hesitated before continuing. "Mr. Rurik has been waiting to meet with the court for six hours and under the orders of Count Dellock has been moved further back in the line, twice."