Those close enough to Aliani could see the vein starting to pop in the side of his neck at the sight of Trinia's back bruised and bloodied at the hands of those... those despicable monsters, was as close as he could come without distracting himself more fully.

"Great, so they're going to take a bull**** coerced confession over, you know, any sense of reality, are they?" he finally snapped. "You know, you didn't *have* to give it to them. You could have at least, you know, taken some time to investigate the veracity of this so called 'confession' under the grounds of truth and justice. For that matter, you could have binned it. I suppose I should be grateful that for once that wasn't an option."

At the Hellknight's words, he simply rolled his eyes. Hadn't they gotten rid of these clowns already? He had a few other choice questions as well -- but for now he kept them to himself.

Quote Originally Posted by Darvin View Post
"if there is any hope of averting this ruling, it will be in poking a hole in the confession. In our investigations under Ileosa we have determined many facts about the murder. We need to undermine that confession by showing it inconsistent with those facts, that the specific acts Trinia confessed to were not the means by which Eodred died. It will be difficult to convince the Arbiters, but getting them on Trinia's side is a trifle compared to the mob,"

Dalen eyes Silas and Aliani, "one way or another, time is drawing short for Trinia Sabor. If there is anything you plan on doing on her behalf, it's now or never,"
"Obviously." He took a deep breath, closing his eyes.

"Okay. Mr. Rittle, you figure out with Miss Croft the absolute best way to poke those holes in this case. Then you take it to the arbiters. Smash their door down if you have to, I'll bail you out. She needs someone in there to defend her."

"And yes, 'Turk', we may need reinforcements. That's about the last bunch of reinforcements we need, but any port in a storm. If you think you can control them, then get them here. But you keep them back from the front lines. They're as likely to ignite this as they are to put it down; a SHOW of force is going to be much more effective. One ill-timed strike will be the match that starts it all, and the fewer people that get that opportunity to strike, the better."

"And someone give me some paper, I need to think of the best way to talk down an angry mob." He gave a wry smile. "I suppose those sleepless nights scratching at plays will have served as a dress rehearsal, hmm?"

"And Miss Sabor? You are not getting sent back to the Asmodeans. If you are, you have my personal word that there will BE no Asmodeans left, or I shall join you in death. Remember, most of all: you haven't made any problem for us. You haven't made any problem at all. And don't let them tell you otherwise. Whatever happens from here, is not up to them. I need you to believe in that, to believe in us. You need to stay strong during this, and if you do, you WILL prevail. They will continue to drag your name through the mud, to blame you, call you horrible names. None of it is your fault; it's what they need to move the levers of politics in their direction. It's a reflection on them, not on you. However much mud they drag you through, when all is done, there will be a chance to cleanse yourself of all their wicked machinations. Hold fast to that thought."