Crim238-1

King's Brief: Crim238-1p

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    Docket Number: Crim238-1p - Rex vs Katidyd
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 Brief for the King, submitted by Private Vonkar
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Kings Brief for the Prosecution of Katidyd For assault upon and reckless endangerment of the lives of Luminus, Vychereon, and Snrrub

Findings of Fact:

On or about the fourth day of Renasci in the year two hundred thirty six, Luminus, Vychereon and Snrrub were adventuring in the cemetery of Sable. Around the same time that Luminus' party was in the cemetery, Katidyd was adventuring there as well. Katidyd came upon a room in which she saw Luminus' party in and left without saying a word to them. After leaving, she decided to return to the general vicinity they were in and call a conflaguration inferno in order to "scare them away" and then left the area.

Argument:

Katidyd fully admits that she assaulted Luminus and his party with, as she puts it, "the after burns of a conflaguration fire." Her reasoning for this was that in her estimation, the group was "camping" in the room that she came upon them in. She also claims that Luminus and his party were not wounded or very slightly wounded at best when she came upon them and that as such the flames would not have killed them. But by the same token, when asked if she had looked close enough to determine if they were wounded, she said she did not need to.

Luminus and his party claim that they were resting from a battle when Katidyd came upon them and that they were trying to regain their strength. All three claim that they were in fact injured before flames engulfed the room that they were in. Dynauld has testified to the fact that even the after burns can indeed be lethal if those caught in them have been injured prior to the flames being called.

Katidyd called a spell that is lethal in nature and potentially lethal in the surrounding rooms for no other reason than to "scare" Luminus and his companions from the surrounding area. She did this without bothering to take the time to determine if they were actually wounded or even to say anything to them at all. By doing such, her actions endangered their lives needlessly. Furthermore, she at no time attempted to go about achieving the same goal in a peaceful manner.

Conclusion:

Katidyd endangered the lives of Luminus and his party because she felt they were in the wrong and did not wish to notify the proper authorities. Her life was not in danger at the time when she called the flames, and she admitted to the fact that she sought to "scare" Luminus' party from the area because she felt that they were "camping." If this was the case, she should have attempted to convince them to move on peacefully. If that did not work, she should have notified the proper authorities to let them deal with the situation.

Defense Brief: Crim238-1d

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    Docket Number: Crim238-1d  - Rex vs. Katidyd
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 Brief for the defendant, submitted by Katidyd
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Argument of evidence and logistics:

The prosecution insists that upon "'an estimation' the group was 'camping' in the room" as the reason why I caused physical harm. In my explanation during interrogation, it was used to quantify the resting time the group has had to recuperate and their state of health just before the conflagration was unleashed.

There was no mention anywhere that I also brought up a previous encounter with the group, which I commented on during questioning. It was this earlier meeting that eventually led this incident, explained in greater detail in the following section.

Charge of Assault:

History with Vychereon:

Around the end of the month of Thawing, year 236, a week before the date of the event in question, I came upon Luminus and Vychereon behind the gate to the cemetery. There I proceeded ahead. I reached a dark room where an undead creature attacked me, a moment afterwards a hand reached for the treasure it was guarding and the creature suddenly turned its attention to Vychereon who appeared out of nowhere. I never even saw anyone coming into the room. His intention was to remain hidden and steal the treasure while I and the creature were busy brawling over it. Engaged in close combat with the guardian, it would be an easy for me to not notice something being lifted away. Leaving Luminus somewhere behind, he snuck after me. He surely did not fear walking into the fury of a conflagration, everyone knows fire is an effective element to slay undead creatures.

Aside from the material world, the sheer surprise of his sudden and unseen appearance caused a moment of panic, there was the confusion that I may have unwittingly attacked a passerby without realizing it. This intrusion irritated me to the point of almost smiting the fool, but to my dismay was adept at fleeing.

This is not the first time I have caught Vychereon demonstrating his stealth in my presence. He has been found hiding in the shops and bank several times. Maybe this was a normal mode of travel for him, but for me I wonder how the clerks know who to give the change or merchandise to if the shadowed person is unseen. Anyhow, his inconspicuousness coincided with the rising trend of rampant thefts at these hot spots. What was a guildmaster to think when connecting the strings of complaints and coincidental discoveries.

History with Snrrub:

At the time prior to this incident Snrrub has been making a nuisance of himself with a group of mages he organized trying to nominate him for SGA commissioner. These people had been sending announcements regularly to the whole guild. It was an invalid campaign so I told them to stop. When I tell an elder to stop doing something I do expect it to end, I have little tolerance for elders who cannot follow simple directions and needs repeated instructions. It took a month for this routine to end.

Charge of reckless endangerment:

Firstly I wish to add to Dynauld's testimony which states:

    ...even the after burns can indeed be lethal if those caught
    in them have been injured prior to the flames being called...

It is a loosely used statement to argue a point that has many variables, though it may be true in some situations it is not here.

It is known that as adventurers grow, they build up an inherent degree of resistance to any blow directed at them, whether magical or physical. It is demonstrated often in the dome when a drunk naked warlord sends a dozen armed fighters and mages to the recovery room. The tone of danger in the above statement would indeed be 'lethal' if these three people were still young farm boys picking corn from the fields dressed in burlap slacks. However that is not the case, they are seasoned warriors, equipped with protective armor and warding trinkets.

Furthermore, in the controlled environment of the dome battles, I have fought many people of comparable strength to these three, I have even used the full wrath of conflagration upon Luminus in the dome and he was able to survive that element. The effect of the secondary burns of a conflagration is within a similarity to being struck with a mage's lightning bolt. The prosecution fails to prove what sort of danger this presented to the group since it was not followed by any other aggressive actions. It is like a lumberjack taking one swing at a tree then walks away. The lethalness of the blow would depend on the size of the tree. The only other source of hostility they could have faced there would be from a slumbering zombie, if it was there at all, which could've been easily dealt with by any one of them alone, keeping in mind there are three people in the group. The place where this party was burned is known to harbor a sleeping zombie, with three well trained warriors versus a zombie, a normal human zombie, not the 100 feet tall kind. So where is the 'danger'? As much as the wounds were inflicted on them, it would have seriously seared the flesh of any undead creature they may stir.

Re-examination:

I'd also like to comment on the 'camping' scenario that was brought up. A daring adventurer braves the traps and fight off undead maws in an old tomb just to find that some party is already there. "Darn someone beat me to it" and leaves to seek goods elsewhere. However, in a place where there is only one exit and it is sealed up with a huge stone door and well guarded, it comes to mind how were they able to get there when the entry way is still blocked. There's no way for the group to all sneak by or teleport beyond. It would seem logical that if they came through the same gauntlet I did, they would first have to remove the obstacles, in this place it is an undead guard. The prosecution say they "claim that they were resting from a battle." That is false since I slew the crypt guard just one minute before meeting the group. For that to be true, they would have passed by these corridors many hours earlier and remained here from the time after the battle and seeing me. As testament to that, the enormous stone door was sealed shut and settled with dust, showing no signs of anyone having disturbed it. Their purpose was to stake out the place in hope of hoarding all the treasures for themselves. It is a method used by some to sit around in one particular place and simply by being there their presence deter other adventurers from going further, thereby keeping potential spoils all to them. I may have been irritated, but it alone does not warrant a conflagration. I took the opportunity to repay the discourtesies from previous encounters.

Closing:

This case came to the Justicars based solely on Vychereon's ability to look at objects in another room, an unlit room 50 or so feet away and cloaked in a shroud of darkness. I wouldn't begin to fathom the working of other guilds' techniques but I find it a farfetched feat. There he was able to point me out, starting an outcry for church wars. Assembling a large group they came and sought out the leaders of my church. After their futile rambling was dismissed by the attending cleric and their maniacal pro-war effort went unsupported, they sought another avenue by turning to the Justicars. This extraordinary method of blindfold identification has never resulted in going to court in the past such as the all too familiar hit-and-run muggings. These babies are merely milking every bull on the range to see which spurts milk.

I apologize for taking up too much time.

Katidyd

Judgment: Crim238-1j

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Rex,                    )
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                        )
v.                      )       Crim238-1
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                        )       DECIDED: Solaria 22, 239
Katidyd                 )
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Plenary Judgment:

Katidyd is found not guilty.

The accusations were not reasonably established.

Further, even if it WERE established, those who "camp" in dangerous areas are begging to be mistaken for the actual foul denizens.