Whatever crimes ex-governor Letenlo committed during his administration of his province, and no observer doubted there were many, the dignity with which he bore the haranguing of the city's greatest orator who had both technique and the facts on his side resembled that of the statues of his ancestors or the very gods so that everyone watching felt a lump in his stomach that whispered, oh, what a loss that a man suited by nature for every kind of excellence devoted himself to iniquitous gain, oh, what an age this is, what a grievous world.
Letenlo's serenity deepened during the trial. No doubt the certainty of his approaching conviction that promised at last to terminate his misspent career satisfied his soul within that yearned for the right. So far did his mood improve that when at last he delivered his final defense, he smiled as easily as an innocent man. Nor did he resort to lies about the character of his prosecutor as the guilty often do, thereby proving what before had only been suspected, that their quality was the same as the vermin that skulk and steal cattle and chickens.
Indeed, so intricate was his address and with such clearness did he deliver it that he got a skill point in the middle. Observers joked that he might put it in Oratory and improve his position in that manner, but of course ten points would not make up the gap. And yet, Letenlo paused when he earned the point. To say he paused understated the situation, for he stopped entirely, smiled wider than before, slammed the point into Acrobatics, and bounded out of the court. The orator who brought the suit on behalf of the mistreated province attempted the chase despite having 0 Acrobatics, but no less certain could be the result of that contest than that of the legal one which had proceeded so well for him.
Finis
No comments:
Post a Comment