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And he saw Je&039;howith&039;s soldiers, Markwart&039;s stooges, gathered at the side and seeer

"It is the e of Abbots," the Father Abbot finished powerfully, "that the man, Avelyn Desbris by naainst the Church and state"

"A call for heresy, Father Abbot?" asked Abbot Je&039;howith of St Honce, sitting in the front row

"Nothing less," Markwart confirmed

Murmurs erupted from every corner of the hall; heads shook and heads nodded, abbots andlow in private conversations

Jojonah sed hard, recognizing that his next step would lead him to a cliff face "Is this not the sahest honor in all the Abellican Church?" he asked loudly, drawing the attention of all, particularly of Brother Braumin Herde "Was it not Father Abbot Dalebert Markwart him-self who named Avelyn Desbris as a Preparer of the sacred stones?"

"Another ti his cool and calm tone "More the pity, then, and farther the fall"

"Farther the fall indeed," Jojonah retorted, e to face his nerace"

In the back of the room Braumin Herde dared to smile and nod his head; from the whispers and reactions of those nearby, it see quite well

"Not only Avelyn, you mean!" Markwart said suddenly, ferociously

Siave Mark-wart the opening he needed to sweep his proclamations back out to the entire audience "Be it known here and now that the security of St-Mere-Abelle was again breached this very summer," the Father Abbot cried "The prisoners I had secured to speak to you against Avelyn were stolen froasps than whispers came from the audience now

"I introduce now Immaculate Brother Francis," Markwart ex-plained, a na - indeed, one of the points of contention that was expected to be raised later in the College concerned the man&039;s premature pronized the pain on Jojonah&039;s face He reh, pointedly telling hiain that this was exactly the scenario Jojonah had predicted Out of love and re-spect for Jojonah, he had to ree ht be swayed Jojonah&039;s way, he would have run down to stand beside the man

That hint never materialized Markwart&039;s questions were quick and to the point as he prodded Francis for infor the escape of the prisoners Francis described Elbryan in great detail, and went on to confirm that demons had apparently inhabited the bodies of the Chilichunk couple

And then he looked Jojonah right in the eye

And then he fell silent

Jojonah could hardly believe that theto his superior edge as he thanked and dis-missed the brother, for he had only used Francis to set up his next wit-ness, one of the guards Elbryan had overpowered, one who had crept up a bit along the side passage to get a glimpse of the intruders, and who could, and did indeed, identify Master Jojonah as a conspirator

Jojonah fell silent; he knew that he would not be heard at that time no matter how loud his protests

Abbot De&039;Unnero ca the events on the road that had allowed Jojonah to sneak away, opening a tione to St-Mere-Abelle "And I spoke with the merchant, Nesk Reaches," De&039;Un-nero insisted, "and confirmed that Master Jojonah had not returned to their encaan to wash over Jojonah, an accep-tance that this indeed was a fight he could not win Markwart had come here well- prepared

He looked over at the fanatical Allheart soldiers and smiled

Next Markwart called for one of Jojonah&039;s companions on the road to Aida, ahow Jojonah had roup away fro in place against hih I was indeed in your dungeons, evil Markwart"

The gasps caer

"Freeing those imprisoned unlawfully and immorally," Jojonah asserted "I have seen too entle - yes, gentle and godly! - Avelyn I saw it most keenly in the fate of theWindrunner"

Master Jojonah paused with that last statehed aloud Every abbot, master, and immaculate in this room understood, and approved of, the fate of theWindrunner, every leader in this room was complicit in the murders

Jojonah kneas dooainst Markwart, to show the ancient texts that described the previousstones, to scream out that Brother Pellimar, who had been on that journey to collect the stones, had also been murdered by this supposedly holy Church

But there was no practical point to it, and he did not want to give everything away He looked to Brother Braumin Herde then, the man ould take up his torch, and he sain for a declaration of Avelyn as a here-tic, then added that Jojonah, by his own admission, was a traitor to the Church

And then Abbot Je&039;howith, the second most powerful man in the Order, rose tall and seconded thenod from Markwart, motioned to his soldiers

"By your oords you have co," Je&039;howith proclaimed as the soldiers sur-rounded Jojonah "Have you any offering of defense?" He turned about to face the congregation "Will any others speak for this , at Braumin Herde, and the man dutifully remained silent

The Allheart soldiers swarmed over the s, so didhim away As he was ushered out the door, he saw Brother Francis standing quietly, taking no part, seeive you," Jojonah said to the iveness of Brother Brau Francis

And then he was gone, dragged froainedquiet and stunned, in-cluding Brother Brau up at hilare to offer in return

Later that same cold Calember day, Master Jojonah, stripped naked and placed in an open cage on the back of a wagon, was taken through the streets of St-Mere-Abelle village, his porters crying out his sins and crimes to the nervous townsfolk

Insults became spit, became stones hurled Jojonah&039;s way Onethea vicious wound

Brothers Herde, Viscenti, and Dellman, and all the otherabbots and masters, watched it solemnly, some with horror, some with satisfaction

For more than an hour Jojonah was carted about the streets, and he was a battered and broken ged him from the cart and lashed him to a stake

"You are damned by your actions," Markwart proclaimed above the frenzy of the excited crowd "May God show you mercy"

And the pyre was lit beneath Jojonah&039;s feet

He felt the flas charring with every breath But only for a moment, for then he closed his eyes and he saw

Brother Avelyn, reaching for him with outstretched arms

Jojonah never screaest disappointment of the day

Braumin Herde watched the whole of the execution as the fla his dearest friend Beside hirabbed theo

"Bear witness," he said, and they were the last three monks to leave the awful scene

"Come," Braumin Herde bade them when at last it was over, when the flames had died away "I have a book you er Lockless also watched He had learned ht from the road south of Palh In the last few hours alone, he had learned of Jojonah and the freeing of the half-iven hiust

But he watched, and understood then that the Father Abbot of the Abellican Order was indeed his enemy

Far from that place, in the lands north of Pal the rise of Sheila The ith the reater ene