This story is a tale of Virtue from Ultima 9

[Shard] - Sosaria
[Type] - Fiction/History
[Book] - Purple - 40 pages

[Title] - Jaana and the Goblin
[Author] - McCubbin the Wise


[Page 1]
It was custom, in
bygone days, for Druids
to wander the land in the
King's name, acting as
judges and agents of the
high court. It was
their lot to adjudicate
those cases that did not

[Page 2]
require the attention of
the high court. At the
time of which I speak,
Jaana was such a Druid.
The elders of her order
gave her a large and
wild portion of the land.
She traveled about

[Page 3]
between small towns and
villages, visiting each two
or three times in a year.
Now it happened that
one of the larger towns
in this region was at war
with a tribe of goblins
that lived in those parts.

[Page 4]
The chief engine of this
conflict was a goblin
chieftain who for
years bedeviled all humans
who passed through his
territory.
One day it came to
pass that a patrol of

[Page 5]
men from the town
happened upon a small
band of Goblins, whom
they engaged and
vanquished. Much to their
surprise, at the end
of the battle they
discovered that very chief

[Page 6]
of the goblins was alive
and helpless in their
custody.
They took him back to
town amidst great
rejoicing, for they
knew that without their
leader the goblins must

[Page 7]
soon fall.
So when the goblin chief
was brought to their
town, the people
immediately commenced a
great feast.
Amidst all the revelry,
the chief topic of

[Page 8]
discussion was how to
best dispose of the
Goblin, and as the
impromptu festival
continued, the plots for
the goblin's demise became
ever more elaborate and
impractical.

[Page 9]
It was in such a mood
that Jaana the Druid was seen
approaching the town. And
certain wags took it into
their heads that it would
be greatly amusing to set
their bestial captive to a
trial, and execute him

[Page 10]
formally under the
King's justice.
When Jaana arrived she
was confronted by a
grinning and redolent mob,
which informed her with
slurred mock solemnity
that a notorious murderer

[Page 11]
had been captured, and
was to be brought to
Justice before her.
Jaana found it a bit
annoying that the while
the entire town was
obviously far-gone in
merriment, she was being

[Page 12]
asked to mete out high
justice before she was
even offered a cooling
mug of small beer.
Nonetheless, she singled
out a townsman who
seemed more in possession
of his facilities than his

[Page 13]
compatriots, and pressed
him for a summary.
When she had learned
the nature of the case
Jaana tried to dissuade
the people, saying, "Look
you, there is no call here
for the King's Justice.

[Page 14]
This creature was taken
in war, and war is
governed by Honor and
Valor, but Justice has no
part in it. Had you killed
your enemy in battle,
that would have been an
Honorable deed. Even now

[Page 15]
if your city fathers
choose to put him to
death on their own
recognizance, that would
be an act of Compassion,
for it would secure the
safety of this town.
Do what you wilt, and I

[Page 16]
will tell you if your
course is lawful and Just,
but there is no need for
any trial of this
creature, and I will not
demean my station by
holding one."
Some were moved by the

[Page 17]
sense of Jaana's words,
but many others, addled
by drink, were incensed
to be deprived of the
sport of a trial. And
some young rabble-rousers
in the town made it their
business to put it about

[Page 18]
that Jaana was refusing
their community their
lawful right to protection
under the King's Justice.
Therefore, only a few
minutes after her first
statement, Jaana was
again confronted by a

[Page 19]
mob, far larger and
angrier than the first,
and they demanded that
the goblin be tried under
the King's Justice. Jaana
saw that further
argument would be both
dangerous and fruitless,

[Page 20]
and furthermore she knew
that while more
appropriate solutions could
be recommended, the
King's Justice, once
demanded, could not
lawfully be refused to
the people. So she drew

[Page 21]
her hood of judgement
over her head, and
ordered the goblin brought
before her, and when he
was there she said, "This
creature has been
rendered up to the law,
and its life now rests in

[Page 22]
the pleasure of Justice.
Therefore let no one
raise hand against him
until lawful judgement is
rendered." And she had
the goblin moved to a
strong room, and set the
most sober and severe

[Page 23]
guards she could find at
the door, and the trial
was set for the following
morning.

The next day the
creature was brought
before Jaana, and she

[Page 24]
called the King's Court of
Justice to order. For
many hours she sat and
listened silently to
evidence, as the people of
the town recounted the
many townspeople slain
and plundered at the

[Page 25]
claws of the goblin and
his tribe, and it was a
terrible catalog indeed.
When the goblin was
asked if it wished to
testify in its own
defense, it only spat in
fury, and none of the

[Page 26]
townspeople chose to
speak up for it.
At last Jaana raised
her hand in token of binding
judgement, and
pronounced, "This creature
has broken no laws. It
pursued a course of

[Page 27]
warfare against your
town after its nature
and the custom of its
folk. This is not an act
that can be condemned
under Justice. It must be
freed."
The people were amazed,

[Page 28]
and also greatly angered
at these words, and
began to shout out
condemnation of Jaana's
ruling, and to call for
the summary execution of
the goblin despite the
judgement. But Jaana

[Page 29]
stood up and threw back
her hood, and such was
the gravity of her wrath
that the crowd fell silent
before it. "There will be
no lynchings here!" the
Druid proclaimed. "I gave
you a choice yesterday to

[Page 30]
put this creature to
death lawfully, but you
would have your
show-trial, and so you
submitted it to Justice.
Now it belongs to Justice
indeed, and if it is in any
way harmed in

[Page 31]
contravention of my word,
the full weight of the
law shall fall upon this
place. Worse, the
blessings of Virtue shall
be forfeited."
Now at this some began
to call for Jaana's neck

[Page 32]
as well, but other of the
townsfolk had sobered up
over the night, and they
began to see the shape
of their impiety. So at
length obedience to law
and Virtue won out over
passion, and it was

[Page 33]
agreed that they must
abide by Jaana's
judgement. But there was
great discontent, for it
was obvious to the people
that the release of the
goblin king would only
occasion the renewal of

[Page 34]
the old war, at further
cost of lives and
property.
So Jaana had the goblin
taken in chains to the
mouth of the pass, and
she had the key to the
chains delivered into her

[Page 35]
own hand. Then she
ordered all the people to
withdraw to a distance of
five bowshots from where
she and the captive
stood, that none might
contrive an assassination
when the creature was

[Page 36]
released. And when the
folk withdrew, Jaana
unlocked the goblin's
chains, and gave it a
good dagger,
and indicated by signs
that it was free to go.
The goblin began to lope

[Page 37]
away, and below the
people cried out in grief.
But after a few steps it
stopped, and looked back
at Jaana with an
expression of malice on
its face. And seeing only
a lone, lightly armed

[Page 38]
young woman, the goblin
was overcome by its
hatred for humanity, and
it attacked Jaana
viciously. The Druid drew
her own blade, and there
she killed the goblin in
single combat, in lawful

[Page 39]
self-defense, though she
took a formidable wound
in the process.
And when she came down
from the high pass, she
did not speak to any of
the amazed townspeople,
and she did not even

[Page 40]
return to town to tend
her wound, but instead
strode past the town,
without a word. And
when next a Druid came
to that town to offer
judgement, it was not
Jaana.

Nice!!! Love these tales!