Unedited/First draft

When Garluin finally arrived, he first bowed to Naevys and Elwin before starting to stare at Tinesia. He didn't look happy. Tinesia immediately shuddered and looked away like she was unable to bear the intensity of his gaze. She seemed scared, maybe even a bit ashamed to look at him.

That's a pretty big hint about the real nature of their relationship. But why is she so scared of him?

Lithoniel wasn't the only to notice this.

"The accuser seems a little shaken, Loremaster." Shylin said. "Maybe it's better if I question him first."

"Tinesia, is that alright with you?" Naevys asked.

But Tinesia was looking at Garluin. He stared back at her and then nodded, the movement very subtle, almost undetectable.

But Lithoniel saw it.

"It's alright, Loremaster" Tinesia answered, her voice soft and timid like she was a completely different person.

"Go on" Naevys said to Shylin.

"Thank you, Loremaster." She said and turned to look at Garluin.

"Garluin, you heard what Kolvar said. Is it true? Did you insult Lithoniel on purpose just to wind him up?"

"I didn't."

Shylin frowned.

"Are you saying he lied?"

"I think he misunderstood." He looked calm, unperturbed like he expected Shylin would ask him that.

And probably he did.

"There was a lot of noise at the time, and everyone was tired. Maybe Kolvar heard it wrong, or simply thought I was serious when in reality I was joking." He said, his face perfectly neutral.

"You mean this was an accident?" Shylin sounded skeptical. Lithoniel didn't blame her.

"An unfortunate accident, yes. I knew what Kolvar thought about Lithoniel, but..."He shook his head. "I misjudged the situation. I can just say that I'm sorry, though I know it doesn't change anything at this point." He sounded distraught, his face emotional and his voice raw. It almost looked like those words came from the bottom of his soul.

The frown on Shylin's face deepened. Lithoniel had a pretty good idea about what she was feeling at the moment. Garluin was slippery like an eel, but what annoyed her most was that he still managed o look like the good guy. Of course, it was just another lie, and the wrong he admitted was just a version of the truth, deliberately revised to suit his purpose.

"Why did you ask Lithoniel to swore that vow, Garluin? Why did you give her the Nighstalker's ring and a position it was rightfully yours?"

"You weren't there that night, so you can't know what we went through, the horrors we were forced to face. At the time I wasn't thinking about titles or honors, but to survive. Lithoniel was the best chance to come back alive and the only person I trusted with the safety not only of the hunters but the entire tribe. And that's why I wanted her to protect Liara. She was vulnerable, the weakest of all of us. I didn't want to see another hunter, a fellow elf, to die before my own eyes."

He sighed loudly.

"But I never knew that a vow made in the spur of the moment would bring such trouble. I'm sorry about that." He said to Lithoniel and bowed deeply to her.

 He made her skin crawl, but it was when he started smiling that her instinct started screaming.

He is dangerous, don't let him talk!

But she was dazzled and she wasn't the only one; Lithoniel, Shylin, Naevys, and probably half the people here, were all bespelled by his voice, charmed by the soothing flow of his words or the hypnotic glimmer in his green eyes.

"But don't worry, I already found a solution, a way to make things right."

A solution?

Shylin and Lithoniel blinked like they were waking up from a dream. But the damage was already done.

"Loremaster, Garluin is a witness. It's not his place to..."

But it wasn't Naevys the one to answer this time.

"Let him talk." Elwin said. "If he can find a satisfying solution I don't see why we shouldn't listen to him." He nodded to Garluin. "Continue"

"Thank you, Master of the woodcarvers." Garluin bowed. "The outcome of this Conclave is still undecided, but I can't bear to see Lithoniel pay for a crime she didn't commit."

Lithoniel snorted. How generous how you.

"She can be a bit reckless, and maybe some of her choices weren't perfect at the time."

Lithoniel gritted her teeth. Even when he is acting like the good guy, he manages to belittle me.

"But I know this: it would be a mistake for the tribe to lose her. That's why I suggest annulling this Conclave, and a give her the honor she deserves."

"Honor?" Naevys frowned. "Exactly what do you mean, Garluin?"

Garluin grinned.

"I propose to elect her as the Nighstalker."

And then, all hell broke loose.

"Before proposing this, I knew not everyone would agree with me. After all, you didn't see what I saw, you didn't watch Lithoniel fight and defeat the Zaruk." He wasn't speaking to Naevys or Elwin anymore, but directly addressing the crowd.

"I know many of you still aren't convinced. I can see the doubt in your eyes. That's why I propose a different kind of test, one more suited to Lithoniel to prove she isn't guilty."

"What kind of test? Where are you going with this, Garluin?" Naevys asked.

Lithoniel was wondering the same thing.

"I'm just saying we should trust actions, not words. Let her solve the problem that plagued our tribe for so long. Let her find the tribesmen who had gone missing in the last months. And lastly, let her find the culprits and bring them to justice." Garluin smiled at Lithoniel. "I already know there is just one person who deserves the Nighstalker's title, and that's you, Lithoniel. I knew since you defeated the Zaruk, but now is the time to show all the tribe what I saw. Show them what you are capable of."

Lithoniel was too shocked to speak. He was talking like they were old friends and he only had her best interests in mind. But at the same time, he was basically forcing her to accept a task so hard that after two months the other hunters weren't even close to solve it.

"And if she...no" He shook his head, correcting himself. "When she does, nobody will call her half-blood or oathbreaker because she will be one of the most important people of this tribe. She will be our Nighstalker."

Once again his words risked starting a riot.

"Silence!" Elwin said, his voice booming like a thunderclap."Loremaster" He said to Naevys. "You are the only one that can say if Garluin's proposal is doable. Are any precedents in the annals of our history?"

Naevys closed her eyes like she was trying to take a decision. Then she reopened them and sighed. 

"There are."

"I object, Loremaster! Lithoniel broke an oath, she can't be..." Tinesia said, her voice regaining a bit of its former strength.

Lithoniel was still shocked, but she had a strange thought listening to Tinesia.

Garluin proposed this...why is she objecting?  

"You are the only one saying she did, Tinesia! The Conclave isn't over and the verdict still undecided."

"Precisely. That's why..."

"That's why, Tinesia, the people will decide, not you." Naevys said.

Tinesia's answer was milder than expected. Actually, she didn't oppose at all.

"Very well, Loremaster. However...this is Lithoniel's trial." She said, a crafty expression on her face. "This is her task, it's only fair if she does it alone. No one else should help her in this endeavor."

"Tinesia! That's suicide!" Shylin said. "Loremaster..."

"Why don't we let Rolim and Kolvar help her?" Garluin interjected. "Three people like the members of our council. It's a lucky number for the elves."

"Very well" Tinesia conceded. "But the situation must be solved quickly. We need a time limit. Let's say...three days?"

"Three days?! Are you out of your mind?!" Shylin shouted, starting to lose temper. "It has been more than two months since the first person went missing, and we didn't discover anything! Lithoniel needs more time. A month, at least."

"A week, no more than that." Tinesia rebutted.

Shylin opened her mouth probably to refuse when Garluin said:

"What about ten days?"

Shylin looked at Lithoniel like she wanted to ask her what she thought about it, but her face was blank. There was something wrong with this entire conversation. It's almost like...they rehearsed it? It was disturbing, but she quickly discarded the thought. It can't be. Tinesia's breakdown wasn't faked and no matter how good Garluin may be, he has limits. He can't predict everything

"Fine" Shylin said.

Naevys looked at Shylin and Tinesia before saying: "The accuser and the defender seemed to have reached an agreement."

"Almost. There is one last thing..."Tinesia said.

"Tinesia, what else do you want?" Shylin sounded annoyed.

"I just want to make sure the conditions and the results of this trial are clear. If Lithoniel succeeds, it means she is innocent and as the former Nighstlaker's wife I'll be the first person to offer my congratulations to the new Chief hunter. But if she fails..."

"I don't think it will happen. But if that's the case..." Garluin frowned like it pained him to say those words. "It means she is guilty. She'll have to leave the tribe and never come back."

"That's not enough." Tinesia added. "Not only her, but Rolim and Kolvar too will have to leave."

Shylin paled.

"Tinesia, what are you..."

"Is just fair, isn't it? After all, if she fails, it means they helped an oathbreaker. The punishment for that crime is just one: exile. If Rolim and Kolvar decide to help her, they have to be aware of the consequences. I think it's fair."

There is nothing fair about this.

From the scowl on Shylin's face, she seemed to agree with her.

"Very well, I think we can vote." Garluin said.

"Wait...!" Lithoniel tried to stop him, but it was too late.

"Everyone who agrees with this proposal, stand up!" He shouted.

One by one the elves on the stands rose until everyone---or nearly everyone---was standing.

It's done. I'm done.

There was nothing she could do at this point. It was already decided. There were just two results: win and survive or lose and be exiled.

The worst part was she knew what Rolim and Kolvar would decide.

And unlike last time, this time they won't allow me to act alone and leave them behind. Well, maybe Kolvar will.

It was absurd, but maybe what happened with Kolvar wasn't such a bad thing.

Before it was just my life that I was risking, but now...now I might take the both of them down with me.

That's when Garluin smiled, but it wasn't the smug grin of his or the mocking smile he usually liked to show. That smile was different, slight---almost imperceptible--- but satisfied like everything went according to his plan, as if the people around him were just pawns, easy to move and manipulate, use them to hide his true purpose, the real reason he staged this elaborate farce in the first place.

When the realization hit her she staggered, her lips trembling.

...I was never his target to begin with, but just the bait for a trap set for someone else.

And there was just one person Garluin hated more than her.

Naevys had told her before, but she had been careless, unable to see through his plan.

Unable to predict the real target wasn't her, but...

Rolim!

But even if she knew, she could do nothing about it.

Maybe that's what Garluin was trying to convey with that smile. He was trying to tell her they were just insects caught in his spider web.

No matter how much they struggled, they couldn't escape.