C.A.R.P.S.

"Constable, if you would be so kind, have the prisoner, Willy Wickerton, placed in irons and brought before me. Its time he answered for his crimes."

Cudar smiles and finds himself a place to watch the proceedings.

"Finally, we get a bit of revenge on him."

zen looks up from a book he was reading, he raises and eyebrow*

"what did he do?"

"It was a nice trick, actually. Sold a handful of fairly-priced potions to a few of us then took off with the money before we realized the potions were just water."

*Lochlainn opens the cell and steps in, shutting the door behind him. The rattling of chains can be heard briefly. The door opens again and Lochlainn leads the prisoner to Jack.*

Hear you go, magistrate.

*Hands the chains over to Jack, then goes and leans against the wall near the jail.*

Jack turns to face Cudar and shakes his head.
"Understand this now, all of you. What takes place here today is not vengeance, it is Justice.

Taking the chains for the Constable Jack nods.
"Thank you Lochlainn"

Jack turns back to Willy.
"I am Jack Maxwell, Magistrate of House DeVree. You have been charged with theft. Of this charge I find you guilty. The potions you sold could have resulted in the death of many people. Had it not been for the quick discovery that they contained only water you very well could be guilty of murder. Therefore my ruling is all monies and property of Willy Wickerton are forfeit. It will be used to repay all those you stole from.
You seem to have some brains in that head of yours, lets see if you can put them to good use shall we. As it stands, I know of two places that require aid, the Alchemist Guild...and the great salt mines. Which place do you think you would be more helpful Willy"?

zen laughs full heartlly,

"you got hustled, that is hillarious, and you bought things blindly without even considering to have them examined before you bought them. thats just stupid. ha"

*after the harsh sentencing*

"well now that isnt very fair is it, it was all your own fault for buying the potions blindly, getting a refund is one thing, but taking all he owns is another. its like saying that if i sell you a stick and claim its a stick that can slay giants with a single blow and your too stupid to have it identified beforehand then come to punish me for you buying it blindly that its justice, thats not justice, that is most certainly vengence."

Actually that would be lying and breaking the terms of your writ of commerce and as such you could be found guilty.

Of course, that's if none of your "customers" decided to take it upon themselves to "move up the sentencing to pre-trial"...

Yes, it can be seen as foolish to buy things without confirming what they are, however... as one inexperienced in alchemy I must count on alchemists to give me the potions I paid for. I would obviously try to buy from a local alchemist I knew I could trust (or at least knew where they lived) but that's not always an option.

Of course, my reputation alone keeps most of my purchases safe, not many would choose to cross me in a trade, it's simply not worth it. Others don't have that option and therefore must trust in the legal system to keep trade secure.

*Kimberlyn walks up and leans against the building near Lochlain watching the proceedings. She glares at Zen with his comments but says nothing.*

For the future, if anybody has a question about a potion, you can bring it to me. I am able to identify what a potion may be even if I'm not familiar with it. That should help cut down on any fraudulent potion sales.

and i would be more than willing to identify any "magic" items before their purchase should someone wish it. that should cut down on people pitching a fit because they got swindled and hauling their swindler in for a vengeful sentencing.

Jack looks to Zen.
"Zen, just to be clear I was not one of those that purchased a fake potion. I don't know why you keep using the word revenge in regards to my sentencing. What would you have me do? Tell everybody that commits a crime that all they have to do is apologize and everything will be all right. The only reason Willy stands here today is because he was captured by bounty hunters. He did not become overwhelmed by guilt and try to make it right...he fled! What would you say if the potions he sold resulted in someones death, a friend of yours maybe? What happens then Zen, would returning the 2 wald that his dead customer paid make that right? He sold over 2 bar worth of potions in this town alone, even selling these fakes to a noble. I could take his head for this Zen, but I won't. Because that would not be justice. Justice is balance, and that is what is taking place here today.

Jack looks back over to Willy Wickerton.
"Willy Wickerton, I give you this one opportunity to explain yourself. If you believe you are innocent of this, then speak now.

alright, number one, theres a difference between fled and left. his business was done, so he left. and secondly,*zen chuckels* are you actually comparing a hustler to a murderer, the only thing that he did wrong was hustling, there was, and i repeat, there was no act of theft. he provided vials of liquid that were purchaced by people who assumed they understood what their effect was. its called buyer beware, if they didnt have the common sense to check the potions before they paid then tough sh!t, thats life. but dont punish the hustler for the stupidity of the hustled.

::looking weary and quite scared Willy speaks::

'I want Jakoric to prove my innocence! Im allowed to have Jokoric prove my innocence..'

'..right?'

looks towards Willy Wickerton. I believe you are right and since we are having houses brought into this and you sold over 2 bar worth of potions from what jack says. I would like to see your writ and tax ledger.