How the actual newspaper model looks like: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1mZmv0kJHdAWQJL44oKdxfZ9hzeWjbJG4/preview

Chapter 29: Freedom for the Press

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“The church has launched a case in the Magic Order that The Avalon Times is spreading heresy and false rumours, going as far as to call us filthy liars. They condemn us for spreading the truth about their horrible actions. They have launched many attacks on us, using assailants who have confessed to us to have been hired by the priests. Citizens of Avalon, are the church who are trying to silence the truth-seekers by force, going as far as to murder some of us, really pious? Is this really what god wants?”

 

 

The Avalon Times, 2^nd Paragraph

23^rd of Feberuis

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--POV: Anthony Volkhiem—

--Place: 4^th Court of the Magic Order / Time:14:24—

“Can you provide proof that the church has ordered an attack on Volkhiem Company and it’s trade partners?” Fuck man, I was only supposed to be sent by the mistress to run a small time press company, but why the fuck am I standing as a defendant to Priest Christopher’s accusation that I am trying to attack the church politically by spreading false propaganda, I mean, there is no way that’s true, right?

As soon as the letter providing the date and time of the court case came to my office, I immediately called the mistress, asking for answers in which she replied….

“Finally, I’ve been waiting for them to do something.”

Did she just use me as bait to bring them to the court? Well, that does fit her personality….but still, there was no attack on us. The church did not hit us with anything, there were no holy assassins trying to kill us so why am I defending the accusation of propaganda thrown at me by the opponent with an accusation of my own, stating that they attacked me?

The answer is pretty simple actually.

We caught some spies who have been sent by the church to probably monitor us. However, what I understood from the mistress in the communication crystal is that we are going to use these very spies and accuse them of murdering some of our journalists.

What I don’t understand, is why we are doing this? Why are we going to put them for something that they didn’t do…wouldn’t they just deny it? And if you are wondering who killed the journalists, than you don’t have to look any further because it was…..

Me.

I killed those expensive educated slaves I got from the market in cold blood, under the mistresses orders. Right after we found out about the spies that were sent to watch us, but how would we make this case convincing at all? I don’t get it…...

“I will do it right away your honour.” I then turn towards the man standing the entrance of the door, and signal him to bring the spies in. He nods before leaving. “It will take a few seconds at most, your honour so I apologize for the delay” I really hope part of the mistress’s plan isn’t to jail me in the process of attacking the church, because that would be bad.

And as I agreed with her, I do not make any eye contact with her at all, so I can only see her as my eyes scan the audience. After taking note that even Mr. Tokkingdam came, my eyes continue moving across the faces of the spectators, and among them…..

There she is.

At the back of the spectator seats, the very back I mean, and with her is a man, one I could assume was her butler from his state of dress, but he isn’t looking at me, or where the case is happening at all, no, he is looking behind himself at the gateway where the spies were supposed to come in.

*CHING*

Finally, the sounds of chains enter my ears as a bunch of men and women, come in to the court, chained behind one another with their hands behind their back, making their way to the stage.

However, as they were coming in, their gazes fell and scanned the whole area, looking around before suddenly…..all 8 spies look in the direction of one person, at once, almost mechanically. Curious about this, I follow their gaze to it’s direction only to find that same guy that is standing next to the mistress is the one receiving their gazes, the man, also looks at them for a moment, just a moment, before turning back to look at the centre of the court like nothing happened. The spies also stop their mechanical movement, and keep looking around the room like nothing happened.

That is….odd behaviour?

The clanking of chains finally stop as they make it to the podium meant for witnesses, with one un-shaven 30-year-oldish man steps out among the spies and nears the magically-imbued speaker.

“What is your name?” The judge’s voice sounds out as she reads through the documents, of what I assume is about the spies.

“Jake, your honour” As Jake, the leader of the damn squad, enters the spotlight, I notice something weird….as I am standing on one of the highest stands, the one for the defendant, I notice that as the light reflects his eyes…..there is a blueish glint in them….just slightly but it’s there.

I interrogated him personally a while ago, and I did so in very close proximity. I remember his eyes being completely black, so why do they have that blueish hue to it? Did I really notice something like that? Am I getting that old?

“There is a claim that you and your….group attacked journalists who work under the employment of Anthony Volkhiem, a merchant who comes from Adion, who bought Tokkingdam Industries three weeks ago and remade it into his own.” The judge reads the newspaper The Avalon Times as he says this. We did publicise the idea that the church spies killed journalists after all.

But a more pressing matter is what the hell am I going to do now? Why is the mistress looking so calm everytime I glance at her? Why does she have this look like this shit is wasting her time or something? Does her plan involve using me as a scapegoat when the spies deny everything? I was always loyal to Chamberlayne, there is no reason for he to do thi-

“Yes, we are responsible for the murder of both journalist Edward and journalist Veronica”

…

Huh?

The voice of Jake amplified by the microphone encompasses the whole room as I try to figure out what the hell I just heard….why would the spies admit to something they didn’t do. None of the others next to Jake are even trying to refute….only showing silence…a sign of agreement…

What the fuck is going on here?

I glance at the mistress quickly, only to find her looking at this with the same expressionless face…did she plans this? But how? She never went near them? There is no way she could have coerced them into doing this (by threatening the spies’ families, just an example) because they were always in my hands. I held them captive before the authorities took them….did she bribe the authorities and then do something to them? Too many questions and too little answers is the current crisis my mind is in.

“I see” The judge nods before looking at the accusers, the attackers, all of them have pale and stunned faces, like they can’t believe what the hell is going on. The only one that would stand out is Priest Christopher, who currently has his chin between his index finger and his thumb, his face filled with thought and contemplation.

“The response?” The judge looks over the priests and zealots with squinted eyes, questioning them if they have anything to say.

“While they may have been ordered to investigate the Volkhiem company, there was never any order to go near them, let alone kill employees of the company.” Christopher states after the murmurs die down.

“I have been ordered under Head priest Falone’s orders to execute any journalists were they to find out the fact I was near the central building of Volkhiem.”

Twisting the words, huh? But why are the spies betraying the church? Isn’t like god what they live for or something? Jake just refuted a claim of a high priest….that isn’t the jake I interrogated, that’s for sure.

“This is nonsense, your honour. His holiness, Falone would never order such a thing”

“One side says Falone did order, the other says he didn’t” Falone isn’t here because, whether it is lucky or unlucky that he went to Adion a couple of days ago on the priests orders…I would say….

I’m lucky….I’m getting pretty optimistic now that the spies have turned on the church.

*TAP* *TAP*

The judge’s index finger taps his table as he continues speaking “One of you are lying, so unless both the defendant and the accuser would like to have themselves thoroughly investigated, please come up now.”

“Excuse me, your honour. May I speak” I raise my right hand as I say so.

“Go ahead.”

“As the church has no official reason to conduct an investigation on a private company, and as Volkhiem has till this date, not committed any crimes, the church instead launched an unofficial and undocumented investigation, in which the investigators brutally murdered two journalists in cold blood. Now regardless, of what Falone ordered….the church’s illegal investigation resulted in 2 casualties for the Volkhiem company.” I think my speech is going well, I definitely need a promotion from the mistress after this. “I have been trying, since my business first opened, to give my employees satisfactory treatment that is worth their pay grade.” Even though I’m saying such bullshit, I use the best pokerface I can.

“However, the church killed them. And now the rest of my employees are sceptical on whether they may be in any danger for just reporting factual events” I have to make the situation sound as big as possible, inflate the problem to the maximum, as they say.

As my speech ends, the judge turns again towards the priests with a small smile that can be easily seen as enjoyment. The Magic Order seems to be pleased that the church is taking a major hit in the public view, and I think their opinion of me went up a bit.

Plus, we could make a beneficial relationship, in which they help me out in the courts of law, while I glorify them in The Avalon Times, a media that has sharply risen in popularity thanks to this current scandal.

Christopher sits back down with a stiff face, clearly upset but not willing to express it openly.

As the court case ends, I say to myself, whatever the mistress did, she really is a prodigy.

Can’t underestimate her at all, and I'm pretty sure I won’t get punished for this incident, as I speculate that the mistress may have desired this outcome despite her apathetic face during the whole case.

Promotions, here I come!