Magni Bronzebeard was truly backed into a corner. For one, the crowd's indignation had been whipped into a frenzy; for another, the female dwarf had not only dragged up old grievances but specifically mentioned Korth'azz Wildhammer. This left him in a political stalemate.
As a former top leader of the Wildhammer clan, the Paladin Korth'azz had been a primary advocate for the Wildhammers joining the Alliance. However, ever since the "War of the Three Hammers," the Wildhammers had been driven out of Ironforge by the Bronzebeards. Magni had spent years looking for an opportunity to mend that relationship.
With old wounds unhealed and new hatreds surfacing, if Magni publicly supported the Fordrings now, he would inevitably face a wave of political resistance upon returning to Ironforge. Abstaining was the absolute limit of what he could do for Fordring and his own conscience.
In reality, there were still many supporters of Fordring in the crowd, but due to the explosive anger of the majority, they had fallen into the "Spiral of Silence." Seeing Magni Bronzebeard, in whom they had placed high hopes, "fall in battle," the attention turned to the third voter, Rhonin, as Bolvar spoke.
If Rhonin also cast a dissenting vote, the trial would end prematurely.
The leader of Dalaran's mages stood up and walked toward Oressia Ironblade in the witness stand.
"Madam," Rhonin began, "I am very sorry for the events you described, and I sympathize deeply with your ordeal."
Oressia Ironblade stood and returned the gesture.
This is bad! Has Rhonin been moved by those words too? Old Chen's heart sank. Sitting on either side of him, Shadowbreaker and Tyrosus looked incredibly grim. The latter was even starting to fantasize about plans for a prison break or a rescue from the execution grounds...
"However," Rhonin continued, "since I did not participate in those past events, I have a few questions I would like to ask you."
"Please, go ahead," Oressia replied.
"I want to confirm once more: are you certain the two events you mentioned were solely the work of the Scarlet Crusade? Could any other factions have been involved?"
This question sparked immediate confusion among the onlookers. "What does he mean?" "Is Rhonin suspecting someone else?" "No, I think he's trying to shift the blame to others to lessen the Scarlet Crusade's guilt."
Oressia paused. She thought as fast as she could about the intent behind Rhonin's question, but as a witness, thinking too long would invite suspicion. She quickly said with conviction, "I am certain. Those insane crimes were committed solely by the Scarlet Crusade, without coercion from any other faction."
"Thank you, Madam," Rhonin said. "I have another question. When exactly did the Scarlet Crusade drive out those dwarven members?"
"This..." The female dwarf faltered. So many years had passed; who could remember the exact day?
Rhonin added, "Which year? Or perhaps you could recall if anything else was happening at the time, or if there was a specific cause?"
Oressia thought for a moment. "We found some of the bodies last August. Those that hadn't been raised as undead were highly decomposed; we identified them by their personal belongings. So, it must have happened in June or July."
"Do you know who ordered their expulsion?" Rhonin asked.
"I... don't know... but the Scarlet Crusade makes major decisions collectively!"
Rhonin thanked her and asked his next question: "Do you know who wrote this book? The one inciting Lordaeron restorationism and claiming the current Alliance is led by traitors?"
Oressia was stumped. She stammered, "I... don't know, but it must have been written by a high-ranking official of the Scarlet Crusade!"
"Where did you get this book? Can you say it again?"
"It was my comrade, Nathaniel Duma. He found it at the Hearthglen lumber mill."
"Did he hand it to you personally?"
Oressia hesitated. Rhonin immediately added, "Chillwind Camp isn't that far from here. It wouldn't be hard to find your comrade and confirm this in person."
"No..." Oressia was forced to admit.
"Then who gave it to you?"
At this point, not only Rhonin and the audience but everyone on the dais, including Mathias Shaw, was intensely curious about the answer. Except for one specific person among them.
"I cannot say!" Oressia said angrily. "Not everyone has the courage to come out and testify! I must protect that person's safety!"
As she grew more agitated, Rhonin stepped back. "I have finished my questions."
He then began his statement:
"Today, we are judging two individuals. This lady has just emphasized that the physical evidence and her testimony concern no one outside of the Scarlet Crusade. First, we can conclude that Tirion Fordring is not connected to any of this evidence."
Many in the crowd suddenly realized the logic. "That's right..." "The old knight isn't a member of the Scarlet Crusade." "I almost got caught in that trap!" "But his son is..." "If your son commits a crime, should they arrest you too? Would you be okay with that?"
Rhonin continued, "Secondly, this lady does not know the specific time or details of the expulsion of the dwarven members, nor can she provide any evidence linking it to Taelan Fordring. She cannot even prove if the defendant was present or aware of it."
"But you can't prove he wasn't involved either!" a dwarf in the crowd stood up and shouted.
Rhonin smiled slightly. "One of the principles of a trial is the 'presumption of innocence.' Just as the Archbishop agreed with Tirion that 'honor has nothing to do with race,' we cannot naturally assume a race is evil. By the same logic, we cannot treat a person as a criminal without evidence. Archbishop, am I correct?"
Benedictus didn't expect Rhonin to throw the topic back to him. He could only smile and say, "Correct."
"Finally," Rhonin held up the book, "this lady brought this book and said she is very familiar with its contents. Indeed, I looked at it just now; there are many passages inciting restorationism and attacking Stormwind's rule."
He turned to the dwarf who had questioned him. "Could you give me a two-digit number? Any number."
The man looked dazed, thought for a second, and said, "23."
Rhonin flipped to page 23 and handed it back to Oressia Ironblade. "Please read the contents of this page."
Oressia's face turned pale. She looked at the book, then at Rhonin, and stood there frozen.
After a moment, amidst the general bewilderment, Rhonin's expression turned stern.
"What is interesting," Rhonin said, "is that this lady not only doesn't know who wrote this book, but she also cannot read human script from the Lordaeron Alliance era! No matter who gave her this book or who exploited her grief to bring her here to testify, according to the basic requirements for a witness, when a witness is unfamiliar with the evidence they provide, their testimony loses all legal validity!"
"And I will show you now who the author of this book is!"
He opened the title page and read aloud: "Grand Inquisitor of the Scarlet Crusade, Isillien! He is the very man the Fordrings executed outside Hearthglen just a few days ago!"
Tirion Fordring closed his eyes upon hearing this.
Rhonin lowered the book and handed it to the guards, who passed it to the other curious members of the tribunal. Rhonin finally pointed to the flag of Lordaeron.
"As for this flag, I still have one kept at home. Does that mean anything? Since when has remembering one's home before the war become a crime? I believe the current so-called evidence cannot prove any crime committed by the Fordrings. I vote in favor of dropping the charges against them!"
His voice seemed to echo across the square, powerful and deafening!
Magni Bronzebeard felt both happy and annoyed. He was happy that the Archmage lived up to his reputation; his wisdom was worthy of his status as the leader of the Kirin Tor. He was annoyed because that same wisdom highlighted how foolish his own "abstinence" had been...
With Rhonin leading the way, those who supported the elder Fordring finally dared to speak up. After a burst of cheering, history moved toward a familiar trajectory: the final verdict on Fordring's fate would be decided by another Prince of the Alliance—Anduin Wrynn.