Dragon Crowns: The Broken Throne - Chapter 3
All rise for the Honorable Judge Robert Rooster.
“Good day,” Judge Rooster kept his eye contact with Blaze. “Blaze Ironclad. Do you know why you’re here?”
“Because I borrowed money from the imperial bank and haven’t yet returned it, sir.” Blaze answered.
“Do you know how much you owe?”
“I took 30,000 gold Dragons. It was explained to me that there would be an increase in the debt if I don’t pay it quickly. I assumed the amount I paid every few months to the Imperial Bank courier that visited our village kept it roughly the same, sir.”
The bailiff spoke up, “It is customary to address a judge who is speaking with you with ‘Your Honor’”
“It is quite alright, Jamie.” Judge Rooster said. “It is plain enough to see that mister Ironclad is not trying to be disrespectful.”
The judge smiled at his bailiff and for a moment, Blaze could see a fatherly look in his eyes. Maybe even grandfatherly. When he resumed business, his demeanor turned all serious again.
“Sir Ironclad,” The judge said and turned to Blaze. “According to the Imperial Bank’s records, you never paid even one gold crown on your debt. Assuming you aren’t lying, the person who you paid to lied to you. Do you understand?”
How could this be? Blaze did not know what to think. His world was shattering. He knew he needed to get rid of this debt at some point but now it became a much larger problem. The person who came to collect, what was his name? It took Blaze a minute to realize he never asked the person his name and only relied on his uniform.
“He wore a black uniform with the symbol of a gold dragon coin in the middle of it.”
“Black?”
“Your honor, our uniforms are red. Someone clearly misled the poor boy.”
Blaze looked to where the voice came from and saw a man dressed with red robes that looked similar to what the collector wore only more refined. Now that he has seen the true outfit of an Imperial Bank worker it was easy to see how fake the collector who came to collect looked.
“Let it be a lesson to you, young man.” The Judge said. “That not everything is as it seems. Now, let’s talk about your current debt.” The judge said and gestured the man in red to stand and speak.
“Blaze Ironclad, your current debt with the Imperial Bank is 100,000 Gold Dragon coins rounded down. When the debt doubled itself, we said nothing because that is quite common. When the debt tripled itself, we knew it was time to seek help.”
“Now, Blaze,” the judge gestured to the banker to sit. “We’re sorry to hear about your predicament and we can’t verify your claim. Therefore, your debt stands and needs to be cleared or at least sufficiently lowered within one year. To do so, the court forbids you to leave the premises of ScaleHeart. You will live in the city, participate in its economy and make at the very least monthly payments on your debt at the imperial bank. The punishment for defying this decree is jail time.”
“Your honor,” Blaze said. “What about all the money I paid to this man over the years? Is there some way for me to prove it to you?”
“If you can find information about the person you paid to and prove to the court you made payments to this man or have him testify in good faith that he took money from you towards this debt, we will allow you to reduce the amount you paid over the years from the debt. However, It has grown beyond the ability of such a payment to reduce it significantly.” The judge said. “I suggest you focus on making money instead of chasing ghosts.”
The judge hit his little wooden hammer. “This meeting is adjourned.”
The guard escorted Blaze to the exit where the banker was also headed. When they reached the exit, The guard stopped walking and let Blaze exit.
“Welcome to ScaleHeart, your new home.” The banker said. “My name is Chris Dawn. Follow me. Let’s talk about your next steps.”
To be continued…