Luke hurried up the stairs to the roof, adjusting his shiny jedi robes as he went. He wished they had time to go with the original plan of getting gray and violet robes for everyone so that he looked like the head of a noble family. According to Momoh the legal system in the capital was based more on which side was more convincing than which side had the facts on their side.

  Well, he also said the more glorious side would usually win the day, but Luke didn’t really know how to flex his glory. The revelation that glory was a real thing to elves and not a vague concept was still a shock.

  The top of the roof had a dozen neat herb gardens all around the outer edge. In the center was a raised metal platform, where Momoh stood with two elvish servants. He was immaculately dressed in heavy robes that looked like they were made entirely of metal. He frowned as he looked off into the distance.

  A flying hexagon was speeding towards them at high speed. It circled the tower once and landed directly in front of Momoh. Luke happily hurried to see the new flying machine. He could get so many ideas from this thing. A small dwarf sat in the middle of the hexagon and held a dodecahedron covered in runes. They were the only visible runes on the whole thing, the rest of them must have been embedded beneath the surface.

  Momoh muttered to himself as he hopped aboard, something about a blasted waste of money. Luke followed him and stood near the pilot. The servants quickly joined them and they blasted off. The wind quickly picked up as their open air transport zoomed through the city.

  It seemed like an incredibly dangerous way to travel. Maybe they assumed only high level chosen would ride it, or maybe there were hidden safety features. Luke was just glad that he had been able to convince Jinx to stay back and take a nap so he didn’t have to worry about her falling off.

  Kruro seemed slightly nervous. She wrapped her coils tighter on herself and sunk down into her tail. Bosa had tied up her long hair and grit her teeth. Tears were slowly forming on the corners of her eyes. Kruro reached out to steady her when she wobbled slightly.

  As for Luke himself? It was all he could do not to whoop for joy. It reminded him of a fantastic roller coaster. They weaved through the buildings at high speed, tilting the whole transport to lean into the Gs. Skyscrapers whizzed by, only feet away, as they threaded through the densest part of the city. Apparently they weren’t allowed to go over the buildings, so a winding path was the most efficient. They passed other transports heading the same direction, zipping by them at high speed.

  Eventually they made it to their destination, the enormous tower in the center of the city. There was a large landing pad there and as soon as they touched down, they were ushered off the hexagon so traffic would keep flowing.

  Once they walked into the building, a short elf zipped up to them. He clearly had the same speed-based class Edobar’s page had. He had a short conversation with Momoh and quickly led them deeper into the building. Luke didn’t have much time to admire the construction as they hurried away.

  As he combed his hair with his fingers, he admired the high ceilings, brilliant white stone, and flowing architecture. It reminded him of a medieval cathedral with more light. Every square inch of the walls were covered in repeating runes, but obfuscating magic prevented him from identifying them.

  In very short order, the six of them found themselves three floors down and walking into a small courtroom. There were three thrones along the back wall, but no other furniture. Groups of people stood along the outer walls, waiting their turn. In the center of the room was a raised dais with an old orc arguing with a young elf. There was a bored dwarf in the center throne, with two elves on the lower thrones to his side. The judges wore monk-like brown robes with no adornment.

  The dwarf clapped his hands and the arguing stopped. “That’s enough of that. Niamh Gráinne, you clearly have the better argument, and your glory is impeccable. The court awards 90% of the sale of Kirin tower to Gráinne. Ivie Ighide, don’t you dare argue. Your ‘facts’ aren’t backed up by an ounce of glory. You’re lucky we let you up there.”

  The young elf slumped as if gravity was suddenly twice as strong. He weakly walked off the dais while the older orc strutted off as if he was young again.

  “Next case, the dispersal of the Falodun tower, holdings, and wealth. I understand the Falodun widow, Legema, is here and wishes that her late husband's dispersal goes to some of our city’s most upstanding citizens. Lords Olomo and Uloko, please present yourselves.”

  A regal looking elvish couple walked hand in hand to the dais, their servants following them and holding their heavy robes. It was like someone had spun gold and iron and woven them into a flexible overcoat.

  “Lord Momoh Evbusogie of the mountain estate Monta Hejmo asks to interrupt the proceedings,” Momoh said loudly as he stepped forward.

  The dwarf’s eyebrows rose and he perked up. “On what grounds?”

  “The Falodun estate belongs to me. I earned it through a duel to the death with the head of the family himself, Edobar Falodun,” Momoh said. He turned to the left and said, “As much as I respect the Falodun widow, she has no say in this matter. This dispersal must go to me and my second from the duel, Luke of Machines.”

  The guy in the high throne turned to the elvish couple that wanted to take over the holdings. “Do you dispute the facts as he has presented them?” When they both wiggled their hands in assent, the crowd grew silent. The dwarven judge put his fingers gently on his temples and rubbed them slowly. “Of course, of course. Well, let’s get this over with. Bamawo, activate the altar of glory. Go ahead and set it to full strength, I don’t want to spend all day on this.”

  The elvish woman sitting to his left stood up and straightened her monastic robe. Then she stepped up to the dais in the middle of the room and tapped the closest edge. It started glowing brightly. She kept walking around the dais until all six edges were glowing and a series of tiny runes throughout the floor lit up.

  She turned to the crowd and said, “This will be a trial of worth, those that wish to contest the ruling must be willing to sacrifice their glory.” Gasps ran through the assembly, as if she had said something vile and profane. “Those willing to go forth with the trial, take your places. You may have at most two Chosen servants accompany you. Their glory will be siphoned off before yours. Once a ruling is made, all glory will be given to those that win. Be fast and honest, or you may lose more than you expect.”

  The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

  She sat down on a lower throne and the other elf in the brown robe stood up from his throne. The two elves, Momoh, and Luke stepped up to the center of the dais. A series of obfuscated runes lit up underneath the elves. Momoh motioned for Luke to scooch over a bit and then his runes lit up too.

  Next the eight servants took their place behind their lords or employers. Kruro had to curl her tail up tight before the lights lit up underneath her. As soon as everyone was in place the lights flashed brighter and all of the servants grunted as if they had been hit.

  Luke’s eyebrows climbed higher. They had mentioned glory, but apparently there was something they could feel too. Maybe the dais was draining their lifeforce too. That would be a good way to make sure the proceedings didn’t drag on too long. If everyone was literally drained, they would be more willing to accept whatever ruling the head judge handed down.

  Lord Olomo, the male elf with long black hair and a silver and copper robe, pointed to Bosa and Kruro. “The human isn’t allowed to use other’s servants. Every benefactor on the altar must bring their own, not borrow others.”

  Luke narrowed his eyes. They hadn’t even started and this guy was already throwing shade. “I don’t appreciate the accusation, elf. These two are my own employees, each with substantial glory they lend me. They have never worked for Lord Momoh.”

  Lord Olomo bristled at the lack of proper address and was about to shout back when he was interrupted by one of the officers of the court. The brown robed elf cleared his throat and walked up to the edge of the dais. “The truth of his words are clear. Luke of Machine’s servants may stay.”

  Lord Olomo grumbled and Lord Uloko put her hand on his shoulder to calm him. She had white hair and similarly styled robes, maybe she was his mother or something. There was certainly a family resemblance.

  The officer ignored the byplay and said, “I will now read off all of the benefactor’s system titles so that all may hear of their glory. If any wish to withdraw, now is the time.”

  Luke grit his teeth. He really wished that Lord Momoh had been able to properly prepare him for this. He hadn’t even known that system titles were a thing. He probably didn’t even have any since his stat screen didn’t mention them.

  The brown robed elf pointed at Lord Olomo first and said, “Lord of the Empire of the Rising Dawn, Shrewd Merchant, Plump Farmer, and Black Death of Five Campaigns.” He turned and pointed to Lord Uloko and said, “Lord of the Empire of the Rising Dawn, Nimble Crafter, and Tip of The Spear.” Next was Lord Momoh, “Lord of the Empire of the Rising Dawn, Fruitful Miner, White Death of Ten Campaigns, Titanbane, and Tip of the Spear.”

  Since Lord Momoh had the most titles of all of them, Luke hoped that it wouldn’t matter that he had none. To his surprise, the elf turned to him and rattled off his own titles. “Trailblazing Figure, Master of a Merchant House, Clever Runist, and Titanbane.”

  Luke had no idea he had been gaining titles this whole time. He wondered if they were granting him some hidden bonus. He was particularly curious about Trailblazing Figure, both because he didn’t know what it meant, and because the crowd murmured when they heard it.

  The servants grunted again as the dais glowed once more. They were clearly on the clock before the effects started hitting the Lords and Luke.

  “All four benefactors will have a chance to make opening statements before discussion begins. Lord Momoh, you may go first, followed by Luke of Machines,” the dwarf judge said. He was sitting up straighter and more interested as they went along.

  Momoh stretched his hands wide and said, “My claim is simple and unassailable. I challenged Lord Edobar to a duel to the death, with our holdings on the line. I won in glorious combat. Nothing that the Falodun Widow says matters in this dispersal.”

  The dwarf wiggled his hands in assent and turned. “Lord Olomo? Your rebuttal?”

  The elf smoothed his black hair and picked at his robe for a bit before he answered, “I was not aware of this lord killing his fellow. Perhaps that would have changed my mind. But I have already claimed the building and promised the top floor to the gods. We will build a temple, open to the public, so that all may worship. We all know in these times that our gods need all the worship they can get. I apologize to Lord Momoh, but we cannot go against the will of the gods.”

  The crowd wiggled their hands in assent. Luke frowned. Apparently offering the top story of a building to the gods was a big move. How were they supposed to go against the will of a nation of zealots? Sacrifice was their whole thing and these people said they wanted to sacrifice the building to the gods.

  The judge noticed his expression and turned to him. “Luke of Machines, what do you have to add?”

  Lord Momoh gave him a warning look, but said nothing. Apparently they were big on taking turns and avoiding outbursts. Luke thought for a moment and said, “I’ve heard that the Indomitable only do the will of the gods. They call them the Finger of the Gods.”

  The dwarf leaned forward and said, “That is true. What of it?”

  “Well, we had an Indomitable administer the duel. He is the one that set the terms and awarded us the Falodun holdings. He took Lord Edobar’s lifeforce afterwards and gave it to the gods. It seems like if you give the building to these people, that would be going against the word of the gods. Unless I understand things wrong. What has more weight, Lord Olomo’s promise that he might build something on one small part of the building, or the Indomitable’s judgement that the Falodun holdings go to us?”

  The dwarf chuckled, “An excellent question. It does seem that I should take the word of an Indomitable. Lord Uloko, your rebuttal?”

  She seemed a bit startled, but quickly recovered. “The words of a human must always be in doubt. Until their world is brought into the Empire, this human shouldn’t be standing here.” She held up her hand with a flourish. “But let us assume that Lord Momoh backs up the words of his lackey. It is clear he has orchestrated this whole-”

  Luke’s attention drifted when all eight servants grunted again. The dais continued to pull from them as she gave a long winded speech. It was clear now that their strategy was to outlast Momoh and Luke, instead of winning on merits. The arrogant elves must have assumed they had more glory than the two new arrivals. It was like a version of pay to win. Momoh quickly and clearly gave his rebuttals, not wanting to run out the time himself.

  The back and forth continued before Luke decided to make his own play. When it was his turn again he said, “This altar keeps pulling away glory, tick by tick. I believe this matter might be settled by our glory, not our arguments. Tell me, Lords Olomo and Uloko. Do you really believe your glory is greater than ours? Lord Momoh has five titles and I have four, one of which is the Trailblazing Figure. Have you ever heard of that title, do you know how much glory it confers?”

  He folded his arms and leaned forward. He had no idea if Trailblazing Figure was a big deal, but he was betting that they didn’t know either. He just planted the idea that it might confer glory, so that their strategy would have to take that into account now.

  They looked at each other, suddenly unsure. The altar ticked again, pulling more from the servants.

  The dwarf judge chuckled, “I would love to find out the answer to that question, Luke of Machines. But I don’t want to be responsible for Lords Olomo and Uloko losing their glory if you are right. I am ruling now. Lord Momoh and Luke of Machines. You two will get the full dispersal. Five parts to Lord Momoh, and one to Luke of Machines. I encourage you to gift a small portion to the Falodun Widow. Perhaps she can donate it to the gods and help build a temple that way. This matter is adjourned.”

  The dais suddenly stopped glowing and all eight servants slumped as one. Momoh smiled and stood straighter, positively beaming. Luke felt like a soft breeze washed by him. Bosa wasn't looking good. Her skin was whiter than normal and she had a vacant look in her eyes. He realized that the altar had given the glory back when his side won, but only to the 'important' people. Bosa was completely drained. Luke gently took her arm and helped her walk off the dais.