Welcome, you’ve stumbled into The Tori Story Series. If this is your first visit to this realm you might want to catch up.

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The air outside was sticky, hanging over the city like a damp cloth. The unbearable heat was trapped between the earth’s floor and the invisible cloth. Suffocating the inhabitants.

It was an oppressive humidity.

Even the flies it seemed were not immune to the intense temperature, because they refused to fly. Instead they crawled— minute tiny steps with a pause between each one. To catch their breath perhaps. Honestly, I wouldn’t know for I’m certainly not a fly. I can only tell you what I saw.

For most of the morning the city streets filled slowly. A wary, albeit excited crowd gathered to witness the fate of one certain individual— The Witch. Some of the more eager villagers had gathered the evening before, sleeping just outside the town’s meeting hall.

I say meeting hall, but really it was an ill-defined building strategically placed in the center of the city. Used for multiple purposes, honestly because as a general rule of thumb, nothing ever happened. Nothing until today.

The building therefore was rarely used for its intended purpose. Mostly, it served to house the cities strays – unwanted dogs, cats, rats and vermin. Occasionally, it served as a make-shift rooming house for town drunks who stumbled home a touch too late only to find the doors boarded and locked; their entry barred.

And once or twice, it served as a stall for the horses of travelers staying at the Inn. But only when the Inn’s stables were full, of course, and that hadn’t happened in nearly 10 years. Not since the King had returned from war.

In addition there were no real doors or windows, but only openings that served as doors and windows. So you see it was impossible to keep unwanted guests out. Access was never denied. Not even to the most vile of creatures.

The stench was truly unbearable but today it was no matter. The excitement of the Trial that would take place soon far exceeded any inconvenience the offensive odor caused.

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“Bring forth the accused!” The magistrate, covered from head to toe in a ridiculous brightly colored wool robe, chirped the order. His high-pitched voice echoed unpleasantly, bouncing off the walls, as large beads of sweat trickled down his face.

The group that gathered inside the small meeting room, stuffed as it were like sardines, burst into excited whispers. Eager faces turned simultaneously, craning their necks to the rear of the room. What started as a barely audible murmur, swelled into a tumultuous low roar.

The small openings placed at even intervals all around the building were completely covered with nosey onlookers, also straining to get a glimpse of the Witch.

Those peering in the windows turned, as was expected, and repeated the words of the magistrate in order that those in the very back of the crowd could hear.

“He said. ‘Bring forth the accused.’” They shouted to the crowd.

On the very outskirts of the city center the voice died. Those there strained to hear what their eyes could only barely see. They saw the moving of the mouth but no voice accompanied it. Or if it did, by the time it reached them it was nothing more than a mere muffled breeze that tickled past their sweaty ears.

“What did he say?”…“What did he say?” Whispers floated frantically across the crowd like a feather tossed willy-nilly about in the wind.
Until the request fell on the ears of someone standing near the meeting hall. They shouted, “He said, Bring forth the accused.”

“He said, Bring up your excuse.” One echoed.

“He said, you’re being excused.” PING

“What? Excused. But we only just got here?” the rear crowd murmured. Then asked ‘Who’s excused?” PONG

“No…accused…You should have come earlier.” “No one’s excused… You should have arrived earlier.” “You’re excused to come earlier.” PING

“Shhh…I can’t hear” “Shhhh…She’s not here.” “Shhhh…She’s got steer?” PONG

And so it went, the information relayed back and forth, back and forth very much like a ping pong match, gathering in pitch and volume, falling silent for a fraction of a moment in desperate anticipation of the next round.

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