Aramon rested his hand on his hip and looked behind him. An honor guard of hand selected soldiers marched alongside the horse the new Arbiter was mounted on and the wicker hurdle it dragged behind it. Bouncing and jostling on that panel was the body of Stegman Hemmings, arms and legs bound to the four corners. Stegman had been stripped bare, the honor guard protecting the arch-traitor from the physical press of the crowd and the kicks thrown at him, but did little about the spittle and other, less savory, things thrown on him as the procession made it's way toward the palace. The crowd shouted obscenities at the bound assassin and the look in his eyes suggested that he would dearly wish to respond, a pity for him that his tongue had been removed along with the fingers of his thieving hands during the early morning torture session.
Aramon reached his destination, the great square before the palace, normally the home of stalls selling various wares and foodstuffs, it had been cleared and a platform erected in it's center. Standing upon the platform were the executioners and the tools required for meting out the punishment. Aramon rode directly up to the platform, the executioners pulling the wicker platform and its bound passenger up with the ropes that held it to the saddle. Stegman looked as if he had seen better days, even if the gentle persuasion of the saltwater soaked scourge, the knives and probes, and of course the shears, hadn't left him a bloody mess, the crowds riotous assault had painted his nude form in filth. The procession from the House of Arbitration to the square had drawn quite the crowd, Aramon dismounted onto the platform and addressed them.
"The condemned requested that he be brought here bare before the people of The Imperium, let it be known that as Arbiter I am not above granting a last request!"
Turning back toward Stegman, the wicker hurdle had been braced against the pole the projected from the center of the platform, Aramon flashed a feral grin, filled with filed teeth and a touch of humor, and in a stage whisper said, "'drawn in the nude', I believe you said? Sorry I couldn't fulfill the second part, no whorehouse in town wanted you in it."
The part of the crowd able to pick up on the conversation laughed as the Arbiter turned back and addressed the crowd again.
"Stegman Hemmings, your crimes are too numerous for me to list, so I will only cover the greatest. You stand accused of High Treason against the Xerarch and The Imperium of Greater Xavax. You have been found guilty of this crime and sentenced in absentia. You are be Drawn and Quartered. You will be emasculated, disembowelled, beheaded and quartered. Your head will be posted above the Western Gate as warning to the bandits you have chosen to ally yourself with. The rest of your body will be posted in gibbets in conspicuous points around the city of Xavax so that the people may see the justice of The Imperium. This Arbitration is final."
Aramon turned from the crowd, tossing back the sheet over the table of tools he personally selected for this event. Picking up a sickle and examining the edge with his thumb, he looks to his men,
"Executioners, you may begin with your duty."
