Once the stands are mostly full, the Lord Mayor Zariya al'Bariman walks onto the grounds, dressed all in black, accompanied by some guardsmen. "Greetings," she calls out in a loud voice, "I give all of you my well-wishes for this holiday. Before the Hanging Night will commence, there are a few announcements." The crowd shifts a bit restlessly at this--announcements in the past have been dubious, at best.

Sherry Charburner, a huge woman with long stringy hair and a scar from being zapped by Lazare St. Matthews Sawall years ago, cackles,"This should be a good hanging night, this girl should put on a good show."

Her companion, Anna Banana, sits there with a smirk and her knitting needles out "I hope so. I took time off from raiding tonight just to be here."

"The first annoucement concerns the curfew," Zariya continues. Dead silence meets this. After a suitably long pause, to ensure she has everyone's attention, she calls out with a slight smile on her face, "The curfew has been lifted." A roar of approval washes out from the crowd, with people cheering and stamping their feet enthusiastically.

Anna says,"Too bad they weren't hanging Lazare. He deserves it."

"Think of the ticket sales," dreams Sherry airily.

After the cheering has mostly let itself out, she continues, "You are responsible, upstanding citizens of Amber. If you were not, you would not be in the stands this night." Though some might construe it as a threat, there is general laughter at this as the news just prior put people in a laughing/cheering kind of mood.

"But, there will be changes in the law, starting tomorrow morning," the Lord Mayor continues to explain. "Criers will be posted to spread the news, and a new copy of the laws of Amber City will be listed in public squares for all to see." At this, she gestures to one of her men, who step forward to announce the new laws:

"More laws?" asks Sherry,"Why now?"

"Pay no heed. It is only for mere mortals," Anna says,"We aren't here to interfere with how Oberon runs his dickshit kingdom only to verify that treaty conditions are met."

"Well it sure as hell is not much. Not real high blood being shed." complains Sherry.

"They are making up for it in medieval barbarism. Good sport." Anna reassures her.

For the capital crime of cold-blooded murder (premeditated): Death

For the capital crime of murder, in the heat of passion (not premeditated): Death, or, the criminal may choose to pay the blood price of the murdered victim to his family or to the city if the victim had no family left. The blood price in this case is the full earning potential of the victim (to be determined by judges) over his or her lifetime, but no less than 500 gold crowns. If the blood price is paid, the criminal will be branded on his left cheek to indicate that he committed this terrible crime. On second offense, death. If the person is a spy (for whatever reason) or a known anti-Amber rebel, the blood price option may not be chosen, as this is treason, and Royal Law takes precedent.

For the capital crime of rape: The rapist will be castrated, and his left cheek branded. Second offense is death. For a woman committing rape, her left breast will be removed, and her left cheek branded. Second offense is also death. In both cases (male or female guilty), they will pay a blood price to the victim in the amount of 250 gold crowns. If the rapist cannot pay, then the victim has a choice of keeping the rapist as an indentured servant until the debt is paid, or getting paid the 250 gold crowns by the mayor's office, and the rapist becoming an indentured servant of the city until the debt is paid. In the case of a woman raped and becoming pregnant as a result, the fine is doubled. If a person falsely accuses another of rape, then the person doing the accusing will be treated as if they did the crime. In other words, if you falsely accuse someone of rape, you will be treated as a rapist yourself. All victims of this crime will be closely examined by a professional team of doctors to ascertain the validity of the crime.

For the crime of theft: The thief will lose his non-dominant hand, or, pay the victim of the crime the cost of the item(s) stolen and lose a finger. On second offense, the thief will lose his other hand, or, choose to pay the cost of the item(s) stolen and lose another finger. On third offense, death. If a person falsely accuses another of committing this crime, then the cost of the item(s) said to be stolen will be paid to the one falsely accused.

For the crime of kidnapping: The kidnapper will be forced to pay the victim's blood price to the victim (total earning potential of the victim over his or her lifetime), minimum 500 crowns. If the victim dies during the kidnapping, the blood price will be paid to the victim's family, or to the city of Amber if the victim has no family left. On second offense, death. If any other crimes were committed by the kidnapping during the time he or she held the victim against his or her will, those crimes' punishments will stack with this one. Those arranging a 'false' kidnapping, ie--pretending to kidnap someone for whatever reason, will have their properties and possessions seized, and will be escorted to the border of Amber city.

For the crime of assault: The criminal will pay the victim one tenth of the victim's blood price (minimum 5 gold crowns) if the assault was committed with no weapons. If a deadly weapon was used in the assault, the criminal will pay the victim one quarter of the victim's blood price (minimum 25 gold crowns), and will pay the city of Amber one tenth of the victim's lwdd. If the assailant is unable to pay, then he or she becomes an indentured servant until the fine is paid in full. As before, the victim may opt to have the city of Amber pay the blood price, and the assailant to become an indentured servant to the city until the fine is paid in full. If the assailant attacked the victim with the intent to kill, but was interrupted in the act, the assailant shall be treated as if he or she committed a murder of passion (not premeditated). After the first offense, the criminal's further acts of assault will be judged on a case by case basis. The possible punishments for further acts of assault could be heavy fines, imprisonment, mutilation (losing a hand or foot), or death depending on the severity of the assault and the judges' determination of the case.

For other miscellaneous crimes: After the issue of guilt or innocence is determined, a fine will be assessed to pay to the victim (if applicable) or the city of Amber. (this is for minor crimes, like littering or whatnot)

Duels are allowed in Amber city if properly presided over by a judge, and only until first blood. Any duelists that are found to have killed their opponents will be treated as if he or she committed a murder of passion (not premeditated). Anyone found to be dueling without the judge present will be fined for assault, payable to the city of Amber.

Peaceful protests are allowed as long as the protestors obey the following rules:

1) Protests may not interfere with the business or building being protested in any way.
2) Protestors must keep the roads clear for traffic
3) Protestors must begin their protest when the building or business opens, and stop their protest when the building or business closes
4) Protestors must inform the Mayor's Office of the protest, before the protest is organized. This is to ensure that an appropriate number of guards can be there to stop any violence, should it break out.
5) Protestors may not protest against Amber or High Majesty Oberon or the Crown's policies; this is forbidden by His Majesty Oberon. By His word, only protests against his enemies are permitted.

If the Mayor's Office is not informed of the protest before the protest begins, any protestors will be arrested and fined.

Royal Law takes precedence over the civil law of the city, at His Majesty Oberon's discretion.

After that rather long and boring list of new laws--which are, in some cases, more lenient than the ones that were in place--the guardsman falls silent and Zariya steps forward, drawing attention to herself once again, "And now, your entertainment." She has a neutral expression on her face as the criminals are escorted in.

The first batch of criminals are hung after being read their crimes, varying from treason to murder. Astute observers and fans of execution night would notice that the ropes that the men and women are hung with have been shorted--only one lucky bastard breaks his neck in the hanging. The rest have an ugly, long, and painful death as they are strangled at the end of their ropes.

The second, and third, and fourth batches are brought out in succession-- all hung, all with about the same results as the first. The crowds boo and hiss and cheer, all while making bets among themselves and official bookies to see which will take the longest to die, which stops moving first, who'll be the lucky few that break their necks instead of strangle, and so on. The Lord Mayor watches with little interest, almost seeming bored. Guardsmen are busy cutting down bodies and restringing the gallows. Undertakers are standing by, loading the bodies up on their carts.

Then, the fifth and last batch of criminals and traitors are brought out. They number about thirty or so, and are under heavy guard. Men from the side of the grounds quickly bring out five heavy chopping blocks, and the crowd perks up with interest. Seems the hangings are done.

Zariya once again steps forward, facing the criminals. "All of you have been convicted of treason against the Crown of Amber and Her citizens," she announces, "but, some would say lucky for you, are of sufficient rank to warrant a beheading rather than hanging." She gestures, and the first five to go are forced to the blocks, and tied to them. Some are weeping and pleading for their lives, some are trying to face their deaths bravely. In the end, it doesn't matter.

The Mayor herself steps forward, drawing out her scimitar. It becomes immediately apparant why she dressed entirely in black. She moves to the side of the first traitor, warning him softly, "Do not struggle against your bonds, or I might miss." Her eyes seem to gleam a bit at that. She raises her scimitar and brings it down smoothly, stepping aside as the scimitar seperates the man's head from his neck and a fountain of blood gushes forth. The crowd roars it's approval at that. At the crowd's cheering, she bends down and picks the head up by it's hair, showing it to the crowd, who hoot and holler and cheer madly at the gesture. She tosses the head aside, into a basket that was brought out for this express purpose.

Zariya seems very practiced at this, not getting a drop on her (that anyone can see anyhow). Over and over again she executes the criminals until there are none left to execute and her curved sword runs red with blood.

The next day, at the execution grounds, the heads are mounted on spikes atop the gallery for the citizens of Amber to gawk at. The heads remain for three days then are removed.

Anna says,"This is pretty good. I think Oberon should keep this one."

This text is copyright © Lana Gjovig and Craig Lucas; "Amber" is copyright © Roger Zelazny; "Amber" the diceless RPG is copyright © Phage Press. No copyright infringement is intended.

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