<div class="floatright"><div class="spoiler_container"><div class="spoiler_header" onclick="hideSecond (this);" role="button">Spoiler: Click to Show/Hide</div><div class="spoiler_body"> (http://maps.google.com/maps?ll=40.759066,-73.973598&amp;spn=0.002739,0.004361&amp;sll=37.0625,-95.677068&amp;sspn=46.630055,63.193359&amp;t=f&amp;ecpose=40.75857863,-73.97820245,91.46,82.05,79.329,0&amp;z=18)</div></div></div>In the St-Patrick cathedral, the whole community, about fifty peoples, was gathered in the main alley, attending the trial of their prisoner. The charges had been read: invasion of Patricks' territory, theft, trouble, disrespect, blasphemy,... the list went on and on. In the end, Dominus, the Grand Master of the Patricks and their supreme judge, stood up majestically and proclaimed,<strong>"Does anyone has anything to say for the defence of the prisoner? Speak now or forever hold your peace!"</strong><br/><br/>Only silence followed his question, so, after his stern, impressive eyes had scanned the assistance twice, Dominus emphatically said,<strong>"I hereby declare that the prisoner is guilty of all the charges mentioned beforehand. Accordingly she will be condemned to the Capital Punishment. As our Law, the law of the last civilised community of the World, prevents us from giving death, I condemn the prisoner to be banned from St-Patrick's cathedral and abandoned to the lawlessness of the streets. Bring the prisoner for her preparation!"</strong><br/><br/>A loud metal rattling could be heard echoing between the lofty walls. It was coming from a rusty metal barrel that two burly men were rolling on the stone floor. They brought it to the front of the assembly, where they heaved it upright. A faint sound of metal scraping came from its inside.<br/><br/>Dominus deliberately walked to the barrel. He unlocked the two padlocks that were holding its lid shut and removed it. The two men reached into the container and pulled out the body that had been curled into it for the last 12 hours. They dropped the prisoner on the floor and forced her to kneel down, facing the crowd.<br/><br/>Kriss was blinking and squinting as even the dim light reigning in the church was too much to her eyes, which had been kept in darkness for so long. Her body and limbs were stiff from the long stay in the cold, cramped space. In spite of the humble posture she was forced in and the thick chains that were holding her arms behind her back, tightly coiled around her wrists and elbows, she was still keeping some of her previous pride and imposing bearing. Her green eyes were shooting bullets as she stared at those looking at her, all those she met eyes with turned their face down, impressed. She was tall and athletic. They all knew her as she had often come near to the cathedral in her daring raids.<br/><br/>They used to call her the Grey Bitch because of the colour of her clothes, chosen to mix with the urban background. She was still wearing them since her capture: a black scarf was rolled and tied around her forehead to keep her long red, curly mane from getting into her face. Her torso was molded into a tight, dark-grey, tank-top that was leaving her well-delineated abs visible. Her black Perfecto jacket had been removed to leave her arms bare so that they could be chained properly. Her long, sinewy legs were hidden under dark-grey, dirty, baggy pants whose many pockets had been emptied of all the tools, food and weapons they used to contain. Finally, she was wearing a pair of black leather Doc Martens boots whose soles and toes were reinforced, a useful property in those streets that were scattered with rubble and broken glass.<br/><br/><strong>"Set up the yoke!"</strong>Dominus ordered.<br/><br/>A man brought what had been a sturdy wooden rail sleeper. It was a compact, dense, very hard and about 20-pound heavy, tar-filled piece of oak. It had been longitudinally sawed in two parts and three holes drilled into it, one designed to hold her neck and the two others her wrists.<br/><br/>Kriss's chains were removed and she was forced to lie back down on one of the pieces while the second one was applied upon it. She felt the neck half hole pressing against her throat while her arms were position on the sides of her head in their respective holes, leaving them folded at a wide angle. On each side, two bolts and nuts were drilled through the stocks and tightened with all the strength the two burly men could muster. Then a metal-strapping device was used to cinch five steel straps around both parts of the yoke. They were one-way tightening mechanisms ensuring that they could only removed with a proper metal-cutting tool. The holes holding her wrists had been carefully designed so as to be just too narrow for her limbs, causing her flesh to bulge on both end and ensure a secure grip. Moreover, the inside of the holes had been left coarse on purpose to prevent her from sliding her hands out. Finally, they fixed a fist-sized bell at both ends of the yoke.<br/><br/>During the whole process Kriss remained quiet and her face was only expressing rage. Her fists were clenched tight. The two men pulled her back on her knees, causing the bells to ring loudly. Only then did Kriss feel the whole weight of the restraint on her shoulder. Her face twitched. The yoke was heavy, in particular as it was resting on a small part of her neck. With her arms kept wide apart, she felt utterly helpless. She was also wondering whether she would have been able to stand up alone. But although doubts and anguish were creeping into her battle-hardened mind, none of them could be seen on her face that remained rigid, her jaws clenched tight and her stare steel-like. The only tell-tale sign of her anxiety was the faster-than-normal heaving of her glorious chest, whose firm and proud mounds were pressing forward against the front of her grey, stained tank-top.<br/><br/><strong>"Does anyone want to help the prisoner remember the price one has to pay when one dares to attack our community before we release her to the fate of the streets?"</strong>Dominus asked to the crowd. He saw several sadistic grins in the assembly and his eyes welcomed them to get to the forefront and do what they wanted to do.