Frostburn Company blamed for wizard deaths.

On 13th Surt the families of Kevin Hillborough and Tracey Eyshin filed a formal petition calling for charges to be brought against members of Frostburn company for causing the death of Kevin and Tracy along with two other mages. The four deceased had been employed by Frostburn company to help with a project in the castle over the last two and a half weeks. The bodies were released to the families on the 12th following the completion of the ritual. According to the Hillborough family, the state of Kevin's body implied that he had been dead for almost the entire time he was supposedly employed in the castle. The petition will be reviewed in the hall of justice, with the justicars deciding on whether it is worth bringing charges against those named in the petition.
The regent, Pelin, had this to say in response to the petition. "While we are very sorry to have lost four talented wizards, they were engaged in a highly dangerous and complicated ritual. The risks were made clear to them before they agreed to participate in the ritual. They agreed to take part in spite of the risks because they also understood the importance of completing the ritual. It is no exaggeration to say that the fate of the country could very well hing on that ritual having been completed successfully. Although the families of the deceased are understandably upset and angry, these deaths are not the fault of the members of Frostburn company. The royal court will be presenting evidence to the hall of justice to show why levelling charges would not be appropriate." The regent would not be drawn on the nature of the evidence and also refused to say what the ritual was for.
However, we were able to track down one of the surviving participants of the ritual. Bethany Icetouch (47) is a former warmage who now teaches combat magic to wizards attached to the military. While Bethany would not reveal the purpose of the ritual, citing a binding contract with the crown, she did confirm the difficulty of the task she and the other wizards had been supporting. When asked about how the deaths of 4 talented wizards could be justified she said, "In case you haven't noticed there is a bloody war going on. We are being invaded and our forces need every edge we can give them. Hilly (Kevin Hillborough) and Tracey knew the risks, we all did going in. Say what you will about the court Mage, she didn't hold anything back when she told us what was needed." According to Bethany, each of the wizards involved signed a document stating that they understood the risks and were still willing to undertake the spellcasting. They were also provided with all of the details about the ritual in advance so that they could prepare. If such information is presented to the hall of justice then it is unlikely that the Hillborough and Eyshin families will see their request granted.