4 Trouble at Home

That night, Roland was beset by yelling and screaming from the witches.

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN WE ARE GOING TO COOPERATE WITH THE CHURCH. HAVE YOU GONE CRAZY!" yelled Wendy.

Roland had expected some negative reactions, but he didn't think it would be this bad. Even Nightingale was giving him a dirty look.

"Don't you remember what they have done to us? Are you planning on abandoning us so that you can get more power?" said one witch.

Roland quickly replied, "No, I plan on making sure the church doesn't hunt down witches any more. I give you my word that saving the witches will be my top priority and that I won't help the church unless they renounce their policy toward witches."

Despite his assurances, the witches still seemed to be quite uncomfortable with the situation. Roland then added, "Also, after talking with Agatha I have learned that it is likely that the church was founded by witches for the purpose of fighting the demons. It may even be possible that the pope might even be a witch. The church has strayed from its original purpose and I hope to bring it back to what it was originally meant to do."

Wendy then asked, "How will you know that the church will agree to this?"

"When the church emissaries come, then I will see what their position is", replied Roland.

After everyone settled down, Roland left. As he walked back to his room he muttered, "Dammit Steven, you were as much a part of this decision as I was and you didn't have to calm down a room of angry women. I swear, if this ever happens again I am going to make you share the pain."

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Roland talked some more with Steven about what will need to be done in the future.

"Has Mystery Moon managed to evolve her ability yet?", Steven asked.

"Not yet, but I am going to give her a lightbulb like I did originally and she will be able to understand" Roland replied.

Steven suddenly realized something. "Roland, you recruited a witch named Spear Passi who can recharge the magic power of other witches. Originally when you went to get her to help Mystery Moon, the church had gotten to her and Nightingale was injured while saving her. If you go now you can get her before that happens."

Roland thanked Steven and went back to his room. Roland called Nightingale. "I have a mission for you", Roland said. "I need you to retrieve Marquess Spear Passi. She is a witch with an important ability. Furthermore, the church is plotting with her brother to eliminate her so she is in danger. Just in case, I will send Ashes as backup too."

"Okay", replied Nightingale.

After dismissing Roland, Roland called over Mystery Moon and gave her the contraption. The next day, Mystery Moon was able to evolve her ability due to her greater understanding of electromagnetism.

Nightingale was able to convince Spear Passi to come back with them. Although she was reluctant at first, Nightingale was able to expose the plot and managed to get Spear out. The group returned to Neverwinter, now with one more sister.

Over the next several months Neverwinter continued to develop. Electricity was finally brought to the city. From now on, man will no longer be governed by the sun. Steven had success learning the language, and even though he wasn't particularly skilled, he knew enough to converse with people. He also knew all the technical and scientific terms because those would be important.

Being able to actually talk with other people was a great benefit. However, this also meant that he was no longer the aloof guest which was impossible to talk to. So naturally, it was now possible for people to seek him out and talk with him. Some of the witches wanted to know more about Earth. Since they didn't want to bother Roland and disrupt his important work, it was up to Steven to tell the witches stories about his home. It was good practice for his language skills too. He dazzled his audience with the description of the many technologies that existed. The marvels of cars, computers, and the internet amazed them. The witches were inspired to work hard so that would be able to live in such a marvelous world eventually.

One day, Nightingale entered his room, wanting to speak with him about something.