Machinations

When the young assistant returned to the study, the bishop was looking out the window again. "What do you think?"

Enab locked the door and then released his elaborate illusion. The human form of the reed-thin young man changed until Lawrence's inadvertent vision became a reality! "Kekeke," the demon chuckled. "He smells like a Player Character."

The bishop turned. When he saw the demon form, the old man knelt despite the pain shooting up his bad hips. "Have we found the one, Lord Bane?"

"Yesss," the demon lord hissed. "The Lion of the West has finally been found. It is inconceivable for us non-player characters not to know how to start a party. But a recent arrival to our gaming world may not have learned to do so. Yes, I believe Lawrence Eugene Mulligan is the one we seek. The Gamemaster will be very pleased." Lord Bane flapped his wings happily at the thought.

"Will you show mercy and ensure that your wererats will not decimate Tregome again?" the bishop pleaded. His face turned pale at the thought of the last appearance of wererats in Tregome a dozen years ago before Canterbury was assigned to this town. Back then, the Watchmen in this town were not properly equipped with the silver and magical weapons needed to fight the were-creatures. By the time the massive infestation of wererats was cleared out, almost half the population of one thousand residents in Tregome had died.

Unfortunately, the population had not grown much since then despite the bishop's personal efforts and encouragement. Many commoners concluded that the trials and tribulations of life on the frontier were too harsh for them to endure, and the wererat infestation was the final straw that pushed them to leave and head back east to safer parts of the kingdom. News of the infestation had spread quickly to nearby towns and villages, and the commoners there minimized contact with Tregome lest wererats invade their homes too! Fortunately, the town's location on the western border of the Kingdom of Merlin meant that travelers still passed through Tregome to rest and resupply before heading to the wilderness beyond.

Some of the Church leaders argued that Tregome was so tainted by Chaos that the town must be abandoned entirely, even though such abandonment would be extremely painful to the Kingdom. Canterbury counter-argued for more resources, including magical equipment, to be sent to this important frontier town. Only when he volunteered to personally oversee the rebuilding of Tregome did the rest of the leadership concede to Canterbury's demands. Thus, Canterbury was appointed the Bishop of Tregome and remained in the position ever since.

Lord Bane smirked. He loved baiting this holy man of Law and Order and would like nothing better than to tear this human to shreds. However, Chaos could not exist without Order and likewise, Lord Bane needed a Lawful foil to bring his chaotic plans to fruition. "We are all game pieces on the Gamemaster's chess board. Your town was attacked back then to flush out a suspected player character. Unfortunately, rumors of the PC's arrival had proved to be false. However, now we have confirmed, with our own eyes, the arrival of a Player Character in our midst. The survival of Lawrence Eugene Mulligan is now our top priority. So don't worry old man. I will not send reinforcements to aid Ebenthal's gang. Surely, the forces of the Law and Order in this town can handle a few wererats?"

Bishop Canterbury was visibly relieved at the demon's implicit agreement to hold back the forces of Chaos from aiding the wererats running loose in the town. By the time all the wererats were killed during the last infestation, the recovered bodies of such creatures had numbered over a hundred! If more wererats were to show up today, the bishop knew that Tregome would not survive the onslaught. Thus, Lord Bane's concession had just increased the town's chance of survival exponentially.

"Can you use your influence to funnel Ebenthal's gang toward the southern part of town?" the holy man requested. The human inhabitants lived primarily in the northern parts of Tregome; the essential civic buildings, such as Watch Headquarters and the Church itself, were in that section, too. Although the bishop valued the lives of all the inhabitants of Tregome, he was prepared to sacrifice the lives of a few non-humans in the southern parts of town in order to save Tregome itself. Surely, Bishop Canterbury would not be condemned by the Gods of the Law and Order for making this sacrifice?

The demon chuckled at the request and wiggled an index finger at the foolish human. "Kekeke! There's no need for me to intervene in that regard. Ebenthal's gang will direct its ire at the cat people. After all, rats and cats are enemies. The Butterfly School of Swordsmanship was instrumental in clearing out the last infestation and Ebenthal's gang has not forgotten that fact. The Gamemaster himself may watch this impending battle between the two groups. Care to make a wager on which group will win?" he asked.

The church official shook his head. "It is against our religious beliefs to gamble. We must place our faith in our Gods to lead us to triumph. With your permission, I will take my leave and pray in the chapel for a successful battle over the wererats." He bowed deeply to the demon.

"You may go," Lord Bane dismissed the human.

#

When I left the study, I found Maisen waiting outside. We were escorted by Enab to the fork in the hallway, where Klidsec waited to escort us out of the church.

When we exited the building, Kalistra rejoined us on the street. She immediately noticed the truth stone on my chest; her eyes lit up but she did not comment on it. The Heir led us southward to return to the dojo.

"Captain Li said he'll meet us at the dojo. He plans to search for the wererats in the water tunnels under the town," Maisen said. "So . . . I guess you're now a pious member of the Church of Britannia?" she noted with amusement. However, Maisen wore a serious expression on her face. The Church did not have good relations with non-humans and only tolerated the dojo and its teachers because the school's students assisted the Watch in keeping the Law and Order in Tregome. She was concerned that the Church will slowly change Lawrence's good will towards non-humans until he became openly hostile toward them, like Captain Li.

"Just don't expect us to kneel and kiss your hand every time we see you. Once in my life is more than enough," Kalistra groused as she remembered her embarrassing moment of swearing fealty to the stupid human.

"No, no," I quickly waved my hands. I sighed deeply and explained. "I met an old church official who ordered his assistant to party with me and then transcribe my entire stat sheet. He saw that I had the Spirit Sense ability and asked me to join the Were-Hunt to help find the wererats. He gave me the truth stone to avenge the former owner of the stone, which was the town judge from Ebenthal's trial. He also noted that I was pursuing the crown and insisted that I join the Church in order to validate the claim." I decided to avoid mention of Enab possibly being a demon. It was probably just a hallucination! "Oh, I forgot to mention that the church official's name is Bishop Zohan Canterbury," I quickly added.

My companions stopped in their tracks when I mentioned the bishop by name. They exchanged glances before Maisen spoke up.

"Peng did not mention that he will be reporting directly to the bishop," she commented in a neutral tone of voice while looking at me with concern.

I took mental note of Maisen referring to the captain by his first name. Perhaps they were friends or even lovers?

"Bishop Canterbury is the ruler of Tregome. His word is law. If Captain Li took Lawrence to meet the bishop, then Li must have had a good reason," Kalistra reasoned. "Anyway, we need to hurry back to the dojo. We can't have Captain Li waiting for us to arrive. We'll lose face if that happens!" The cat girl grabbed our arms and pulled us along as she started walking again.

We arrived at the dojo in just a few minutes because the normally busy streets full of pedestrians were now empty. Everyone had gone home, judging by all the shuttered windows and locked doors that we passed by. Improbably, the massive and heavy doors of our dojo were left open!