Portals of Infinity: Book Three: Of Temples and Trials

by John Van Stry

Rachel nodded, “Now that we have all of that out of the way, let us move on to new business.”

  I watched and listened as Rachel went around the table, asking each councilor about the state of their affairs, the current status of each project, what problems and needs they had, and any comments or questions they needed to address. From this point on it was like any department meeting I’d ever been to as an engineer, back when I’d been an engineer.

  About the only thing that made this meeting different was that Rachel, the ‘boss’, was in fact the supreme ruler of the land, and we were talking about issues that could effect the lives and welfare of everyone in the kingdom. Of course the smug little looks that Narasamman was shooting me across the table every once in a while were different, but then she always had designs on me. However, those issues were just a bit more personal.

  When the meeting finally broke up, it was time for lunch. There was some personal politicking after that, as some of the councilors requested private meetings to discuss things with Rachel. Some were things they didn’t want to bring up before the other council members, some were things that the other members had no interest in, and a few were just councilors trying to get a favor or two.

  Even Diament came and met with Rachel while I was there. He looked a little uncomfortable when he first came into the room to talk with her, but that only lasted a moment. Diament was definitely not a coward, and to be honest I still kind of liked him, I didn’t think he was really a bad guy, just a bit misguided at times. Of course, if he ever plotted against Rachel again I’d probably kill him, instead of just breaking his legs like I’d been ordered.

  I listed to Diament and what he wanted from Rachel; he apparently had come up with an idea to build a dam on the river, where it went through a small vale about a mile or so outside of town.

  “Your Majesty, it would be a good hedge against the dry seasons,” Diament was saying to her as he was showing her the plans. I got up and walked around and sat down at the table, and started to look at the drawings.

  Diament gave me an annoyed look, but I ignored it.

  “Yes Councilor, I’m sure it would be, but right now I’m more concerned with our building back up our reserves and our treasury.”

  I slowly flipped over the map pages, and looked at the diagrams, someone had put some time into this.

  I put a hand on Rachel’s arm and she looked at me.

  “Excuse me your Highness,” I said smiling and she gave me a look.

  “Your ‘Highness’ is it now?”

  “Well I’m talking to the Queen and not my wife, wouldn’t want to take unfair advantage of my influence,” I said giving her a wink.

  She sighed, but smiled, “Okay William, what?”

  I turned to Diament, “Who drew these?”

  He almost looked affronted at the question, “Why I did. I’ve spent years studying masonry and stonework. Not that I expect someone like you to understand what I’ve done there.” He added a little curtly at the end.

  “No,” I said looking up at him, “I understand it quite well and its rather good work. I must say I’m impressed. I would make the run up to the dam here longer and at a shallower angle than you have, the weight of the water will help push the footing down and you’ll have less forward pressure on the structure.”

  He looked rather shocked at me, as if I’d grown another head.

  “You know about dams?” Rachel asked.

  I nodded, “Some, before I was called here to become our God’s champion I had a different career.” I turned and looked back at Diament, “Where were you thinking of irrigating after this is complete?”

  Diament looked shocked at first, then a little guilty. “Well, ummm.”

  “If the Queen is going to help build it, then she deserves to be in on all the rewards, wouldn’t you think?” I said trying not to growl.

  Diament’s ears went flat and he took the sheet with the view of the area on it, and flattened it out on the table. “To the east here, there’s a long sloping expanse of open land, it’s just grassland, it doesn’t get enough rain to grow anything.”

  “Tradeson is off in that direction,” Rachel said. “But it is mostly unclaimed land.”

  “Well I was planning on claiming it,” Diament said giving me a nasty look.

  I smiled at him and shook my head, “I admire your genius Councilor, I really do, but remember our little conversation about supporting our Queen?” I said and smiled as he flinched.

  I turned back to Rachel, who had obviously noticed Diament’s flinch, but didn’t say anything. “Your Highness, I think the Councilor has a good idea here, I think it might be wise to secure the lands to the east as well. The increased food yield should let the project pay for itself, and the hedge against a drought makes sense.”

  “I’m worried about my treasury William; this project does not look cheap.”

  I shrugged and looked at Diament, “Just how much is in your treasury?”

  He sighed, “Less than half of what the dam would cost, not to mention the irrigation canals.”

  “Well ask Ramert, he seems to be looking for places to spend his money.”

  “I can think of a few others who might be interested as well,” Rachel said pondering it. “That would cut the cost to me rather significantly.”

  “I had been hoping not to have to share this,” Diament grumbled.

  “Better a half a loaf than no loaf at all Councilor,” Rachel told him. “And you really do not want to know what would have happened when you started to use this reservoir to build a huge farm without having let the crown know about it, in advance.” She growled at him as she said the last.

  Diament’s ears went all the way down and his tail flattened to the floor as his eyes got wide. I could see that for a moment he was terrified of Rachel. I found that interesting, after all, I had broken both his legs and he wasn’t terrified of me.

  “Now go, and let me consider the proposal. You’re dismissed.”

  He got up bowing and retreated rather hastily.

  “Thank you love,” She said leaning over and giving me a kiss and a nuzzle. “You are a man of many talents.”

  I purred, “Just a few. Diament’s problem is that he’s just too smart for his own good at times.”

  “He’s just greedy, that’s all. His father was worse until he had a little ‘hunting’ accident.”

  “Hunting accident?” I asked ears perked, “Do I want to know?”

  “My father ‘accidentally’ put an arrow through his father’s head while they were out hunting. Told everyone it was an accident, that one of his men bumped his arm while he was letting the arrow fly.”

  “Oh? So what really happened?”

  “Diament’s father had used his council influence to corner the market on food stores, and after a harsh winter was using those stores to profit rather heavily. So my father killed him. Of course in order to mourn the passing of such a great man, and to make sure he was well remembered, my father ordered that all of the food stocks Diament’s family had accrued be given away to the poor for free.”

  “Wow, harsh.” I said surprised.

  “And here you thought you were the nasty one,” Rachel purred and getting out of her chair walked over and sat in my lap. “I’m a Queen, William, ruthlessness comes with the territory. So I take it you were the reason for Diament’s accident after our wedding?”

  “Obviously,” I said and put my arms around her.

  “I had thought so, but it’s always nice to be sure. Guess I’ll have to start paying closer attention to that one.”

  Three

  (Saladin - Kethel)

  Kethel was a good three-day journey on foot. We had a few of the ox drawn carts with us, so as trips go it looked like a fairly easy one, the road there was used a lot more than the one to the former Mulander capitol of Rivervail had been, because of the better terms and the trading that went on. But it was still really little more than a wide path through the woods.

&
nbsp; The group going was myself, a dozen soldiers from the army with a lieutenant (though they called the rank ‘Fourth’ here, I had no idea why) commanding, and a dozen people from the temple. Most of them were to help build the new temple Fel wanted them to make, two of them were priests for the temple.

  But one extra one was the high priestess, and she had attached herself to my arm as soon as we left the city gates.

  “Finally, I get you all to myself!” She purred.

  I sighed. I liked her, I really did, otherwise I wouldn’t have had a daughter with her. But I was still trying very hard to cut my womanizing ways back to just my two wives. I’d first met Narasamman when I’d killed the previous high priest for having gone astray, to say she was attractive was an understatement, and back when I’d first become a champion I was an easy mark for a beautiful woman.

  But Rachel tolerated it, by her family’s standards I guess I was rather ‘chaste’ for a male, and Fel had encouraged it. But I was still stuck with the morals I’d grown up with and at times, I felt guilty for having more than one woman in my life.

  “What, bored of me already?” She teased.

  I smiled down at her and I put my arm around her as we walked and gave her a hug, “I’m not sure that’s possible. So are you coming on this trip just to get me alone for a few weeks? Or did Fel send you?”

  “Feliogustus,” she said making a point of pronouncing his full name, quite a few of the priests and priestesses I had noticed were rather scandalized that I had a nickname for our God, “wants the new temple up as quickly as possible.”

  “Oh?” I said as we walked along in front of the carts, “Did he say why?”

  “No, he did not.”

  I nodded, “Could you ask him for me?”

  “What, right now?” She gave me a surprised look.”

  “Well you can talk to him all the time as his high priestess, right?”

  “Yes, and he’s told me that I’m not to relay any messages for you because he has better things to do than play twenty questions with his overly curious champion.”

  “He said that?” I asked surprised.

  “Just now in fact,” she said and grinned while flicking an ear. “I get the impression he was laughing.”

  “When it comes to me, I think Fel is always laughing,” I smiled. “Probably why I like him so much. You people, none of you really, have any idea of just how good you’ve got it. Fel, err Feliogustus is a pretty wonderful god. I’ve met quite a few so far and most are just not anywhere near as nice as he is.”

  “You’re trying to flatter him, aren’t you?” Narasamman said looking at me out of the corner of her eyes,

  I laughed, “Fel knows pretty much every thought that goes through my head, can’t really flatter someone who can do that. Heh, I don’t know if it’s even possible really to flatter a god.

  “So tell me, how does this whole building a temple thing work anyway?”

  “Well it starts off with a member of the clergy blessing the site, then we outline the grounds and place the wards,” She started explaining the process to me.

  I had to admit it was interesting, there was a rather involved process to the whole thing, a series of steps that had to be gone through in the proper order. As each step was completed, the temple gained power that could be utilized by its priests and priestesses, and which allowed for the next step to take place.

  There were even things I could do in one! That surprised me, though I guess it shouldn’t have.

  “So I have an aura when I’m in a temple of Fel’s?” I asked her much later. It was getting near time to set up camp for the night, she’d been teaching me about temples all day.

  “Yes, when in one of Feliogustus’ temples, you have an aura that is visible to all who are within, showing that you are the embodiment of Feliogustus’ power, and his justice. Your words will carry throughout the assembled if you wish, and those who hear them will be inspired.”

  I nodded, it made sense.

  “So how many temples does he have now?”

  “You’d have to ask him that yourself,” Narasamman told me softly, “He has decided some time ago to only let those who can not talk of it, know.”

  I nodded again, after what I’d done to the god of the Mulanders, I could understand that.

  “Well what about the ones that pretty much everyone knows about? I know there is one in Rivervail, I sort of founded that one,” I said with a cough as she laughed. “And there is the one in the Capitol.”

  “The town that is growing up between the two cities has one.” Narasamman told me. “Also there are two smaller ones out from the city a ways, to serve the followers who work some of the farms further out, who can not make it into the temple for the regular mass. Of course they’re much smaller churches than the temples are.”

  I nodded, “So it seems that the primary difference between a church and a temple is that Fel can materialize an image of himself in a temple, but not in a church?”

  “It’s more involved than that, there are several levels of temples, only in the highest can he manifest a vision, but basically, yes. In even the smallest of temples Feliogustus can manifest some aspect, even if it is only a mental voice. In a church, there is only the presence, there is no ability to communicate, or act. That is the primary difference.”

  “Huh, so more rules,” I said thinking about it to myself. Some of what she told me fell into place with what I’d seen back in Hillshire last month. I could now see why Fel wanted me here for this.

  “Rules?” Narasamman asked curious looking up at me.

  “Eh? Oh, nothing,” I said and purred at her. “Let’s help them get camp set up, I’m hungry.”

  “Oh I’m hungry too,” she said with a little predatory growl, as she looked me up and down.

  I laughed and shook my head, “I’m sure you are.”

  # # # #

  As we approached Kethel I looked over the area with a critical eye. Most of the farms on the outskirts did not have a standing farmhouse. Most of them appeared to have been burned down or torn down. Also, the farms were all rather small, though there was quite a bit of unfarmed land between them. There were few people working these farms and they all seemed to be very wary.

  As we drew in closer, there were no signs of any buildings on any of the farms, even though these farms were bigger and more successful, with a lot more people working them.

  The city itself was rather small, but it had a wall around all of it, and the wall did look like it had been repaired in several places over the years.

  “I’m surprised that the Mulanders never wiped it out,” one of the men, Tuls was his name, commented.

  “If they had wiped it out, then they couldn’t come back in a few years and harvest more slaves,” Fourth Kinna said and then spit on the ground. “The Mulanders were scum, could never leave people be, always needing more slaves.”

  “What did they do with all of them, that they were always needing so many?” Tuls asked.

  “Sold them off to the markets in Barassa on the coast.”

  I turned to the Forth, “I suspect that Barassa and us are not going to be good friends anytime soon.”

  He laughed, “No, I think that’s a fair assumption.”

  I looked around some more as we approached the city, people were watching us, but the carts were marked both with Rachel’s flag and with Fel’s flag, so no one seemed worried or overly hostile that I could tell.

  When we finally made the city gate we were challenged by the guards, their response however was a bit unexpected.

  “Wait,” the head guard said looking up at me, I stood a good head taller than most of the people I had come across. “You’re Feliogustus’s champion? Will? Will the Godslayer?”

  I blinked, my ears going up in surprise and turned to look at the Fourth and Narasamman.

  “That is what they call you,” she said and had the good graces to look embarrassed, curling her tail around her legs.

 
Fourth Kinna laughed and several of the others of our party snickered, “You didn’t know?”

  I shook my head, a bit at a loss for words.

  “Harris,” the head guard said, turning to one of his men. “Go fetch Lord Bryan, tell him we’ve got the Godslayer at the west gate!” He turned back to me and stuck out his hand, “Iffin, I may be the first to welcome you to Kethel, I would appreciate the honor!”

  I smiled and touched palms, then drew myself up and cast a cantrip to make sure I was looking my best.

  “You could have warned me,” I whispered to Narasamman.

  She shrugged, “We all thought you knew.”

  “Does everybody call me that now?”

  “Oh no,” she said shaking her head, “just the ones who’ve heard of you.”

  I grumbled but put on a big smile and looked around, people were starting to surround us, apparently word had spread rather fast. I was amazed that so many people wanted to thank me, or touch hands, and the smiles from some of the women were making it clear just what kinds of ‘thanks’ they were thinking.

  I pulled Narasamman a little closer; I could only imagine just how much trouble I could get myself in there.

  The guard came running back fairly soon with a rather well dressed male in tow. Everyone parted to let him by and he came right up to me and looked me in the eye.

  “William the Godslayer? Champion of Feliogustus? The remover of the scourge of the Mulanders and their foul god from our fair lands?”

  I nodded, “Yes, Lord Bryan I presume?”

  He smiled and stuck out his hand and I touched palms with him.

  “And what brings you to our fair city William?”

  “Well Queen Rachel asked me to come to visit and ask if you would perhaps be willing to join your city to her kingdom. To all become her subjects and to live under the protection of her crown.”

  “Hmm,” he said, making a show of it, “Well let me think a moment.”

  “If you turn him down we’ll toss your tail out on the street!” Someone yelled from the crowd.

  “Ach! I see, well unless I wish to end up homeless and cast out of my own city, I guess William I will have to say yes!”