by Charles Dean
“Yeah, what he said.” Lee shrugged as he turned to Miller. “Anyway, was Connacht aware of the people organized to take down the statue?” Lee asked.
“He knew,” Miller answered, his brow ridge tightening as he glared momentarily. “He knew.”
“I see.” Lee frowned. He must have thought it wasn’t a political fight worth winning, even though he knew I’d be back to check up on it sooner or later. He must think I’m easy to control. Lee was suddenly angrier than when he had first discovered the crowd that was trying to tear down Amber’s visage just to rack up a few political points. “Well, then I suppose I now have two reasons to go visit him.”
“Are you going to join them in the council meeting they’re having now?” Miller asked.
“Yeah, I am. Ling, let’s go,” he said, hopping back on the Krunklerump with her.
“Do you want me to join?” Miller asked.
“No, you . . .” Lee looked over at the statue and then back to the man who had withheld vital information that Lee could have used in the fight against Devin, information that could have obviated the need for Amber’s self-sacrifice. “You just keep her safe until I get back. After what you did, I think that’s the least you can do.”
“As you wish,” Miller said as he turned back to the crew. “And, you lot, we won’t waste the Herald’s time! Let’s train! Let’s train with our weapons while we wait for a chance to administer more justice in the name of the great Augustus!”
Still not even a single apology. Lee sighed as he grabbed the reins and set the Krunklerump in the direction of the city’s largest bureaucratic center. It was one of the few buildings in the dead center of town, and while Lee had only seen it once, he would never forget its stunning architecture. It was magnificent. Unlike most of the other buildings in Kirshtein, which all had hard corners and square foundations, this one was circular, stacked floor upon floor like the layers of a wedding cake. Each sequential level was a bit smaller than the one it rested on top of until the fifth and final floor. That particular one was entirely open like an incredibly-large gazebo with diverse flora that spread about the entire floor and hung off the edges, cascading down and nearly blocking out all of the windows of the fourth floor. There were hundreds and hundreds of beautiful flowers planted to make up for the building’s complete lack of paint or even simple decorations on its walls in the two-meter-wide walkway that circled each floor. There were six entrances to the building, each connecting to one of the main roads of the town, and Lee was able to reach one of the entrances in no time. As he arrived, he saw two Humans in black and gold armor rush up to him.
“We’ve been awaiting your arrival, sir,” one of them said as the other went to go get a hold of the Krunklerump, leading it by the reins to a watering spot the moment Lee and Ling dismounted. “Follow me.”
The meeting was being held on the fourth floor, and when Lee arrived, it was clear that no one had expected he would actually show up. The whole room went quiet, and a few of the Humans from Connacht’s faction looked amongst each other as they tried to figure out what to do for Lee and Ling in regards to seating. There were sixty-five seats at the monstrously-large table, and each of its thirteen sections was broken up into five seats. For each of the factions, there seemed to be either five filled seats, clearly distinguishable by race, or five large sashes with a matching family crest hung over the empty seats of what Lee suspected were the six absent factions. When Devin had begun seeding his pro-Firbolg bigotry in Kirshtein, one of the Human factions and all the Aes Sidhe and Dwarves had simply left the town.
There were at least two or three other people behind every one of the seated men, whispering back and forth between each other as they strategized, only momentarily pausing when they noticed Lee, before returning to their gossip seconds later.
Lee assumed that, since Connacht was the one who had invited him, he was supposed to have saved Lee a seat, but none of the people on each side of the prince wanted to give up their chairs when Lee walked in. This allowed Lee understand exactly how significant the seats at the table were, given that no one wanted to voluntarily relinquish one.
Just as things were about to get awkward from the silence and seating conundrum, the only woman at the table, a Human flanked on both sides by elderly-looking men, stood up and faced Lee. “Quigley, Riordan, stand up and give your seats to the esteemed representatives from the Church of Augustus. The House of Alastar will be honored to have you two as our guests at this meeting and to have you represent us with your words and actions.”
“That’s uncalled for!” a Firbolg shouted at her as he came up out of his seat. “The fact that you, a woman who has not the parts be the legitimate heir of Alastar, have already broken tradition with your mere presence at the table insist upon scoffing at our values even further by inviting a religious mountebank to sit down with us as if he is a legitimate member of the council? This is absurd!”
“If I or the House of Conchobhair led by Prince Connacht are breaking tradition by asking a religious figure to sit with us at this table”--the woman turned to the Firbolg--“then what of you, Quinlan Tigernach? Did you not break that tradition first by having your church leader, Devin McGuinness, sit next to you?”
“Tigernach?” Lee’s ears perked up. “I see . . . Tigernach, you wouldn’t happen to have a son out protesting, would you?”
“My son is indeed protesting. We, the proud remaining Tigernachs, must fight to restore order, law, and decency in this devolving land of barbarians who have forgotten so quickly how great the city was under our rule and Devin’s leadership,” Quinlan replied as he puffed his chest out.
“Ah, that’s true. You know . . .” Lee started to meander over to the beautiful, dark-haired, pale-skinned twenty-something Human woman’s side of the table, where the two seats being offered to Ling and Lee were situated. He also used his Glass Smithing to begin making a few more throwing daggers, storing each into his inventory as soon as it was made. “I have an interesting story I’d like to share with you all, actually . . . If you don’t mind, that is.”
“What is the point of this? Not only are you interrupting our meeting, but you’re also going to bore us with a bedtime tale?” Quinlan Tigernach grumbled.
“Bore you? Interesting choice in words,” Lee smirked. “No, I’m here to tell you the story of forgiveness. You see, there is this man who thought he was absolutely right, even though everything else told him otherwise. He arrogantly boasted of his bravery, his strength and his righteousness, until one day a wise--and handsome, if I’m allowed to say that--young man came to help him. He told the man that if he didn’t give up on being such a scummy, self-centered person trying to grab power at every chance, nothing good would come of it, and he would eventually lose his life.”
“Are you threatening me?” Tigernach interrupted Lee.
“Not at all. I’m just telling you a story about a man who”--Lee paused, his smirk growing into a full smile as he did his best to show the most mocking face he could muster--“just recently lost his only son. Or at least, I think it was his only son. That is what the Tigernach prince told us, right?” Lee turned to Ling. “I could have sworn he bragged about being the only son.”
“You, you dirty cledor rat!” Tigernach’s face skipped through the shades of red and straight to purple as he slammed his fists on the table.
“Ah, nice choice of words. I actually imagine that those were the exact words your son tried to sputter out as my man ripped his chest open and ate his heart right in front of him. It looked like the greedy little weakling suffered an agonizing and excruciating death. I’m telling you, seeing that look on his--”
“I will kill you!” Tigernach finally lost it. He bolted up out of his chair and rushed around the table at full speed, drawing his sword as he rounded the corner. Just as Lee had hoped he would.
Lee didn’t hesitate at all as he pulled out his purple, glowing, freshly-crafted glass daggers and threw them, one after the other, i
nto Quinlan Tigernach’s chest. No one from the council said anything. They watched on in abject horror as they saw the proud leader of one of Kirshtein’s oldest and most influential houses turn into a pincushion before their eyes. It took only six knives before the death message appeared.
You have killed Prince Quinlan of House Tigernach. Your party has been awarded a diamond-encrusted short sword, a fine gold amulet, 2 rubies, a fine gold brooch, a fine gold ring, a pair of fine silk pants, a fine silk cravat, the deed to Tigernach Manor, the seal of House Tigernach, 3045 gold and 158 Experience. Your share of this is the deed to Tigernach Manor, 1015 gold and 53 Experience.
That’s even less experience than his son. Lee studied the death message before turning to Connacht. “He said he was going to kill me, had his sword out and came right at me. That counts as self-defense, right?” Lee asked.
“You . . . you aren’t supposed to kill people at this table! Do you understand the gravity of what you’ve done?” Connacht seemed shocked, horrified, upset and confused all at once, and his face kept twisting from one expression to the next.
Lee shot Connacht a scornful look before finishing his walk toward the open seats over at House Alastar. “I understand that you were supposed to take care of my people, and if they hadn’t been self-sufficient, they might be dead alongside the statue of an angel I made at the park.”
When he finally reached the woman who had generously accepted him before his supposed host had even acknowledged him, she bowed, holding her head down as she spoke. “I know it was just your intention to clear away threats, but you have no idea how grateful I am to you for the ‘self-defense’ you have just performed. My house, my people, my soul is in your debt. That hateful monster is responsible for my father’s death, and I can never repay you for this kindness.”
“Umm . . .” Lee was somehow uncomfortable as he looked at the woman. He had only wanted to make sure that he took advantage of the opportunity when it presented itself, so that he could legally, through an act of self-defense, remove the last leg of the group that he knew would be trying to kill him at any given opportunity in the future. “Please don’t give me credit for this. I was just--”
“No, you weren’t just doing anything. You did for our country what no resident had the guts to do, and you freed us from oppression while bringing us the word of the great god of all liquor and crafting, Augustus. You, Your Holiness, deserve no small amount of praise. Even I would not have the courage to step into this council chamber had you not saved our city from that monster named Devin and avenged my father and the great many others that lost their lives to him as well.”
“Please . . . stop.” Lee cringed. The more she spoke, the more uncomfortable and uneasy he felt. House Alastar is Dave’s old faction, right? Lee thought as he looked at the back of the bowing woman’s head. “I really deserve none of this, and if you would, please don’t mention it. Just do right by your people, and let’s continue on with the first order of business.”
“I think the first order of business should be to jail that murderer!” one of Tigernach’s men said, raising a hand and pointing at Lee. “He killed in cold blood, and you all are witnesses.”
“Actually,” one of the Leprechaun faction leaders interjected, shaking his head, “we saw old Tigernach make a clear threat of violence, draw a weapon and rush to attack. It was an honest kill in self-defense. Nothing’s to be done about it.”
“Sadly, even I must agree,” the other Leprechaun faction leader admitted, reasserting the first one’s conclusion.
Connacht and the Firbolg factions stayed oddly quiet as they all watched Lee. It wasn’t exactly a tacit admission that Lee’s actions had been self-defense, but it wasn’t a condemnation of the killing being murder either, and it left the four remaining members of the Tigernach faction squirming in their chairs. They had lost their leader and their leader’s only son, if Lee was to be believed, and they had no one to fill the empty seat of power as the house representative. With that thought, they leaned back and went quiet.
“Well, then. What was that first order of business?” Lee asked as he sat down between Ling and the woman of Alastar. “I believe it was about the city establishing an official state religion if I’m not mistaken?”
Connacht’s eyes shot wide open, but this time, it was from shock, not anger. “Yes, I think that’s a great idea. I’m in favor of it,” Connacht said. “A good religion will bind all people of all races and factions under the same banner for a unified cause and is a wonderful idea.”
“The people true to the House of Alastar all worship Augustus. We are for a unified religion only if it is that of Augustus,” the woman said proudly, looking over to Lee as if she were bragging.
“This is preposterous. How can we, the people of House Faelgusa, trust a church run by cledors?” asked the Leprechaun who had first jumped to Lee’s defense when he was accused of murder.
“This wasn’t even a subject we were discussing,” the other Leprechaun, leader of House Calbrainn responded.
“I’m interested to know more about this Miller character,” one of the previously silent Firbolg faction leaders asked. “I am told your church’s paladin order is run by one of our kind.”
“One of your kind?” Lee blinked at him. “You mean a Firbolg, not a member of your faction, right?”
“Yes, one of our kind. The strong and powerful kind,” the Firbolg answered, a little disgust leaking into his voice. “I’m told that you chose him, for his power, to run your order of paladins.”
“I think you’re mistaken,” Lee stated plainly. “I didn’t choose him for my order because he was strong. He chose to follow me, and he was the first to do so. That’s why he is the first of my Paladins and the leader of my order.” And he needed my help with the Cattywampus Catch quest since he apparently couldn’t rescue a single cat without my help. He’d make a terrible fireman or comic book superhero.
“I’m sure that’s the reason and that it had nothing to do with his superior strength and power granted him by his Firbolg blood,” the man chuckled back at Lee.
“If Firbolgs are superior, then how come I’ve killed so many of them with such ease?” Lee asked. “I mean, didn’t I just kill a noble one moments ago? Or what about the score that lay dead at my feet when she”--he motioned to Ling--“and I fought the best of the best the Tigernach house had to offer? I think you’re mistaking power, intelligence, or mere usefulness as traits people are born with and didn’t earn. I promise you, here and now, that your people will always have a place in my church if they are both useful and loyal. The more they prove their worth, the higher that place will be.” Lee primarily said this to assuage the worried-looking Leprechaun’s concerns, though it was spoken to the Firbolg. The Leprechauns might not have been treated as badly as Humans were under Devin’s dogma, but they were probably tired of hearing about how great Firbolgs were too.
“If your religion is to be the state religion, then are you going to allow us to moderate it as a state religion should be?” the other Leprechaun asked.
“Good question,” Lee said, nodding as if he were taking it into consideration very seriously. “No, I will not.”
“Then I don’t see how we can accept you,” the man replied.
“Ah, that’s a good point. I’ll tell you what’s going to happen. First, I’m going to build a church right at my new residence, Tigernach Manor, after I finish clearing away the unwanted scum.” Lee produced the deed from his inventory for them to see as proof of his claim. “Then, I’m going to send my people throughout the town and have them convert every single citizen. It might be hard, but I have a few plans. After that, what I’m going to do is take note of the houses that helped me get there and the ones that didn’t, and I’m going to tell my followers to stop doing business with anyone who is a member of the houses that opposed me. I’m going to use every bit of my power and influence to destroy your wealth, your family and your home without ever having to use violence. Alth
ough, if you want to commit suicide by attacking me, I’ll be happy to help you on your journey to see the rotten afterlife that awaits those who don’t believe in Augustus.”
“Oh,” Lee continued, looking over at the four remaining people from Tigernach. “I forgot to tell you: if any of you all are living in Tigernach Manor, you may want to go house hunting soon. I’m sure with all of the guards I killed during my last trip here, you’ll be able to find an empty house to stay in, so it shouldn’t be too hard.”
“That’s outrageous!” the four men all exclaimed almost in unison. The attendants behind them all began squabbling loudly.
“You can’t do that! We have rights! That is our home!” one of them protested.
“No.” Lee perused the deed quite obviously. “It says it’s my home now. Well, no, I could be wrong. How about you show me your deed, and we’ll compare them to see which one is real.”
“That’s . . .” another began, looking like he was about to have a heart attack. “That’s not right! We’ve lived there for fourteen generations! How dare you!”
“How dare I what? Tell you to move? Does that seem unjust to you? What about the people you falsely imprisoned and left to die or killed directly on the sands of the colosseum without even giving a trial? You know, kind of the same way you tried to kill me?” Lee smiled at them. “I think this is just a minor inconvenience, but if you’d like, I’m sure I can find a way to show you how wonderful a dirt bed can be. I’m telling you: it was the best sleep I’ve had in ages, so feel free to take me up on the offer if you have a problem with leaving the manor in the timely fashion I’ve politely suggested.”
“I think that House Bec will recognize the Church of Augustus,” the Firbolg who had asked about Miller said, ignoring flabbergasted expressions on the faces of the men who had just lost their home. “We are proud of the accomplishments of one of our kind within the religion, and we hope that both he and the church will experience continued prosperity.”