"Keep going!" Hivande urged as he quickened his pace through the tunnel, which was eerily quiet.  Whatever battle his captain was fighting in the chamber supposedly up ahead, if the nobleman was truthful, was already over.  The officer felt a tingling down his spine; it was a bad omen.  He saw more flickering lights up ahead and an opening into a wide chamber, just as the nobleman had promised.  "We're almost there!" he yelled.  The sound of heavy steps confirmed that his men were keeping up with his fast pace.

Finally, the cavalry broke free of the tunnel—only to find their captain laying on the ground, with a growing pool of blood seeping out of his body; the infamous swordsman, Maisen, was on her knees next to him.  "NO!" the loyal men cried out in anguish at the sight of the woman holding Jiang in her hand.  By tradition, the fallen Captain of the Watch has the right to choose his successor, and the passing of Jiang identifies that chosen successor.  If the named successor isn't nearby, a trusted aide will take custody of Jiang, but forbidden to draw the blade, until the custodian can physically deliver the sword to the newly named Captain.  Thus, the sight of an unsheathed, blood-soaked Jiang in her hand confirmed the passing of their beloved Captain.

Hivande privately shared their pain but the disciplined officer pushed his emotions aside.  A part of his personal pain was due to the fact that Captain Li had declined to name Hivande as the next Captain of the Watch.  There could be several reasons.  Perhaps, the late captain judged Hivande to be deficient in certain areas such as leadership or swordsmanship.  Or perhaps the former captain believed that Hivande was better suited as the Right Hand to the Captain rather than to take the hot seat himself.  Regardless of his wounded pride at being passed over, Hivande had too much respect for the deceased man to ignore Li's decision.  Instead, the officer will respect and honor the former Captain by supporting the new Captain to the best of his abilities.

Hivande slowly walked up to the new Captain of the Watch.  He offered a crisp salute.  "Captain!   What are your orders?" the officer asked.  As he waited for a response, the man took note of the six dead wererats in the chamber.  He wondered how many of them were killed single-handedly by this woman kneeling on the ground before him.  Truth be told, no one currently serving in the Watch could duplicate this marvelous feat and thus, her outstanding fighting prowess partially validated the late captain's decision in Hivande's eye.

It took a moment for Maisen to realize that the officer was addressing her as "captain."  The former member of the Butterfly School of Swordsmanship took a deep breath and then got back to her feet.  She looked Hivande in the eye and nodded in acknowledgment of his acceptance of her position as the new Captain of the Watch.  A reason for her hesitance to accept Peng's request was that the previous captains were all men (and human since the Watch was part of the Church, which disallowed non-humans in its membership and by extension all Watchmen were humans, too).  She wasn't sure how the men would react to having a woman as their leader.

Maisen looked at the gathered men in the chamber and took a quick headcount—there were twenty men squeezed into the chamber.  If her memory was correct, the Watch had only five dozen members in all.  The other two groups had three Watchmen each; her own group had four including the late Peng.  With thirty members underground this meant that more half the force was currently inside this wererat lair.  The Were-Hunt must be completed soon, or else other troublemakers may take advantage of the temporary shortfall in manpower of the Watch.

The new captain took note of the respectful look on the faces of these Watchmen, and she was secretly relieved to see that none had disputed Peng's decision to name her as his successor.  Although they had the right to do so by challenging her to a duel, none had chosen to exercise this right.

Captain Maisen pointed at the left and right opening in the chamber.  "I want a squad of six men going into each of these tunnels.  We still have people exploring each tunnel and they may need reinforcements."

Hivande held up one finger and pointed at the left opening.  He then held up two fingers and pointed at the right opening.

The men quickly sorted themselves into three squads and two of them entered those tunnels.

"The tunnel straight ahead branches off into two.  We encountered the wererats in the right tunnel.  The left side has yet to be explored," the captain continued.  She looked at Hivande's caption and read his name.  "Hivande, you will take the rest of your men to search the left branch.  I will enter the right branch to confirm that the wererats have been cleared out."  She retrieved the scabbard from Peng's belt and sheathed Jiang.

"Pardon, Captain, but I don't think you should go solo," Hivande objected.

"I won't be going alone," Maisen smiled and held up Jiang.  "Peng's spirit is in this gem," she revealed.  "We will finish what we started," her eyes hardened into stone.

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"And what about the body on the ground?" the officer asked.

"We will retrieve it when we exit the lair.  Now let's go!" she ordered.

"Yes, Captain!" the remaining Watchmen saluted in unison and entered the northern tunnel, leaving the newly appointed captain behind.

"You trained them well, Peng," Maisen smiled.  She bowed deeply to the body on the ground and then followed her men into the tunnel.

#

I walked next to Laquirk and reached the Watch Headquarters in less than ten minutes.  The trek took that long because the streets were filled with debris and overturned wares; the wererats ran through the streets and caused pandemonium amongst the town folk.  The town residents had apparently abandoned their goods and I certainly agreed with their decisions to flee for their lives.

I was worried for a moment about Amelica and The Noble Lady.  Since the tavern was so close to my destination, I was tempted to ditch my escort and run back to the tavern to confirm with my own eyes that everything was okay.  However, my escort stayed within reach of my body; I had no doubt that if I tried to run away then Laquirk will forcefully take me back to the headquarters.  Thus, I pushed aside my rather flighty thought of running away; instead, I focused on navigating through the streets and carefully avoided tripping myself on the discarded goods that were strewn all over.

When I finally reached the building, I noticed the extra guards at the entrance.  I started walking toward the double doors in the middle of the building when my escort suddenly grabbed my arm.

"Sir, our quarantine facilities are to the right," Laquirk explained.  Keeping his grip on my right arm, he pulled me along as he walked toward the guards in front of the side door on the right corner of the building.  He offered a crisp salute to the two guards and said, "This man needs to be quarantined."

A guard opened the door and stuck his head inside.  "We got another one," he said.

In a moment, a middle-aged man wearing a red robe with a white cross exited the building and approached me.  He had curly white hair and stood half-a-head shorter than me.  The most interesting feature was his big nose; he remained me of Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer.  The caption above his head revealed his name to be "Manfeuh."  The cleric nodded to Laquirk.  "I will escort this man inside."

My escort saluted and left me behind.

Manfeuh noticed the truth stone on my neck; he started to kneel before me and reached for my right hand, but I quickly stopped him.

"I am just a lowly Initiate of the church.  I was given a mission by Bishop Canterbury to avenge the death of the previous owner of this cross," I explained.  “In fact, I may need to return this stone to the Bishop,” I added.

"Did you succeed?" he inquired politely.

I nodded.

"Praise the Gods of Law and Order!" the cleric proclaimed while lifting his arms and head up in the air.  A moment later, his arms found their way on my shoulder and he looked at me with a big grin.  "Has the Bishop been informed of your success?" he asked.

"Not yet," I shook my head.

"With your permission, I will inform him myself," the cleric offered.

"Please do," I bowed deeply.

"No need to be so formal, Brother," Manfeuh replied.  "I hold the rank of Deacon in our Church.  While my rank is indeed higher than yours, aside from the Bishop the rest of us are equals as servants of the Gods of Law and Order; only a polite nod is necessary when we greet one another.  The Bishop, on the other hand, is greeted with a kiss on his right hand," he lectured.  “I mistakenly thought that you were an overseer sent by the Church because I had never seen you before.  When in doubt, kneel and kiss,” he winked.

"Yes, Deacon," I replied politely.

"When did you formally join our Church?" Deacon Manfeuh asked.  He was keenly aware of my discomfort and tried to change the topic.

"Just this morning," I answered.

The man had a surprised look on his face.  His eyes quickly returned to the truth stone around my neck.  "The Bishop himself gave you the cross?" he asked for a confirmation.  He was astonished that the bishop would leave the sacred cross in the hands of a neophyte!

"Yes," I nodded.

The deacon stood still for a moment, his mind lost in thought.  He offered me a reassuring smile.  "Let me be the first to welcome you into our Brotherhood.  Also, I volunteer to teach you the ways of the Church, if you will accept me as your teacher," he said.

"I will be honored to accept your tutelage," I replied with a deep bow.

Deacon Manfeuh grabbed my shoulders again.  "Please, don't bow so deeply to this lowly servant."  He took note of the bloodstains and rips on my garments.  "Also, I would like you to be examined by our healers.  You will need to be quarantined tonight," he reminded me.  "Now, let's go inside," he requested and stepped through the side door.

I followed him into the building.