When I entered the office, Mayor Wilshire was reading a report. He heard footsteps and placed the report, face down, on the left side of his long, oak desk. His eyes stared at my face for a moment and he was lost in his memories until he remembered where we met. "You were a contestant at the Melee Tournament," he said. It was more of a statement than a question.
Nonetheless, I nodded in affirmation. "Yes, Mayor."
The nobleman gave me a disarming smile to put me at ease. "Please have a seat." Once I took the chair directly across from his seat, out of the three chairs arranged in a semi-circle in front of the desk, Mayor Wilshire eased back into his own chair and began to talk. "There have been a number of rumors surrounding you, Lord Mulligan, and it is my hope that you will answer truthfully to the best of your knowledge. This is not an interrogation and I don't have a truth stone to compel you to answer honestly. That being said, I DO have a number of quests and, depending on your answers, I may or may not assign some of them to you."
I held up my right hand to stop the mayor.
The nobleman's brows shot up from the minor breach in etiquette but graciously remained silent.
I pulled out my Truth Stone of Order and Chaos from under my tunic. Still holding the artifact I said, "I swear to tell the truth upon the Law and the Order." The blood stone with black swirls glowed warmly for a moment as energy poured into my heart; then the stone returned to its inert state. I released the amulet and it rested heavily over my heart. The truth stone was a marvelous magic item; it compelled the target to tell the truth. The penalty for failure to do so was the disintegration of the truth sworn's heart. Thus, it literally became a matter of life or death for the truth sworn.
Mayor Wilshire nodded at my rather audacious action. A small smile crept onto his face despite his best effort to maintain a neutral expression. He expressed his appreciation for my action by offering me a slight nod of his head.
I reciprocated immediately with a deeper nod. The complex dance of nobility required me to honor the mayor back for his courtesy. Since his social status was much higher than mine, I had offered greater courtesy than what I had received.
This time, it was the mayor who held up his hand asking me to stop. "You just answered one of my questions—whether or not a truth stone was in your possession. Now here's another question: Are you a so-called 'Player Character' from another world?"
"Yes, milord," I answered honestly. The Church of Britannia held many secrets and I had some suspicion that certain officials were given important information by the Church, such as the existence of non-native visitors from another world.
"What will you do if you become the next King?" the mayor continued.
"Uh . . . ," my mind drew a blank. "Honestly, I have not given it much thought," I answered.
"Why not?" the nobleman persisted.
I took a deep breath and exhaled. "The path to the crown is a long and arduous one. I refuse to believe that I am destined to become this country's king. I will rely on my own efforts to achieve my goal. And I am ever mindful that failure and death are always nearby." I took a moment to think further and added, "Back in my world, we have this idiom: 'Don't put the cart before the horse.'"
"HAhahahah!" the mayor burst out in laughter and slapped his right thigh several times. His face mask vanished and the nobleman smiled broadly at me. "I like you, Lord Mulligan. I thought you will be an arrogant man. But it turns out that I'm wrong." The man bowed deeply to me.
Before I could respond, the door opened again. An old man dressed in a red robe with a white cross entered the office. The newcomer carried an old, wooden staff and wore a white skullcap on his head; strands of silvery-white hair peeked out from underneath.
When I looked at the caption above the priest's head, his name read as "Cardinal Edenul Wilshire." I immediately rose from my seat and knelt before the cardinal. I kissed the ring on his proffered right hand as Church custom demanded of me.
The mayor did the same after me.
Once proper courtesies were paid to the high ranking Church official, we slowly but patiently guided the old man to the center seat.
"Thank you, young ones," Cardinal Wilshire said approvingly. While his blue eyes were faded by the passage of time, there was still a sharp mind behind them. "Tell me, young brother, why were you bowing to Brother Mulligan?" he asked.
Mayor Wilshire looked down for a moment with embarrassment. "After I questioned Lord Mulligan at length, I discovered his true character and realized that I had judged him wrongly. I was bowing as an apology," he explained as he walked around his desk and sat down.
I took a seat to the Cardinal's left. I furtively placed my truth stone back under my tunic. I did not want the Cardinal to look at my Truth Stone of Order and Chaos too closely because the relic was originally a Truth Stone of Order; its characteristic had improbably changed when Lord Bane dipped the stone into the lava flow in his torture chamber. Yeah, it was a complicated story which I didn't want the Church to learn about.
"To what do I owe this pleasure, Cardinal?" the mayor asked.
The holy man waved his hand dismissively. "When we are alone, you can drop the honorific and simply call me 'brother.'"
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"You two are related?" I asked.
Both men turned to me in unison. "Half-brothers," the mayor replied.
"After my mother died, my father decided to remarry immediately because I had made it known that I planned to become a servant of the Gods when I reached the age of majority," the Cardinal explained.
"His service to the Church meant that my brother had to relinquish his claim to my father's estate and position," the mayor added. "Ever since I was born, I was groomed to become the mayor of Bristol and continue our illustrious heritance as leaders of this fine city."
The holy man rolled his eyes but kept silent.
A moment later, Mayor Wilshire asked, "Why are you here, brother?"
The Cardinal turned his attention to me. "I was informed of your meeting with my young brother and I decided to drop in," he smiled.
"Yeah, your Church has spies everywhere," the mayor snorted.
The older man shot daggers at his brother and then faced me again. "I really wanted to meet you personally. There are rumors within the Church that you have been marked by the gods. Is this true?"
In response, I rolled up both sleeves and then I closed my eyes. I recalled the image of Bane's symbol in my mind and cast "Unveil." The brands, three on my left forearm and two on my right forearm, became visible.
Cardinal Wilshire stared incredulously when he finally recognized the marks of Bane, Musa, Luck, Gaea, and Jasla. "How is it possible for you to carry the divine blessings from the Gods of both Order and Chaos?" Church doctrine taught that the forces of Order and Chaos were opposite and canceled each other out. Yet, here was proof that the old doctrine was WRONG!
"Kekeke."
For some time, I had felt the presence of the god in this room but politely ignored it. However, I took his chuckle as a signal to inform the other two men of his divine presence. I rose from my seat, turned around, and bowed deeply. "Please show yourself, Lord Bane."
Smoke and ash started billowing from the spot where the invisible demi god stood. When the smoke dissipated, Lord Bane appeared in the room. He had two horns protruding from the sides of his head. His skin was covered with dark brown fur. His feet were hooves. He resembled a minotaur aside from the large, bat-like wings on his back. His presence shook the two men.
"Demon!" the mayor hissed and jumped out of his seat. His entire body was shaking and it took tremendous effort to even move. He knew a fight with the fearsome demon will result in his death, but the mayor was honor-bound to defend his brother. His hand reached for his sword at his belt and the fighter was prepared to jump onto his desk.
However, the Cardinal raised his staff to block his brother from attacking. "Stop!" he commanded.
Mayor Wilshire gave his brother an unbelieving stare.
"Sit down!" the older man said. The older man stared until the younger man lost his will to fight.
Finally, the mayor sat down.
Cardinal Wilshire turned his head and nodded to the divine being in the room. "To what do we owe the pleasure of this visit, Lord Bane?" he asked calmly.
"Kekeke." The demi god flapped his wings and grinned widely. He was hoping to have some fun with the mayor but alas, Bane will have to play with the mortal another time.
I felt the demon lord place his hand gently on my right shoulder. His touch was burning hot! This was no surprise considering that his home was in the Plane of Fire. Surprisingly, I did not receive any loss of health from his touch.
"I'm here to affirm to the Church of Britannia our support for Lord Mulligan's candidacy for the crown. The five of us have examined this Player Character's heart and mind and we were impressed enough to grant him a small token of our affections. Of course, the Gamemaster may become bored by Lord Mulligan and bring in other challengers for the crown," the demi god shrugged.
The holy man bowed deeply. "The Church will give your support for Lord Mulligan's candidacy its proper weight."
Lord Bane nodded in satisfaction. "Okay, please carry on." The God opened a portal to the Plane of Fire and stepped through.
The mayor shook his head and then slowly turned to me. "Lord Bane's presence made my body shake with fear. How can you stand up to it?" he asked.
"I just do," I shrugged.
"Lord Mulligan," the Cardinal addressed me to regain my attention, "is it true that you are dropping your profession in swordsmanship?"
"Yes, your Eminence," I replied.
The mayor slammed his fist on the table. "Why?" Wilshire had watched some of my matches and he came away impressed by my instincts as a defensive swordsman.
"I realized that I wasn't talented enough as a swordsman," I answered.
The nobleman's eyes narrowed. "You are good enough to become an officer in our city guard. Right now. Who are you comparing yourself to?"
'My master," I replied.
The mayor whistled. "Master Kalistra is a rare talent. If she wasn't the heir to her family dojo, I would ask her to join our city guard as a commander."
"Brother Mulligan, would you consider becoming a Cleric? Once you attain sufficient levels in your new profession, you could specialize as a Paladin," the Cardinal suggested.
The mayor nodded enthusiastically. "That is a wonderful idea, brother! A paladin is beloved by the common folk in the kingdom. With overwhelming public support for your candidacy, the Church leadership will have no choice but to vote for you to become the Champion of Order."
"You have divine blessings of five gods and goddesses. Other candidates will be hard pressed to match your accomplishments," the priest added.
"With all due respect, milord and your Eminence, I must decline your suggestion. First, I lack the charisma necessary to win the affection of the commoners. Second, my heart is set on the path of secular magic. My goal is to become known as Merlin's rightful successor as both the king and as a mage. I would like to research and discover new magic. If I stuck with divine magic, however, my growth would be limited by the spells that the divinity would grant me," I explained.
"That is true," Cardinal Wilshire admitted grudgingly.
Seeing that his brother had accepted Lord Mulligan's decision, the mayor said, "Okay. I will put off offering you quests until you have officially switched your profession to the mage. When you are ready to accept new quests, please return to my office."
"Yes, milord," I bowed deeply. When I rose from my seat, the priest held out his staff to block my path.
"Are you forgetting something?" the Cardinal asked.
"What, your Eminence?"
The priest pointed at the pouch tied to my waist. "Your tithe."
I quickly untied the pouch containing my reward from the ceremony.
"Your prize was 250 gold coins," the mayor said helpfully.
"Thank you, Mayor," I replied as I counted out 25 gold coins on the table. I made five stacks of five coins and then pushed them on the table until the coins were in front of the Cardinal's seat. As a member of the Church, I was required to tithe ten percent of my income.
"Please remember to visit the Church in the morning," the Cardinal said.
"Yes, your Eminence." I bowed deeply to both men and then left the office.
#
"What do you think of him, brother?" the younger man asked.
The older man chuckled. "Lord Mulligan is even more interesting than Bishop Canterbury had described in his letters." Then the Cardinal's expression turned serious. "Lord Mulligan is a very important pawn for the Church. Lord Bane's visit was a reminder that the Gods are also keeping a close eye on him. Please marshal the city's resources to ensure Lord Mulligan's personal safety during his stay in Bristol. I expect him to leave soon."
"Yes, Brother."