Authors quick note:

Spoiler :

This is basically the rest of what I originally intended to be with Chapter 16.  I was waiting to ask one of my usual proof readers to check it over before posting, but I have checked twice and I am pretty sure I didn't miss anything.

Please let me know if I did miss anything <3

Chapter 17: Schemes

Reaching the Puddy Muddle without any further incidents had been a relief, but seeing the men lined up and down the street put Tobi on edge. The same thing had happened when he first found the inn with Selene but it had seemed different at the time. As an unknowing tourist the people were just eyes in doorways with a slightly ominous feel. Now he was under the belief they worked for Bubele, their presence was a little more intimidating.

Of course that was also because he now knew Bubele was someone to be respected if not feared.

Frowning at Tobi with disapproval, Bubele tossed his backpack toward him, “That is yours, I believe.”

Nodding and passing back her key, Tobi wondered what he’d done to gain her disapproval. It could have been many things though and not least of which was leaving Selene behind to get captured by Scrim.

He expected the real reason was that he’d attracted unwanted attention to her home but it could also be because he was working with Darien.

“Is there somewhere we can talk?” Darien asked, ignoring the mood entirely.

“You may as well come inside. That Talin will attract unwanted attention out here.”

As if he hasn’t already… Tobi murmured to himself as he followed Darien’s lead.

Watching Darien hesitate before walking across the threshold into the living room, Tobi hesitated too. As he didn’t know what the problem was, he followed Darien inside and felt nothing. The Talin however refused to squeeze through the doorway into the room beyond.

“Stay out there then, just don’t break anything.” Bubele replied and took a seat. It was only then that Tobi took in a view of the room.

There was nothing of great value but everything had its own appeal. The sofas and chairs were plush and looked comfortable whilst the room was decorated in a typical Grandmother fashion. Pictures lined the walls of friends and family and there was a small earn with the picture of a cat above the fireplace.

He was still taking a good look at the room when Bubele coughed lightly to get his attention. To his surprise, the entire room was looking at him.

“Er, sorry.” he mumbled quickly as he took a seat.

“I don’t really mind.” Bubele replied kindly, “People consider it rude to judge a persons home in front of their eyes, but I think it is less rude than doing so behind their back. I can’t seem to get a full impression of you, Tobi. Why have you chosen to work for this idiot when Scrim has your...partner.”

Ignoring the urge to look to Darien before he replied, Tobi sighed and considered his answer. He’d felt as though he was walking from junction to junction and had to constantly choose which path he wanted to walk. Every path looked like a bad choice and he didn’t want to walk any of them—but some paths were definitely worse than others.

“Darien was clever with his words, that’s why I chose to work with him. He listed some of the bad points of his enemies without listing any of his own. He was honest in the fact that he isn’t a good person but he made me feel as though he is at least trustworthy.”

“How can a crook be trustworthy?” A voice in the background asked.

Looking up to the man stood by a door Tobi assumed led into the kitchen, Tobi smiled and shrugged, “Where I am from there is a legend about a man named Robin Hood. He was a thief, a bandit, a rogue, a vagabond and happily admitted all of those things to anyone who asked. Despite that, he was loved by the people and they all gave him help and sanctuary.

A man may be a thief, a killer, a murderer or a million other things, but that doesn’t mean he is dishonest or untrustworthy. Darien may not be Robin Hood, but I believe he will stick to the deals he makes. Of the many things he may be, I trust that he isn’t the type to betray his men, allies or business associates.”

Bubele nodded, “Of his many faults, I admit that I favor Darien the most and I already know why he is here. He wants my help in rescuing your partner. What I want to know is what deal he has offered you.”

“I have a feeling you already know what the deal is. What are you really asking? Why I accepted?”

Bubele masked her expression and said nothing.

Opening his mouth to answer, Tobi instantly stopped himself as alarms went off in his head. He’d been about to tell her honestly that Selene was his number one priority in this world. His debt to the Talin was growing and he came second. He realized however that they were all things that should be kept secret.

Wondering how many times he’d told potential enemies things they could use against him in the future, Tobi closed his mouth and rethought his words.

Glancing at Darien and wondering what information he’d let slip to Darien in those letters and in the words he’d spoken, Tobi reprimanded himself and looked back to Bubele.

“He informed me that four people are competing for the hand of the Princess. The winner of the upcoming games will eventually become this country’s King. Whilst I would normally support the honest Noble, I have come to realize the mistake in that.

Honest men have no place in power. There are things people shouldn’t know and things they should. An honest man will reveal things he shouldn’t to both his people and his enemies; that will make the country weak. He will make mistakes that the country may not recover from.

I know nothing of the other Nobles really, but I do know they have sought the support of men like Darien. If that is anything to go by, then the best choice of men to support is the one that gained the help of Darien.”

“I agree,” Bubele replied with a satisfied nod, “The other two Nobles are as bad as the men they are supported by. The one Darien is supporting will at least do a good job in his position...I just don’t much like the deal Darien is getting from it. Nonetheless, he is the best man for the job out of the choices we have. I will help with Selene’s rescue, but what happens if that rescue fails?”

Looking Bubele in the eyes, Tobi wanted to issue a threat that would make even god tremble. Unfortunately, he had nothing to back up his words or threats and he couldn’t think of any threat worth issuing.

Eventually, he answered the only way he could; “Some things can’t be known until they happen. Let’s hope we don’t find out—for all our sakes.”

---

Listening to Bubele and Darien with their plans and discussion, Tobi started to see a glimpse of why Bubele was feared. The start of it all began with her social network. In terms of a title, Tobi would call her an Information Trafficker. She knew close to everything about everyone and her information network included both Anderon and Lybernia.

As the talks continued, Tobi’s mind shifted gears and he started to think of things in terms of chess. Bubele had found out where Selene was being kept but she also knew how well she was being treated. Scrim was giving her the deluxe treatment and trying to win her to his side. He was hoping to get Selene to back him up and convince Tobi to do the same. He was already operating under the assumption that Darien or Kleetz had gotten to Tobi first and planned to use Selene to make Tobi betray them.

To rescue Selene, it was Darien’s opinion that they had to draw as many of Scrim’s men away as possible—but to do that, they needed a worthy bait. That was when Tobi’s thoughts shifted to chess.

If you wanted to capture your enemies pieces, you would often have to risk losing some of your own. If Darien’s Noble was the King, then Darien was the Queen and Tobi was a Bishop. He hadn’t yet worked out how Bubele figured into it, she was like another set of pieces that didn’t belong on the board.

The plans continued back and forth until Tobi finally understood enough factors to join the conversation. Bubele definitely had the ability to get rumors spread across the city with extreme efficiency and Darien definitely had confidence in controlling his own territory. The only piece they weren’t talking about was Tobi. In his mind, that was their mistake. You sometimes had to dangle your Bishop in order to take something as useless as a pawn.

“I’ll be the bait.” Tobi called out to nobody in particular.

Ignoring the surprised gasps and Dariens objections, Tobi turned to Bubele and asked how fast she could get information to spread across the city.

“Depends on what it is, but I could have most things being whispered from wall to wall within an hour.”

“Good, this is what I want people to be talking about:

First spread a rumor as fast as possible: Tobi the Prophet has come to Chadú. To back up the rumor, have people talk about how I am here to learn about the Great God Chadú and all people of Lybernia.

A second rumor needs to be spread as soon as people are talking about it. That one will say that a beast from the North arrived at the city, a Talin. A green monster with horns. The Talin was sent by his Gods to find and teach Tobi about them. Even if the Gods are not human Gods, Tobi the Prophet represents them all and even learns about the Gods of Elves, Dwarves, Talin, Orcs and other races.

Other information is that Tobi is exploring the city with a Talin and the White Priestess. They are looking for someone to teach Tobi about the God, Chadú. They plan on visiting the great Sanctuary later today to find another companion. Whilst Tobi tours the world learning about other Gods, he needs someone to represent Chadú on his behalf. Whoever joins him must be someone who knows a great deal about Chadú.”

Looking confused, Bubele asked what he hoped to achieve.

“I want to walk the city with the Talin by my side and the people to know why. I want them to be excited at seeing the Talin instead of scared. I also want them to recognize me and I want a lot of attention to be directed my way.”

“Why?” Darien asked confused.

“The more people giving me attention, the less likely Kleetz and Scrim will act. Sometimes, the best place to be is exactly where your enemies are looking. With their eyes on me, their attention will no longer be on Selene.”

Smiling, Bubele announced that she liked the idea and agreed to get working on it. Darien started throwing out objection but it was too late, Bubele was already on the move and giving instructions to her little birds. Tobi wasn’t surprised in the least to see that her ‘little birds’ were kids off the street. Nor was he surprised to see her give them a few copper for their help.

“What if Kleetz or Scrim send an assassin instead of just watching you?” Darien asked turning his back on Bubele, “Just because—”

“—Stop worrying.” Tobi replied cutting him off, “They obviously know most of the rumors are lies or wrong. They will know that the Talin is the one Kleetz was holding prisoner. They will know a lot of what is being said is wrong. That’s why it is going to work though. I am going to be doing everything the people are talking about. The only thing missing is the White Priestess. She is supposed to be touring the city with me; but how can she be when she is with Scrim?

Scrim will check that he has her and then seek me out to confirm I don’t have her with me. No matter how much he knows I am not with her, he will need to know what woman is by my side and come to see for himself.

With nothing adding up, they will try to figure out what I am really up to and come to find out. Whilst they are doing that, I really will be looking for someone to teach me about Chadú, I will visit the Sanctuary and the Shamans, I will talk to the people and learn of Lybernia. I will be doing exactly what the people are saying and it will make no sense to either Scrim or Kleetz.”

Frowning, Darien asked why he would bother doing all of that and what he planned to do if a man came forward to represent the God, Chadú.

“Take him, obviously.” Tobi replied with a laugh, “I really did plan to do such things in Chadú. Selene is my representative for all 12 Gods of Anderon. I need her back no matter what, the Gods will definitely be annoyed if anything happens to her.”

Surprised, Darien asked if the Gods really existed. As far as he was concerned, the Gods were fictional. Historical books claimed they existed once, but they hadn’t been seen nor heard from since the war 500 years ago. The only proof they were still around was the gods window.

Asking where Darien thought Gods window came from if the Gods weren’t around any longer, Darien shrugged. He wasn’t convinced the Gods made the windows at all and if it was a God, then it was probably Selest—afterall, didn’t she create the Gods in the first place?

Caught out by the fact even Aevitas had atheists...or at least a variation of atheists, Tobi wondered how many people there were in the world that shared Darien’s views. It might be why the Gods were willing to have Tobi represent them all. He didn’t know what the Gods were himself and even he hadn’t met one, but he did believe they existed—they had witnessed him talking to Selest according to his notification window so they must be there somewhere.

Maybe they just wanted everyone to know they are still around. Tobi mused, lost in his own thoughts.

“Done.” Bubele called as she came back into the living area, “The news of you being in Chadú will be all over town shortly. Soon after that they will know you are with a Talin and the White Priestess. Shortly after that, news will spread of you looking for someone to represent Chadú. When do you plan on actually walking the streets?”

“As soon as the whole city knows I am walking around with a Talin, I want to get dropped off somewhere near the center of Dariens territory. It will be his job to keep me safe and capture Scrims men, so we need to be where he can use his full strength.”

Bubele nodded and looked to Darien.

Happy with the fact that Tobi at least planned to stay inside his territory, Darien sent one of his own men with a message for his own people.

With nothing left to do but wait, Bubele surprised them all by asking if they were hungry.

---

Riding a Schooner Wagon toward the center of Darien’s territory, Tobi explained everything that was said at the Puddy Muddle and asked the Talin what he thought.

“We have no Gods left. Our God was killed by a Basilisk.”

“Basilisks?” Tobi asked, surprised by the sudden statement, Tobi wondered what made him say it. He’d only asked his opinion about being bait so Darien and Bubele could rescue Selene.

Ah, I said I wanted to learn about his Gods...but that’s not what I asked him. I haven’t heard of anyone mention Basilisks before either, I wonder what kind of Basilisks they are; Hydra’s?

“The story of our God is a legend passed down through generations. Some say it is just a story to explain the cursed ones; some say it was created by a cursed one so they have a place with our people. Either way, the story tells of a Talin that walked with the Gods and was killed by a Basilisk.

Very rarely, our people have a child that is born deformed with purple skin and tiny horns. A normal Talin does not get horns until their adolescent years, but the cursed children have horns from birth and they will never grow. Of all the Talin, they are the only ones that are able to use magic. They are also the only ones that are weak to magic and have little to no physical powers. They will not find a mate for their entire lives.

It is said that when we had a God, he was a lover of nature and animals. During that time, we lived peacefully and did not eat meat. We cared for the land and animals much the same as the Elves. All Talin were Turok and pure-blooded. Big, strong, proud and kind...with a mate for each of us. It is said to be paradise.

Why our God left our lands is not told, but it is said that he went East to see the Malanquit. The Malanquit are mortal beasts, but they are very intelligent and they are worshiped by Basilisks as though they were Gods. There are many guesses why our God visited them but we do not know for certain. Different tribes have different answers.

We also do not know if it was whilst our God was on the way there, whilst he was there or if it happen on his way back—but we do know he was bitten by a Basilisk.

They, like us, have three different breeds and the colors are similar. Red with yellow spots on their skin, Green with brown spots and Brown with purple spots. We do not know if there is any difference among the breeds, but they are 2 meters tall, 6 meters long and have six legs. Their middle two legs are mostly used as arms to hold items close to their chest.

Mostly, they live under the desert sand with just their eyes and nostrils poking above ground but not always. The mysteries around them are many. There is one truth about them that every Talin knows—there poison is the most powerful in the world. It has the ability to kill anything; even a God.

Our God was bitten, but he did not die. Not straight away. He became strange, distant, cruel and vengeful. He rallied our people and made changes to us. They say that we were all changed to either a Scout or Warrior and no Turok remained. He also made ten cursed ones so that we had the benefit of magic. We were tasked with killing all Basilisks in the desert between our borders and the Malanquit territory.

The battles went well at first and our God helped us...but he was weakening by the day and our good fortune did not last. When he finally died, we realized how much he was helping us as we lost battle after battle. Despite that, we continued our mission for several decades. When the last of our cursed ones died to a Basilisk bite, we gave up our mission.

Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

For several generations, no more cursed ones were born—but nor were the Turok. At last a Turok was born and praised as one of the pure blooded. He became the chief of a tribe and was taught everything we knew. That is when the Orcs came and attacked us. The Turok led us to great victory and we renamed in Verzlak.

That did not end well. The power went to his head and he created new laws for us. By then we were a warring people and craved battle. We had lived so long in the desert eating meat, that we no longer enjoyed the taste of vegetables and plants. Our people had changed.

When the next Turok was born, he was raised as heir to the tribe; but as he was not born of Verzlak’s loins, Verzlak was displeased. He killed his mate for having weak blood and found another. He did not want to kill his second mate however so changed our laws again to allow himself a second and third mate. The young Turok was displeased with this but did not have the strength to do anything about it.

When one of the cursed ones was born, the Turok Verzlak cast him out. The young Turok however sought after him and befriended him. With the cursed one hidden in the shadows, he used a magic to weaken Verzlak and make the younger Turok stronger. The young Turok then killed Verzlak and took the tribe as his own. He made a place for every cursed one and our people changed once more.

Many things have changed and happened since those times, but some things are the same. Our God is dead, Turok are rarely born and the Cursed ones who are even more rare have a place in whatever tribe they are born in.”

Listening to the Talins tale of history, Tobi’s head filled with questions. He wanted to begin asking them all straight away and tried to think of which one to ask first. At that moment however, the carriage stopped and Cole’s head appeared through the heavy cloth at the schooner’s back gate.

“Now is a good time, the street is relatively empty but there is a lot of excitement around here about you and the Talin. It looks like your plan is working. Everybody wants to see you and the famous Talin. I think the Talin might be more famous than you are right now.”

Giving a fake smile and a small nod, Tobi moved to the back of the wagon and climbed down. Just as Cole had said, the street was pretty empty and nobody was paying attention. The Talin on the other hand was making a job of getting off the wagon. His arrow wound was still bothering him.

Secretly glad of the fact he healed with the fortunate grace granted only to Travellers, Tobi turned his head away and avoided watching the wounded Talin struggle.

Hearing a grunt as the Talin landed heavily on the ground, Tobi winced a little and asked Cole if he had managed to get the map of the city he asked for when they left Bubele’s house.

“No map, but we have posted men around the territory. You will recognize them by how they are dressed and stood. When you approach the edge of the territory, a man in a yellow top will start arguing with a man in a red hat ahead of you. The argument will be split up by a man in leather armor. When you see that, turn around and choose a different path.”

Nodding to show he understood, Tobi guessed that Darien had issued those orders as soon as he asked for a map. Darien obviously didn’t want Tobi to know exactly how big or small his territory was. Whatever other reasons Darien might have had to keep it a secret from Tobi was anyone’s guess.

If it’s going to be like that, I will just walk around until I have mapped his territory based on his men. Tobi mused to himself. He doubted he actually could, but it would pass the time as he wandered around and waited for news on Selene. Darien had warned him that he might be exploring the city for three days or so before Selene was rescued, but Tobi was keeping up hope that it would happen today.

“Oh, I almost forgot. Bubele thinks that Scrim or Kleetz will try to get one of their men to pose as a man to be your representative to Chadú. Maybe even get an actual man of Chadú to approach you. If this happens, you will hear a piercing whistle.”

“So if I don’t hear a whistle, the man is safe?”

Cole shook his head, “If you don’t hear a whistle, he might be safe. Either that or we just don’t know he is working for Scrim or Kleetz.”

“Does Darien not have men of Chadú to come with me?”

Cole laughed and admitted that he does. He also explained that Darien’s men had ties within the city so would not want to travel the world. They do not wish to leave the city where they get nice favors from Darien and live a life of luxury in one of the religious houses.

Religion in Lybernia was already bugging Tobi as the multiple ways to describe a religious person was constantly dodged. Unlike England, he couldn’t just call them men of the cloth. The God Chadú had three different faiths and several sub-faiths. The three main ones were Sons of Chadú, Daughters of Chadú and Sanctums. The Sanctums worshipped Chadú inside a church-like building they called a Sanctuary and were considered the real faith by many—but the other two were almost equally popular and had directly opposite beliefs to each other.

The daughters of Chadú believed that Chadú viewed all people as equals; whether male, female, native or foreigner. The Sons of Chadú were followers that believed only ‘true’ Lybernians could worship him. Slaves and the like were not allowed. Even a slightly too light skin tone proved you were not true Lybernian and they forbade you from worship.

Of the three, even Tobi thought that it was likely the Sanctums was the real faith—if Chadú did indeed have one true faith. He didn’t know much about it, but they seemed to view him as a God that let the people live their lives almost entirely free from his rule. The few rules he did set down (according to their faith) were the same rules applied in Lybernian law—including several laws regarding slaves and slavery.

“I suggest heading that way first…” Cole offered as Tobi seemed to be just stood still in his own little world. “There is a Sanctum and a Temple of Daughters up that way. You might get lucky and find someone quickly.”

Nodding without thought, Tobi glanced at the Talin and made his way down the recommended street. Even if he didn’t find someone to accompany him as Chadú’s representative, he may at least find someone to heal the Talin’s wound.

---

Hearing a scream as they turned on to a busy road, Tobi thought that his plan of having the Talin able to walk the streets had failed miserably. What he hadn’t guessed was that the scream had been one of excitement.

No sooner had he seen the woman that screamed did a mob of excited people rush forward. Each of them fired questions at Tobi and several reached hands toward the Talin without actually daring to touch him.

Overwhelmed by the mob of people greeting and welcoming him, Tobi looked to the Talin for help. Seeing an equally overwhelmed and confused Talin backing up from a mob of people, Tobi couldn’t help but laugh a little and started to enjoy the attention.

“Have you found a man of Chadú yet?”

“You should go to the Sanctuary.”

“No, go tell the Sons of Chadú that Chadú accepts all Lybernians.”

“Go tell the Daughters of Chadú that—”

As the onslaught of words merged together, Tobi lost the ability to understand anything they were saying. Raising his hands with a smile and waiting for quiet didn’t work either. Instead he found himself suddenly being hugged by two women. Both of whom instantly started fighting with each other and demanding the other woman let go.

Struggling to fight off both women and thankful Selene wasn’t there to witness it—whilst simultaneously wishing she was there so she could have prevented it; a loud roar cut across the crowd and silenced them all.

“Thanks.” Tobi whispered to the Talin in Elven.

After giving Tobi a small nod, he instantly pushed the crowd back a little and created a little space.

“I don’t mind talking with you all and learning about this wonderful city or your people,” Tobi explained, “but I can’t hear if everyone talks at once. I also need to go about some of my own business too, so please don’t crowd too much.”

As murmurs came from the crowd and many of them disappointed, unnerved or angry, Tobi tried to appease them a little by offering a nearby man to speak first. He’d chosen a man on purpose due to the Lybernian social heriarchy and even made sure it was a man of the darkest skin he could see; but he at least tried to make his choice appear to be random.

“I want to know which followers of Chadú you seek to take with you around the world.” The deep voiced man replied. A chorus of agreement came from various parts of the crowd.

“I will speak with any and all that approach me, but it may not be I that chooses. The Gods of Anderon chose the White Priestess to accompany me. Perhaps Chadú will appoint someone to me also.”

“Why not take one from each of the faiths?” A woman called from the crowd. As a second shouting match began, Tobi raised his hands in the same manner as earlier and managed to quieten them down.

“If it is what Chadú wants, it is what I will do. I am under the belief however that Chadú wishes for me to have a single representative. If a single person can represent all 12 Gods of Anderon, wouldn’t it be shameful if a single Lybernian could not represent a single God? Even one as great as Chadú?”

Tobi knew that he was already on a dangerous road of lies but he really didn’t want to end up with 9 Lybernians following him around the world. Not only did he not know what Chadú wanted, he’d taken Selene with him without any instruction from the Gods at all.

With the crowd murmuring agreements that they are not unequal to Anderonians and that only one representative was needed, a second argument about which faith would take up the job started. Instead of silencing them again, Tobi waited for their arguments to die down.

“Has Chadú spoken to you?” A boy asked in a quiet voice that seemed to reach the entire crowd somehow. As every voice went silent and waited for Tobi’s answer, he in turn wondered if Chadú was listening to his lies.

“So far, my instructions have been through the Gods Windows. I do not know who is sending the instructions, but I do know that on at least one occasion I did not do what Chadú wanted.”

Questions about what he’d done to upset Chadú were repeated throughout the crowd.

Smiling gently and looking at as many people as he could in turn, Tobi tried to recall what he’d done exactly that annoyed them. All he could remember was that the Gods had thought he favored the twelve over them.

“It was shortly after the White Priestess became my companion as my representative for the 12 Gods of Anderon. The other Gods of this world were not happy with me as I was giving too much favor to the 12. I decided after that to head straight to Chadú and begin learning what I needed to know of the other Gods.”

“So you chose to seek out the Great Chadú before any of the others?” A voice called proudly over the crowd.

Trying to see who it was, Tobi sighed and eventually sighed and shook his head. “I do not favor any God over the others. I chose Chadú next because he was closest. If I were to favor any of the Gods, I would upset the others. That is why I must have representatives for each God. Do you not also think it is unfair that I have one that represents the 12 and yet do not have one to teach me of Chadú?”

A chorus of agreement went through the crowd. Taking it as an opportunity to get closer to the Sanctum, Tobi moved in that general direction and asked if anybody else had questions.

The crowd seemed content in mostly following him to the Sanctum but questions did come: most of them about the Talin and what his name was. Tobi told them to ask him themselves, but also warned that he only spoke Elven and Talin.

“Do you speak all languages then?” A man asked from behind.

Looking over his shoulder, Tobi smiled and answered with no, “The Gods did not see fit to grant me free knowledge. If they did, they could have just taught me of themselves using that method. I am learning languages based on which people I am likely to visit or meet next.”

Every answer spawned another question and it wasn’t long until they found out he was currently learning Malanquit. At mention of the race, the entire crowd became worried. Several even mentioned that no Lybernian would follow him if he planned to visit them.

He’d been about to ask for more information about the Malanquit when he finally arrived at the gate to the Sanctuary.

Greeted by a man in the fanciest silk robes he’d ever seen, Tobi gave a curt nod and thanked him for the welcome. No sooner was the welcome over when a an ear-splitting whistle cut through the air.

“The pleasure is mine,” The man replied, “my name is Bolanle and I am curious as to your purpose here. I heard that you seek one of Chadú’s worshippers to represent him on your behalf. I don’t quite get it. Why would you need someone to follow Chadú on your behalf...why can you not follow him yourself?”

Smiling and nodding as he kept up pleasantries, Tobi waved down the agreement of the crowd back to silence.

“I do not follow any of the Gods. I have come to realize that many do not actually know what the Gods expect of me, but I thought most knew that I follow Selest.”

“So it is true that you are the one that named the Mother of the Gods. When Cahdú’s window informed us that Selest had been given her name by a chosen one, we had thought that he had been the one to choose such a fortunate person. I admit, we were a little jealous of such a person. When we heard it was an Anderon, we had wondered if it was not the twelve that chose you and doubted if you would pay any respect to Chadú at all.”

Snorting a little and taking a dislike to Bolanle, Tobi took a deep breath and schooled his face.

“I was not chosen by any of the Gods. I was acknowledged by Selest herself. I had never worshipped any of the Gods in my life nor even stepped into a holy building. Perhaps that is why the Gods were surprised, but all of them witnessed what happened—not just the twelve. When I seemed to show favor to the 12 during my travels, the other Gods were quick to let me know.

Now, if you will excuse me, I would like to speak to others from the Sanctuary and see if any are able to teach my of Chadú and represent him on my behalf.”

“I am a devout follower of Chadú and highly stationed in this Sanctuary. How about me?”

“How about no?” Tobi replied bluntly, “Even if I ignore your arrogance and typically displeasing nature; I cannot ignore the fact that you are tainted by greed and evil. You line your pockets with the gold of criminals and give your sanctuary a bad smell. I think I can do better than you for company.”

Enraged and wide-eyed, the man looked ready to dive at Tobi and throttle him. Only the ready-to-intercept Talin seemed to dissuade him from the task. Tobi on the other hand had hoped he would. He didn’t know how strong the man was but Tobi was more than willing to find out.

“How dare you.” Balanle hissed through gritted teeth, “What right or proof do you have of—”

“—Chadú’s window told me.” Tobi interrupted, lying through his teeth. “He said that you are in the employment of criminals and are not worthy of being his representative.”

Ashen faced, Balanle took a step backward and glanced at the crowd, “Lies.”

Shrugging, Tobi walked past the man and pretending to ignore him completely. A quick glance back shown that the crowd had believed Tobi and Balanle was quickly backing away. It was only a couple more seconds before several of the crowd started chasing Balanle down the road.

Hmm. I may have underestimated religion a little. I didn’t expect fanaticism here.

Wondering if he should be more careful in how he treated religion in Lybernia or if it was the same around the world, Tobi reached the Sanctuary doors and hesitated. If he went inside, there would be nobody to whistle and warn him if he was speaking to a foe or not.

He was still thinking it over when a man brushed by on his way into the church.

“Get inside.” The man whispered in Elven, “Scrim is here with half an army.”

Without missing a step, the man walked inside. By all appearances, it would seem as though the man rudely pushed by, but for Tobi and the Talin, it was news they welcomed.

Resisting the strongest urge he’d ever encountered, Tobi walked into the Sanctuary without looking back. If Scrim was there with half an army, Darien had better be making damn sure he took the chance to rescue Selene.

Walking into the Sanctuary with the Talin close by his side, Tobi took a quick peek backward at the same time as the door slamming shut. Wincing a little at the loud bang, Tobi looked to the three grinning men stood by the door.

Imagining a scene from countless movies where the protagonist walked into a trap the viewers predicted, he turned to the grand hall ahead of him. Standing in almost perfect unison, the entire congregation stood and looked back; each wearing full armour, robes or leather.

Walking down the center aisle in fine clothes was a man Tobi instantly assumed to be Scrim. He’d already met Kleetz and Darien so it was the most obvious choice to make. The thing that really caught Tobi’s attention however was how blue his eyes were in contrast to his dark skin.

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