Frederick awoke prematurely in the middle of night and soon found the cause. The window of his chambers had been left wide open, allowing a chilly breeze to invade his quarters.
“Servants.” He called, quite displeased with their derelict of duty, but as he waited, none came.
With a scowl, Frederick rolled his fat body out of the comfort of his bed and closed the window himself. Now more than ever he was awake and beyond a little displeased. He would not return to his peaceful slumber without chastising the valet and maids that should have prevented this situation from arising in the first place, that he vowed.
Frederick exited his chambers into the hall and found neither hide nor hair of anyone at all, even the guards with orders never to leave their posts. More reason to lecture, he thought. He rounded the corner in his night gown and met with the bloodied bodies of dozens of his retinue, powerless maids and capable guards alike.
The count’s mind staggered for a moment, then his attire changed to robes for combat as he stumbled over himself, rushing to the other end. Through the twists and turns of his mansion he ran, flinging open the doors to another room to find his wife and children dead.
His expression froze, but then he ran off again, with something else on his mind. He opened a secret door in a wall and headed deeper in, turning to an unassuming part of the hidden corridor and opening that too with his bound connection. A safe in which he stored the bulk of his contraband valuables and crucial information too dangerous to keep on his person.
He reached out and a dagger stabbed him in the back. As the lethargic energy of death overtook the cloudiness he now recognized on his mind, he wondered fearfully, why he had acted as he had, but only for a moment as his thoughts became no more. A light blue elf pocketed the contents of the safe and the dozen of them fled the silent estate as smoke rose from the windows from the flames soon to consume it all.
---
“Lady Margarete, I presume?” A handsome man nearing middle age greeted Mai.
“Indeed I am.” Mai smiled back with the pleasant grace of a noblewoman not far removed from her debut to high society. “May I know who I have the pleasure of speaking with?”
“Wilhelm von Rauch, Count of Ludbeck. And the pleasure is all mine, my lady.” He cast an eye over the beautiful blonde with subtle desire. “I was wondering if you care to join me for conversation in the lounge.”
“Count Rauch, how wonderful to see you.” Lady Katherine interrupted as she walked by Mai’s side.
“The feeling is quite mutual.” Wilhelm smiled at his host. “I simple must give my praise for this luxurious paradise you have built so quickly, Lady Lorraine. Such a ray of light in these dark times.”
“There will be more rays in short time, I assure you. Now, I do apologize but I must borrow my cousin for a moment.”
“Of course.”
Katherine led Mai away unhurriedly, wrapped arm in arm. “A philanderer to his core… There’s no need to be more than tactful towards him. The might under his control is less than substantial.” Words directly entered Mai’s mind. “There’s someone more important you have to meet.”
She led the Igarashi scion to an old man of average height with a hardened face and neatly trimmed large beard, bearing the legendary class Crusader. “Baron Guiscard.” She greeted with flawless grace and flair.
“Duchess Lorraine.” The man’s own greeting in return was curt and direct, though neither animosity nor deception could be felt from his tone. A firm and honest man by any measure. He glanced silently at Mai.
“My distant cousin, Margarete von Auslander.” Katherine gave additional information to Mai mentally at the same time. “One of our ‘high rankers’. He commands a significant force of locals and is less than fond of the church.”
“A pleasure.”
“Likewise, my lady.” Guiscard. “Forgive me, I am unfamiliar with the house of… Auslander.”
“That is quite understandable. We are only laynobles of the outskirts. Fortunately, Lady Katherine had the kindness to take us in with the dangers of the Change.”
“I see…” Guiscard clearly did not believe the lies, and that was the point. This was a way for Katherine to openly parade her connections to powerful otherworlders to the members of the noble faction, without violating the law of tact and formality that plagued it still. They would whisper among themselves and learn of the Igarashi’s power from information planted in some, and come to realize that the house of Lorraine alone held the key to their safety and prosperity.
“Speaking of the outskirts, I hear the church has fully abandoned them to their fate.” Katherine deftly changed the topic. “It seems they are finding much difficulty weathering the siege the otherworlders… Even should they succeed in repelling them, the order of the paladins are sure to be severely weakened.”
“I have heard similar reports.” Guiscard was not surprised by the information.
“I have also been told… that the Champion is part of the siege.” This time, the baron’s eyes raised slightly and his attention sharpened at her revelation. “I’ve even received sound word that Reinolt the Red twice failed against him, almost perishing in the process. The church may well be on its last legs.”
“...will he not be a threat to others as well?” Guiscard asked, and Katherine understood his unstated concern.
“That is unlikely. I have it on good authority the Champion seeks only the demise of the church, and of course the dreaded King of the Night. The time to act will certainly come in the aftermath of their destruction as the otherworlders return with the end of this ‘event’.”
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“Hm…” The old baron mused. “Still, we must bolster ourselves further. Carelessness is the downfall of the mighty.”
“Fortunately, I am neither mighty nor careless.” The Duchess smiled knowingly. “We must speak again on the matter.”
“Indeed. My ladies.” Guiscard bid them farewell as the two took their leave.
Mai glanced at the duchess leading her by the arm. For all intents and purposes, her aristocracy faction was essentially in revolt of the church already, merely waiting for the right opportunity to strike. With the church’s forces and image of invincibility diminished as it faces peril from all sides, there was no better time to stoke the fear and ambition of the nobility to rally as one in pursuit of a return to power.
And of the two emerging aristocratic factions, most had rally under Katherine’s banner, relocating to her city entirely to consolidate military might, but more accurately for their own safety. Between otherworlders and vampires and the church, there was no shortage of peril on their side either. The Lady herself was nothing special, in Mai’s opinion. A socialite and schemer of passable quality, a visionary and intellectual but only by the standards of this world. Without the backing of the Igarashi, she would not have accomplished all she had, but Mai did suppose they benefited from this cooperation as well.
“It won’t be long now.” Katherine spoke mentally to her. “Finally… the Solarian faith will be removed for the sham it is, and with it the last vestiges of tyranny. Just think of it. A scholastic leadership. The council of cardinals replaced with a council of exemplars. Educated, experienced, and principled.”
Mai held her opinion to herself. “The assassins facing us are skilled. There is a limit to how much we can do. Many are getting cold feet, some already secretly in defecting to either the Kraus or the church.”
Katherine seemed unbothered. “It is unavoidable… Useful fools will act in their nature. I had no illusions that a return to the aristocracy would be any better. But such constructed borders and distinctions are crumbling away, even if few have yet to fully accept it. Nobles can be removed and peasants granted status. Power. True individual power. That will soon be all that matters.” She turned to Mai, her idealistic eyes deepening into astute resolve. “That is why this must all be settled before you return. The tyrants lying in wait, greedy and ignorant, all eliminated. Only those vested in the good governance of this world permitted to rise, only then can light shine of this grim world. No one must be king.”
Mai looked back into the duchess’ unwavering eyes. When they had first met, she thought her only a naive idealist with little to offer, and questioned Renzo’s direction. And in truth, the burden of success still fell heavily on their shoulders, but in times like this when she laid her true thoughts bare, Mai could see the value she might provide them.
---
Shin diligently painted sigil after sigil on the scroll atop his desk. Short tube shaped in size with one long sheet of parchment rolled tightly around a single rod, the total width of which not much larger than the shaft of a spear. The process for scrolls was much simply for the most part compared to talismans, although far more tedious. The entire length of the parchment a dozen feet long had to be filled with perfect glyphs in the right order.
The scroll coiled itself as Shin wrote and soon he neared the end. This time, he etched lines of glyphs towards the center of an empty diamond shaped outline with flourished borders. Light shards rained off the rare tier scroll signaling its success, but it was not complete.
Shin equipped a ring and held his hand to the empty center, and cast the spell. Mana flowed into the scroll and markings etched themselves in the blank space with a single glyph. Greater Acid Splash was the skill Shin used, as per Jean’s request for fire, frost, and acid elements specifically.
Jean was in the middle of training his skill manipulating puppets for combat, Donny his opponent this time, so Shin returned his focus to another scroll. He had to become proficient in epic tier. Anything less would find a severe lack of value against the level of opponents they were to face.
Yen glanced at Kamala who stared out at the various guilds launching an organized and successful raid into the capital and retreating the moment their objective was met, their losses few. “It’s not that big of a deal.”
“We have lost some options and gained enemies where there was no need…” The priestess did not take her eyes from the city in thought.
“Blame Ashley.”
“You played a part.”
“I was bored, sue me.” Yen settled into a casual stance. “Besides, they’re all rivals anyway. If they get in the way, they get in the way. Just sweep them like everyone else.”
Kamala held her tongue, knowing full well further lecture would fall on deaf ears, her time and effort better spent thinking of new solutions to their predicament. Just then, a fluttering paper bird entered a number of the party’s scope of vision. Quickly and directly it flew straight into Shin’s carefree hands, and turned into a scroll. Shin scanned his eyes over the brief contents once and turned to the party.
“We need to leave.”
---
Johan headed down the hallways of the cathedral towards the high chamber once more. Worry wracked his mind such that he could not contained it from showing on his face entirely. Eleven cardinals had been assassinated and half the order fallen in the constant siege, such that they were forced to conscript militia to replenish their ranks. The church had lost control of the outskirts and banditry was rampant.
The people within the city were also plagued, many succumbing to corruption in the face of peril. Paladins extorting the commoners, false reports to eliminate rivals and settle grudges, strange new tonics trapping soldier and citizen alike to hollow bliss. The stability of the capital was teetering on the edge of a cliff. He needed to push further so that the Pope sticks out his head, but the knowledge of what that would entail made him hesitate.
“I so often find you deep in thought, Cardinal Johan.” Johan turned to find Luther and his sly smile, who took it upon himself to walk side by side. “This constant siege… May Sol smite these wretched heathens. Or are they heretics? I find it so hard to tell the difference these days.”
Johan gave nothing in response to Luther’s taunts this time, however a widening smile indicated the cardinal was not done. “No matter. Heathen and heretic alike won’t be a problem after today.” Johan watched his smug smile with thoughts racing as they both entered the chambers along with the other cardinals.
The Arbiter slammed his gavel the moment the last was seated. “There is but one item to discuss. The rampant assassinations of clergy and paladins.”
“It is those blasted nobles!” Odwin bellowed. “We have suffered their treachery long enough. We must march upon them at once.”
“They are faring no better.” Luther spoke up. “This is the work of otherworlder heathens.”
“They walk hand in hand!” Odwin retaliated. “Perhaps you know better than most.”
“Cardinal Odwin, refrain yourself from unfounded accusations.” The Arbiter warned.
“There is a solution, regardless of who is to blame…” Luther drew all eyes back to him. “Unchain the inquisitors.”
A stir arose in murmurs among the cardinals. Some quietly paid it lipservice as an option while others warily restrained a reaction. But amidst it all, the old Albrecht stood up.“I fear we have run out of options, and no amount of discourse will find a suitable alternative. I support Cardinal Luther’s proposition.”
“As do I.”
“The time to act is now.”
Over half the remaining cardinals, most of them the newer replacements voted in favor one by one, to Johan’s horror. The move he had been struggling with just passed before his eyes so easily and now more than ever, he felt real the atrocities it would bring. His eyes followed the sound of a gavel and he wished the words to remain in the arbiter’s mouth but such thin desperate hopes went answered.
“The restraints of the inquisitors will be released.” The world seemed to spin and slow around Johan, as he began to tighten his grip where he sat. He had to act, faster than he planned now, before this world was burned to ash by the ambitions of the wicked. Elsewhere, Shin glanced back at the capital in the distance as Chariot departed under cover of night towards a new goal.