"Greed drives a man to attain things beyond his need, in the name of fame, power and glory. The same greed drives a man to turn against his fellow men and thus, sow the seed of discontent among them and drive them to their ruin. Greed is a sin and as children of Odin, we must seek to drive out the plague of sins from our lives. Only thus can we be truly cleansed of the stench of evil and become one with Odin. The God of all things sees not the difference in rank and in status, but he sees only the brave, the courageous, the kind and the merciful. So hear me now and live your lives knowing fully well that He watches over you."
- The words of Alistar. M. Heimus, Professor, Glast Heim Central Church
Joshua Hirahim Heimus gingerly stepped out of his state sponsored carriage. It had taken him quite a bit of paperwork and personal time to get hold of the carriage and he knew his friendship with some of the higher officials of the Glast Heim Church had helped him out rather nicely. The carriage would have to be returned quickly, of course, for state carriages were for official matters only and low ranking officials like Joshua were rarely granted the luxury. Unfortunately, Joshua knew he had had no other choice. Master Hijo had to know about his discovery since he had been one of the original…
"No! I must not think of it!", Joshua told himself sternly as he took a few steps towards the Tet'suname Dojo entrance.
It had been many years since Joshua had visited the Dojo. A lot had changed in Glast Heim, but the Dojo had remained almost the same. It had been built in the forum of a large square and the entrance led directly into the training grounds. Hijo's house was attached to the training grounds, but the students were forced to live in a barracks separately. Joshua stared at the barracks as he remembered the time he had spent there. His right hand automatically searched the left side of his waist for the katana that had rested there a long time ago. He had trained under the sword master for many months and had finally left the Dojo to seek employment in the church. It had been his father's wish of course, for Joshua had never wanted to leave master Hijo. But circumstances had forced him to and Joshua had decided to obey his father. Now, he was an apprentice to a priest in the Glast Heim Eastern Church and a bibliophile. However, he had never climbed the ranks any further and rumors were that the Church did not trust his faith in their teachings and in God. Joshua had never understood those rumors, for he was a devout disciple of God, but some of the Church's teachings had indeed seemed strange to him. Traditionally, the churches of Rune Midgard answered to the Central Church of Prontera, where the Pope resided. Recently, however, Joshua had noticed a slow movement towards independence from the Central Church's authority.
Keeping his job had required him to keep his mouth shut, but he had done some investigations of his own. Many of the Glast Heim priests were discontent with the rule of the Pope, but Joshua had yet to discover the reasons behind that discontent. It had been apparent that the strings behind the whole thing were being pulled by some unseen power and Joshua had tried his best to pierce the veil of darkness. He had used the meditation techniques taught to him by master Hijo Ramurao and combined them with his knowledge of the ways of an acolyte. The combination of power had let him gain the ability of an oracle for a very small amount of time. Yet, his visions had made no sense to him. They were completely distorted and there was always a void in between that threatened to consume him. He could never hold the vision in his mind for longer than a minute, since the void seemed to come closer and closer with every passing second. The only thing that had been revealed to him was his latest discovery and he knew that Hijo Ramurao would be very interested in seeing it.
Joshua walked into the Dojo training grounds, carefully listening for the sound of slashing katanas. Hijo had few students these days and Joshua knew his former master would keep only the skilled ones out of the few that he got. But he had better things to do than inspect the students here. Speaking to the master was extremely important. He gazed up at the sun as it rose high in the sky to its mid day position. He had little time. The church officials would need the carriage for something or another. Joshua walked along towards the master's house. It was built in the traditional oriental style of the eastern cities. Master Hijo had always preferred that style of construction. It allowed the best possible ventilation and according to master Hijo, it was good for the Chi.
"I always wondered what that meant.", he muttered under his breath.
He finally found his former master, training with one of his young students. This was the youngest one he had ever seen at the Dojo and Joshua knew he had to be talented for the master to have kept him so far. Joshua turned his attention to master Hijo.
"I must concentrate on the matter at hand. Time is of the essence!", he told himself as he caught the sword master's attention.
Joshua bowed as a sign of respect and Hijo nodded in acknowledgement. There was no surprise or happiness in the sword master's eyes. Joshua could see curiosity in those eyes, but nothing else.
"He knows I would not have come here without a reason.", Joshua thought as the sword master proceeded towards him.
"It has been a long time, former pupil of mine.", Hijo said and Joshua nodded in agreement, "Tell me, what brings you to my Dojo?"
Joshua looked at his sword master, trying to read his emotions and his thoughts, as Hijo had taught him to do so a long time ago. It was one of the important features of the Tet'suname technique. Reading the opponent's mind gave the fighter the ability to anticipate his moves and his emotions could be used to gauge the fury of his attack. But Hijo Ramurao was the master of the Tet'suname technique and he concealed his emotions very well, except for his curiosity… Joshua sensed the curiosity very clearly.
"Well, at least he is interested in why I have come.", Joshua thought and he replied, "I bring tidings from the Eastern Church."
Hijo sensed the hidden meanings behind the formal greeting of the messengers of the Church. Something was not right.
"I accept and welcome you to my Dojo, Joshua. You are always welcome here. Tell me the message you bear from the good priests of our Church.", he replied.
Any spy of the Kingdom lurking nearby would only hear two loyal servants of the Church speaking to each other. No harm in that…as long as what they were talking about was not construed as heresy! Joshua smiled at the exchange between them and made the sign of the Holy Cross of the Church, closing his fist and touching his heart twice at the end, indicating to his former master that the matter was of utmost importance. Hijo saw the sign, glanced around, not moving his head an inch and then said,
"Perhaps we had better go inside the house. It is very hot here and I would like something to drink. Riyu, you stay here and practice. You have to give a good performance at the tournament today."
"Riyu?", Joshua thought, "So that is the student's name. I see. Good, privacy is something we need. Better not to trust the boy till we are sure of his loyalties."
Riyu simply nodded and went right back to his training. Hijo led Joshua into the main house. It was quite big with six rooms, each about a quarter of the training ground in size. The room was quite bare and the single table and cupboard were at best, modest. Joshua could see the simple tastes of his master everywhere in the house. They sat down on plain mats, one on each side of the table, facing each other. Hijo had a steaming teapot placed on the table and Joshua knew his master kept it boiled for visitors, who would occasionally drop in. It was something of a tradition, the tea ceremony, at the Tet'suname Dojo. But there were other things to attend to and tea could wait.
"There have been many strange things happening at the Eastern Church, master Hijo.", Joshua said, "From what I have seen, the Glast Heim Church is moving for independence from the authority of the Prontera Church!"
Hijo looked at his former pupil for a minute or two and then said, "I see. What else have you noticed?"
"He took that well enough. Strange.", Joshua thought as he replied, "Most of the priests seem to be taking to some sort of new religion. I have not been able to fathom the depths of this change, but from my findings, it is quite obvious that someone is preaching heresy to them."
"A man who minds his words is a man who lives long in this world, Joshua. You forget easily.", Hijo said, reminding his former student of the dangerous ears that would be lurking nearby.
Joshua had been extremely cautious the past couple of months, investigating the hidden mysteries of the silent revolution that had engulfed the Glast Heim Eastern Church. He had decided beforehand that he would be safe at his former home and had thrown caution to the winds. Hijo's stern reminder made him face reality. Safety from the Kingdom's spies could be found only in the dangerous wilderness outside the cities. Spies were everywhere and even in the Tet'suname Dojo, Joshua realized that his safety was not guaranteed. Hijo noticed the disturbed look on Joshua's face and sighed.
"A man must keep his guard even in his own home, lest the pests that wander the cracks and holes come to claim his life. The blade is not the only way that life leaves the body. There are other methods for releasing the soul."
"More philosophy.", Joshua thought, but it should confuse the spies well enough.
They would be around, they always were. He could not assume that the Church had not noticed his clandestine activities against the rogue priests. But he dared not act against them or send a message to the Kingdom's capital without proof or without finding out who was pulling the strings. There was too much darkness and he had to shed more light for his efforts to be of any use to anyone.
"Tell me about your findings. I am most interested in hearing your theories on the cryptic passages that grace the sacred pages of our Holy Bible.", Hijo said.
Joshua nodded. That too had hidden meanings. Would the spies be able to understand what they were talking about? He put them out of his mind. He had to tell the sword master about what he had found. Someone had to know. Someone had to help him out! He could not face the dangers alone!
"For months have I struggled over the pages of our holy book, striving to fathom the maze of hallways and trying to find the keys to the many doors that it leaves in its wake."
The sword master understood and nodded at the disguised words of his pupil. Joshua had learned the game very well. He had stalked the halls of the Eastern Church at nights, surveying the many rooms and the hallways that always seemed to be a maze to those who entered the Church. His secret adventurers had led him to sneak into the rooms of the residents there, priests most probably.
"It took many a day and I dared not speak out my theories to anyone, lest I begin a heated debate and draw attention to myself. But my efforts paid of eventually, or so I think, for my mind formed many theories and I found myself writing them down so that I could refer to them later and remove the thoughts which did not belong."
Hijo nodded. Joshua had done well to keep his efforts secret. He had either found a book or had written down his findings in a book to show Hijo. Regardless, the next few minutes had to be handled carefully. Any exchange between the two of them would be watched carefully, and Hijo knew it. Could Joshua disguise that as well?
"I thought of showing my findings to my superiors, but the recent tournaments and festivals in dedication to our Lord have kept them quite busy indeed. But I cannot stay silent till they find the time to attend to me. Therefore, I came to you. I know you are a student of philosophy and you have many friends who are adept at the art of reading between the lines.", Joshua said, slowly reaching into his robe, "Perhaps, I could entrust my work to you, hoping that you will be able to tell me whether I am right or wrong, or whether my work deserves consideration."
"Good.", Hijo thought, as Joshua slowly placed a book on the table, "He handles it well. Perhaps we will live through this after all."
The book was quite small, about the size of his hand and Hijo picked it up, scanning the pages quickly with his keen eyes. Occasionally, he stopped to stare at a page, as if he was pondering about some complex passage, wondering about the hidden meanings. That would fool the spies into believing Joshua's tale, he hoped. Biblical passages were complex and the cryptic ones were even worse. No one would think that Hijo Ramurao would be able to decipher them at lightning speed. The book, however, did not contain any passages from the Bible as the spies would think. What it contained was a bunch of drawings that Hijo recognized as maps. The writing on each map referred to entrances and exits of the Glast Heim sewer system. Of what interest could the city's sewers be to anyone? The next couple of pages had some strange words and phrases on them. It was probably part of the heresy that Joshua was talking about. There was nothing else of interest though and Hijo was not a holy man to ponder about the meanings of those words. Joshua, however, seemed quite excited.
"So, master Hijo, what do you think of my work?", he asked.
Hijo closed the book and rose from his seat. He paced the floor for some time and then turned to Joshua.
"The words you use are quite interesting. I have never seen the cryptic verses interpreted in this manner. However, we must grasp the underlying meaning of the verses to understand them properly."
Joshua nodded, "Of course we must. That is the way of the thinker and philosopher."
Yes, they had to get more proof of any plot or revolution before communicating with the Prontera Church. These times called for utmost caution and Joshua saw agreement in Hijo's eyes. The sword master apparently understood more than Joshua had from the book, but he was feigning ignorance…a simple act for the spies, who would be listening nearby. This was getting dangerous and Joshua did not have much time.
"I must be getting back to my duties at the Church, master Hijo. Perhaps you would like to come by later for the evening prayers?", Joshua asked, hoping his master would accept and come to help him find the proof they required.
"I will try to adjust my schedule accordingly, but I must accompany Riyu today to the tournament at the city square. He has learned the Tet'suname art very well indeed, and now he must prove his worth to go out into the world.", Hijo replied.
"Has he attained mastery of the sword? That is quite incredible!", Joshua said, amazed that a boy so young could have mastered Hijo Ramurao's technique.
Hijo shook his head, "He has not attained my level of power or skill, but those things differ from person to person. I have yet to teach him many higher level techniques. However, he is skilled enough to develop his own fighting style. Of that I am sure. He is an extraordinary boy!"
"Praise? He actually praised one of his students?", Joshua muttered under his breath and Hijo smiled, "Come Joshua, you must be on your way now or your superiors will wonder about your absence. You must be careful while traveling. I've never been comfortable in a carriage. Too little space, if you ask me."
Joshua nodded as he stepped out of the master's house. Even in that statement, there were hidden meanings. They truly played a dangerous game and Hijo knew that the space inside the carriage was too small for effective use of a sword, even if Joshua had remembered to bring one along. Besides, there were other ways to kill a person riding in a carriage and Joshua realized his master's warning. Indeed! This was a dangerous game…a very dangerous game that they played at the risk of their own lives.
Hijo Ramurao watched his former student enter the state carriage and waved as the driver spurred the Peco Pecos into a gallop. The bird like creatures were fat with curved beaks and could not fly. However, they possessed a good deal of body strength and were used all around the Kingdom for pulling carriages, as mounts for the Prontera Knights and other things. They would get Joshua to the Eastern Church in an hour or two. As the carriage picked up speed, sword master Hijo saw a shadow flicker past the corner of his eyes. The shadow moved fast and Hijo knew he could see it simply because of his lightning reflexes and keen eyesight, strengthened over the years by hard training in the Tet'suname style. He did not, however, attempt to pursue the shadows. They were apparently following Joshua and his former student could take care of himself. He had demonstrated considerable ability so far in gauging danger and keeping an arm's length away from it. Hijo knew Joshua would have to exercise all his skills to keep his followers at bay. The documents he had gathered pointed to the Glast Heim sewers, but Hijo Ramurao could not fathom their meaning. The texts were obviously in Prothmus, the official language of the capital city of Prontera. Slowly, but surely Hijo began to recall the words of the strange text.
No one ever knew when wizards would be accompanying spies. Their true sight spells were a danger to all those around them, especially their opponents. Any wizard could guess the next move of an opponent or even read the thoughts of a weak mind. The concept of weak minds differed from wizard to wizard and depending on how strong the wizard was, any mind could be read. Considering that their opponent was the Eastern Church of Glast Heim, it was a good bet that their spies would be accompanied by true sight wizards. In all probability, they had been using their magic to read Hijo's mind and it had been a wise thing for the sword master to suppress his thoughts and memories. He had used his own techniques to put away all thoughts about Joshua's discoveries in his sub conscience and had thus, blocked his mind to any outside force.
A good majority of the text had been referring to some sort of time and date. The descriptive parts were a mystery to the sword master, but Hijo Ramurao recognized the timings and the dates mentioned. They corresponded with the Kingdom's calendar, but were obviously ancient in origin. He dared not go into it further, for a wizard might have decided to make his way back and scan him again. The answer, however, was obviously in the depths of the Glast Heim sewers. The maps pointed to entrances through certain alleyways in the city, although Hijo himself had never seen them before. There were other entrances too, within the sewers, which led to deeper unexplored parts. The Glast Heim sewers had never been explored completely, for the Church of Glast Heim had made it taboo. The sewers were, in their opinion, close to the abyss where all evil is born. Therefore, it was not fitting for the citizens of Glast Heim to make their way there. Unfortunately, for the Church, their taboo was restricted, by their own words, to the city of Glast Heim. Other people, especially the adventurers from other cities, were more than happy to take their chances with whatever was down there. Three levels had been explored with hardly any loss of lives. There were hardly any monsters down there, as far as the adventurers could tell. Beyond that, however, there had been no more discoveries and Hijo wondered about the person who had created those maps. They indicated the presence of over seven levels in the sewers and Hijo's first impression was to think of the person as a lunatic.
But he quickly cast that notion aside. If the Eastern Church was so interested in the maps and whatever was there in the seventh or eighth or however deep the sewers went, then the person concerned might not be so much of a madman after all. It was worth a look. Indeed, it was! But he had to move quickly and he had to move now! There was little time to waste. Riyu would have to go to the tournament alone and Hijo wished him the best of luck for it. He would do well, Hijo Ramurao knew that much. He had trained the lad in the art of the katana blade and Riyu had proved to be a promising student. His basics were sound and he was fast, if not fast enough like the sword master himself. Still, the tournament fighters would be mediocre opponents who were still getting the hang of their blades. Riyu would handle himself well, Hijo had better thinks to attend to than worry about his pupil. He checked his sword once more and then marched out into the city. He could not afford to be stealthy, for someone stealthier would be watching him in the shadows. A wizard perhaps, accompanied by his assassin shadows! He could give them the slip later, but the wizard would be a different deal altogether.
"Ahh…", Hijo sighed, "…here we go on another adventure. Damn it all, I hate adventures!"
