The Sun rose on a much happier city, Prart was now rid of its worst elements. Neia was less than pleased that the rebased Re-Estize criminals had not been caught, they had apparently had the sense to evacuate themselves during the initial chaos. 'Smart criminals are the worst.' She sighed aloud as she went over several documents. Tinamoc's merchants were a dream come true for this, Neia had more skills than she dreamed as a child, thanks to the training she received in the Sorcerer King's domain...but that didn't mean she had all the talents she wished for. One of those weaknesses was with numbers, she was a shitty accountant, and the myriad of transactions that took place to hide the corruption of the city was just to much.
Merchants though? For them this was as easy as it was for a hunter to track bleeding prey. The reports submitted by Tinamoc's merchants had summarized what they'd learned, and when she understood, she was actually duly impressed with the criminals. They were the chief lenders of the city, and they were also far better thieves than anyone who robbed houses or waylaid travelers. Their weakness however, was their arrogance, they had clearly never expected to be audited by anyone competent, and so they hadn't fled the city. Dealing with them was her first task of the morning. They'd been summoned to the former governor's manor and, suspecting nothing, they came, perhaps hoping to curry favor or feel out the new administration...it was almost to easy, had they not been criminals, Neia would have felt fairly guilty herself about taking advantage of their ignorance to make her work easier.
As it was, they arrived, walking through the manor doors that were now guarded by Black Justice soldiers, and the half a dozen well dressed men were escorted back to Neia's office and the door was closed behind them. Neia stood up from her desk and gestured for them to sit. She looked them over, they had neatly trimmed beards and were richly dressed in fine and decorated clothes, they wore smooth leather boots and wore rings on every finger, they were not very physically fit, and their hands looked smooth except for their finger tips, which bore the callouses of those who spent much of their time writing.
'Thank you for coming gentlemen.' She said as they sat, and then she sat herself.
'Do you know why you're here?' She asked as she began to sift through reports.
'I would assume,' a wheezy voiced figure said, 'it is to see how we can contribute to the future of the city as it goes in a new direction.'
'And you are?' Neia asked.
'Ulit, at your service.' He said.
'Well Ulit, you're almost right.' Neia said, 'Not quite, but almost, see I've had my people review tax records and other documents submitted to the former governor here, and we've found out how you all have managed to steal so much.'
A wave of sudden protests came from the men in front of her as they stood up, baby smooth fists curled in outrage, anger was quick to form on their faces, but Neia drew out a dagger and slammed it down on the desk hard enough to make a loud thud and draw their silence. 'Silence!' she shouted. 'Sit down or I will put you down.' She said sharply.
They stilled, and sat down, now nervousness began to form on their faces.
Neia reclaimed her seat and began to explain.
'When lending money to a person you would charge them interest for the risk, and as they paid you back, they should have eventually cleared the debt, however you clever thieves added the interest on to the principle balance, so that the payments made to you, would never decrease the total sum owed. It was really very clever. In addition, I note that the interest rates charged were quite high, and most of the loans were in the amount it cost for healing from the temples...which coincidentally also deposited money with you on a regular basis...every single time one of those loans went out. In short, you were getting kickbacks from the temples for making the loans to pay for healing, while at the same time the temples were profiting from the service and from what interest you provided for storing the money you yourselves had leant out. As thieves go, you truly are second to none.'
Shock was painted on their faces. It was evident they had never expected to be caught.
'It was further noticed that you took security from others in the form of property, which you inevitably seized, usually in the form of people's homes, and that they then had to pay you rent to live in their own residences after you took it from them, and what is more, I notice that whenever you seized a residence, that property immediately jumped up on the rebuild schedule and was shortly after rebuilt entirely. You have been very busy little money making bees haven't you, and the honey must have been sweet indeed.'
Their faces fell, and as their eyes went to her desk, they saw and made out some of what the visible documents said. If they doubted they'd been caught before, they did not now.
'Well shit.' A portly well dressed man said succinctly.
'Yes. Shit.' Neia said.
They were shaking. They'd heard about the impromptu trial of the previous day.
'Relax gentlemen, you're not going to die.' Neia said, drawing sighs from relief from the group.
'My god has said that evil must be repaid with evil, good with good, life with life, death with death, you have not actually killed anyone, you have only stolen from the ignorant and exploited the desperate. These would be bad enough crimes that some would argue that they merit death, but I don't enjoy killing.' She said, and for a moment she thought back to the death of the priest that tried to kill her, and how unsatisfying it had really been. She snapped herself back to reality and looked them over.
'This is what is going to happen. Everything you own, right down to what you're wearing now, is going to be confiscated, and every name on your list of victims will be compensated accordingly, their debts wiped clean and their homes and property returned to them. Your personal residences will be sold and the wealth gained from their sale will be distributed as additional compensation to your victims. If any victims were imprisoned over their debts, they will receive an increased share, and if any of your victims died or took their own lives, any survivors will also be compensated. If there are no survivors from a victim, the city will hold those funds and use them accordingly for governing purposes.' She said in a voice of iron, and the jaws of the men fell open as they looked at her with absolute horror.
'As for yourselves,' Neia continued, and she reached into a drawer and took out a vial, which she placed on her desk, 'you have a choice. You can either be sentenced to one year of imprisonment for each victim you had...for some of you, that means you'll never walk out alive...or you can be sentenced to seven years hard labor on the rebuilding projects, serving your victims as if you were the poorest of peasant labor...which in fact you will be...or,' she said, and then her voice took on a grave tone, 'this vial contains enough poison to end your lives here and now, your suicide will atone for your crimes, and if you take this option, your families will receive a portion of the sale of the homes you bought with ill gotten gains. They won't be rich anymore I don't expect, but they'll be able to start off their lives with some means to live, you have two minutes to decide.' Neia said, and then she drew out a goblet and a bottle of wine, and then poured both the wine and the poison into the goblet and set it on the center of the desk in front of her.
She crossed her arms and looked at them, watching as they considered their options. One of them, who apparently didn't care for any of the options, jumped up and tried to flee, Neia did nothing, she simply watched as the weak looking fellow tried to open the doors and failed, when he realized it wasn't going to happen, he turned and put his back to the door, his hands out, pressing himself against it as if he wished to become one with the wood and walls, his eyes were wide with terror...'No! No! No!' he shouted. One of the men who was of somewhat sterner stuff said, 'I should have seen this coming. It was fun while it lasted.' And he reached out and took the goblet, raised it in a toast, and took a swallow, and then set it back down. 'A good vintage, thanks for one last drink at least.' He said, and he fell unconscious, and life fled from his body.
'Brave.' Neia said. 'Ashame his courage did not translate to character.' She shrugged. 'Time is up. What say the rest of you?'
The man at the wall had turned back to the door and was now trying to claw his way out with his fingernails, as if he could make a tunnel and escape.
One more reached for the goblet, and the six shortly after became four. The three remaining seated men said, 'We will serve our sentence by labor.'
'And you?' Neia said to the fearful fellow in the back. He made no response except plaintive noises. 'Prison it is then.' She said, and then she called in the guards, the fool at the door tried to press past them, but it was like a toddler trying to push through adults, and he was quickly secured. 'Prison for that one, labor for the other three, and these two, see that their corpses are defleshed and their skeletons raised for labor, they can be set to serving at the temple, and are free to be borrowed by the families of those they robbed.' Neia said to her guards, who quickly carried out her instructions.
Tinamoc arrived at the manor shortly afterwards, and sat himself down in front of Neia. 'Good morning!' He said cheerfully.
'And also to you.' Neia replied, 'Thank you for all your help in deciphering just how many ways the people of Prart were fucked. I could NEVER have done that.' She laughed, 'This has been far from the typical escort mission...hasn't it?' She said.
Tinamoc grinned and then snorted back a restrained laugh, 'It has been quite atypical.' He said, 'But the extra work has been far from unwelcome, many of the merchants under me are young, they could easily have gone the way of the men who robbed this city blind, setting this example has been...illustrative. I saw the former lenders in their penitent clothing and the one being dragged off screaming in chains, and the two corpses as well, still in their rich clothing, I was with several of the younger merchants at the time, the point was...illustrative, to them.' He said with satisfaction in his voice.
'I'm glad to hear that.' Neia said. 'Sometimes a good example to follow is enough,' she gestured to Tinamoc indicating who she meant, 'and sometimes a cautionary one is needed. The laborers alive and dead will serve as a useful reminder of the consequences of evil.'
'True.' He said.
'But now what? I can spend the next few days here, even leave them a day of ease and relaxation, perhaps two, but we will need to move soon.' He said.
'Also true.' Neia said. 'Several of my former comrades have been chosen to represent different parts of the city, and the rest went to the designated temple and are busy turning it into the temple of Black Justice. Between that and the temple connections to the capitol, I think things will be fine, there will need to be new lending agents here, and some houses are coming on to the market, are any of your merchants ready to settle down? Have you considered a branch operation within the city?' She asked.
Tinamoc thought the matter over, 'I'll talk to them, it would be good to establish a foothold here as it rebuilds, and some of my people are of age to want to settle down, if the manors available are at a fair price, between that and the opportunity presented, I think two or three would like to take it up.'
'That will be sufficient.' Neia said.
'Have you still been writing to Lord Ainz?' Tinamoc asked.
'Nightly.' She said, 'Though I send them slowly as he wished, I expect I'll see the first replies before we leave here.'
'What about the Capitol, I haven't seen any correspondence from your leaders there?' He asked.
Neia shrugged. 'If there were reason to worry, I'd have heard about it by now, with the capitol rebuilt and most of the foreign influences purged, I'm not very concerned. I am a little curious as to what they'll do with the captives, and I admit I'm disturbed by the stolen documents, that more or less ensures at least some of the guilty nobles remain, but if they have one brain among them they'll at least lay low for awhile.'
Neia stood and started to walk out of the manor, Tinamoc fell into step beside her, they were silent for a time, lost in their own thoughts about what the future held for their damaged but healing kingdom.
As they reached a pair of horses Tinamoc asked, 'And when they're done laying low?'
Neia mounted her horse and said, 'Then we'll be ready for them.'
Tinamoc mounted his own, the sound and feel of leather was comforting in its familiarity as he settled into the saddle, 'I doubt they will be able to say the same.' He said, 'I have to go see to the market, and I'll let my men know about the opportunity you're presenting to them. Will you be joining us this evening for dinner?'
'No, I'll be giving my customary speech in the evening, and then I'm going to the temple to for a reunion with the people I freed from prison. Plus I may have to reach out to Nazarick to find out how the priestly instruction has been going, I'm sure they'll want official priests soon enough.'
'No doubt, well then I'll see you tomorrow, I'll let you know how the warehouse inventory is going then, I'm not a gambler, but I'll bet there is a wealth of stolen goods to be returned or disposed of, and I'll see to the accounting of goods in the manors as well.' He said.
'I look forward to it.' Neia replied, and then they spurred their horses at a trot away from the governor's manor.
The trip to the temple did not take long, not because the streets weren't crowded, but because by now the armor of Black Justice was well known, and people were inclined to move aside, it made her frankly uncomfortable. Even after being in command of so many, after speaking before commoners, crowds, and kings, after having knelt before an unliving god and been found worthy of his trust...she didn't like deference. Most of the time she was just...used to it because urgency demanded her focus, but in the ordinary moments of going from place to place, she didn't feel like she was other than she ever was.
She laughed inside her own head, 'I wonder if anybody else in my position ever feels this way...like they're in over their head and just faking their confidence.' She shook her head, as if casting off the thought. 'No, probably not.'
When she arrived at the temple, she had found her sense of focus, and she dismounted her horse and tied it off, the temple was already almost completely painted black, as if the darkness scrubbed away the evil that had permeated it. When she was seen, recognition was instant, and the person who saw her first called inside to the rest that Neia had arrived. She walked up the stairs and as she entered the doors, she was greeted by the liberated persons cheerful faces.
'You've been busy.' Neia said as she looked around.
'Very.' One of them said as he stepped out from among them and reached out to clasp her hand. Neia took it and shook it gladly, 'Varo, wasn't it?' Neia asked.
'Right.' He said.
'You're looking better, you looked like fetid shit the other day.' She laughed, and the rest shared in it, one of them spouted off, 'Ell that's no different than he always looked!' The laughter redoubled, and as their handshake ended, Varo spoke up, 'While we were in prison, I sort of...managed things for us, much as we could, so the rest of them appointed me to continue that task here until we get a proper priest. Speaking of which, there are some people you should meet.'
'Well lead on then Varo.' Neia said, and gestured for him to walk ahead of you.
'The rest of you finish up, I'll rejoin you later.' Varo said, and admist the chatter of the former soldiers who turned back to their work, Varo and Neia walked in to the inner sanctum.
There, much to her surprise, sat dozens of people...not in common clothing, not in noble attire, but rather men in the priestly robes of the other six gods, they filled many pews on the left, and on the right, were a slew of people in common clothing whose heads were deeply bowed, they were uncommonly fit looking, even from behind them, they filled a considerable number of pews.
Their backs were to Neia and Varo, and they were apparently lost in their meditations, so Neia leaned over and whispered to him, 'What is this...?'
He leaned in and whispered back, 'Its what it looks like. Word of the atrocities perpetrated by Tapir spread after the trial, and that prompted others to come forward, and others, and others, turns out that a whole great mess of senior priests had been abusing children and women, the city governor had been reassigning ethical people and bringing others in their places, drunks, rapists, and so on, so he could exploit their actions for profit.'
'And they're here?' She asked in shock.
'No, no, as the accusations kept pouring in, citizen militias started arresting them, they're all locked up and secured and awaiting trial, THESE here are the ones nobody accused of anything, or who had people speak favorably of them. They're mostly very young, naive, they didn't evidently know what was going on, or just couldn't believe the accusations they heard, and now...well now they don't have any doubts, they're here for penance, watch.' He said, and then from a side door near the alter, a priest came out wearing a red robe and wearing broken manacles that were not bound together, allowing his hands to move freely, and from his wrists fell three and one half links of chain dangled from each wrist.
Neia recognized him immediately as the priest she'd put on trial.
'What about those over there, are they just citizens...?' She asked softly.
'Those are paladins and squires mostly, but also a few guards ordinary soldiers. See as it turns out, aside from the paladins who were knocked out and captured, there were others who didn't know what to do at all, and so stayed in their garrisons. They're here out of a sense of guilt, most of them had some idea of the corruption present here, but until the accusations started flying that couldn't be shut up, and the arrests started to come out and even more accusations flew around, they didn't realize how bad it was, not knowing what else to do, they're here.' He said.
'And I needed to be here because?' She asked.
'Because you brought all this to light, you created these penitent orders that seem to offer a way to make up for what they've all been party to for all this time.' He said.
She swallowed hard. 'This is...different.' She said.
'I do have one idea though, that may impress them far more than I.' She said, 'Give me a moment.'
Neia stepped back out of the room and sent a message to Sebas.
'What can I do for you Neia?' He asked.
Neia then informed him of all that had transpired in the city, the corruption, the abuse, the degradation, all that had been uncovered since throwing that fool to the justice of Ainz Ooal Gown, and she informed him of the penitent priests, paladins, squires, and guards.
'...And you want to know if Lord Ainz could sentence these penitents to their service personally?' He asked. 'It is a bit presumptuous of you isn't it?' He asked.
'It is.' Neia admitted, 'However because I sent one to him for punishment already, I thought it at least worth asking if he would be willing to appear for penance, plus, there are many here from the corps who volunteered to rescue them, and they were imprisoned for their loyalty to his ideals when they tried to fight the corruption of this city, it would thrill them to no end to see him one more time now that they are free to work his will again.'
Silence stretched out and for a moment Neia believed she had been cut off after offending him, but a moment later Sebas's voice rang in her mind, 'He will come. Stand before the alter and he will appear behind you.'
Neia expressed her gratitude and returned to the room, this time it was not silent, she entered loudly, her feet falling heavy on the floor and sending an echo throughout the room. She walked to the back directly down the aisle, and when she stood before the alter she put hands to her hips and instructed Varo to go bring the others in.
'Anybody not know who I am?' Neia said, and raked her eyes over the room, her vicious, savage eyes were a sight to behold, and if they were not, her armor was well enough known.
There was nobody who asked.
'I know why you're here, and fierce as my look may be, know that I am glad. But I am not alone in this, your willingness to make right what you have allowed to go wrong, has been brought to the attention of the Sorcerer King, and he is coming in person.'
The rumble of voices rose among them, and Neia raised her hands to still them. 'He does not come to kill you, he comes to bless your choices. He has endorsed the founding of the Chained and the Red Paladins. You who have made this decision, will be forgiven for what you have done, and for what you have failed to do.' Her evangelist voice easily carried to those in the back, and no sooner had the rest of her people gathered, than a hole in reality opened behind the alter at Neia's back, and through it stepped the god of justice.
Neia knew from their faces what was happening, and she turned and knelt before him.
'Raise your head, Pope Neia.' He said, using her new title. 'You have done well, and I am pleased.' He said.
'Thank you my lord.' Neia said softly, raising her head, tears shone in her eyes, but did not fall.
Those in the pews facing the alter, had gone down to their knees when the Sorcerer King appeared, as had those who had come in at Neia's summons.
'You veterans, former prisoners, who suffered in order to work my will, who wished to sacrifice yourselves when you thought I was at risk, come, take your place behind Pope Neia.' He said, and they could not move fast enough for their liking, they almost fell over themselves to kneel before Ainz.
'Your loyalty to my will is not forgotten. I regret only that I did not know you were suffering for me, otherwise I would have seen you freed. Those behind bars are little good to anyone, and now that you are free, you may work my will again if that is your wish, but I will not compel you, I wish only loyalty that is freely given, now will you work to make this world a just one once again?' Ainz said, sweeping his staff over their heads.
'We will!' They said in unison.
'Then let it be so. Pope Neia asked that a corps of priests be trained and established to carry my will out and aid the people. Some from the capitol are preparing for this already, you will join them, and three of you will be assigned to each temple we establish. You will also be taught the combat style developed by Neia Baraja, under her tutors, Cocytus and Sebas, in my realm, your training will be arduous, you will have to work to catch up to the rest who have begun before you.' Eager grins met his words.
'Neia, I have received your correspondence and sent answer to you, it should arrive in written form in this city within a day or two, this will provide the core of your efforts to write the sacred texts so that the people may understand them.' He said, and Neia's eager smile matched those of the veterans.
The priests and fighters at the pews were shaking as they saw this, some had felt the power of the Sorcerer King before, but most had never felt it so close before, never heard his voice, never felt his aura, and now here he was as if he had stepped out of the afterlife.
'You lot.' He said, sweeping his staff in front of them.
'You have failed your people. You have failed your duty. You have failed yourselves. To fail in those things is to fail to execute the will of god.' He said, and their downcast eyes were wet with tears of remorse.
'But while your failure showed your sin of weakness, your presence here shows a hidden strength, of character and will. Not every man ever born is able to face up to his wrong doings and try to make amends.' He said, and hopeful gazes lifted up to meet him.
Ainz pointed to the priests, 'You are the chained. You will serve as Neia directed for 3 and 1/2 years, and travel the realm caring for the people, the head of your order is the first of your number to repent, but your order answers to the temples which answer to the pope which answers to me. If you die serving the people, your chains will be removed upon burial, you will die having atoned for your wrongs. If you wish to continue to serve beyond your required time, only add links to your chains. Serve well, and make the people glad that you are among them.' He said.
He turned his gaze to the fighting men, 'You there, had a failure as great as theirs, but you stand in common with them in that you are willing to make right what you have done wrong. You are now the Red Paladins. Your armor will reflect this, and there will be eight of you assigned per Chained Priest, four paladins and four squires, and when stationed at temples, you will escort pilgrims and other travelers to holy places and villages. If you die protecting the weak or the innocent, you will be remembered as having atoned, you must serve as long as the priests of the Chained, but may serve longer if you wish. You likewise, are subject to the governance of the temple's Black Priests. Serve well, and make others glad that you have lived.'
Ainz said, 'I bless these orders in the name of justice, the dignity of life, and the conquest of both death and weakness.'
As he slammed the tip of his staff down, a holy light emanated from it and shone throughout the temple, with what seemed to be 'pieces' of it settling over those who knelt, but the light went beyond the temple, and radiated over the whole of the city, bearing with it a warmth and a certitude of rightness for all to see and feel, until it gradually faded.
Inside his head Ainz thought to himself, 'I wondered what this effect would look like in the New World...I sure hope my acting paid off in that presentation.'
'I must go now,' he said, 'Can I leave justice in your hands this time?' He said somewhat sardonically, and a weeping crowd managed to bellow out a loud collective, 'YES!'.
'You then,' he said, pointing to Varo, 'Come with me, you and the others who stayed loyal to me, and see my realm, you have much work to do.'
They rose, and followed as if entranced by what they'd seen, until the portal closed behind the last of them.
'Impressive as always.' Neia said softly.
'Now,' Neia snapped, drawing the assembly's attention back to her. 'There are three things to be done. The first is you must prepare your uniforms, priests visit the blacksmiths and have your manacles formed, paladins and squires, see to the dying of your armor, when you return, separate yourselves into teams, I leave it to you to decide whom to work with. Tomorrow, we will begin sending you out, one team each day, while the rest take care of the temple while the new priests conduct their training. Get going!' She said like she was ordering soldiers into ranks, and they quickly obeyed, leaving her alone in the place of worship.
She leaned back heavily, resting one hand against the alter, and rubbed her forehead with her other hand, and let out a heavy sigh. 'Damn but this is exhausting. I wish I were a natural at this like the Sorcerer King.'
AN: Well here you go. :) I know, it isn't exactly action packed, but then, how could it be? The city of Prart is fallen and now must be reordered, this is establishing the groundwork for their pending departure and a fresh set of challenges as they turn south. They have a long journey ahead of them and a great many things to see, and old scores to settle and a future to build. I hope you enjoyed this chapter of the story, I will be doing more updates to it in the very near future, but I must finish the final chapter of 'Training in Time'.
Of course, REVIEWS ARE FOOD...and I'm hungry, feed me. :) If you want to show your support for my writing in another way, it wouldn't be right for me to profit from this privately since I didn't create the Overlord Universe, then you can donate a buck to the charity organization: BDGiving I can't post the link evidently thanks to the filter, but if you search it that way, no spaces, you'll find the dot org site easily enough.
As always, thanks for reading! :)