The Feast
The representative from the other continent arrived far more quickly than anyone had anticipated (meaning the newspapers could finally write about something else besides midnight grave robbing mysteries). The journey that had taken Knight-Captain Hell ten months to complete the travelers finished in six weeks. As was customary our king gave the envoy (which we pretended to know nothing about) a warm reception. The royal family treated the representative and his companions as guests and saw to their every worldly need because that was all the royal family could do. Once the welcome party was in full swing it would be up to the prime minister and myself to handle all the "delicate" matters and negotiations.
I had to attend as the representative of the church. I brought Leaf Knight, Earth Knight, and Storm Knight along to accompany me, but (much to my chagrin) I still had to do most of the talking. I doubted that the company representative was prepared for the likes of the legendary Sun Knight. As the whole content knew- the Sun Knight was perfect, thinks only about the God of Light, and manages to attribute every elegant sentence to the God of Light. Hell had warned me that such a display would not have the same effect on the guests as it did the people on this continent. At best the merchants would think that ours was some backwater religion. I had to be the one to prove to them otherwise.
To have arrived so quickly the company representative and his people had used a machine. Personally I found Hell's description of the device to be absolutely ludicrous, but the evidence had appeared for the whole country to see.
"You're telling me that you can make ships sale against the winds and tides with fire? Fires burning under their decks?" The king asked the company representative with the exact same expression I had worn when I first heard the news from Knight-Captain Hell. Being stripped of most of their governing power had done the royal family some good. Royal assignations were at an all time low the past few centuries. The current king was in his early fifties and still in good health and quite popular with the masses. I was on pretty good terms with him myself.
"What does the church think of this, Sun Knight?" The prime minister asked me knowing full well that the church was already informed about the matter. The prime minister was about ten years younger than the king and used hair dye to cover up the gray that kept popping up from his scalp. I suspected a great many of those gray hairs were caused by Knight-Captain Hell. The prime minister was her favorite player in the spy's chess game and by "favorite" I mean he was the person Knight-Captain Hell hated the most, but had to rely on the most. His spy network was second only to hers and that's because she used a lot of his agents.
"Hmm?" I feigned an expression of pleasant surprise at the question. "Sun cannot express the wishes of the Pope or the church as a whole. Sun merely serves the will of the God of Light."
I then replied with something very elaborate in praise to the God of Light for the safe arrival of such "blessed news". A machine that could help "spread the word of the God of Light" and bring our great countries together in harmony was surely the "will of the God of Light". This of course was merely my "humble opinion". Although my "humble opinion" had taken a full five minutes to finish and nobody had the decency to interrupt me!
The company representative, Arthur Michaelson, stared at me perplexed. The prime minister simply nodded in agreement when Earth whispered a short translation: If the machine could be used for the benefit of the church then there were no objections on our side.
"It would make travel by sea much easier," the prime minister agreed to that point, but he wasn't completely convinced. "I don't think we would find much use for it unless there was a way to speed up land travel."
"Oh, but there is!" Representative Arthur interjected. "We have a machine that can travel faster than a horse's top speed for days without stopping." He motioned one of his companions forward and the servant produced a set of blue prints. After giving a thorough explanation of how the machine worked Arthur told us, "It's called a locomotive."
I was intrigued by the idea in spite of myself. It would take some time to lay out the tracks, but once in place the locomotive would allow for easy travel between cities, possibly even counties. Several weeks of travel would be shortened to mere days. The implications for the church alone were unimaginable and then once the conveniences for commerce were taken into account…
I lowered my gaze slightly to hide the dark expression showing in my eyes. Hell was right. This was something worth killing for. I stared at Arthur carefully. He was a merchant and knew how to behave himself under the eyes of important people. He was old enough to look experienced but young enough to appear ambitious. He did not, however, look at all trustworthy. By building the tracks and buying up the land from nobles the company could make several fortunes charging a pretty coin for this speedy means of transport. That didn't seem fair at all.
Thus the meeting went exactly as I had expected. The prime minister was a smart man and knew what the foreign company wanted (namely to bleed us dry and then toss the empty husk aside). I had warned him beforehand that they probably had the military might to back up whatever deal they were hoping to make. At the same time they were also proposing similar deals to other countries as well. What the representative didn't know was that we had already prepared a counter measure. After hours of informal negotiation the representative finally made a mistake.
He openly threatened the prime minister suggesting that his government would aid in whatever plans they saw fit. Both the king and I took great pleasure in watching the prime minister's face turn bright red, but before he could retort I intervened.
"Sun begs for Master Arthur's forgiveness for his ignorance, but Master Arthur is what is known as a 'gentleman' correct?" I asked pleasantly. The man nodded slowly and I gave him my best trademark Sun-smile. "Then perhaps we can settle this debate in a sportsman like manner. I believe it is customary in your country, as it is in ours, to settle disputes with a duel?"
"Are you issuing me a challenge?" Arthur showed great interest and began looking at me up and down curiously. If he was mistaking me for a mere frop, he would learn from his mistake very quickly. If I thought it would end these tiring matters quickly I would fight him and each of the men he had brought until I had sliced off both their kneecaps and sent them fleeing back to their country on their "fast ships".
"Sun is opposed to violence against the God of Light's beloved children, but Sun does not believe that the citizens should sit like ducks waiting for slaughter." I said pleasantly. It wasn't enough. I didn't want these middlemen just to fear us. I wanted to totally embarrass them. I hadn't forgotten what their country had done to the church's number one spy and it's not my fault that they hadn't realized their error. The God of Light may forgive their sins, but I didn't have to.
I could see the prime minister giving me a warning glance, but I ignored him. Arthur had signaled to a personal bodyguard and asked if I had a preference for swords or wanted something with a little more "bang for the buck". My mouth twitched.
"Oh, Sun didn't mean that Sun would be the one dueling you personally." I explained pleasantly. Leaf nodded when he caught my eye and moved to get everyone in position. "You see, in this country with the protection of the God of Light even our clerics would be more than able to hold their own in combat."
"Clerics?" Arthur, the prime minister, and the king muttered the word in confusion at the same time.
Just then Leaf carefully coxed forward a female cleric we had "conveniently" brought with us from the temple. Leaf had assured me that the secret sword lessons with Judgment had been a success and the young lady was ready for her fifteen minutes of fame. Storm borrowed a dueling saber (the same kind that the guests used) and passed it off to the cleric who looked at it curiously.
"You want me to duel a woman?" the guard seemed shocked at the prospect. I didn't know why he sounded so shocked. The many of the worshipers of the God of War are women and they are not the kind of people I'd like to meet in a dark alley.
The back room of a dark inn was another matter, I amended to myself slyly. Not that I have "much" experience in that...
I was worried about the cleric, though. If she had a decent figure it was concealed under some very cumbersome looking robes. She fiddled with her long brown hair and I could see in her eyes that she was worried. She seemed unsure about the situation, but I trusted that Judgment had done the job justice.
"I-it's alright if you're unwilling, sir…" The cleric stammered.
Uh, oh. I hoped she wasn't the kind of person to back out at the last minute. The guard who was supposed to duel her relaxed.
"I wouldn't want to injury you," the cleric finished in an almost inaudible voice.
Wow, that struck a nerve. I've never seen a man's face turn so purple so quickly.
The bodyguard quickly drew his own saber and tossed the scabbard aside recklessly. The cleric squeaked as the sword halted just before her nose and the guard replied, "I'll fight you woman and any man thereafter."
I was hoping he'd say that. I grinned secretly.
Sensing that it was pointless to intervene the king just went along with our little charade. He ordered the room to be cleared for the two to duel. He even agreed to serve as a judge. If there were underhanded tricks at play there was no one who would dare question a king. He looked worriedly at the cleric as she fumbled with the sword a bit and nearly tripped over her robes. My heart also skipped a beat.
I was about to complain to Leaf the girl suddenly straitened herself up. She tied up her robes decidedly so they wouldn't be a hindrance and then tested her mobility briefly. Although her footing wasn't correct she held the sword out at full length without any difficulty at all. An indomitable expression crossed her face like she was a woman on a mission and every man had best get out of her way.
She has a steady hand, I noticed that the blade didn't tremble one bit. I'll grant her that.
Her opponent likewise twitched. I wondered if he sensed the same thing I did. If I were the one dueling the girl I would take her seriously. She had a certain aura about her that made her look very ominous.
Like a sleeping dragon? I thought suddenly. But why would I suddenly think that?
As soon as I came to that realization, however, the duel was over. My stunned blink was synchronized with everyone else. The moment the king had called "go" the guard had rushed forward with the intent to knock the girl's blade out of her hand. There was an audible CLANG! and it was his blade that went flying and nearly impaled his superior. The cleric dropped her sword and looked terribly distraught.
"I'm so sorry!" She cried in dismay. "Y-you startled me and I-"
She moved forward and cast a minor healing spell on her opponent's hand to keep it from turning purple. The guard was visibly stunned. I was stunned. I looked at Leaf who also looked surprised. Then we all looked over at the king who cleared his throat.
"Um, young lady," The king addressed the cleric in a slightly impatient tone. "Since you dropped your sword as well, I cannot declare you the winner. Both of you will need to return to your starting points."
"Oh," the cleric said in a small voice. She obeyed the order sheepishly.
I studied the cleric thoughtfully. My plan was moving along almost a little too well. In regards to swordsmanship among the Twelve Holy Knights Judgment is traditionally the strongest. It had only made sense to call on him to do the cleric's crash course. I was impressed on what he had accomplished in such a short time.
Actually, most of the "cold-hearted" fraction is skilled with blades and the "warm-hearted" fraction is more formidable when it comes to holy spells and special abilities. Occasionally, though, there will be an exception to this rule. For example this generation's Moon Knight is almost decent when it comes to holy magic and this generation's Cloud Knight is rumored to think more with his blade than with his head. However, because he is the Cloud Knight it's almost impossible to prove the rumor.
"Hold!" The king ordered. I since I had been lost in my own thoughts I almost forgot about the duel.
The cleric stepped back and massaged her right arm. A red splotch appeared on her white robes and was easily be seen by the audience. The duel ended at first blood as were the rules of the other party. It was a shame that the other party hadn't been aware of their own rules because as soon as the king declared the guard the winner and the cleric turned her back the unthinkable happened.
The duel had obviously shaken the man up and anger had stolen what was left his reason. Only an idiot would attempt to stab a man in the back and only someone with a death wish would stab a woman in the back in front of the royal court and members of the Twelve Holy Knights. The violent act was unexpected and caught everyone off guard-
Everyone, except the cleric.
Before Earth could shield her or before Leaf could draw his bow the foreign bodyguard was on his back with the cleric's sword tapping his cheek lightly. For added flair the cleric even caught his sword with her free hand as it came back down. The entire hall was silent. Once again she had knocked his sword out of his grip meaning that the first time had not been a fluke, but actual skill. Such aptitude was wasted on a cleric, but now I had a problem. How was I supposed explain that a mere cleric knew how to wield a sword. That's the problem with plans; something always goes wrong. I took a deep breath and stood up ready to spout more "God of Light" nonsense to cover our tracks.
Only this time I didn't have to. Speaking in a very calm and compassionate voice the cleric said: "Good sir, as I am a devout follower of the God of Light please, don't make me cause you injury." She pleaded. "His message is one of healing not war, but I will defend my life and my home if I am forced to."
So much for clerics just sitting back and enjoying the breeze, I smiled. "It is as our beloved sister says. It would surely bring displeasure to the God of light. Let there be no bloodshed here."
It's a pity Hell made me swear not to hit on any clerics directly associated with the temple. Barmaids were fine, middle aged lonely house wives were fine, archers, knights, warriors, warpriests, darkpriests, and even clerics outside of the temple were fine; Any clerics that lived within the city limits were off limits. And unfortunately she had the Pope backing her up on that demand. I was ordered to keep the scandals so a minimum. It was such a waste though.
After being drawn out of his trance the king ordered, "Guards! Arrest this man for endangering the life of one of my citizens IN MY OWN HALL." He put special annunciation on the last few words and looked at the company envoy very harshly. The prime minister could only nod in agreement. There would be no more negotiations today. For future negotiations we now had one of their men as a hostage and thus had the upper hand.
Master Arthur was absolutely livid.