Chapter 261: Divine Messenger
Amidst the slums of the capitol, surrounded on all sides by dilapidated buildings and ramshackle abodes, stood an island of cleanliness. A strangely pristine building bearing fresh paint and freshly swept walkways. That wasn't to say the building was impressive, of course. It was just as cheaply made as those around it, its walls and roof consisting of simple rough timbers. But someone had obviously taken the time to polish it up to the best of their abilities.
Bee swallowed nervously as she walked up to the entrance and knocked. A bolt rattled as the latch was slid aside, allowing the door to creak open a crack. An eye appeared, looking her up and down before the door opened the rest of the way. The young woman behind it stepped aside for her to come through. She was pointed toward a door in the back of the room, which she wordlessly headed toward.
Stepping through the inner door revealed two people inside. One was a dirty woman who smelled quite bad. She was huddled in the corner of the room, not looking at all as Bee entered. The other was a man sitting behind the desk in white robes with a calm and collected air.
"Miss Bee," he said, bowing his head and gesturing for her to take the seat across from him.
She noted that he did not stand up to greet her, which wasn't a great start. But neither was he disrespectful, treating her as an honored guest and first among equals rather than the true high priest of religion. She hoped that didn't bode poorly for their talks.
As Bee sat, the man waited for her to speak, but she just looked at him for a few moments, trying to gauge both him and the woman huddled in the corner. As she studied him, she also checked on how they registered in her faith sense.
The power from her High Priestess class was not to be overlooked. From this distance, the tendrils of faith extending from the pair were clear as day as they crept toward Void. But neither of them were quite right. The one from The dirty woman was black and writhing ominously. It reminded her of the color of Void, but that was as far as the similarities went. The one from the man was less concerning but still the wrong color. It wasn't the pure gold that extended from her and those from the castle, but rather a silvery hue, slightly tarnished but still precious.
She schooled her face to avoid frowning as she considered the implications of these differences. Eventually, the man in front of her spoke.
"I am known as Zeal." He said, and she smiled slightly.
"I know." she didn't actually know, but it would have certainly been appropriate for her to know. "I believe that you had some interactions with my Master in Caleb. Correct?"
Zeal nodded. "I'm surprised that the lord would remember me. All I did was have a quick conversation when he was in the vicinity. Our lord surely was above noticing me."
Bee gave him a stiff smile. "Nothing escapes the sight of our lord."
That was it. She let that sentence hang between them for several moments as the silence stretched out.
"Well, I have heard from some of my..." He paused for a second as if considering what to call his underlings. "…Helpers… that you stopped by a meeting of our faithful. They said that you had an interesting philosophical conversation with one of the discussion facilitators."
This was it. This was the big turning point. How she approached this topic and how Zeal responded would be crucial for this entire conversation. The last thing Bee wanted was to seem like a pushover, especially on doctrine that she knew to be true. So, coming out of the gate confidently was a must.
Bee smirked slightly, remembering the event. "I did, I did. I was wondering how some heretical thoughts had managed to worm their way into such influenceable minds."
"Heretical thoughts?" the man said slightly indignantly. "I don't believe there's been any heresy we've been preaching, but if there is, I would happily welcome the opportunity to listen to my lord’s corrections if he would just stop by and tell me."
Internally, she breathed a sigh of relief. She hadn't been shot down outright. Bee wondered if she could claim that as Void's High priestess, she spoke with her lord's authority. She didn't think that this man would accept that, though. So she stayed quiet, just giving him a knowing smile. Sometimes, not speaking was the best approach.
Eventually, Zeal relaxed slightly and spoke again. "I've heard many of my members have had a vision or visitation from our lord in their dreams, or before they went to bed. It said that our lord's voice was in the city. Was this your doing?"
Bee shook her head. That was news to her. Apparently, Void had also been busy on its own mission. She sent a silent prayer of thanks to her master for paving the way. "I had nothing to do with master's actions. If Void chose to warn your people that his High Priestess had come, that was our lord's own choice. Void is currently somewhere in the city, and he has tasked me with preparing it for his plans."
Zeal leaned forward, "Our lord is here in person?"
Bee nodded in confirmation. "Yes."
With that, Zeal shot to his feet and began pacing. "We have been preparing it for his coming, but for it to be so soon…" He shook his head. "I fear we haven't finished our preparations. Not everyone is fully aware of the glories he will bestow upon the world."
Bee nodded with a regretful frown on her face. "Yes. It appears that the city is not fully willing to welcome him. But we come for other purposes. The king has struck against Void and his people, and so we are here to remove him," she said, openly stating their purpose. "Void has come to prepare the way for his armies."
She watched Zeal's reaction carefully, ready to intercept him if there was any sign that he would stand in her master's way. It was a gamble telling him too much up front, but everything she had seen suggested that the man would do anything for Void. Void and power. She didn't entirely trust him, but it would be in his self-interest to allow for the removal of the king. That would create a massive power vacuum that his sect was already in the perfect position to fill. And if he truly was as much of a believer as she said, she doubted he would go against the direct orders of Void even if they had different interpretations of their master's wishes.
The small smile slowly growing on his face seemed to confirm her thoughts. "This is perfect. I think that we have enough people that we should be able to prepare the city. If it is as simple as removing some guards and paving the way for a siege… that would be simple."
Bee shook her head before the men went too far. "No, no, we have a plan, and some of the other agents and I are well along our way to implementing it. But we could use a lot more manpower."
Zeal smiled. "Well, manpower is certainly something we do not lack. I'm sure you've seen many of our preachers. Those are but the tip of the iceberg. Many of them dare to venture out because they have no ties and no families that the authorities can crack down on. But past that… we have many, many more believers than you might think."
Beatrice believed the man. With the sheer volume of threads she could feel throughout the city, her faith sense confirmed as much.
"Good, good. The army coming will have no problem taking the city."Bee said with false confidence. Void would truly make that possible. But she didn't. "While there will be losses, we want to preserve it as much of the city as possible. We are here for the king, not the people. We believe he has been corrupted by some sort of demonic influence. We want to swiftly replace him and bring peace to this land."
"Well, I'm all for that." Zeal agreed. "Now. How can we assist?"
"Our master..." As she began to explain, Bee was interrupted by a sudden muttering. Turning to look, she found that the dirty woman had begun hugging her knees tightly and speaking in hushed tones. Now that Bee thought about it, she almost looked familiar somehow.
"Void. Despair. Consume, consume. Void will… Consume all," The words came out in a halting, disconcerting, and disjointed bundle.
Zeal and Bee just looked at each other for a moment. Then, they continued with their plans.
***
By the time Bee left the place, she felt a lot more confident. Now, she wouldn't just be relying on some of her wagoneers and business contacts. With this, they'd have a full-on path through the city that would be walled off by many different means. Maybe even multiple paths if they could make it work. Even better, the city's gates would all be opened from the inside without her having to risk her people. Zeal apparently had no problems casting his people for those roles, as he didn't seem to respect them individually the same way she did.
It almost made her wish she hadn't taken the time to impersonate herself and pretend to be from her father's company. That had been useful in plenty of other ways, though.
She still needed to go talk to the children and the soldiers she had brought along to make sure that. Zeal had told her about the city's state and its people, which was actually true. If as many people as he claimed were actually followers of the Void. Surely, one of her groups would have heard more about it.
She'd hoped that Void would be willing to correct any of the misinterpretations that Zeal and his people had made about her master's teachings. But apparently, her master hadn't thought to speak up during the meeting, so she would have to ask about that. Maybe Zeal would be corrected later. They hadn't dwelled on it too much during this meeting, but going forward, Bee was sure it would become a sticking point. Surely, the master would set them right, eventually.
As Bee made her way down the street, a black disk seemed to materialize from the darkness at her side. She smiled as it hovered alongside her. "Did I do well, master?"
Void gave a happy beep of affirmation that filled her with pride.
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