The Altar and the Throne

In a richly decorated Long Chamber inside the Royal Household, under a domed ceiling and among paintings as well as sculptures, eight people sat by a lengthy table. Two on one end, one on the other end, and five on the sides. Meetings between the Sorostade Court and Rockbase Administration were a weekly routine to at least one Administration member, and were often a forum for exchanging worries and complaints about the uneasy relationship between the two unequal powers.

‘How rarely we see you anymore, Lady Seelastraxx,’ had commented Lord Regent Tepper earlier that morning, having arrived in the Long Chamber. ‘I am pleased to welcome you again. I wonder to what do we owe this pleasure.’

‘I woke up this morning and simply could not resist the urge to hear more about taxes and agreements,’ she had replied.

‘Indeed.’

The regent was often the more exasperated side, seeing the other side as either oblivious or disinterested. He was correct on both accounts. This is a man who grew up in a court and among nobles, and has been a head of state for a dozen years. Meanwhile, we are just young adults. Amateurs, with less than three months of experience. How ironic, thought Seelastraxx behind a neutral face. As for the nobles of the court, ministers, and retainers, their reactions and attitudes ranged from outright fear to reverence towards Players.

Teec did most of the work from the Administration side, with occasional glances and whispers to and from Seelastraxx. As the regular agenda came to a close, Teec cleared his throat and asked to discuss one more topic.

‘We heard you enjoy a good contract, Lord Regent’ said Teec.

‘How gracious of you to entertain me,’ replied Tepper. ‘I mean, aside from taxation disputes. I could do them all day.’

‘However, the respectable ministers need not be bothered with this trivial matter,’ Teec politely said.

‘Is that so? Very well, then. Gentlemen, I’m sure you have important duties to attend to. Do not let us deter you from them.’

Once the only people in the Long Chamber were Tepper, Teec and Seelastraxx, the host said reclining in his highly decorated chair: ‘I’m looking forward to seeing that trivial matter you came all the way here to present in person.’

Crap. He’s already sensing something amiss, Seelastraxx thought.

Teec went over to the far side of the table where Tepper was sitting, and laid out the aqueduct plans before him, then returned to his seat and explained

‘Obviously, we…’ Seelastraxx was about to say cannot, but decided a different word would suit their position better. ‘...would not commit to such a plan without authorization from the Crown, it being the de facto owner of the entire land from here to there.’

The acting monarch gave the designs a good, long look, but surprisingly said:

‘This is very troublesome.’

Seelastraxx and Teec were taken aback, visibly so. They had prepared arguments and all kinds of scenarios and data to support their proposal, and they even made last minute changes to make the aqueduct plan look extremely beneficial to Rockbase just because they expected Tepper to get suspicious seeing a plan strangely favouring Sorostade’s interests. But here was Tepper seeming to instantly reject the idea.

‘Why?’ asked Seelastraxx. It was her turn to work. ‘The benefits of this are innumerable. It’s the opposite of troublesome.’

‘Oh yes, this is outstanding and I want to see it happen. Truly.’ Tepper leaned back in this throne-chair, idly swirling a goblet of wine. ‘But you see, there is a small problem wearing a funny hat. The Pontifex visited me the other day, right here in this chamber. He told me all kinds of things he did not like - not for the first time - for instance, rumours about a new cult growing in the kingdom and the city itself. A cult professing a worship of the saviors from another world, sent by heavens to protect them. Even I, with mine own ears, heard a tale, entirely fictional I’m sure, about a miraculous treatment of an old, sick man. A man who also happens to be a master architect with grand ideas. A bizarre story, is it not?’

The one whose class was Priestess only because of a game, despite knowing she was part of the problem in more ways than that, had no choice but to push.

‘We never asked for anything like this. In fact, we stay away from your local religion to avoid any association with divinity. Which is also the reason I don’t come here.’

‘Still, I’m sure you see why the Pontifex would be upset. And you know, there are many pious people in the kingdom. When Pontifex Vivario speaks, they listen. Yes, I can now see in your faces you know where I’m going with this, but I will summarize it bluntly regardless. A huge partnership with your people will be very inconvenient for this court. Very unpopular.’

‘And who has the supreme authority in this land? You, or the Pontifex?’ asked Seealstraxx, forgetting to use the Lord Regent’s title.

‘A question as old as the kingdom, my Lady Seelastraxx. In the matter at hand, it would be me. But it is beside the point. The point, as I said, is what the pious people of Sorostade will think of the Crown because of this partnership that is already… controversial, in some circles.’

‘And what if the people at large were to learn, perhaps by accident, that one of its major problems of daily life could have been solved and the Players volunteered to do it, but the Crown rejected it?’

‘By the Blood of the Martyr, you do not pull your punches today, do you my Lady?’ Lord Regent smiled. ‘This is just one capital city, you know. There are more people living outside the capital than inside it. I will not lose too much public support, if such a careless leak of information were to happen.’

‘Strange, I thought you said you have to kowtow to a group of the more pious citizens to protect your public support.’

‘Ah, you got me there!’ Tepper said, and took a sip from the goblet, but said no more than that. Seelastraxx decided to keep probing, having nothing to lose.

‘And if the Players were to, say, stop hunting all kinds of monsters in the world? What then?’

‘Oh, I don’t know. The same thing that is bound to happen as soon as you all leave our world?’

The elephant in the room has been finally, after a long time, noticed. Nobody spoke for a moment.

‘So you need us,’ Seelastraxx noted.

‘And you need us. Do not get me wrong, your services of protecting our towns and roads are greatly appreciated. However, I am yet to hear about a Player harvesting crops or milking a cow, or sitting by the loom from dawn to dusk. Anyway, I see you’re going to quite the length to get this deal done, even as far as to threaten my kingdom for it. I can now see why you wanted the ministers dismissed. But what presses you to argue so hard for a project that is so amazingly good for “me”?

‘... we just really need this water.’

‘Hmm… this kind of project does not happen overnight, even considering your amazing efficiency of work. How goes that new Town Hall construction? Not done yet? I see,’ Tepper seemed more relaxed now when the cards were laid on the table. ‘When we first met, you told me you did not know why you’re here and that you want to leave as soon as possible. It’s been what, two or three months since then? And you are still here.’

Tepper stood up, and began pacing while talking.

‘And now you propose long-term plans, plans that you may never rest in the shade of. So what changed? You now want to stay, or perhaps you are unable to leave?’

‘Either is good for your side.’

‘Indeed,’ Tepper said, then sighed. He approached the table, gathered the offered plans, and brought them to Teec and Seelastraxx who now also rose from their seats. ‘Let me be frank with you, as you speak so directly to me. I like this design. I really do. But the optics, you see. Politics. Let us return to this conversation later, shall we? In two weeks, perhaps? Oh, and please speak to nobody about this, least of all the priests. I mean the religious kind,’ he winked at Seelastraxx.

—

Outside the closed doors to the Long Chamber, despite the setback of the rejected proposition, Seelastraxx put a wry smile on her face.

‘He didn’t notice.’