Chapter CLXXIV – Lay not up for yourselves meeting upon a demon.

44th of Summer 5860
Libertycave, State of Casamonu

The cave of liberty. Libertycave. The people here were pioneers in many things. Naming places was certainly not one of them.

“Come in.”

Leila jumped back in shock and almost fell on her hindside upon hearing the voice coming from the other side of the door. There was nothing unusual or terrifying about the voice, which was what was surprising. Sure, she had met the man before, but all the Demon King talk had made her forget and expect something more exceptional than the voice of an old man. The “old man” (if such a beast could be called that) that she had met more than a year ago, one which she had now willingly walked into the lair of.

“Hello? Come in?”

The voice shouted again. Leila had ended up spacing out. She finally opened the door, to see the same John Brown as the one she had left. “Uhm, good evening.” It was indeed a cave, with nothing much but a desk, a few chairs, and a whole lot of paper and maps scattered around the place.

“Good evening, miss.” Brown got up from his seat to drag a chair in front of his desk. “Please, take a seat.”

“Good evening. Thank you.” Leila was seated. A quiet. She felt like she had forgotten her lines and swallowed her tongue, both at the same time. “Erm…”

“I’m listening.” The old man was staring directly into her eyes.

Leila cleared her throat to make some time. “I’m a sister, from a monastery in Ancoire. We were closed off from the outside world until the Protection Squadron attacked us.”

Brown immediately seemed much more interested upon the mention of the PS. He raised a brow up, leaning forward to look even closer at his guest. “I assume they must have had some sort of justification?”

Leila’s speech was slow and stilted, unable to get over her nervousness. “Some refugees had come into our monastery, and we refused to hand them over when the PS requested it. Apparently there has been… much trouble in Ancoire. His Upmost Eminence has disappeared, and nobody has a clue as to where he may be. The Temple tried to elect a new one in his absence, but… but, apparently it devolved into brawling between the two most popular candidates. Eventually a mob descended into the Beige Temple and forced them into ruling in a diarchy, as co-High Priests, but that just resulted in even greater fighting. Eventually the Chancellor sent a regiment of the Protection Squadron to intervene and… here we are.”

“Interesting.” Brown in the meanwhile was calmly taking notes on a piece of paper. “So, the Imperials have forcibly seized control of the city?”

“From what I hear, yes.” Leila didn’t get why Brown seemed so excited about that all of a sudden.

“How is the situation in Ancoire itself?” asked Brown, continuing to scribble on the paper.

“Violent. The refugees said that they escaped since the Protection Squadron were cracking down on anyone resisting their occupation.”

“How is this so-called Protection Squadron equipped?”

“Uhm… very simple metal helmets, black gambeson, oddly-shaped hand canons. I can’t exactly explain how strange they look with words.”

“I see.” Armed with muskets, otherworldly appearance, unhappy populace. Brown would have to check up on these later and confirm that this woman wasn’t leading them into some sort of trap, however, she seemed to be telling the truth. “So, what are you here for, miss? You’re from the Temple, from Ancoire. Far from the Republic; I commend your bravery for having made the trip here.”

That was the hard part. Leila could feel her soul being cast closer to damnation with each and every word. Perhaps she shouldn’t have volunteered to be the sacrificial lamb of Ancoire, but it was a bit too late to think about that now. “The sisters sent me here as a representative to ask for your assistance… protection, protection to drive the Protection Squadron out of our monastery.”

“It’s treason, then.” Brown nodded in approval. “You wish to go to war against the Empire.”

“No. We only wish to return to peace.”

“Most unfortunately, in this case, we have to make war before we make peace.” Brown got up from the desk, and offered a hand to get Leila back on her feet.

Leila got up following him. She didn’t want to point out the fact that, from her perspective, the Republic had ruined the peace. Her perspective also required that the enslavement of countless be counted as “peace.” She wasn’t thinking too hard about that part yet. For now, the sisters had to make a deal with the Devil.

“Please, follow me.” Brown led her outside, where Watanabe and Rabanowicz waved at them while they passed by. Back to the streets, to the crowd flowing by them, before Brown stopped by a house that didn’t look any different than any other in Libertycave. The only difference was that there was an armed guard stationed in front of the door, and the windows were barricaded. “Would you count it as ‘a return to peace’ if the Head Priest was restored to his office?”

“Indeed. That I think the sisters would agree on.” Though, Leila didn’t get the point of the question.

“Then…” Brown knocked on the door, before opening it. A decent living room, with a fireplace and a sofa complete with a coffee table. Perhaps a bit too modern-looking for Gemeinplatz, but Watanabe was making strides in interior design. On the sofa was an oldish man, dressed plainly, sipping on some tea while going through a book.

It took a few seconds for Leila to realize who the old man was. The man minted on the heads side of every coin minted in Ancoire, his distinct robes of office hanging on the wall, his eyes turning around to meet his visitors. Leila had never seen him in person, but she was sure that it was him.

“…then, meet ‘His Upmost Eminence’, Mister Castellan.”

“Oh, Your Upmost Eminence!” Leila bowed down immediately, prostrating herself before the Divine-appointed presence.

The presence in question looked confused. “Oh. Right, right.” He had forgotten what his role was for a brief second. “You may rise, there’s no need for formalities. Especially not here.”

“A-alright.” Leila got back up. The Head Priest… certainly looked way less divine when he wasn’t dressed with his robes. Now he looked like the mortal man that he was. Much less impressive. Mundane, even.

“Mister Castellan, I’ve brought here one of your own from Ancoire who requests your return. The sisters are in trouble.”

“Oh… Are they?” Castellan spoke with the unenthusiasm of a man who was just called to work during a vacation. His eyes really wanted to shift back to the novel he was reading rather than be troubled with the trifles on the Temple again.

Brown was surprised to say the least at how quickly Castellan had given up ambition. Surprised, and disgusted to a degree at how easily some people sold out. “Yes. Not to worry however – the Republic shall extend its protection to all in need. We only require that you do your spiritual duties as the Head Priest. Everything else will be handled by the Republic, and you get to have many less headaches coming your way.”

Castellan had already heard and weighed the options in his head countless times. Be a marionette under the Empire or be one under the Republic… at this point, he had stopped caring. The ambitious man who had risen up to his position had been beaten from both ends by the ambitions of those much greater than him. “If the Divine wills that it be so…”

“You have our gratitude, Your Upmost Eminence.” Leila gave another bow, this one again being interrupted by Castellan.

“I believe that we must be on the move.” Brown gave his farewell and left the room. There was much work to do.