Six
Vikoria's Church, Mulberry
"So what are your plans for this morning?" Lillis asked as we had breakfast. I'd shifted back to my human form before getting dressed.
"I'm not sure. I'm debating a trip into town to see if that moves whatever is going to happen away from here."
"Isn't that dangerous?"
"Probably, but that's why I'm here. After that guy yesterday, I'm not sure this Sorez guy's all that smart. At least his foot soldiers aren't."
"Let me talk to Perrin. It's early yet; someone may have to go into town for something, and you can go with them."
"You think that'd be better than going in by myself?"
"By yourself, you're just looking for trouble. But with a group? Obviously, you needed to oversee how things were done and make sure they were doing it efficiently! Or that they got the right parts, or whatever story you want to make up, so it won't be suspicious."
I nodded. "Sure, why not?"
"Mel, after you're done, go find Cantor Perrin or Samuel, and ask if there's anyone going into town this morning that William can accompany. And if not, maybe they should find a reason?"
"Yes, Vicar Lillis."
"Good, now that we've taken care of that, I need to go do the morning blessings. I would be very happy, William, if you were to come?"
I smiled and stood as she did. "Of course."
I followed her to the room where they stored the vestments, and we chatted a bit as she put on the necessary things.
Then she sent me to sit in one of the pews, and I watched as she came out and performed the morning rituals for the church.
There were a number of people there, some of whom came up and asked to be blessed, but most were just there for the daily ritual.
I'd been through these with Nara for years.
If I was at the temple when she did them, I made sure to attend, and sometimes I even came down from the castle for them.
The only differences were the service, of course—each was unique to the individual god and their religion—and that I was sitting in a pew rather than inside the sanctuary, the area around the altar that was off-limits for those not of the religion.
When it was finished, Sam found me and took me aside.
"Engineer Hansmith is sending a couple of his boys into town to pick up some spare items. They're waiting for you outside."
"Thank you, Sam," I said with a nod.
"Honestly, I was worried about them going alone. While no one thinks they'll harm our people over what's happened so far, I'd rather not take any chances."
"Me, neither," I agreed. "Let me get a few things and tell Priestess Lillis that I'm off with the others. I'll be right out."
"I'll let them know."
A short while later, I was sitting on the bench of a conveyance similar to an old buckboard wagon, drawn by a pair of horses, on the way into town.
I'd left my swords back in Lillis' room.
I didn't think it looked right for me to be that heavily armed.
I was wearing my button-flap holster with my pistol in it, and because I was a bit shorter in human form, the jacket I wore covered the top of it, making it less obvious.
I also had a pair of daggers, which I wore on my belt.
I didn't have any boots to stick them in, as I was wearing sandals.
If I had to shift, I'd lose them, but that wasn't a big deal for me.
"I'm Ned, that's Jacob," said the man driving the carriage, jerking a thumb back at Jacob, who was sitting in the back.
"I'm William. Nice to meet you both."
"We saw you last night at the church," Ned said.
I nodded. "So what are we going into town for?"
"Some expanding anchors to set the equipment legs in the concrete, square mounting plates, and some other odds and ends. Not a lot of stuff, but Engineer Hansmith doesn't want to run out in the middle of the installation."
"So why no halflings with us?"
"Because we're all a tad worried that there might be problems, and Jacob and I are a bit tougher than the rest. We do know how to fight, though probably nowhere near as well as you do."
"That's okay, I don't expect either of you to do any fighting today," I said, settling down into the seat as I looked around, watching and getting a feel for the lay of the land as we headed into town.
I'd learned yesterday that it was about an hour away if you walked—or maybe they'd upped the time after seeing how bad I'd beaten that other guy?
In the wagon, it would probably take around half that.
"Did you really do all the things they say you did?" Jacob asked from the back.
"I don't know what they say I did," I replied, "so I have no idea."
"They say you killed one of the gods who attacked our people in Rossiya, and that you killed a king in Amnar, and destroyed his country, which you now rule."
"Yeah, those are more or less true, though I'm just a regent until my daughter, who inherited the crown through her mother, is old enough to rule as queen."
"If you're regent there, why are you here?"
"Because I didn't want the job? Because they don't need me breathing down their necks every hour of every day? Because I have other things, equally important, to do," I said, making the last a statement and not a question.
"Oh? What kinds of things?"
"Things like what I'm doing right now."
"How can this be as important as running a kingdom?" Jacob asked incredulously.
"Because without people like you, there are no kingdoms. Because every once in a while, people like me need to go around, punishing the guilty, and doing the needful, so that good people like you, like Vikoria's, can live your lives doing the good so many of you do by growing food and keeping everyone fed.
"My god, Feliogustus, believes in these things, and I believe in these things.
The king I killed was evil. He was destroying his people, and he murdered someone I loved.
Par was originally just someone hurting your people, which I honestly despised her for, but then she showed her true colors and killed an innocent child. My innocent child. So she had to pay.
"So I've come here now to help all of you in the hopes that by setting such things right and making it clear to all that there are limits to what I will allow to happen to my friends and my god's friends and allies, that perhaps—" I sighed heavily "—perhaps, certain people will change their ways, or at least they'll leave us and ours alone. "
"Sounds like a full-time job," Ned said, glancing over at me.
"It is. As a friend once told me years ago, there will be times it will be easy, and there will be times when you need to remind certain people that there are things worse than death—and one of those things is you. Those are the hard times, the difficult and trying ones."
"Then why do you do it?"
"Because someone has to. I love my god, Feliogustus, I love my family, and I love my people.
I've learned there are other groups out there, like yours, that I'm coming to love as well, and seeing folks living their lives in peace, able to create and build nice things, and raising their families makes me feel good about the terrible things I sometimes have to do. "
"Amen to that, William, and excuse me for saying so, but better you than me!"
I laughed. "A sentiment I can agree with. Better me than you. Is there a good place to eat in town? Or do you think we'll be back by lunchtime?"
"Probably be back in time for lunch."
"How hard is it to kill a god?" Jacob asked, surprising me.
"Very," I replied, "which is why there are so few who can do it, and it's not something you talk about."
"Oh."
Ned just shook his head, and the rest of the trip proceeded in silence.
The town was interesting. The streets started out as packed gravel and turned into a sort of cobblestone, which was a lot smoother than you might realize, as they were obviously maintained.
The buildings were mainly homes on the outskirts, each with a small garden.
As you went further in, the buildings became shops and warehouses interspersed with the occasional home, and when you got to the town center, it was all one- and two-story buildings, most of which were made of brick or stone.
The first floors were all shops and businesses of one sort or another, while the second floors looked like living spaces.
The place we were going to was on the other side of town, past the town center, in the area of shops and warehouses that seemed to ring it. We drove up to one of the warehouses with a sign proclaiming it an industrial hardware store.
Parking the carriage and tying the horses to the hitching post, I followed Ned and Jacob inside.
It was like every other warehouse parts place I'd seen back when I'd lived in NY.
There was a counter with a couple of guys behind it, dealing with customers.
The place wasn't airconditioned; the breezes came from open windows up high, and a series of fans.
There was no wall behind the guys, just a series of free-standing shelves that ran all the way towards the back.
I hung back and waited until Ned got someone to talk to him, and they discussed what was needed and what they had—which sounded like everything—then the guy went off to collect it all, coming back twice to set things on the counter, which Ned looked at.
For my part, I was bored, so I stepped forward and examined the parts, too.
They were good, but I could tell the quality wasn't what I grew up with.
No stainless steel, of course, and none of it was what you'd call 'high-grade' back where I'd grown up, but it looked strong enough, so hopefully, it'd do.
"You know what you're looking at?" Jacob asked.
"I used to be an engineer like Hansmith. Part of why we spent so much time talking yesterday."
"Wow, I had no idea."
I shrugged. "We all gotta come from somewhere."
Moving back to where I'd been waiting. I watched as the last of the parts were found, and Ned paid. Jacob picked up the large box, and we headed outside—
—to find four human men standing around our buckboard wagon.