To the horror of the gathered crowd, Ebenthal changed his physical form. His human body widened, dark, coarse hair grew and covered his skin, his head became elongated until it resembled a rat's head, and he grew a long tail. As cries of "Wererat!" filled the air, Ebenthal grabbed the steel bars and started pulling them apart with his brute strength alone.
Two more wererats jumped onto the platform and pulled on the bars too. In a few seconds, the opening was wide enough to free Ebenthal.
Cthung! I felt movement in the space in front of my chest. When I looked down, I saw an arrow held just inches away from my heart! I looked at the hand holding the arrow and turned to discover the identity of my protector; it was Maisen!
My bodyguard sniffed at the arrow head and blanched. "It's poisoned!" she announced.
Kalistra hissed. As she stared at the trio of wererats up on the platform, she snapped the arrow in her hand in half. The cat girl held up her right paw and motioned for them to attack her.
The wererats hissed back defiantly but refused the challenge. The pack would undoubtedly overwhelm her if they attack in unison, but the precious time wasted in doing so would allow the Watch reinforcements to arrive.
Ebenthal squeaked out a command; the trio leaped off the platform and into the line of approaching Watch guards, knocking them to the ground. The wererats then started running north, past the church but not stepping onto holy ground. Panic and pandemonium followed wherever they went.
I looked around the Public Square and saw that the commoners were all fleeing. I noticed that Rijana, her two elven friends, and several other adventurers were bravely holding off another group of wererats at the western end of the square, while the common folks ran past the fighters to escape.
I noticed there was a body on the ground on the east side of the square; the body had an arrow stuck in the chest. Seeing no wererats in that area, I walked over and knelt before the body. With growing dread, I turned the head toward me; I saw Panklene as I had feared. The wererats apparently targeted all three witnesses, including myself, who spoke out against Ebenthal along with the Town Judge. Suddenly, I felt someone standing next to me. I looked up and saw the angry eyes of Captain Peng Li of the Watch.
The Captain peered at the face of the fallen man and then looked back at me. "Before the trial began, you said you saw something strange on the platform. What did you see? I can't use the truth stone and force you to tell the truth, as the deceased Judge was one of the Blessed able to activate it. But it is important that you tell me what you saw," he implored as his face softened. The man held the precious truth stone tightly in his hand.
"Please do as the Captain requests," Maisen joined in as she pulled me back on my feet. She had already seen my pop-ups and she had some suspicions as to what the Watch and the Church will request of me shortly.
I nodded and said, "When Kalistra pulled me closer to the platform, I saw a bright, red flash and then I saw Ebenthal in his were form. My vision lasted just a split second and then he reverted back to his human form. I didn't understand what I saw at the time." I shook my head and shrugged helplessly while the officer stared at me.
Seeing the Captain lost in thought, I quickly reviewed my pop-ups; I was very concerned about what I would find in my messages. The first one was "-2 Health" from Kalistra's poke at my shoulder. The second message read, "Innate Ability ACQUIRED: Spirit Sense, Level 1. +100 XP." Well, this ability explained why I was able to see Ebenthal's true form. The final pop-up read, "+500 Reputation. +1,000 XP." The reputation increase was from my public testimony during the trial.
Captain Li frowned at my answer. If only I had shared my vision earlier. The Watch would have been warned of the dangerous nature of Ebenthal. The escape attempt would have been foreseen and the captain would have pushed his superiors for more guards and better equipment. Then, the Judge would not have died. Therefore, I will have to make amends to Tregome. "Lawrence Eugene Mulligan, I hereby ORDER you to accompany me as I make my report to the Church. We will depart immediately."
My left arm was grabbed by the Captain before I could reply.
"We'll accompany him," Kalistra replied as she grabbed my right arm.
Captain Li's eyes burned again. "Only pure humans are allowed on the holy ground," he reminded her.
"I won't step inside the church," the cat girl retorted defiantly. The ground of the Church of Britannia was enchanted with holy magic that repelled non-humans. Kalistra couldn't enter even if she tried to (and she did a few times). Since the Church was the de facto authority on the continent of Britannia, its refusal to permit non-humans from entering its properties was bitterly divisive to the non-humans because the Church was implicitly treating the animal people, elves, gnomes, dwarves, and other races as second class citizens compared to humans.
"I'll accompany our pupil," Maisen said.
The captain's eyes glowered at her. Peng Li's personal preference was to have me come alone. However, given Maisen's status as my personal bodyguard, the Captain could not reasonably deny her accompaniment. "Do as you wish," he said gruffly and started pulling me along as he stomped north toward the church building. The officer finally released my arm when we stepped out of the Public Square and back onto the street. He approached a side door at the back of the church building; the entrance was guarded by three heavily armored and magically equipped guards on each side of the door.
When the guards saw Captain Li approach, the six men snapped their heels together and saluted in unison.
The stern officer nodded as one of the guards quickly opened the door to allow his entry into the church.
I followed the captain as Maisen walked to my right. Glancing back, I saw Kalistra standing outside the building with a bitter expression on her feline face.
A young man in white robe accosted Captain Li.
"I must deliver an urgent report to Bishop Canterbury regarding the events of the public trial just now," the officer said.
The page quickly turned around and ran down the hallway. He turned left at the end of the hall and disappeared from view.
Captain Li continued walking but now moved at a much slower pace to give the page time to locate the bishop and inform him of the officer's approach.
I looked down the hallway and saw that the hallway forked at the end toward the left and right.
The young man reappeared a few minutes later and ran up to us. "The Bishop will receive you in his private study. I will take you to him," he said as he bowed slightly.
As we followed the page I looked up at the caption above his head and it read, "Name: Klidsec, Level: ?, Disposition: Nervous." I didn't know if the young man was nervous because he heard about what happened outside, or because of the fact that we were seeking an audience with the bishop. I suspected the latter because, in a small town like Tregome, the bishop was probably the highest church authority within the area. Furthermore, unscheduled visits to high-level officials would rarely be granted except for extreme circumstances. And yes, the appearance of wererats and the murder of a town judge would qualify as such.
Klidsec took us past several doors along the west hall and finally stood in front of a simple wooden door. He knocked once and waited.
The door was opened by another youthful looking man. He stood taller but was thinner than Klidsec and had dark brown hair, in contrast to Klidsec's own golden hair. This second man stepped aside to let us enter.
As Captain Li stepped into the small study, he turned around. "Please wait outside, Maisen," he ordered.
My bodyguard nodded. She looked at me and offered a reassuring smile before the page shut the door in her face.
*Bam*
I looked around the room and saw that the study was sparsely furnished, with a simple desk against the left wall and a chair in front of the desk; a bookcase was on the right wall. There was a second desk near the shelves with another chair. A parchment, quill, and inkwell were on the desk. A small, open window blew a cool breeze into the study.
In front of the window was an old man who stood with a stoop and leaned heavily on a red cane in his left hand. He was dressed in a red robe with a white cross on his chest; he also had a red cape behind his back. He wore a Truth Stone, tied by a red string, around his neck; the stone was a duplicate of the one held by the late town judge. The man looked at us and held out his right hand.
The officer immediately walked across the small room, knelt before the church official and kissed the brass ring on the old man's hand. When Captain Li stood up again, he turned toward me and motioned slightly with his head toward the bishop.
I immediately walked over to the apparently important man, knelt and kissed the ring. The ring felt cold to my lips. I got back to my feet and stood next to the Captain.
"I'm sorry to interrupt, Your Eminence. We were holding a public trial for a scoundrel named Ebenthal this morning. However, archers interrupted the execution and slew Judge Wachtel and a witness with poisoned arrows. Also, it turned out that Ebenthal was a wererat and he was freed by his wererat companions," the officer reported. When he was finished, Li held out his hands, bowed his head, and passed the truth stone to the bishop; the relic had belonged to the now deceased town judge.
As Captain Li delivered his report, I quickly examined the captions of the two men. The old man's caption read: "Name: Bishoop Zohan Canterbury, Level: ?, Disposition: Calm." The young man's caption read: "Name: Head Assistant Enab, Level: ?, Disposition: Respectful."
However, while examining Enab, I saw a blinding black flash. When the light was gone, the young man was replaced by a most hideous looking monster! It looked similar to the mythical minotaur, with twin horns protruding from the sides of the head. It was covered in coarse, brown fur. The figure was very muscular but relatively small in stature and stood perhaps five feet tall on its hooves. Attached to its back was a pair of bat-like black wings. A long, pointy tail dangled on the ground. I felt a strong black aura emanating from this creature. Instinctively, I knew that it was a demon!
I rubbed my eyes in disbelief of the image; when I looked at Enab again I saw only a human being. Did I truly see a demon standing in this room? In the presence of a holy man? On the holy ground? It was impossible because Captain Li had said the grounds of the church were endowed with magic to repel non-humans. The fact that Enab stood in this room meant that my sight must have been a hallucination. Yeah, that must be it!
Bishop Canterbury sighed with a heavy heart as he reluctantly accepted his deceased colleague's cross. He turned toward me and asked, "Why did you bring this young man here?"
When I noticed the bishop looking at me, I quickly dismissed the idea of a demon standing in this room.
The officer nodded. "Before the trial began, this man said he saw a red flash and somehow saw the wererat's true form. However, the judge arrived and I didn't have an opportunity to investigate this claim further. If only we had known that the prisoner was a wererat," he lamented with anger.
Bishop Canterbury patted the crestfallen officer's left shoulder. "Our Lawful Gods work in mysterious ways. Do not blame yourself for the outcome. You did the best you could to save the lives of the commoners gathered in the Public Square; I praise you for your bravery in the face of such evil. Now, I need to question this young man privately. Please leave us," he requested.
The officer bowed deeply and was escorted from the room by Enab.
When the assistant returned to the study and closed the door, Bishop Canterbury said, "Lawrence, please form a party with Enab."
I stared blankly at the bishop. How was I supposed to form a party? I had no idea. Uh-oh. "I have never started a party before," I said with embarrassment. I never had the opportunity! ARGH!
The old man studied me for a moment and kindly taught me how to start a party. "If you recall your player status screen, you need to tap on your avatar to call up party functions including the ability to start your party."
I called up my player screen, tapped on my avatar, and saw a function to "Form a party." I tapped it and a pop-up appeared listing Bishop Canterbury and Enab. I tapped both names and then clicked "Enter" on the bottom of the pop-up.
Bishop Canterbury declined while Enab accepted.
"Enab, please transcribe what you see on Lawrence's player screen," the bishop ordered.
The young man walked over to his desk next to the bookcase and started writing down my stats. When he was finished a few minutes later, he took the parchment over to the bishop's desk.
The bishop bent his head over his desk and read the information on the parchment. When he finished, he turned around to address me. "I see that you have the Spirit Sense ability. That was how you were able to see Ebenthal's true form. Unfortunately, it is a rare ability and only you and I have it in this small town. Since you are pursuing the crown, you will need to submit to the authority of the Church of Britannia in order to be officially recognized as such. I propose that you join the church on a temporary basis and agree to help the Watch in its Were-Hunt to find the wererats. Whenever were-creatures appear, there is usually a den nearby. We must find and destroy it before more people are bitten and turned into wererats. Will you join the Church and conduct the Were-Hunt?" he asked.
"If I join the Church, what would be my responsibilities?" I asked.
"Anything I ask you to do," Bishop Canterbury replied with a slight smile. "If you seek to become the next King of Merlin, you MUST become a member of the church because we are the ones who will choose the next rightful King. The Church of Britannia is a Lawful religious and government entity whose authority encompasses the entire continent of Britannia. We give serious consideration to all pursuers of the crown and we weigh the morals, values, and achievements of each contender against the others. Your performance of services on behalf of the Church, such as the Were-Hunt, will be highly valued by the clergymen who will consider your candidacy for the crown. What is your answer?"
If joining the church was a prerequisite to becoming the King of Merlin, and thus leave this gaming world, then I had no choice but to join the church. "Yes, I will join the church and participate in the Were-Hunt," I answered.
Bishop Canterbury nodded. "Enab, please bring a red string," he ordered.
The page walked over to his superior's desk and opened the drawer. He took out a ball of red string and gave it to the bishop.
The bishop took hold of the open end of the string and looped it through a tiny hole at the top portion of the obsidian cross. He unwound the ball until the string was long enough for a necklace. "Enab, please cut here," he requested. When the page did as ordered with a small knife, the bishop tied the ends of the string together. "Lawrence, please kneel."
I knelt before the bishop.
"Lawrence Eugene Mulligan, do you swear to follow and uphold the Law, the Order, and the Teachings of the Church until the end of your days?" he asked.
"I do," I replied.
"Then by my authority as Bishop, I appoint you an Initiate of the Church of Britannia," the bishop said and placed the necklace over my head.
I felt the truth stone on my chest; it was slightly heavy and felt warm and soothing to the touch. Using my magic detection, I saw a gold aura emanating from the stone. I ignored the pop-up.
Bishop Canterbury continued with the ceremony. "Please rise. Your first duty as a member of our Church is to avenge the death of Judge Wachtel, the previous owner of the truth stone that you will now wear in his Honor. If your standing within the Church rises to a certain level in the future, I will help you unlock the powers of this stone. You must seek out and pursue the wererats inside Tregome until they are all eliminated!"
"I will," I promised. I received two more pop-ups and ignored them.
"Please go now and ask Captain Li to accompany you in the Were-Hunt," Canterbury ordered.
"Yes, Bishop," I nodded and got back to my feet.
Enab opened the door and escorted me out.