Decree
“Don’t despair, Anya,” the middle-aged man put on a fierce expression, “The prime material plane is vast, we can definitely find a way out… It’s not just Silverymoon and the orcs here…”
“I’ve already made some contact with some other channels, we can discuss the details later. The shadow mirror seems to be waning… Your only mission is to stabilise the situation, it concerns the life and death of our family…” The image grew blurry as time went on, the voice getting cut up.
Just this short period of communication required a spell formation and several expensive energy crystals. Anya could only smile bitterly and shake her head.
“Other channels… Is Father prepared to seek out other factions? But the ones who would accept us at this time… Are they demons or devils?” Anya smiled sardonically, “Forget it… As long as we can live, I wouldn’t mind help from the Abyss itself…”
The actions of the Neon Merchant Group had reached their crescendo. Anya dreaded the thought of the consequences of them being outed now. She rubbed her temples as determination flooded her face once more, before she lifted her dress and walked away.
As she was moving out, she sent out a silent prayer from her heart, ‘Any god out there, please, protect me and my family. I’m willing to give you my faith, my life, and even my soul after this passes…’
……
“Neon Merchant Group? A prayer for our help?” Tiff rubbed the glasses that gave him a scholarly appearance. “What do you think, Moena?”
“They’re a medium-sized merchant group in the north, mainly trading in leather and medicine. Their current leader is Fagus Bane. We performed some investigation after receiving their prayer, and they’re not as simple as they seem on the surface. Not only are their relations in the north complicated, they seem to be in contact with the orc empire,” A high-ranked priestess said from the side.
“So that’s how it is…” Tiff suddenly laughed. “That is to say, they’re currently in a dangerous situation and if their secret is revealed they’d be exterminated by Tyr and Mystra? There aren’t many influences willing to protect them and incur the wrath of those two… Just nice, since we’re one of them!”
‘They’ll be helpful when we’re trying to expand in the north…’ Light flashed in Tiff’s eyes, ‘We need more detailed information.’
Tiff still hadn’t been enticed by what he was shown. He needed more information, to be able to weigh the pros and cons to come up with the correct decision. This attitude was also why Leylin chose him to be pope.
“You can leave for now.” Tiff waved his hands, sending the priestess away. He soon followed her out.
The entire church was filled with a festive atmosphere at this moment, numerous priests busy as they rushed about to arrange for a great amount of food and drink.
“Everyone, continue the hard work for the Lord’s birthday.” A few officers were urging everyone on, sweat beading on their foreheads.
Tiff was deeply moved by this scene. ‘Has it already been a year since the Lord ascended, detaching himself from his past to sit on his throne? The Neon Merchant Group will make a good present for it, he’ll definitely be pleased…’
Year 27945, Calendar of the Gods. The Giant Serpent Church celebrated the passage of one year since the birth of their god.
Even adding his mortal life Leylin was currently only 300 years old, quite young. However, such things as age held no significance for the gods. Still, Leylin made time to descend for the sake of his worshippers, performing a miracle that caused many of them to be moved to tears.
The holy mountain within Leylin’s divine kingdom was piled up with jade, bright light pouring out of the huge church to penetrate the first three Hells. The light dispersed suffering and evil, bringing about hope and beauty.
Leylin’s true body was sat down on his throne within the church, heavily protected by guards and enchantments as his body radiated immortal light. The theatrics done, he was turning to a report from Tiff.
An endless stream of prayers came to Leylin every day, originating from his divine kingdom, the prime material plane, and even devils from the depths of Baator. Tens of millions of prayers were received, and Leylin responded in accordance to the importance of each.
Even though gods had powerful minds, they still weren’t capable of dealing with such hard work. Many gods assigned the task of responding to prayers to a few demigods or lesser gods, helping reduce their workload.
Leylin had just established his divine kingdom, and he didn’t have as many capable and trustworthy subordinates. Instead, he’d had the A.I. Chip handle a huge portion of this task. With all the upgrades it had received over time, it was better than him at such mechanical task.
[Beep! Pope Tiff’s prayers have been found, beginning transfer…] Tiff’s report came in the form of a prayer. The man was extremely pious, and given that he was after all the pope of the Giant Serpent Church his thread of faith was thick and dazzling. He was given great importance in the A.I. Chip’s programs, allowed to speak directly to his god.
A great amount of images and information entered Leylin’s eyes in an instant, detailing the Neon Merchant Group, Fagus, and Anya… Almost instantly he completely understood Tiff’s prayers.
‘The Neon Merchant Group, in the north…’ Leylin stroked his chin… He himself had much wider and more detailed channels of information passing Tiff’s own, and it took but a thought for him to gather more intelligence. ‘They’re sending firearms to the orc empire, and their main channel of trade is with the Blackblood Tribe of the Moonwood?
‘On top of that, they have a batch of important goods sealed within New Silverymoon right now. If they’re discovered they’ll be tried for treason, the profanity causing the entire group to be destroyed…’
‘Blackblood Tribe… Malar!’ Leylin laughed.
The Lesser God of the Hunt had joined hands with the orcs once before. However, Mystra and Tyr had supposedly taught him a ruthless lesson, taming him after an attack on his avatar.
Unfortunately this didn’t cause the slightest of changes to his nature. It seemed like Malar was colluding with the orcs once more…
Within the prime material plane, the Giant Serpent Church was a sea of celebration. There was unlimited food and drink, and for many worshippers it served as an opportunity to gain trust and make a favourable impression.
Churches that provided the material comforts and positivity would always be far more popular than the churches of evil. Even if Leylin was a true God of Massacre, he was actually gaining faith unlike Cyric who just liked to scheme, plot, and conduct sacrifices.
At the core of the church, Tiff was currently praying to a statue of Leylin. He’d reported on the Neon Merchant Group, his Lord being aware of everything even more thoroughly than him by the time he was done.
A golden light descended upon the statue, and Leylin’s imposing voice sounded out, “Tiff…”
“My Lord!” Tiff was the pope of the Giant Serpent Church, and his prayers were treated with great priority with them still being developing. It was quite common for the Lord to descend for important affairs, and this was just a conscient. He wasn’t in the slightest bit surprised.
Of course, this was still the conscient of a true god. Even he didn’t dare be negligent as he saluted in accordance with teaching.
“Kukulkan, my Lord… You are like the stars in heaven, wielding the power of massacres, the Ruler of Devils…”
“The prime material plane has been developing well, and the celebrations went well..” The dignity of a deity was transmitted with this thought.
“The glory is mine, and the land belongs to you.” Tiff’s eyes couldn’t help but shine when he heard this, but he still didn’t dare to reveal a trace of carelessness…
The birthday celebrations left a deep impact on Leylin’s worshippers. However, they only knew to enjoy the shelter and glory of their Lord, not realizing that a team of high-ranked devil hunters had secretly left the headquarters to head north. They weren’t just going to assist the Neon Merchant Group…
……
The North.
Numerous horses neighed as a caravan with completely covered carriages slowly left New Silverymoon.
‘We’re finally out…’ It was only after they moved their path until New Silverymoon’s outline disappeared that Anya loosened up and relaxed.
At the same time, she almost felt depressed enough to puke blood. She’d paid a lot for this permit to live, transferring all the profits of her merchant group and even having to pretend to compromise with those paladins that had rocks for brains. It had caused her to be neurotic for a long time.
‘Whatever… As long as we can take care of these things, everything will be worth it.’ Anya looked at the fleet behind her, nodding towards the person in charge.
He immediately shouted with understanding, “Everyone, work harder! As long as we reach Donnie before dark, Big Miss will give us a huge reward. We’ve also prepared fragrant barbecue and bread, along with warm beds and hot water…”