All the Dust that Falls

Chapter 258: God Touched

I stopped Beatrice as she walked down the street. She looked up, her face brightening when she saw me. But I could never forget the thoughtful frown of consternation she had worn just a moment before. Human facial expressions were still difficult to understand sometimes, but this one was as clear as a freshly polished pane of glass.

I projected a question in the air. "What's wrong?"

She breathed in and held it for a second before letting out a rather explosive sigh. Clearly, she'd decided to actually tell me what the issue was instead of just brushing my concern off.

The priests in white robes… the ones that talk about you. They seem to have heard word of your deeds in Caleb, and well… I think they have some misunderstandings." Beatrice hesitated. "It's not all bad! They understand the basics of the faith. But there's a lot of parts that are warped in a way."

Beatrice sighed again, less explosively this time. "I thought it was a little bit overoptimistic to expect everyone to convert when we got here, but there's a good portion of the city that already has some faith connection to you. Even if it's a little... different. I just don't know how exactly to help them understand better.

I sat and processed her words. That was strange. I understood how hard it could be to impart proper cleaning techniques to people. Especially the younger ones. I'd also seen Beatrice's struggles with helping people live by the tenets of the Church. But for her to look this upset... How wrong could they possibly have gotten things?

I set that aside for the moment to investigate later. Instead, I asked a different question.

"You think they'll help us?"

She shrugged. "Maybe. "I spoke with some of them, and it seems likely, at least. That would vastly improve our chances of success in taking the city in an orderly manner. But…"

Beatrice frowned. "I'm not sure. We're going to meet about it in a little bit. They'll probably give me a sermon, and I'll probably have to tell them what they're actually doing wrong. They might not like it. So I'm not sure how long we can trust them, especially if we're attacking their city."

She rubbed at her temples, suddenly looking a lot more tired than before. "It's just frustrating. The fact that there are so many believers here should make our job so much easier. As I prepared to help sway people in to help us out, I realized how daunting of a task it was to convert people. So it already being done is great. But if our beliefs don't even align... I don't know what I can do about that."

Beatrice squared her shoulders and looked up, resolve hardening her eyes. "But. I do believe that we can use them somehow. Even if we don't agree, and even if it means we have to teach them the proper ways of the world."

I looked at her with a mixture of feelings. Mostly joy at her growth and how far my little human had come. But at the same time, I couldn't help but feel concerned about the worry on her face.

"Don't worry," I told her, "I will talk to them. We'll make sure that they understand that your task is more important than whatever else they have going on. You will help clean up this whole kingdom, not just the city."

Her face brightened. "You want to come to the meeting with me?"

I thought about it. I had no real reason to decline aside from cleaning up the city more. Or decorating. Or figuring out how to make furniture. Well, I guess there were plenty of things I could do. But none of them were as important as Beatrice.

I agreed, and Beatrice began to bounce on her toes excitedly. "Oh, this is amazing! It will make everything so much better. Thank you, Master. Thank you."

And with a hasty bow, she dashed off towards the manor. Apparently, she had other urgent business to attend to. I just mentally shrugged and continued cleaning up the alley as I thought about what I could do to help. Maybe I could make some preparations as well.

Well, if Beatrice was worried about how the white-robed people would receive her, then maybe I could do something about that. Sure, I'd be going to the meeting in a few days, but before that? Why not talk to them and see the situation for myself?

As I cleaned up the streets, going down whatever alley seemed to be the dirtiest, I kept an eye out for them. But it seemed that they weren't out at this time of night. Though even if I did find one, what would I do? I wasn't exactly in a position to reveal myself to them in the middle of the street.

So I kept cleaning. It was going to take me longer than the two weeks we had for our mission before the city was spotless, but still. I was making good progress. When Arthur's army came to the city, at least they would not find the disgusting slop pile I had seen when I first got here. No, it would be presentable, at least. And then, if we had some time afterward, then I would make it truly shine.

—

Zeal slumped into the chair behind his makeshift desk, tucked away in a spotless corner of a spotless basement below a spotless building in the middle of the slums. He allowed himself a couple seconds of indulgence before he dutifully straightened his back into its proper posture of ramrod straight.

One of his most faithful ministers had just delivered him some news. Yet, despite understanding the words, he simply couldn't figure out what they meant. He looked over to the corner in which Patricia sat. The prophet Huddled in an empty corner, holding her knees and rocking back and forth as she muttered to herself.

It always set him on edge a little bit watching her, but. And there wasn't much he could do. She was still very much still insane and was one of the few ways that the words of his god truly manifested in the world, rather than just through human interpretations. He supposed that direct communication with a god must warp the mind beyond repair. It took a lot of teasing out to get her ramblings to fit some version of reality, but it was worth it.

His work had to be done. And His people were dedicated to learning and then spreading those teachings.

Despite his discouragement, Zeal was extremely proud of their efforts over the past weeks. Their numbers had grown, and all throughout the city, people's lives were starting to bend in service to Void. He could see it in how the cleanliness spread. Sure, some people may take the ideas a little too far. But generally, they were trending in the right direction.

He looked down at the neat piles of paper on his desk. They detailed the reports that several of his cardinals had sent up the chain of command. Had sent reports up the chain of command towards him.

The information held within was... alarming, to say the least. Alarming, yet hopeful. A shocking number of street preachers and lower members of the clergy reported being visited by an apparition over the last day and a half. During the vision, it gave them a set of instructions. One or two reports would have been one thing. They could easily have been brushed off as overzealous imaginations, though it would have been looked into. But with the sheer volume of reports they were getting, something was clearly going on. Something real. And Zeal didn't like

being in the dark about its true nature.

That these "visits" all happened to lower members was very interesting. If this was some sort of divine vision or message from their god, then Zeal would have expected a visit himself. Though perhaps that was too presumptuous of him to expect.

He heard the lock on his door open with a soft click. It swung open to reveal a familiar black disk. The form floated inside, stopping right in front of his desk. Zeal was both absolutely surprised and not at all shocked to find that their god had appeared.

Immediately diving out of his chair, he lay prostrate on the floor and whispered supplications. Patricia screwed her eyes shut and rocked even harder in the corner.

"My lord, we live to serve."

—

Bee found the slightly rusty gates of the mansion quite a bit more welcoming than expected. Despite only just having moved in, she already felt at home in the new place.

She slipped inside and locked it behind her as quietly as she could manage before making her way up to the mansion. It was in just as good condition as she remembered it. But when she slipped inside the front door, the emptiness of the space inside reminded her that it was, in fact, a temporary residence. They had managed to acquire some basic furniture, which was mostly focused on sleeping and cooking. But that was it.

She still found all of her retinue sitting around a fireplace, eating from simple bowls as they chatted and watched the flames dance. They looked up and spotted Bee as she entered. With a word, the group sprang to their feet and greeted her. She happily accepted some food with a nod and sat down in their impromptu gathering.

"So, how's it been going?" She asked everyone in general. They all looked at each other as Matt spoke up first.

"It's going all right. Managed to get into some of the guards' barracks and play some dice with the men. I think I could get you in to talk to them in groups. A lot of them, you know…" He slumped his shoulders. "Well, they're not too happy with the king at the moment. I think they'd be willing to listen to what you have to say if you explained Void's teachings and all that. Some of them might even get on board with the invasion, though we'd have to be careful about who we introduce that second half to though. But if we're just preaching, I imagine that at least half the soldiers would be willing to listen. The old gods haven't done them any favors recently and with the unpredictability of the king… Faith is pretty weak around here."

Bee nodded and frowned a little. "Ok. It's a start." She looked over and saw Bradley wiggling where he sat, unable to contain his excitement at his own report. For his sake, she skipped over all the other adults and let him speak first. "So what have you been up to, Bradley?"

His face split into a grin as he glanced at Tanu. "We played gully ball!"