Madman’s Retirement

Grant went on to explain a few more details about the drows and the dravens, as much as a supposed breeder could know.

Of course, the guild master did not enjoy the idea of appeasing the drows, but as Grant laid out the benefits, and how drows could be a huge help (and an even greater pain), he reluctantly agreed to share the thought.

And Grant in turn, communicated to the draven on the table to tell his kids to not demand immensely valuable things, to which he dipped his head in response.

Hopefully that would ensure the common populace would avoid attacking the drows, something easier to do in a world where the majority believed magic didn't exist.

As for the pair of dravens, they patiently waited as they sat, the GuildMaster cautiously eyeing them.

"How similar would you say they are to crows?" he asked.

"Extremely similar to crows and ravens, to the point whereas you've seen, they've assimilated into the crow society. " I say, affirming the reason why they were designed this way.

"That could be a problem." muttered Thaddeus. "These creatures have the strength of an orc, with the mentality of a crow. If they want to take something..."

Grant nodded, as he understood the worry the guild master was expressing.

Yes they certainly could.

But not his problem.

Regardless, he probably should do something.

His old bosses would scold him about personal responsibility and all that.

Looking through it, Grant nodded. "Avoid these... and be friendly with these... watch out for these... you can recruit these with a good song or two..."

The guildmaster's eye twitched, unable to figure out why the mysterious man knew so much, and yet ultimately also knew not to pry too much.

All S-classes, him included, happened to like their secrets and hated when people prodded where they weren't supposed to.

Arguably, Grant was appearing to be on the more tolerant side, not getting into a fight with him when he started investigating Grant's actions.

"Well" he grunted as he closed the folders, "if what you've told me is true, you'll have been a great help. The guild will have been grateful for your help." he said as he extended his hand, and Grant decided to shake the hand.

"And remember what I said about Peter?" he pleaded, and Grant responded.

"Don't antagonize the paladin?"

"Yes." the guildmaster said sternly, practically pleading.

Grant chuckled awkwardly. "Well, I'll certainly try to do less than I've already done?"

Thaddeus sighed. "I suppose that's the best I can ask for."

---

Unfortunately, Grant did have to specify this, since he had already done something else to antagonize the church once more.

For that very same day, they found a paper strapped to their door.

Unseen to anyone else, but for them, it was plastered there, for all to see.

It was found by one random follower who had gotten up particularly earlier than usual..

All it took was one cursory glance before the woman's face paled and she panicked and grabbed it, bringing it in for her superiors to inspect.

This... this had to be reported.

---

The room was filled with a looming silence, but the words on the page were deafening.

Corpses are red,

Violence is soon due,

I'll be the death of you!

 

Jayne doe, now a John Doe,

Did you enjoy that cup of your old pal Joe?

Your friend Ivy, now a -

 

You know what? I'm dropping this rhyming stuff.

I don't need to tell you a rhyme to list all my crimes.

Surely the trail of bodies is suffice?

Tell me Peter, does this put a crink in your plan?

Good. Eat it you goddamned Cretan.

Sincerely screwing you over,

Grant

One of them in particular roared in fury.

"He's mocking us! It's bad enough he's disrupting our plan at every turn, but he's also spitting on the graves of our brother's and sisters! That's it, I'm going to go kill him myself-" the burly man shouts, storming to the entrance of the church.

Peter almost seems to let him go, before regretfully sighing.

"Stop it Samson." Peter commanded, and Samson came to a stop, turning to face the man accusingly.

"You would let their deaths be in vain?" he questioned, a chill in his voice.

"No, but clearly, you would." Peter retorted as he strode over to Samson as the latter felt intimidated by Peter's presence, as well as the great light of Isis that emanated from him.

"If you fight him in public, and the fight gets too big, there is no way to hide it. We will be unable to do what we set out to do, and we'll be exposed before anything significant can be done. "

He put his hand on the man's shoulder, as if to comfort him, yet Samson could feel the tightness of the grip, binding him.

"please, return to your seat." he commanded, and Samson reluctantly complied.

One mage commented. "He already knows who we all are, doesn't he?" he said, studying the paper.

"What a complex spell." he said, clearly in awe. "So much on one little paper."

"Indeed" Peter agreed, studying the paper. "He's made it specifically so all the members of this church in the post can see it, and no one else. He's specifically coded it with each and every single one of us in mind. And this camouflage spell is beyond my understanding."

The thought sank in.

He specifically created the enchantment targeted towards every single member here.

Not all the transplants from the church here shared their views after all; many held very much opposing views and were they to find out, would immediately report them to the main church of Isis.

Even as strong as paladin Peter's was, should the temple move to get rid of him, there were people willing to do this for the church. There was always a bigger fish, and even the empire would not tolerate shit rubbed on their face.

It was as if Grant had hung the blade of Damocles right above them, taunting and mocking them with the fact that he could expose them at any moment.

"My lord, we must-" began one member before being silenced by Peter.

"He will do no such thing." said Peter's firmly, determination sparkling in his eye. "Grant will get no such message out to the church, and he will not ruin all that I work for in the name of the church!" He turned to the mage from earlier. "Have the mages create a perimeter around the outpost, within the forest beyond the eyes of the post; assign a C rank warrior to each of them."

Another piped up. "Are you sure, milord? With all due respect-"

"-There is no need to take Grant seriously." Peter cut him off. "It's clearly an act of mockery, does everyone agree?"

The nodding of heads was seen across the board, as they all knew this much, high and low members alike.

"If he was going to do so, he would've done so already. That's not a premise we can work on, cause if that is the case, then this is all over already."

Everyone knew this much.

"Besides, he's playing with us. He's confident that he's strong enough to deal with us easily. That is why he will not bother sending a message out now, much to our benefit. The mages to intercept are merely to have minimum protections against such a scenario."

His eyes narrowed as he looked at the paper.

"We will speed up our plans. He may do what he pleases, but I doubt he will so blatantly kill us all in plain sight. Not even SS ranks can get away with committing such brazen acts in wiping out a whole outpost or killing a whole branch of the church. He will soon find his reach limited, or we will return the threat upon him tenfold. The will of Isis will not be denied" he said, with great finality.

He dismissed them quickly, much to the dismay of his followers.

Leaving the meeting room, he entered his room once more, stagnant with the scent of his blood, the whip on the floor a reminder of this great tribulation he faced.

He breathed it in, as the feeling of relief entered his body.

Soon, soon his plan would come to fruition and the pain would soon end...

---

"... You already did something didn't you." the guildmaster said, not as a question, but a realization, and Grant could only chuckle awkwardly, much to the older(?) man's annoyance.

He shook his hair in frustration. "Dammit." he muttered.

Grant on the other hand, showed no particular anxiety, as he asked politely. "Can I go now?"

"Yeah sure, whatever." Thaddeus said as he shooed the man away, realizing his efforts were moot.

Saying no rarely meant anything to S classes anyway.

As Grant left, the guildmaster set to work, writing up a letter.

Considering how much the churches work had sped up according to reports, Thaddeus suspected that the efforts of Grant had paid off, and that this particularly deranged sector of the church of Isis may lash out.

He knew he himself was no match for paladin Peters, not in his old age, and frankly, in spite of Grant's assurance, he did not trust the man's intentions.

And Grant... seemed unreliable.

Though he seemed to remind him of someone. An annoying man from over a 1000 years ago.

The founder of the Thorsten family, a cocky man with a laidback attitude, yet seemingly knowledgeable in many things.

They even had the same name...

Thaddeus waived the thought aside.

That man had been dead for a very long time, having only left behind the Thorsten family, nothing more than a shell of its former self.

And he was a callous, yet cautious man. Grant was just reckless.

Even so, he couldn't help but hear his old friend's voice in this stupid child.

---

Grant, meanwhile, was outside the door, investigating how the man known as Thaddeus would get his message out to the greater guild.

So, he could disrupt it, or prolong its delivery.

Whichever was easier to do and hide his role in.

After all,

How could he let the guild interrupt his plan?

Not until the paladins every attempt was crushed

And not until he was satisfied.

The temple of Jorvus Mars is in charge of many things, one of which happens to include jurisdiction over tracking the movement of Gods.

This is one of the duties they happen to hate the most and are more than willing to delegate this unto others, were it not for the stern and serious nature of their god, who insists that they do this as the hand of the emperor. 

The god's come in many forms, such as classified gods, monster gods, human gods, spirit kings, and kaiju. Kaiju realistically aren't gods, but given their power is comparable to one, they are also tracked by the temple. 

Thus, the temple is always out to keep track of these entities, and to hopefully placate them to avoid direct action. 

This is not an easy duty, but one that must be carried out, because if it is not, chances often are that the god will do something troublesome. 

Monster god's are less appeased more that they are tracked. Such god's usually lack interest in what men can offer, though if they do find something, the temple will not hesitate to offer it as according to regulation. 

If they want a noble title, they are given an official noble title, or even whole families, sometimes preexisting ones. If they desire human flesh, then criminals are always aplenty. 

Some of the pantheon's god's prefer to be hands on, interfering in investigations and clearing out criminals, while others may seek to merely indulge in pleasure in the mortal realm. 

Hathor and Venus, for example, often enjoy a stroll around the empire, often with Hathor's lover Apallas Ra following along, so it often falls in the hand's of the temple of Jorvus Mars to accompany them and that nothing goes wrong. 

There is an estimated 50 unaccounted for god's currently wandering around the empire including the turtle hermit, the island crab karkinos, and the unaccounted for dragon god, who is believed to exist, but has never been sighted by any civilization, and thus remains a lurking threat in the shadows.

-An acolyte of Jorvus Mars.