Chương 169: 160. New divide

I still couldn't sit down, as I had one more thing to do. I caught up with Nathan and made a quick request for information on who was required by the church to take part in the legislative talks. Then I asked Remi the same about the noble houses and went to rest with my friends after getting the lists.

"So what's our move?" William asked as we sat down together.

"I've been watching the nobles, but they observe every decorum. Nothing stood out," he said, a tinge of sadness in his voice. Luna nodded.

"Yeah, nothing from my side either. From all the people I healed, nothing strange came up. No strange blood smell, no difference in how my magic reacted."

"Don't worry, we'll get the fucker after our next stop," I said with a light smile. My words gave everyone pause.

"What?" Darius almost shouted, which made everyone start shushing him. I got them to move closer and cast Muffle behind us. The spell was meant to silence a place, not act as a sound barrier, but by stretching its area of effect, it should have made whispers impossible to hear from outside.

"I talked with the pope and with the cats, and I think I have a way to figure out who it is. According to one of the druids, the skinwalker needs existing intel about its target to achieve the mimicry we're seeing. So the target needed to be here. They had to be sure that the chosen person would be present." I saw the realization dawn on Ophelia.

"But we tied in the vote. Some of us shouldn't have been present on the day of the attack."

"Exactly," I said.

"They would have attacked during the legal proceedings. Moreover, they attacked despite the presence of many fighters rather than waiting a day. The trick with the servants gave them a chance to push us here, but I guarantee you, once the rest got out of the poison fog, they should be able to kill their way through. Had the cult pulled that trick a day later, I think they wouldn't even have needed to use half the power. That means they most likely needed specific timing."

"You think it's something outside?" William asked, to which I shook my head.

"No. I don't know what causes the city to change, but us arriving when it was peaceful might not have been a coincidence." William began thinking out loud, a deep frown on his face.

"So the cats would be there for sure. All of the business-oriented faction representatives too. And…" His eyebrows shot up as he looked at me.

"And you would bounce the first chance you got, so after everything was signed in the morning."

"Exactly." I smiled.

"So who would be present?" Ophelia asked.

"The popes would be there, but they're out. Helga was constantly with Clementus. Leo was also guarded, but his protectors changed, so his paladin, Jacob, is on the list. Next are the Riswalts. One of them is Emmanuel's right hand and would be there. The other is in opposition to the main house head and would attempt to argue, so the cat put him on the list. The druid and the Buddhist monks are out of the running. They are purely spiritual leaders."

"Jean D'Arc is an obvious one," Luna said.

"And Aron," William added, looking in the direction of the warlock.

"And so are we," Ophelia cut in as the rest turned to her.

"William and Luna would be there. Darius might not, but you two," she looked at them, "wouldn't ignore your responsibilities because you're bored." Saying the last part, she gave me a disapproving look.

"And I would be there too," she finally finished in a heavy voice.

"You're Sam's apprentice. You're not the best—""All of you are in the clear," I cut in before Luna could try to lighten the tense atmosphere.

"You're forgetting something. The Miracle-Bringers had a spy on the church's council. They would know about the plan against the Acquente. And if they have any intel on us, they'd have to assume we'd try to pull something."

"And if we failed, there would be a good chance we'd be excluded from voting and legislative proceedings. We were a risky option," William finished.

"Yes. I doubt any of you would be chosen, not to mention your proximity to me…" Luna tilted her head with a light frown.

"Why would you be such a problem, aside from the walking issue you are, of course?"

"Because we have the same issue. The creature lacks certain structures in its soul that would be present in its victim. And I know from experience it comes with the territory. That's how we'll get it. Assuming the rest votes as I think they will." William and Luna used their connections with nobles and demihumans to ask the few present people for information about my suspects, while Darius began carving a few pieces of wood, looking like animal parts.

After all the intel was gathered, my list of suspects was solidified. There were seven people on it: Jacob the paladin, Jean D'Arc, Aron the warlock, two Riswalts—Albert and Daniel—and Nathan. I was still not sure about Lenart. He turned out to be mostly a puppet for the smaller noble group and had most likely shared information with them. The only good news was that they seemed to keep to themselves, so it didn't leak further. And he did vote for the blacksmith.

The issue was that it was uncertain whether he would be there during the legislative talk, and if not him then others from his group. If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. The Third Chamber's second group was also annoying, as I didn't know Aron's connections and lacked intel, since neither the cats nor Clementus had much on the warlock. But thankfully, I had a plan to deal with that.

Of the final seven, the main suspects were Jacob, Nathan, and the two Riswalts, fitting the criteria the best. Finally, I gave Aron instructions on what to vote for before the meeting. If he changed the vote, he would become the main suspect. I then approached the two representatives of the unaffiliated religious groups and asked each for a small favor when choosing our next path.

After we had all rested a bit, it was time for the final council meeting, where we would separate into expeditions for the remaining safe spots and address any issues that might have come up during the rest. I looked at the map in front of me. It had the three main safe spots in the western part marked, along with the one before them. There were two more interesting things on it, though.

One was a western gate leading out of the city, and another was a smaller road leading out through a side passage, one leading to the silent mansions on the stone shelf.

"So, in case we need to go straight to those," Leo began, pointing at the three spots deeper in, "how do we separate?"

"Wait," I said.

"I think we should spread into one more direction." Everyone turned to me as I pointed at the western gate out of the city.

"This road should lead to another exit out of here, right?" I asked, and Leo nodded in confirmation.

"And there should be another gate needing one of the church keys?" He nodded once again.

"So if the expedition got this far and had a key of their own, why didn't they just leave? They were, what, an hour away from the way out?"

"You want to send someone to check the gate?" Jean asked.

"Yes. The safe spot furthest from here is on the same road as the one near that church," I said, pointing to the spot where both popes would surely want to go.

"The safe spot near that church is also the closest to the gate. I'd imagine it's most likely to have the previous expedition's remains, if they went this far and tried to leave the city." I lied, knowing the expedition was most likely after the blood in that church.

"The group that goes to the church can just continue forward if the spot proves to be a bust. And we use the remaining groups to check out the gate out of the city and the third safe spot near the second circle." The people looked at one another, thinking my proposition over. I caught glimpses from Elissa and Sayadaw, but they didn't voice any disagreement so far.

"Let's do as you propose," Leo finally said, most likely only caring to be part of the group going near the blood. We now needed to reassign the parties since, after the last disappearance of an entire group, we had a few deserters. In the end, roughly six thinned-out groups were available. Two of the Third Chamber, one and a half from the church, one of the D'Arc nobles, if one counted them in with Lenart who only had one person remaining, and one larger combined from the unaffiliated religions.

The two Riswalts lost their group as their people backed out. The D'Arcs also had a few missing, making her party even smaller. Now the skinwalker would either go with the church, as it needed the pope's crosier, or into the safe spot near the entry to the second circle, assuming it had a way of luring the rest there. And if the previous group's disappearance was its own doing, then it had some measure of control over what was unfolding, most likely through symbolism.

But anyone who went for the gate should be innocent, as it was in the exact opposite direction from the second circle and away from the pope.

"I propose we reorganize," I said.

"The party going to the church must be the biggest one, assuming they might have to go farther in. So I propose that it be the pope's and my party. But the church should let some of their people go to the safe spot near the second circle."

"Why do you want to separate us?" Leo asked, not happy about the idea.

"The rest needs powerful fighters. The remaining people aside from Miss D'Arc are mostly priests, healers, and casters. They'll need a front line, and who better than paladins? The two—" I nodded toward the two Riswalts "—can go with us, but at least two paladins should join whoever will go deeper into the city. My group will make up for the missing numbers."

"We'll lose fighting power. You just said we need the most strength. You have Bolesław and Darius with you, don't you? Why not send them?" Leo pressed.

"For balance," I answered immediately.

"The spot near the church is most likely where the previous expedition would stay. Last time, it was your men who wanted to run before the other group returned at the city gate. So I'm pretty sure everyone outside this meeting would agree your party needs a counterweight. And I doubt anyone would accuse me of working with anyone in the church," I finished with a smile."'Outside this meeting.' So you're a man of the people now, Mr. Alhazred?" Leo asked, looking into my eyes.

"I always was."

"Your Holiness." This time Leo turned to Clementus.

"This will spread our forces thin. We can't risk your life like that."

"Oh, no, no." Clementus shook his head with a sheepish smile.

"If it takes us out of this accursed place faster, then I trust our remaining people to protect us. And the lives of others aren't worth any less in the eyes of God. You can't forget that. If others have to come closer to the second ring, then I would feel better if they had our men with them." Leo looked sharply at Clementus, as if searching for something on his face. The atmosphere became tense. Technically, he shouldn't have been able to go openly against the real pope's word, but would he?

Finally Leo turned to his silent paladin as the man in armor nodded lightly.

"How do we know Mr. Alhazred isn't leading us into a trap of some sort? He could still be a traitor."

"To do what? If I was after the pope, I would go for his protection detail, not yours." We held each other's gaze before Sayadaw interjected.

"That's enough animosity. We agree to that plan and will take the risk of journeying deeper into the city on our shoulders." He and Elissa agreed to support my plan. That way, the people I was pretty sure were innocent would go toward the city center, taking part of Leo's force away with them.

The other two I was half sure about would go toward the gate, the only place I assumed the creature wouldn't want to go, far away from the pope and the research center, so it should try something before we split at the next spot before the three. And finally, the party going straight to the church would have all my main suspects. The die had been cast. And if the last part of the plan went on without a hitch, the skinwalker would be dead before we arrived at the spot.

I would still need some help with the intel needed for the confirmation. Nathan I could check myself; funny enough, I already knew everything I needed. Clementus had pretty extensive information on Jacob and Daniel Riswalt. While Albert Riswalt was on Remi's list, as the cat was researching entry points into the whole Church-Riswalt alliance before the Sabbath. The plan was going well so far.

And as I stood there, my eyes slowly drifted to the safe spot furthest from us, then farther along the smaller road leading to the mansions, and finally stopped at the sigil of my family marking one of the buildings. My body tensed as another creature also looked through my eyes in silent wait. A small crack of uncertainty made itself known in my mind. Going there would be suicide, but… should I make some adjustments to my plan?

'Just in case,' I told myself.