Chương 60: Chapter 61: Samhain Part 1

Samhain Day 200 Hydref 30th (October 30th) Emily, Colin, and I woke up at 4 a. m. on Samhain and quickly got our animal chores completed. I saddled the horses while Emily and Colin got a quick breakfast of pancakes and eggs whipped up. After I got the horses saddled, I walked upstairs to our personal living quarters to the smell of pork sausage sizzling on the stove. I couldn't help but shake my head as I looked around our new home. It still smelled of wood and varnish from the new build.

I'd given Emily a fairly large furnishing budget, and she'd already made the place look comfy. I really felt like I was a rural British aristocrat from a period piece when I looked around. I especially loved the two high-backed leather chairs that sat near the main fireplace. Our bookshelf was still mostly empty, but I planned on ordering in some more books after I met with the bishop, if I was still in possession of the homestead of course.

We ate quickly, and then Colin and I got dressed for the ceremonies of the day. Emily would wait to put on her makeup and nice dress until we got to the inn in town. Ceremonial garb for a wealthy farmer was surprisingly practical. It had to be, since the culture was so rooted in struggle and strife. I wore black knee-high riding boots, finely woven forest green woolen pants, a wool shirt that matched the color of my pants, and a black vest that matched my boots.

I also had a black coat with grey leather elbow patches and shoulder strips that mimicked pauldrons. I finished my ensemble with black riding gloves and a belt with a sheath for my Bowie knife. The horse's saddle setup reminded me an awful lot of old pictures I'd seen of range cowboys. I would have called the saddles western or ranch-style. They had a pommel up front and a back ridge for minor back support. There were stirrups as well.

The saddles had sheaths for our rifles on one side, and a sword sheath on the other. I had purchased sabers for Colin and I, but neither of us had ever used one before so they were mostly just for show. We certainly didn't look like soft targets as we began the trek into town. My meeting with the bishop was supposed to be at 1 p. m. Then, if I wasn't disappeared, my evolution ceremony would be at 3 p. m. The mayor, bishop, Emily and Colin, Priesty Lewys, and Water Wizard Johnstone would all be in attendance.

Finally, my wedding would take place after that was done. Priest Lewys was still slated to actually perform the ceremony. Apparently, we would finally meet Lewys' wife, Lillian, today as well. She spent a lot of her time in Riverton. She was the fifth daughter of a minor noble offshoot family, and Lewys had the Bishop as his patron, so they were considered a match of equal level. Lewys was in line to become a bishop once the territory finally became a province after a couple more rounds of settlement.

She didn't like the backwater town, as she called it, so she and Lewys spent very little time together. I felt bad for the man, but that was how things could be sometimes with arranged marriages in the upper class. We spoke little during our ride to town. We were all suffering from a bad case of nerves. I made sure they had our emergency plan down pat. If they arrested me, they would probably take them in for questioning, but in normal cases they would be released on parole.

This wasn't necessarily a normal case, but we could always hope. We'd buried a thousand gold on the other side of the river, underneath the blackberry patch to keep it hidden. We had also given the Newtons another thousand gold to hold for us in case that gold wasn't retrievable for some reason. That was the maximum amount Emily had thought we could squirrel away without raising suspicion. They would take the gold and make their way to another colony if they could.

There was way too much uncertainty there, but despite the System, there were still many ways they could take the gold and set themselves up in other ways. Two thousand gold would enable them to live comfortably for four or five years, if they were smart with it. They could probably find another cabin farther north or south and pseudo-hide out for a fairly long time if they stayed in the colony. We arrived in town at noon, and we took our horses to the town stables to be taken care of while we were here.

The town was full of bustle as it prepared for the second of the two really big holidays of the year. Imbolc and Lughnasadh were major holidays that provided significant System Blessings. However, people truly partied during Bhealtaine and Samhain. Bhealtaine had most of the weddings, and timely work was done by Samhain so people were hopefully celebrating the end of a good year.

The three of us walked to the inn where Ben and Janice greeted us with Ben's booming voice, and more importantly, beers and congratulations for our upcoming nuptials. No one outside of those who needed to know knew I was going to be evolving today. The System UI didn't give people's classes or levels, so I'd be keeping that a secret for as long as I could. This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

I did my best to quiet the nervous churning in my gut and pounded back the beer as the inn's patrons cheered me on. After that, I gave Emily a kiss on the lips, our first such kiss, as the crowd egged us on. Then Emily took off to get ready, and Colin sat down for lunch. I steeled myself for the short walk to the temple. As I arrived, I was greeted by a cheery Priest Lewys.

"Mr. Jacobson," he said with a smile.

"I am so excited for your upcoming wedding. It really is past due." I did my best to respond with a smile of my own, but I was so nervous that I felt nauseous. I gave him a sickly smile and said, "I can't wait to get married."

"Wonderful," he responded.

"Shall we go inside and meet the Bishop?" I was a little surprised that he would be coming in.

"Are you joining us for this meeting, Priest Lewys?" His grin looked genuine as he answered.

"Indeed. There will actually be four of us today. Shall we go inside and begin our discussion?" I was confused, but I followed him inside. As we walked in, Lewys shut and barred the door. Not ominous at all… I looked back as he was putting the bar in place. He still had a smile on his face, and he seemed relaxed, so I just waited for him. When he turned back to me, we continued past the System obelisk, and I saw that besides the bishop, Wizard Johnstone, and the mayor were also present. Curious.

As we approached the raised platform at the back of the church, Bishop Smythe spoke in his frankly majestic voice, "Mr Jacobson. You have provided us with quite the conundrum. What do you have to say for yourself?" My heart was beating a million miles an hour and my earlier beer was threatening to come back up, but I steeled my nerves and answered him.

"Bishop Smythe, I could say it wasn't my intention to cause quite such a stir, but I obviously knew that growing my potatoes could have some consequences." The bishop's face betrayed no emotion, but the mayor and Johnstone looked down and shook their heads. Lewys was still standing next to me. It would have been awkward and obvious to look over for his response.

"Yes indeed," replied the bishop in his smooth voice.

"But I was referencing your tractor and your otherworldly origin." I stood there, stunned. This time I looked over at Lewys. He was still smiling. I didn't know what that meant. I was too stunned to speak, so Smythe said, "Well, how do you respond to such a serious accusation?" I had checked on the tractor several times over the last few months. I'd made sure it was well hidden, as well as started it up to run for an hour or so once a month.

The machine's computer components used a bit of charge even when the tractor was off, so I had to run it monthly to prevent the batteries from draining. Nothing had ever seemed disturbed when I'd checked on it. I'd even brought Colin with me each time to check for tracks. I didn't know if he was bluffing, or they'd actually found the tractor itself. After way too long, I finally responded.

"Even if I had a tractor, how does that prove I'm from another world?" The bishop smiled, but it wasn't friendly.

"That is not exactly a denial." I shook my head. I didn't want to lie, nor did I want to admit it outright, as I was uncertain if anyone present had a skill that could detect it.

"I am simply asking if you have proof that I am an otherworlder. There are tractors in this world." The bishop stared at me for a long moment before he spoke again.

"Indeed, and the potatoes?" This just felt ridiculous, and I gave a small laugh at the situation.

"Once again, there are potatoes in this world." No one else had spoken since the bishop started speaking, but Johnstone gave me a look that said, what in the hell are you doing? This isn't exactly a defense! The mayor looked slightly disappointed in me as well, but he was mostly composed. I jumped when Lewys put his hand on my shoulder and said, "Bishop Smythe, may I speak?" The bishop nodded, and Lewys spoke in a gentle voice, "You have been formally accused of being an otherworlder by a citizen.

Your arrival, your potatoes, and this tractor that you are said to possess, which you have admitted to having, are strong pieces of evidence." Damnit! I outed myself on the tractor! He continued on after taking a breath.

"You are level 20, you have admitted to that. Yet this is your first year in the Western Territories. You have farmed before, and for a long time."

"I have never denied being a farmer prior to being here," I said.

"No," Lewys said, "you haven't. But, you are not an old man, you don't come from a noble family, and you have no backer that any of us in this room have been able to find." I was a bit surprised at how much involvement Lewys seemed to have had in things. I'd mostly considered him a provincial priest, and a friendly one at that. He was going to be a bishop once Bishop Smythe was given an archbishopric, but he had seemed like a true Systemist from everything anyone had told me before.

Being in with Bishop Smythe, who seemed like a corrupt asshole to me, was surprising.

"Who was this citizen? Do I have the chance to confront my accuser?" I asked. This time Bishop Smythe replied.

"You will not meet your accuser. There are questions about his own origin. He has been taken for questioning. He will most likely never be seen again." That was definitely ominous. It had to be Thomas Roberts. His paranoia must have gotten to him and he turned me in. It didn't sound like that had worked out very well for him.

"I see," I said.

"Well, I guess there's nothing more to say. It seems like you all have your minds made up. Emily and Colin played no role in this. There is no reason for anything to happen to them." With a wide grin on his corpulent face, Bishop Smythe said, "That sounds like an admission to me, Mr Jacobson."