...Yanana...

The public events in Yanana had been big for Neia Baraja, she'd become an overnight sensation. Her speech had spread to the wealthy, the poor, the small middle class, and it had created the largest controversy the city had seen in years. This was made even greater because of the countless eyewitness accounts of her being found guilty by the judge and the priest jury, and her expressed willingness to bear the horrific punishment she'd been sentenced to... followed by the terror she inflicted in spite of the horrific agony she suffered for her beliefs.

Dark rumors swirled that the guards who were imprisoned, were murdered in secret along with their families. The rumor mill pointed to the fact that their homes were all empty, their animals left out, even food had been left where it sat, as if they had gone suddenly.

Now, Neia Baraja had become a household name, praised in some quarters, cursed in others, but when she stopped at a square to speak, she drew eyes, but she also drew something else... those with need. By way of a timely request passed through Sebas, she'd asked for a priest from Hoburns to be sent to accompany her on the remainder of her journey, along with either scrolls of healing or a means of replenishing his mana supply. Sebas had obliged, and a priest had arrived who wore a beautiful amulet. After marveling at the craftsmanship, he explained that it was called a 'Borrower's Amulet' and it allowed him to borrow from his own future mana well, he could use tomorrow's mana, today, but only for up to a six month period, after which he'd be unable to use magic for half a year, it would do well enough for their purposes, at least for now... and that purpose was what truly drew the crowd.

She stood atop the high fountain and looked out over the masses as her priest took his seat below her, and CZ stood a distance away, searching for hostility with her usual vigor, vigor that was especially heightened because Neia was not wearing armor.

"Yes, I serve the Sorcerer King! Yes, I serve him by serving the people! Yes, he IS the god of justice, the only god in this world!"

Stirrings of outrage began in various places from among the more devout. Their voices raised to the heavens to drown her out, but with her evanglistic voice, she only called out louder. And those who wished to hear, and those who did not, were both compelled to hear her words...

"I know some of you do not believe me, but I am a former member of the Paladin Order, I saw the realm of the one true god, the kingdom of the greatest king over all other kings, the one who stands at the pinnacle of might, the one who rescued not only our own king, but our whole Kingdom! He battled a DEMON EMPEROR FOR YOU!" She swept her fingers over the crowd, pointing to them all.

"I tried to fight that demon, and it spared me only to promise to make me suffer, it considered Remedios Custodio, the most powerful paladin in our country, to be nothing but a speck of dust to be brushed off! If he was the emperor of demons, what does that make our savior, if not the god of justice?!" She asked them all.

"You know what was done to my flesh, by now I know from those I've spoken to, that word has spread, yet SEE!" She shouted, and raised up the back of her shirt, showing that her back was unscarred. "I am healed, for not a coin! For that is what is just! But even had it left scars outside as well as within, I would bear them proudly, because I spoke the TRUTH! The TRUTH was what they hated, the TRUTH about the cost of the temples cold and calculated grab for your wealth, I called them extortionists, I called them greedy, I called them cruel and unjust, and even though they beat me to my knees, the truth remained unbroken! The powerful will always fear a truth, when their power is based on lies!" She bellowed out her words and thrust her arms out from her side in an embracing gesture.

"By divine will and by a divine power that the dead gods cannot touch, I come to you! I cannot be stopped, he cannot be stopped, not from whatever realm the vanished gods have passed to, because the god of this world has seen fit to allow me to spread his will, that nobody should be sentenced to die in pain or sickness because they are too poor!”

“I spread the truth, that justice requires strength and strength must be used for justice. That wrongs can only be righted by action. That the will to power unjoined by the will to justice is the foundation of greed, and that this greed flowers into a poisonous tree. But Black Justice rejects that sin, the sin of weakness is not only about the strength of the body, but also of character, of mind, of will. Weakness is the ultimate sin, and in whatever we are weak, we may create our own downfall, or the downfall of our loved ones, or the downfall of our very country! Which almost happened because our weakness was division itself!"

She carried on, eyes searching out the crowd, locking eyes with people even behind her visor, "When the North was invaded, the South did not come to our aid before a foreign King did, and then it was not until victory was already assured, yet had he not come, the South would now be as the North quickly became, we must never be weak again, or would you all face the demon king Jaldabaoth?" She asked, and removed her visor, her terrifying gaze was... terrifyingly effective, and even brave eyes fell downcast.

"Black Justice seeks strength, so that our eyes will not go downcast when speaking of the needs of our fellows, so that we will not give in to fear, so that we will rise to the challenge of tomorrow when the next invasion comes, and we will do as a people what Queen Calca, in all her saintly goodness, could not do, create a country where nobody will suffer sorrow and all will be happy! To that end, I call for those of you who are sick, those of you who are injured, to come to the fore, a priest of Black Justice has joined me today, and he will heal you." She said, putting her visor back on and putting a kind inflection into her voice.

"At what cost?!" Some cynic from the crowd demanded.

"None." Neia said flatly. "We will never... EVER take so much as a single coin for healing the sick or repairing the injured. If you feel you must pay something, then pay it FORWARD! Do something good for the next one to need a helping hand, as the Sorcerer King once told me, "Those who are blessed, are blessed in order to be a blessing." Her voice stilled to let the words sink in. "So, pay to your fellows what you owe by this act, go and be a blessing to your neighbors, if your hand is healed, help your neighbor lift a heavy burden, if your leg is healed, walk to a lonely neighbor, if your sickness is lifted, aid the sick in regaining their own health. What use is a country that does not care for its own, what good are the healthy who do not care for the sick, what good are the strong who do not protect the weak, what good are you, if you are not of use, and what use are you, if you are good to no one, just to no one, and strong for no one?!" She said loudly as her voice reached its crescendo.

The sick were already coming forward, and the priest found himself grateful indeed for his equipment, as it was evident that there were far more people who could not afford temple services, than anyone wanted to admit.

Neia left her perch and moved among the crowd, rejoined by CZ who promptly put another sticker on her cheek with her standard assessment, "Cute."

When the crowd had dispersed and they could walk quietly together... sort of, CZ looked at Neia with her customary blank expression... well... blank to others, but well understood in its subtle variations to Neia. "Don't." She said in a short clipped way.

Neia sighed and looked down a little shamefaced, knowing exactly what CZ referred to, no doubt she'd heard about what was almost done to her. "I won't." Neia said. "I promise."

"Good." CZ said. "I like Neia."

It was, to most ears, a very tame, passive sentence of only the most mild favorable appraisals, but Neia felt her heart swell, because she knew very well how CZ was, and she gave the girl a tight squeeze. "I like CZ." Neia said with a broad smile.

As they walked, they passed one of Neia's former tormentors, a fat self important priest, he was naked, covered in filth, foaming at the mouth, and scrounging through cast off garbage. It was a surprising enough thing to make her pause, and CZ stopped and looked at the same thing. "Friend?" CZ asked.

"Definitely not." Neia said with vitriole in her voice, it drew his attention, and when he turned and saw her, he shrieked, "Divine wrath!" and jabbered nonsense as he scrambled away, before rising enough to start running as fast as he could.

"Terminate?" CZ asked, reaching for her weapon.

Neia reached out and touched her arm. "No, this is his punishment, it is not for me to override the one who gave it to him." She said softly. She almost felt pity for the man, but considered better of it as it was no doubt undeserved.

Soon he was gone from her sight, and he was never within it again.

CZ and Neia were quiet for awhile, it suited Neia just fine, the city wasn't all bad, the buildings were close together, often sharing walls, with only a few alleys, and only the main roads within it were very wide, clearly to allow carriages to pass rather than for the benefit of those who had to walk. But the many fountains were lovely to look at and they provided a venue from which she could speak and catch many eyes and ears.

The shops she passed through had small trinkets of varying value, as well as many useful things of practical value in a city. The one thing she didn't like was the thing she thought she'd like best. The river had been cut through the city in many places, making small canals into which rubbish and waste was dumped, it carried stench everywhere as if it were an open sewer. She grimly thought it would be very unpleasant to see those overflow if heavy rains came.

After a while, Neia took an interest in food, as people tend to do, and she drew CZ to a small restaurant jutting out from a corner of one of the many intersections. Before ordering when a server approached, Neia immediately asked, "Are the coins of the Sorcerous Kingdom good here?"

The server paused in surprise, but then replied, "Yes. Gold is gold."

"Then bring whatever the cook makes best." Neia said, and a mug of beer." Neia replied.

No sooner than the server left and Neia was turning her head towards CZ than she saw a familiar face looking at her, a soldier, one she remembered from her first arrival, the one who warned her about the nature of the city. It was clear that he had recognized her as well, and she raised her hand in greeting and gestured for him to join her.

He hesitated for a moment, as if unsure if it was wise, but whatever his thoughts, he chose to join her, and he took a seat with his back to the street.

"Nice to see you again." He said.

"You too." Neia said.

CZ said nothing.

The moment was awkward, but he filled the gap. "You've... made quite an impression on the city." He said.

"The city has made quite an impression on me as well." She said, taking off her visor and looking him straight in the eyes.

He had the decency to look ashamed.

"I-ah-I am sorry that happened to you." He said, taking off his helmet and bowing his head.

Inside her own head Neia was kicking herself. "Shit... I shouldn't have done that, it wasn't fair, he didn't do any of that, hell he wasn't even there."

Neia waved her hands, "No no, don't bow your head, you didn't do anything wrong." She said in a frantic way that, to CZ, showed that she knew she'd been a little rude.

She covered her embarrassment by calling another server over. "Beer for my friend here." She said, and the server promptly left.

"You warned me about the city, and I do appreciate it, thank you." Neia said sincerely.

"So...why?" He asked, pausing to nod appreciatively to the server when the beers arrived. He drank some quickly and set his mug down. "Why didn't you listen?" He asked.

"I did listen." Neia said. "That is exactly why I had to speak up."

She continued, "The things the temples do are wrong, the things my god does are right, that is why I have to promote his justice as I do. People get the world they accept, the leaders they tolerate, the corruption they're willing to live with, the pain that they're willing to suffer or allow to exist in others, the only thing to do when you know it’s not right, is to act against it. When Jaldabaoth came into the North, we weren't strong enough to face him, because we were willing to live with weakness, and we suffered badly for it."

She paused and took a drink of her beer.

"Because we were willing to live in that sin, well, you know our sufferings, and it is just the same way here, the people are willing to let the poor stay sick or injured because of poverty and temple policy, they're willing to live with the extortion, and so they don't try to change it, they ignore the real harm being done, because they care more about how it affects them personally than they do the people they call countrymen, the very people they depend on for the small tasks that, though they are small, must still be done. The South has accepted things as not only normal, but expected, that are definitely wrong and should not be. How could I say nothing? How could I do nothing?" She asked him, her eyes not looking nearly as terrifying to him as they had been.

"You realize that if they'd beaten you," he began, avoiding her question, "You might have lived, but they'd have made you wish you didn't."

Neia shrugged, "I admit, I wasn't what you'd call eager for that, but this is my country, and how can I do nothing about a problem I see within it? How can I not spread the truth? How can I do nothing? If doing nothing was an effective way of making things better, then nobody would ever do anything."

"Well, it was very brave, if very foolish." He said with a twinkle in his eye.

"Uh huh... by the way, I never did get your name." Neia said.

"Sudaj." He said and held out his hand.

"Nice to formally meet you Sudaj." Neia said and shook it.

The guard stood up and finished his beer. "The pleasure was mine of course, but if I may offer another word of warning, not that it'll do much good, you got away with it once, but the wheel of justice may be slow to respond to defiance, but they will respond again. If you can be out of this city soon, do so. And if you find yourself in Wenmark, keep an eye out for me, I'm going to be stationed there for awhile."

"Thanks for the advice Sudaj, and when I head that way, I'll look for you." Neia said with a smile, and he left with a wave just as the food arrived.

It was only when she began to eat after Sudaj had left that she noticed that their conversation had drawn curious eyes to her, and CZ was giving her a prolonged stare.

"You are being watched." CZ said.

Neia shrugged. "I'm always being watched, I am used to it at this point."

CZ shook her head, "Covertly. Do you want them captured?"

Neia thought for a moment. "No, not unless they try to do anything, we'll be leaving here soon, and it’s probably best for everyone if we're known to be out of the city. For now..." Neia paused and leaned forward, resting her chin in her hands and her elbows on the table and showed a humorous smile. "Why don't you tell me about this 'intoxication protocol."

They went back and forth over the topic of alcohol and intoxication when word came that the boats had been loaded and they were prepared to move, Neia and CZ left coins for their food and walked away, it wasn't long before they arrived at the boats, or rather... ferry. Neia couldn't help but notice how alike ports of all kinds seemed to be.

Great wooden logs thrust up from the water, they were held together by ropes and crossbeams secured in turn by bronzes pikes that, if softer, were at least not prone to rust. The wood was old, but people crossed without fear, speaking to the quality of craftsmanship. Rope barriers ran between the large smoothed logs to prevent people from falling off, and large ferries pulled up one by one to the docking points to take on passengers, each one bearing the insignia of Tinamoc, indicative of his considerable success.

Neia met him on board the head of the now floating caravan and she shook his hand warmly. "A successful trip?" She asked.

"Very. Hopefully when we arrive in Wenmark, we'll have similar success. Speaking of success, how did your own personal crusade go?" He asked, his voice taking on a note of serious concern. "I've heard things, you're... alright?" He asked softly.

Neia's smile ran away from her face, but she nodded somberly, "I am. Though Skana was not happy with me over it. I kept it all from her, I was trying to protect her, but instead I just made her feel guilty, so now..." she paused and shrugged, "I feel guilty. Go figure."

Tinamoc couldn't help but smile. "First love?" He asked as the ferry undocked and began to move, the water splashing and the ferry rocking slightly as the crew worked to keep it on course.

Neia gave him a glance like he'd grown a second head, "Are you seriously asking me that?"

Tinamoc spread his hands in front of him and gave her a wry grin, "That's for you to decide how to take it, but we've been traveling together for awhile now, and this is going to be a long ride, if you want to tell me, fine, if not, well I have no right to pry." He answered with a grandfatherly smirk.

"Well, it is a long trip... so fine. To answer your question... no... well... yes... well... no... sort of, I mean?" Neia said almost asking, unsure of how to say it. "I mean... I had... crushes, interest in boys when I was young, but well, I got saddled with THESE." She said, removing her visor and pointing with her fore and middle finger at her eyes. "In the best case I look constantly angry at whoever I'm talking to, in the worst case I look like a violent criminal. So, I guess none of them ever really went anywhere.”

She turned her face towards the direction they were now floating, enjoying the sound of the spray as Tinamoc listened. Her eyes closed as the wind picked up, she could hear voices behind her along the docks, and streets as they neared the way out of the city and it drifted ever farther from her mind.

"I guess I should be glad of my skill with a bow and with scouting, it gave me an excuse to be alone, then I couldn't be disappointed by any comrade’s disinterest in getting to know me. I suppose if I were honest about it, the first person who seemed to really care about me after my parents was the Sorcerer King." She said in a small voice.

She cracked a smile, "He asked me to return to him safely, he spoke to me, a mere common citizen, a minor low ranking squire of a foreign country's paladin order, like I was a person. He asked me questions about myself, my life, my family. And most of all, he wasn't afraid of these damn things." Neia said, pointing again at her eyes. "He didn't assume I was a criminal or angry, he listened to me, he defended me to my superiors and he saved my life." She laughed a little, "The many speeches I've given to promote him aren't even slightly overgrown, if he were a human, who knows, perhaps I'd have fallen in love with him, or perhaps I'd see him the way I do now anyway. I don't know."

"How is it that you see him now?" Tinamoc asked.

"Well, when he asked me to come back safely to him, my first thought was that he reminded me of my father. When I saw him again after the battle where he saved my life, he was holding me, I felt like a babe being held by its mother for the first time." Neia laughed, "The child of a hated undead, can you imagine?" She asked, then shook her head. "Strange isn't it? That I should feel so bound to an undead, I spent all my life hearing that they were evil monsters, hated humanity, and it was an undead king with the power of a god that is the first one outside of my family who wished me safety in battle. He almost doesn't even seem to be undead at all, since he doesn't seem to have any of those qualities, and it was an undead that saved me and saved my country." She paused. "I know... I'm... rambling, drifting from your question, it’s hard not to though, it’s all so bizarre. I guess the straightest answer is that I could never see him now as a... true love, like a husband does a wife or a wife sees a husband, I see him as a parent or grandparent, but divine." She said, and as a server came by carrying goblets of wine, Neia absently took one from the tray and started to drink.

She snorted, "I admit I never learned much about love, not even from watching my parents, never had much experience with it being reciprocated. I guess my parents were good ones for the most part, but my mother could be violent and my father... a little clueless, so I guess you could say in a lot of ways I'm still inexperienced with what to do, or how to make things up to someone we care about that we've done something wrong to. I have... I think... figured out that for lovers to be lovers, there must exist between them a kind of parity, a balance, as much as a mutual trust or anything else. I may be bold in combat and before a crowd, but if Skana had not taken the initiative, I never would have. I kind of envy her that way, I don't call her "Skana the Bold" for nothing." Neia said with a chuckle.

"Well, if you don't mind the voice of experience," Tinamoc said, taking a goblet for himself as the server passed, "You need to think of it in this way, love is the state in which someone else's happiness and security is absolutely necessary for your own. If your positions were reversed, how would you feel?" He asked.

Neia lowered her eyes. "Not good." She drank again.

"No. Not really." Tinamoc said with a shake of his head. "But you know, the motive matters too, she'll be a little overprotective of you for a bit, but do her a favor and don't take serious risks for awhile."

Neia started laughing uproariously at his final words. It left him stunned as she threw back her head and laughed, her hair bouncing wildly behind her as she clutched at her stomach with her free hand.

It stunned and confused Tinamoc for a moment, until he thought of the absurdity of what he'd just said and to whom he had just said it, and then he joined her in laughter, as if that last piece of advice was something Neia could follow even if she wanted to.

The next two days passed peacefully as they floated down the river, Neia made regular trips up and down the floating caravan by leaping from one ferry to the next, speaking with other members of the caravan and her personal retinue, and she ensured she kept a steady watch rotated among her people to avoid any chance of being caught by surprise, but a peaceful trip it was, all the way up to the lake of Wenmark, and Neia reviewed what she learned of the place. Having one of the largest lakes in all the human kingdoms, it was hundreds of feet deep, it was enormous, and housed a vast body of fish and other animals that helped augment the city's wealth and food supplies. It did not have a river that cut through the city, rather the city was built in such a way that part of the river flowed around the city before reaching the sea.

It was similar to Yanana in its devotion to the gods, and its vast farms beyond its walls were made possible by extensive irrigation. As a result it hosted one of the largest populations in the Southern Kingdom and had a thriving industrial base. It also provided roughly 1/6th of the adventurers and mercenaries to roam the Kingdom, as disconnected second and third sons, or unhappy daughters left home to seek their fortunes rather than be allowed to divide a household's wealth. An oligarchal rule rather than a governor, with a ruling body led by priests, military command, and a merchant and industrial class.

Neia pursed her lips, she'd cracked a few minds open in Yanana, but Wenmark was going to be a different animal.