The old cleric stared at me for a long moment until I gave a small nod for him to begin. "I recognize that you have misgivings over what happened yesterday," he began while glancing at my odd-colored truth stone. He frowned when he read the caption and realized that the artifact had changed its character! How was this possible? The bishop was very tempted to ask me, but to do so may sidetrack the entire conversation again. Thus, Bishop Canterbury decided to table this inquiry for another time.

I waited again but the old man refused to offer anything in the way of a real apology, and soon I realized that none will be forthcoming. I massaged my left and right temples with the heels of both hands. I was flabberghasted by this man's utter lack of empathy for my plight! In that case, I was wasting my time talking to the bishop. "If you refuse to apologize for your role in coercing me to swear fealty to Order yesterday, then I shall take my leave now. With your permission, Holy One," I quickly added at the end per custom. I began to rise from my seat when the bishop belatedly raised his left hand.

"Please sit down, my child," the cleric requested politely. Despite his calm words, I saw a flash of anger in his eyes but the bishop quickly hid it from his face. Once I was seated again, the old man lowered his head until his forehead touched the table.

I waited for accompanying words to come out of his mouth but incredibly the old man remained silent. Suddenly, I realized why he wouldn't verbalize an apology. I pulled up my left sleeves until the hidden marks on my left forearm were exposed. I put my right hand over the marks and said, "Unveil!" I felt warm energy flow from my palm to my forearm and my limb started to tingle. When the sensation dissipated, my brands were revealed.

Bishop Canterbury's jaws dropped. "That's it?" he asked with wide eyes.

"What do you mean?" I asked. I had no clue what he was referring to.

The old man shook his head. "Normally, when we cast our divine spells we require phrases or verses. You just cast your unveil spell with a simple trigger word." He marveled at the advantages of cutting down the casting time, particularly on the battlefield. It was unheard of! If this player character ever managed to convert more spells to require only trigger words, particularly in the elemental spheres, then he will be very formidable against any character class.

"This was an ability, not a spell," I pointed out, totally ignorant of my companion's fear and consternation. "The verbal component is probably short for this reason," I speculated. Suddenly, I facepalmed my forehead. Smack! The man was trying to change the topic again! Focus, Larry, focus! "You can't express any personal regret for the incident or take personal responsibility because of this," I pointed at the marks.

The bishop nodded in agreement but nonetheless kept his lips sealed.

I began to appreciate his predicament. From my personal interactions with the gods, I realized that they were rather temperamental. The gods absolutely saw no need to apologize for what happened to me because they regarded humans as their play things and therefore, I was subject to their whims and wants. Since the bishop was working under their direction, if he apologized then it meant the gods were offering one, too. This may offend the gods and goad them into doing something in response, such as bringing in minions from other planes to attack Tregome.

Bishop Canterbury was walking a fine line and it was NOT in my interest to knock him over because if my assessment of the church was accurate, then the bishop was the main advocate amongst the church hierarchy for the needs of Tregome. And if this church official was disgraced and forced from his position, then the effects would trickle down to the town that had become my adopted home in this gaming world.

I was in a dilemma. I could seek revenge against this man for his role in stripping away my freedom. But in doing so, I would jeopardize the lives of all the town residents in Tregome. The risk was far too great for a meager satisfaction against the bishop. Fine. If I wasn't going to get a real apology from the man, then I should move on to the next topic. If I dallied in this office for too long, I shudder to think how Kalistra will punish me as part of my training today. "Yesterday, you promised to teach me to use the abilities of the truth stone. However, due to my personal situation, I couldn't learn what I needed from you," I said.

"Ah, yes," the church official smiled as he remembered how stubborn I acted yesterday. "You want to use the stone to compel the truth from other people."

"It will be extremely useful," I admitted.

"Very well. I hope that if I teach you this spell, it will help rebuild some of the lost trust between us," he replied. "Okay, the truth stone is bound to your soul. It is an extension of your very being. If the stone is stolen, you can intuitively track it down because you will just 'know' where the item is. So, let me repeat. The truth stone is not a tool but rather than an extension of yourself, like your hand or foot. To utilize the abilities of the stone, you need to use your will to make the stone take action," he lectured.

I removed the chain from my neck and I held the blood red stone in my hand. As I stared at it, it started pulsing in a rhythm that matched my beating heart!

"Excellent," the bishop praised. "The truth stone has recognized you as its true owner, and you are beginning to synchronize with the stone. The more in sync you are with this artifact, the greater your control over the powers of the stone. Now, let me teach you how to utilize its truth-telling power. Hold your stone with the embedded cross facing my direction. Mentally tell the stone that you want me to tell the truth. The stone will ask you for a trigger word. This trigger word will materialize in your mind. Just think of the word, and it will trigger the spell," he instructed.

I held the stone toward Bishop Canterbury as he had instructed. I closed my eyes and thought that I wanted the bishop to tell the truth. I felt the stone pulsating even faster to match my rising heartbeat. Suddenly, the word "truth" popped into my head. When I repeated the word in my mind, I felt a beam of energy fly out of the stone and hit the bishop directly in his heart.

"I, Johan Canterbury, do solemnly swear, upon the Law and Order, to tell the truth under the harsh penalty of death," the bishop swore. Suddenly, the cleric pulled out his truth stone. A beam of light struck my chest and I felt the warmth within my own heart.

I immediately understood what the wily old man intended to do. However, I also recognized that it was a great opportunity to squeeze some secrets out of His Excellency. Thus, I chose to go along with it. "I, Lawrence Eugene Mulligan, do solemnly swear, upon the Law and Order, to tell the truth under the harsh penalty of death," I repeated the bishop's words quickly. When I saw the man smile, I had a sinking feeling that I fell into another of the bishop's traps. I noticed my pop-up notification and it read, "Unlocked power of the Truth Stone of Order and Chaos: Truth-telling. +500 Reputation. +1,000XP." Wow. I was blown away by these increases. I must have reached a major milestone within the church organization.

Bishop Canterbury smiled as he put away his truth stone and I did the same. "I have fulfilled my promise to you. While I cannot offer you an apology for yesterday's events, I will entertain questions from you and try to help you understand this gaming world better," he offered.

"Fine," I snapped with more bitterness than I expected. I was starting to become annoyed at him for his steadfast refusal to apologize even though I understood the reason. But now that the bishop was compelled to speak the truth, I will certainly take advantage of it. "First question. Who came up with the plan to ensnare me?" I asked.

"You're asking the wrong question, my child," the cleric replied.

I rolled my eyes. Obviously, the wily old man wasn't going to cast any blame on Lord Bane. "Okay, WHY was I forced to swear fealty to Order? Doesn't Lord Bane prefer that I side with Chaos instead?" I asked.

"Much better," Bishop Canterbury smiled. "The gamemaster enjoys watching humanity struggle with one another for kingship. But he has a peculiarity—he prefers to see a Champion of Order and a corresponding Champion of Chaos emerge from the field, and then have the two fight for the crown," he explained.

I shook my head. "If you haven't noticed, my alignment is Neutral. I don't qualify to be the Champion of Order," I refuted.

The church official chuckled. "Why do you think you've been getting so many quests and encounters to do good things? This gaming world constantly monitors your personal status and seeks ways to challenge you and to mold you until you become what is needed. While you did indeed enter our world as a Neutral, if you do emerge from the field of candidates for the crown then your alignment would have shifted to Lawful. Another candidate is being groomed to become the Champion of Chaos and thus, we really needed you to lock in with Order," he explained.

"Couldn't I just pursue the role of Champion of Chaos instead?" I asked. Admittedly, I couldn't see myself committing heinous deeds and spreading anarchy to this beautiful world. But I hated having my freedom of choice snatched away like this.

The bishop shook his head. "I think we both know that, deep down, you are best suited to become the Champion of Order. You are a builder, a creator, and a protector. The Champion of Chaos is an anarchist and a destroyer; that's just not you. If you chose to swear fealty to Chaos instead, then you will not emerge as their Champion. You just aren't suitable for that role and you will lose to someone whose character is more firmly aligned with Chaos," he concluded.

I exhaled a deep breath. I hated to admit being a loser in anything, but somehow I trusted Bishop Canterbury's judgment in this matter. He had probably seen many would-be kings pursue the crown only to fall short and thus, it would be wise for me to seek his advice from time to time. "Your Eminence, please offer your guidance to this child so that he may one day fulfill his destiny of becoming the future King of Merlin," I requested humbly. I left my seat, walked around the table to stand before the bishop and knelt down.

The old man leaned towards me and reached out with his left arm to touch my shoulder. "My child, you already have my vote for kingship. I will do my utmost to persuade other voting members of my brethren to support your candidacy. But for now, it would be best if you devoted yourself to your twin missions," he said. Bishop Canterbury got up from his seat and stood before me. He placed a hand on top of my head. "By my authority as Bishop within the Church of Britannia, I hereby promote Brother Lawrence Eugene Mulligan to the ranking of Adept," he declared.