February 11th, 1588 - Stuttgart, Holy Roman Empire Finally, I should bring up the topic of the Church of the Beanmeister, a group of religious fanatics that believe the Beans were sent by God to deliver humanity to Heaven. Personally, I have had no interactions with any members of the Church of the Beanmeister, though I have heard about their religion through Empire reports and colleagues. These reports originally suggested that the followers of the Church of the Beanmeister were merely raising unrest throughout the Empire. This could not be farther from reality.

Krause took a deep breath. The Church meeting had just ended, the remaining congregation speaking amongst themselves before leaving for the night. Krause waited for Gloria to finish her conversation with Reverend Friedrich so that she could talk to him about her role. Tonight was the first time she was to perform it alone.

She noticed Leon approaching and sighed. “Hey, Julia,” he said. “I’ve been wanting to ask you something! You always leave so quickly, I never get the chance to talk to you. Do you have something you have to do after the meetings?”

“I have a daughter at home and I need to make sure my husband doesn’t get suspicious of me. Was that everything you wanted to talk about?”

“Nope!” he smiled. “I wanted to ask you about my role. When am I getting it? You said I should get one after a while, but it’s been a few weeks and still nothing. I want to help the Church, you know! Not just sit around and talk about my job. I’ve already told you guys everything I know.”

“The information you have given us is very important; you have been a large help to the Church. Knowing what the Empire—”

“Yeah, yeah! But I’ve told you everything, I want to do something else!”

“Like what?”

“Like what you or Gloria or Sam do, you know? Stuff that directly benefits the Church.”

“That’s… complicated. We were specifically chosen to fulfill our roles. It would be difficult to find a role that suits you at this point. The Beanmeister’s plan is underway, and, until something comes up that affects His plan, there is nothing for you to do.”

“Huh. Then what’s the point of me being here if I don’t have any way to help the Beanmeister?”

“Practicing your faith and showing yourself to be worthy of the Beanmeister’s love is more than enough reason to come to meetings.”

“But is it worth the chance of my coworkers finding out what I’m doing? If they get suspicious of me and they found out I was coming to the Church of the Beanmeister a few times a week, they’d report me directly to Captain Bösch! You know him? Short guy, silver hair, huge mustache, the guy second in command of the Army in Stuttgart, only behind General Krüger himself. They’d capture me and get me to talk within the hour. I am very susceptible to torture; I have a very low pain tolerance. I couldn’t risk putting all of you in danger like that.”

Krause thought for a moment. “That’s a good point. You should speak to Reverend Freidrich about this, I’m not sure I have an answer for you.”

“I thought you were a priest in the Church. That’s what Sam said, at least.”

“I was a priest in training back in my home village for a few months, until our branch was dissolved after the events of November 8th. Now I am nothing more than a member of this branch’s congregation.”

“Oh, being demoted sucks. I’ll talk to Reverend Freidrich later, then. But the last thing I wanted to ask was about someone named Father Aaron? I thought that since you were a priest, you might have met him. I’ve heard a lot about him, but no one I’ve talked to has actually met the guy. It just makes me curious.”

“I have not. I’ve heard about him as well, but he is as much of a mystery to me as he is to you. I know he is the head of Stuttgart’s branches of the Church, and that he organized the assimilation of Horb’s branch into this branch.”

“Dang, that’s too bad. So, if you weren’t meeting powerful members of the Church, what did you actually do as a priest in training? Anything fun?”

Krause smiled. “It’s been a long time since I’ve thought about it. Yes, I would consider it fun. It was fulfilling. My main role was to interact with the congregation, answer any questions they may have had about the Church and the Beanmeister. I initiated new members a few times on behalf of our pastor. Pastor Marcel.” Krause’s smile faded slightly.

“Initiated new members? How’d you do that?”

“There’s a ceremony we go through, eating the flesh of the Beanmeister, drinking His blood. Similar to communion, but made for the followers of the Beanmeister.”

“I see, I see… When am I going to be initiated?”

“That’s complicated. You’ve been attending meetings for nearly a month, which is enough to make you a member of the Church, in my eyes—”

“But I want to go through the initiation!”

“We can not let you go through the initiation,” Gloria said, walking up from behind Krause. “You do not meet the necessary requirements.” She turned to Krause. “You can go speak to Reverend Friedrich, I will deal with him.”

“Deal with me? What’s that supposed to mean?” Leon said to Gloria as Krause walked away.

“Julia,” Reverend Friedrich smiled as she approached. “I was meaning to speak with you before tonight’s service. I’m sure you were able to figure it out, but I will not be able to come to the meeting with you tonight. There are some other… more important matters I must attend to. I presume you must do this on your own.”

“That’s what I assumed,” Krause sighed, a ball of anxiety forming in her chest. “But, Reverend… I don’t think I’m ready. What if I fail? What if I’m not able to do what the Beanmeister needs me to do? They’re not going to listen to what we have to offer if you’re not there, too.”

“Do not fear. A single failure on a single day is not enough to destroy the Beanmeister’s plans. You shouldn’t hold the weight of the world on your shoulders; there are others who are gladly shouldering it with you. What the Beanmeister needs you to do is simple; all you must do is meet with the merchants. If they have decided not to uphold their end of the bargain, there is nothing you or I can say that would change their minds. If they are still open to the idea of working with us, I am sure that you will be able to convince them. The Beanmeister will be with you, after all.”

“Are you sure? This part of His plan is very important… I don’t know what I would do if I failed.”

Reverend Friedrich smiled softly. “I am sure. I know you can do this on your own, Julia. The Beanmeister will be smiling upon you, I can feel it. Do not fear.”

And so she left Saint Nicholas’ Church. The sun had set during the service, the streets now dark and empty, the late winter wind harsh but no longer unbearable against Krause’s face as she made her way to the meeting place.