I reincarnated in game

7 I am Exposed

Kevin and his pals had dutifully delivered the six thousand coin repayment from Hugh to Mr. Townsend.  When they collected the additional seven hundred and fifty coins, they proudly presented the additional loot to their boss to show how resourceful they were, announcing that the Bean account was now closed. 

Mr. Townsend was impressed.  “Very good, lads!  That shows initiative, and you will be rewarded!” he said as he dug into the latest collection, and gave them half.  “Put the rest of these coins with the original collection from Hugh; that will be sufficient for what I will need to give to Father Paul when he comes in a couple of days.”

The church of the god of light, Adrastos, was run by an organization called the Curia which was controlled by the pope, cardinals, bishops, and priests.  Because of the infrastructure of the church, the priests were delegated by the Curia, to collect the taxes from every resident, as a tribute, when they conducted their religious gatherings.  Priests, and the other members of the clergy, generally possessed a higher level of magic because of their training.  This enabled them to identify citizens who were attempting to be deceptive in their offerings.

In keeping with tradition, Father Paul came to town once a month to lead the faithful of Valari in prayer, and collect their tribute.  This meeting was scheduled to be held in a few days.  The day that Father Paul arrived, all the residents gathered in the town square as usual, for prayers and worship.  Because attendance was mandatory, Hugh was in the crowd but hung back toward the outer edge.

At the end of the religious portion of the service, Father Paul entreated the citizens to come forward and submit their tribute to the attendants stationed at the foot of the podium.  Long lines formed on each side of the square.  The ordinary folk would drop individual coins into the collection baskets.  The more influential, and well to do residents, would present their offerings in bags and pouches.  When these were handed over, the attendant would open the bag to briefly inspect the contents; he needed to ensure it was valid currency.  Father Paul oversaw this entire process. 

As Mr. Townsend approached with his bag of tribute, the attendant, following his routine, opened the bag and confirmed that it contained gold coins.  As he was about to drop it in the collection basket, Father Paul sensed that there was something tainted with the offering.  “Bring me that last offering, and the person who handed it over,” he demanded.

The attendant reached out, grabbed Mr. Townsend by his arm, and led him back to the front of the dais.  The bag of tribute was handed over as well.  The priest stepped down to the level where the attendant waited with Mr. Townsend.  Father Paul dug into the bag and pulled out a handful of coins to inspect.  He perceived a shimmering over some of the coins.  Because his magic was so strong, the enchantment on the fake coins in his hand, disintegrated, and they reverted to their original bits of colored paper and floated away on the wind. 

There was a collective gasp from the crowd … they had never seen anything like this before.  Hugh realized what had happened; he waited with the crowd to see what the fallout would be.

Father Paul was outraged!  “How dare you try to deceive the church and the god of light!  Attendants, bind that man!” 

When the fake coins were revealed, Mr. Townsend was dumbstruck and started to retreat towards the end of the platform.  When the attendants moved in to restrain him, Mr. Townsend held up his hands and said, “Wait!  I didn’t do that!”  He quickly scanned the crowd in desperation.  He spotted Hugh trying to keep a low profile at the very outer edge.   “That’s him … Hugh Bean … he’s the one that paid me in fake coins!  That’s the one you want!”

Father Paul looked in the direction where Townsend was pointing.  Hugh realized he was in deep trouble.  “Oh crap!” he said.  He turned, and then tried to lose himself in the crowd, as he quickly made his way out of the town square. 

Father Paul shouted, “Bring that man to me!  He is guilty of committing an act of treachery against the church and is an affront to the god of light!  He will be hanged by the neck for his treason!”  He had worked himself up into a fury.  “Don’t help him!  Anyone caught harboring the fugitive will suffer my wrath!”  He then turned to the guards and commanded them to close the city gates!

Hugh knew he couldn’t return home; that would be the first place they would come looking for him.  He didn’t think it would even be safe to circle back for the balance of his gold coins, so headed directly to the nearest gate leading out of the city.  Hugh darted from building to building, just like he would do for a stealth mission in a game.  When he got within sight of the gate, he saw a line up of people, who looked to be vendors and merchants, complaining.  That was when he spotted the four guards; two had steam-powered crossbows; the other two were busy closing and barring the gate, preventing anybody from leaving the city.

“Damn!  I can’t get out this way; it probably will be the same at the other city gates … I’ll need to find another way out, or get a place to hide!”  Hugh doubled back, continuing in his stealth-like mode, dashing from one run-down building at the edge of the city to another.  He hoped to find a place where the wall might be compromised, or perhaps, where a tree, growing close to it, had branches that extended to the other side. 

After what seemed like hours, Hugh had not seen a single place where he could get over the wall.  He was exhausted from his efforts to escape.  He found an abandoned building and went in to rest for a few moments.  He knew that the priest would not give up looking for him.

Hugh reflected on the missions he had conducted in Ether Sword in this part of Third Level Land.  He recalled that the easternmost edge of Valari; the part nearest the Punished Lands, did not have a wall because it ended at the perimeter of the floating lands … anyone who ventured too close to the edge would fall to certain death. 

The more Hugh reflected on his situation, the more he realized that his only option might be to follow the wall to where it ended at the edge of the land.  If he could somehow get around the wall at that point, he would be able to make his way into the Punished Land.  There, he would have a greater chance of evading anybody who might be following him because the terrain was very inhospitable.  As well, the residual magic and dangerous animals would definitely discourage anyone from following him.  

Hugh got up with a purpose; he headed to the end of the wall at the edge of the land.