Tale of Four

"Seth," Isis said with a near-silent voice, looking up at the man. He didn’t look down at her but kept his gaze on the statue of God holding wheat and a branding iron. "I’m sorry, but it terrified me to think-"

"No." Cutting her off, Seth continued to stare ahead and took a deep breath, "I understand. I may have been able to escape, but you. They would have never stopped chasing you if you hadn’t agreed. Had you chosen otherwise, the moment we stepped out, they likely would have grabbed us."

"But, this deal." Isis grabbed her face and shook, sighing, "What did I do?" 𝘧𝘳𝘦ℯ𝓌𝘦𝒷𝘯𝑜𝑣𝘦𝓁.𝒸𝘰𝓂

"Survived." Seth casually said with a smile. Placing a hand on her shoulder, he clicked his tongue, "That’s all that matters at the end of the day. I may not agree, in fact, I may hate the choice they provided, but it’s done now." Isis looked to the ground, playing with her fingers.

"And you? Are you going now? I won’t blame you." Seth didn’t reply instantly, mulling over the question. Each moment of silence was like a stab in the heart for Isis, who dreaded what would come in answer. She had already noticed, but he had become her safety net. They were friends, that much was obvious, but he was also the one who had been protecting her, guiding her and teaching her whilst in Oros. If he left, she was scared of what would happen. Who would she have left whilst on the continent? More than that, how would she even get home if he were gone? She didn’t know the safe routes, nor did she have the money to buy that safety.

"No." After what felt like an eternity, Seth finally spoke, half convincing himself to stay, half reassuring Isis. "We made a deal, and I promised I’d keep you safe, well, at least until you reach Verat."

"But what I’ve done. What I agreed to." Why was she trying to convince him she didn’t know? Guilt or shame, either option could answer it. Seth chuckled and finally looked down at her, flashing a reassuring smile.

"We have all done terrible things, Isis. To survive, to learn, it doesn’t matter. " His grip on her shoulder got stronger as he nodded, "Besides, I made a promise, and I can’t leave a lady who looks about to cry alone." Trying to brush the tension away, Isis let out a short laugh and looked away.

"Still."

"No more. I am not opposed to destroying Cras, and we can’t be sure that everything will go Augustus’ way. Who knows, maybe he does it and fails to put Danmor’s system in place. It’s rather exciting to wonder if that is the case." Grabbing his chin, he frowned, "Although it would be terrible if he got what he wanted." Isis nodded, holding onto the faint hope, and watched as Steh turned around, "We can go. Now that you accepted, no one will touch us, so long as we keep our end of the deal, or they are stupid enough to do so."

-----

"Well?" Justinian said, looking at Augustus. Augustus said nothing for a moment, falling into a seat prepared for him and sighing.

"She agreed. Albeit with some convincing." Clicking his tongue, he reached into his mouth and carefully took the jewels out of his mouth, placing them in a box to the side. A servant came over shortly after and undid the rest of the jewellery in his ears, replacing it with a fresh set.

"Wonderful." Justinian clapped his hands and leaned back, looking to the skyline above, watching the birds fly over the glass. "I’ll make the preparations; all I need is for you to work the crowd now. Within a year, we should have Cras suppressed."

"They may hire outside help," Augustus warned.

"Let me deal with that." With a sly grin. Justinian laughed to himself, "I have enough wealth to entice anyone they can hire. When Cras falls, I’ll use whatever they own to pay off whatever I promised. If need be, I’ll take out a loan from the Farsagon Bank. They would probably be interested in financing this." Lifting his arms, he stretched and moaned, "What are you going to need to make this work?"

"The Colosseum. She needs a large audience to pull this off. A week should be enough time to spread the word that I will be hosting a special event." Justinian nodded and waited for Augustus to finish. "She is hesitant, and that man with him made some good points." Looking deep into Justinian’s eyes, he saw a rare seething anger in Augustus ’ fervent gaze, "Some Masters have corrupted my teachings. We must show we are better than the slavers of Cras and that we do not allow barbarity to tarnish a holy order."

"What do you need?"

"Punishment. If we want this to work, we need to make an example of those who ignore the Pantheon. You will know better. Get those who are guilty and bring them to me. They will be the first people whose blood is split." Justinian smiled to himself as his eyes gleamed with an idea.

"You say you wish to tie her to us?" His voice was clear, but his eyes were insidious. "All fighters of the colosseum must stand before the audience and decide mercy or blood. Give her the choice. Make her announce before all the people whether she will let them be punished or not."

"Justinian..." Augustus’ voice trailed off as he looked at the man. With a perfectly calm smile, Justinian giggled to himself.

"Don’t you see how this can work in our favour. I assume you will play the ex-slave of Cras’s angle when you showcase her. Show the people that even in this city, no matter where they stand, a Master, a Lesser, a slave from a foreign city or a freeman, they can always choose. Give her the choice and make her be the one to call for blood. Then, as the faithful believers in our holy truth, we shall rally behind her and enact justice for her and all those harmed by Cras."

The two stared at one another as Augustus looked down, playing with his ring. "It feels too fake if we do this."

"What is real and what is fake is decided by the people. The masters won’t agree to destroy Cras unless enough of the city rallies behind it. I can make promises to them about what they get afterwards, but to ensure compliance, we need to get the people to agree. I understand the teaching of order and hierarchy, Augustus, but the reality is, the masses hold the most power. If they decide to rally behind a cause, we can not stop them? Not without massive sacrifice at least."

"So she makes the choice?" Augustus stopped playing with his ring and looked up at her, "And if she disagrees. Calls for mercy. Then what? Everything we are aiming for will have failed. An ex-slave calling for forgiveness does not inspire a crusade."

"I can make sure she complies if you let me handle it." Augustus nodded, but he could still see the worry in his eyes. Sighing, he reached out and patted his leg, "If I fail and she calls for mercy, then it’s simple. Everyone knows what Cras does to their product. All we need to say is she is still that person, and her ability to decide was stripped from her. We had hoped she was healed, but sadly, we were incorrect."

Falling back, he looked up at the skyline, "Cras will get word of this and, of course, vehemently deny everything she claims, paying extra behind the scenes to get her back and try to end what we are doing." His eyes curled and narrowed, "And when they do, well, the Lunarian’s history next to her teaches best. A martyr is much better to rally behind rather than an ideal."

"You would let her die?" Augustus asked. There wasn’t shock or anger in his voice, rather indifference. Justinian shrugged.

"She is a criminal still. Whatever happens to her when she is captured isn’t up to us to decide. All we have to do is use that death." Augustus closed his eyes for a moment and nodded.

"Make the preparations. I’ll handle things with the Pantheon."