Chapter 958: Arrived

Solania had changed since Vask’s last visit, and the difference became obvious long before they reached the inner districts. The great white walls still surrounded the holy city, with imposing towers rising above gates crowded by pilgrims, merchants, and travelers. Guards of the Holy Order watched the traffic, checking wagons and directing people through much as they always had.

Most of the decorations were gone, however. Simple white cloth bearing the Holy Order’s symbol hung where enormous golden banners had once covered the walls. Portraits of saints and Heroes had disappeared from the gatehouses, along with many of the ornamental pillars that had made entering Solania feel like approaching a particularly wealthy noble’s estate.

Vask studied the changes with mild interest before finding something considerably more entertaining beside him. Father Pedri was looking around too, and although the old priest maintained a pleasant expression, a faint irritation had settled around his eyes.

Clementine had returned to the city he once ruled and discovered that somebody had started removing almost everything he considered beautiful. Vask wondered how much of their walk would pass before the former Pope forgot he was supposed to be an unimportant priest from the countryside.

Vlad turned in his saddle toward Pedri.

"You look pleased, Father."

The irritation disappeared so quickly that Vask nearly smiled.

"Do I?"

"You’ve been looking around since we entered."

"Forgive me. It has been quite some time since I last visited Solania. I hadn’t expected things to change so much."

Pedri’s attention settled on a gatehouse where workers were replacing a damaged wooden sign. Harven followed his gaze, apparently mistaking the inspection for approval.

"You should have seen it before they started cleaning everything up."

"Cleaning?"

"That’s what I call it. Last time I was stationed here, you couldn’t walk fifty steps without seeing an enormous statue, a golden banner, or a portrait of the Hero. Every important priest apparently needed his face carved into something."

Harven gestured along the street, where wagons now passed beneath a largely undecorated arch.

"Looks better without all that clutter."

Pedri’s smile tightened slightly. Vask had watched him face accusations of corruption with greater composure than he was showing toward the missing ornaments.

"You consider depictions of our saints and great Heroes to be clutter?"

"Father, I’m not particularly religious, but I know the difference between honoring someone and showing off how much money you have. Half the streets here made a noble’s palace look poor."

Pedri allowed the remark to pass without answering. Unfortunately for him, Harven took the silence as encouragement.

"The missing Hero was especially fond of it. Statues, portraits, celebrations, parades. If people went a week without praising him, you’d think he might stop being a Hero."

Vask glanced toward the knight. That was a fair description of Hiro, although the man had generally preferred his admirers considerably younger and prettier than the people walking these streets.

"And the former Pope wasn’t much better. He never seemed particularly interested in stopping any of it."

Pedri’s fingers tightened around his staff before relaxing again. Vask noticed the movement and looked ahead, unwilling to make maintaining the disguise any harder by laughing.

"You seem remarkably knowledgeable about the Holy Order’s affairs for a soldier from Lotostra."

"I told you, Father. I was stationed here during the Demon King’s supposed return. I spent enough time in Solania to see how things worked."

"Of course."

"And I saw enough to know the Church had become more interested in wealth and appearances than helping anyone."

Vlad gave him a warning look. Harven caught it this time but seemed to feel the distinction deserved defending.

"I’m not insulting the faith, Captain. I’m insulting the people who made money from it."

Pedri inclined his head with the patience expected of a provincial priest.

"A fair distinction."

Vask gave Clementine credit for that. Standing in the middle of his former capital while a young knight criticized his administration required restraint, particularly when the knight had no idea whose patience he was testing.

They continued through the city, passing a public fountain where priests offered blessings to arriving travelers. Farther along, food was being distributed from a covered wagon outside a modest church. Young acolytes carried bundles into a nearby building while displaced families waited beside the entrance.

Priests had always been common in Solania. Vask was less accustomed to seeing so many of them carrying things for other people.

A damaged caravan had stopped beside the road ahead. Its canvas covering hung in torn strips, and one wheel leaned at an angle that suggested the travelers had been fortunate to get it this far. Several passengers sat on the curb while Church healers moved among them.

A priestess knelt before a child, examining his injured leg while his mother held his hand. Nearby, another healer attended to an elderly man with burns across his face. Vask saw no money changing hands and no one being directed toward a temple to arrange payment.

Pedri slowed as they passed.

"Are those Church healers?"

Harven glanced toward the caravan.

"Yes."

"Working outside their temples?"

"The wounded are here."

"Ordinarily, healing services are provided within the temples or affiliated institutions."

"Not anymore. That’s one of Titania’s changes."

The name held Pedri’s attention more effectively than the wounded had. He watched the priestess speak to the child before looking back toward Harven.

"What other changes has she made?"

"I’m not much of a politician, Father. I don’t know all the details."

"Whatever you do know would be appreciated."

"She’s been getting rid of regulations that made it difficult for ordinary people to receive help. Usually because they didn’t have enough money or know the right person."

Pedri listened without interrupting. Harven seemed pleased to have found a subject on which the old man wanted his opinion.

"Officials too. Bishops, cardinals, administrators. Anyone found stealing money or abusing their position gets investigated. Plenty have already lost their titles."

He nodded toward the healers.

"The Church pays those people now. Covers their supplies as well."

"Through Church funds?"

"Donations, mostly."

"That must place a considerable financial burden on the Holy Order."

"That’s what everyone expected. Apparently, they’re receiving more donations than before."

Pedri turned toward him fully. For the first time since entering the city, his surprise appeared to have overcome his irritation.

"More? How?"

"People know where the money goes."

Harven pointed toward a wooden notice board beside a temple. Several sheets had been posted beneath its little roof, and a small crowd stood reading them. One man followed a line with his finger while explaining something to the woman beside him.

"Every major temple has one of those now. They write down what they received and what they spent it on. Food, medicine, repairs, wages for healers. If they spend it, they’re supposed to explain where it went."

"Public financial records."

"Something like that."

"And that has encouraged people to donate more?"

"Wouldn’t it encourage you?"

Harven glanced back toward the wounded travelers.

"Before, someone gave money to the Church and watched a bishop buy a new carriage. Now they can see a priest healing people who would have been left to suffer. I know which one I’d rather pay for."

Vlad nodded from his saddle.

"I’ve heard similar reports. Several noble houses have increased their contributions since the reforms began."

Pedri looked toward the notice board again. Vask watched him consider it, finding the former Pope’s silence more revealing than anything he might have said.

Clementine had spent years building the Holy Order’s wealth and influence. Its grand temples and extravagant ceremonies had been deliberate investments in the institution’s importance. People were supposed to approach its gates, look at everything surrounding them, and understand that they stood before something greater than themselves.

Titania appeared to be spending the money on them instead. Worse, they were rewarding her for it.

The priestess finished treating the child while Pedri watched. His mother helped him stand, supporting his elbow as he carefully tested the injured leg. After several uncertain steps, he turned and wrapped his arms around her.

The woman began crying. Her thanks followed the priestess even as the healer gathered her supplies and moved to the next patient.

Solania had not become a city without suffering. Tired laborers passed them carrying loads too heavy for their frames, and the caravan’s surviving passengers still had damaged goods, lost money, and a dangerous journey behind them. No change in leadership could remove all of that.

Yet people approached the priests freely. A traveler stopped one to ask directions. An older woman spoke to an acolyte without first lowering her eyes or waiting to be acknowledged. The Holy Order still held authority here, but fewer people seemed afraid of attracting its attention.

Pedri lowered his gaze and resumed walking. Vask suspected he had understood the lesson well enough. Whether he appreciated receiving it was another matter.

Harven stretched one shoulder as he walked beside them.

"Anyway, none of that concerns us much. Once we deliver you and the evidence, our part is finished."