The Royal Deal

CCXI - CCXX

The mythology of the Goddess sleeping in the World Tree was simply a story that had been told for thousands of years but, in truth, it was simply a tree that just changed the colour of its leaves. Still, men like Hemon chose to believe in fairy tales, and Celios was more curious about the amount of the donation given to him by the Empress.

Hemon could only nod. He understood the warning hidden in Celios' words, and allowed the conversation to be put to rest. Celios smiled, happy that this was once again taken care of and hoped it would be the last. He turned and went into his office, leaving the men behind.

Closing the door, Celios slowly counted the bills in the envelope. No one knew how much of a gambling addict he was, though he was certain some of his closest assistants were suspicious. However, his reputation was as large as the Empress, so no one would dare questions him. To the priests and disciples, his word was above the laws of man. With a final tally, Celios smiled. This amount would certainly cover a portion of his debts and allow him to continue in the games.

And exactly two days later, as if the universe just knew, a black invitation appeared, once more, on the pillow in his bed chamber. Celios slammed his fist on his desk. All he needed to do was ignore the invitation, but temptation always overpowered his senses. Besides, the notice that fell off his desk still listed outstanding debts.

The host of the games was like a beast looking for prey. He played to Celios' addiction, giving him a loan so Celios could continue spiraling into debt. The interest owing was calculated hourly and compounded at an increasing rate. With the speed that it accumulated, Celios might have to hand over the Grand Temple soon. That was something he would need to stop at all costs. If he were removed from his position, he would lose his other important source of income.

Celios was a purveyor of divine rituals. The people of the Empire knew the rituals to be prayers for the sick and dying by the priests of the temple. But the divine rituals Celios offered were much more insidious. To the evil citizens of power, he offered up the young disciples, boys or girls, as sex toys for a hefty fee. Celios headed the operation, aided by a group of priests loyal only to him. There was no way that he could abandon this enterprise.

However, everything seemed to be working against him. Just this past week, one of the young disciples that had been bought from him, wounded his purchaser in an attempt to escape. He was killed for his actions, and returned to the temple as one of God's Guides. The incident was made to look like an accident, but some of the priests were beginning to talk about the strange circumstances. Celios really needed to be careful with how he proceeded.

A quick way out of this mess would be to sell off some of his personal wealth. However, it was incredibly difficult to find a broker who was able to keep his mouth shut. If word got out that he was in financial trouble, again all the filth of his life would come to light. His only saving grace is to hope for another large donation, such as the one made by the Empress. But who else had the kind of money to donate like the Empress?

Thoughts started to circulate in Celios' mind. I could ask Her Majesty for a favour, but I am all out of excuses. Perhaps I could find a reason to blackmail her. After all, even though she is the Empress, she's still human. There must be a skeleton in her closet.

This was the kind of underhanded scheming Celios was good at. Even if whatever evidence he discovered was quickly cleaned up by Duke Skad, nothing would be traced back to the temple. This was his answer!

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Celios rang a bell that was hung next to the door of his chamber. Within moments a disciple arrived.