5th of Summer 5860
Beige Palace, Ancoire
Head Priest Castellan had finally settled down on his office after a day which certainly felt long to him. As expected, everyone had questions for him the moment the Protection Squadron arrived and took over the day-to-day of Ancoire. The gaillard, colorful uniforms of the city's guard had been suddenly replaced by the drab black of the PS. Just from the visuals alone they lost favorability. Castellan had suggested at least adding a feather or two to the helmets of the PS, only to be told by the Chancellor that «His Upmost Eminence is clearly not informed of how effective this sort of simple uniform is at inspiring fervor in the masses.»
Whatever. Castellan was still the High Priest, and he had a job to not lose. A fancy office to occupy. «That idiot will see himself stripped of that chancellery soon enough» he murmured under bated breath. Order would restore itself; nothing would ever happen. Time to lean forward on his desk and get to work. First order of business: reallocating the budget left by the disbandment of Ancoire's guard. Thankfully the Chancellor wasn't making him pay for the PS. Perhaps, Castellan thought, he could keep that money for himself. Keep in contact with the old members of the guard, rehire them for his personal retinue with that money. Just in case.
Before Castellan could get to drafting a letter or two, he heard conversation happening right outside of his door. A man – no, two men, conversing with the Protection Squadron soldier «guarding» the High Priest. He couldn't hear what they were seeing from behind a wall, but there definitely were two.
For a moment, everybody outside the door seemed to fall silent. The PS soldier must have told the visitors off, as was instructed by the Chancellor as part of the High Priest's unofficial house arrest. Castellan was just about to get back to work when…
THUD!
…something outside hit the floor. Something heavy? He received his answer when an old man he had never before seen entered the room, quite calmly opening the door before pointing a strange hand cannon at the Head Priest. «Good evening. Mister Castellan, was it?»
Now, there are many things one could do when a firearm is pointed right at them. Scream, shout, soil one's pants… Castellan simply stared in shock, not even a whimper, prepared for his imminent demise. He only managed to give an answer that shocked even himself: «Good evening?»
«Oh, by the Divine… excuse Captain Brown.» Vaiz followed suit, entering through the door while dragging the unconscious soldier in. He closed the door behind his back. «Captain, please lower your weapon. His Upmost Eminence is unarmed, and he won't do us any harm, right? Right?»
«R-right. I won't.» With that, the High Priesthood had been surrendered. Castellan's eyes shot between the two men, letting out a sigh of relief when the man called Brown lowered his weapon.
Vaiz took initiative upon seeing that the High Priest was back in a state to listen. «A-ahem! Your Upmost Eminence, we're here to save you from the tyranny of the Chancellor! We require your help to restore order in Gemeinplatz. Please, follow us, and we'll get you out of Ancoire.»
To that, at having his office being broken into and being threatened at gunpoint by a strange man, Castellan could ask one thing. «Who are you people?!»
«Our mission is secret, Your Upmost Eminence. The walls have ears, you know? We must not speak of it until you are out.»
«But if I'm to follow you, I must kno-» Castellan let out a shriek and closed his mouth upon seeing Brown tilt his rifle slightly upwards. «A-alright, I'll follow you.» Whoever they were, Castellan felt that it'd be better than house arrest by the Chancellor.
«Excellent. So…» Vaiz took a brief look at the door, then a window looking outside. They were two floors up, but a couple of PS soldiers were clearly visible as they passed by. «…how do we get out without being spotted, captain?»
Brown had already begun working on undoing the uniform on the unconscious soldiers that Vaiz had dragged in. «Simple. You gentlemen shall all get new jobs. Mister Vaiz, you'll join the black gambeson forces. The High Priest shall be temporarily demoted to a priest of your rank. I remain the foppish fool who you'll escort outside.»
«Understood, captain.» A bit of undress and dress later, and everyone was now dressed for their new roles. The gambeson was not tailored for Vaiz and it proved a tight fit, but his uniform not being fully comfortable was the least of his worries at the moment. He shouldered the soldier's musket to complete the fit. Vaiz didn't know how to reload a firearm, so, he had one shot if he had to use it. At least the High Priest Castellan was having no problems fitting into the breezy robes of an ordinary priest. With his hood pulled up, the head priest wasn't too recognizable from most angles.
«Are we ready, gentlemen?» Brown hid his rifle back under his cape, in a scabbard hidden behind the cape which was specifically designed for this mission. They stuffed the unconscious soldier in a cabinet in the office, normally meant to store documents, with Castellan locking the door as they left. Vaiz led them outside, once again having to navigate the winding stairs and corridors of the Beige Palace, until they were out of the building.
Thankfully, John Brown in his foppish disguise proved way more eye-catching than the humble priest and soldier accompanying him. As the denizens of the palace passed him by, mostly clergymen and PS soldiers, they whispered to each other about the lack of taste this visitor had. Some theorized he was a nobleman going through a midlife crisis. Some theorized that he was new money, a burgher, a merchant who had newly come to money and had yet to develop noble sensibilities. No matter the case, eyes were definitely on him, though thankfully nobody actually wished to open their mouth and speak to the fop.
After a bit of walking, Brown and co. made their exit – through an entrance different to the one they had entered from. Unsurprisingly, a complex as grand as the Beige Palace had multiple entrances and exits, which was perfect for any potential priestnappers.
«Hail the Emperor!» The two Protection Squad soldiers guarding the entrance bellowed at Vaiz as he left, with the straight-armed salute bestowed upon them by the Chancellor.
«Uh- uh, hail! Hail the emperor.» Vaiz emulated them, though his arm ended up being bent while doing the salute.
«Pfft. Hey, are you new or what?» It seems one of the soldiers had taken it upon himself to educate Vaiz. He stepped forward, doing the salute again. Boots clanged together, arm perfectly straight, face looking forward. «Hail the Emperor!»
«Hail the Emperor!» replied Vaiz, managing to keep his arms straight this time.
«There we go… who is your officer, by the way?» asked the soldier casually.
«Ah, aha, it's… Mister Tark?» Vaiz let out the first name that came into his mind.
«Tark… I see, we'll have to report him for failing to instruct his men properly.» The soldier returned to his post, seemingly satisfied.
«Of course, o-of course. Have a nice day!» With the encounter over, Brown and co. continued on their way out, through the streets of Ancoire. In an age before mass media, not many people outside the Palace recognized the face of the High Priest. He was a figure who briefly appeared in ceremonies, surrounded by high-ranking clergymen and always separated from the people. Out on the street, dressed in a common priest's attire… the passersby would have most likely laughed if Castellan had a change of heart and try to tell them that he was the Head Priest and that he was being kidnapped.
With a hasty tempo, the group reached the gates of Ancoire. Brown and Vaiz led Castellan a ways away from the city, while being pestered with questions such as «Who are you? Where are you taking me?»
«You'll see… oh, actually, we have arrived. We're back, young man.»
«You have our guest ready, captain?» Shinasi had been waiting for them a way away from the road, having brought Brown and Vaiz to Ancoire on a horse carriage.
«Yes, he's ready.» Brown took a seat on the carriage, and immediately began taking off the countless pieces of jewelry that had made up his disguise. «Ready to hear the answer as to who we are.»
«Finally.» Castellan couldn't help but blurt out. Finally, he'd learn who these people were. He already had a few theories in his head. They could be from a noble family, one of his political allies most likely, who harbored anti-Chancellor sentiment and wished to free the Head Priest. Perhaps they were humble faithful, who wished to free the Head Priest from secular machinations. Castellan even considered that they may be Divine agents sent down to free him, though that felt unlikely considering how ordinary these men behaved.
As the horse carriage began moving, Brown gave the answer. «Mister Castellan, welcome to the Republic. On behalf of its people I, John Brown, speak to you as their elected Commander-in-Chief. As long as you keep cooperating with us, you'll keep your job as the head priest. We'll liberate Ancoire, and allow you and any future holders of the Head Priesthood to reside in the Beige Palace.»
With that, the dreams of Castellan were entirely crushed under the weight of a thousand freemen. This was another house-arrest, just under a different master.
«Understood, Sir Brown.»
The tides would surely shift, order would come back to Gemeinplatz, and nothing ever would happen… for now, all Castellan felt like he could do was to swim along with the tide. It's how he had gotten to live so long and rise so high in the ranks, after all.
«Do not call me 'sir', please. There are no noblemen in the Republic, and I can safely assure you that I am of common birth.»
First, he'd have to learn how to communicate with this odd Commander-in-Chief of this so-called Republic.