"Then you all need social guarantees."

Now, we have officially entered the negotiation stage.

Strictly speaking, the temples of various churches do not easily engage in direct transactions with the outside world. The superficial form of transactions between the outside world and the temples is to establish relationships and friendships with the church, build reputation within the church, and then, as a benefit to the church members, extend a helping hand.

Asking the Sunite Church to act directly as an intermediary is no small matter.

Maeve answered without hesitation, "We're happy to make friends, but we have to know our friends first... No matter what kind of assistance you give us, we must know where you come from."

"...Uh." Sig scratched his neck in embarrassment. "Didn't I already give my name?"

Maeve didn't answer - it was obvious that Maeve had no idea who Sig was.

Sig was so angry that he took a deep breath and muttered under his breath, "Well, that's what happens when you slack off too much."

"what did you say?"

"I'm thinking about what kind of gift can be considered sincere." Sig snorted. "Then let's not discuss such big topics for now. Even if the trip doesn't work out in the end, becoming friends with the Sunite Church is a satisfactory outcome."

"But..." she said, her tone suddenly changing. "I need to confirm one thing: Do you only accept donations in the form of money? We've also had some dealings with the enemies of the Sune Church and received some spoils from them. I'm not sure if these spoils represent our sincerity."

spoils of war.

Maeve's eyes suddenly lit up.

Of course it represents sincerity.

Of course, the priest also has a contribution for simply purchasing temple services, but the contribution is not very great. At most, it can be regarded as a perfect attendance bonus for hard work.

But the defeat of the hostile church is a much more solid achievement!

"for example?"

"First, to prevent us from being disappointed..." Sig said, "Have you received any news from the hostile church recently?"

"They've been unexpectedly quiet lately," Maeve said frankly, making no attempt to conceal this public information. "Some believe they've gone to the Twilight Realm to fight for the Kingdom of the God of Death. There are also some far-fetched rumors. It's said that many church headquarters were razed to the ground by explosions from the sky."

"Ah, that's good." Sig smiled brightly. "It seems that the things we collected to make friends are not fake."

“We’re not scrap recyclers.”

"You're joking," Sig said. "If it's something someone else is using, then you're just a middleman dealing in stolen goods."

Maeve relaxed a little.

It seemed more like the adventurers had accidentally knocked down a group of evil cultists and wanted to sell the junk for a higher price.

It’s not a big deal, but it’s not a small deal either. At least it’s not a waste of time.

Maeve breathed a sigh of relief, stood up, and said, "Would you like some tea? Or would you prefer milk? You wouldn't like wine, would you?"

Sig didn't realize at first that Maeve was unintentionally treating her like a child again, and habitually said, "Black tea is fine, thank you."

However, just as Maeve returned to their table carrying the teapot herself, Sig had already brought out the first batch of goods.

——There were dozens of poisoned daggers that were covered in blood but still shone with a strange green light.

On the hilt of the dagger is Talona's emblem: the bleeding triangle.

Maeve, who had been calm and composed just now, suddenly trembled and almost lost her grip on the tray. "...So many daggers?! How many cultists of the Church of Talona have you killed?"

Instead of answering the question, Sig asked, "Is this enough to establish a friendship?"

"Of course!!!" Maeve couldn't even control her tone for a moment, "It's enough for you to gain a foothold in Waterdeep!"

"Then I have one more favor to ask of you." Sig slowly shook the dimensional bag in his hand again.

This time, dozens of plague emblems fell out.

This means that dozens or even hundreds of Talona priests have been defeated by the team in front of them.

Now, Maeve couldn't laugh anymore.

Dozens of believers died. Perhaps a small, secretive sect was wiped out.

But more than a hundred priests died in one go?

This is a earth-shattering event in any church. The Talona Church must organize a full-scale revenge!

"...This..." Maeve hesitated, "This seems to have exceeded the upper limit of the strength of an adventurer team."

"Indeed." Sig said, "So, as I said, this is what I collected, not all of it was taken by us personally."

"That's alright, that's alright..." Maeve stroked her chest. "However, a donation of this level is more than enough for an introduction. What else do you want to do?"

"We want a jack of all trades," Sig said frankly. "Preferably one who can help us establish connections among the various factions in Waterdeep: the Fountain of Knowledge of the Church of Oghma, the Hero's House of Tempus, the God of War, the Temple of Nature, the Dawnspire of Lathander... We've heard of them for a long time, but if we just show up so abruptly, I'm afraid we'll get half the result with twice the effort. We hope to have... an ally."

"That's more than enough," Maeve said. "But your choice of social contacts is rather strange... The churches of Tymora, the goddess of luck, and Selune, the goddess of the moon, are obviously much more approachable."

“That’s why we plan to visit them in person.”

"That makes sense."

Talona, ​​the Plague God, is also considered to be an enemy of all people in Faerun. None of the churches discussed by Sig have a good relationship with Talona.

Maeve murmured, "These over a hundred holy emblems are gifts. Sharing them is completely..."

"Wait a minute, wait a minute." At this moment, Sig stood up and said, "You seem to have misunderstood something."

"Misunderstand?"

Sig held down the hands that were sorting the holy emblems: "These holy emblems are for the Temple of Beauty."

"Give it to me—" Maeve almost fainted, "So what are you planning to do...are you planning to...?!"

Are you planning to give this level of generous gifts to every temple?!

Who are you?

Just then, Maeve finally remembered where she had heard the name Sig.

Sig seemed to be the name of the bard in Emia's squad. However, compared to his stellar teammates, this name was a little less impressive.

However, Maeve had heard the name Sig in other places.

Maeve pondered for a moment and narrowed her eyes slightly.

The gentle priest, who had been a little startled just now, rubbed the inside of his robe and revealed a brooch.

——High Harper's Brooch.

"Aha, you said it earlier." Sig laughed and showed the same brooch.

This is the Harpers Alliance, where like-minded friends always come unexpectedly.

"In that case, let's discuss something more direct." Maeve took a deep breath. "Have you officially begun planning to fight for the right to speak within the Lords' Alliance?"

"We have to, Miss Maeve," Sig said. "We can accept the neutrality of the Lords' Alliance. But we can't quite accept the gradual infiltration of the Lords' Alliance by the Gods Not Gods. We don't like to fix the problem after it's happened, but prefer to prevent it before it happens. Since the Gods Not Gods can influence others through coercion and inducement, why don't we do the same? However, we don't know how to proceed effectively at this point. We can only take it step by step."

"—Well, this is a real boost of confidence." Maeve breathed a sigh of relief. "It seems the night is finally coming to an end. Coincidentally, my attitude towards Waterdeep still has some influence."

As she spoke, Bishop Maeve of Sune took out a helmet from her waist that was so thick that it completely covered her face, and waved it in front of Sig.

It was the helmet of the Masked Lord of Waterdeep.

This meant that Maeve was actually a core member of Waterdeep's highest leadership group. Although she couldn't be said to have the final say in Waterdeep, she was actually very important.

Seventy-Nine Reorganization Alliance (Part 3)

Waterdeep's political system is unique and can be said to be even more unique than Faerun's.

Generally speaking, Waterdeep's officials and rulers are collectively known as Lords, numbering between a dozen and thirty. Lords are divided into masked and public Lords. These two types of Lords are generally of equal status and power. However, the majority of Lords are masked, leaving only a select few, the most venerable, as public Lords of Waterdeep.

As for the Masked Lord, his name suggests - his identity as the Masked Lord is kept secret from the outside world.

In other words, who is the Masked Lord? This is a matter known only to the Lords themselves and cannot be made public. When acting as Lords, Masked Lords must wear a fully concealing helmet and cannot reveal their identity, at least not publicly.

On the surface, this rule was enacted to ensure the impartiality of the Masked Lords, protecting them from the temptation of bribery and the threat of assassination. However, in reality, it also successfully prevented the Masked Lords from exploiting their status, which only lasted four years, to profit recklessly.

Admittedly, this rule made it possible to impersonate a lord, but all public lords had the right to verify the identity of the "masked lord" on the spot - and all masked lords were personally nominated by the public lords.

At the same time, impersonating the Masked Lord is a capital offense.

In addition to daily administration, the most important meeting of the lords was called the Lords' Court. Of course, in order to ensure the secrecy of this meeting, the venue of this meeting was not completely fixed.

This time, the venue for the lords' court meeting was the hometown of one of the masked lords.

Temple of Sune, the Temple of Beauty.

Craftsmen, guild members, mages, and paladins from all over Waterdeep, of varying identities, arrived at Sune's Temple at different times for various reasons, intentional or unintentional. After a certain point, all visitors to the temple began to be driven out, intentionally or unintentionally.

Eventually, it was completely transformed into the meeting place of the Lords of Waterdeep.

Lyra Silverhand, Waterdeep's longest-serving public lord, stepped into the gardens of the Temple of Beauty and gave Maeve a meaningful look.

And Maeve smiled warmly in return.

Regardless, the need to clear the meeting place of the Lords of Waterdeep was a difficult task for an organization like the Church. Lords who served as bishops rarely agreed to use the temple they presided over as a meeting place. The Church of Sune, the most outwardly welcoming, was a typical example of this.

This time, it was like the sun rising from the west. They actually met at the Sunite Church.

"Ah, the fragrance of the Sunite Church is still refreshing," a lord sighed sincerely, "I really don't like holding meetings in the sewers."

The lords nodded in agreement.

Being willing to endure for the sake of privacy is one thing, but they are also genuinely happy not to have their meeting in a place like a sewer.

Maeve, however, revealed a somewhat forlorn smile upon hearing this: "Given the state of our temple, I may not be the Masked Lord next time you nominate someone. Before we part, please leave some gifts behind."

The specific candidate for the next masked lord is an extremely sensitive topic.

Lyra Silverhand, one of the public lords responsible for nominating, raised her eyebrows slightly and said, "Ms. Maeve, I can't make promises to you just because you presided over a meeting of the lords."

However, there are also lords who are no longer in the mood to pay attention to these details.

"Waterdeep is in such a precarious position right now. Even with the aroma of a fragrant flower in my nose, I can't smile." Virginia, Bishop of the Church of Tyr, chose a seat on a bench and sat upright. "In reality, Waterdeep isn't on the front lines, and it's even safe to say it's far from the battlefield... But the attitudes of Waterdeep and the Lords' Alliance have put us in a dangerous neutral position. I still believe this neutrality doesn't necessarily guarantee our safety. Instead, it will turn Waterdeep into a battlefield of strangulation."

"This is the point of our dispute." Lyra Silverhand tapped the bench with the back of her finger. "Well, let's not continue to occupy Lady Maeve's temple to chat... Let's get started."

The atmosphere suddenly became solemn.

The lords seemed to randomly choose a seat on the bench, but they were still subtly divided into several groups: churches from different factions, merchants, some regional leaders, and relatively independent archmages.

Maeve glanced at the time, stood up, and said, "Time has expired... Bishop Fox of Talos is absent. I am Maeve, the presiding judge of this court meeting. I hereby declare that the 1472 Court Meeting of Lord Moon of Frostclaw in Waterdeep is open to the 21 who are supposed to be present. The actual attendance is 20. The meeting is officially open."

"Also, the first and most important topic, which must be addressed immediately, is this: Ladies and Gentlemen, the next meeting of the Lords' Alliance will begin in the next ten days. We must make a decision during this meeting: what stance should Waterdeep take? Should it continue to maintain neutrality?"

As soon as she finished speaking, a portly merchant, richly dressed and reeking of grain, couldn't help but laugh. "Miss Maeve, you're such a joke. What's so important about this topic? The results of the last court meeting were quite clear. Twenty-one people voted. Only two voted in favor of going to war with the Gods and Non-Gods, eight abstained, and eleven opposed. It's only been a month. How could the result change?"

"Whether there will be changes or not, we'll know after discussion and voting. The procedures must be followed." Maeve forced a smile. "It's the same as before. Does anyone want to express their opinions? Mr. Virginia, you've just finished speaking. Please wait for the second round."

Amidst the laughter, Virginia, who had just wanted to stand up, could only shake her head, smile bitterly, and sit down again obediently.

"Well, then, I'll go first," said Horace, the grain merchant who had just been doused with cold water and owner of Horace's Gold Wheat Company. "We in Waterdeep are joining the war for two reasons. One is to prevent trouble before it happens. In case the gods-not-gods become overly greedy and start eating the next one after they've finished, we have to wipe them out before it gets out of hand. As for eradicating evil, that's too difficult, so we'll definitely have to be the first to strike. Bishop Virginia, do you agree?"

Bishop Tyr nodded silently.

Horace received the affirmation, his face beaming like autumn wheat. "If it's for long-term profit, then I have no objection. I sell grain. If I only focus on making money this season, I'll go bankrupt sooner or later. However, our biggest problem is that we're a million miles away from the front lines. If we're going to join the war, the Silver Moon Alliance will be the first to do so! They're stuck in the middle!"

"They're all deaf and dumb in the Lords' Alliance, and we're just saying we want to join the war—oh my! If our city defense forces want to join the war, they have to go through the Silver Moon Alliance's territory, contribute money and manpower, and even have to accept the Silver Moon Alliance's disapproval. There's no such thing as that. I'm just saying, even if we want to join the war, we have to wait until the Silver Moon Alliance softens its stance. Of course, as for preparing for war, I have no objection."

At this point, the grain merchant rubbed his hands with a smile and said, "--Waterdeep City wants to purchase military rations, so I will definitely sell them at a fair price."

Another burst of laughter suddenly broke out in the lords' court meeting.

However, there were still a few people who didn't laugh.

——They are exchanging glances.

However, the gloom on the host Maeve was slowly dissipating without anyone noticing.

"You have a point," said Old Bob Ye, known as "Long Arms," ​​one of Waterdeep's most famous shipowners. He had the final say in the Waterdeep docks. It could be said that all the merchants present were his friends and regular customers. "Considering our friendship, I won't hide it. Horace, I'm sorry, but I'll vote in favor."

Horace's laughter stopped abruptly, and sweat immediately seeped from his forehead. "—Are you crazy? Without Fox here, you think the Umberlee Church is dead?! The Fury Pantheon has openly joined the Gods Not Gods Society! Are you really not afraid that your entire ship will sink in the storm?"

"That's what happened. I was scared to death, so last time, Fox glared at me and I voted against it." Old Bob subconsciously took out a pipe, then froze for a moment, casting a questioning look at Maeve. Only after getting permission did he light his pipe. "But, I said: yesterday, I received a bunch of gifts."

"...Is it a threat?" Leila Silverhand's eyes suddenly flashed with a dangerous light.

The identity of the Masked Lord is actually quite a delicate matter—those at the bottom have no clue, but those at the top know it all. Otherwise, assassinations of Masked Lords wouldn't be so common. Being affected by them is practically unavoidable.

"No, it's a gift." Old Bob's hands began to tremble unconsciously. "Really, it's a gift. But the gift is so heavy that I'm still shaking when I think about it."

Horace shouted, "This is a matter of your life and property. No amount of gifts will allow you to agree to this!"

"The problem is, they have taken away my life and property." The old captain took off the dimensional bag from his waist and poured it down.

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