The envoy was about twenty mamluks and three diplomats from three of the eight cities. They wanted to know what we were doing and whether or not we were hostile to them. I was not going to attack them if they did not attack us first. I was way more concerned about those Omega Warriors and the old order of paladins. Those were the factions that I needed to be the most wary of. "We just want to clean up crime in the area and worship in a peaceful manner. There is nothing to be alarmed about." I told them. One of the diplomats raised their voice. "You must forgive us if we do not readily believe you. Your name and reputation precedes you. Nearly everywhere I have documented that you have gone to has fallen to chaos and near ruin." "Only the places that have wronged me." I added sharply. "How will we know that we won't wrong you one day?" another asked pointedly. I just gave a shrug and said "We are a simple paladin order. Surely you have dealings with the other churches and orders they have." "You are certainly much more volatile than a monastery of chaste nuns." the third said.
Eventually I said "If the sultan wishes for peace between us, he could certainly draw up a non-aggression pact between us. I would even settle for being hired as a large mercenary company for defensive conflicts." All their eyes went wide. "Should a holy man really say something like that!?" the second one said. I said "We prepare for war to establish peace. That is the path of a paladin. If the land was invaded and the faithful were oppressed, where would we be but on the frontlines as the defenders of the faith!?" It was total bullshit, but they could not refute that. If they did, it would lead to them pissing off the other paladin orders that operated in Sandario. They all left soon after. I was glad to be rid of them. A week later, a non-aggression pact was sent. I signed it and put my seal on it. We basically went patrolling in the sand and stopping the bandits that we saw along the way. We also garnered a lot of good will from the five nearby villages by doing that. With all the positive relation, we could have went ahead and tried to establish a petty kingdom. We needed a city. I was not an oath breaker.
No normal city would be able to take on a full party of Protectors- Black Ops. That would probably make me a major enemy of the other world powers. I was still probably on Limerick Jill's shit list. My name was on the forums as well. I was the first play to eat mermaid flesh after all. I also helped build a shrine and defend the country in the crusade that I instigated. Even if I was not a Devil, there was no way that other Sages did not also dislike me. I was a wild card. With the non-aggression pact, I would at least be insulated from Sandario attacking me. I sent the signed pact back to them. That would be good enough. I received another letter from the Grandmaster. He was furious that I went off and made my own order. He thought the excommunication would be the end of me. I just sent him a mocking letter back. There was nothing he could do. Any of the Protectors could take him in a fair fight. I was sure that he knew that. Something I was not expecting was a bandit to have some unique loot. He had blade that belonged to a Grandmaster of the paladin order for the church of the moon.
It was a crescent shaped scythe. I decided to give it back to the church. It would only help us make alliances in the country. I also needed to fully reorganize my party composition. I took Chien, Leon, Zeta and Eta along with me. I also had a female recruit with me. I could trust them to be the most loyal to me. There was a grand temple in Dune City. We took it there and gave it to one of the clerics there. He was happy and invited us to stay with him for the night. Since it was a relic of the faith, the clerics and inquisitors in the city decided to parade it around the city in a large procession. That would take a few days to organize. After the procession, some paladins of the order would take it to a well defended monastery to ensure its protection. Since we were going to stay in the city for so long, I bought citizenship for everyone in the party that needed it. The female recruit came from a village and had citizenship. I made sure that I bought it for Alpha, Beta and Epsilon as well. We watched as the relic and clergy possession went through the city. My party and I were also rewarded nicely for it.
