This Too Shall Pass [Taggity Liam]

A letter would arrive for Shepard Liam Grey, delivered by a young boy who appeared at his side shortly after mass. The boy, dressed neatly for church, couldn't have been older then 5 years old and had the face of an angel. He tugged at Liam's coat, holding up the letter for him to take. " For you sir. " The boy wouldn't stick around, the moment Liam took the letter the child ran off into the crowd that was dispersing after the Divine seminar. The plain vanilla envelope held a single sheet of paper.


There was no signature, but the handwriting itself would be familiar enough. Given the current time, it left Liam with little more than 15 minutes to reach the temple. Whether he reached it on time, or not, there would be a young brunette woman waiting for him at the entrance. " Liam. Good of you to come on such short notice." It was Emily, a representative of the church that often handed down orders to the servants of the divine. A servant of the Divine could always tell how important the mission, depending on the person briefing them for it. In this case, Emily was fourth in the chain down from Darius, and therefore she was a fairly common sight to a man of Liam's rank. The lovely woman was all smiles and grace as she greeted Liam and turned to lead the way inside. " I hope it was not too short notice?" Not that it really mattered to the Collective, but Emily had such polite mannerisms. " There was some debate about who to send, but your name came with such a high recognition from the original Acolyte chosen for the job that when he was unable to preform you were next in line."

No doubt that would be something the Acolyte would be curious about, the man who saved him all those years ago passed up on a mission? Never. Whether he asked out loud directly or not, the representative would notice and explain." He died. Yesterday. Unexpectedly. I am sorry. We are investigating the causes as we speak, and I assure you, Liam," She paused in the halls, turning to look at him with more seriousness," We will discover the truth." She looked him dead in the eyes when she said this then turned to continue on walking," Until then, we hope this mission can serve as a sort of distraction? We are desperate. Truly, we need your help Liam. Everything is set to go, today, we're just missing the most important team player."

The representative would lead Liam through the temple and out into one of the many court yards. The garden setting had a zen feel to it, complete with freshly raked sand and fountains. The place was empty, but again not much of a surprise considering Emily often met here. There was a table set up nearest the entrance they entered through, sunlight filtered through the branches of a wide brimmed tree to give it a glimmering effect while it still shaded them from direct light. Tea had been set up, but no one ever really partook of the pleasantries in these briefings. It was mainly for show, as far as most of the Clerics were concerned. Emily would go striding ahead to take up one of the seats, waving to the adjacent seat while to dug into her bag to pull out some paperwork.

Once settled, the woman would lay a vanilla envelope in the space in front of Liam. Inside there would be a small stack of papers, the very first page a manifesto for their meeting detailing out the classification, the job, and lastly his rewards, ending in a pretty decent lump sum. Next, there came a list of supplies he would be given, ranging from a tent to money and passports. Then came a map, a fancy digital map that looked and felt just like paper but the picture itself would respond to his touch, allowing him to zoom in and out, as well as pull up different locations. Beyond the map came page after page of information, no doubt delving into the classified nature of the mission and specifying the do's and dont's.

" We have a package we need you to pick up. It is vital that no one intercept it, and that you bring it here to the Bastion temple for safe keeping. In return for your delivery, as well as your silence, we are prepared to pay you in cash upon your safe return. Should that not be an acceptable reward, then we are open to reasonable suggestions at this time. We ask that you wear this tracker at all times until the mission is complete," Emily pulled out a fine metal watch, setting it on the table before him. " It will tell us of your whereabouts at all times, and should you at any point in time you remove the device we will assume the mission is compromised and plan B will be implemented. At no point are you to remove the tracker, unless you have lost the package. You are to report immediately should you stray from the plotted route on the map, otherwise we will assume the mission is compromised and again, plan B will be implemented."

Emily would pause, allowing Liam a brief moment to absorb some of this information before diving right back into it," Don't even bother asking what plan B is. You will not like it. We are sending you because we want to keep the delivery as low key as possible, but I can assure you that plan B is far from quiet. There are certain creatures who will stop it nothing to interfere and we understand not only are you qualified but loyal to the Divine Collective, without fault." She then reached into her bag to pull out another smaller envelope, opening it to count its contents before handing the cash over as well," This should help in your endeavors." Tucked in with the cash was a train ticket, scheduled to leave at 7:30 this evening. " Your supplies have already been loaded on the train, save for your personal belonging. Pack lightly, you already have two large bags and your personal effects shall be your carry on. At no point are to speak with anyone in regards to this mission, I am sure you will have time to review the regulations and directions while on your trip out."

It was a moving service that was given at The Temple today. The speaker was eloquent, and truly brought the word of the Divine to life. Liam was thinking about the questions posed by the Shepherd when the child drew his attention with the letter. He took the letter addressed to him, and thanked the boy before he ran off. He inspected the wax seal that held the letter closed, and was satisfied with what he found. The sigil in the wax told him who the sender was, and that it had not been tampered with. The Acolyte pulled the ceremonial dagger, that was his right to carry, from beneath his frock and used it to cut open the envelope with a quick swipe. The motions were quick and precise, and the blade was sheathed before most noticed it had even been drawn. Reading the enclosed text, Liam reported immediately.

In a few minutes he was standing in the courtyard before the woman that had summoned him. "Acolyte Cleric Liam Grey reporting, Miss", he said standing at attention. He didn't speak anymore after that because this was official business. He would speak when addressed. He waited and listened, but didn't like what he heard. 'He died.....' The words hit him like a sledge hammer to the chest. He felt like he was going to be ill. Each heart beat was an eternity, and each pump of blood brought his stomach higher in his throat. The man that spoke highly of him, the Acolyte who had this assignment before him was his mentor. Cleric James was the closest thing he had to a father since his Da died, and now he was gone. 'we are investigating.....' It wasn't natural causes. They wouldn't investigate a natural death. "Ma'am, I respectfully decline this job. I wish to be assigned to the investigation."

His words fell on deaf ears. She heard him but she did not justify them with a response to keep him from being written up for insubordination. These orders came down from the Grand Shepherd and could only be overturned by the Council. If she did this then there was a reason he was being kept from the investigation. The uncertainty burned in his soul. Why would they keep him away from the investigation. Liam fell silent once more and composed himself. When she moved, he fell in step behind her, silently asking the Divine to guide him. He was thankful for Emily's quiet mercy in this matter. She protected him from himself.

For Liam there was no seeing the beauty that was around him. He was too focused on what was lost from his world. What he was going to do was already decided for him so he simply filed away every detail. When the file was handed to him, Liam thumbed through the contents, skimming through the information. A detailed read would come later when he had time to study the material. The payment envelope was not discussed by him. The only consideration it was given was, an opened top, and a quick thumbing to get a general idea of how much was in it. Liam served the Divine and that meant working for the church. He acted for his faith. The money was just a means to survive in the world. When Emily was done briefing him Liam took the watch from her, fastened it around his wrist, and said "I understand. I'll carry out the mission."

Now that he had his marching orders Liam didn't waste any time. He immediately returned to his room and gave the briefing packet a thorough reading, memorizing all the details, and then he burned the briefing packet. The information inside was astounding, but it was also classified. Leaving behind any sort of paper record was forbidden, even inside the Temple. Following that Liam started packing. He was adept at traveling with everything he needed. There were three pieces of luggage he carried on to the train with him a few hours later. The first was a suitcase with changes of clothes that he would need for the trip, the second was a backpack that held all his survival gear, and the last was a locked case that held the tools of his trade. Even though he was escorting a young woman from one point to another, he was going prepared for the worse.