Naomi contacted Chino the next afternoon. While she didn’t have to work, the dungeon mistress of the Citadel of Light worked as an assistant to the Arch Priest. At first, there was a lot of theory about what such letters should look like. Turns out there were a lot of rules for that. Naomi was grateful for Chino's expertise in that area. She worked with letters and documents for almost a century, and surprisingly, she was also good at explaining. Regrettably, after three days of trying, Naomi couldn’t write a good letter. Or, to be precise, in her opinion, it lacked something.

  “I don’t understand. It’s a very good letter. Especially for someone who is doing that for the first time.” Chino asked, reading the latest version of the letter.

  “I’m not talking about grammar. I’m talking about feeling.”

  “Oh.” Chino understood. Naomi was shooned on earth. Most people in such a situation would become bitter and angry towards others. Instead, Naomi became an empathetic and sociable person who longed to be close to others. That's why the feelings she wanted to convey were more important to her than the facts. “Then let’s try from the start. It’s normal to write a few versions before choosing one.”

  “True. But I don’t think I have an idea how to improve it.”

  “Can you tell me what exactly is wrong with the letter?”

  “The plan is to reassure that everything is all right. And we have everything under control. But people aren’t stupid. There were probably countless similar letters like this one throughout the last century alone. It’s the same with politicians on Earth. Most people ignore them completely, and some even treat them as blatant lies, confirmation that things are going badly.”

  “I came here as a teenager. I never paid attention to politics.” Chino answered.

  “You can believe me on that. I survived four or five presidents. You wouldn't believe what they can say to win an election or to cover up some scandal involving them.” Naomi laughed.

  “Here are some despicable nobles, too. But clergy keep an eye on them, and react if they go too far.” Chino answered. “But let’s go back to the letter. Do you have some ideas on how to improve it, or maybe we can decide to take a break for today?”

  “It’s still early. We can try one more time if you have time.”

  “Certainly. So from the beginning?”

  “No. I want to try something different.” Naomi shook her head and summoned an old school blackboard with chalk. Chino smiled.

  “So letter.” Naomi writes in the middle. “Why do we want to write it?”

  “To ease fears and unease of the people,” Chino answered.

  “Right.” Naomi wrote ‘fear’ and connected it with the line to the first word. “Normally, it’s done by reassurance that everyone is doing their job. “Naomi added the word ‘reassurance’. “But this time we are dealing with the fall of the big town and treason.” She wrote two more words directed at the word ‘fear’. “So, the question is what we can do?”

  “Not much,” Chino answered. “Until the arch lich is alive, he will be sending spies to tempt people. We also don’t have enough people to check all the suspects. And earlier we agreed that if we start checking everyone's paths, panic could break out.”

  Naomi added ‘trust’ with a line to the word ‘fear’, after some pondering.

  “I think this is our problem,” Naomi said.

  “Trust?” Chino asked, surprised.

  “Yeah. The ruler of this city believed that it was enough to check the messenger's path. People are trusting that guards will catch all cultists and bandits. Additionally, there is the belief that people around the world are one big family. And that trust was used against us.”

  “But we can’t tell people that they should stop trusting each other.”

  Naomi was attentively looking at the blackboard, deep in thought. Suddenly, her eyes went wide.

  “Oh no. No, no, no. Naom, it's a bad idea.” She scolded herself, shaking her head vigorously.

  “I like bad ideas. Can you tell me, sister, about your newest mischief?”

  “Tabitha?”

  “Good day, goddess.” Chino bowed respectfully.

  “Hello!” Goddes answered cheerfully. “So, sister, about your prank?” Goddess tail was wagging energetically.

  “It’s not a prank. It will be a scam.” Naomi strongly protested.

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  “Oh. Strange, I have the opposite feeling. Please explain to me your plan. As an expert, I will judge it and help improve it.”

  “Understood. So it’s not a real plan, just an idea, but it goes like that.” And Naomi started explaining. When she finished both, the goddesses and Chino looked at her with wide eyes.

  “You have my blessing to do it,” The goddess whispered, smiling wildly and with admiration.

  “But it’s a scam. I will need to deceive people to do it.” Naomi protested.

  “It will be a scam if you take from them something they don’t want to give. You would be giving them hope and security. Well, the final decision is yours. But I would support you if you decide to do it.”

  “I will need to consult with priests. I can’t do it just like that, and most importantly, it’s just an idea, not a plan.”

  “True. Preparations are important.” Goddess nodded sagely and vanished.

  “Chino, please arrange the meeting with the Arch Priest and the Grand Inquisitor. And please don’t tell anyone about all of that.”

  “I promise to keep it secret,” Chino answered. She planned to do it anyway. Naomi’s plan was so audacious that she couldn’t grasp all its implications. One thing, however, was obvious. If things went badly or people learned the truth, Naomi could lose everything.

  The meeting was arranged shortly after breakfast in On Taram. For Chino, it was almost dinner time. All gathered priests were nervously looking at Naomi. The news that he had something important to discuss, and in the case of the High Priest, his niece's refusal to explain anything, worried them a bit.

  “Dungeon Mistress. We can begin.” Minotaur Grand Priest urged silent Naomi.

  “Right, sorry. I get lost in thoughts.” Naomi answered. “For starters, I need to tell you that if you decide that my idea is going too far, there wouldn’t be any further discussion about it. I’m also taking full responsibility for any bad outcomes if we decide to enact this plan. I’m even ready to resign from my post as dungeon mistress if people would demand it.”

  Everyone stares at her in disbelief. Naomi didn’t give them time to ask questions and read the outline of her plan from the scroll she prepared. It was a short presentation consisting of short, simple sentences. But each of them built a picture of a plan so audacious, so full of consequences, that no one of them could grasp it, especially now, when everyone was frantically trying to understand what they had just heard.

  The Grand Inquisitor broke the silence that followed Naomi’s presentation.

  “When all hope is lost, she is stepping forward. She is willing to risk everything and face the most powerful people and beings. And she is not doing that for fame and glory, but out of compassion. Her compassion goes beyond just making her brave. It can ignite a spark of hope in people's hearts.” He quoted the description of Naomi's latest title.

  “What?” Naomi almost jumped, looking at him with wide eyes. “No… I…” She tries to protest, but looks of reverence and Pinera's smile make Naomi give up.

  “The Grand Inquisitor's words are showing us again why the Dungeon Mistress became champion of the gods. But can we do it?” Jathur asked.

  “Goddess Tabitha, give us her approval yesterday,” Chino answered.

  “However, the final decision must be ours,” Naomi added immediately.

  “I’m not an expert in scheming, but we would need more people to pull it off. And the more people know the secret, the higher the chance that the truth will be discovered.” Eriser observed.

  “That's why the full truth would be known only by us here and other dungeon cores. I plan to tell the truth to King Alduin, and the Grand Marshal also should know the plan. But the rest of the priests should know only the official explanation.” Naomi explained.

  “We can’t lie to them. They would know that immediately.” Tarron observed.

  “Yes.” Naomi agreed. “That’s why you should tell them things like: ‘It’s Dungeon Mistress command, or it’s something from another world’. Things like that.”

  Grand priests nodded after a few minutes of pondering. Dungeon Mistress was right. That kind of explanation doesn’t trigger their skills for finding the lies. It was obvious that they weren’t explaining anything, and some would be asking questions.

  “I think I would need to inform my inquisitors to keep an eye on the people asking too many questions.” Grand Inquisitor mused.

  “Some people would understand it’s a trick anyway,” Tarron observed.

  “Yes, people aren't that stupid, and there are many really smart people. But without clear confirmation, it shouldn’t be a problem. More importantly, if we try too hard to suppress rumors, it could work against us. Rumors aren’t important. What is important is what most people would believe. That’s why all priests need to be involved and help to spread and reinforce it.” Naomi said.

  “But could it work?” Pinera asked.

  “It could.” Grand Inquisitor answered. “While it's a lie, it would work as a self-fulfilling prophecy. The more people involved, the fewer places there would be to hide for cultists and traitors. In return, it would reinforce people's belief, and more people could join in.”

  “I think we need to add an option for people who won't participate for various reasons, like everyone.” Pinera mused.

  “They just can talk with any priest like always.” Grand Forge Master shrugged.

  “Right, I forgot about that.” Naomi immediately added a note on her scroll.

  “Now. Let’s decide.” Arch Priest called.

  The next afternoon in the oasis was a not-so-small gathering of random people. Adventurers, helpers, crafters, sunelves, holy knights, young and old. Almost one hundred people.

  “Thank you all for finding some free time for me.” Naomi addressed them, and some smiled and raised their hands to assure her they didn’t mind. “I would be direct, to not waste your time. Work for today may be over, but we need to prepare for tomorrow. So, after I returned, I was informed there was one serious problem. After the destruction of the city in the north, everyone is afraid the cultists will do it again. You are smart people, and I don't like to lie, so I'm sorry to tell you, but we don't know.” People's faces turn grim or frightened. Naomi raised her hand. “I assure you that the inquisition and holy knights are working hard to reveal any plot. Regrettable, there is so much they can do. I was asked to write a letter for all of you so that you do not lose trust in each other, but we all know that this time it takes more than words.” People nodded and muttered words of agreement. “And I think I've found something. After consultation with grand priests.” She pointed to them standing next to her. “I think I’m ready to try it for the first time with your help.” Her words picked their focus. “So, as most of you know, in my world, there is no magic. But despite everything, we still deeply believe that magic exists. So we have rituals and things like that, and we believe they bring us happiness and prosperity. I want to present you with one of them, which could help us. So who is interested?”

  All gathered raised their hands, and adventurers even shouted in excitement.