Kallen had never underestimated the bishop before him. After all, his family had taken just three generations to replace the Pamireth Church's entire leadership with their own people.
Old Saman had chosen suicide because this situation had driven him to despair.
Every time Kallen faced this bishop, he felt tremendous pressure, but little panic.
That was mainly because, although Bishop Byrne was rotten through and through, in both body and soul, he had always held his faith in Order above his own head, unwilling to let anything sully it.
He was terrifying, but if you truly stood on the Order God Church's side, he would not bite you.
"So, were you testing me earlier, sir?"
"No, I wasn't." Bishop Byrne shook his head. "You've given me quite a few new ideas. For example, that remark about the assassin being a perfectionist. Heh, that's very good news."
"Why?"
"Because perfectionists always meet miserable ends. Otherwise, it wouldn't fit the style people like them pursue."
"Is that so?"
Bishop Byrne rested a hand on Kallen's shoulder, brought his face closer, and said quietly,
"Everyone has perfectionist tendencies deep down, but reality often forces us to compromise. Insisting on refusing to compromise is a kind of disregard for reality."
Kallen hesitated, then asked, "But the assassin could have brought the mask in from outside. He didn't necessarily need to find someone in the York City area to make it."
Bishop Byrne seemed somewhat surprised by this question. Looking at Kallen, he asked, "You really don't know?"
"Is there something I should know?"
"As far as I know, masks fall into two broad categories. Well, in fact, most artifacts are divided into these two categories: permanent and disposable.
"For a mask to be permanently usable is extremely difficult, and it usually requires one particular