But this situation was far from idyllic. It soon became clear that the Temple, and Steve Bradbury in particular, was beset on all sides by enemies. Indeed, just one week after Orton�s ascension to the position of Bishop, a Malkavian antitribu, by the name of Malachi, held the Temple hostage, claiming that he had been sent by his master to slay the Archbishop. It soon turned out that Malachi, who seemed unstoppable, unbeatable, and irritatingly American, claimed allegiance to the demonic force, Tarquin, who, growing as impatient and irritated by Malachi as the Temple was, had the Malkavian destroyed.
The next big event was the Palla Grande, which was organised by the new Bishop, Shane Orton, and was made as elaborate and glorious as Orton could manage, since the festival was not only celebrating Cainite existence as it does on an annual basis, but was also commemorating the Sabbat victory of seizing the city from its Camarilla masters. But the festivities were not to last for long. At the conclusion of the ceremony, an unknown murderer assassinated Steve Bradbury. The Archbishop was dead, and the city was thrown into turmoil. Suspicions were cast on the Lupines, Tarquin (who had sent Malachi to kill Bradbury because of a long-lasting vendetta against the Tzimisce Archbishop), and of course the Camarilla. But the mystery was not solved, and Fortesque and Orton were each much more interested in becoming the new Archbishop than in finding the killer of the last one. Still, after much dispute and a fierce Monamacy, the two Bishops agreed to retain their current positions and rule jointly over the city for a trial period of time. But each continued to plot against each other, taking advantage of opportunities to disgrace each other in front of the Temple. Two such chances appeared quite rapidly. The first was when Fortesque unwittingly allowed a Camarilla infiltrator, Ash, to enter the Temple and lead one of the Packs on a mission that resulted in the destruction of several Sabbat strongholds in the city. Then, a week later, a similar situation occurred when Orton, also unwittingly, allowed Bella-in-Pax, a Lupine, to enter the Temple, and cause havoc himself, culminating with Bishop Orton�s unlife being threatened unless he sent the Temple to retrieve a potent artefact, the Heart of Gaia � which has the power to destroy virtually any Cainite in a matter of seconds � from the booby-trap-riddle labyrinthine lair of Kraken, deep beneath the city.
And so, the Cainites of Maiden Newton did indeed descend into that nightmare realm, eventually locating the artefact, which was entrusted to Orton to give to the Lupines. Still, it transpired that Orton did not in fact hand over the Heart of Gaia, but instead he
It was becoming increasingly clear to all that there was a traitor in the Temple, and this was proved when a massive offensive was launched against the nearest Camarilla city, Bournemouth. It turned out that the whole attack was a trap; the Sabbat arrived in the city, finding it empty of the enemy, who were busy seizing the city back, right under the Sabbat�s collective nose. Returning to find Maiden Newton a warzone where no non-Camarilla vampire was safe, the Sabbat were forced to stay out. It was undeniable that they had been set up by someone. Then Sid showed up, with evidence and answers that pointed unquestionably to the traitor being Bishop Shane Orton � who had mysteriously been out of the city for the past week, and had therefore �missed� the Camarilla attack. Fortesque declared a Wild Hunt on the rogue Bishop.
A week later, the exiled Sabbat met outside the city to plot their counteroffensive. But this was soon put on hold, when Finn brought in Bishop Orton, beaten, bloody and of less than sound mind. Immediately, Fortesque held a trial for the disgraced Kiasyd, seeing it as an opportunity to rid himself of his rival once and for all. Eagerly seizing the chance to act as prosecution against Orton, Finn was assigned as the Judge for the case. Shane was swiftly found guilty of the charges of treason, and Finn�s judgement on him was that the entire Temple destroy him in one rapid assault. Hence, Orton was destroyed. Moments later, Cardinal Luis arrived, and proclaimed that Orton was innocent, and that Louisa Finn, the Paladin, was the traitor, the Camarilla spy. She had organised the murder of Steve Bradbury, she had arranged for the city to fall back under Camarilla rule, and she had manipulated Sid, providing him with false evidence, so that she could ensure that the blame fall on Shane Orton instead. But Finn was not to be beaten quite so quickly, and with this revelation, she made a last-ditch effort to be victorious, and tried to kill Luis. She failed, and she too was destroyed. Luis ordained Sir Daniel Fortesque the new Archbishop of the city � should he be able to retake it � and announced that he intended to send a representative to the city, who would report back on the situation, and the competency of the new Archbishop.
Cardinal Luis left, and the chronicle ended with Patrick Solo, a sudden newcomer, and Semper Fi, a veteran of the Temple, becoming the new Bishops to rule under Fortesque. But the city of Maiden Newton was still in Camarilla hands, and it would take a great effort to win it back � such was the challenge that now faced the Sabbat of the city.