Break Faith
By Jadon W. M. Smith
I walked through the halls of our revered castle at a brisk gait, scarcely appreciating the beauty of its corridors. I was busy, and there were many things to do. All throughout the castle, the other knights kept themselves occupied with various tasks. Everyone had a different job, with some sharpening swords while others washed dishes. To an outsider the disparity in jobs would be a reflection of honour. Those who served the Righteous Order knew that no job was greater than the other. All who toiled as servants of the Creator were equal.
That being said, my responsibilities as a templar were greater. I was the youngest in the Order's history to make the leap from paladin to templar--something I took seriously and was immensely proud of. Most paladins had to wait until they were middle-aged to have their career advance like that. But The Four saw something in me and advanced me quickly. Now, for the umpteenth time I had been summoned by The Four to embark on a quest. I didn't know what it was yet, but I already knew that I would accept, for it was my honour to drive back the darkness of this world in whatever way I could.
I entered into the study of Her Excellency Lady Beatrice of The Four, where I would receive my instructions. Her study was the opposite of meticulous to any sane individual. Books were strewn about as if an Isutan stormcloud had brushed a tentacle through a library. Drawers of reports from hundreds of clandestine paladin operations lay open, with their contents spilling out onto tables and chairs as if they were soldiers bleeding out on a battlefield. Weapons and tools confiscated from criminals and the practitioners of The Profane covered several surfaces instead of being stored within display cases or racks. Just beside the door lay a workshop with Lady Beatrice's shield, which she had wielded since her days as a squire--she had been insisting for nearly 3 years now that she would finish polishing it soon.
Despite the appearance of chaos in Her Excellency's study, I knew well that no item was misplaced or obscured from her mind. By some uncanny means, Lady Beatrice knew the location of every single object within the four stone walls of her office.
Lady Beatrice herself sat in her usual spot--not in her ornamented seat behind her opulent, master-crafted platwood desk, but instead on a weathered stool hunched over a table at the side of the room. A feather quill in her hand wiggled feverishly as she worked. Beside her, a magical duplicate of the quill mirrored her movements on an identical sheet of paper. Further down the desk sat an intimidatingly tall stack of paper that seemed to be copies of whatever literature she laboured to produce.
"Your Excellency," I spoke after clearing my throat. She looked up, startled, obviously deeply engrossed in whatever she was writing.
"Sir Lupta!" she exclaimed, "I'm sorry, I did not expect you to arrive until later this week. Were you not on leave?"
"I apologize for the startlement," I said with a bow, "but I came because being on leave filled me with boredom. What would I do all day but shuffle about browsing market stalls or nap next to the river?"
Lady Beatrice placed her quill down and stood up to move behind her desk. "What is wrong with getting some sleep? It is important that one gets rest after returning home from a hectic adventure."
"That's not my idea of rest," I chuckled while fidgeting with the ring on my little finger, "although it looks like you could use some of that." Lady Beatrice sighed as she stood behind her desk and glanced back at the precarious pile of paper on the side table.
"Yes, it would be nice," she agreed outwardly. I could tell that deep down she was exhausted, but that was her usual state. The other templars had whispered that she must have acquired some sort of divine gift that allowed her to stave off sleep itself. "Rest will have to wait though. For now, I suppose you would like your mission details?"
"If you're not too tied up," I replied.
"Oh, it is no bother. I need to get out of my study for a bit. I have been here since morning. Let us go to the map room."
She collected a case of her things from the drawers of her desk and swiftly exited, with me following in tow.
As we walked through the Righteous Fort's halls, she began to brief me in between returning greetings to other knights that we came across.
"In the northern outskirts of Phovezila, a gathering of Flesh Priests was discovered," she began. My eyes widened with this abrupt delivery of information.
"A full chapter of the Priests?" I asked.
"Indeed. They are no longer active, since several initiates to the cult were caught by the Elementum Order. They were making fools of themselves by stealing fruit, if you would believe it. They were so desperate to escape the consequences of their actions that they exposed their entire cell."
I scoffed. "That's practically unheard of. The loyalty of a member of the Bloody Clergy being so... weak?"
"I had my reservations at first," Lady Beatrice continued as we stopped at the door to the map room. She fumbled with her ring of keys. "However, I spoke with a high-ranking Elemental Warrior associated with the investigation. They, like what you are probably thinking, suspected a trap was in place." The door to the map room creaked open, and the candles within flickered magically to life, illuminating the large map of Hohm at the chamber's center.
"And there was none?" I inquired.
"No trap. No ambush. No schemes. It seemed like it was nothing but a weak link in the Priests' fellowship. In total, twenty-three Priests were arrested. Two of them were flesh sculptors."
I whistled. "By the Seraphim! That's trouble brewing if I ever heard it. I assume the Bureau of Classified Arcana has the members of the chapter now?"
"The flesh sculptors, yes. But the rest of the chapter was taken into custody by Phovezila."
"So how do I fit into this?"
"According to the intel given to the Elementum Order, the chapter's founder--a 'Father Teico'--is still hidden within the cult's chapel. You have been around Hohm a fair bit, so I shall give you one guess as to where the Bloody Clergy had set up."
"I wonder. I'll go with a catacomb of sorts."
"You'd be right. The town the chapter was occupying is called Quiron, and it has a catacomb that was buried and sealed off after the Demon Wars. The townsfolk thought that it was lost to the ages, but the Priests found a way inside and began to use it as a chapel."
"So this... Father Teico... How do they know he's still inside?"
"The elementalists placed a twenty-four hour watch around all known entrances to the catacomb and have not seen him leave."
"How intriguing."
"The Elementum Order is too fearful of sending their men into the depths of Quiron's catacombs. They are worried about contamination, of course. Thus, they elected to have an agent of the Bureau move in to deal with the threat. Of course, the Bureau wished to give their agent an armed escort. Someone with experience in dealing with the Priests."
"I see where this is going," I said, "sounds pretty straightforward. Accompany this BCA agent into Quiron's old catacomb, find Father Teico, and take him into custody so that the stump of the Priests is thoroughly cauterized."
"Precisely." Lady Beatrice tapped the side of the map room's central table, causing the underneath of the table to flicker to life. The map of Hohm was illuminated in all of its detail, and a path to the town of Quiron was clearly outlined--it sat right at the base of the western edge of the mountains. It would be chilly, no doubt.
"Sir Lupta," she announced, "I formally present you with this quest: to protect the agent of the Bureau of Classified Arcana until they have determined that the evil smoldering in Quiron has been extinguished. Do you accept?"
I bowed as I clenched by ring-bound hand over my heart. "In the name of the Creator I do." With those words, it was officially my quest to complete. Lady Beatrice smiled and handed me a scroll from within the violet folds of her robe.
"Some more details you will need to know for this mission. Naturally, your first goal should be to meet up with the Bureau's agent. They can be found in Phovezila's capital, which is on the way to Quiron, fortunately for you. Details on where to find them are written in the scroll. The agent, I am told, is quite knowledgeable in the curse of sculptoris and manikinism, but less experienced in the field."
"Ah," I mused, "a quill-pusher. Always happy to provide fellow professionals with practical experience."
"Watch your hubris, Lupta," Beatrice scolded gently, "for you never know what kind of things you might learn from this agent."
"Yes, your excellency. I'll set out at dawn, first thing."
"As you wish, Sir Lupta. Just make sure you are properly rested for this. I cannot have one of our most helpful templars lost because of a lack of sleep."
As I intended, I woke up early the following morning, long before the sun had risen. My horse, Perditum, was laden with few yet important supplies. Mostly flammable oil, which was my preferred method of cleansing places infested with the eldritch flesh of the Cyclops.
Fastened to myself was my armour, which hugged me like the embrace of a mother protecting her child. While most knights of my order couldn't wait to doff their armour, I always preferred to keep it on when I could get away with not looking like a buffoon. There was something comforting about being clad in layers of fire iron. Atop my armour was my gold-trimmed black tabard, a signifier of my esteemed placement as a templar of the Righteous Order. At my side, my sword. Upon my back, my crossbow. I was ready to set out.
As Perditum trotted to the east gate of the Righteous Fort, I took one last gaze upon the castle's vineyard and smiled. To be able to serve such a peaceful and beautiful place was a privilege few could enjoy across Legere. Although my desire to serve the Creator was insatiable, I could never tire of seeing this place every time I returned.
This isn't to say I thought what was beyond the castle walls was ugly. Far from it--the rolling grassy fields surrounding Mount Moses was breathtaking and a reminder of how beautiful the world could be. A reminder that I could always appreciate especially after seeing the depths of depravity and horror that lurked within the rotting corners of Legere.
Perditum and I leisurely made our way north throughout the Phovezilan countryside. Starting out on this quest early afforded me the luxury of going at a slow pace to enjoy the sights. Most Phovezilan villages I passed through had their daily activities grind to a halt as they stopped to gawk at me. I wasn't fond of the attention--not because it made me uncomfortable, but rather because I preferred to watch the life of the common folk. Watching children play, young couples holding hands, elders teaching and leading their community... a slice of a life that I'd never known. A slice of life that sometimes I wish I did.
During breaks where I watered Perditum, I found shady spots where I could write poetry in my journal. Poetry helped to center me. It provided a way for me to process the evils of Legere that frequented my sight. It helped me to focus on the good of the Creator when the foulest darkness was in my path.
It was also good fun.
Eventually, I reached the city of Phovezila. It was a marvelous capital, and its mighty elemental towers that protruded from the city's center would always amaze me. I couldn't help but gaze skyward at the colourful fountain of arcane energy that spewed upwards into the clouds.
The BCA agent could be found in a bookstore within the hours of noon until sunset. I was used to rendezvouses with contacts in bars, taverns, and other... colourful locales. To spend nearly half the day in a bookstore was a clear signifier of the kind of academic caliber behind the agent.
After searching for an hour in the packed, lively, and oft-overwhelming streets of Phovezila, I found the bookstore. It was by no means a grand establishment, instead looking as thought it had been inherited by at least 3 generations of simple folk. An honest shop, if ever there was one.
The bell over the door rang as I stepped inside the store. Immediately I was barraged by the unmistakable smell of mildewy parchment and bookbinding glue. No wonder this store was so ancient in appearance--the book sales here must be rare. Sure enough, the books nearest to me--nearest to the entrance, even--were written at least 50 years ago and coated in enough dust to obscure most of the cover.
My observation of the store's merchandise was interrupted by a flurry of activity from behind the store's counter a little deeper into the store. A dun woman, likely 70 or 80 years old, with dry yellow hair came tumbling out of the room behind the counter and tiredly smiled at me.
"Hello dear, welcome to Brook's Book Nook, the best place in Phovezila to..." the woman's introductory speech, undoubtedly meticulously practiced for the rare arrival of customers, trailed off as she noticed my uniform and realized what I was. "Oh, a paladin! Good Sir Knight, how can I help you? Is there some sort of profane literature hiding within my stock? Perhaps I can help you find-"
"There's no need, madam," I interrupted, "I'm only here to meet with someone. Apologies for any trouble."
"Meet with...?" The woman drummed her fingers along the edge of her green face before widening her eyes. "Oh, you must mean Taisa!"
"Taisa?" I pulled the scroll that contained my quest's information on it out from my satchel. I scanned over Lady Beatrice's incredibly neat writing for any mention of the name "Taisa". No, the only name provided to me was "Agent Iyumteng".
"Um," I hesitated, unsure of what to say, "this... Taisa. Where is he?"
"Oh! She is just in the back room, where she's been everyday for the last 3 days. I have a nice little book reading corner there that I created for customers to use to read books. Of course, I charge them a quarter of the price to read a book since I wouldn't make any money if I just let all of Phovezila come in here just to read my books but never actually buy any. After all, I have to eat and feed my family-"
I'm not sure when exactly I tuned out the shopkeeper, but I did. I made my way into the back of the bookstore, where I came upon a cozy room with two aged reading chairs sat facing a warm, crackling fire. One of the seats was occupied by a figure.
"Excuse me," I spoke tentatively, not wanting to disturb what could potentially be the wrong person, "would you happen to be Iyumteng?"
The figure stood up and turned to face me. "Yes! That's my name," the figure spoke. She was a diminutive girl, with dark hair that chaotically fell from her head like downward-pointing flames. "Oh, you must be the templar!"
"Y-yes," I replied, my heart beginning to sink. This was the BCA agent I was sent to work with? "Agent Iyumteng?"
"Yep! I'm Taisa Iyumteng, BCA," she cheerfully said while enthusiastically extending her thin, slender hand towards me, "what's your name, Mr. Paladin?"
"I'm... Lupta." I grasped her hand and shook it, careful not to crush her fingers.
"Lupta?" she pressed one finger into her cheek while cocking her head, "well, it's not like I was given any name for who the Holy Knights would be sending so I don't really know if you're the real deal. But you know, you're wearing the armour and look all official, yeah?"
I did my best to hide my mortification as I regarded this... girl. She was dressed in a set of baggy robes. A set of silver rings adorned her hands, and a black ribbon was tied around her slender neck. At her side was a set of books--arcane texts, likely--strapped to her hips. Her amulet, which marked her as an agent of the Bureau of Classified Arcana, was wrapped around her forearm instead of being worn as a necklace.
But her attire wasn't the source of my unease. She was young, she was small--and the BCA intended to have her sent into the depths of a chapel of the Bloody Clergy? Her skin was pale like snow--she'd likely rarely left her place of study for the outdoors. Surely they had more qualified operatives than this?
"Hello? Loopy?" Taisa snapped her fingers in front of my eyes, breaking me from my trance of pondering scenarios. "You spaced out there for a sec. Wanna sit down and I can give you details on this whole thing?"
"Ah... yes. My apologies Agent Iyumteng." I sat down in the unoccupied reading chair, awkwardly trying to stuff my armoured frame into the seat. I looked at the table to see what the BCA agent had been reading. "Oh, The Highlands of the Bounding Ursa. Cuprum poetry?"
"Just call me Taisa," she replied as she picked up the book, "and yes! I only recently discovered the crazy world of Cuprum poetry after finding this book. Of course, once translated from Eirtung to Tradespeak a lot of meaning is lost, but I still find the poems really evocative and beautiful. Some of them are even more imaginative than Isutan poetry, which I'm biased about because anything that reminds me of home makes me super happy..."
Well, at least that's one thing that we can get along with, I thought.
"Oh! Ha ha! Sorry, I went on a huge tangent there. I just get so excited about this stuff. Um, let's talk about this situation!" Taisa threaded her bookmark into the Cuprum chapbook and folded her hands and beamed at me through her wide, round spectacles.
There's no way someone with this sunny of a disposition has been face-to-face with a manikin, I grumbled internally.
"Okay! So we interrogated the cooperative members of the Priests of the Shifting Flesh and we know that their leader, Teico--who totally stole my name and messed with it--is holed up somewhere within their chapel. Here's the crazy part--Teico isn't human! Well, not anymore. He was a somatomancer who lost control and turned into a carnite. Instead of putting him down, the chapter locked him inside a labyrinthine section of the chapel and fed him abducted citizens of Quiron. Seems as though they wanted to honour their chapter's founder in doing so. Horrible, right?"
I folded my hands as I listened to Taisa's information. She delivered it with such confidence, giving me a measure of assurance in her competency.
"Indeed," I spoke, "but I must interrupt for a moment. Obviously, you're aware we'll be moving into a dangerous environment when we enter Quiron's catacomb for Teico. If he is truly a carnite like you say, then this will be exponentially more deadly than I initially thought."
"Of course! This is going to be really tricky."
"That's putting it lightly. Now, in order to be an effective partner, I must ask what kind of tools you bring to the table. I assume you're a practitioner of the arcane as a member of the Bureau?"
"Oh, yeah. I'm a nuivan caster with a specialization in biomancy."
I stared dumbly at her.
"Oh, Loopy. You're pretty clueless for a paladin, you know that?" She crossed her arm in mock frustration and grinned. "I can do a lot of different magic, and I'm also a healer."
"You could've just said that in the first place instead of using your academic terminology," I retorted.
"That's no fun. Anyways, with my supreme command of the arcane and your big metal stick we should be able to take down Teico pretty easy."
"If Teico is just a carnite now and there's no need to capture him for the BCA, then why bother going into the catacomb at all? Why not fill the entire place with flammable oil or elemental fire? Teico would be incinerated and any eldritch flesh contaminating the place will be cleansed."
"Listen here Loops, if simply burning out the catacomb was a viable strategy, Phovezila's pyromancers would've done it yesterday. Nah, Loopy, the catacomb has a bunch of real big stretches that are flooded with flammable gas from deeper within the earth. If we tried to burn out the catacombs, we'd risk igniting these gas pockets and their sources. Boom! Half of Quiron would be sunken like the city of Gunkol."
"I see. Well, looks like we have no choice but to wade knee-deep in the Priests' mess, then. Has the BCA scouted out the inside yet?"
"Only some of the space near the entrance. The big bosses really wanted paladin help for further exploration."
"And why are they sending only you in? Why not a whole team?"
"Well duh, that's because I am the best of the best."
I couldn't help but chuckle at her response. Obviously her demeanor was breaking through to me.
"Well, well," Taisa smirked, "looks like Loopy the grumpy paladin isn't so steely after all."
"No, I suppose not," I said as I leaned back, "and by the way, I'm no mere paladin. I'm a templar."
"Oh, so sorry," she responded with yet another hefty dose of sarcasm, "I didn't mean to conflate those two extremely distinct terms."
I groaned, but I wasn't truly bothered. There was something endearing about Taisa's positivity and upbeat attitude. Even her sarcastic remarks were welcome. "Well, Taisa," I spoke as I rose to my feet, "the road to Quiron is long. We should begin our travels posthaste."
"Lead the way, Loopy!" she said as she jumped out of the reading chair. She paused for a moment and looked sadly at the Cuprum chapbook lying on the table next to the chair. "A shame," she lamented, "I was enjoying that book. Maybe next time I'm back I'll finish."
As we began to leave the room, I picked up the chapbook and smiled. Why not? I thought. I brought it to the dun shopkeeper as Taisa had already skipped out of the store's front door and into the street. "Hey, uh, how much for this book?"
"Oh!" the shopkeeper exclaimed, her face contorted into a look that betrayed her surprise at a customer actually offering to buy a book, "um, well... let's call it 10 marks!"
"Very well." I paid her the sum and left the bookstore.
Outside, Phovezila was just as busy and lively as it had been when I had first entered the shop. Taisa was waiting for me next to a lamp-post, currently swaying rhythmically from side to side as if dancing to some inaudible tune. "What took so long, Loopy? I told you to lead the way!"
I held out the book of Cuprum poetry to her. "Consider yourself indebted to me," I grinned, "so make sure if I get stabbed or run through by Father Teico that you'll biomancy me back together."
"Hmm! First we'll have to see how stupid of a situation you put yourself in. Now let's get out of this city!"
We spent the rest of the day traversing to the northern gate of Phovezila before setting out on the domain's dirt roads. Taisa didn't have a steed of her own, so she helped relieve herself of her burdens by placing her bag of things onto Perditum's back. When I protested, she simply said, "well it's not like you were going to sit on your horse and make a poor girl like me walk on foot, right?"
So, we walked on foot with Perditum trotting behind us. Along the way I attempted again to coax the reason for Taisa's solo assignment out of her, but she brushed it aside with some sort of sarcastic comment that was typical to her verbal arsenal. It definitely raised some suspicions, but not enough for me to distrust her. Still, it would've been nice to not have to speculate about someone who would have my back.
"So what kind of poetry do you read?" Taisa suddenly asked me as we walked.
"What?"
"The poetry you read... I assume you must read some? I mean, you recognized that obscure book of Cuprum poetry, so you must indulge to some extent?"
"Ah... no, I don't read very much. I mean, I used to, but... I write now more than I read."
"Oh?? That's exciting!" Her eyes widened with excitement. "Can I read some?"
"Um..." I hesitated. Few, if any, had ever read my poems. The last time I'd shared my literature was with some of my fellows during my time as a paladin. But my hesitation slowly gave way to excitement--it was also hard to find others who appreciated poetry the way I did. "Sure," I said with a smile while doing my best not to allow my excitement to seep through, "why not? Just... be kind."
"Oh Loopy, you've got nothing to fear. Unless your poetry is truly irredeemable."
I fished around in my sack for my journal and opened it to a page of one of my favourite original poems. As I handed the open book to Taisa, I couldn't help but be filled with anxiety--what would she think?
"Wow, look at this," she giggled as she began to pour over the words I'd written. She began to read my poem aloud as we walked:
"From this hill of verdant green, Beneath a sky of open blue, I watch for evils yet unseen And recite the tenets I know are true.
What sort of mind could plot to slay The beauty of Hohm's enflowered hills? And so on guard I must stay To fend off darkness that slowly kills."
As she finished reading, she slowly turned to face me. She had a blank expression on her face. I could feel my face turning pale and red at the same time. What was running through her head? My expression must have been something ridiculous, because Taisa's own face began to melt into a smile before she began to burst into laughter.
"Oh Loopy! You should see your face right now," she cackled. Her spectacles even began to slip from her face as she continued her laughter.
"By the Blade of the Archangel," I frowned, "what's so funny? Are you laughing at my poetry?"
"No, no, Loopy, the poem is good! I mean, it's not my style of poetry and it's a little generic, but it's kind of cute." She wiped her eyes and set her glasses back on her face. "What's really funny is your face. I don't think I ever would've expected a paladin--oh no, sorry, a templar--to ever bear that kind of expression."
"Oh." I rubbed my face with my hand. "Sorry for being so defensive."
"No, it's okay!" Taisa said apologetically as she clutched my journal to her chest, "That probably wasn't very nice of me. I was just teasing you a little! I really did like it. Can I read a few more of your poems?"
I twisted my mouth in mock disapproval before nodding. "Alright."
We walked for about another hour in silence, with Taisa pouring over several pages of my poems. Occasionally she let out a stifled giggle, or whispered a stanza out loud. She seemed to be enjoying reading, but I wasn't able to tell exactly whether she thought my work was foolish or truly moving. Eventually, she finished and returned my journal to my hands, with an enormous smile on here face.
"I know I'm no Gennetian Scholar," I said sheepishly.
"That doesn't really matter," Taisa replied, "your work was still really fun to read. And as long as you had fun writing it, that's what matters. Your writing is very clearly inspired by your service, I guess?"
"Yes," I replied as I looked at the poem she had just finished reading. It was one I had written after seeing a captured family sacrificed to the Cyclops by a Corgathian chapter of the Bloody Clergy. "I use my poetry as a way to externalize things that I pick up throughout life."
"That's just healthy," she said, "I mean, I'll admit your poetry isn't my usual favourite to read, but it's good because I can tell you were passionate about writing it."
She looked at my pauldron and saw my sigil engraved on it--a three-eyed skull with a sword piercing it from the top. "What's up with this creepy face on your armour?"
"This here is the skull of the first manikin I faced," I said, brushing my fingers over the embossing's visage, "I wasn't a templar yet, and in my inexperience the creature nearly took my life. But when I survived, something inside me felt like I was destined to continually face these things."
"A calling?"
"Something like that. Now, as a templar of the Righteous Order, The Four--our leadership council--often assigns me to confront the Bloody Clergy wherever it's found." I grabbed apples from Perditum's saddlebags, tossing Taisa one while beginning to eat the other. "What about you? I was told you're an expert in sculptoris? How'd you get there?"
"When I was younger, I was attacked by a manikin," she said somberly, "in the very streets of my home town where I spent my childhood, no less. Much like you, I would've been killed, except I didn't save myself. My dad, a farmer, rescued me. He might not be a paladin, but that day he was a knight!"
"Was he okay?"
"He survived, although they had to amputate his arm to avoid full-blown manikinism from setting in."
"I see."
"I haven't seen him for some time now, though. I've been away for, like, 5 years. Went to study at the academy near Attitah on a big bursary granted by the BCA."
"So if I were to hazard a guess, you studied flesh sculpting and sculptoris so that you could prevent what happened to your father... and what almost happened to you... from happening to others?"
"Yeah, pretty much. Through my studies I quickly began to see how messed up of a circumstance manikins could cause. Made me only want to succeed in this field even more." She shook her head. "Enough with this grim talk though! Let's talk about something more fun!"
We continued our northerly trek until we reached the neighboring town of Lilgart, which was essentially directly across the river from Quiron. Taisa occupied herself by asking me all about my favourite foods while espousing the greatness of a very particular Isutan noodle dish. It was an enjoyable exchange, as difficult as it was to maintain pace with her... conversationally anyways. I wouldn't mind having someone like her as a travelling companion for other quests The Four sent me on. She certainly staved off the lonely, boring solitude of traversing Hohm's roads.
It was the evening, and the sky was slowly shifting into the brilliant oranges and reds indicative of a wondrous sunset. Our work would have to wait until sunup. I stabled Perditum and spoke to a local innkeeper to secure places to stay for the night. As I showed Taisa to a quaint restaurant, she loudly proclaimed, "I'm going to find some moro fruit to buy!" Despite my protests, she skipped her way down the street in search of a vendor that would still be open at this time.
As I watched her, a man sat down in the vacant seat opposite to me. I turned to face him with confusion, but was met with a friendly smile.
"Pardon me, good Sir Knight," the man said, "but I noticed that you had been left to eat by your lonesome. Please, in gratitude for all that you and your order do for Legere, allow me to buy you a drink."
I was taken aback at first, but the genuine friendliness radiating from this stranger calmed me. "I shall accept your courtesy!" I smiled back.
The man was out of place here in Lilgart. He was undoubtedly a merchant of some kind from a far-off land. Perhaps from Jinifar? His tanned skin and piercing violet eyes were not the standard for a West Hohmite. His clothing was just as outlandish as his face. He wore a light grey tunic overtop a cape that seemed to be weaved together from massive black feathers. With every movement he made, the excessive collection of silver medallions and chains hanging from his neck rattled.
"I am the humble merchant Al'Khasm of Siman," the man spoke, as if he could tell from my face that I was trying to discern his origins, "I have come to this town on my way to Phovezila's ports--ah, Icthy's Rest."
"Salutations, Al'Khasm," I replied cordially, "I am Sir Lupta the Righteous. I'm here to investigate some of the disturbances that you've undoubtedly heard of."
"Disturbances? Oh, I'm afraid I'm at a loss."
"No matter then. I shall avoid telling you to spare you the burden of trouble. Just know that you're safe here, especially if you intend to move on soon to Icthy's Rest."
"Good! And of course, even if I were to stay a while, I'm sure with a valiant paladin such as yourself on the scene, the forces of evil will have no choice but to buckle and wither! Ha! A toast, good Sir Lupta!"
We slammed our tankards together with a hearty amount of force before taking a large gulp.
"So, Sir Lupta," Al'Khasm spoke after wiping a bit of spilled drink from his beard, "what is it like being a Holy Knight?"
I sat for a moment to think about my lot in life. There were many ways I felt about being a member of the order. Pride in knowing that I was protecting Legere. Joy in the great honour of maintaining the legacy of the Angels.
"...lonely," I whispered.
"What's that?"
"Oh, I... it's often lonely."
"Lonely? How peculiar--I may not be a scholar, but if I am not mistaken, your Order dwells in a magnificent castle where you serve side by side with hundreds of like-minded people?"
"Well, yes. You aren't mistaken. But even so, the tasks set before us make our path in life a lonely one." My eye wandered towards the street where a young couple and their daughter laughed. They clutched each other's hands and swung the young girl's arms with playfulness.
"Ah," Al'Khasm smirked, tracing my line of sight, "I see what you mean. You must... envy the common folk? For all their simple lives, they need not worry about the lofty tenets that the Righteous Order stands for. They simply live their lives, build a family, and pass on."
I was silent.
"My knighted friend, your desires are rational!" Al'Khasm rested a hand on my shoulder, and looked at me with intensity. "To raise a family and love a woman--that is undoubtedly what the King of the Angels designed man to do, no? I am unfamiliar though. Are you pained because you have sworn an oath of celibacy?"
I laughed at the question. "No, no. Few if any members of the Order dedicate themselves that intently to serving the Creator."
"And a brothel to satisfy your carnal urges would also be--"
"Never would I do such a thing. The Order demands every knight practice self-control and loyalty in all areas of life. Dedication to one woman is an indisputable manifestation of this."
"I could never get behind such a mindset. There are too many beautiful women on Legere for me to pass by. Regardless, you desire true affection, not just lustful satiation."
"Where do you get this insight from, Al'Khasm?"
The man shrugged. "Many years of traversing Hohm and meeting people have afforded me great education within the realm of mortal thoughts."
Taisa was returning now from down the road with a basketful of moro fruit. It seemed as though she had indeed succeeded in her own quest.
"That girl you came with," Al'Khasm pointed, "she's quite pretty herself. I assume by the way you've talked about yourself that you aren't courting?"
"No, she's simply an associate," I said as I crossed my arms.
"Why not go further than that?"
"She's a BCA agent! I have been tasked with protecting while we... handle those 'disturbances'."
Al'Khasm stroked his beard. "I fail to see how your professional relaionship inhibits the development of other kinds."
"She's too... she's too young, too innocent."
"Ah, Sir Lupta you buffoon! What sort of argument is that? I suppose you wish to wait until she's been marred by the harshness of life? Wait until she's become an old crone sapped of life and energy? Look at her lively steps towards us now."
I crossed my arms and frowned at Al'Khasm. "Respectfully, Al'Khasm, I think that my business within the realm of romance is my own. I bid you good night."
The Jinifarian sighed. "Alright. I apologize, noble Sir Lupta. I may have overstepped my bounds, but I truly meant no harm." He stood up and reached into his coinpurse and deposited two marks onto the table. "Those drinks are on me," he said before stepping away. As he disappeared, Taisa planted herself onto the empty seat, her overflowing basket of fruit spilling some of its contents onto the ground around the table.
"Who was that?" she inquired as she looked over her shoulder to try and see where Al'Khasm went, "was that like an old friend of yours or something?"
"No, just... a stranger making conversation."
"Oh. Anyways! Look, Loopy! I found fruit! And look how huge the bottom lobes are--they're gonna taste so yummy!" Taisa tossed me one of the fruits while she began to bite into one herself. As I tasted the sweet flesh of the moro, I watched her smile with satisfaction and delight. Something was different about the way she looked now. As she dug into the basket to retrieve a new fruit to feed upon, I found myself drinking in beauty that I hadn't noticed before.
Al'Khasm's words had certainly set something in motion.
The next morning, Taisa and I made our way into Quiron, which was just across a bridge at the north end of Lilgart. Quiron itself was as quaint as its sister, Lilgart, with wide roads, sparse buildings, and rolling green fields surrounding it. And of course, to top it all off was the towering Phayu Wing Mountains that erupted from the earth in the distance.
As we approached the catacomb entrance cordoned off by the elemental warriors, Taisa began to share the last bits of information that were relevant to the quest at hand. Unfortunately, I found myself not fully paying attention as she spoke. Had her spectacles always framed her eyes in such a captivating way?
"--take care of the polyps?" Taisa snapped her fingers in front of my face.
"Gah!" I exclaimed, "Yes, what? What was that for?"
"You weren't responding! Sorry, I was just checking to make sure you were still alive."
"I was paying attention!"
"Oh yeah? So can you?"
"Yes, I can. Wait, what?"
She snorted. "I need you to make sure you take care of any sculptoris polyps that might be down there as a result of the Priests' decapitation rituals. Can you do that?"
"Yes, of course."
"Okay. Good! Let's go talk to the boss elemental guy."
As she turned and made her way towards the leader of the elemental warrior guards, I dragged by hand over my face and groaned. This headspace I was in was more foul than any venom I had suffered before. I took a moment to adjust the crossbow on my back and the sword at my side. As I looked down, I saw my ring still snug on my little finger. The words of my mentor from my time as a squire echoed in my ear: "Don't be a fool!"
It was that simple, right?
The leader of the guards stationed around the catacomb's entrance was a aged man with a scruffy blonde beard and a head devoid of hair. In his lips sat a pipe that he lit with his finger, giving away his identity as a pyromantic heatslinger.
"Aye, good morrow," the Elementum spoke with his mouth still wrapped around his pipe, "'twas a swift arrival ye made. Name's Elementum Grivald. I wasn't sure how much longer the lads here would last."
"Warm greetings, Grivald," I said with a slight bow, "How do you mean?"
"Well, ye know... there ain't nothin' 'appening round these parts ever since the blasted Priests got their arses handed to them. Me 'n the boys have been sitting 'round this open entrance to Quiron's catacombs for 3 days 'n 3 nights and I think we're at risk of dying of a heart attack induced by boredom."
"We appreciate your attention, Mr. Grivald!" Taisa chirped up with a smile.
"Indeed," I added, "your vigilance has paid off, whether you're aware of it or not. You have stopped the Priests from making any further moves around this place."
"Yes, very good," Grivald grumbled as he readjusted his pipe, "but now that you two are here, I assume you can clean up whatever bleedin' mess is down there and we can all hit the alehouse for a right proper drink before heading home."
"We'll do our best," I replied, "but before we go into the catacombs, we need to speak to one of the Priests for information."
"Ah, 'course y'do. Very good then, follow me."
Grivald led us down the nearest cobblestone road to a building with two elemental warriors standing guard outside of its door. As Grivald led us in, we were greeting with an enormous steel box chained to the ground and walls.
"We 'eard that whoever the Bureau was sending might've wanted to question one of the Priests. So we kept this bastard here away from the rest of his meat-melting comrades." Grimvald spat on the ground at the foot of the box. "We can open one of the sides for ye, then, if you're feeling brash enough to converse with this tosser face-to-face? I've got four lads reading to incinerate this wanker if he tries any slimy business. Or five if ye count me. D'ja know wot I mean?"
"Excellent," I said to Taisa, "let's begin our interrogation, then, if you concur, Agent Iyumteng?"
"Yep," she replied.
As the elemental warriors took their positions on an elevated catwalk over the box, I leaned over to Taisa and asked, "The BCA interrogated several of the Priests, you said?"
"Yeah," she replied in a hushed tone, "but I hadn't gotten a chance to speak to one face-to-face myself yet. I'm kind of excited! Wonder what this weirdo's gonna be like."
With a clang and a thud, the chains securing the front-facing panel of the metal box loosened and the side collapsed on the building's floor with a thud. A small cloud of dust obfuscated the sole occupant within for a brief moment. As Taisa and I slowly approached the figure, it was clear to see that this was an advanced somatomancer. While he had been stripped of the raggedy, brown robes and skeletal mask that was iconic to their religion, the man's features were distorted and corrupted by the mutations contaminating his bloodsteam. Perhaps at one point the man was handsome, but now his face was covered in angry, bulging veins. His gritted teeth were misaligned, with half of them sharpened like those of a lion's. His left eye whirled about erratically as twin pupils wrestled over which one was focused on us. His once-full head of long, silky hair was now frizzled and patchy. He was bound in a massive metal clamp that spanned from the floor to his shoulders, and on top of the clamp were a set of large chains. Beneath the chains I could make out some sort of magical runes--I didn't need Taisa to tell me that they were likely some kind of security measure to enhance the effectiveness of this holding system.
I stood perpendicular to Taisa as she faced the Priest, positioning myself off to the side between her and the flesh sculptor. I was suddenly filled with a strange uneasiness. I had confronted dozens of flesh sculptors before, but I'd never been this nervous around one before. I stole a glance at Taisa and realized that the source of my anxiety was her. She was awfully close to the bound monster at the center of this box.
My hand rested--no, tightly gripped my sword, but I kept my face blank and breathing normal.
"Hello!" Taisa leaned forward and waved to the somatomancer, "I'm Agent Iyumteng from the BCA, who you like, probably really hate right now. This big guy here in the armour is Sir Loopy!"
The somatomancer's gaze turned to me as Taisa introduced me to him. By the seraphim, why is she being so friendly to this scum? I wondered.
"Hhhh... grahh..." the priest wheezed.
"Oh come on, Priest Boy! You're no manikin, you can use your big boy words to introduce yourself!" Taisa mockingly scolded him. I somehow wasn't surprised that Taisa's entertainingly sarcastic attitude bled over into her professional work.
"I... am..." the somatomancer rasped, "I am Gentamin, loyal servant... of the Holy Cyclops and torch-bearer of... the Flame of Arcblant."
"Wow, that's like so cool," Taisa spoke without missing a beat, "so anyways, you did your Priest stuff here in Qurion right? We're trying to find your founding leader, Mr. Teico--"
"FATHER TEICO."
"--yeah, yeah, Father Teico. Anyhoo... we wanna find him so you and the rest of your chapter can all hang out happily ever after together, in our holding cells of course. I mean, at least you guys will have each other and stuff right?"
Taisa paused as Gentamin scowled deeper at her. I was amazed--perhaps I'd judged her too harshly when we first met. She wasn't unnerved at all by Gentamin's horrid visage.
"Look, Gentamin, buddy," she continued, "personally I think it would be a super-duper bummer if you and the rest of your Chapter were all separated and isolated and lonely and sad forever until you die, so if you help us out a bit then I can make sure you and the rest of your Priest friends can all hum your hymns and worship the big eyeball in the ocean together all you want." Taisa bent her knees a little and clasped her hands together tightly in yet another sarcastic display of pleading. "Pleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeease...? All you have to do is tell us what we wanna know!"
"Why should I betray the Father?" Gentamin snapped.
"Oh, come on Gentamin! You're not betraying Tei--uh, Father Teico! You're helping him out, really. I mean, think about it... he's alone down there in the catacomb, probably all lonely and sad... also probably super hungry. I heard you guys were treating him so nicely by feeding him! But with you guys not around, who will feed him? Won't he starve?"
"Teico's holiness will sustain him until the end of time!" Gentamin snapped back again. "Foolish wench, thy small-mindedness prevents thee from seeing the benevolence of our saviour beast! Thy feeble attempts to intimidate me shall not cause me to sin against the chapter in the same way our initiates did." I looked to Taisa to see what kind of witty, sarcasm-laden response she would deliver. But I saw that she was, for the first time, at a loss for words. She obviously wasn't expecting to deal with the mental fortitude of one so deeply indoctrinated into the Priests' cult. Fortunately, I had more experience with this.
"Gentamin," I cut into the brief silence, "I have brought the scorching light of the Angels to many members of the Bloody Clergy. I have seen many such resistances. And as noble as you think you are being, you are mistaken. Time is your enemy, Gentamin."
"You are mistaken, knight," Gentamin snarled. His veins bulged a little larger from beneath his skin. "Time is what is necessary for us to evolve. With every second that passes, the Father grows in power and holiness, prepared to transcend the feeble confines of our weak, unblessed bodies! He shall know no hunger, no pain, no thirst... no fear."
"No follower of the Cyclops is 'holy' enough to transcend the bounds of mortality. Otherwise, would I not be so confident that I could kill him? The longer you speak to us, the more and more Father Teico wastes away."
Gentamin shuffled nervously in his restraints. In the corner of my eye, the elemental warriors shifted.
"If I helpest thou," Gentamin growled slowly, "how do I know that thou shaln't kill the Father?"
"I give you my word," I spoke, holding out my hand to display my ring, "I swear to you, Gentamin, that Father Teico will not fall by my hand."
Gentamin's horrid mouth curled upwards into a grin. "Heh, how excellent. I accept your promise in knowing that your kind cannot easily rescind thy word... paladin."
I nodded, but Taisa looked confused at me. I reassured her by giving her the most knowing nod I could.
"O-okay," Taisa continued shakily, "um... so yeah, Gentamin. We won't hurt Father Teico... now will you answer our questions?"
"Yes, agent," Gentamin continued to grin.
For the next several minutes, Taisa dropped a veritable deluge of questions upon Gentamin, and we quickly learned of the catacomb's various features, locations, and other elements. While we didn't get a map of the catacomb's layout, Taisa was confident that with the information Gentamin did relinquish, we'd be able to navigate the unfamiliar place with as much ease as possible.
Father Teico himself--or perhaps itself--was trapped in the eastern regions of the catacombs. A single magical door was the sole access point into Teico's lair. The door could be opened with the recitation of one of the Priests' mantras, which Taisa was willing to speak, thank the seraphim. We would also have to seal the door behind us when we entered to prevent Father Teico from emerging into Quiron and laying waste to the town.
"Sooo... Loopy..." Taisa spoke to me with genuine concern--perhaps even a little anger? "What was up with that promise you were making back there with Gentamin? You seemed really serious about that. Doesn't your order forbid you from making false promises?"
"Not to worry, Taisa," I said, shooting her a knowing grin. So this is what it feels like to be as smug as her.
"Wha--wait, what are you talking about? What's so funny??" Taisa's face fluctuated between confusion and laughter, as if she were processing a complex joke.
"I made a promise not to kill Teico. Not you." I gave Taisa a friendly punch on the shoulder. "Gentamin was so convinced that he had secured Teico's safety that he didn't realize that I specifically said that only I wouldn't kill Teico. As far as the Creator is concerned, I made no such promises to inhibit you from executing Teico yourself."
Taisa's face took a moment to morph into joy after hearing this news. My own heart soared as I watched her features swell with excitement. "Loopy! You sneak! Maybe you're not so dull after all!"
"Oh, thanks."
"Hahaha! Just kidding. But seriously! That's great! We probably wouldn't have been able to get that info out of Gentamin without that. Thankyouthankyouthankyou!!"
"Of course," I said, pleased with how happy I'd made her, "that's why I was sent here, right? To enable you to do your job."
"Yeah yeah," she beamed, "now let's get to it!"
The entrance to the catacomb was a patch of grass laid atop a removable board which obfuscated a walkway into Quiron's depths. It was a clever design that no one would've easily spotted. In the dead of night, no one would've seen people coming or going.
I prepared myself for our descent by taking a piece of parchment and a shard of lead. Upon the parchment I inscribed a short prayer to bless Taisa and I as we embarked on the final stages of our quest. Once complete, I heated a small cube of cheese glue and adhered the prayer to my right vambrace.
"One last poem for the road?" Taisa teased as I finished applying the prayer to my armour.
"Nay," I answered, "this is simply a written prayer. Before going into battle or confronting great danger, knights of my order create these prayers and fasten them to ourselves. They have no inherent power or protection offered--instead it's a way for us to focus ourselves on our righteous goals."
Taisa didn't fully understand, but she didn't need to. With a swirl of her fingers, she magically lit a pair of torches for us to use. She handed mine to me, and with my head now defended by my helmet, I descended first down the entrance's steep steps. I looked back up and offered a hand to Taisa to help her down. I watched from below as the morning breeze tousled her hair, framing her pale delicate face in a dark halo. Perhaps when we finished this job I could ask her to have dinner with me outside of our professional association.
Focus, I cursed myself, get her and yourself through this catacomb alive, first!
We made our way through the cramped tunnel, which the Priests had undoubtedly carved recently to access the catacombs proper. Eventually, we emerged into a brick-lined hall where a very weathered statue of The Archangel loomed over a sarcophagus.
"Profane bastards," I uttered as I looked upon the statue. It had been desecrated by the Priests. Instead of its original head, a revolting tangle of limbs encircling a bloated belly had been set in place. The belly's center was carved into the likeness of an unblinking eye.
"Looky here, Loopy," Taisa said, drawing my attention away from the heretical display, "this sarcophagus here belonged to Lord Wetherax! He was a direct descendant of Linar Multis... he was technically Fallan royalty if you go far back enough."
"You're a big fan of Lord Wetherax, I take it?"
"No, but I read about him in a textbook once!"
Taisa began to saunter down a nearby hallway, clearly unperturbed by the piles of bones and the other blasphemous imagery fashioned by the catacomb's former tenants. Nothing truly seemed to damped her spirits. We wandered for what felt like an age, with ourselves moving deeper and deeper into the winding bowels of Quiron. I refrained from inquiring Taisa about our progress. I trusted that she knew where we were heading. Still, I kept one hand on my sword all the same.
Sure enough, Taisa brought us before a large stone door with a fiery orange rune inscribed upon its surface. This was the door Gentamin had told us about.
I looked to Taisa, who was flipping through her notebook to find the dark scriptures that the Priest had told us to utter:
"We, as denizens of this poor, war-torn rock, had slain a mighty being from beyond the stars. We were strong enough to lay waste to such a thing, and in turn it deemed us worthy to reap its gifts. Its own power was given to us, and we evolve."
The rune flickered and glowed, with the stone separating itself into several fragments as it yawned open like the maw of a ravenous monster. I took a moment to remove my crossbow from my back before loading a bolt.
"Alright Loopy," Taisa said in a loud whisper, "from this point on, we're going to be in the scary zone. Gentamin didn't have any description of what Teico was like as a carnite, so be on guard! We dunno what this sick thing is capable of doing."
I nodded and entered into the darkness of Father Teico's realm, with Taisa following behind me. There was a soft crunching as the door behind us melded shut, sealing us within the Father's hunting grounds. Somehow, the darkness within this part of the catacomb was even more oppressive. It was as though it was denser, more crushing.
My mind played plenty of tricks on me as we waded through the gloom. The myriad of skulls that lined the sides of the halls here always seemed to be moving against the flickering shadows cast by our torches. Occasionally, I heard Taisa let out a small gasp as one of these grisly illusions caught her off guard. It may have even been humourous to me if I weren't so on edge myself.
We came across an antechamber of sorts that had its floor darkly stained by the unmistakable spillage of blood. I knelt down to inspect the excessive bloodstain--dry, of course. But no one man spilled all of this.
"This must have been a place where Teico either feasted or hunted down his prey," I spoke, careful not to be loud to the point where my voice would echo throughout the catacombs.
"Gross," Taisa said while sticking out her tongue, "but we must be near him, right? If this was a significant spot for hunting?"
"Right," I concurred, "so let's stay vigilant."
We moved forward into a larger hall--one filled with rubble and much broken architecture. The room filled me with unease. Our torches were woefully inadequate to fill the chamber with light, and the multitude of broken stone created far too many hiding spots for a bloodthirsty carnite to hide behind. To make matters worse, there was a second level to this chamber in the form of a balcony that encircled the room's perimeter. Whatever was hiding up there wouldn't be found unless we made our way up.
"Are you noting where we came from?" I asked Taisa as I observed the room. There were 4 doorways connected to this chamber, and with darkness flooding every inch of this place, getting lost seemed like an inevitability.
"Uhh..." she fumbled a bit before producing her notebook, "I uh, I think so?"
"Good enough, I suppose. We can slay that Demon when we face it."
"Loopy it's like sooo dark in here. Don't you have like super duper paladin magic to light it up?"
"Not every paladin is granted the same gifts," I said as I moved to inspect the room's corners, "even templars sometimes don't have the same level of divine light to call upon that a new--"
My thought was cut short as a sound echoed throughout the chamber--the shifting of rubble and the falling of small stones. A harmless sound by itself, but considering our situation it curdled my blood. Taisa and I both whirled about in silent angst, trying to pinpoint the source of the disturbance. The darkness continued to push back against our vision, occluding whatever had moved.
I looked back to Taisa after the silence was sustained for what felt like for an age and a half. She gave me a shrug. Perhaps our mere presence was enough to cause some of the rubble here to shift? Taisa opted to review her notes. I stole a final glance at Taisa while she flipped through her trusty book once more, taking in how her charming face tightened while she focused--and as I did so, I saw movement behind her.
"TAISA!" I yelled as I raised my crossbow, "BEHIND YOU! DOWN!"
With a shriek, Taisa dropped down and I levelled my crossbow at the shifting shadow that had been approaching her. My bolt hissed as it threw itself into the flesh of the shape. It let out a garbled, uncanny cry before ceasing its movement.
"Taisa, are you alright?" I rushed to her side to help her up.
"I'm okay! I didn't even see what it was. Ol' Teico probably heard us though, he's gotta be coming now." Taisa stood and brushed herself off. She raised her torch towards the creature I'd slain.
A polyp, I thought as I gazed upon the form of the creature, Just as Taisa had warned, it was a decapitated human head, mutated and twisted heavily by sculptoris. In fact, very few features were still recognizable as human. The polyp's form was covered in tumourous masses that split near the center to reveal bloody, angry red flesh. Its mouth was stretched open wide, with dozens of additional teeth growing around its lips. Its eyesockets were empty, instead with long, fleshy tendrils protruding from the recesses of the skull.
"A crime against the Creator-blessed form of man," I whispered while reloading my crossbow.
"That's one... but there's bound to be more." Taisa raised a hand and wiggled her fingers, conjuring a swirling vortex of green and blue sparks.
"Listen!" I exhaled as I heard shuffling and skittering from the doors surrounding us. There were dozens coming towards us by the sound of it.
"Okay, Loopy! Time to show me why being a templar is so distinct from a paladin!" Taisa pointed towards one of the doorways as a flood of polyps reached it. With a flick of her fingers, the loose rocks around the door simultaneously floated into the air while melting into glowing orange motes of lava. With a second flick, she sent the molten rock spraying onto the polyps. They screeched and writhed as the liquid rock seared their hides.
From another doorway came a trio of polyps that slithered across the ground like serpents. At the same time, I saw a polyp with crab-like legs rapidly crawling down the wall toward Taisa. Quickly, I threw a flask of oil into the doorway while firing my crossbow at the wall-bound polyp. It fell with a shriek, assuring me I had dealt with it while I drew my sword and struck the ground near the door. The fire iron blade of the sword drew forth a shower of sparks, igniting the oil and engulfing the three polyps in an inferno.
"Loopy! Remember, the flammable gas!" Taisa cried out while she obliterated another polyp with a blast of magic.
"I recall!" I said, swinging my sword to introduce its edge into several other polyps. I glanced upwards and inhaled sharply as I saw two polyps dropping directly onto me. "The balcony!" I cried out while throwing my empty crossbow at one of the polyps. The other one dropped onto me and extended several barbed tendrils. I yelled as I tried to pull it off of myself, but its hooks attached the polyp's body securely to my mail.
Taisa circled her hands around her body, drawing forth power from Legere's arcane currents before directing them at the balcony above me. Just as another horde of polyps was about to drop down, the entire stone form of the upper level began to glow with an aquamarine light. The monsters moving across its surface gurgled and snarled as their flesh caught on the balcony's surface. Taisa had turned the chamber's balcony into an enormous glue trap. With painful hollars, the polyps began to tear away at their own skin to try and move. Taisa didn't let them though, and with other dramatic flourish of her hands, the balcony folded itself like a book, crushing all but a couple of the gibbering carnites.
I grabbed at the polyp fixed to me and slammed it with my gauntlet until I felt something give. It gargled on its own blood, which stained my polished armour while I tore it off of myself. Before it could make any other moves, I threw it onto the dusty floor and ended its foul animateness with a furious stomp.
I took a moment to catch my breath as Taisa skewered the final polyps with glassy magical spears. At first I was on edge, expecting more of the wretched sculptoris spawn to throw themselves at us, but there was none. Neither was there the shuffling of the venerable carnite that Father Teico must have been.
"Loopy!" Taisa cried out, rushing to my side, "are you okay? Did you get contaminated or anything? Are you--"
"No, I'm fine," I said, brushing her seeking hands aside, "I have no need for your healing. Yet, anyways. There's a reason why The Four always sends me on missions relating to the Priests. My body is incorruptible--free of disease of all kinds."
"Wha--really?" she stared in awe. "That would've been nice to know sooner!" She sighed. "Well, anyways, we should be clear of the polyps now, for the most part. That big noisy fight we just had with them should've drawn most of them out. But I mean, there could still be, like, stragglers maybe?"
"What about Teico?"
"Welll... okay yeah Teico probably heard us, but umm... we don't know how mobile he is in his carnite form! He could be moving toward us, or he could be some huge gross flesh mass that is stuck in place somewhere."
"Well, let's find him before he finds us, then."
We recomposed ourselves and prepared to move. My crossbow, thank the Creator, wasn't damaged from my improvised defensive strategy. I recovered it and reloaded it in preparation for our confrontation with Father Teico.
There wasn't much of strategy to our hunt for the Father. Taisa and I had no choice but to wander through the catacomb's halls and tunnels until we found something. However, our efforts were fruitless. After what felt like hours, we collapsed in the center of another chamber. We had no idea if we'd been here before thanks to the darkness. We were parched, hungry, and exhausted. We definitely hadn't expected to be down here this long. It was impossible to tell how long we'd been in the catacombs anyways thanks to the overwhelming sea of shadows we were stranded in.
"What now, Taisa?" I asked through parched lips.
"Oh man," Taisa groaned as she shifted against the piece of rubble acting as her back rest, "I dunno Loopy..."
"Out of notes?"
"Never really had a ton to start with."
I grumbled and removed my helmet. I held my dying torch over my arm, illuminating the prayer wrapped around it. Had the Creator abandoned me in these depths? Despite my survival of countless chapels occupied by the Priests, none of their chapels--occupied or abandoned--felt nearly as dark and devoid of light as this one. Had I passed into some sort of cosmic shade--obscuring me from the King of Angels' eyes?
"Taisa," I managed to say, my eyes heavy and fighting not to slip into slumber, "we need to get out and reassess."
Taisa yawned and I could hear her stretching. "Y-yeah."
"We can't sleep here--that's the same as lying down to die. We need to track down the way we came. Let's just focus on that."
Against my aching, tired body, I struggled to my feet. The desire to lie down and fall asleep was like an array of iron chains binding me to the floor. As I raised my torch to get a new look at the chamber we were in, I came face to face with Teico.
It was a massive, undulating accretion of barely-human skulls protruding from a fleshy, fungus-like stump. A multitude of limbs like that of insects' sprouted from its sides, and its bottom held over the ground by a set of thick, root-like tentacles. The flesh covering the creature was, like any carnite's, bloody and oozing with pus. Bones that had grown overly-enthusiastically jutted out from Teico's abominable form in all manner of directions.
Teico regarded me silently with the multitude of eyes upon its many faces. Before I could do anything, I watched in horror as Teico vanished from my very eyes.
"Taisa! Teico is here!" I yelled while drawing my sword.
"What?!" Taisa leapt to her feet and began to spin another potent spell. "Where??"
"He just turned invisible--I've never seen a carnite do that before!"
"He's kethramantic!"
"He's what??"
"He's got illusion magic! I mean, maybe he was already mirage mage? Or he evolved it after mutating..."
"Speculation is unnecessary! He's in here with us!"
As I turned around to sweep my eyes across the room, I came face to face with the chilling visages of Teico staring back at me, now behind me.
"BY THE SERA--" I began to scream. Before I could finish, Teico's head-riddled growth split open into a gaping maw of teeth and misplaced, clawed fingers. It roared, which sounded like a nightmarish symphony of screaming, crying, and animalistic howls. As it bellowed, it lumbered forward, threatening to swallow me or crush me under its bulbous frame. My lethargy fled my body as adrenaline poured in, and I threw myself to the side. In the surrounding darkness, my evasive attempts led to me catching my foot on a piece of rubble, sending me abruptly onto the floor in a head. My vision flashed as my skull collided with the stones littering the ground.
As I sat back up and raised my sword to defend myself, my vision cleared to reveal Taisa backing up while throwing all of her arcane arsenal at the encroaching beast of Teico. For a moment, it looked as though Teico would devour the BCA agent, but in a flare of magical light, a shower of glowing red ribbons exploded from her hands, digging into the carnite's flesh and wrapping around its tumourous form to bind it. As Teico raged against the arcane restraints, Taisa rushed to my side and inspected my head.
"Hold still Loopy," she urged while tapping my temple. A warm sensation flooded my skull as she healed my wound with her biomancy. "Okay, good enough! Get up and let's go!"
With my head now clear, I bounded to my feet and pushed Taisa forward towards one of the tunnels feeding into the chamber. I followed behind her, determined to keep myself between her and the horror behind us. I glanced behind us to watch as Teico's eldritch musculature shattered the arcane bindings.
We sprinted down the tunnel, passing by hundreds and hundreds of dusty human skulls that seemed to grin at our predicament. Behind us, the slavering, ravenous sound of Teico's locomotion echoed quieter and quieter. After several forks in the tunnels, Taisa and I stopped running. We panted as quietly as possible while listening for the slithering rumble of Teico--but only silence reverberated down the tunnels.
"Well, at least we found Teico," Taisa whispered.
"If it has illusion magic, sneaking up on it will prove difficult." I looked through my supplies and pulled forth three globules of flammable oil. "If we can lure Teico into a room coated in this oil, we can obliterate this confounded flesh-devil."
"As long as we don't ignite any of that gas then that seems like the smart thing to do. I'm getting pretty sick of Teico's nonsense!"
We continued forward once more, and found our way into another (the same...?) chamber. While I kept a close watch on her, Taisa investigated the surrounding tunnels to see if they were filled with the gas she had spoken of. After checking the final one, she gave me a thumbs up, and I began to douse the entire room with oil.
The chamber was large, and with only three small globules I struggled to make sure all of it was covered. I did my best to try and ensure every inch of the ground was slick with the flammable stuff, muttering desperate prayers to myself as I did. As I finished, I turned to face Taisa, displaying what was my most comforting smile, but I was met with a look of horror on her face. My mind struggled for a moment to register why her lovely features were so contorted by pure dread, and by the time I reached the correct conclusion, it was too late.
I found myself knocked to the ground as Teico apparated and lunged forward. A flurry of mucous-coated tendrils lacerated my face while bending Taisa's arms to her side, preventing her from calling Legere's arcane powers to her aid. She screamed aloud as the tendrils constricted her. The agony in her cries reflected in me, and in a blind fury unlike what I'd ever experienced before I gripped my sword and began to hack at the aberration that was Teico. Both tendril-flesh and the corpulent hide of the carnite wetly careened onto the ground across the room as I fought the monster. Teico's hideous latrations mixed with Taisa's screams and my furious bellowing.
In the midst of my furor, I managed to prevent myself from allowing my torch to drop onto the oil-coated floor. If I lit this room on fire, Taisa would burn alongside Teico.
As Teico used his myriad limbs to defend itself from my blade, it backed away towards one of the tunnels. Teico was hungry. It wanted to escape from this fight so it could feed upon Taisa and satiate, at least partially, its famishment. I couldn't let it escape.
In a flurry of sword-blows, I leveraged years of training to cut my way through the forest of writhing limbs defending Teico and found myself staring at what would normally be a godsend--the exposed heart of the carnite, enlarged and cancerous, sitting upon a throne of misaligned ribs. But as I levelled my sword to pierce the organ, a sinister voice crept into my mind.
I accept your promise in knowing that your kind cannot easily rescind thy word... paladin.
Gentamin, as detestable as he was, was a human with a soul forged in the divine workshop of the Creator. And I, a man who had dedicated my life to honouring this celestial king, had made him a promise. I had no idea if thrusting my weapon into Teico's heart would kill him. But as long as I was aware of that chance and knowingly performed the action, I would be forsaking everything that the Righteous Order stood for come Teico's death.
I was struck with paralysis, dealt by the sudden, crushing despair of my predicament. I couldn't even bring my eyes to look upon Taisa as she was carried, whimpering, into the miry gloom of the catacombs. I stood there, illuminated by a dying torch, dumb and still as Teico's grotesque movements grew quieter and quieter.
How long did I stand there in the blackness? I wasn't sure. But I was overcome with a grief so great that I couldn't even articulate it. It was as though my corporeal being had been encased in amber, held still with no room to move while my mind vibrated like an incensed beehive.
Eventually, my legs buckled and I collapsed onto the floor. I had lost comrades before on quests as deadly as this before. This was typically only a minor setback. But losing Taisa was a gut-stab far more painful than any other I had felt. No tears fell from my eyes, but an all-encompassing numbness filled me as I continued to lie on the ground.
"Sir Lupta?" a familiar voice called out, "Sir Lupta, are you okay?"
A hand found its way onto my shoulder and hoisted me up into a sitting position. By the light of a eerie rose-coloured lantern, I could make out Al'Khasm.
"Al...Khasm...?" I rasped as I looked at the Jinifarian man. Seeing the face of another person was much-welcomed, despite our last interaction ending poorly.
"Ah, Sir Lupta my friend, sit up, sit up," he produced a waterskin and held it out to me to drink. I sloppily quenched my thirst, and as I spilled water down the front of my uniform, I found my face wetted also by tears.
"It... it took Taisa..." I began to sob.
"Yes, it did," Al'Khasm said, getting out a roll of cloth to bind the still-bleeding wounds inflicted by Teico's flailing extremities, "it's probably far gone now, hidden away in some secret corner of the catacombs. The girl is as good as lost. There's nothing for you to do now. Come, let's escape to the surface. Your quest here is over."
"You're... right. I... I failed."
"And if you stay here, you will do more than fail. You will die. Come now, friend! Up!"
Al'Khasm helped me to my feet. My hands shook as a vision of Taisa's heartening smile flashed through my memory.
"Sir Lupta," Al'Khasm continued, "I know that look on your face. I've seen it, oh, many times on foolish men. You cannot risk harm to yourself here by going after her."
"Yes... yes, if I die here, how can I continue to serve The Four? The Creator?"
"Nevermind the Creator, you imprudent knight! Think of your life! You're not that much younger than I, and I intend to go on and live a fantastic life. You have a great deal of life ahead of you to experience."
Al'Khasm's words made me feel like things would be okay. Slowly, supporting myself over his shoulder, we turned and began to make our way down a bone-lined hall. He was right, after all. Life would go on after this failure of a quest. There was so much more to live for in the world... my sword-siblings in the Righteous Fort, a family, children...
Another painful memory of Taisa, carefree and laughing, slashed through my mind like the stroke of a sword. My grip on Al'Khasm weakened and I fell back onto the floor.
Al'Khasm didn't help me up.
"Get up, knight," he chided, "get your pitiable arse onto your feet and keep going. You've already given up on her like a milksop."
Al'Khasm circled me, his feathered cape stirring the dust around him as he walked. There was something more disturbing about his face as I lifted my eyes to regard it by the light of his ominous lantern.
"What kind of knight are you anyways? A templar by your black robes? And yet, when faced with the attack of a single, half-starved carnite you drop your sword and reduce yourself to a quivering mound of... wretchedness. Pah! In all my time walking Legere, I have never... never seen someone as contemptible as you."
The merchant stopped his pacing and knelt in front of me.
"You disgust me, Sir Knight," he spat venomously, "you have let a poor girl die because you were too weak to face the trial before you. You made a stupid deal and backed yourself into a corner you couldn't escape. You let yourself get distracted by the beauty of a girl you barely know."
I clutched my head as my eyes began to water.
"You really believed you had a chance to settle down with someone and build a family? You?" Al'Khasm stood back up and guffawed, his laughs echoing throughout the catacomb. "Truly remarkable, I must admit! You believed you were worthy of a woman's love!"
"No!" I cried out, "That's not what this is about! I made a promise!"
"You made a brainless promise just to impress the girl. Admit it, Lupta! You wanted to show her how you could leverage your status as a member of the Righteous Order in her favour! You flippantly made an oath to a Priest of the Shifting Flesh, no less, and she burned because of it. Imagine it now, Lupta, your failings causing her skin to be torn from her bones and her blood seeping out of her body!"
I had no words to reply with. Al'Khasm sighed and brushed his hair back.
"Lupta, Lupta, Lupta... you don't see it do you? You lacked... no, you lack the vision to see and grasp the future. You were presented with a very clear choice: strike down the monster, and forsake the tenets of the Righteous order while rescuing Taisa... but you have chosen the opposite. It's... sad, really. You missed out on happiness. And now, it will elude you for the rest of your miserable life on this world."
Al'Khasm lifted his lantern to his face, and in horror I gazed upon what he truly was. With a devilish smile, he snuffed his lantern.
"Goodbye Sir Knight! Rot in this darkness for all I care... you're a lost cause for anyone."
What felt like another age passed, as now I lay in true darkness, spun around and committed to the unmapped, winding tunnels of Quiron's dead. Suddenly, another hand touched my shoulder. Was it Al'Khasm? Was it the malformed, eldritch claws of Teico?
"Lupta."
I lifted my head. It was dark still, and I couldn't see the speaker. But his hand was on my shoulder.
"Lupta," the voice repeated.
"I'm... yes...?"
"Lupta, why are you lying here?"
"I'm... I'm a failure. I've failed."
"No."
"No? But... but I've done so many foolish things."
"Indeed you have. But you haven't failed."
"What...?"
Suddenly, I realized I could see something sitting in the darkness. My sword, which I had left behind in the chamber when Al'Khasm helped me up. Its blue-tinged, fire iron blade reflected some unseen, invisible light source. In the endless blackness of these depths, the sword may as well have been glowing.
"Your quest isn't over, is it? You have a job to do."
"But... Taisa is gone."
"How can you be sure?"
"She was... taken..."
"Yes, she was. But is she dead?"
"I don't..."
"No, you don't know. So Lupta, pick up your sword."
I hesitantly reached out and wrapped my fingers around the weak of the blade, pulling it towards me.
"But... how can I defeat Teico? I can't break a promise that I've made just to rescue her? Is it morally justified above the tenets of the order?"
"No such ponderance is required. Grip the sword."
I obeyed this voice, and for the first time began to question who it was that was speaking to me now.
"You are worthy, Sir Lupta the Righteous," the voice continued, "for are you not a templar of the order? Have you not achieved great victories over evil throughout your life? And yet, you are crippled by... fear? Uncertainty? So small minded... but that doesn't make you a wretch. No... Sir Lupta, you are worthy!"
Suddenly, I found my blade alight with an azure flame. It was bright, blindingly so--but I was unable to tear my eyes from the fire. All around me, the ghoulish grins of Quiron's ancestors were illuminated, and in the sword's flames I could see the entire span of the tunnel I was in. Suddenly, this place didn't seem to confusing or unfamiliar.
I focused back on the sword and realized that for the first time, I was wielding Heavenly Fire--the Flame of the Seraphs. A gift used by my brothers and sisters, but never myself.
"Sir Lupta," the voice continued, "finish your quest. See it through to the end. The fire that burns upon your sword and within your being will give you the strength needed. You will not need to abandon any covenants you have made."
"Is... is Taisa still alive then?" I asked the presence, which was still unseen despite the sapphire light filling the catacomb.
"Fight as if she was."
Something filled me at the sound of those words. An intense focus. A sense of ease. My head was filled with a great clarity that was more than welcome. If there was even a chance that Taisa was alive, then my duty was to protect her--irrespective of any romantic desires.
I clutched the sword and found myself standing back in the chamber that Taisa had been abducted by Teico. Al'Khasm hadn't truly moved me from my spot. Without hesitation I flourished my flaming sword and charged into the tunnel where Teico had fled.
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