Chapter 17

Ludmila was met with an uncommon sight as she entered the Cathedral of the Six Great Gods. Most of the furniture along the length of the aisles had been shifted to the side and several of the temple staff were busy cleaning the floors. It was not an appearance one usually associated with a holy sanctum but, practically speaking, she supposed it was something that needed to be done at some point.

Upon stepping across the threshold into the nave, the nearest figure looked up from her chores. She squinted through the morning glare to the entrance, mop propped up in her left hand.

“Ludmila? Oh, good morning. What brings you here today…”

Themis’ light voice trailed off as Ludmila stepped forward and lowered her head in a curtsey.

“I hope the day finds you well, Priest Themis,” she greeted her respectfully.

The Cleric stood frozen for a second before acting in the appropriate manner…mostly. Through her lowered field of view, Ludmila saw Themis wipe her hands on her black-hemmed scapular, then raising them upwards as if to check for dirt. A moment later, Ludmila felt a light touch upon her head.

“Blessings of The Six be upon you, Lady Zahradnik.”

Unlike the other times her act of supplication was received, Ludmila did not feel the familiar warmth of the divine blessing which usually accompanied the ritual reply. The Cleric’s hand withdrew, and Ludmila raised her head to face her.

“Sorry,” Themis had an apologetic look on her face.

“Still recovering mana for tonight?” Ludmila said.

“Yep,” she replied. “The Guild wants my group to head out late in the afternoon. To be perfectly honest though, we’re pretty swamped here. So many people are coming back to The Six that the staff we have here can’t keep up. It’s a blessing that we’re seeing such a resurgence, but at the same time we can’t even afford the mana to use Clean spells. That’s why you’re seeing us tidying up by hand here.”

Themis gave a nervous laugh. Beyond her, there were six other temple staff seeing to the cleanliness of the interior.

“If that’s the case,” Ludmila asked, “is it really okay to be participating in Adventurer Guild activities?”

“The Bishop encouraged it,” Themis said, “since I was the only one that volunteered. It’s funny – I hear the Theocracy absorbed their Adventurer Guild branches, but here we are sending people to the Adventurer Guild. We need to keep up our presence in as many places as possible to show that we’re here for the people. There’s a Silver-rank Cleric in the Guild as well, but he’s affiliated with the chapel in Corelyn Village.”

“I’m sure you’ll represent this Cathedral well,” Ludmila said reassuringly. “The proctors didn’t sound like they had any real problems – it was just as they said: that session that we had last night was highly irregular. I’ve been on a few patrols that have encountered and fought Demihumans before and I’ve never seen a simple skirmish in the wilderness go that strangely.”

“Oh?” The Cleric’s grey eyes brightened from behind her platinum bangs, “Well, that’s a relief to hear. I lay awake for a while last night worrying if there was something else behind Blair’s words. If I come back with an Iron plate tonight, I’m sure the Bishop will be pleased. If I get to Silver, everyone would be ecstatic since the Temple will have another Second Tier caster around to help out. The handful here have been seeing to the needs that only they can address, but with all the new faces we’ll need more.”

“The Theocracy isn’t sending more temple staff with the growing number of faithful in the city?”

“Not that I’ve seen so far,” Themis replied. “Then again, I’m just a junior priest so I don’t have an ear on all that goes on. We take in a few new Acolytes every week, so even without direct help from the Theocracy, we’ll grow into being able to accommodate the city’s needs eventually. At this rate, we’ll have to build new temples – or take over the others as they shrink.”

“That seems like good news, then,” Ludmila said.

“I know, right?” The Cleric smiled brightly, “The Bishop’s take on everything that has happened was spot on. If Humanity flourishes here, then so will our faith.”

One of the members of the temple staff cleaning the chapel cleared his throat loudly. Themis ducked her head slightly at the sound.

“Erm…anyways, was there something that brought you to see us, my lady?”

“Bishop Austine left a message for me yesterday evening,” Ludmila said, “but it was too late to check on it by the time we finished last night.”

“Oh. If that’s the case the Bishop should be in his office. Follow me please, my lady.”

Ludmila followed Themis over the slick marble out into the side hall, walking over to the front of the Bishop’s office. Themis lightly knocked on the door.

“Yes?” A voice called faintly.

“Lady Zahradnik is here to see you, Your Excellency.”

There was a brief delay before Bishop Austine answered.

“Come in,” his voice called more clearly.

Themis opened the door to allow Ludmila entrance, then closed it behind her. The Bishop was seated at the same desk she remembered, but its surface was littered with volumes of tomes and loose parchments.

“I hope the day finds you well, Bishop Austine.”

“Do I look like a Noble yet?” He answered wryly from behind the piles of documents.

“I’m not quite that busy yet, Your Excellency,” Ludmila smiled. “You might match up well to Countess Jezne, however.”

“Oh, spare me that,” he chuckled. “A colleague of mine in her county has shared all sorts of interesting stories with me about her.”

Contrary to the solemn image he had shown her before, Bishop Austine seemed filled with vigour. Though his work was piled about him, there was a spark of energy in his hazel eyes and his demeanor was light and jovial. Even his thinning grey hair seemed to have regained some of its youthful lustre.

“If you don’t mind my saying so, Your Excellency,” Ludmila said, “you seem very…energetic compared to the last time we spoke.”

“It is no great mystery. Our children are returning to us and E-Rantel grows in the faith. It would be quite the challenge to remain sombre in such circumstances. All this,” he waved his hand over the desk piled high, “is a welcome thing. So many families; so many lineages return to the fold. It is the realization of a homecoming that has been longed for over generations.”

“What does the Theocracy have to say about this turn of events?” Ludmila was curious.

“Nothing, so far,” Bishop Austine replied. “Only their declaration of neutrality from months ago, which is entirely political. I have managed to deliver my accounting of the times since Katze through what channels I could in the past few weeks, but a reply has not yet arrived. I’ve done my best to impress upon the High Council in my report that we are all still very much alive and well in E-Rantel, and that the quality of humanity has risen to the occasion. I’ll send further word about our state here once I straighten out all this paperwork. With life returning to the duchy, I’d be surprised if they weren’t getting information along other channels as well, so hopefully we’ll see some assistance from the south soon.”

While he spoke, Bishop Austine collected several parchments and tapped them on his desk lightly. Rising from his seat, he circled around to present them to Ludmila.

“Here is a list of supplicants that have expressed interest in migrating to your demesne – I believe this is something you asked about when we spoke a few weeks ago.”

“This many?” She said as she flipped through the pages; there were hundreds of names listed.

“There is a wide variety of vocations and they can move in when accommodations are available,” he nodded in reply. “I realize with how busy it’s been in the duchy it may be difficult to have everything ready quickly.”

“They are all followers of The Six? They don’t mind being around the Undead?”

“They are, and it should make little difference since they are from the city. I would wager there are fewer out there than in the capital, so it may even count as an improvement to some.”

“How about Demihumans?” Ludmila asked, “We’re right at the border with the wilderness, after all.”

“It would be much the same rationale, I suspect,” Bishop Austine answered. “With the Demihuman quarter being raised here, we will probably start seeing sizable numbers of them in the city as well. It might be a different story if these people were from the Theocracy, but the remaining faithful in the northern nations have developed a great deal more tolerance than our brethren in the south by necessity. Demihumans have frequented the city on occasion, and I do not know of any incidents related to them involving one of our own – we keep to ourselves, and they to theirs.”

“I cannot begin to express how grateful I am for the Temple’s assistance, Your Excellency.”

“House Zahradnik has always taken good care of their people,” the Bishop said, “and that is all that I would ask on their behalf. This list of candidates will surely grow over time, so please keep me apprised of changes when you have the opportunity.”

“Bohdan’s dwelling is still available,” Ludmila said. “Did you want to send a priest along as well?”

“In the future, yes,” he nodded. “For the time being, necessity dictates that we focus on the city and the territories with the largest populations. When the ranks of the priesthood grow to suitable numbers, I will see to it that as many as needed are dispatched to your territory.”

Ludmila secured her grip on the bundle of parchments before lowering her head in a curtsey.

“Thank you once again, Your Excellency.”

Bishop Austine smiled and waved as she withdrew from his office. Ludmila read through the lists as she made her way down the hall and directly out into the vestibule, not wanting to disturb those inside. Leaving the cathedral, she found the main plaza half-filled with merchants setting up their stands in preparation for the day ahead. She spotted Howe leaning near the entrance of the Adventurer Guild with his arms crossed over his chest.

Walking over the short distance to the Guild building from the Cathedral entrance, she approached and greeted him.

“Good morning, Howe.”

The Rogue turned his gaze away from watching the merchants assemble their stands, straightening from the wall.

“You’re the last to arrive,” he turned towards the door with barely a glance in her direction. “Stuff’s inside.”

Inside, Lord Mare was standing near the entrance with two crates near his feet. Guildmaster Ainzach and the Orichalcum Adventurer Merry were nearby as well, and the Ranger stepped forward to speak to them.

“Everyone’s early, that’s good, that’s good.” The red-headed Elf tapped one of the crates with the point of her leather boot, “You can whip up some traps with all the junk in here. Don’t make ‘em too nasty, though: it’s a run for Copper ranks and the ones that you set are meant to be disarmed. There will be others that are like the ones from last night that are supposed to be too hard to handle directly – we’re mixing things up from now on so our scouts have to decide between spending the time dealing with hazards or just having their groups avoid ‘em.”

“How many did you want set?” Howe asked.

“Hmm...at least a handful per floor,” Merry replied. “Don’t make them too predictable, though. Put them where you think good places for traps would be, but don’t make it too ridiculous if you know what I mean. Nothing in these crates should be too harmful; be careful just in case, though. You’re just setting obstacles where the consequences are made clear to both the trainees and the ones overseeing them.”

Howe stepped up to pick up one of the crates. Shifting the weight around experimentally, he looked to Merry.

“Are we carrying these all the way to the tomb?”

“Mare says he has a way to get there quickly,” Merry replied, “otherwise we would have called you two in earlier. You should have about two hours before the morning party arrives…should be enough to use up everything I’m sending along with you.”

Lord Mare quietly walked out of the building, followed by Howe. Ludmila knelt to hurriedly pick up the second box before rushing after them. Outside, she came to stand beside Howe as Mare walked back and forth in the plaza in front of the Guild, his skirt fluttering about his thighs in the light breeze. After stopping to examine a tree a short distance away, he looked towards them and waved them over.

“Go ahead,” he said.

Ludmila exchanged glances with Howe.

“I don’t get it,” Howe said, looking back to the Dark Elf.

“I cast a spell on this tree,” Lord Mare explained as his eyes shifted around nervously, “it will take you to the same type of tree near the entrance of the tomb.”

No matter how long Ludmila stared at it, the tree still looked very much a tree. The surface of the rough bark appeared undisturbed – there was nothing indicating it would take them anywhere. Lord Mare’s eyes turned watery upon realizing that neither Adventurer seemed to believe him.

Seeing this, Ludmila stepped forward, taking a deep breath as she shifted her grip on the wooden crate. She shut her eyes, envisioning a face full of splinters as she walked into the tree. There was no resistance – only the rustle of the wind through the grass and the feel of the earth beneath her boots. Upon opening her eyes, she saw the familiar grove where the entrance of the tomb lay: except it no longer appeared to be a ruin. At the bottom of a deep depression before her, there was a gaping crack in the stones below.

She turned to the sound of someone stepping onto the grass behind her, seeing the odd sight of Howe awkwardly removing his leg from the tree. Lord Mare followed, walking out to join them at the edge of the depression.

“First, I’m walking through trees, now I’m seeing things,” Howe remarked with incredulity. “Tell me this wasn’t like this yesterday.”

“It wasn’t,” Ludmila confirmed. “Lord Mare, did you make changes to the tomb?”

“Un,” he nodded, “the Guildmaster wanted something different today, so I made a cave with some animals. Tomorrow it will be something else? It’ll stop changing once I expand enough to have different sections per floor. A-anyways, we should get to work. I’ll show you where the animals and built-in traps are.”