We followed a downward slanted and curved hallway before Alex and I were ushered into what looked like a repurposed lab. It was clearly intended to be a conference room for meeting us but the walls were lined with all kinds of materials and the tables had ink spots and burn marks all over them. They were placed in a half-ring with another one in the centre. A few gadgets were placed on the central table. I could feel some vis emitted by them but not enough to truly feel dangerous.

One of the Clerics, the man who had spoken earlier, stood with us in front of the half-circle telling us to wait by his side. Jane took place next to the central table, looking a little nervous. The rest of the Clerics took their seats, facing us.

I let my gaze wander. The robed people were very good at hiding their emotions, probably because their bodies were completely obscured. Still, I noticed their hands shaking and many of them pointedly looked away when I met their gazes. Only the man next to us made no attempt at hiding his staring. He was obviously intrigued by my body.

Once everyone was settled, Jane spoke up.

“Thank you, your Honesties, for hearing me out”, she began, “I have talked to most of you about the reason for my presence and that of my charges. The woman is Alexandra. Her species is called ‘living fortress’. Yes, she is made of thaumium. I have been told she was originally an advanced golem built by an ork thaumaturge.”

That caused murmuring all around.

“The owl is Fio Catori, no last name. She is normally a… normal animal. Sapient, but not thaumium. This form comes from a Skill and yes, once again, her body is made of thaumium.”

By then, not a single Cleric was pretending not to stare. Their gazes, even hidden behind their masks, would be unsettling had I never met Truth.

“Any questions for their persons can wait until I finished my mission.”

That caused some grumbling. I realized that for some reason the Clerics were not acting like the political leaders of a whole race. They seemed more like… unruly children. I felt like I was in one of the classrooms I never got to in my teens.

Jane went on to relay the events of our meeting, downplaying her role as the aggressor and focusing everyone’s attention on the appearance of Truth. That caused some complaints which the Cleric standing with us silenced with a quick motion. Then, the paladin got to the reason for our presence.

“… After all that, the Knights assigned to oversee the mission ordered me to escort Fio Catori to the Crimson Heart.”

There was silence for a minute. Then the man standing up spoke.

“Then why have you brought Alexandra to this meeting, Eternity?”

“I have reason to believe she has a very close connection to Fio. And in turn, Truth.”

The man turned to Alex.

“Is that true?”

“Yes. I’ve met him.”

The sudden shouting was silenced with a wave of the Cleric’s hand. The other people still gestured angrily and I quickly realized he had simply layered a silencing ward in between us.

“Please stand back, Eternity”, he said.

Jane nodded and moved to us. The Cleric switched places with her and another silencing field popped up. I could see the people argue from their gestures but there was no way to tell what they were saying. They kept going for nearly fifteen minutes before Jane spoke up.

“I’m sorry about this. I did not think they’d be… like that. I never thought they could be like that.”

“Like schoolchildren?”, I asked.

“… yes. Like children. I have always seen them as collected and wise people. I suppose…”

“… what?”, I asked after a moment of silence.

“Nothing.”

“No, speak”, I demanded.

She sighed.

“Fine. Truth is, how would you say it? It is the target of any thaumaturge to find Truth. And that was supposed to be the concept, not… a person? This whole church is built around the idea of Truth being salvation. Striving to understand and communicate, you know? That there’s a person that could be… that… It’s hard to believe.”

“What do you think?”, Alex asked.

“I think it’s more of a guardian? I don’t know. It was just…”

She started blinking rapidly before wiping at her eyes. Her breathing turned heavy.

“I… can I see it again?”

Jane suddenly glared at me. I almost expected her to activate her horrific Skill again but the tug of [Identify] never came. Instead, she shook her head and turned away.

“Sorry about that. Forget what I asked.”

Suddenly, the sounds from the other side of the room returned. The scuffle had settled and everyone was sitting prim and proper like nothing ever happened. The man standing in the centre spoke up.

“We need proof”, he said, “That Truth Is.”

“No”, I shot him down, “Not all of you.”

“Why not?”

“You will go mad from the revelations. It was bad for the Knights and thaumaturges that saw it the last time. Choose the three most warped people. Everyone else, leave.”

“Why the most?”, someone asked. A woman.

“You have a chance to step beyond if you’re far enough.”

“No, Fio”, Alex said, “You will kill them.”

“I won’t. The Guardians might. Or the spiders.”

“Mind spiders?”, someone scoffed, “I beg your pardon. Those are small fry.”

“How many have you seen at most?”, I asked.

“Maybe a dozen?”

There were nods around the table.

“Between all of you? Working together?”

More nodding.

“I see. Choose the least warped, then.”

“So we aren’t good enough for you, little owl?”, a Cleric sneered. The woman again.

“I have at least fifty mind spiders in my soul. I like cuddling with them.”

Silence spread out.

“Cuddling?”, someone whispered, “Those vicious things?”

“They’re cute.”

“They are”, Alex added with a smirk.

“Truth says to send his regards”, Catori sent suddenly.

Before I could figure out what she meant, I felt something in my soul open. A cold fog rolled over the room. Then, something stood behind me. A familiar dark armour floating a hand wide off the ground. Glowing eyes focused on me.

“Can you take away the fog?”, I asked.

The eldritch guardian nodded. Slowly, light returned to the room. I spotted most of the Clerics standing ready with wands in their hands. Several foci were sparking flames or lightning. Shoddy work. Or a lack of focus. At least most of them were silverwood. Everyone was glancing around frantically, the robed people standing back to back in small circles. I heard some fearful whispers. Those looking in my direction froze.

When the fog was completely gone, I saw some of the Clerics start to relax until they turned back to me.

“Thanks, buddy”, I said to the guardian.

He nodded.

Eyes widened behind masks. I saw horror and understanding at the same time. Someone had pulled out a hexagonal ring of gold with a tinted lens set inside. A thaumometer to bring understanding to less capable eyes. The guardian shifted. Then Alex bumped his shoulder with a fist, making him turn towards her. There were gasps all around.

“Hey, where’d you come from?”, she asked.

He pointed at me.

“Fio, what did you do?”

“I didn’t do nothing, your honour!”, I said.

“Then why is he here?”

“ ’With regards from Truth’ or something like that.”

I turned to the guardian.

“You can go home if you want, by the way.”

The glowing eyes flashed for a second. Then he reached for me to the chorus of panicked cries from the peanut gallery. With a soft plop, he disappeared. The tension immediately dropped alongside many butts on their chairs. I heard sighs of relief from everyone. There was a clattering noise to my side. Jane had fallen to her knees.

“Don’t give them too much”, Catori sent, “Truth says their souls might break. This was a warning, alright?”

“Okay? Thank you. And thank him for the assist.”

“Will do!”

By the time everyone had settled, they were staring at me again. Some masks had fallen off or were taken off to wipe sweat. I saw mostly old faces, fifties and older if I had to guess. No wonder they were so… strange.

“Fio, what the fuck!”, Jane near-shouted all of a sudden, “At least give me a warning!”

“I didn’t really plan that”, I said, “Truth just sent him over. A bit of a warning not to go too far, I think.”

“And why would he warn a Crimson Cleric?”

“Beats me.”

The man who had greeted us cleared his throat.

“As much as I want to discuss… that… let us finish this first.”

He indicated the devices on the central table.

“Please, take one. Each of you.”

He nodded at Alex, Jane, and me.

The paladin was a little confused but complied.

The woman walked up while I used my wings to make a long jump. A few Clerics flinched at the sound of my clinking feathers.

The devices on the table looked like a mix of goggles, a knuckle-duster and a thermometer. There was a light-purple fluid in the last part and the goggles had blue-tinted glass.

“These are sanity checkers. Please hold onto them however you want with your skin and pour some vis into them. They will show us the level of your warp.”

Alex and Jane shared a look before simply grabbing their items. I carefully placed two talons on the glass part and poured some of my vis in. I used alienis. Because why not?

The thermometer part suddenly turned a dark purple, nearly black. It also shot all the way to the end before breaking the glass with a crack. I saw a mote of flux dissipate into the air. Much the same happened for Alex. Jane’s sanity checker reacted much less violently. The fluid turned a darker purple but still far from black and rose to a little under half. There was a small layer of light-purple liquid on top. The woman blinked at our devices.

“You guys are freaks.”

Alex shrugged.

“Both of us were born in warp. There was nothing left to corrupt.”

The Cleric closed his gaping mouth.

“Commander Eternity. You far exceed the safe levels for entering the Crimson Heart. You will have to stay outside. Take a sanity bath, even though it will not do much. Every little bit helps.”

“Yes, sir!”

She saluted and left the room with a few quick steps. I saw her elation in the bouncing steps. What a ‘resolved’ woman.

“As for you two… I honestly do not know what to do with you. But… you may yet save us all. You have proven that even an eldritch guardian will not be a threat in your presence. I will allow you to see the Crimson Heart. But first, some rest is in order. We need to consult internally and inform the other Clerics.”

“There are more?”, Alex asked.

“Yes. Most are working in the Heart. Some are teaching budding thaumaturges. And there are even a few focused on the… political side.”

He said the last words with some derision.

“Sadly, they are necessary.”

“You didn’t send the political people to talk to us?”, I asked.

“No. They are not allowed below the Cathedral. Their job is to keep the supply chain up. Down there, they would only interfere with the work.”

“I see. Well, where can we rest?”

“I will show you to a break room”, the Cleric said, “Follow me.”

Everyone was slowly gathering their wits as we left the room. Most of them were already wearing their masks again.

“That didn’t go too bad…”, Alex sent through [Telepathy].

“Could have been worse”, I agreed, “Still strange. How little warp they have…”