Lias leads the Mistwalkers to the northern section of Adderland, to a specific home along the main road with boarded up windows. Lias pushes the door open with a loud creak and beckons the others to walk in; they leave their horses behind and do so.
Once inside, they notice that the interior side of front door is decorated with several padlocks hastily attached to it for extra security from other undead who haven't maintained any sapience. The inside of the home is lit by multiple small candles scattered around on whatever will hold them – some in proper candle holders, some in metal cups, a few wider ones sitting in bowls. Every piece of furniture is coated in a thick layer of dust except for a cot in the corner of the room, which is disheveled from recent use. Even plates for meals look untouched. On a stool near the cot rests a quill, bottle of ink, and many sheets of paper covered in hasty scribbles. At the feet of it rests even more stacks of used paper featuring whatever tales, knowledge, or confessions the monk had written on them.
“You've been holed up in here this whole time?” Kellar asks.
“Yes.” Lias answers plainly.
“What about food?”
The monk shakes his head. “I don't eat anymore. Not since I became... this.” He looks at his dry, necrotic hand with lament. “Please... sit wherever.” He welcomes them properly as he walks to his cot to sit.
“We can stand just fine.” Veros dismisses the invitation. “Now, let's start talking about why you and your monk friends are here, shall we?”
“I'll answer whatever I know about...” The decaying clergyman responds.
“First thing's first: why are you all here?” The veteran cuts to the chase. “Why are there undead monks walking around here, in the north? In the mist?”
“About a year ago,” Lias begins to recall the events leading up the mist's appearance, “the monastery in Evatica... received a letter from the church in Armasstadt. They claimed to have discovered... a possible method to communicate with the Gods.”
“What on earth?” Veros utters, taken aback by the claim. “What did they mean by that?”
“We weren't sure, but it gained the attention of... Grand Monk Selick at Evatica. So he decided to visit... without telling Pontiff Reticus.”
The Pontiff Reticus he speaks of is the man who is the current leader of the Idrid clergy, and currently resides at the monastery in Evatica in the fifteenth year of his papacy. He's proved to be a particularly popular holy man for being outgoing, merciful, and providing a unique perspective on the Gods and their teachings and scriptures.
“Why did Selick keep quiet about such a thing?” Veros continues his questions. “Shouldn't such a claim be brought to the attention of the Pontiff, of all people?”
Lias slowly shakes his head. “Grand Monk Selick did not get along with the Pontiff... He didn't agree with Reticus's approach to spreading the word of Idrid... Said he was being too broad with the scriptures and their meaning. Selick... is a zealous man who still believes... in the Gods of old.”
“So,” Veros tries to piece together the next step, “he decided to use the news of this method to communicate with the Gods to... overthrow Reticus or something?”
“Yes...” The monk nods. “He figured that if he could communicate with the Gods... he could prove that Reticus's teachings... go against their intended word. So he departed for Armasstadt... by himself. Several weeks later, he returned to Evatica... a far more excited, ambitious man. I don't know what he saw there... but it had him convinced, and he's usually quite skeptical... when it comes to seemingly unbelievable claims relating to the pantheon.”
“He didn't give any details whatsoever about this way of communicating with the Gods?”
“Not at that time. He only said... that Armasstadtian miners uncovered a holy relic, buried in the mountain... resting against the city.”
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“A holy relic buried in Mount Armas?” Veros repeats to himself. “I've never heard of any such rumor.”
“It didn't take very long for Selick to convince other monks at the monastery to join him. Even if we didn't know what this relic was... if it was legitimate enough to make Selick believe... then we were willing to believe, too.”
The veteran shakes his head and his face subtly twists with disdain. “How foolish.” He condemns the monks and their blind trust in their superior.
“Indeed. It was extremely foolish, looking back on it now... But we had a problem – Pontiff Reticus... If a large group of us would leave without his knowledge... it would be only a matter of time before he'd notice, and begin questioning us once we return... Thus, we resolved ourselves to staying in Armasstadt once we had left. We would leave our lives in Evatica behind... Selick took about a dozen of the younger monks... those who were close to him, admired him... and even a few monastery knights.”
“How did news never break out about monks and knights abandoning their post in the monastery?” Atticus wonders aloud.
“The clergy cares about how the public perceives them, much like the crown.” Kellar answers. “They probably kept it secret to prevent rumors of unrest or infightin' or some other shite. Can't have the commonfolk thinkin' they're disorganized or what-have-you.”
“So what happened once you reached Armasstadt?” Veros asks the undead man.
“Us monks who accompanied Selick... finally had an opportunity to the see relic with our own two eyes.” Lias lifts his hands to cup a large, imaginary object. “A massive, beautiful egg... made of ivory... decorated with gold and sapphires... We could sense an overwhelming, magical energy radiating from it... far stronger than any arcane orb.”
Veros narrows his eyes in suspicion of this alleged relic. Behind him is Zyra, with an expression of sudden realization followed by subtle dread washing over her face.
Lias continues. “The energy was dark... It was a horrible, threatening power. Some of us were hesitant to come near it... But Zellen Hayne – the archduke's advisor – was certain... that it was a relic from Zerruth, the old God of Death.”
“What?” Veros utters, remembering Erik mentioning that Aldrua – the sacrificial ritual – and its ties to Zerruth. “Why Zerruth? What does he have to do with the relic?”
“Because of the clergy's denouncement of him so many years ago... Selick had believed him to have grown angry, resentful of his abandonment... Mount Armas was said to have been... the site where he would offer sacrifices... to please his love, the Goddess Arcturia, so the relic's appearance there... must not have been a coincidence. Or so we were told.”
Veros sighs and brings his palm to his forehead in exasperation. “Oh, no... You can't be serious. You just believed that? You believed that tale without questioning it?”
Ashamed of his naivete, Lias shakes his head. “We had no other hypotheses as to what else the relic could be... So we believed Hayne. We believed Selick...”
“And then what happened?”
“With the blessing of Archduke Westshire, we experimented with it... tried to find a way to activate it, so to speak. But days passed, then weeks passed; we didn't know how to do it... Until Hayne approached the younger monks, and told us he might have discovered the secret... He gave us the mission of traveling to nearby villages to prepare to spread the word... of Zerruth's return.”
“Spread the word how?”
“By instilling the fear of the God into them...” Lias answers while looking at Veros with a regretful gaze. “We were told that we would know when they were successful... and we were given designated villages to visit. As you can see, I was told to come to Adderland. The people were hesitant to heed my warnings... They didn't believe me, and convincing them was an uphill battle... Until the mist finally arrived, and shrouded the region. Then, they came to me, and I did as I was told... I had pushed them to decide, mostly out of fear and confusion, myself... which among them would be offered as sacrifices to appease the furious Zerruth... and rid us of the mist.”
“And they believed you?” Veros asks, growing more baffled and disgusted. “Why would you want a God of death to communicate with you, of all things? Let alone an angry one? What's the purpose of summoning such a being, even if you could? What good could come of it?”
“Selick seemed so sure that by gaining the favor of Zerruth, he could find a faster way to godly power... Of course Zerruth would lash out at the humans who denounced him... but if we could please him with enough sacrifices, then perhaps he could have mercy and listen to our needs... If Selick could achieve that, then he was fine with sacrificing as many as he needed.”
“What a bunch of fuckin' nutjob zealots.” Kellar can't contain his disgust. “Even if the Gods would really speak to us, you didn't stop to think that this shit is why Zerruth was denounced to begin with? Why the fuckin' hell would an angry God of death show mercy after being abandoned for hundreds of years? Sacrifices? To to gain godly power? Gimme a damn break.”
Royd shakes his head and finally speaks up with a condemning tone and hateful leer. “You unleashed this infection upon the land because Selick and Hayne were insane enough to try and communicate with Zerruth and use him after offering him lives? Such repulsive arrogance...”
“What happened at Armasstadt to cause to appearance of the mist?” Veros continues to interrogate. “What exactly did Hayne do to the relic?”
“I don't know...” Lias sullenly answers. “I never found out... I've been afraid to go back to Armasstadt ever since...”