Chapter 16: The Chantry Ruins
The dwindling sun, gliding along a near horizontal path over the land, began to dip low into the horizon. Without the rays, lusterless though they seemed, the ambient temperature plunged precipitously. Chastity pulled her cloak around her but found little comfort from the biting cold. Her legs were sore from the day’s journey.
Up ahead, in the lengthening shadows, the remains of a stone structure stood on a hillock overlooking a crossroads. The unpaved road the travelers walked gave way to cobblestone and turned abruptly to the east, following the long curve of the river, while the option to continue southward across a dilapidated wooden bridge in the near distance lay before them.
Ding!
[New Location Discovered]
[Southroad Chantry]
[You Have Gained Experience]
Chastity glanced up at the structure.
A chantry? Isn’t that like a sort of chapel, or part of a chapel? she wondered. That sounds promising.
“Charlie, do you recognize that building?”
Charlie nodded his head, starting to shiver.
“Some clerics used to stay here, if memory serves. Only came by it once before as a lad. Been abandoned awhile, looks like.”
“We should take shelter for the night,” Chastity said. “I think we’ve traveled as far as we can for one day. And I can’t stand this cold much longer.”
Charlie nodded and the two climbed a winding path to the top of the small hill. They passed by a prominent stone statue, a figure clad in armor holding a greatsword angled toward the ground. The head of the statue was missing–broken off–and the writing on the accompanying plaque eroded away.
The building itself was deserted and desolate. Heavy wooden doors had long since been broken down and now hung warped from rusted hinges, allowing them to walk straight in. One section of the perimeter stone wall lay collapsed, as well as portions of the ceiling. Heaps of broken stone littered the ground. However, there was enough coverage to offer suitable protection from the elements.
This will have to do, Chastity reasoned.
She pointed to a flat, dry section of limestone flooring in the middle of what might have been the nave.
“Let’s gather all the wood we can find. I’ll build a fire here in the center. The hole in the roof should keep us from getting smoked out.”
Charlie nodded again and they set out their bedrolls, then went about finding the driest twigs, branches, or scraps of wood they could scavenge. There was little remaining in the interior to give Chastity any sense of the sacred, or any anthropological clues as to the people or faith once practiced. The best she could discern was the splinters of what might have been pews or kneelers.
You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.
Stuffing handfuls of the dormant brown roadside grass at the base of the kindling pile, Chastity borrowed a flint from Charlie and struck the head of a javelin against it again and again until she sparked a small tongue of fire into existence.
Ah, that feels amazing!
Chastity sighed, removing her gloves and warming her stiff hands over the meager but growing flame. If only she had a cup of Mrs. Underfoot’s barley tea! Yes, the taste had grown on her over the last couple days.
The usually talkative halfling sat by the fire, heavy lidded and quiet. Chastity looked him over sympathetically.
“Well, this is it, isn’t it Charlie? Where the road bends east toward the Everglen? Thank you for showing me the way. I take it… when the sun rises tomorrow, you’ll be able to find your way back to Goldenberry alright?”
Charlie Cucumber glanced up, a look of surprise on his face. Or was it disappointment?
“Y-yes, I should be able to manage…” he said, turning his eyes back to watch the fire.
“Then we should try to get as much rest as we can. Do you mind tending the fire for a bit? I need to go take care of something.”
Chastity set aside her bundle of javelins and traveling pack, then got up to leave.
“Take care of something? I don’t understand, where are you going?” Charlie asked, alertness returning to his features.
“Er, let’s just say I need some fresh air!”
The halfling blinked, visibly confused.
“Plenty of fresh air with a third of the wall collapsed, don’t you think?”
“I need to go… answer the call of nature. Urgently!” Chastity murmured, bolting for the door.
“The call of nature? I don’t understand! I thought you were a Paladin, not a Druid!” Charlie called after her, but she ignored him, her cheeks reddening.
Chastity exited the ruins and circled around the building, walking past what appeared to be a small cemetery, burial stones protruding from the snow. She walked further, past a small ridge and behind some bushes to relieve herself.
Up above the stars were coming out, and they were beautiful. Without modern light pollution, and no visible moon on this chill night, the sky was a wondrous tapestry of illumination, like cans of white and midnight blue paint spilled across the heavens and pricked with pins.
Oh, wow.
Chastity didn’t know enough about astronomy to say if these stars and constellations had any parallel to her own back home, but they took her breath away. She felt deeply moved in a way she could not quite express.
But that wonder was short-lived. A shriek arose from the direction of the ruins.
“Chastity! Help! Chastity!”
Charlie Cucumber was yelling, clearly in a panic. Chastity quickly hoisted up her garments and hurried back, realizing that she had foolishly left her bundle of javelins inside.
Bad move, Chastity! I need a weapon!
Stopping by the headless statue, standing guard like some forgotten sentinel over the chantry, Chastity grabbed hold of the stone sword, using all of her strength to wrench it from the statue’s grasp. There was a cracking sound as the piece came loose.
[Equipment Acquired - Stone Sword (Improvised Weapon)]
“Where are you, Chastity? Hurry!” the plaintive cries echoed again from within the ruins.
Clutching the unwieldy stone blade, Chastity strode toward the doorway. But she stopped suddenly in her tracks. Under the starlight, wisps of vapor started to form in the air between her and her destination. A haunting wail emanated from the midst of the vapors, making the tiny blonde hairs on the back of her neck and arms stand on end.
The vapors coalesced into two distinct shapes, twisting and writhing in the air before her, semi-translucent, with faces like the faces of long dead men, like the shriveled remains of those bodies found preserved in Irish peat bogs (Google it!), but somehow incorporeal.
“Ah!” Chastity sputtered, brandishing the sword defensively. “I-Identity!”
[Identify]
[-1 Focus Point]
The two ghastly figures shone with faint outlines. The accompanying text box did little to allay Chastity’s concerns.
Ruin Wraith
Level: 💀
Ruin Wraith
Level: 💀