Jin requested two more cups of mead from the blonde woman before following Priest Herrick into the church. The man seemed amused by the act, fortunately.

What the hell? Why is it such a big deal that the wolf ran? The priest has this quiet intensity to him that’s making Jin more uncomfortable by the second. This is way worse than the attention of adoring villagers.

The inside of the church is… quaint. It has tall ceilings that slope towards the front, likely just to provide more surface area for the stained glass windows that dominate the front wall. Speaking of stained glass, where the hell did they get it from? This ‘Traveler’s Rest’? Sage did say the cathedral was there. Various figures can be seen in the glass doing different actions, like shining light from their hands, or making plants grow, or swinging a sword. Each figure has a halo. Actual legit halos, and all of the rings are white, or, pearlescent? Actually, there’s a lot of halo symbology. Circular patterns decorate most of the church.

The rest of the church is far less grand than the windows. Wood pews line a worn rug that runs down the center of the building from the door. Candles are lit in alcoves in the walls. At the back of the building are some doors to the sides, and a lectern in the center. Jin does a double take when she realizes that a circular design on the wall is meant to imitate a halo on whoever stands at the lectern. Aren’t they being a little heavy handed with their symbology..?

She doesn’t get to judge the room any further, since the priest leads her through one of the doors. It leads to a small hall, and the priest opens the first of a row of three doors. It looks to be a small office; small desk, bookshelf, standing cabinet, stacked papers. Quintessential office.

Jin sips on a cup of mead. If she forces herself to be calm she will be, right? It’s worked before and it’ll work again. She’s capable, all she needs to worry about is her reaction. She takes a deeper sip. Right.

Rather than take a seat behind the desk, the priest pulls the chair out from behind it and sets it beside a small table that already has one chair beside it. He takes a seat, and gestures for Jin to do the same.

“I do apologize if I’m worrying you, but we cannot take threats to our safety lightly.”

Jin leans on the doorway, taking another sip of mead. The priest’s expression is the perfect image of serenity. What, did they get a professional poker player to run this place? Maybe a theater reject; his head must have been deep up his ass to come up with that little greeting speech he gave her. “U-huh. Didn’t your so-called “god” tell you about me or something? Can’t you just, I dunno, ask them?”

His expression cracks at this, and he sighs, “Please, I can tell this will be a long discussion. You should take a seat.”

Jin rolls her eyes, but she complies. The table is at least large enough that they aren’t uncomfortably close to each other. She sets the second cup of mead on the table to her left, clearly claiming it as hers and not an offer. She takes another sip of the first cup. Damn this is good mead. Perfect sugar balance, some kind of fruity undertones? But not from pommen, that’s for sure.

The priest glances at the open door, but speaks anyway. “I take it you know little of our religion, yes?”

“I know Sage called me a cleric when we first met, and then I was too busy running from wolves to ask more.”

He nods slowly. “I see…” He looks to be considering something, so Jin considers the mead more. Easier that than the conversation. Mm…

“I will give you a summary, then.”

Jin looks up. He’s not actively blaming her for anything and is giving her information? That’s… good? She feels herself relaxing minutely.

“The gods arrived after the fall of the first civilization,”

Jin already has objections to the story, “Of the first civilization? There’s been countless empires and nations rising and falling throughout history, and all of them have failed to find evidence of any gods.”

The priest continues despite the interruption, “The era of magic, came to an end with their arrival.”

This stops Jin. Wasn’t Sage saying she had no idea what magic was? She sits straighter, finally giving the priest her full attention. “What do you mean?”

The priest glances at the door again, and then decides to get up and close it.

“I will ask you not repeat this to the townsfolk, or anyone else without some high ranking in the church.” He returns to his seat while saying this.

Jin has a thought, “Should be easy enough, I’m just a delusional cleric after all.”

Priest Herrick’s eyes Jin, and then he laughs. “Why, yes, that is actually why we tell people that.”

“What, really?”

His laughter takes a second to die down. Jin is stunned he just admitted it and doesn’t know how to process the information quite yet, so it suits her just fine.

“Ah… See, clerics they, hm. Most are like you.”

“…Mages?”

“Yes, precisely.”

She knew it! The church is run by a secret organization of mages. She takes another sip of mead. The information is getting juicy now.

“But mages are people, and people don’t always make the best choices. So the church has to enact certain measures to protect itself and its people.”

Jin waves her hand at this, “Said every tyrannical government ever.”

He smiles, “And they were all ran by people. But what if you had an organization run by literal gods?”

Jin pauses.

“I would say you’re full of shit.”

He knew my birth name.

Jin glares, “Or, I’d say you attributed godhood to whatever archmage stood on the ashes of… You said my civilization fell. So that, I guess.”

She plans on asking more about that part later.

The priest smiles thinly, “I believe you’ll change your opinion on that eventually.”

Jin snorts derisively.

“I was still at the beginning of my story, wasn’t I? After the gods arrived, they cleansed mages of their magic and-“

“What?!”

His placid smile returns, “I was wondering if you would react like that. Magic is a curse no mortal should have the burden of bearing.”

“Bitch? The hell it is.”

“And with this curse no longer plaguing our people, society has been able to build and thrive under the gentle guiding hands of the gods.”

Jin’s face is contorted in a mix between disgust and disbelief.

“They used to not make themselves known to us, so worried they were about stifling the human spirit. But they regret and mourn for all that we’ve lost, they regret granting us the sliver of divinity past eras call “magic”, and all the destruction it causes. So they took it back, and now they reign from the throne of the Traveler.”

Jin doesn’t quite know where to start. She asks the obvious question, “How do clerics fit into that?”

“Time travel.”

Jin blinks.

“You mean like,”

He nods, “Sometimes they are born, too, if rarely. Clerics such as these either never know their potential, or are raised by the church, as to avoid potential catastrophe.”

“Wait wait wait, you’re saying almost every cleric is actually just a time traveler who managed to skip this… ‘cleansing’? By literally not existing in those moments?”

“I am.”

Jin blinks again.

“What the fuck.”

He nods.

“Noooo no no, what the actual fuck? Seriously, powerful people with no prior connection to your system are being allowed to run rampant, and are in high standing for it. That’s… That’s one of the most idiotic things I’ve ever heard.”

“I think you underestimate the Gods, young cleric. They keep a close eye on their children, and an even closer one on those who still hold a shard of their divinity. Clerics are certainly not allowed to ‘run rampant’, as it were. Their high standing is but a matter of necessity, due to the, ah, predisposition, of most who know the arts of time. The eyes of the Gods are upon you. They always find a way to make it known. Do not forget.”

Jin reaches a decision, “Yeah I’m not buying any of this.”

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She shakes her head, “All kinds of fucked up people know time magics. I have a huge asshole of a professor who taught the damn subject. I don’t know the half of his history, but he’s the kind of man who casually remarked how he missed the times when mages were allowed to, and I quote, “take buxom village maids to bed and discard their remains in the morning”. I’m not exaggerating, this man is fucked in the head. If someone like him skipped this cleansing bullshit, your “gods” are idiots for letting him live, or are lying.” Silently Jin wonders if he is still around. Or who else might be around, for that matter.

The priest does, at least, look disturbed by this. Hesitantly, he starts, “A man like that would not be allowed within the church. He would undoubtedly be marked as being driven mad from power-addled delusions and hunted, either to be cleansed or killed.”

Oh, so cleansing wasn’t a euphemism?

Jin opens her mouth, pauses, then decides she needs to clarify something, “By cleansed, you mean removing magic from someone, right?”

“Yes.”

Jin can’t help but shudder at this. Theology aside, she’s inclined to believe what the priest claims as possible, if not in the way he implies. Enchanted shackles that constantly drain the magic from your body are a staple for imprisoned violent mages. It doesn’t take much of a leap in imagination to think of more subtle ways to achieve a similar effect. This would be monumentally difficult on a large scale, so she’s inclined to think the first ‘cleansing’ these gods did was actually mass murder. But now? When, allegedly, only a few mages exist? It’s quite possible.

“Why let anyone have magic, then? These gods already ‘cleansed’ once, and based on your implications they can do it again. Why let mages stick around at all?”

The priest grimaces, “The process is… distressing. To all involved. The church and Gods are in agreement that it should be avoided whenever possible. Additionally, if used for the good of all, and not for simple personal gain, clerics have much utility they can offer to their communities.”

Jin rolls her eyes, “And thus you practice pragmaticism when you claim morality. I thought you said power is a curse no one should have?”

The priest nods at this, “That is still true. Unfortunately, what should be and what is rarely coincide. The church enacts measures to minimize suffering wherever it can. It is impossible to create a perfect solution, so we are left with our best.”

Jin scowls but finds she can’t actually argue against that point. It’s one she herself made when she had the bright idea to stop by the debate club. Mages seriously arguing that vengeance torture is a human right also made it the last time she visited the club. The academy was certainly full of unsavory individuals.

The priest sighs, “I don’t expect you to believe me outright on all of this.” He gestures vaguely to indicate the conversation as a whole, “You know who we are now, that will be enough. Now, I’ve questions of my own.”

Jin nods and leans back in her chair, placing her empty cup down. The priest humored her so far, it would be rude to not do likewise. Her eyes slide to the left.

The priest tilts his head, “How exactly did you come here? My message from Thior was a standard cleric arrival warning. I’m afraid I know little more.”

Yeah, ‘I’m afraid I know little more’. Bullshit, he’s just fishing for information. But… whatever, Jin doesn’t think she needs to hide anything about what he’s asking. She quickly explains her experiment with the hourglass, Sage’s arrival in her room, and their escape from the wolves in as much detail as she can remember. All of which, she’s realizing, happened less than twenty-four hours ago.

After she finishes her brief retelling she picks up the second cup of mead. It’d be a shame to let it go to waste.

The priest looks concerned, but not for Jin’s drinking habits, “I assume Acolyte Sage will confirm this all, yes?”

Jin looks up mid sip and shrugs, “I dunno why you’re asking me. You’re a better judge of her honesty than I am. But uh, yeah.”

Suddenly she snaps, “Right! She asked me to give her a recommendation for… Inquisitorialship? She wants to be an inquisitor. As a cleric I will officially endorse her - I can do that, right?”

He blinks, “She… Yes, you can do that.” A grimace passes over his face briefly. Jin frowns.

“What are inquisitors, exactly? I haven’t had a chance to ask her yet.”

The priest sighs, and looks tired suddenly. He turns in his chair to open a drawer in a cabinet behind him, and procures a glass bottle with a dark brown liquid in it.

Oh look, the priest’s a drunk. Who coulda guessed. Jin takes another sip of her mead.

“To put it shortly? Treasure hunters.”

Jin takes another sip.

“So,”

She mulls the thought over more.

“Inquisitors.”

Priest Herrick pours himself a glass of the dark liquid. He nods encouragingly at Jin’s statement.

“The church has an official role and ranking… For treasure hunters. And called them inquisitors.”

“Sage would vanish into the neighboring ruins frequently as a child. Sending out a search party for her became a weekly event.”

“You call treasure hunters, people who find forgotten trash of dead empires, inquisitors. A role famously known for killing heretics.”

“Perhaps it is, in your memory.” The priest throws back his glass in one gulp. Jin’s impressed, she definitely couldn’t do that. Not if the drink is as strong as it smells. “They take on other roles, as well. Some act as pioneers in extending the church’s reach, or rooting out problematic ideologies on a more domestic level.”

Jin sighs, that last description was the only one that sounded like the inquisitor role she knows of from history. “Alright, sure. I’m no linguistic expert, why not? Fancy titles are fun. So next question, why the fuck does the church need an official treasure hunting role?”

“To offer them as gifts to the gods, of course.”

“…And you’re claiming these gods aren’t archmages with egomania? Because there’s no shortage of historical reports on powerful mages collecting a cult following and dubbing themselves gods. And let me tell you, they demanded tribute.”

“I’ve no doubt.” He starts pouring a second glass.

“However, I still fully believe those who I call our Gods, to be so.”

“The closest humanity has ever come to discovering some sort of divinity is when we managed plane hopping and found the djinn. Don’t get me wrong, people absolutely worshiped them for a while as gods, but they’re honestly only about as powerful as an archmagister. ”

“Mm, you would know, Dijinndera.”

“Don’t call me that. Actually, how the fuck do you know that name? And fuck, why do you know the history of that name?”

“Thior introduced you to me by that name. He is the god of the throne, he would know.”

“The god of the throne? Ha! What kind of lame ass title-“

“Don’t.”

This is the first time the priest actually looks serious in the whole time they talked. Jin closes her mouth. Ok, so openly insulting his gods to his face is a faux pas. Disbelief is ok, insults are not. That one Jin definitely should have guessed. She takes another sip of mead.

“Ok.”

Now she feels awkward. She already tried to mask it with one sip of mead. Maybe another will help? She tries it. Mmm…

The priest sighs, “For your other question, the church maintains records. Most priests are well educated before their anointment. I stumbled upon the name by chance while reading, once.”

“Tsk.” Convenient, isn’t it? Whatever, she doesn’t feel like calling him out. It… might be true, anyway. Instead she switches tracks.

“So uh, you were asking about the wolves earlier. Do you have any theories why they were chasing and subsequently gave up?”

Priest Herrick sighs, “I… Possibly.”

Jin waits for him to continue. He doesn’t. This is how people feel when I don’t respond huh. Self improvement later, answers now.

“And?”

He spreads his hands out, “What do you want me to tell you? I have a potential idea, yes, but it’s surprisingly unrelated to you. As a rule I avoid sharing uncertainties unless necessary. I was… certainly paranoid, at first. But if you truly woke up mere moments before they began seeking you out? No, I don’t think you are at fault here. A catalyst at most, I presume, which hardly warrants any scorn.”

Now Jin wants to know what his idea is. She drinks more of her mead instead.

The priest runs a hand through his hair and takes a sip of his own drink. “If Sage becomes an Inquisitor…” He shakes his head, “Can… I ask a favor of you?”

Jin looks around, like there might be someone else a favor can be asked of.

“I guess so?”

“Watch over her. You have no ties to this village, but she does. I may be a relative newcomer myself but… I care for her, as I does the rest of this settlement. Sage is… Sage is very kind. We all love that about her. But I’m afraid she’ll be taken advantage of. I wouldn’t presume to ask more but… I ask you at least go with her to Traveler’s Rest. She will have to go there if she plans on entering the ranks officially. I would rather she not go alone.”

Huh??

“What? You don’t even know me. I don't even know Sage!”

“Yet Sage saved your life, did she not? And you saved hers in return. I ask this for her sake.”

“I could be a crazy psycho for all you know!”

“I’ve found crazy psychos rarely care to share a drink with me.”

Jin has too many complaints about everything he’s said to pick one, so she downs the rest of her mead and places the cup on the table. She lets out a long breath, puffing her cheeks out.

“Right. Yeah. Hm. No, I still don’t know where to start with this. I’m going to Sage’s house and will hopefully pass out so hard I wake up to all this being a dream. We’ll talk later if I don’t.”

She stands, as does the priest.

He looks amused, “Very well, then. Allow me to see you out.”

He opens the door and Jin follows behind. Jin gets another look at the main chapel while they walk through it and decides to ask another question.

“So what’s with all this circle iconography? I assume it’s from,” She waves her hand vaguely upwards, “The new sky rings that apparently exist? I also want to know what the hell is up with those.”

“Oh, the moon blew up and now the gods live in its crumbled remains.”

Jin stops walking.

Then she laughs, hard.

“Holy shit, man,” she keeps laughing between words, “And here I thought you didn’t have a sense of humor!”

He smiles at her.

Jin’s laughter starts dying down, “Damn, that’s a good one. Whew, what’s actually up with the rings?”

“I speak no lies, cleric.”

“Aha…” Jin’s smile starts drooping.

The priest keeps that placid smile on his face.

“Oh fuck you’re serious.”

“I’m surprised you didn’t notice the lack of a moon.”

“I thought it was on the other side of the planet, the fuck? What do you mean “the moon blew up?!””

“I did say power is a curse, no?”

Jin makes a complaintive noise.

The priest opens the front door of the church for her.

“Have a restful night, Cleric Jin. In the unlikely event you need additional lodgings, the church’s doors will always be open.”