“We have arrived at the port your excellency,” the Knight sergeant reported to the High Priestess from behind the door to her cabin.
“Tell everyone to get ready, we will set off immediately to the Cathedral to greet Bishop Robert and gather some information,” Aurelia ordered from her chair.
“As you command, your excellency.”
High Priestess Aurelia looked out through the window of her cabin at Winterport City. The port was bustling in the morning with fishermen getting back from their fishing trips and sailors preparing their ships to sail to a new destination.
She left her room after a while and went to the deck where the ship’s captain was giving out orders to the crew. Her strawberry-blonde hair swayed in the slightly chilly breeze. The captain saw her arrival and nodded, “We will dock the ship here and wait until you get back from your expedition, your excellency.”
She returned a smile and said, “Thank you for the smooth trip captain.”
“It was my pleasure, your excellency,” he said happily.
She left the ship with a squad of Knights Templars following her. As she set her foot on the port, a group of guards came towards their entourage. They were led by a tall imposing woman with grey eyes. The woman stopped in front of her and began speaking, “It is an honor to finally meet you, your excellency. I am Iris Gilham Rothberg. The Commander of the city guards and also your escort for the duration of your stay in the city. The citizens of Winterport have been eagerly waiting for your arrival. The Marquis has prepared a banquet for your group tonight. Please follow me to the Lord’s manor.”
“Pleasure to meet you, Commander. I am afraid we will have to postpone the meeting with the Marquis. I must speak with the bishop about matters of paramount importance first,” she said.
If the Commander was angry that she wasn’t meeting the Marquis first, then she didn’t show it on her face.
“Then I shall lead you to the Cathedral, your excellency,” Iris said.
Aurelia followed the Commander as they made their way towards inner city. She left the docks and passed by the open fish market near the port.
“Please excuse the smell, your excellency. This is the quickest route to the Cathedral from the port,” Commander Iris said as they were walking along a road that led all the way to a circular wall.
“It is alright, Commander. I have smelled worse,” she said and smiled at many of the onlookers that stopped their work to see the High Priestess. “The city is quite lively. It is a rare sight this far east and close to the Frost Sheets.”
“It is the result of the Marquis’s diligent work for the past 20 years. We are all proud of his achievements,” the Commander replied.
“Even though it was built upon the corpses of slaves?” she said in a slightly accusing tone.
“Criminals from all over the Empire, your excellency. Most would have rotten away in cells or been executed. Here, at least, they have something to do that is productive to society. If they work hard enough then they can even win back their freedom,” the Commander replied without being offended.
“You mean the newly awakened mages among them that the Marquis employs to do the job of professional soldiers?” she asked with sarcasm.
“Yes, though they are not all newly awakened. We call them enforcers here. Some have been under our employ for more than 3 years. They are free men after 2 years of service, but they still chose to stay behind and fight because of all the merits given to the enforcers by the Marquis,” the Commander replied again without showing any hint of anger.
“I see,” she said and dropped the subject. While she did not condone the slavery of innocent people, if what the Commander said was really true then she could at least give them the benefit of the doubt.
They passed through the inner-city gate and arrived at the Cathedral 20 mins later. It was an ornate white building with a tall tower and was located on the east side of inner-city—facing Market Avenue.
Aurelia entered through the front door and saw an open hall with lots of seating and a podium at the back. There was a large painting of the White Flame emblem behind the podium; a yellow sun that was surrounded by many white runic halos at different angles.
Bishop Robert was giving a morning sermon on the podium to many well-dressed believers in the front rows of the hall. A deacon was standing near the entrance and came forward to meet her.
“We have all been keenly awaiting your arrival, your excellency. The bishop is almost done with his sermon. We can wait for him in his room. Please follow me,” the deacon said.
“We shall wait in the hall for your return, your excellency,” stated Commander Iris before motioning the three city guards to follow her and stand beside the entrance of the hall.
She nodded at the Commander and spoke to her knight sergeant, “Only you will come along, the rest of the knights will wait outside.”
“Yes, your excellency.”
She followed the deacon to the bishop’s room and took a sit on a chair in front of the bishop’s desk.
…
The bishop entered the room after a few minutes and greeted Aurelia.
“May the White Flame light your way, High Priestess. I cannot express how glad I am to finally meet you,” said Bishop Robert with relief.
“Same to you Bishop. We can take care of the pleasantries after we have dealt with what’s consuming this island. If the report you sent is to be believed, we cannot waste a moment.”
“Aye, I am of the same mind, my lady. What can I do for you?” Bishop Robert asked.
“First, how did you procure this knowledge?”
“When I first learned of the deep mines, I thought it was just a regular magical phenomenon. Some kind of monster hive that has the darkness aspect and lives underground. At that time, we only discovered the abyss and thought that was the end of it. However, the darkness was expanding exponentially every year, consuming all light along its path. The number of shades kept increasing as well. After seeing this trend, I was getting a little worried, so I sent a request to Cardinal Francis at the Holy See to grant me artifact WFB-091 to test the magical properties of the deep mines. A couple months ago my request was granted, and the artifact was delivered to me by some Knights Templars. I spent the next month sending some of my strongest priests into the deep mines to get a better understanding of whatever was afflicting the area,” explained Bishop Robert.
The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.
Aurelia looked at him with her deep blue eyes and asked, “WFB-091. Hmm. I think it was called the Stone Reporter?”
“Yes, my lady. It’s a statue of a naked woman without a face. When left in a magical environment, it tends to absorb the ambient mana and report on its properties in a woman’s voice,” the bishop described. “The report it provides are usually trustworthy. It does have a mischievous nature, though. A lot of my priests were complaining that it tried to seduce whoever was carrying it.”
“A harmless effect. What did the report show?”
“The same thing I stated in my report to the Holy See. The expansion seems to be occurring at nighttime. From what I have deduced, once it consumes the mines, only sunlight can hinder its growth. But it will still expand out of the mines during the night and go back inside during the day. This cycle of expansion and contraction should continue until at some point it grows strong enough to consume the whole island in a single night. Furthermore, the darkness and shades aren’t the main issue my lady. From what the Stone Reporter said, after the deep mines take over the whole mine, it will grow strong enough to corrupt anyone inside it. Imagine a whole island of corrupted people. It would be a cataclysmic disaster, my lady,” Bishop Robert said with horror.
“Hmm. This is certainly not a naturally occurring magical phenomenon bishop,” Aurelia said with a frown.
“I believe so too. My best guess is that it is a cosmological object that fell on the island. The sun should have stopped it from growing but it somehow managed to enter the mines and consume the flamestones to grow stronger,” the bishop shared his deduction.
“Whatever it is, it must be stopped before it expands any further,” she said with determination. “Is there anything else that we should know about this deep mines?”
“There is one more thing. The abyss might have already grown strong enough to corrupt anyone under Rank 4. So, I would suggest not taking anyone under Rank 4 on the expedition,” Bishop Robert advised.
“You don’t have to worry about that bishop. We have our methods to shield ourselves from any form of external corruption,” she replied.
“I’m relieved to hear that, my lady.”
…
Aurelia left the bishop’s room after discussing their plan to deal with the deep mines and addressing some of the other issues in the Rothberg diocese, primarily the increase in child slaves in the region. Aurelia was disappointed after hearing this. She wanted to confront the Marquis regarding the issue, but her knight sergeant stopped her.
“That is not our job, your excellency. Bishop Robert will be handling matters regarding upholding the church’s doctrines. Our job is to get rid of the imminent threats to the survival of the people,” he advised.
Aurelia didn’t like to leave such important matters to others, but she did not want to encroach on the bishop’s authority and responsibilities. Thus, she grudgingly agreed with the knight sergeant's advice.
She joined up with Commander Iris again and made her way to the Lord’s manor. It was a gray building that looked like it was built for function rather than form.
She met Maquis Rothberg at his private office. He was a middle-aged man who had a sleep-deprived face and looked like he hadn’t eaten anything in days. They greeted each other and exchanged some pleasantries before talking about the expedition.
“How many knights have you brought along, Lady Aurelia?” the Marquis asked.
“Twenty, including myself. Eight Rank 3, six that have just stepped into Rank 4, four that are at the peak of Rank 4, and then there’s the two of us,” she said pointing at the knight sergeant and herself. “Both Rank 5.”
“Forgive me if I am being rude, my lady, but you do know that the shades are almost endless and can’t be dealt with without an army. Why did the church ask the imperial army to step back and send such a small force?” the Marquis asked with a tiny hint of frustration.
“You don’t need an army, Lord Rothberg. It would be a needless waste of imperial resources and lives. The church has experience dealing with this sort of supernatural phenomenon. Most of the time they tend to be solved when you get to the core of the magical environment and deal with whatever’s in there. What we need is a quick and decisive offense by a team of elites. My knights can quickly deal with the shades in the deep mines, and from what I heard the shadows in the abyss can easily corrupt a weaker mage. So, an army of regular soldiers would only get in the way,” she explained.
“Be that as it is. How will you deal with the shadows? Even two Rank 5 shouldn’t be able to deal with so many of them,” he asked.
Aurelia didn’t answer his question. She looked at the knight sergeant and nodded. The knight sergeant took off the tall box from his back and put it on the Marquis’s desk. He opened the box to reveal a tall intricately designed red staff with a large white gem embedded on its head.
“This is?” the Marquis asked.
“The staff of Pope Lucius the Second. Officially known as special artifact WFA-019. It was one of the three objects that the former Pope left behind before suddenly disappearing from his room one day. Using this you can create a small barrier that only lets in creatures that the wielder allows to enter. If you try to force your way in, then you will be disintegrated. It also allows people to attack from inside the barrier, disrupts any form of corruptive properties in the air, and has other secondary supporting functions,” she explained.
Marquis Rothberg looked at the staff with awe. This must have been his first time looking at a special artifact, especially one below 20. He reached out his hand to touch the staff, but the knight sergeant shoved his hand and quickly closed the box before he could do anything else.
“Please forgive him, Lord, he was trying to protect you. WFA-019 has an uncanny ability to permanently erase the wielder’s mind and implant an evil alternate personality of Pope Lucius the Second inside them. We have lost many high-ranking members of the church before finding a way to finally seal it. It must be handled with proper precaution,” Aurelia explained to appease the Marquis.
Marquis Rothberg looked horrified after hearing her explanation and quickly took a step back from the box. He paused for a minute to calm himself before continuing, “Thank you, sergeant.”
“I know you said that an army would slow you down, my lady, so I would like to recommend that you add only one more person to this expedition,” the Marquis proposed. “He is the most experienced enforcer who knows the lay of the land very well and can even navigate the shifting paths of the abyss. He could greatly shorten the time it would take for you to finish the expedition. His insights might even save some lives.”
“Hmm. How strong is this individual?” she asked.
“He should be Rank 4, though I am not sure if he is at the peak. However, you don’t have to worry about his strength or character. He defeated a shadow on his own last year and follows orders without any complaints.”
Aurelia paused and looked at the knight sergeant to ask for his opinion.
“It should be fine as long as he can hold his own. The special artifact can fit in another person without much difficulty,” the knight sergeant gave his opinion.
“Very well. Then let him know that we will depart at dawn tomorrow,” she said.
“Wouldn’t it be better if you rested for a few days, my lady? Your journey here must have been long and tiring.”
“I am afraid we are on a tight schedule Lord Rothberg. We can only rest for today,” she told him.
The Marquis heard her determined tone and assented, “Alright then. I have prepared a room for everyone in the manor, you can rest there. There will be a banquet tonight to let the citizens meet the High Priestess. We hope you can grace us with your presence.”
“I shall be there.”
…
She sat on the bed after entering her room and held on to her necklace with the White Flame emblem in her left hand.
‘It is better to not tell the Marquis about how dangerous this supernatural phenomenon really is. It would only incite panic and people would try to flee the city in droves,’ she thought and made her decision. ‘No, it’s best to quickly deal with it and let the supernatural phenomenon never come to the surface. I really hope the expedition goes well and there are no casualties.’