0026 A Little Heretic Magic
"Alicia, trust the Father, everything will be fine...".
"I don't just worry about myself, but about my little sister, I came for this mission...".
"It's ok, I have an idea!
What do you think about you and your sister moving in with me when this is all over?".
"But Jenany, I don't want to be a problem for you...
... Besides, I don't think Librore of Taleno will let me out of town, after all, I still belong in the church, just like my sister...".
"What is Librore? I've heard about it, but they never let me go visit...".
Jenany and Alicia were enjoying the last few minutes trying to have a friendly conversation to relax, Alicia was still distressed, and trying to comfort her friend, Jenany wanted her to live in her house.
The question about Librore left Alicia silent not knowing how to respond to her enthusiastic friend, but in the end she decided to be honest and speak directly.
"It's like a nightmare, there you are forced to pray and train all day...
... If you pray little, you are punished, if you do something that is considered wrong by the church, you are punished...
... If you train badly, you are punished... Librore is a place to teach miracles for us to serve the church in its missions, but even small children are punished for almost nothing...".
As she spoke, small tears streamed down Alicia's face, she was tired with everything and stressed out mentality, so that, Jenany gave her a big hug.
"Don't worry, my uncle is a Duke, remember?
I doubt they would deny a Duke's direct request!".
Jenany smiled at her friend, causing Alicia to smile along, somehow she started to have new hope and her worries diminished, in a few more minutes of conversation, the two noticed Father Alcione looking at them, and thus understood that the time for separation had come.
**************************************************
*"Sara and Thomas, what's the plan?"*.
*"Getting carried away by them is the plan..."*.
*"Sara, don't play with us, Maycon and I were caught trying to escape, but we managed to help the others escape..."*.
*"Thomas, is this serious?"*.
Jeffrey was eager to participate in an escape plan, but hearing that the plan would be to be captured made him think it was a joke, and Maycon knowing Sara, realized that it could be true and decided to interrupt Jeffrey to ask and go into details.
*"Thomas thinks they'll use us as guides to explore the Inheritance and hopes that, if we're helpful, they'll distract themselves and give us a chance to escape..."*.
*"Interesting, maybe it really happens that way, we have to be aware of any possibilities."*.
Sara decided to answer in Lucius' place, preventing Lucius from saying something very different from what Thomas could say, Maycon noticed something strange in the new interaction between the two and thought that maybe Sara managed to get closer to Thomas after two years of trying.
*"Looks like we have a new couple here!
I thought you could never open your heart Thomas, congratulations!"*.
*"There's no couple here you idiot! Shut up!"*.
*"Which? Sarah and Thomas?
Since when is this happening Maycon?"*.
*"Shut up you too!"*.
*"You four! Quiet!"*.
Maycon was happy with his friend and started slapping Lucius' shoulder, Jeffrey who had never noticed Sara's interactions and Thomas was surprised, speaking even louder than Sara's scream, but in the end, Sara screamed even louder, drawing the attention of the knight next to them.
The four fell silent as they looked at the knight, and behind him, they saw a Father arriving with a girl at his side.
*"Alright, you're not needed here anymore...
... From now on they are my responsibility..."*.
Alcione arrived dismissing the knight who, seeing the Father arriving, lowered his head in respect, and then looked one last time at the four heretics in front of him before walking away towards his group.
The Father stopped in front of the four and smoothed his beard, watching each one of them, and remembering the information gained by the skill, he was able to know everyone's name, as well as having a brief glimpse of their personalities.
Before continuing to speak, he looked strangely at the outfit Lucius was wearing, but decided not to ask about it.
*"I'm Father Alcione, and this is Healer Jenany...
... Please, no introduction needed, I have received the Confessor's report, and I am here to fulfill her wishes in trying to help the four of you..."*.
*"A Father who wants to help heretics? This is new to me...
... If it weren't for you in my house, none of this would have happened!"*.
Maycon was irritated by the possibility of depending on the Father to be saved, because for him, all the disaster today was caused by the people of the church.
*"Calm down Maycon, I believe in the Confessor, she helped me before...
... Let's give them a chance..."*.
*"Wait, I don't know your names, introduce yourself to me?"*.
Alcyone felt Bitter with the young man's reaction, even though it wasn't his fault directly, he didn't dare try to apologize to them, and preferred to remain silent.
Knowing that these four people didn't have a good impression of her and the Father, Jenany decided to join the conversation and try to cheer up the group that was tense, and with that, the four looked at her as if they were seeing one of the most innocent people in the world.
*"Young Healer, I'm Jeffrey this is the bad-tempered Maycon...
... This quiet one is Thomas and the bossy one is Sara..."*.
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Jeffrey walked in between the two groups and made the introductions in a relaxed way, making Jenany smile with his words, Sara rolled her eyes at Jaffrey's exaggerated gestures.
*"Right, and I believe Mr. Alcione didn't just come here to say that right?"*.
Everyone stopped smiling and kept their eyes wide open, Father Alcione stopped smoothing his beard and kept looking at Lucius, and with everyone's silence, Lucius realized that maybe he said something he shouldn't, but he couldn't understand what wrong he said.
*"I knew you were fearless Thomas, but calling a Father directly by name...
... If you have to die, please don't take me with you!"*.
Jeffrey inadvertently let Lucius know where he went wrong, but he didn't think it was something serious, at least it looked like the Father wouldn't mind either, so he just ignored the others.
*"Well, I don't think titles or classes are part of someone's name...
... Don't judge me for that... Hey, did you try to step on my toes?"*.
*"Ha ha ha ha! Very well young, I never heard this kind of thing...
... I liked you... But you're right...
... It is because of the Inheritance that the four of you are aware of, we are organizing a group to go explore it, and I came to get you to accompany us...
... Also... Any information about the Inheritance you can offer me will be of great help..."*.
The argument Lucius used made Alcione laugh out loud, as well as making the other men in the church look strangely at them, and Sara tried to step on his foot to stop him from complicating things, but Lucius was quick to notice and avoid the step.
Of all of them, only Maycon noticed the subtle differences in Thomas, but he still thought this was due to the recent closeness between Thomas and Sara, and now the four listened attentively to Alcione's last words with interest, remembering the superficial plan they would follow.
*"Alright, we can talk more along the way, I see that the others are already waiting for us...
... A tip, don't walk away from me, I can't guarantee your security around them, can you understand me?"*.
Alcione pointed to a smaller group of people from the church who had gathered near the underground stairs, but before they started to make their way towards the group, Lucius paused for a moment.
*"While those people? Did they stay here waiting for our return?"*.
*"Those people? Oh no, they will be taken to our camp, don't worry about them..."*.
Alcione's answer surprised the four, Lucius expected Nathan and Julia to follow with them, or at least to be kept where they are, but knowing that they are going to be taken to a camp, not knowing where that camp is, made him realize that his simple plan had started to go awry, at least halfway, he would have to figure out how to save them later.
As for Sara, Maycon, and Jeffrey, their surprise came from learning of the existence of a church camp nearby, and the realization that if there is a camp, there are other church groups out there.
**************************************************
With his jeans soaked after leaving the rice paddy, the man walked along the dirt road and approached a wooden house, the house was not very big, but there were warehouses and other buildings close by that it was difficult to deduce what they were for.
There was no light coming from the houses, indicating that maybe everyone was sleeping, and so the man approached slowly and checked the house looking in through the windows, with a few more minutes he arrived at an answer.
"There really is no one...
... But I believe that all that catastrophe show that happened bringing us here would have caught the attention of neighboring residents if there had been anyone in the houses...
... It's really a shame, I wanted to try to interact with someone who didn't seem dangerous...".
The man opened one of the windows and entered discreetly, he took his cell phone out of his pocket and turned on the flashlight to illuminate the place, little by little he looked through drawers and cupboards, but he didn't find anything useful that would bring him any information.
In the more spacious room he stopped in front of a closet with a large mirror hanging over it, and there he stood for a moment watching his own face.
In the mirror's reflection, a black man with shaved hair on the sides, with his face features very strong, a man with a not very muscular body, but not thin either, his eyes were sunken with tiredness, and his black shirt was all dirty and torn.
"Damn Jamie, only one of them left...
... You can't let that motherfucker get away!".
The man scolded himself as he pointed to his own reflection, he was nervous, anxious and happy at the same time.
"It doesn't matter which place this is, whether it's hell or heaven, but I won't rest until that murderer dies by my hand!".
Pah!
With his last statement he slammed his hand down on the closet, then turned to look for some menswear that would fit him, and so, rummaging through a few more drawers for a few minutes, he found a plain blue tabard, and decided to wear it over his own shirt.
Realizing that there was nothing else in the house, he went out the same window he came in and stopped to look in the distance at the shed where he came from, from there he could see small orange spots of light moving in various spots.
"I wait here?
I do not know what to do now...
... Perhaps I should spend the night here, and keep an eye out for any news or rumors that might lead me to him...".
Sighing, he decided to wait, maybe dawn would bring him the residents of this house, as well as news about the people who came with him to this world, he would search one by one if need be, just to secure his revenge.
**************************************************
*"I hope you keep an eye on these heretics, Father Alcione..."*.
*"Don't worry about them Father Alberto, I'll take good care of each one of them...
... Well, I'm going down in front, come on young people!"*.
Father Alberto gathered fourteen would-be soldiers, two Envoys and two more Watchers to form the exploration team with him, the rest remained collecting all the objects they could take to be analyzed by the church scholars.
Thus, many were working non-stop collecting construction parts, iron bars, pieces of pillows, pieces of plastic, car parts, as well as shells from revolvers and shotguns.
Lucius looked at the group of teenagers where Nathan was sitting a little away, and there he saw Nathan looking at him, Lucius nodded his head positively, and Nathan responded by repeating the gesture, Alcione next to him, noticed this peculiarity and was curious, but said nothing.
And so the group descended the underground stairs slowly.
Walking down the stone corridor, the would-be soldiers divided into several groups holding makeshift torches to light the way, and within a few minutes of walking, they arrived at the fork leading to the hall where the youths were interrogated by Envoy Otis.
*"Hang on! There's another one of them lying here, what do we do, Father Alberto?"*.
*"Ronan? We need to save him!"*.
*"No Jeffrey, he handed it to us and told them about the way!"*.
*"What?"*. *"Which!"*.
Jaffrey was disappointed to learn that his friend Ronan had betrayed them, and Maycon was furious, Jenany watched the youngsters interact, and Alcione frowned for a moment, apparently he forgot something but couldn't remember what he forgot.
Alberto was following behind, and upon hearing that they had found another of the heretics in the group, he approached to look.
Soon he recognized the swooning youth from the memories offered by the Confessor, and smiled to learn that he was the traitor of the group, once a traitor, always a traitor, he thought.
*"Wake him up, he'll follow me... Quick!"*.
The would-be soldier next to Ronan started slapping his face, and for several seconds, dozens of slaps were given to Ronan's face and he didn't move.
*"Sir Father, he doesn't wake up!"*.
*"Shit, I forgot that the Envoy from Father Alcione's group tortured him...
... He hit his head on the table, maybe he won't wake up so early anyway...
... Alright, let's not waste any more time on this, let's go!"*.
As Father Alberto turned his body to go back to the corridor, he came face to face with Father Alcione's group watching things, and next to him, the young man wearing a strange outfit of those people who came from the Chaos Gate.
Looking at him a little longer, he remembered the other young man who had been tortured by the Envoy, and this one must have been dead from blood loss, but looking at the young man apparently healthy and steady, something spun in his mind.
*"Hey you! Shouldn't you be all bruised right now?
Men, search his body!"*.
Two would-be soldiers close by, ran over and pulled the half-open jacket Lucius was wearing to reveal his chest full of white cut marks and a few smears of dried blood.
Father Alcione looked with astonishment, as his mind recalled the torture scene that occurred with the young man in the same way that Father Alberto remembered, and not only the two, the other men of the church also looked shocked after hearing the words of Alberto.
Jeffrey and Maycon realized that Thomas must be almost dead, noticing the dozens of white smudges of cuts, and Sara went pale with everyone's reaction, not knowing what to say to help Lucius.
Lucius saw that everyone was shocked, but his thoughts were quick and he decided to take advantage of it.
*"Oh? You mean these wounds...
... It was no big deal, I just used a little heretic magic...
... How it is? Do you want to learn?*".
*"Heretic magic?!!!"*. *"Heretic magic??!!!"*.
Lucius' unbelievable response made even Thomas' friends scream.