Chapter 13: Abrupt Meeting

The clerk at the bank of Mileth examined the items from an adventurer’s loot. Spider’s silk had a moderate toughness to it that could be used for various purposes. Centipede’s gland had a strong potency and often used in making various herbs and vials. Bat’s wing is often used to compliment a dish.

Morr walked over to the bulletin board and examined the various posts.

The first one he saw had the words “Mileth Crypt 7th Floor GUIDE” in an enormous font. It discussed about various monster’s ability, and their tendencies and weaknesses. It continued and talked about party composition, the importance of different skills and spells, and the dangers of an inconsistent formation.

The next post had a noticed to the adventurer, Gratt Fumes:

“To the post about the swordsman, Gratt Fumes. Calm down, buddy. I was in a party and we traveled to the 6th floor. There was a big sword, oddly placed, and I think it may be yours. I don’t know whether it’s still there or not, but we didn’t touch it. Good luck.”

“Here you go, Aisling.” The clerk slid a royal-blue card under the slot of the window. “500 silver coins for each spider’s silk, for a total of 2 gold coins. 750 silver coins for each centipede’s gland, for a total of 3 gold coins. 1 gold coin for each bat’s wing, for a total of 3 gold coin.”

“Thank you.” Morr took his card and exited the bank.

Roosters cuck-a-doodle-doo to the orange-tinted skies. The morning air was refreshingly breezy today. Clouds in the sky drifted slowly, shielding parts of the city from the sun’s morning rays. The weather was cool and partially cloudy -- a perfect day to enjoy outdoor activities.

Morr grabbed his map from his pocket and traveled north on the road to a weapon dealer. The building had an obvious symbol -- a sword and shield clasped together -- decorated at the top. It was hard to miss that large, wooden-carved symbol unless one was intentionally averting their eyes.

He entered the shop and saw shelves of swords and shields neatly on display. Surigams (ninja stars), Soori (daggers), and whips occupied a corner of the shelf labeled “Rogue.” Eppe, saber, broad sword, and a long sword can be found on the right shelf. Shovels, axes, hatchets, harpoons, and spears occupied the bottom and top shelf. Small shields, large shields, and tower shields hanged on the wall, and all of these items were labeled and organized so that it was easy to pick and choose.

A few warriors in the shop tried out different weapons, trying to get a feel for it.

“Good morning, Mundane.” Morr greeted the shopkeeper.

“Mornin’, Aisling.” The shopkeeper greeted. “What can ol’ Callog get for you?”

“I want the biggest bag you have for sale.” Morr stretched his arms.

“The biggest bag… is this for storage?” Callog asked.

“Yes.” Morr said.

“I’m a blacksmith, youngin’. I don’t sell that here, but try next door.” Callog suggested.

“Thank you.” Morr walked towards the door connecting to another room.

The room next door is very much the same as the room in the weapon’s shop. Instead of shelves of different weapons and shields, there were shelves of gauntlets and garbs. Gloves and hats were stationed on the right shelf. Shirts and blouses were folded neatly on the bottom shelves, with an example fully stretched out. Leather gauntlets and leather greaves sat on the top shelf with its steel counterparts next to it. Protective leather shoes were also on sale next to the greaves.

Adventurers walked in and out of the dressing rooms on the left wall. There were six stalls, and many of them were empty. Some didn’t even bother using the stall when all they wanted to try were the leather greaves or gauntlets.

“Morning.” Morr greeted the shopkeeper. “Do you sell large bags?”

“Yes, I do.” The shopkeeper bended behind the wooden counter and grabbed a large bag with a thick string for tightening or loosening.

Morr examined the bag but his knowledge in tailoring and fabrics was non-existent. He grabbed the bag with both his hands and stretched them with a tad bit of strength. The bag didn’t rip, or even seem to be on the verge of ripping.

“I’ll take this.” Morr handed the shopkeeper his card.

“500 silver coins.” The shopkeeper swiped his card into a machine.

“Thanks.” Morr flung the bag over his shoulder, grabbed his card, and left the shop.

On his way out a leather-cladded soldier ran up with sweats pouring from her face. Her dark blue ponytail jumped up and down, dancing with the wind.  Once she caught her breath she saluted him and tried to maintain her composure.

“Can I… help you?” Morr asked.

“You’re Morr, right?” The soldier asked.

“Yes…” The thought of his forged citizenship immediately came to mind.

“Thank goodness. I’ve been searching for you all morning.” She wiped her sweaty forehead with her forearm.

“Oh, well here I am.” Morr said.

“Would you come with me?” The soldier asked.

“Did I do something wrong?” Morr asked.

“You’ve been requested at Mileth Hall. Just come with me.” The soldier grabbed Morr by his hand and forced him along.

She led him towards the entrance of Mileth City, but instead of taking a left towards a temple and Mileth’s College, she took a right before the bridge. Continuing on the road led to a split path. They took a right and entered the first stone building on the first right. Guard Crol and Dr. Mav sat behind a rectangular table, patiently waiting with cups of coffee at their side. A big clock ticked away from the back of the room. Surprisingly, Priscilla sat across from them, struggling to keep her half-opened eyes from closing.

“Good job, May.” Guard Crol complimented.

“Thank you, sir.” May saluted.

“Morning, Dr. Mav, Priscilla.” Morr greeted.

“I’m glad you came.” Dr. Mav said.

“Hey.” Priscilla yawned.

“You haven’t found Pontiff yet?” Guard Crol asked.

“No, sir. I was lucky enough to bump into Priscilla, and Morr stood out with his black cape… but Pontiff is a bit hard to find with just the information ‘deadpan face.’” May reported.

“It’s fine,” Dr. Mav said, “I hope Morr or Priscilla can update Pontiff if they run into each other.”

Morr nodded and Priscilla half-heartedly gave a thumbs up.

“I see. Then let’s begin.” Guard Crol suggested.

“Then I’ll be leaving.” May respectfully bowed.

“No, wait.” Guard Crol held up his hand. “If you really want to run for office, then don’t shy away even if you think that its none of your business.”

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“Yes, sir. Thank you, sir.” May saluted and stood to the side of the door with open ears.

“Please begin, Dr. Mav” Guard Crol said.

“Yes, I shouldn’t keep you here more than you need to.” Dr. Mav nodded. “Morr, Priscilla, recount your sides of the story with the Church of Salvation.”

Upon hearing the word “Church of Salvation,” Priscilla eyes shot open and the look on her face was nothing less than solemn. Morr and Priscilla turned their heads and looked at each other as if on cue. Just hearing that word ignited their deep hatred, easily seen through their eyes.

“No… maybe it’s too difficult to just start from the beginning.” Dr. Mav pointed to the seat next to Priscilla. “You may sit down, Morr.”

Morr complied and sat down.

“Then, answer my questions to the best of your ability.” Dr. Mav sipped his coffee. “To start off, do you remember when, where, and how you got abducted?”

“I know I lived in Rucession before that happened… but everything else is fuzzy.” Priscilla said.

“I can’t remember, either. It’s like something is missing from my memory.” Morr said.

“Odd,” Guard Crol looked at Dr. Mav, “do you think this is a coincidence?”

“No. I don’t think so. During my time working there I’ve helped more than a hundred patients and diagnosed them to the best of my ability. To put it simply: none of them were in their right mind.” Dr. Mav answered. “It’s a miracle that these two haven’t lost their minds.”

“Then, do you think the Church of Salvation tampered with their minds?” Guard Crol asked.

“I can’t say. I never witnessed anything like that.” Dr. Mav answered. “But look at it this way: did they mass abduct more than a hundred mentally ill victims, or did they mass abduct more than a hundred regular victims?”

“So… if it’s the former, then for what purpose are they targeting mentally ill citizens.” Guard Crol proposed. “If it’s the latter, then they must’ve messed with their minds somehow. I mean, people usually don’t forget important stuff.”

“Actually… I do remember something related to that.” Morr announced.

“What is it?” Dr. Mav asked.

“Have you ever seen the abominations?” Morr asked.

“Abominations?” Guard Crol looked at Dr. Mav. “What is he talking about?”

“I don’t know.” Dr. Mav said with a perplexed face.

“Priscilla, have you ever seen them?” Morr asked.

Priscilla clutched her arms together and stared down at the table with her mouth slightly ajar. Her eyes widened as much as possible, and it shifted to Morr then back to the table. She shook her head like a broken pendulum. It was a very slight, subtle movement -- if they weren’t paying attention, they definitely wouldn’t have noticed it. After her third shook Morr noticed her troubled state.

“The abominations,” Morr continued, “…they did it.”

“Specifically, what did they do?” Dr. Mav asked.

“Well… they… had these long nails… and… they… well…” Morr slowly spoke as if he was trying to procrastinate as much as possible from finishing that statement. The internal conflict between his lips and his thoughts gave off a nervous impression.

“Sir,” May recognized the uncomfortable atmosphere, “maybe we should skip this question.”

“Not now, May. This is important.” Guard Crol reprimanded.

“What did they do, Morr?” Dr. Mav asked once again.

“They… used those long nails,” Morr twiddled his fingers, “…inserted it…” The very scene he wished to forget resurfaced in his mind. It was a slow burn with time. As the clock ticked with every second passing by the words just would not come out.

“Sir!” May yelled. “They’re obviously not comfortable talking about it!”

“Shut up! We can’t do anything if we don’t know anything!” Guard Crol shouted.

“Go on.” Dr. Mav implored.

“Sir, respectfully, I think we should stop!” May shouted back.

“Get out!” Guard Crol looked at her with an incredibly annoyed expression.

Priscilla suddenly slammed her hand on the table and stood up. The coffee rippled and the glass rattled. The sound of cups spilling was all that dominated the silent room. Guard Crol massaged his forehead. Dr. Mav sighed. May stared at the back of Priscilla. And Morr just sat there in silence.

“A break… Break time…” Priscilla mumbled.

Guard Crol looked at the clock in the back. Not much time has passed since they started, and yet it felt like the conversation took a detour too soon.

“Five minutes.” Guard Crol said.

Priscilla tugged on Morr’s cape and both of them left the room.

“I’ll be leaving, then.” May announced.

“No, stop. I didn’t mean what I said back there.” Guard Crol apologized. “You can stay until this is over.”

“Thank you, sir.” May saluted.

“What do we do?” Dr. Mav asked.

“They are the only ones who experienced all of the Church’s evil deeds, and yet we can’t get them to talk.” Guard Crol shook his head. “I’m not sure what to do.”

“May I suggest something?” May asked.

“Go ahead.” Guard Crol authorized.

“Why not take this slowly, step by step?” May suggested. “You’ll only scare them if you pressure them this fast.”

“We don’t have time.” Guard Crol said.

“We’re holding this abrupt meeting precisely because we don’t have time.” Dr. Mav mentioned.

“Then… about what he said earlier… something about long nails being inserted?” May mentioned. “Would it be too farfetched to think that he was talking about the abominations inserting their long nails into their heads?”

“I don’t think that having long nails piercing a head would lead to a direct memory loss.” Guard Crol said. “I’m not a doctor but it just sounds too crazy.”

“Our cranium is precisely there to protect our brains.” Dr. Mav said. “Internal damage is already a major headache. If someone externally touches it, then the problems created from it could be endless, let alone a direct memory deletion.”

“It really is hard to understand the Church’s method.” May said. “I’m a warrior so I don’t know the possibility of this happening, but what if someone uses a magic spell that grants them extreme precision?”

“Not sure. I’m just a doctor.” Dr. Mav shrugged.

“It’ll be a lot easier if we can capture this ‘abomination’ he mentioned.” Guard Crol said.

“Do you think it's an offspring of Chadul or Sgrios?” May asked.

“Who?” Dr. Mav asked.

“Chadul, the Dark God. His very face inspires hate and fear.” Guard Crol informed. “And Sgrios is the God of Death, Destruction, and Chaos. He is often referred to as the ‘Abomination God.’”

“Oh. Sorry, I don’t believe in gods.” Dr. Mav said.

“What!” May exclaimed. “You don’t believe in gods? Danaan was the one who created the Mundanes, which is why they’ve lived here for several deochs! And Deoch was the one who gifted them the Spark of Aisling, which is why we can do what we want today!”

“I never believed in that, either. It’s against Temuair’s law to harm a Mundane.” Dr. Mav said. “However, if you would generously gift me a Mundane to my doorsteps, I’ll work towards finding an answer to their longevity.”

“What did you say?!” May couldn’t believe her ears.

“Blasphemy, is that what you want to say?” Dr. Mav snickered. “Don’t push your beliefs onto other people.”

“This is getting out of control.” Guard Crol intervened. “Stop it, you two.”

Priscilla and Morr walked into the room and took their seats.

“Good, you two are back.” Guard Crol said.

“We’ll skip the topic from before, so let’s move on.” Dr. Mav said.

Priscilla and Morr nodded.

“Next question: did you two see anyone out of place?” Guard Crol asked.

“Out of place?” Morr asked.

“Like… they didn’t belong. Someone entirely different from the other victims.” Guard Crol said.

Priscilla kept quiet. It didn’t take long for Morr to think of a particular person.

“There was this one person I encountered.” Morr said.

“Really? What was his name?” Guard Crol asked.

“I don’t know his name. But he had a white cloth wrapped around his left eye.” Morr informed.

“Is this true?!” Guard Crol stared at Morr. “What did he say? Did he mention anything?”

“Other than his vulgar talks I don’t think there was anything else.” Morr pondered. “…No, wait. He said something that stood out from his vulgar mouth: ‘I’ve been all over the world… and the truth continues to get tangled in lies.’”

“Impossible…” Guard Crol was speechless.

“What is it, Crol?” Dr. Mav asked.

“’I’ve been all over the world… and the truth continues to get tangled in lies.’” Guard Crol repeated. “That was the last thing Guard Captain Keith told me before he resigned from his position and went missing.”

“Wait, so Captain Keith was hiding in the Church of Salvation this entire time?” May asked.

“It seems like it.” Guard Crol responded. “I wonder if he’s still alive… somewhere out there…”

Morr kept his mouth shut.

“Let’s move on. We’re running out of time.” Dr. Mav suggested. “The last question shouldn’t be hard.”

Priscilla and Morr nodded.

“Vogh and Logan told me of their plan, but I wasn’t there in person to witness it.” Dr. Mav reminded. “Do you remember this?”

Priscilla and Morr nodded again.

“Bishop Borker and Bishop Traitin were supposed to be there.” Dr. Mav said. “Were they?”

“Bishop Traitin was definitely there. Another bishop was beside him; he wore a grey sash over his shoulder. They both died that day.” Morr answered.

“That should be Bishop Borker.” Dr. Mav said. “Now, was there anyone else?”

“What are you talking about?” Morr asked. “Other than those two; it was just me, Priscilla, Pontiff, Logan, and Vogh. There was also a crowd but they scattered when Bishop Borker died.”

“The thing is…” Dr. Mav took in a deep breath. “There weren’t two bishops working in that hellhole. There were actually three.”

Morr and Priscilla looked at each other with a solemn expression.

“One escaped…” Dr. Mav mumbled. “This is bad. That means they know of what occurred in East Woodland. They might come after you two.”

“This is Mileth territory. Eventually East Woodland and West Woodland will come under our domain. As long as you stay here, you don’t need to be worry about the Church.” Guard Crol reassuringly said.

The clock suddenly struck and rang nine times. Guard Crol turned around to reaffirm the time.

“It’s time, Dr. Mav.” Guard Crol grimly said.

“Yeah. I’ll leave this matter into your hands now. I’m giving you all my luck, you’ll need it.” Dr. Mav stood up from his seat and placed his hands behind his back.

Guard Crol took out a pair of shackles and restrained him.

“What are you doing?” Morr shockingly asked.

“Don’t interfere.” May commanded.

“It’s ok.” Dr. Mav reassured. “This was meant to happen a long time ago. It’s thanks to Crol that I’ve been able to wander freely for so long.”

“Are you mentally prepared?” Guard Crol asked.

“Yes.” Dr. Mav looked at Morr and Priscilla. “Please pass along this message to Pontiff: every now and then, come visit my cell and tell me about your progress. I’ll be waiting.”

Guard Crol and Dr. Mav exited the building.

“I’ll be returning to my station.” Soldier May informed. “If you need anything, come find me. Oh, and please inform me or Crol if you want to leave the borders.”

May waved goodbye to the two of them and left.

“What are you going to do?” Priscilla asked.

“Hunt. I still need to pay off my debt.” Morr flung his bag over his shoulder. “Bye.”

Morr waved goodbye and so did Priscilla.

“I guess I’ll take a nap at the inn.” Priscilla took a sip of the abandoned cups of coffee and left the room.