153. Deeper Into the Den (Patreon)

Tercius had no idea how long the priest called Menesthios took to finish his work, but when Tercius heard a metallic clang it was as if the Gates of White Heavens were opening for him. Delivery was at hand, the presence of invisible Spirits behind him, and the time to rejoice was ahead.

Unfortunately, the sound of metal came from the shovel that the priest had been using to clean the pig enclosure hitting a stone and not from the Gates of White Heavens opening to deliver him from his plight. The hope that the invisible presences would leave him be proved to be another false one, the beings seemingly still interested in him as ever.

Tercius had gotten a bit used to their presence, as much as one could get used to being suddenly jolted by cold Spirits, invisible to the eyes but very much present and in unknown numbers.

The only thing that proved itself as true was that the priest did indeed finish his work. Unfortunately, certain forces worked to slow Tercius once more. As the middle-aged priest headed to leave the wooden enclosure, all of the pigs rushed his way, squealing up a storm and preventing the man from leaving. Scolding the pigs to let him pass in peace proved a failure. After a while, the man started gently nudging them away from himself and then from the door. Ultimately, the man somehow managed to get out without letting any of the beasts out.

From up close, Tercius saw that Menesthios was a High Priest, the scales on his lower forehead tattooed with more details than that of the regular clergy. After the priest washed his hands in a large stone basin and wiped the muck off of his shoes onto the green grass, he approached Isidorus and the two men hugged, the priest slapping the back of poor Isidorus with a bit too much force, making the tall and wiry tailor stumble in place.

They exchanged a few personal inquiries – the regular chit-chat about their own health and of some relatives, Theodorus included – and then the jovial eyes of the High Priest turned to Tercius.

“I do not think I ever saw you before, brother…?”

“Tercius,” he said.

"So it's brother Tercius.” the priest smiled, the massive brown sideburns moving with the facial muscles. “Always good to see new blood around these parts. A rare occurrence these days…"

"Actually… I cannot be counted as a brother of the faith." Tercius corrected the man, knowing that the honesty shown now will prevent further complications. After all, it wasn’t like he could lie about it or somehow omit his beliefs — all Spirits were able to tell who was and who wasn’t a true believer in their respective Divine.

Isidorus looked slightly alarmed at Tercius' words and Tercius felt a pang of shame color his cheeks. Tercius had let the tailor assume certain things based on Tercius' background and coupled with Tercius' insinuation had led them where they were currently. Now the man plainly regretted not being more thorough.

Isidorus grabbed Tercius by the elbow, his eyes burning with betrayal. “What do you mean—”

Tercius rolled his shoulder, pulling his arm out of the man’s grasp with ease, which surprised the man. It shouldn’t have. Tercius had spent his time on construction sites since he was a kid. Gardening and learning to wield a sword and a shield had been on his daily schedule for years. Running, occasional swimming… Even with all that, the days when he still had free time to fill up had been too many to count.

In Tercius’ case, it turned out that days were so much longer on a planet that had no Internet.

“My grandmother is a sister of the faith and I learned a bit about Divine Balance from her, but that’s about it,”

That calmed the dark-faced Isidorus visibly, but only a bit.

The middle-aged priest laughed, slapping his chest. “It's what's in here that counts, not up here. The heart, my boy, the heart of faith is important.”

“Yes. I know. That’s what I’m lacking.”

Isidorus’ face darkened again. “Menesthios, I truly had no idea that this, this… If I had known—”

“Isidorus, my friend, it is not a problem.” the priest said, his joviality turned down a few notches. And yet rather than angry the man seemed… sympathetic? Sorry? “I wish you luck finding it, my boy. To have faith is a blessing to which few can compare. But tell me, why did you come? What is it that you need to converse about that you need a priest?”

Tercius took a deep breath, knowing that the time had come. “I am looking for two people and I am just here to ask about them, that’s all.”

“I see,” the priest nodded. “I see. And who might these people be?”

"An older woman and a man. Both have black hair, although the woman has some gray in hers. She has green eyes and he has brown." Tercius said, thinking what else was important and just how much he should reveal. The last real information of where Septimus and Rona were was written with Septimus' own hand in this very Temple. The wax-sealed letter had arrived with a traveling merchant to their family home in Nurium around five months ago, and on the finely written pages Septimus also revealed that he and Rona were going to seek help at the Monastery of Balance, a Heavens forsaken place hidden in one of the numberless valleys nestled somewhere on the Izmittor Mountains.

Tercius had to find out if the two of them really did end up leaving towards this Monastery, as the letter stated. Things are easily changed, Tercius knew, plans altered.

“The two of them stayed here, at this Temple, around five months ago and—”

“And who are they to you, my boy?” the priest asked kindly.

Tercius released a breath he didn’t know he was holding, as he looked at the priest with eyes full of hope. “You remember them?”

“My memory is one of my better qualities, my boy. I remember many people.” the priest stated mysteriously. “Who are they to you?”

“I mean no harm to them, priest. Believe me,” Tercius said. “I just need to know where they are now—”

The priest’s brown eyes opened, completely serious. “My boy, I am a priest of Balance, not of Patience. Who are they to you? I won’t ask again.”

Tercius licked his dry lips. It would seem that he would have to reveal it. “They’re family. The man is my father, the woman is my grandmother.”

The priest hummed for a few moments and then nodded, his eyes relaxing. “I see it plainly, you know. The eyes, yours and hers, are the same. The jaw and eyebrows of your father.”

Tercius nodded slowly. He knew what the man was talking about. The similarities were truly plain to see, but only if a person was looking for it. In his experience, however, most people weren’t looking. It turned out that the High Priest Menesthios was not most people.

“So… Can you tell me where they are?”

“Far away, my boy.” the priest said. “I’m afraid that I can’t share any more than that, not with you,”

“They are my family,” Tercius said, keeping himself calm. “I need to know where they are. It’s a matter of urgency,”

The man showed Tercius his empty palms. "Alas, my brothers, sisters, and I are bound on that matter. Only the Speaker can answer your question, should she choose to,"

Tercius swallowed the bad taste in his mouth. Speakers here, speakers there, speakers everywhere. It was plain to see that the clergy and the Magi shared common roots. Could he risk talking to this Speaker? What if he had to enter the Temple? What if, what if, what if…

Reaching a decision, Tercius slowly nodded to himself and looked at the priest. “Can I talk to the Speaker then?”

“It’s…” the priest chewed the word, contemplating the request. “It’s… possible. But I will need to ask the Speaker first,” the balding priest said.

“Please, if you could…”

The priest nodded while standing up. “Wait here then. I may take a while,”

The priest walked away and left Tercius with a frowning Isidorus. The man had crossed his arms and spoke no words, for which Tercius was grateful. Yet despite his need for that silence, he also realized that with the priest gone now was a good time to complete his end of the deal. He took off his backpack and reached for two coin pouches.

“You can keep your money, boy,” Isidorus said, his voice deeper than any other time Tercius heard it. “I will have none of it.”

“I did not think that you would lead me here if you knew about me,” Tercius said, pushing the money towards the man. “Please, it’s the least I can do to—”

The man interrupted him with a loud snort and firm eyes. “Do you have any idea, boy, what you— no. I won’t get into this with you. It was my greed that led me here. Just remove that money from my sight. I won’t have it.”

They sat in silence, an occasional touch of coldness jolting a stone-faced Tercius.

*** ***** ***

The Spirits didn't tire of having a go at brushing off of him. His legs suffered the worst of it. The calve of his left leg had just had time to warm a bit when another ethereal touch cooled it down again, the second sensation cutting bone-deep, so much so that Tercius had jumped to his feet when it happened. His abrupt movement had alarmed the silent Isidorus and not knowing what else to do, Tercius chose to try to mask his surprise with a walk in the sunlight.

He presumed that the ethereal touch of the Spirits was only physical in some very small way — and therefore it was his channels which experienced the severe and sudden shock while his skin, muscles, and bones only got a very small dose of it — but it still felt good to confirm that his flesh and bone was not some frozen popsicle that he would have to melt off.

The second time a double Spirit touch happened, Tercius found himself reading something which he didn't think he would be.

You have learned the skill: Mana Touch! Obtain Yes/No

Tercius had no idea what to do with this.

He already had a mana sensing skill, Mana Sight, so he didn’t exactly need this new skill, but… it was hard to pass on it. The benefits of the skill would be considerable. Accepting this skill now would mean that he would have a way to strengthen his tactile sense of mana considerably, which did attract him. But accepting it would also rob him of the possibility to gain some other skill, which could prove more useful. Refusing the skill was also a possibility and he actually considered it for a bit. When he returned to the inn and his room, he could take an hour or two to search around his Anima and find the Garden, and then he could finally find out what were the aftereffects of a rejected skill.

Waiting to deal with the skill seemed to be the best path, in any case.

The only problem was that the notification of the new skill, visible to his eyes only, would not leave him without an answer. The notification was perfectly centered in his field of vision and he would have to look at everyone and everything through the dark letters.

Tercius looked up at the sun. The sun had yet to reach the zenith. He then looked at the small wooden door that led at the back of the Temple, a door where the High Priest disappeared over half an hour ago. Still closed, with no signs of the man’s return. The priest did say that he could take a while.

Isidorus was still sitting at the bench, hidden inside the shade, looking down at his feet.

With a guilty step, Tercius approached the sitting man.

“I should tell you that my mother had nothing to do with the idea. She did ask me to bring you what I did, I mean, but the rest was all me.” Tercius said, expressing the thing that was perhaps gnawing at him with almost the same sensation as that of the cold presence of Spirits brushing against his skin. It felt strange to feel this need here and now of all times and places, but it didn’t sit right with Tercius that the man thought ill of Petra on his account.

His oldest friend had a saying that all actions done and words spoken, no matter how small they might seem, would become a burden that would be carried for the rest of life by everyone who witnessed them. Tercius’ whole being agreed with that. It was, perhaps, why he always tried to limit how much of either he did, preferring to speak and act less and limit himself to pure thought.

That way, he knew that he was only burdening himself.

Isidorus looked up, his face mired with some strange, dark expression. “I thought that… that she…” Isidorus spoke up, surprising Tercius.

“I don’t think that she would approve of what I did, if she knew of it.”

The man let out a deep sigh. “That’s a relief to hear.”

“I am sorry for taking advantage of you. Truly.”

“So why do it then?”

Tercius shrugged a bit, his shoulders barely moving. “I could have searched for this place on my own, but I am in a hurry. Having someone to take me here seemed expedient. I was also not sure if I could come here without someone to vouch for me and the only worshipers of Balance whom I know of in the city are you and your father, so… So I tried what I did and it worked and now here we are. This was… an efficient way.”

“Efficient…” The man scoffed and then settled. “Aye, well… Can’t argue with that.”

They lapsed into silence, each man with something on his mind. The few visible goats mowed the green grass down to its roots while bands of chickens pecked the ground in search of food. The squealing and oinking of pigs was heard over the sound of swaying trees as the clergy of the Temple slowly and methodically cared for the gardens that provided them food.

If not for the cold reception that Tercius’ body parts continued to experience, then this place could have been some kind of a paradise of peace. The day was warming, but the heat was not as bad as down south, where people had to hide inside during midday. Here, the summer days were still warm but moderate. Pleasant. He could easily imagine himself falling asleep on the grass, here in the shade of the tree…

“Would you do it again, do you think?” Isidorus suddenly asked, startling Tercius and making him shake his sleepy head awake.

Tercius yawned a little and his eyes watered. A small frown formed on his face. Did he just almost nod off? It was three or four hours since he woke up. Five, at most. How could he be feeling tired so soon?

“I’m sorry… What did you—”

“If you had an opportunity, would you do it again?”

“Oh. Well, it depends… If I knew ahead where the Temple was and that I didn’t need you to vouch for me… then I would have gone ahead on my own. If I didn’t know ahead of time, then I would likely ask you again.”

“At least you’ve got your mother’s honesty about you. It must be the father then, your father I mean, who you get that other side from,”

Tercius shook his head with slight movements, unwilling to talk more on the matter. His sudden need for sleep troubled him. Knowing himself and knowing certain things about Energy, Tercius was quite sure that the tiredness he was feeling was of a supernatural nature. Spiritual nature, so to speak. But from all he knew, from all he was told, he shouldn’t be getting low on Energy. Reaching for his Well yielded nothing, which meant that the seal was working. So… what the Hells was going on?

His eyes narrowed with contemplation of what was going on and what he could and should do about it.

A probable answer to what was going on came to him soon. The Well was protected, but his channels weren’t and what was a Well but a collection of overgrown channels that banded together into a single magical organ?

The way the Spirits swarmed around him, he was likely losing minuscule amounts of Energy each time they brushed against him and his channels. To put it plainly, they couldn't swim in the pool of his Energy, but they could lick the wet edges of the pool. No matter how minuscule they might be, the losses were starting to add up slowly… If things progressed far enough, he would lapse into a sleep from which nothing but Energy would raise him.

The Spirits shouldn't be able to do this. Nothing he knew even mentioned this possibility. With some alarm, he thought of another question. Why didn’t his Mentor warn him of this? Did she know and choose not to tell him? He hoped, for the sake of their relationship, that the answer was no…

But even if she didn’t know, surely Perdinar and Mistress Prime’era knew that this could happen? They had a thousand years to learn something so basic…

Tercius considered another option. Was he some kind of an outlying case? Was he somehow… more influenced by the touch of the Spirits? His eyes narrowed at that thought. It was possible. Was that… ‘susceptibility’ the reason why he could see and interact with the other occasional visitors he had in his anima?

Regardless of the answer to that one… There’s no way in all Blazing Hells that I’ll allow myself to remain here powerless, let alone let it progress far enough to be forced to rest and sleep at this place… That priest better hurry up or I’ll have to leave without getting my answer.

*** ***** ***

The priest took his time getting back. The sun moved past the zenith and just when Tercius started contemplating leaving without getting his answer, the man showed up and invited Tercius into the Temple.

By this point, Tercius had started contemplating the possibility that someone was using the Spirits to drain him of Energy and therefore impair both his mana regeneration rate and mental faculties.

“Follow me.” the jovial priest inclined his head to the door at the Temple’s side.

With an almost silent groan of a day's worth of hard work, Tercius got up and followed after the man. They followed a winding corridor of precisely cut walls of stone and large ceilings supported by a familiar style of pointed arches until they arrived before a massive set of metal doors. A scene of two large horned cats, bearing the same likeness of the lion and lioness statues that he saw at the outer wall of the Temple ground, was engraved on the dark metal, only these cats had wings which fired rays of what Tercius assumed was rays of light. More cats, smaller ones and of different types, were everywhere in the middle. At the lower portion of the doors, the multitudes of worshipers grasped with their hands at the ends of the rays, almost but not quite touching them.

"Come, my boy. We mustn't take too much of the Speaker's time." the priest called from the side while opening a smaller door for them to enter. Tercius eyed the door for a second. Standing at the edge of the wall, the human-sized opening was not even a tenth of the double-winged monstrosity of carved metal. Three human-sized doors could be stacked on top of each other and still, it was likely that their collective effort would fall short of overcoming the big one.

Tercius’ left eyebrow twitched. This door… He had a bad feeling about it, or rather what could be behind it. Even the Spirits didn’t follow him here. In a way, the absence of their cold touch was… unnerving. Maybe he should leave now…

“No need to be nervous. Come,” the priest called and Tercius swallowed his nerves.

Even if his fear proved true, he likely had nothing to worry about. This was his caution just overworking. Besides, he couldn’t leave now. If he did leave, would they accept another visit from him?

Tercius followed and stepped after the priest, passing through the door and stepping inside a massive chamber, the far wall a solid mass of colored glass, depicting scenes similar to the ones found on the door.

All the way across the massive chamber was an old woman of long silver hair, a flowing dress of black and white covering her body all the way from her neck and pooling around her on the stone floor. Behind her, two enormous statues guarded over the chamber, filling up the otherwise empty space. The sleeping black lion had white horns of a ram curled around his massive ears, while the vigilant whitewashed lioness had pitch-black horns. Her large open eyes — each one as big as his entire head if not even larger and dark like tar — looked straight at him and for a moment Tercius had a strong impression that the statue was observing him.

Which, Tercius thought as his heart rate sped up a little, it likely is.

As if to agree with him, the statue’s pale tail flicked from side to side.