Cities didn't really agree with Marius. Sure, there was some comfort in civilization, but any number of those people out on the streets were thugs, criminals, and general ne'er-do-wells. And unlike dealing with a rabid dog or angry red devils, it was impossible to tell them apart at first glance. Combine all that with a lack of natural places to disappear from sight and pompous nobility tooting their own horns... Cities just didn't agree with him. He falls towards the back of the group and walks alongside Shyness, who also seems rather off put by the city.
"The temple seems as good a place as any to start," Marius grumbles as he glares at passerby giving Rex dirty looks. "Though I think speaking with General Garrund would probably get more results quicker. If there's an army of these things at the gates, then we need to respond in kind."
Azmaria thinks for a bit, the general may be a good idea...but, don't generals take orders from a mayor?, and don't mayors seek guidance and advice from god? and isn't the pope gods direct representative in this city? so I say to the get to the top we go to the church.
Eli walks to Shyness. He reaches out a hand, and takes her upper arm, firmly, but gently.
"Peace, Cousin." he says without emotion. His masked face reveals nothing. "You have slain evil spirits. You are among family. So long as we are together, there is nothing to fear." he says, flatly. "There are bad people. But that is why we are here." he explains.
He turns, one hand gesturing to the city itself, and one still on Shyness, though looking at each of his cousins. "We are here to stop an evil and save these people. Possibly from death. Possibly from a worse evil. This politics insanity. And this we will do. We will enter. We will convince others or avoid doing so. But we will save them. We will do this because we were too late for Endurant. We will do this because we are destined. We will do this because we are family."
He looks at his cousins. "There are three places that I believe we should go." he explains calmly. "The first is the Talking Turtle. Though I think that is for comfort and security instead of being of primary importance. The second is the, how you say, military people, like the Captain. The third is where I think we should go first. To see Max Gelthis' cousin Gerry at the Dripping Quill Gazette." - he says the last title awkwardly, but semi-comprehensibly... clearly, he doesn't know what a "[i]Dripping Quill Gazette" actually is - "I believe this is of paramount importance because it is from this that all of our, as it is called, legitimacy, yes, will flow. They are family, as we are. We have saved their family. They will want to help ours. This is the way of things." Eli explains, calmly, and without emotion, as if this were obvious.
"After this, I would say we bring legitimate us to the, hm, military, it is called, and show proof. We have the corpses. We have seen the fires. We have saved a family member of one who lives here. We should be taken seriously, if the one there is unlike reports of the mayor." Eli says. His voice betrays no emotion, and his face is covered entirely. "We will show them how to deal with spirits. Hit them hard enough." he gestures with his staff.
|
Shyness looks up at Eli, her muscles tense under his hand. She listens as he speaks and while many might be disconcerted by his emotionless voice, it soothes some of the wildness out of her eyes, probably more than the actual words. She doesn't relax completely, but her 'fight or flight' instinct seems to be swinging back towards its normal setting of 'punch stuff in the face'.
As Eli gives voice to the options, Shyness shows her own bias with a slightly stammering, but enthusiastic, "M-mil-milit-... fighters help! Show we hit hard!" It is apparent that she will be more comfortable around warriors.
Arabeth sighs, absently adjusting her cloaked wings.
"I am of the church. It is to such superiors that the news should be brought to as quickly as possible." She looks to her friends, her cousins. "I do understand wanting to warn people that we know... Or, well, people that we know of and who's family we've helped but... There are proper ways to do things. Better ways and order in which to go about things." Arabeth smiles as she thinks of something.
"As a saying goes, which I use since it seems right, one does not put the cart before the horse." She chuckles a little "Unless you're a Gnome and trying out some sort of wondrous new idea, any way..."
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Sister Azmaria and Arabeth are both insistent that the Cathedral be visited first, and the rest of you acquiesce. You continue your long journey through the early-evening hustle and bustle of the Capital city streets, up the great hill, and toward the multiple large golden-roofed buildings at the top. With only a few questions directed at the locals, you are able to find the Grand Cathedral of St. Pelor, and it is indeed a striking sight, as the last fading rays of the sinking sunset glint off the great gold dome. You are not questioned as you enter the bustling outer courtyard with your mounts and cart and cross the enormous golden sun-shaped mosaic set into the tiles of the ground, but you recognize that you will definitely need to leave your mounts and cart behind in order to enter the Cathedral itself.
Sister Azmaria, Arabeth, and the rest of you who are not guarding the mounts walk up to the doors of the Cathedral. Six guards stand on either side of the doors, observing the courtyard. One of them warns you that the Cathedral will soon be closing to the public for the night. When you ask about an audience with Pope Gregory, the guards' reaction is, at first, a mixture of amusement, disdain, and disbelief. However, Sister Azmaria and Arabeth can be quite stubborn and insistent, and finally their claims that the Pope is expecting them cause two of the guards to lead the lot of you further into the Cathedral.
The building is massive and beautiful. The barest hint of the smoky savor of incense hangs in the air. Mahogany benches curve out in rows around a central grand altar. Quite a few people still sit or kneel in the pews, many with heads bowed in prayer. A soft chanting can be heard from a choir of monks currently surrounding the altar. Candle-light barely illuminates a variety of works of art depicting various events in the life of St. Pelor around the sides of the Cathedral. The now-starry sky can be seen up through a circular opening in the top center of the great gold dome above.
The guards lead you around to an interior door. One remains with you to wait here in the Cathedral as the other passes through the door to notify and summon the appropriate persons.
Once within the cathedral's spaces Arabeth releases the clasp and with a rustle spreads her wings. First flexing them to almost maximum extension before settling them at 'half raised' so as to show off her innate heritage.
"I'll keep to the horses, the rest of you are free to go."
Chap stays with the horses
Azmaria packs up her weapons and leaves them on the cart. and she puts on her best "sister" clothes.
As Arabeth does her wing thing again, this time Azmaria is ready and ducks just in time so as to not get hit in the face again.
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The priest speaks...
"Welcome. Pope Gregory is indeed expecting you."
The guards look surprised as the priest ushers you past them, down a long corridor of doors, and into a comfortable sitting room with couches, chairs, a bookshelf, a desk, a small table, and tapestries with sun motifs decorating the walls.
"Please wait here. His Excellency did not know when you would be arriving."
The priest takes his leave, and you are left to wait again.
Eli - sweaty, dirty, still somewhat "ashed" from his trip, as are his comrades - would also choose to enter. He leaves behind footprints on the otherwise pristine floor. Strangely, his neck seems a little more red than usual.
Aside from polite head nods or necessary greetings, he refrains from speaking at this time.
After waiting for a while, the door to the sitting room opens again, and in steps a man with a white beard and piercing blue eyes, which look troubled. He wears an elegant, embroidered white robe with gold trim, and holds a familiar-looking letter.
"Greetings. I am Gregory, servant of God. You are the adventurers praised by Father Peter of Vigilant, yes? Fiends caused the destruction of a village here in Theramark, and you slew these foes? Please explain the situation to me. What happened, how did you become involved, and how might I be of assistance?"
The sight of the cathedral is impressive, nothing less than Marius expected from the city. An exercise in excess. Somehow he doubted the religious folks within actually cared for the vast majority people in Resplendent. He'd seen enough of the dregs of society--both the people there willingly and those otherwise--to know that they often slipped beneath the notice of supposedly beneficent men.
He contains his enthusiasm for the whole endeavor and sets up along a wall next to Chap. "I'll help keep watch. No sense in crowding the place."
Cernan waits outside the cathedral. "If this only serves to delay us further in arming another city," he grumbles, "maybe someone will finally take me seriously about the need for timely haste in matters of demonic invasion."
Sister Azmaria genuflects before the pope, giving him the proper respect as her superior within the hierarchy of the church.
your Holiness, I am the Exorcist Sister Azmaria, representing he Holy Order of the Didache in the city of York. we are a special sect of the church under the leadership of the Council of Saints. Our mission is the identification and eradication of demonic incursions into this plane. I was summoned to here through a vision to get to the bottom of this incursion and make the needed reports back to the Order.
what you have heard is true, but we believe that we are dealing with a much larger force than what we have seen. It is recommended that this city take the necessary precaution should the enemy target this city. We do not know the total size of the enemy force yet.
She takes a moment to allow the Pope to take in what she has said so far. and allows him time to ask some more questions.
The Pope seems impressed at Sister Azmaria's address. Clearly he was not expecting this particular meeting to be so 'proper' ... but he is not displeased. (He does not, however, offer his hand.) He nods graciously in response, his piercing eyes now fixing on Sister Azmaria.
"Welcome, Sister. I know of your Order. Your presence and assistance is appreciated. You remind me of our own Sisters of Protection ... except it seems you go unarmed."
"Now, from Father Peter's letter, it sounds like the small village of Endurant burned down completely and there will not be any refugees to assist, since the sole survivor now resides in Vigilant. Is that correct?"
"If so, that means our focus must be on preventing such a thing from occurring elsewhere. Father Peter mentioned that your group engaged several of the small fiends called imps in combat, and that only one managed to escape. Do you have any idea who summoned those imps or why they would desire the destruction of that particular village? And, what makes you suspect that there is a much larger fiendish force afoot ready to target Resplendent?"
Eli nod-bows, and pulls out the most recent corpse. "We have managed to kill the one who escaped." he says, sans emotion, holding up the corpse from the bag. He returns it. "At least I believe they are the same, as I heard them speaking their own foul tongue twice. This one sounded the same as that other, and seemed to have a purpose of vengeance against us when we next encountered him." he explains.
"That said, we believe we were watched by something other an an imp at least once before." Eli says, flatly. "Our resident expert is-" he looks around, then dully continues, "-not here at present, it seems."
He nods at the man again, and then continues in his monotone, "Also, our apologies. We are not clean as we would be. We felt we had little time, and wished to speak as fast as possible." he gestures at the group, half-bows, and steps back, again.
to acknowledge the Pope, I am always armed, Your Holiness, she says this pointing to her cross she wears around her neck on a gold chain. though my primary weapon is at the cart since I felt it improper to bring a weapon into your presence
as she finishes she lets Eli fill him in. but Azmaria always considered herself an expert and was a little taken aback at that comment. but she composes herself. (she did need a little more study time to be a real expert.)
to answer the Pope about a larger force, The imps were armed with a magic necklace that creates fireballs. these are not normal armament for such a creature. they have been equipped by someone, I believe there is a demon cult at work here and they may have formed a pact with a rather powerful demon lord.
I have already sent word back to my order, but it will take some time before they can dispatch any of our militia also I do not have the necessary tools to create a barrier to contain the demons, well at least not yet
Poterol sits on the steps outside, looking out over the city. "Bustling, busy, bountius. I prefer a more sedate pace to civilization." He looks at the others outside. "This is going to be a hard place to warn."
Poterol sits on the steps outside, looking out over the city. "Bustling, busy, bountius. I prefer a more sedate pace to civilization." He looks at the others outside. "This is going to be a hard place to warn."
"When one knows only the tool, and not the who or why, the task seems impossible. Hopefully we gain better direction from these meetings."
Pope Gregory smiles and nods when Sister Azmaria indicates her holy symbol. He grimaces but then leans forward to examine the imp corpse when Eli shows it, nodding grimly. He brushes aside Eli's concerns about cleanliness with a dismissive gesture.
"Do not let that trouble you. You bring more urgent concerns."
When Sister Azmaria mentions the necklace of fireballs, his eyebrow raises.
"A single fiend with such firepower could be fearsome indeed, much less a force of them. I will warn our Orders of Protection of your findings and encourage them to be on high alert. This is troubling news, indeed."
"Now, what brings you to Resplendent? Do you have reason to believe this demon cult of which you speak is based here in the Capital? I appreciate you bringing us this warning. Are there any other leads for investigation of which I should be made aware? And, is there a place here in the city where your group can be reached if further questions or developments arise?"
The Pope's eyes sweep not only Sister Azmaria, but also Eli, Arabeth, and Shyness as he awaits more answers to his questions.
Arabeth as well bows in acknowledging the Pope's authority. Rising she smiles before taking her turn to address her concerns to Gregory.
"While my order is of a definitely different nature than Sister Azmaria," She nods in acknowledging the different roles her temple and Azmara's serve within the Church though her stance remains tall and proud regardless of Gregory's looks in relation to Arabeth's calling.
"It should be known that an entire town has been viciously and callously removed from existence. There is definitely some aim further afoot. This must be just the preliminary actions of some larger endeavor. Our knowledge indicates that perhaps, as heinous as it seems, this larger wanton act of death and destruction could simply have been to cover a more subtle and sinister political maneuver." She looks to her companions to judge their support and confirmation of her ideas/views.
"We must now move towards gathering the local Authorities in defending against further possible political wranglings which might happen. Sadly, we do not have enough information yet to work out who is trying to shift politics in their favor." She looks earnestly to Pope Gregory.
"Where might we seek further council so as to learn more about such matters? How must we approach the local authorities so as to have them begin to take action and help people defend against creatures such as these, or worse?" She asks.
Pope Gregory nods graciously as Arabeth rises.
"I would be curious to know which Order you follow, Sister. Yes, the mass murder of an entire village is heinous indeed. However, I fail to see what possible political gain could be won with the destruction of such a remote community. What knowledge am I missing to better understand this motivation?"
His piercing blue eyes sweep over the lot of you.
"If there is indeed some force of fiends ready to attack Resplendent, then the Queen herself should be made aware, in addition to The Lord Mayor and the General. I can send messages to them informing them of what you have told me. However, our own Fathers of Protection, Brothers of Protection, and Sisters of Protection here at this Cathedral Complex are the local experts on defense from fiends, and the ones who would likely take the vanguard in such an attack. Although, I admit, they have not had actual fiends to fight for some time. I must say, I prefer it that way."
The Pope looks grim.
"You seem to indicate that there is something the common folk of the city could do to be better prepared for a fiendish attack. What do you suggest? Whether there is indeed a force of fiends or not, we do not want to induce a panic."
When Shyness softly questions her allies, Pope Gregory smiles slightly and responds.
"Church Chief, yes."
"It is simply a matter of preparing to deal with the invisible." he states, flatly. "We have witnessed the aftermath of the destruction of an entire community, and from the testimony of these fiends we know that there is someone who sent the fiends to do so and discovered a possible sinister motive from the master of these cretins who was warned by them before the one displayed returned to assault us."
He shrugs. "It must be that same one who equipped the one and had it return."
Pope Gregory looks at the masked man before him with curiosity.
"How does one who lacks magic, funds, or training prepare to deal with the invisible?
And just what did the fiends testify before they were killed? You must realize their words are not likely trustworthy."
"If it were their testimony to us, of course not." Eli explains. "Instead, it was their testimony - their discussion, as it were - with each other, when they believed we could not defeat them, while one fled in cowardice." Eli shrugs. "Again, they were wrong. Foolish creatures, to discuss things openly while presuming their victory. But that is the way of things."
The Pope's head cocks slightly to the side.
"And this sinister motive you've uncovered...?"
Eli looks at the man.
He looks off to the side for a moment.
Then he looks back. "What kind of man are you." he... asks, yes.
---
The Pope looks surprised at the question, but then nods.
"Fair enough. I am Gregory, Servant of God, Shepherd of Many, Father of Knowledge, and Follower of the Holy Path of St. Pelor. I am a pastor, a scholar, and a petitioner. I seek the will of God in the World, and hope that my life brings light in the darkness. And you are...?"
Eli's blank masked face looks at him evenly. "A man who has outlived my parents' death at the hands of the ancestors of your people, outlived my aunt by old age, and raised by my younger cousin. A man who watched one village burn, and another corrupted through the foreign insanity of politics and purified again of the same. A man revered for things he's never done and unknown for the things he does. Or if he is known few care." Eli states without emotion.
"I am a servant of the people and of that which is good. I do not respect authority for its own sake but only for the sake of the people that it serves. I do not care for titles though I have sought them before for fun. I am old but still young. I listen to the spirits and seek balance and peace for the world though violence itself sometimes needs response in kind." All said without a hint of emotion or inflection. Nothing. Calm.
There is a long, drawn out breath, but even that is delivered in a manner that surprisingly gives nothing away as to the emotions of the one delivering it.
"I mean no disrespect but I can think of no other thing to speak than truth. I know that I am nothing but a strange and currently-dirty foreigner with a story to tell and corpses to show. We have exactly one known good deed to our name. I have no authority here but I will not be silent because it is good to be forthright with each other now. I pray to your spirit that you honor this." Eli says flatly.
Eli cocks his head to the side and lifts his hands, broadly indicating the Pope. "I do not know you or know what you are capable of. You are a powerful man. You have mighty magic. These are two things that would be required in one who seeks the power of fiends." He straightens up and says, "More than this, your influence among those who could oppose such is great and you could well be in a position to benefit greatly from grave upheaval as all folk remember that which is spirit in times of crisis. A hero would gain great accolades and clout. Perhaps even be called a saint of his people." Eli explains, one hand on the chin of his mask.
Relaxing and staring, evenly, Eli continues with no hints whatsoever of his emotions on the subject, "This civilization that you have is filled with those who seek their own power for their own insane ambition. They see shouldering a burden and debt to those who choose them as something to be grasped at as a method of exerting power instead of responsibility and honor. I know little of your churches or the politics that goes on within. I know you attained your position by some means. I know that civilization tends to be cutthroat in those struggles. Tell me how you gained power. Who did you oppose and why. Who is now in your shadow even as you spend light. For what purpose. Who did not choose you. How do they feel now. Do any hold power. To what lengths would they or you go to attain that power. Even for a good cause might good men be swayed by their spirit or another's and in this great evil can come about. Show us why we should trust you in this."
All delivered with the same amount of interest as a monotone recitation of the grocery list. No hint of accusation. No hint of malice or hatred. But no hint of anything.
"So, once we are done warning these people that their lives are in the balance, what do you think we'll do next? I feel as if we are just waiting around for the next fireball to fall from the sky, and it is terrifying as it is exhausting." Chap asks trying to drum up a conversation instead of worrying about the sky.
The Pope's mouth draws into a firmer line at Eli's words, and his jaw sets more squarely.
"You have asked for honesty and you shall have it. It seems odd to me that a man who refuses to reveal either his face or his name demands forthrightness of one whose entire life is a matter of public record."
"I have risen to my current position through either the guidance of the Holy Spirit, the election of my fellow Fathers, or both, depending on your perspective."
"I can understand how the history between the Allied Kingdoms and the Embishiu could leave a bitter taste toward politics in your mouth ... at least, that is my best educated guess as to your heritage, since you have failed to reveal such yourself ... but I would hope you would have the wisdom to recognize the potential for difference between a man and his ancestors. If you are as long-lived as you claim, then you must know that persons and societies can change, and, even though the hearts of many remain evil, many devote their lives to the cause of good."
"Although caution is wise, if you truly seek assistance against a fiendish force, then I believe you have come to the right place, and I hope you will be able to trust me, as I doubt there is much we can accomplish without some measure of trust. Although I, personally, have followed the Discipline of Knowledge throughout my life, not the Discipline of Protection, as Pope it is my business to learn and supervise all the Orders, and guide them toward the will of God."
"I cannot help you if you will not share with me what you know."
Eli nods, once. "Though acting defensively, you have verbally denounced the actions of your ancestors as evil. It is enough." he says, evenly.
"Most who choose to call themselves pure set their view as their own ancestors acting on benevolence against savages. For one of your standing to even imply that your ancestors were flawed seems impressive to me."
"You ask for information. I will be forthright, but I will keep some secrets, as I have those I would protect from invisible spies. My name is Eli. My mask's purpose is it's own name - Calm." he gestures with his flat voice. "I do indeed hail from the Embishiu. I thought my dress and style would make that apparent, but I can see not. It was no secret in my mind. And I apologize that it came off as such. I hold no malice toward you or your people. But I do harbor suspicion. The more advanced one is politically the more suspicious they seem. It is politics that caused our conflict. And it is politics that caused corruption. But you are correct. There is no reason that a descended must follow the path of their ancestor." All stated without a trace of his actual feelings.
Eli breathes. Then, flatly, continues, "We have discovered that one who was killed in the town was heir to the seat of the high chief. The heir to the empire or kingdom as you say it. A noble named Hawk-thorne was seemingly killed and consumed along with the rest of the citizenry. After a thorough investigation of the area, searching for all the clues we could find, there was nothing but this man. There was no sign of powerful ritual, no sign of excavated treasure or magical force, nothing. No discernible reason for the abominable tragedy, save for the presence of this man. It was the mayor of Vigilant who informed us of his status when we came bearing his ring. We'd found such among the dead within. The words the wicked spirits spoke among themselves confirmed this. They acted not alone but on the behest of another who they wanted to warn, and who was invested in keeping the destruction of Endurant a secret. In the first encounter there was nothing but the spirits. In the next encounter a spirit held this." Eli displays the necklace. "It holds the power to create devastating fire. Hence the state of our clothes and persons and belongings." he explains. "It is only the blessings of our shamans that have allowed us to heal as much as we did on the way here."
His words are delivered with a flat monologue, but are as true as he can make them.
"We have heard from the words of fiends to themselves when they thought themselves victors instead of us. We have discovered the evidence of the same within the town. This is what you should need to protect the people."
Breathing, slowly, he reaches up and removes his mask. His face looks grim, determined, and filled with roiling conflicting emotions barely kept in check. He replaces the mask. "And that is how I appear." he says flatly. "I do not hide this."
The Pope looks intently at Eli as he begins to respond, raising his eyebrow at the mention of potential invisible spies. When Eli gives his name, the Pope nods formally in greeting. Gregory maintains a firm stare at Eli, until Eli begins to describe his theory for the motive behind the destruction of the village. As he does so, the Pope at first looks somewhat confused, then his eyes, although open, seem to glaze over, and he appears to be lost in thought, so much so that, by the time Eli removes his mask to show his face, it's doubtful Pope Gregory really sees Eli at all. The Pope takes a step backward and sinks down into a chair, his eyes still unfocused.
"When his sister married that commoner and they ran off together to that Western border village ... I suppose that was Endurant ... So, of course, that's where he goes for his summers ... and if everyone there died, of course that would include John, too..."
The Pope, who had previously carried himself with strength and authority, looks suddenly frail and lost. He tries to pull his gaze back to your group, but struggles to focus his eyes.
"You say you found his family ring in the rubble ... on the deceased ...? Heir to the Kingdom, you called him ... I wouldn't have presumed that much, although Victoriana certainly favors him ... Good Lord above, does she know?"
He looks at you with questions in his eyes.
"You are the first in town to know from us, though the Mayor of Vigilant was quite interested to learn of this information. Very focused on it." Eli says, flatly. "I suspect that others will know soon enough, if only due to politics."
"Do you still have his ring?"
Eli hesitates, looks at Gregory, then Azmaria, and Arabeth, and nods.
"We do." Eli says, without emotion.
"May I see it?"
"No." Eli states, flatly, "I do not have it. But I can describe it well. Large chunky gold signet ring with inlaid sapphires. The crest includes an image of a hawk clutching a vine. Shiny, despite the fire. There is a dagger with an inlaid sapphire to match. Exquisite make."
Eli explains, arms wide for inspection to show he has neither.
The Pope deflates even further.
"Yes. Yes, those were his."
Gregory's eyes gaze at one of the Sun tapestries on the wall.
"Young Lord Hawkthorne was a parishioner here. A good man, and a friend. I've long been trying to persuade him to become one of our Fathers of Charity. He certainly has the disposition for it... had... "
The Pope briefly closes his eyes, but then looks at you again with determination, despite his glistening gaze.
"So, you believe an entire town was destroyed in order to kill John Hawkthorne ... in order to ... prevent his being named heir to the throne of Theramark?"
"To do this, or perhaps to ensure that someone else would be advanced in his stead. Alternately, to cause panic, confusion, fear, and weakness once word spread. What we do know is that the summoner was on a timetable - a timetable we may have upset by discovering the town's destruction. The mayor of Vigilant reportedly sent letters here, though we made excellent time ourselves."
Eli breathes. "He wanted the town destroyed, but did not want anyone to know about it until he was ready, which he was not yet. We also know that our presence marks something he wants gone, or at least the imp as you call the wicked spirit seemed to believe so. It was very confident in the power of this fire necklace to destroy us. It was nearly correct." he says in his normal monotone.
The Pope's jaw is firmly set again. He looks angry. Furious, even, although he keeps a tight control over himself. He stands, rigid, and nods slowly at your group.
"So, it is a manhunt, then, to bring justice to whoever has such little regard for human life. I see. I thank you for your role in combating the fiends thus far, for your words of warning, and for your desire to help. I would caution you against spreading this news too widely just yet ... and yet, this enemy must be discovered... I ... I will see what magical investigation and prayer can uncover ... In the meantime, if you make any new discoveries yourselves ... I hope you will consider me an ally in your investigation."
Pope Gregory nods firmly.
"I will, indeed, call upon our Orders of Protection to assume a high alert against invisible fiends and to begin an investigation into possible fiendish summoning activities here in the Capital. I will send messages warning The Lord Mayor and the General to be on alert for possible fiendish activity, and I will also ask for an audience with the Queen in order to share this ... news with her in person. Where can your group be reached? Where are you staying?"
"We have no place as of yet. We will inform you. It was our intention to next seek out the General, however. We would inform him, and display the proof of our statements as we have you." Eli nods. "We were also considering speaking to the lord-mayor. What say you about this."
His monotone makes it really hard to tell whether he's making a statement or asking a question. After a moment, it's clear that it's a question.
"If you wish to speak to Lord Mayor and the General yourselves, then perhaps I should send you as my messengers. This would accomplish my purpose and give you more of a chance of actually meeting with them. And, if you have nowhere else to stay, I could have four rooms prepared for you here at the Cathedral Complex. Would this be to your liking?"
"We will definitely accept your offer of being messengers. However there are more than four of us and we will need to discuss where we are staying. We are honored by your generous offer." Eli says.
The Pope nods.
"Then please excuse me while I go write two letters for you to deliver. You may wait here or in the Cathedral. Although, if it would at all be possible for you to obtain Lord Hawkthorne's ring from your ally that currently holds it, presuming he or she is nearby, I would like to bring the ring to the Queen tonight. Thank you."
The Pope, shaking slightly, slips out the door and closes it behind him.
Eli, Arabeth, Sister Azmaria, and Shyness are left alone in the sitting room.