Crisis of Faith by Benjamin Medrano (z-lib.org)

by Unknown

  “Am a dungeon. Have foundry, too,” Sistina replied shortly, then smiled as she looked over at Diamond. “Morning, Diamond.”

  “You’re dropping words again, Sistina,” Diamond pointed out, smiling widely in turn as she approached and gave Sistina a gentle hug, which the dryad returned eagerly.

  “I can speak with perfect diction when I want to,” Sistina said, her voice smooth and flawless as she leaned forward and kissed Diamond’s cheek, then she pulled away and spoke more simply. “Takes concentration.”

  “I can understand her well enough, anyway. Good… afternoon, Diamond. Is it that late already?” Albert asked, looking out the window with a frown. “We’d probably best find lunch at some point.”

  “Yes, it is that late. I just have to give Sistina some grief for skipping words. We’re trying to get her to be better about that,” Diamond said, then nodded at the chalkboard. “What’s all this about, anyway?”

  Sistina stuck out her tongue at Diamond, then pulled away and tilted her head at Albert, asking the Guildmaster of the Adventurer’s Guild, “Explain?”

  “Certainly!” Albert said, his eyes brightening, and he half-sat on the table as he looked at Diamond and began speaking quickly. “So, since so many people have been frustrated about how hard it is to climb the mountain over the last few months, she’s been looking at different options for a solution.”

  “I understand that. Most horses are somewhat exhausted by the time they reach the top, let alone people,” Diamond murmured, remembering the stairs that led from Sistina’s cavern in the mountain heart to the palace. That was a punishing climb, and one she had to take a bit more often than Diamond would prefer. Even if the exercise was good for her.

  “Exactly. She considered using steam carriages, like the ones the guild uses, but those could wander off, whether by accident or design, and heavens forbid if one lost control and slammed into a house or went off a cliff. We also discussed some of the in-city carriages on rails, along the lines of mine carts, but that would take up a large part of the roads and would require large changes to the city in the process. I’ve seen those before, honestly, and favored the idea, at least at first,” Albert explained, then paused, grinning as he continued. “Then she had an idea after Captain Iceheart yelled at a group of children scaling one of the walls.”

  Diamond winced at the memory of that incident. Beacon’s walls were tall, and there was nothing below them but stone, so if any of the children had fallen they’d almost certainly have died. They might have been able to be revived if they’d been taken to the temples quickly enough, but she hadn’t been happy about the thought to begin with. She nodded slightly, murmuring, “I remember hearing about that… Desa wasn’t happy.”

  “I don’t blame her. Anyway, they were climbing ropes, and coupled with the other ideas, Sistina came up with something slightly different. She’s thinking to create a… carriage that can be hauled up and down a tunnel on rails by a steam engine. A mostly vertical tunnel,” Albert explained eagerly, his eyes bright with excitement. “We’re calling it a lift, since it lifts people. If we can build them inside the mountain, it won’t take additional room, and we can make it stop at several points throughout the city.”

  “I… see. I think I understand, though the idea unsettles me, a little. What if it falls?” Diamond asked, frowning and reaching over to move Sistina’s shoulder strap back into place.

  “Brakes,” Sistina chimed in, smiling at Diamond, and Albert nodded.

  “Yes, we’re taking precautions to make sure if it would fall, there are several sets of brakes that will bring the carriage to a stop. The entire reason I’m involved is that she wants me to check her math and point out problems she might not have noticed,” Albert said, grinning more. “Besides, it’ll let me learn how she does it and give us ways to build similar devices elsewhere.”

  “Fair, I suppose,” Diamond said, a little skeptically. She wasn’t too worried about the idea, not if the two were keeping people’s safety in mind. She’d love to be able to travel through the city more easily, too. She set the thought aside for the moment, though, and focused on Sistina. “I’m afraid that I didn’t come here to ask about your project, though. Sistina, Archpriestess Nadis will be here later today, and High Priestess Elissa will arrive tomorrow or the next. I was curious if you’d changed your mind about mediating?”

  “No,” Sistina said firmly, crossing her arms and shaking her head.

  Diamond suppressed her surge of disappointment and sighed, then spoke again. “May I at least ask why? You’ve been rather firm on this subject.”

  “Yes,” Sistina replied, and frowned, tapping her lip at a slow, measured pace.

  “I can leave if you need me to,” Albert offered, pushing himself off the table, only to have Sistina wave him back down.

  “No need,” Sistina told him, shaking her head. Then she nodded. “Need proper explanation. Give time.”

  Diamond nodded, smiling at Sistina’s attitude as she murmured softly, “Of course.”

  It took a minute, then Sistina finally nodded. When she spoke, it wasn’t in her usual sharp, almost halting manner. It was instead in the focused, carefully enunciated words that Sistina used when she was focusing on speaking properly. It also told Diamond that she was taking this seriously.

  “This meeting is a matter for mortals. I am not mortal, and quite frankly, I am too powerful to sit in on the meeting,” Sistina said, frowning as she spoke. “If I was there, it would be seen as me trying to influence the results. With my link to Tyria, this would complicate matters further, and I do not wish that. In the end, matters of faith are something to be decided by mortals, because they are for mortals. I cannot allow myself to influence that, not in good conscience.”

  “Interesting,” Albert said, looking intrigued as he sat back, watching Diamond and Sistina, tapping the table slowly.

  “I… suppose it makes sense,” Diamond replied and let out a soft sigh of disappointment. “Tyria is going to be there, though.”

  “Tyria is object of faith,” Sistina replied, shrugging as she added, “I am not. Thank all gods for that.”

  “I assume you have a backup plan, since Sistina hasn’t been interested in being a mediator before this,” Albert said, smiling wryly. “I really don’t like the idea, but if all else fails, I could try to help out.”

  “I’m not going to impose on you like that, though the offer is greatly appreciated Master Windgale,” Diamond said, her mood brightening at the offer. She’d found herself growing to like Albert over the last few months of occasional interaction, even if they barely talked most of the time. She probably wouldn’t know him more than distantly if it weren’t for his utter fascination with Sistina, and that would have been unfortunate. She continued her explanation calmly after a moment. “We spoke with the priesthood of Vanir, and they’ve agreed to chair the conference. I expect it’s going to be an unpleasant meeting to start.”

  “I entirely understand why that might be. The situation with Medaea being turned into Tyria… that just sounds messy,” Albert said, running his fingers through his hair as he shook his head. “I’m just as glad not to be involved, to be honest.”

  “I’m hoping it doesn’t come to blows,” Diamond said, sighing heavily, then straightened. “In any case, I’ll let the two of you get back to your math. If it makes it easier to move through the city, you’ll have my profuse thanks.”

  “Oh, believe me, I’m entirely thinking about myself on this one,” Albert replied, grimacing as he added, “You do remember that the guild house is at the bottom of the mountain, yes?”

  “Of course. That would certainly give you motivation to get it right, wouldn’t it?” Diamond said, smiling warmly. Then she looked at Sistina and added, “I hope you have fun, Sistina.”

  “Will try,” Sistina said warmly, hugging Diamond again as she whispered, “Love you.”

  The simple phrase warmed Diamond’s heart and she smiled even more as she turned her
head to kiss Sistina in turn, murmuring, “I love you too.”

  Then she headed out to try to get things ready to meet Archpriestess Nadis. They hadn’t met in close to a decade now, and Diamond couldn’t help wondering how it would go. The meeting would certainly be interesting.

  At least High Priestess Elissa wasn’t going to be arriving at the same time.

  Chapter 2

  Diane took a breath and shivered, pulling her coat closer. She was incredibly thankful for the gift from Beryl, even if the coat had originally been hers before she’d surrendered to Kelvanis. The enchanted coat made it so she wasn’t too uncomfortable even with the thin layer of snow on the ground, and particularly with the cold air blowing out of the mountains.

  Beside her, Torkal paused as well, the two of them looking up at Beacon. After a few moments he spoke, his voice hushed. “You know, even after spending a few weeks there, looking at Beacon leaves me in awe. It also makes me feel nervous.”

  “What, something about a mountain being turned into a city makes you concerned?” Diane teased gently, smiling warmly at him as she examined Beacon. Truthfully, she didn’t blame him in the slightest.

  Five miles across and a half-mile tall at its center, the city was an incredible fortress, with five walls evenly spaced across its immense height, yet that beauty was softened by canals and waterfalls, as well as the countless buildings, many of which were beautiful. The golems standing silent guard on the walls were somewhat eerie as well, but seeing more people moving along the walls was a welcome change from Diane’s last visit.

  “Yes, it does,” Torkal replied, smiling and giving her a gentle hug. “You’re sure that Queen Phynis will welcome us for the winter?”

  “Of course; she offered to let me visit for as long as I liked last time, and it isn’t like she lacks space,” Diane said, feeling far more at peace than she had since Kelvanis had been defeated, along with the demon queen Irethiel. “Besides, we need to give Beryl space to get Yisara in order.”

  “She didn’t blame you for being there, and it wasn’t your fault how people looked at you,” Torkal replied, frowning slightly as their carriage moved toward the city.

  “I know she didn’t, but that doesn’t change the fact it was causing problems,” Diane said, her voice level. “I refuse to undermine her authority.”

  “Fair, fair,” Torkal said, and he smiled more as he asked, “So, what do you think of her and Sir Lucien?”

  The question made Diane smile as well, and much more warmly than she had before. Sir Reva Lucien had commanded one of the largest armies of Sifaren during the recent war, and he’d interacted with her daughter, Queen Beryl, during their campaign to aid Slaid Damrung in reclaiming Kelvanis and ending the majority of chaos in the human nation. How well the two got along had startled Diane, especially after how many suitors Beryl had rejected. Perhaps she should have realized sooner that her headstrong daughter would be more interested in a skilled warrior, but that was water under the bridge at this point.

  “I think that she could do far, far worse than Sir Lucien. The biggest problem is what would happen with his father’s earldom if things work out between them,” Diane said, then smiled as she added, “Happily, neither you nor I have to worry about that anymore. It’s Beryl’s problem.”

  “True enough,” Torkal agreed, smiling still more. Then his smile faded and he nodded ahead of them, at the wall of their carriage and the one that was leading the way, asking, “How do you think the Archpriestess is reacting?”

  “Probably better than we might expect, after her conversations with Jaine,” Diane said, though it was hard to keep smiling. The revelations about Tyria had caused quite a bit of chaos in Yisara, which worried her. Hopefully Jaine was helping to keep Nadis from overreacting.

  “That… is an excessively large city. I heard all the descriptions, but none of them can do it justice,” Archpriestess Nadis said, and Jaine nodded, looking at the city in admiration.

  “I agree. I couldn’t believe my eyes the first time I saw Beacon,” Jaine said, smiling and leaning over to get a better look through the window. “It also looks busier than it was before. More people must have arrived over the summer.”

  “You’re likely right. Considering what I’ve heard of the mage academy and many other things, I would be surprised if there weren’t more people in Beacon,” Nadis agreed, sitting back and steepling her hands thoughtfully. “The only question is whether that is for good or for ill.”

  “I can agree with that. I don’t think that Queen Phynis or Sistina have anything bad planned for anyone else, but this is going to change things,” Jaine said, a hint of worry making its way through her.

  Ever since Jaine had returned to Yisara with her mother, aside from when they’d come to Phynis’s wedding with the Jewels and Sistina, she’d spent a great deal of time with the priesthood of Medaea as they grappled with what had happened to their goddess. During that time, Jaine had ended up spending quite a bit of time with the archpriestess and had grown to know her reasonably well.

  The archpriestess was beautiful, as most priestesses of Medaea were. She had a slightly darker bronze skin than most dawn elves, though not as dark as Jaine’s honey-gold skin, her hair was a strawberry blonde color that reached the middle of her back, and she had bright blue eyes that were quite piercing. The priestess was wearing a warm set of robes, along with her holy symbol of Medaea and the ring of the archpriestess of the faith.

  The problem was that the archpriestess was quite reserved and figuring out exactly what she was thinking was difficult at the best of times, and these weren’t those. Nadis had asked Jaine questions, dozens of them if not hundreds, and she was obviously interested in what had occurred with Tyria, but beyond that… Jaine didn’t know what she was thinking. If it weren’t for the aspect that Tyria had been able to directly answer several of Nadis’s prayers, Jaine suspected that the archpriestess would have refused to believe that Tyria had once been Medaea. It made the upcoming meeting fraught with peril, from Jaine’s perspective, and she was worried about what was going to happen.

  “Perhaps they don’t, but even the best of intentions can lead to unexpected consequences,” Nadis murmured, tilting her head. “I am curious about what effect the city will have on the world. For the moment, we can but wait.”

  “Agreed,” Jaine said, then smiled as she added, “I look forward to introducing you to Lily, though. She’s just a gardener, but I think she did more than anyone else in Beacon to help me relax.”

  “Indeed? Well, I look forward to meeting her as well,” Nadis said, smiling slightly.

  “I’m glad to hear that,” Jaine said, glancing out at the city again, just before the carriage turned a corner that made it so she couldn’t see much of it through the windows.

  Soon they’d reach the city, and Jaine was looking forward to seeing the people there again. She’d made a lot of friends in Beacon after fleeing Westgate that summer, and the thought of seeing them excited Jaine. That, and where else could she see her goddess in person?

  “Welcome to Beacon, Archpriestess,” Captain Desa Iceheart said, bowing her head courteously as Archpriestess Nadis stepped out of the carriage. Jaine Yisara had preceded her, but Desa had only spared a moment to smile warmly at the young woman before focusing on the more important guest, at least for the moment.

  Desa wasn’t happy with the conference that Beacon was preparing to host. The situation with Medaea becoming Tyria could cause a religious war and having two opposing churches meeting in Beacon as a sort of neutral ground… well, it was one of those things that made her sleep a little less soundly.

  “Thank you,” the Archpriestess replied calmly, looking around the square with obvious interest.

  Three steel-skinned golems were helping secure a perimeter around the ten carriages that had carried the priestesses and other guests, and beyond them were dozens of people, many of them dawn or dusk elves who were pausing to get a better look as they went about their busines
s.

  “May I ask who you are?” Nadis asked after a moment, then added, “Also, might I know why we’re stopped at the base of the city? I was told that the temple of Medaea is much farther up the mountainside.”

  “Ah, my apologies, my name is Desa Iceheart, and I’m the captain of Queen Phynis’s Royal Guard,” Desa said, bowing more deeply, then smiled as she straightened again. “As for the temple, you’re correct. However, you’ve had a long journey, and the horses drawing your carriages are doubtlessly fatigued. As such, we find that having fresh mounts to draw lighter carriages through the city is a faster way of reaching the city’s heights. I’m told that lodging next to the temple of Medaea has been prepared for you and your companions as well, Archpriestess.”

  “Ah, very well,” Nadis said, smiling slightly as she nodded and murmured, “I’m pleased to make your acquaintance, Captain. May I ask if my… counterpart has arrived yet?”

  Desa felt just a hint more trepidation at the woman’s slightly chillier tone, but shook her head as she replied. “She has not. I’m told that she should arrive tomorrow or the next day, weather permitting.”

  “I see. Now, where might these other carriages be?” Nadis asked, looking around curiously, almost imperceptibly relaxing.

  “They should be coming out of the stables over there any moment,” Desa explained, gesturing toward the large stables that were near the entrance of the city. More priestesses had stepped out of other carriages, as had Diane and Torkal Yisara, showing that the message Phynis had sent Desa was accurate.

  The archpriestess didn’t reply, simply folding her arms and waiting patiently as several acolytes rushed to pull out luggage. Carriages started emerging from the stable, these ones lighter and designed for the roads of Beacon, and Desa was relieved to see them.