He snorted, “The only reason we don’t touch it, is because it’s not worth the risk. But every once in a while someone manages to grab a few things.”
He stopped me then, “Around that corner,” he pointed, “you’ll see a door on the right. Through that door is a small courtyard, or used to be, there’s some kind of building in there now.”
I raised an eyebrow and flicked an ear. “Did you go in there?”
He shook his head. “Not since I was a much younger man. Used to be where Hoffen kept some of the fancier carts he used for the founder’s day parade. But he moved them out years ago. When I saw one of the musicians duck in there last week, I noticed something past the door, but wasn’t close enough to see what it was. I don’t know if they built it, but whatever it is, they’re using it now.”
I nodded, “Go back to the temple, I’ll meet you there.”
“You sure?” He said looking rather surprised. “You’ll never find your way out of here by yourself.”
“Well if you want to wait, wait back there,” I motioned a way’s back down the alley. “But don’t take any risks; I may need your skills again. So I won’t be upset if you’re not there.”
“Like they could find me!” He huffed and turning headed back down the alleyway.
Moving up to the corner I got down low and peaked around the corner, there was nobody there and I could see the door he had told me about. There were no other doors along the alley, which went maybe ten feet pass the door and then split off in three directions.
I suspected there were a lot of other exits from the courtyard as well.
Doing my best to be quiet, I slowly picked my way down the alley. Just as I got to the door it opened a crack and I locked eyes with someone looking out, eyes that got very wide all of the sudden.
Kicking the door with my foot it flew open and the person on the other side stumbled back a moment, momentarily stunned. Stepping forward I recognized her immediately, even though she was wearing a hooded cloak like mine, it was the female minstrel from the inn I had seen on that first night over a month ago.
I looked around the courtyard, there were a few people walking around who were starting to turn to see what had happened. The courtyard was a small one, and there was what I would best describe as a pole barn in the middle of it. It looked pretty rough, and beat up, and had one set of large doors that were closed, and a smaller door that was open.
The woman was taking a step back, off balance from getting hit by the door; I grabbed her arm, with one hand, and pulled her close.
The moment I touched her I knew it: She was a high priestess.
“Oh I’m so sorry Mother; I didn’t see you standing there! Come, let us be quick, they are waiting for us!” I said and physically dragged her out pulling the door closed behind us, before she had a chance to gather her wits. Hopefully the few people in the courtyard would think I was supposed to be with her.
“You, you! Let me...”
I grabbed her by the neck, glaring down into her eyes.
“I know who you are, you know who I am. You keep your mouth shut, you do as I say, and I’ll bring you back here.”
She started to growl and I could feel her stiffening.
“If you start anything, I’ll kill you and go in there and kill everyone. You know I’ll do it.” I growled right back at her showing my fangs.
I turned then and letting go of her throat I dragged her back the way I came, running. The only thing keeping her upright was the strong grip I had on her arm; she was stumbling and unable to regain her balance.
“Who’s that?” Allston said as I came around the corner.
“Someone I need to talk to, lead!” I growled.
He led.
We made it back to the temple grounds in record time, and the Priestess started to put up quite a fight as I dragged her towards the grounds. I stopped and turned to face her grabbing both arms. I did the eyes and ears thing, I suspected Fel would be very interested in what happened next.
“Did you have anything to do with this?” I asked, still growling softly.
“No, we did not.”
“Then why are you hiding?”
“Because you will not believe us.”
“Why don’t we put that too the test?” I said pulling her towards the gate.
“Stop! He will kill me!” She protested.
“Why? Why will he kill you?”
“I am not his priestess, I belong to another Goddess, he will kill me to gain advantage.”
“If you are innocent, Feliogustus will not kill you. If you are guilty, he won’t have the chance because I will. Are we clear?”
“You can’t speak for him.”
“Oh yes, in this I can. Right Fel?” I growled.
I could feel his agreement and sent a silent thought thanking him for his faith in me.
“Now come.”
“No!” she said pulling back.
I gave her a hard yank and threw her over my shoulder, and turned and walked onto the grounds. She tried to claw my back, but quickly discovered I was wearing armor underneath the cloak.
“What do we have here?” One of the guards asked as I walked up to the temple.
“Did they get those bodies dug up?”
“The ones who attacked us? Yes sir, they’re around the back of the temple.”
“Good, take me to them.”
I followed the guard as the woman over my shoulder continued to struggle.
“You know, you’re just making me think you’re guilty,” I told her.
“You’re going to kill me no matter what you decide. We know all about you Godslayer!”
“If you know all about me, then why are you still here in town?” I growled.
She didn’t have an answer to that.
“Here they are sir,” he said.
I set her on the ground, still holding her arm tightly with one of mine. The guard got a good look at her then, as did Allston.
“She’s one of those singers and players!” The guard said, “Like the ones here!”
“Maybe, maybe not.”
“But we found them with picks and instruments on them.”
“That means nothing!” She said loudly.
“Quiet!” One of the guards said taking a step forward.
“STOP,” I growled and they stopped.
“If anybody is going to kill anyone, it will be me, understand?” I said looking at all of them.
They all nodded and backed off.
“Allston, you’ve got sensitive fingers, check the fingertips of her left hand.”
“Why?”
“Just do it.”
He nodded and did it. She put up a brief struggle when he took her hand, but I shook her and she stopped.
“She’s got calluses!” he said looking up at me surprised.
“Of course I have calluses!” she growled.
“Show us your claws, as well.” She flexed them out; they were all cut shorter on that hand.
“Examine theirs,” I said nodding at the pile of bodies.
“All of them?” Allston said looking a little leery at the idea.
“All of them,” I growled.
It took him ten or fifteen minutes, which considering the state of some of the bodies was impressive.
“Ten of them have the shortened claws Sir William,” He said when he was done, “but none of them have any calluses on the end of their fingers.”
“What does that prove?” One of the guards asked.
“It proves,” I said turning to look at the high priestess, “That none of them were musicians.” I could see that she was looking relieved.
“But what about their clothes? The picks for the instruments? The flutes?”
“Playing an instrument like theirs gives you calluses. If you’ve never done it, you wouldn’t know it; you wouldn’t know to check for it.”
“But their claws were cut short!”
“If you’d looked at them before we
put them in the ground, you probably would have noticed they were freshly cut.”
“May I look at them?” she said unexpectedly.
“Sure, be my guest,” I said letting go of her arm.
She stepped forward and put a paw on one and said something, then made a sign. There was a momentary glow and then she gasped and stepped back suddenly, bumping into my chest. I steadied her.
“What was that all about?”
“These men were priests!” She snarled.
“Whose?” I asked a bit shocked myself.
“I can’t tell, but I can make a pretty good guess,” she growled.
I felt it then, suddenly Fel’s presence was back, I guessed Kayryn had finished the ceremony.
The High Priestess gasped and took a step as if to run, but I grabbed her.
“Come on, I think there’s someone you might want to talk to,” and turning her I marched her into the doorway.
“What about the bodies?” One of the guards called.
“They can wait.” I said.
I could feel her shivering in front of me, “No, please, not this,” she protested.
“No one is going to hurt you, and you will be escorted home shortly,” Fel’s voice said out loud surprising me.
“I thought the temple had to be more developed before you could talk?” I said out loud, rather surprised.
“The new altar really helped,” Fel laughed.
“You got an altar down here already?” She said shocked.
“My Champion is a most resourceful man,” Fel’s voice said as I steered her into the back room we’d been using, and sitting her down in one of the chairs.
“Now, what is your name?” Fel asked.
“Felecia,” She said looking around.
“And the name of your Goddess?”
“Fordessa.”
“Fel, how could she tell they were priests?” I asked curious.
“Because she’s a high priestess. One of the rules of the game.” Fel replied.
“Can we tell whose they are?”
“No, but I think we can guess. Right Felecia?”
She nodded, “Tantrus.”
“Why would they send priests to attack us?” I asked.
“Because neither your God nor my Goddess would be able to track them, and they’d be immune to any control spells your priests could throw at them when they attacked.” Felecia said.
“Still, seems like a waste.”
“Tantrus’ priests are very fanatic; to them this would seem like a wonderful way to serve their God. I doubt they thought they would die in the attempt either.” Felecia growled, “And think about it, if you had thought Fordessa responsible, you would have hunted down her clerics, torn down her temple, and did to us what you did to the Mulander God.
“I’m sure they thought it was worth their lives,” she growled.
I thought about that, it was a pretty smart idea. But it also made me uncomfortable as I realized something else.
“They’ve got a church here, don’t they?”
“Probably,” she agreed.
“Most likely,” Fel’s voice said.
“Allston! I called and turned to find him standing in a corner looking a bit overwhelmed by what was going on, watching us quietly.
“Yes..s?” he asked looking guilty.
“Seen anything that looks like a church or a temple to an evil God around here?”
“Well... not exactly, but...” he trailed off looking unsure.
“But what?” I asked prompting him.
“Well there’s a part of town, in the poor section, that’s been kind of dangerous for a while now. Most of my friends avoid it after a few people who went down there to umm, look around didn’t come back. Course not like we go there much, people down there tend to be poor. We just thought some sort of gang was forming, so we been steering clear of it lately.”
“Thank you Allston. Now, why don’t you wait outside?” Fel’s voice said.
“Y... yes Feliogustus!” Allston said, eyes a bit wide as he hurried out of the room.
“Guess I know what I’m doing tonight,” I sighed.
“Yes, take as many men as you can get, this won’t be easy,” Fel’s voice said, “I don’t have any priests I can spare to help you tonight.”
“I could send you some,” Felecia said from where she was sitting.
I blinked, surprised. “You would?”
“Fordessa has told me to help. This was an attack her as well as on Feliogustus.”
“I would be in your debt,” Fel’s voice said into the room.
“Then I will go gather them and meet you back here in a few hours,” She said standing.
“Let me get you an escort,” I said going to the door.
“Thank you.”
I waited until the guards and Felecia had left the room.
“How long as Fordessa been a Goddess here?” I asked Fel.
“Less than one hundred years.”
“Really? Why would anyone come here now? I thought this place was already rather full.”
Fell laughed, “She didn’t come here the same way I did. She’s a local.”
“A local?” I asked sitting down in a chair and relaxing for now.
“She was a gifted musician, here on Saladin. She became very famous, and did a lot of good works and deeds with the money and prestige she earned from her talent. People started to follow her. When she died, they venerated her.
“Someone started a religion, some of her younger students as I understand it, and eventually she achieved godhood.”
“Sounds a lot easier than what we went through,” I sighed putting my feet up.
“It isn’t,” Fel said and I noticed I was sitting in the bar suddenly.
“I must be tired; I didn’t even notice falling asleep!” I said looking around.
“I did that.” Fel admitted.
“Oh?”
“Less chance of us being overheard.”
“What do you want me to do?” I sighed, I wasn’t sure I was going to like this.
“I want you to go back to Fordessa’s temple tonight with Felecia after the fight tonight.”
“Assuming I’m still alive of course,” I grumbled.
Fel laughed, “Of course.”
“Then what?”
“I want you to talk to Fordessa, I want to see what the inside of her temple looks like, how her people act.”
“Why?”
“Because if she’s going to be a threat to me, better to deal with it now while she’s weak and small of course.”
“What if they’re not going to be a threat? Can they become an ally?”
“It’s hard to be allied with another God Will; we’re all sort of competing for the same thing.”
“But you’re allied with Aryanna,” I pointed out.
“She’s not on this plane, or in this sphere. We’re not competing to become the dominate God here.”
“So sooner or later we’re going to come up against them, is that it then?”
He nodded.
I thought about that a moment, “What about a partnership?”
“A what?” Fel looked at me curiously.
“No, not a partnership,” I said thinking about it a moment, “A pantheon. She could be your wife or your girlfriend or something?”
Fel laughed at that. “Why would I want to do that?”
I shrugged, “I don’t know, maybe you’re lonely and want to get laid? I don’t know Fel,” He was laughing quite a bit as I said that, “but you have to admit, music does tend to spread and minstrels get around. Sooner or later you gotta send out the missionaries.”
“You just like music and think she’s cute!” Fel said smiling at me.
“To be honest, I totally missed on the cute part,” I said sitting back and thinking about it a moment. “But yeah, I like music, and who knows how many places she’s got churches stashed at this point.”
“And what would be in it for her
?” Fel said, “Even if I should be interested in sharing my power?”
“Survival obviously. She’s new to the game; she’s already got Tantrus gunning for her, probably quite a few other Gods and Goddesses as well. You get a shot in the arm right now when you need it the most, she gets a big promotion.”
Fel appeared to think about that a moment. “Don’t discuss this idea with anyone just yet. Sound Fordessa out if you get the opportunity, but don’t be obvious. I’m not all that interested, but I should consider the possibilities.”
I nodded. “Oh, what’s the best way to profane an altar, once I get there?”
Fel smiled, “Pissing on it works wonders.”
I laughed, “Pissing it is.”
I awoke about an hour later; the Priestess Kayryn was in the room, as were the usual guards. I stood and stretched.
“Is Second Carso still in charge here?” I asked one of them.
“Yes Sir, he is.”
“Good, go fetch him, tell him to bring as many men as he can, in an hour. Armed and armored.”
He nodded and left the room.
“What’s going to happen?” Kayryn asked looking at me.
“Tantrus has a church or something here. We are going to wipe it out.”
She gave a bit of a start at that, “Here?”
I nodded. “We’re fairly certain they are the ones behind the attack.”
“Yes, they told me you pretty much disproved our original suspicion. So after you get rid of their temple, then what?”
“I don’t know yet. We’re not in any position to take them on in a war, they’re too far away.”
“I guess we will just have to see what comes next,” Kayryn said.
I nodded again and set about checking my gear and my weapons.
The priests from Fordessa’s temple and the soldiers from the barracks showed up at about the same time. I had already made sure that Allston was there to lead us. He may look like a weasel, but at least he was a faithful and loyal one to his God.
I addressed the group, there were a dozen priests surprisingly, and Second Corso had brought a lot of soldiers, at least five hundred. I was impressed.
“Okay, the clerics here are from the Goddess Fordessa who is helping us because those we are attacking tried to frame her followers for the attack on our temple, that killed so many of our people.”
“So we know who did it?” Some one asked.
Portals of Infinity: Book Three: Of Temples and Trials Page 11