‘It sends shudders down my spine merely to recall that… thing. There was something far more sinister at work than it allowed me to glimpse. If it was some form of twisted justice, or if it was merely a powerful and angry spirit, I am uncertain. I have been taught since the day of my birth not to fear the supernatural, but that thing… That damned thing… It was something that even I could not bear to even think about. I know how crippling Harkon’s fear of the supernatural is, and I think they’re wholly entitled to be afraid of it. Terrible things have come of it, and I would like nothing more than some earthly beast to be afraid of instead of that billowing cloud of shadows.’ Isaac’s nerves give way at this point. Harkonian superstition is infectious, and Isaac could feel the fear that Jacques had felt during that dark and sinister night inside those caves.
‘I do not feel like talking any further. I hope that my words did not carry too far in these caverns. The last thing we need is for those men of Harkon to be even more fearful than they already are.’ Brushing off the last of the icicles on his coat, Jacques wanders off to the mouth of the cave. Much to his surprise, most of the men look deathly pale. Even Brahm seems to be affected.
‘Did something happen? Why do you all look so sickly?’ Brahm chimes in to speak for his men, as he usually does.
‘No no, nothing’s wrong Jacques! We’re just fine. We were just thinking about heading off now. We’ve spent more than enough time resting.’ Noticing Brahm’s strange behaviour, Jacques quickly heads back inside the cave.
‘Isaac, could I ask a favour? Could you talk to yourself for a minute or two?’ Surprised at Jacques’ request, Isaac thinks about it for a moment.
‘Okay. Why not?’ Jacques sprints his way to the front of the cave, and listens carefully.
‘… And that’s just one of the many places I found my father in the mornings. I had to do so much cleaning while he just lazed around…’
He can hear Isaac’s voice clearly at the front of the cave. This confirms what he had presumed. Brahm and his men had heard every detail of Jacques’ adventure through that stygian cave, and Harkonian superstition always dictates their reasoning and decisions. Still though, it encouraged them to get out of here as quickly as possible, and that suits Jacques just fine. Hopefully this stops them from taking refuge in any cave at all into the future. Jacques, like he had wondered many times before, ponders how such a superstitious people had managed to fight Arcana to a standstill for so long.
Arcana: A recollection Page 12