Chapter 18
It did not take long for the males to appear in the cathedral kitchen, once the smell from the ladies cooking had wafted through the corridors. Jer was the first to poke his head around the corner and he was soon hovering over the steaming pots, dipping his fingers in for a taste test.
“Hands off son,” Jirah said, gently rapping Jer’s hand away with a wooden spoon. “You will get to eat soon enough.”
The young thief quickly moved over to sit and wait at the dinner table. No less than a minute later, Joshua and Logan also made an appearance in the kitchen and Jer was quick to warn them. “You guys better just come and sit down if you wanna stay out of trouble.” The two men heeded the words of the young squire and quickly sat down beside him to wait.
“Thank you ladies for taking the time to cook supper,” Logan said with sincerity. “This is a pleasant surprise.” The Knight and the Cleric spoke quietly to one another as the ladies continued preparing the meal and Jer simply sat there, staring at Rose once again. Rose could feel his young eyes looking at her so she quickly looked down to make sure that her shirt was covering everything it should be.
Jirah softly placed a hand on Roses shoulder, as if to reassure her that she was doing nothing wrong, then she asked the young boy, “So where did you slip off to this afternoon Jer?”
The look of shock on the boy’s face made everyone in the room smile, except for the big knight, who now had a stern look on his face.
“Yes Jer,” Logan said firmly. “Where did you go this afternoon?”
With all eyes now on him, Jer was very nervous and he wondered how much he should tell them.
“Don’t be too harsh on the boy,” Joshua said with a rare smile on his face. “He did come back after all.”
Rose now moved over to gently brush the young man’s hair in reassurance and said, “It’s ok dear. We are your friends now. You can tell us everything and we will love you all the same.”
With that touch, and those words, there was a stirring in the heart of the young thief. He felt a deep compulsion to tell this enchanting woman every secret that he had ever kept. He did not know why, but he knew that he could trust her completely.
“I went to say goodbye to an old friend. Willy the Rogue was my mentor on the street.” Jirah brought the food to the table and they all began to eat while Jer continued with his confession. “He took me in when I was little, gave me a bed to sleep in and food to eat.”
“So he must be like a father to you Jer.” Logan said between mouthfuls
“Sorta,” Jer answered back while chewing on a mouthful of potatoes. “I worked for him, you know, stealin’ stuff. If I came back to the den with enough loot, then he wouldn’t beat me.” Jer continued eating his food calmly, like getting beat up was a normal thing.
Rose again felt compassion for the street kid, looked directly in his eyes and said, “It is not normal to be treated that way Jer.”
Jer shrugged his shoulders and went on eating like a ravenous wolf. If all the care and concern being given to him was reaching his heart, he was not about to show it right now.
“I am glad that you shared that truth with us Jerhard,” Logan spoke while patting his young squire on the back. “Choosing to stay with me will grant you many more opportunities than your former life of crime would, and you have also shown a great strength of character in showing loyalty to this Willy fellow.”
After a few minutes of silence, it was Joshua that spoke a final word on the subject. “Everyone in this room has done something that they regret. Lucky for us, we serve a god who can heal and restore. The scars may remain, but the soul can be cleansed.”
For the rest of the meal, the unlikely group ate without exchanging a word as they let what Joshua had said soak in. Once the dinner was complete, it was Logan who broke their meditation by rising from the table and asking his young squire to help him with the clean up again. Jer jumped up to the task, and many thanks were given to the cooks before Joshua spoke up to gain the groups attention.
“I think that it is high time for some full disclosure regarding why I have brought you all together. You listen up too Jer. I have a feeling that Ya has brought you into our lives for a reason.”
“Go ahead boss,” the smiling young squire said. “I can wash dishes and listen at the same time.” They all smiled at Jer’s youthful sense of humour and then looked to the Cleric to hear what he had to say.
“I have much to tell and you are sure to have many questions. I will answer them all in due time, but for now I need you all just to listen, agreed?”
Everyone nodded their agreement and Joshua continued, “The Eternal Ya created the whole world that we live in, but before Terros came to be, he created the Shining Ones. These spirit beings were made to worship Ya and serve as his helpers, but one of these special creatures was placed in charge of all the others. Belial was the most beautiful and powerful of all the Shining Ones, but he was not content in his role. When Ya created mankind to inhabit the new world, Belial assumed that he would be given these new creations to rule over as well, but he was mistaken. Ya gave the inhabitants of this new world a will of their own to choose between good and evil. Belial was angered greatly and rebelled against Ya, so the Creator cast the lord of the Shining Ones from his presence. A good number of the Shining Ones joined Belial in his rebellion and as a result, they, along with their new master became the cursed beings we now know as Taints. The Fallen One, with the help of his evil helpers, sought to spread fear and destruction among the peoples of Terros. If he could not rule them in power, then he would do all he could to set them against the Creator. As I said already, Ya had given the people of Terros a will to chose for themselves, but that did not mean he would leave them without a champion. It was then that Ya called me forth to wage war against the Taints and he granted me the power needed to destroy them. My true name is Gaost and you may as well refer to me by that name from now on. I am through with hiding behind other names. Anyways, I did what I could to fight off the fallen creatures wherever my path took me, but Belial fought back with powers I could not counter. Disease and pestilence was spreading fast among the people and I had been given only the power to destroy. Day and night I prayed to Ya for help and in time, he chose to call another helper into his service. I will not tell you the whole story now, but suffice it to say, Ya called a woman named Yeshu to be a powerful healer. Wielding the staff of Ramah, formed by the hands of Ya himself, Yeshu spread healing and love wherever she went. I traveled with her of course, as a protection against the Taints who attacked us at every turn and it looked as though we were winning against Belial’s evil efforts. I regret to admit that I became over confident at that time and embarked on a journey to seek the dwelling place of the Fallen One himself. I left Yeshu alone in the small town of Throan, where she married and was raising a small family. One day, while Yeshu’s husband and young daughter were at the market, Bane himself found her and killed her in cold blood. He stole the Staff of Ramah and carried it away to his evil master. It was weeks later when I arrived back in Throan to find that Yeshu’s husband had killed himself when he found his dear wife bleeding on the floor of their home. A loving couple in the town had taken in the young daughter of Yeshu and I did check in on her once in a while but I took the loss of the healer very badly. I spent many years angry at Ya for allowing such a tragedy to happen and lived in seclusion, hidden away from the trouble of the world. In time, Ya called out to me again to raise me up from my self-pity and anger. He told me that in time, he would bring forth another healer from the family of Yeshu who could once again channel his healing power in the world. So from that time forth, I have had two tasks. I have searched the world over to find the hiding place of the Staff, and I have followed the decedents of Yeshu in anticipation of the promised healer. Finally a time has come when I have found both of these things.”
Gaost stopped for a moment
and looked at the faces of all those in the room one at a time to see if all this history was being understood. He spoke again, “History lesson is over. Questions anyone?”
“Why would the Fallen One not just destroy the staff?” Logan asked. “Why would he hide something so powerful?”
“Even Ya himself cannot unmake something that has been created,” Gaost said shaking his head. “If Belial tried to destroy it, then he would surely be destroyed himself.” Another long silence follow as the small group considered all that the Cleric had told.
“You say that you have found where the Staff is hidden,” Jirah stated. “How did you find out where it was?”
“It took many years of searching, but once I understood that Belial fears its power, I began to look in places far away from his dwelling in the spire of ruin. One thing that made seeking the staff so hard was my continued commitment to protecting the descendants of Yeshu. I had to keep constant watch over your family Rose because the enemy has been watching them too.”
All of this information was too much for the young woman to take in all at once so she sat without responding. She had so many questions that needed answers, but they would have to wait for another time or the emotion that was welling up in her heart would pour out like a flood.
“Now we should discuss our plans for the future,” Gaost said resolutely. “As soon as possible, we must set out to retrieve the Staff of Ramah from the Isle of Shadow. All of you should understand fully that there is much danger involved in this quest. I will not force the matter on any of you, but if we are to succeed, all of us must go; even you Jer.”
Without hesitation, Logan was the first to respond to the Cleric’s challenge. “I will go. I have been praying long and hard for many years for this day to come. Know this Rose. You will have my sword with you every step of this journey and with the help of Ya, we will prevail.”
“Rose, you are like a sister to me already, even if we have only known each other for a short time,” Jirah affirmed, clasping the young woman’s hand. “I will go with you wherever Gaost leads.”
Rose smiled slightly at the widow’s kind words but still said nothing.
“I have been running from trouble my whole life,” Jer said with a shrug. “I don’t wanna end up alone in a dark basement like Willy, so I will go wherever my new boss wants to go.”
Logan smiled broadly and firmly clapped his big hand on the young squires back. “I really don’t think that a little guy like me can do all that much, but I will do what I can.”
“Your size matters not Jer,” Goast said with firmness. “Ya will use anyone who is committed to his cause.
Now all eyes turned to Rose. Her thoughts were swirling around like a torrent in her head. A few short weeks ago, she was a worthless whore, left alone to die in a dank prison cell. Now the fate of the whole world was resting on her trembling shoulders. Looking out to her new friends and seeing their smiling faces, Rose was reminded of the time she had first prayed. Ya had forgiven her so much, and on the day of that first prayer, she had determined in her heart to become an agent of forgiveness and healing. With a newfound boldness in her heart, she stood to her feet and said with a resolute voice, “Wherever Ya sends me, I will go”
With that proclamation from the Chosen One, all of the newly committed companions got up to hold the young woman in a warm embrace.
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The Staff of Ramah Page 21