Here is the next chapter! May contain disturbing violence, but I hope you enjoy!
"Silas, when is Ember coming?" Berend asked as the pair entered the house, the knight flinching as Carl heard, snapping his head towards the pair, "Ember? That pink dragon?"
"Yeah! She's coming o-mmph! mmphph! mmph!" Berend's speech was muffled as Silas clasped his hand over the boy's mouth, hissing, "Shut up! Shut up! Shut up!" The young man looked upon his father, whom stared upon the man.
"Silvanus! Wha-for Christ's Sake, boy! Where are your marbles!?" The old knight asked, shaking his head, "I think that blow to the head hurt you more than I thought. How can she fit through the door?"
"...we can use the barn door. She will surely fit then. I was going to bring this up differently." Silas replied, clearing his throat as he paused, losing esteem.
Carl fidgeted, arms twitching, "Great! I may as well boil that pig outback in the kettle! That dragon will eat us out of house!"
"Or burn it down." Berend piped up, mouth running faster than his brain as his cousin painfully nudged him, "Ow! That hurt!"
"Shut up, Berend!" Silas hissed.
In time, the patriarch sighed, accepting what was to come, "What time?"
"Dusk." Silas stated, the older man nodding, thinking.
"Okay….get a knife, boy. You will help me, since this is your doing." The old knight ordered, Silas nodding.
"What can I do, Uncle?" Berend asked, eager to offer assistance. Carl paused as he looked upon the boy.
"...hmmm…..why do you not go collect the chicken eggs?" Carl offered, Berend appearing crestfallen, but complying.
"Okay." The boy mumbled, hesitantly going outside to perform the task.
"Least he seems better today." Carl muttered, Silas nodding in response.
"Yes, he is. My face helped."
"I can see that, son." The man chuckled, picking up a head of cabbage and proceeding to chop the vegetable.
Silas chuckled, slowly cutting a leek, the dull sound of knives hitting wood filling the room, "Of course. I get my looks from you."
Carl paused, looking towards the younger man, staring for several seconds, "Not like that you do not." The man then laughed, quieting, "How is that there wound?"
"My guts did not fall out yet-as you have been insisting on what would happen."
"It still could. That wound is not healed yet." Carl stated, pushing the pieces of chopped cabbage in a kettle of broth, small pieces of meat inside, as well as a few bones.
"I will be fine. Bones, eh? The marrow is the best." Silas commented, putting the leeks inside the kettle before setting the knife down.
"Yes they are. Ever eat squirrel?" Carl asked.
"Squirrel is good, yes. I like to boil the fat and roast the bones in it. They give the broth flavor and you just snap the bones to get the marrow. Course, I like using the bones as toothpicks as well."
Carl chuckled at this, "Of course you do. So, why on earth did you invite a dragon over?"
Silas remained quiet, as if pondering over the question only to shrug his shoulders, "I was being Christian."
"Sure you were, boy." Carl muttered, Silas shaking his head, choosing to stay silent as he stirred the brew, the aroma filling the small cottage.
In time, Berend had returned, a basket of eggs held by his hand, "I have the eggs!" He beamed, proud over the trivial task. The old knight smiled upon him, ruffling his hair, "Yes, yes, you do, Berend. Why do you not set them on the table and we will-" Carl was cut off as knock came from the door, Berend jumping with excitement.
"I bet that's Ember, Silas!" Berend replied, hoping towards the door faster than both men could react and allowing the chilled air to enter the home. The boy's toothy grin fell into a frown of confusion as Ember stood not at the door, but a man. Carl approached, eyebrows arching at the man upon his doorstep, "Reverend?"
"Carl. I apologize for interrupting your eve, but a…..situation has occurred that jeopardizes the salvation of my flock." The priest spoke, Carl ushering Berend inside.
"It must be important for you to leave the priory. What would you have me?" The man asked, the clergyman pausing, as if contemplating his words before speaking.
"There have been several….incidents involving disturbed graves."
"...What kind of disturbances?"
"Bodies have been….dug up, and partially eaten. I do not need to tell you how damning desecration of the dead is." The reverend stated, Carl looking upon the man.
"And what brings you here? Do you need more night watches?" Carl questioned, the man shaking his head.
"No, no, child. I want to speak with your son."
Carl then stepped outside, closing the door behind him, "Why?"
"Where is your shovel?" The man asked, Carl pausing, but then noticed the tool laying alongside the house, "Strange. Not in its usual spot." Carl replied, picking it up, and upon seeing thick dirt on the metal, his heart froze.
The reverend approached, footfalls soft, "What did your son do last night, Carl?"
"You think he would do something like this?!" The man snarled in rage at the accusation, "You know my son!"
"Yet look at the evidence, Carl. You cannot deny that your flesh and blood is a darker man since his return."
"My son would not commit such atrocities!" The old knight hissed, the holy man raising his hands, as if to mean no harm.
"I know, but I just wish to speak to the child. That is all. I am sure this is all just a misunderstanding." The priest spoke, voice calming, though Carl still hesitated. He knew he had no choice. Even kings bowed before clergy.
The man smiled, taking Carl's silence as submission before motioning towards the door, "May I?"
Carl stared at the man with ditest, slowly nodding his head as the older man smiled, opening the door. The cousins looked upon the man, Silas clearing his throat, "Reverend?"
"Hello, child. Come with me, please. There is something you and I need to converse."
Silas hesitated before obeying, "Of course, Reverend."
The man smiled warmly, leading the man out into the chill air. Carl watched as they passed, shaking his head in distress.
"What is it that you and I must speak, Reverend?" Silas asked, the older man turning his head towards the taller man.
"You have not been to church."
"I have just returned, Reverend. I need to adjust before I can rejoin the church."
"I am afraid I cannot allow you to mingle with the other parishioners. I feel you will corrupt them."
"Corrupt them? Reverend, I have not strayed from God." Silas defended, pausing in his stride.
"You have brought the Devil to this town! You and those winged demons!" The man hissed.
"The dragons are not demons, Reverend."
The clergyman sighed, shaking his head, "I fear you are too far gone to be saved. Tell me, why was the shovel caked with dirt?"
"I dug a grave."
"You dug a grave?"
"Yes. I tried to bring Anaya some peace." Silas replied, the man staring at him as they approached what looked like an old house, motioning the younger man inside.
"I see. Sit." The man replied, motioning towards a simple chair, the cottage largely empty. Silas hesitated before sitting down.
"Hands behind the chair." The man ordered, Silas inwardly sighing as he complied, the man binding his wrists to the chair.
"Now, I shall show you why what you said is a lie." The man replied, getting a horsewhip from under his robes, Silas staring at the man.
"What is this about?"
"I believe you have sold your soul, Adler! First the whore, the necromancer, the winged devils and now feeding on corpses!" The man hissed, Silas' eyes widening.
"That accusation is absurd!" Silas cried, the priest sneering.
"You speak lies! All I must do is get you to confess. Now, did you sell your soul to the Devil?"
"No." Silas replied, the priest striking him with the whip, a loud crack ringing out.
"Lies! I say again: Did you or did you not sell your soul to the Devil?"
Silas took several seconds to respond, his pain doubled by his wounds from the night before, "No."
"Liar!" The reverend hissed, smacking the man again with more force, Silas' head snapping and the chair teetering. Silas was stunned by the pain, breath hitching as he spat blood upon the wood.
"Go….to hell." Silas cursed, receiving another blow with such force the chair completely tipped, and he had fallen upon the ground, dazed and confused from the onslaught of pain. He spit more blood out of his mouth as he tried to breath, feeling a loose tooth with his tongue-which he had bitten.
"Now, did you even consort with the Devil in order to befriend those winged beasts?" The man asked, towering above him. Silas hesitated before answering, trying to breathe.
"...No."
The priest frowned, kicking the young man in his stomach. Silas' breath hitched as he was unable to breath, the wind knocked out of him as he tried to curl into himself for protection. The clergyman kneeled beside the man, pulling his hair to make the knight look upon him.
"I ask you now, did you partake in the blasphemy of devilry with the necromancer?"
Silas looked upon the man, lips slightly parted as he breathed heavily, spitting blood upon the priest's face in response, "...N..no."
The man whipped the blood, smearing the liquid before punching the knight in the face, Silas' body twitching. The young man remained unresponsive for several seconds, slowly coming to with a groan. The priest once more grasped the man's hair, forcing the knight to look upon him.
"I ask you now, did you ever fantasize about the adulterous Duchess?" The priest asked, Silas looking upon the man, though did not respond over several moments.
"I see…." The reverend spoke, releasing the man from his hold, his footfalls walking away shortly before coming back. Kneeling beside the man, the priest grabbed Silas' hair once more, forcing the man to look upon him again. It was then Silas' eyes focused upon the knife poised upon him.
The clergyman smiled, almost warmly so as he poised the steel blade but a mere inch about the knight's right eye-the left too inflamed.
"Well now, let us cut the sin of lust from your eyes, child."
I'm such a terrible person! D:
Either way, I hope you enjoyed and thank you for reading and supporting! :)
Also, I apologize for the length of the story(I bet some of you are getting sick of it), but it will only be a few more chapters of build up and then the plot will be in it's final stretch, and then...FINISHED! YAY!