The Pope and the woman who had used the crystal ball to show us the battle earlier helped me hobble down the corridor. Apparently sitting down for so long, about an hour or so, caused my injury to aggravate, and so it was burning a hole in my sides that having a shoulder to lean on helped to mitigate, as we walked quite a ways, until we came to a room I identified, without anyone's help, was some kind of chapel in the castle itself, with a statue depicting the Three Heroes.
"Hmm, didn't see that before," I commented, as we made our way past a few small pews, with me sitting down in the front with a relieved sigh. The woman smiled at that, in a more amused than patronizing way, as she stood back, and the Pope stood over me. He adjusted his glasses slightly, the things shining, my (Insight) telling me they were quite the powerful item, not unlike the 'Appraisal Monocle' the Guild gave to the heads of the Halls.
The man nodded as he looked me over, then clapped his hands together loudly, causing them to glow and hum with a blue aura, before he, without asking or warning, placed them on my side. Instantly, I felt…I wasn't sure. It was healing, that much was obvious as something like warm and cold auras washed into my body. The next few moments made my body tense, before finally he pulled away, and I felt like I would just melt into the seat in relief.
I sat there for a bit too long, honestly, as the Pope and the woman smiled at me, letting the sun outside drift upwards, going from the morning into noonday, though I was up a bit before things would go past that. The pain I'd had was healed completely, and I even did a few stretches to test that out. It was nice to move around normally again, and I thanked the man for his help.
"Oh, do not be troubled, my good Hero. This was the least of what the Church should do for someone in your position," he said with the grandfatherly smile of his, and he and the young lady took me into a side room of the chapel that must have been the woman's room, the place she stayed at, as she offered the Pope and myself a place at her table, and then went to get more of the not-coffee for myself and him.
From there, he answered all the questions I could think of on how the crystal ball thing worked. They were, apparently, not like cameras at all, as the view was sort of like a three-dimensional image, rendered into a flat image via the medium it was recorded on. It still HAD all the information of the three-dimensions, though, which was how the view could be shifted around, even allowing, as I saw, for a really cool 'Matrix' shot, spinning it around as the action was paused.
Pope Balmus even pulled out a ball to show it off, as I asked about how much 'footage' could be kept stored on one, and finding out that they had yet to find a limit to that. That said, the projectors were expensive to make, and done via a process that only those with a 'Priest' class could do, similar to their manufacture of various elixirs and the like, so they tended to be all under the purview of the Church, save a few that were 'gifted' to certain powerful people, mostly Royals of the various kingdoms.
Mind, the 'recording process' was done via a skill baked into the crystal balls themselves, and could technically be done at a range that was basically unlimited, though the farther from the source you were the less focused the image would be, and sound would only travel up to the point where it was audible to the listener. That was why mediums, like a small bauble in the Princess' regalia were typically used, as a kind of signal booster, to make them work.
It was a fascinating device, more so when I learned every church, even those abbeys in towns of less than a hundred, had one in their care. It allowed them to contact the head church or any other one right away. It was how they knew where events happened, like the Waves, and thus could send whatever forces were nearby at a moment's notice, a very good system overall.
The Guild's 'Sending Bars' were designed off a similar skill, though usable by just about anyone, and constructed far more easily. They did, obviously, wish the Church would sell them a few of the 'Viewing Globes' for their use, but it was too time consuming to make them, and maintaining them was even more so. That may have been an excuse, but given the Guild wasn't exactly freely handing out Sending Bars to every merchant that asked for one, it held up.
The Churches, whether the Three Heroes here, the Four Heroes Faith in the surrounding, the singular faith in the Heroes of certain villages, or even the Hourglass worshipers he'd heard of in other lands, all of them refused to station one of their own in the Guild Halls on a permanent basis. At that, he broached a subject that I had been expecting him to bring up for some time.
"It is known that the city of Hydra Gorge once had a lovely Cathedral, with a grand antechamber celebrating the Four Heroes, as that was back before the Shield had fallen out of favor. Might I ask what your plans are for that space?" he said, obviously trying to be diplomatic about it, but also making it easy to see what he was really after. Reestablishment of the Faithful in a city that was technically outside the Crown's Purview.
"Ben, the Guild Administrator I have allowed to run the city, said as much. Sadly, none of the artifacts since have survived the passage of time, the rage of the Hydra, or perhaps were looted by someone more interested in gains that could be pilfered, rather than won in a fight," I told him, trying to sound sad about it, but honestly it made sense. Five-hundred years was a long time, and even metals like gold would tend to rust and tarnish in that time.
"I see, a shame that, as I had hoped one or two of the icons had survived. That said, it does indicate that the space itself was still around, if he could identify it as such," he said, a hopeful tone in his voice.
"I…your Holiness, might I speak with you privately? This is a sensitive matter, and while you have his faith, my lady, it might prove to be something we do not wish spreading," I said, turning to the woman who had said nothing during our exchange. She seemed a bit started by the suddenness of the question, but turned to Balmus, who stroked his chin in a thoughtful manner, before nodding to her.
"If it would be alright with you Sister, might we borrow your chamber for a few moments?" he asked her.
"Of course, Your Eminence," she said, bowing to him, then to me, and then quickly shuffling out of the room. I was about to say something, but the Pope held up his hand, and with a glance about, pulled something out of his robes, a necklace that he whispered something into, before a wave of light washed over us, and placed itself against the walls.
"You may speak freely now, Hero of the Bow. No word spoken here shall travel beyond this room," he assured me, and given my next question was going to be if he could do something like this, it showed that Balmus was beginning to anticipate me. That also probably meant he knew what I was going to ask, which was a bit disturbing given the subject matter, but I decided to power through.
"I want to know what you want then, your Holiness. I have talked with my party at length about the political situation here in Melromarc, and the Church is not well loved by most people. They do what they're supposed to, of course, but charge lots of money for even basic aid, and you, yourself, have been accused of a myriad of crimes over the years," I said with a bluntness that seemed to surprise the Pope for a moment, as he opened his eyes wide, but then smiled at me…not the warm smile he'd had before, but a cold one, a calculating one.
"You know more than your fellows then. I had hoped that we might hold off on discussing the darker aspects of this world until after the three…four of you had become more settled," he said, correcting himself without the need for me to do so, which was interesting in and of itself.
"I am every bit the villain you have likely heard. I have cheated, connived, and murdered my way into the position I now enjoy," he said bluntly, which nearly made me choke on my spit in shock, as he continued to smile that cold smile at me.
"Now, before you condemn me, I must ask if, like the King, you will allow me to provide some context to what has caused these things in my life. If you wish to do so afterwards, I will allow it, but if I am to be damned, I wish to be damned for who I am," he said simply.
"I…you were listening at the door while I was in my meeting with Aultcray," I realized, saying it allowed, and he nodded with a chuckle.
"I've had good luck listening at doors, and entering at the most opportune moment, such as when two daughters attempt to drive a wedge between a Hero and the Royalty, one intentional, one simply because she is too honest for her own good," he said, and I considered that for a moment, before motioning with my hand for him to say his piece.
"My story, the details of it, would bore you to tears, I'm afraid. I was born to the cloth, to two others who were followers of the Faith. I grew up in an abbey far from the centers of power and politics, and believed, as any child would, that the world was kind and good, and that all the evils of man were epitomized in the monsters and the Shield's Worshipers," he began, taking a sip from his drink, before setting it down and staring into the cup.
"When I was younger, there were wars. Terrible, awful things, with the nation of Siltvelt. They had flared up off and on for centuries, as our nations are at odds when it comes to our peoples' very being, they being of the Demi-Humans, and we being Humans," he continued.
"A foolish thing, perhaps. We are all against the monsters and the Waves, and yet, we both cannot see beyond our differences," he actually sounded regretful at that as he let out a sigh.
"And make no mistake, this is a Sin both sides share. They despise us, for our longer lives, and greater skills, and we they for their power, and control of themselves," he added.
"Sins, even shared, do not become lesser simply because both sides foolishly cling to such feelings," I said in answer, and for a moment, he seemed dour. Not angry, just a bit of sorrow crossing his face, before his expression firmed once more.
"Still, if only one side in a conflict lets go of their hatred, it is called Surrender, and I can understand not wanting that held over you," I added, and that softened his face, as he let a small smile, this one a mix of warmth and cold, touch his lips.
"Tell me, then, of your sins. Confess them to the Hero of the Bow, and let me…not judge them, for I am not of this world, and know little enough of its history to do that, but weigh them against my own. If the balance is met, perhaps we can work together…perhaps not," I said, leaning forward, and the man seemed to consider that thoughtfully for a long moment, before leaning forward himself, and then taking a deep breath.
"My crimes of lying and deceit would be of little interest to you, I think. A few words placed in the right ears to get the right heir in place for my purposes, a noble told of a plot against them that might not have been real to keep them from sleeping easy with their neighbors. The sort of games all nobility gets up to, even on your own world, I'm sure," he said, and I couldn't do more than shrug. I'd never exactly been 'noble' back home, but yeah, the news was pretty clear on that front.
"Is it the Church's influence that has seen the Second Princess be the heir to the throne?" I asked, remembering that little tidbit from a discussion with Ray a while back. The Pope scoffed, in an amused way.
"You severely overestimate the power of my sect over the royalty of this nation. Were it up to me, I'd have had the King and Queen make another heir by now, as the first is untrustworthy and seems to betray those around her without rhyme or reason. She conspires even with my own order to undermine her family's position, if you can believe it, and seems to see herself as a master manipulator for such scheming," he chuckled at that, seemingly amused.
"Meanwhile the Second Princess, and current Heir is just like her mother. She sees peace as something that we can have simply by surrendering to our enemies. She thinks that bad blood, blood her father and mother spilled, can be forgotten. Her mother too. The very reason she left was to allow other nations to summon the Heroes, that we might be made weaker in this most dire of times. Foolishness," he said, and I was about to ask a question, but he continued on.
"As for the cheating, well, I'll admit, not every noble leaves their land to the church as willingly as it might seem, and sometimes a bit of changes might find their way into the will, bequeathing to us an artifact or two that are of some interest to our people. After all, is it not better to place such things in our care, then leave them to gather dust in some noble's trophy room?" he said, and again, arguing with that wasn't exactly something I could do, but I think he saw my impatience growing, as he smiled at me.
"But I'm sure those moments where we were forced to end the lives of others would be of the most interest to you. Let it be known that that list is only eighteen names long. Killing is, after all, a very dirty business, and not something to be broken out at the first hurdle. Only when the ones to be influenced prove completely intractable do you pull that particular card out," he said, actually sounding a bit angry, with himself, or with them, it was hard to tell.
"My first was a Holy Mother of my town's church. She was a harsh woman, she had to be, we lived near the border. But she wanted to hold, she told the men that her faith would be a shield for them. I knew that to be a lie, and so that evening, I poisoned her. It led to the men seeing it as a sign, and we abandoned the village, getting everyone out mere hours before the Siltvelt army stormed through on their way to a juicier target," he actually sounded genuinely sad as he remembered that.
"You know, I was there, on the field of battle, healing the injured, when King Aultcray fought the King of Siltvelt, Tyran. That was many years later, when I was leading a flock of my own, but it was a glorious sight to see. Their battle lit the sky for miles, as spells the likes of which the world has not seen since were traded, before with one final blow, the King of Monsters fell, and the Wise King stood over his burned and battered corpse," that brought a hint of pride to his speech, as he looked out the window with a warm smile on his lips.
"For my actions during that battle, I was elevated, becoming an Archbishop. I had to kill two of my fellows sometime later to secure my position…a common enough thing. They hired their own assassins to do me in, I just splurged a bit more, while they seemed to want to save their coin for more worthy foes," dark chuckle escaped his lips at that statement.
"From there, I became next in line to the Holy Seat, when the Pope died…poisoned, by a few nobles who did not care for the influence he had over the Queen at the time. That is, after all, how the game is played. After that, I have slain a few to keep my position. And more have died because of my decisions, ones I make to secure the future of my nation and people," I could tell by his tone, he was finished speaking, as he took a long draw of his cup, and then gently set it on the table, to stare at me.
For my part, I had to sit there and think on what he'd said. Obviously, he was…not being fully clear on his role in all this, but from what I'd heard about this country and its neighbors, he didn't sound any worse than most of the other options. However, one of the things he'd brought up stood out to me, and so I leaned forward, crossing my fingers before my face, and stared him in the eyes.
"She wanted to summon us in other nations?" I asked, and the Pope seemed surprised at my question, before a dark look, one that was happiness mixed with some far more sinister, crossed his face.
(Author's Note: Before anyone says it, yes, he isn't lying…exactly. He's leaving out details obviously, and painting himself in the best light possible, as he tried to do with the Shield Hero. The Bow Hero has little reason to trust his words, but that's why he's being so forthcoming. Sometimes the right kind of lie is the truth shaped just so.
So while Bard knows he's not to be completely trusted, something I'm sure his party has told him about the church and its leader, he's also in a position to be a useful tool TO the Heroes, and that's not the sort of thing to throw away the first moment it comes into your hand. Even a poisoned blade, wielded well, can save a kingdom.
This was also one chapter with the next at one point in the creative process, but gods does this cutscene go on and on…it needs to, these are important plot details, but I know it's just two men talking in a room. Sorry for that.)
