Chapter 030: Calcification

  Pythia sat in front of my bed wrapped in her loose, white robe. She was squeezed tight at her waist by a wide, ornamental belt. Red jewelry caught attention to her slender neck. Behind her, Evadne lay on the floor, just beside the opposite wall. Messy hair, crumpled clothes. She rolled on her back, a hand landing on her sweaty forehead. I rested on the half-lifted bed, like a patient in a hospital.

  Knock. Knock. Knock. Strong and insistent.

  "Highest Priestess, Inquisitor with urgent report demands audience."

  I recognized Corvus' voice. Evadne sighed and opened her heavy eyes with effort. She lifted herself on two hands and looked around with confusion. She tried to smooth her disheveled hair down with limited success.

  *She really took her duty to heart. She must have stayed all night watching over me. I should thank her.*

  *My fatigue is one thing, but will she endure the next three months like that?*

  Pythia clicked her tongue with irritation, then said: "Remind him the Crucible protocol is in effect and Saint's training has top priority."

  There was a short exchange between Corvus and the Inquisitor. Wood and stone swallowed the details. Corvus's muffled voice from behind the door came back. "Highest Priestess, he insists."

  *Insisting despite Pythia's direct order? That takes guts. It must be important.*

  Pythia clenched her jaw, cast an apologetic look at Evadne and said: "Let him in."

  *The black-robe guys give me chills. They're creepy.*

  I tried to sit up, since lying when they stand above me would put me at a disadvantage. When I tried to move, I felt muscles and parts I wasn't even aware I had. And it was far from pleasant.

  *Okay, I take back 'just a little sore' from before.*

  Pythia noticed my discomfort and her gentle, cold hands helped me sit up. She adjusted the bed to keep me in position. "Thank you," I whispered, and her eyes radiated a gentle warmth in return.

  The door opened. A black, hooded figure entered. His face was unreadable behind the dark veil. He stopped right after he crossed the threshold.

  "Highest Priestess, forgive this humble servant of Pandora, but I have an urgent report."

  Evadne became a little pale, her eyes crystal clear and focused on the Inquisitor. His robe seemed ordinary, yet the deep black material gave him an intimidating, ominous aura. He looked very confident, no trace of the "humbleness" he spoke of, even addressing Pythia. He glanced over me and Evadne. "May we speak in private? It's about the investigation." He shifted, angling toward the door, and gestured for Pythia to follow—even his hands were gloved in black.

  *Althea said there was an intruder, and now the Inquisitor marched in against the Highest Priestess' words? I have to know what this is about.*

  "Althea, repeat so Pythia can hear," I said in my mother tongue, "I want to hear this report."

  Althea repeated in this world's language.

  Pythia raised an eyebrow, the corner of her lips rose, but then her face became calm and smooth again.

  "Speak. Now." She demanded. After a heartbeat of reluctance, the Inquisitor obeyed. At first, with a low and firm voice. But with each sentence, the hesitation grew. The facade cracked.

  "As you know, first witness, Lydias of Flavius Family was cleared of suspicion. We interrogated him thoroughly."

  Pythia nodded gracefully. "Continue."

  *So the barber was innocent? I knew it, Althea was overreacting. I should have ignored her.*

  "However, when we questioned the tailor, Marcus of Aetius Family, he..." The Inquisitor's voice dropped; he remained silent, as if unsure how to deliver the report. "He died, Highest Priestess."

  "What?!" Pythia surged to her feet with an abrupt shout. I blinked. A glob of rice glue splattered from the bowl, hitting the floor with a pathetic plop. She slammed the bowl onto the desk with a furious crack.

  "This is unacceptable! I told you to get to the bottom of this, not put the only witness in the ground!" She paced, hands clenched. Just a couple of steps back and forth in the small cell. "Do you understand what you've done? These witnesses are our only connection to whoever infiltrated the Temple. Without them, the trail goes cold."

  Cold swept over my suddenly sweaty body.

  *He died? The 'lost-in-thought' tailor? Wait, was he the intruder Althea spoke of? Was she right after all?*

  "I told you, Leonard. I sensed an intruder." Althea cut in. "And now the witness is dead. Coincidence? I don't think so." A pause, then smugly: "By now you should know I'm always telling you the truth."

  *Just maybe not the whole truth, huh? Either way. She's right. And he was so close to me. He touched me, measuring my body. He stayed with me in the same room... At least I ordered my shadows to stay close. Fuck, what's going on here?*

  The rest of Pythia's composure crumbled like a house of cards. She continued to shout and the Inquisitor shrunk under her anger. "How did that happen!" She pointed a judging finger at the Inquisitor. "How! That was our only lead so far!"

  Evadne, still sitting on the mattress, covered her open mouth with both hands. Her eyes jumped frantically between the Highest Priestess and the Inquisitor.

  "Highest Priestess, forgive our incompetence, but we don't know," the Inquisitor said humbly. Hooded head kept low.

  "Explain. Yourself. This. Instant." She growled through clenched teeth.

  The Inquisitor began to rub his slightly shaking hands against each other.

  "He just died." He shrugged his shoulders in a pathetic attempt to justify himself. "The moment we asked the first question, he stopped breathing, remained silent, and then," the Inquisitor swallowed audibly. "His head dropped and we thought he fainted. But his heart stopped." The Inquisitor made a step back when Pythia inhaled heavily through her nose. "We tried to reanimate him, we used all we had, but his body just gave in."

  The air went out of Pythia. She collapsed onto the chair in front of my bed, her right hand splayed across her face, covering both eyes.

  "People don't just die, Highest Priestess. Did they check the body?" I said in my mother tongue, and Althea repeated.

  She lifted her head slightly, looking at me over the edge of her hand. Then her eyes darted to the Inquisitor, and she straightened in her chair. When she spoke, her tone was flat, measured, and deliberate.

  "Full autopsy. You must determine how he died. Proceed with the next interrogations with extreme caution. Extreme caution, understood?"

  The Inquisitor's fingers moved frantically. "Y-yes, Highest Priestess, we'll prepare a full med-evac team for the next session. Healers, Alchemists, and Shadow Guards. A-and we'll do the interrogation in the clinic—we'll be fully prepared, I assure you." He gave a deep bow and waited for a reply. But Pythia just waved her hand with impatient dismissal. He left urgently, as if chased by the intruder himself.

  This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

  The door closed behind the Inquisitor with a thud. Pythia, Evadne, and I were the only ones left in my small cell. Pythia pondered for a moment looking out the window. Evadne knelt on the mattress with her rear on her heels, hands clasped on her lap, head low.

  *So the tailor was probably the traitor. And Althea... she sensed an intruder, but misplaced the suspicion? So she couldn't pinpoint the source exactly...*

  "I'm sorry we woke you, child," Pythia whispered. "Please rest before the next session. We have at least two hours before his next dose." She rose and extended her hand to Evadne. "Take a bath. Eat something. He's in..." Evadne, supported by Pythia, stood up swiftly and glanced at me.

  I nodded as firmly as I could manage, hiding the pain the sudden movement caused.

  "...good shape now. He'll manage on his own." Evadne stood, and Pythia placed a hand on her cheek. "Take care of yourself first. Remember your training: first the rescuers, only then the victims."

  Evadne nodded obediently. The tension left her face, but she glanced at me again with her feet soldered to the floor.

  "Don't worry about me, Evadne." I gave her the best smile I could manage, ignoring the needles in my neck. "I have two guards with me. Let's meet in two hours? In the armory again?"

  Evadne replied after taking a long, deliberate look at me. Her golden eyes scanned me as if she could read my very soul. "Alright, but contact me via your Guid if anything happens."

  "Sure," I blinked as if it could make my smile more natural.

  Finally convinced, she left with Pythia without looking back. I was left alone in the room, staring through the window. The ashen sky wasn't very entertaining. Wind muffled against the glass with a sudden gust.

  *Two hours. Kinda boring staying here. But on the other hand, this moment of calm is... enjoyable.*

  "Leonard, you have to move," Althea said.

  *Yes! Of course, right this moment, my dear guide!*

  "Why now?" I asked, irritation bleeding through.

  "The catalyst may calcify your soft tissues. You must move them to prevent that."

  "Alright," I said, wondering if Pythia and Evadne knew about this. Probably not. They would prompt me to movement otherwise.

  I put my legs on the floor with the help of my hands—my lower body, in particular, wasn't eager to cooperate. Naturally, I paid for that with a few groans. I approached the door and leaned heavily against it, hissing through my teeth.

  Pain was no surprise anymore. But the small lump behind my head that ached? That was unexpected.

  "You won't believe what happened while you were unconscious," Althea said mischievously. "Evadne asked Pylades and Brutus to drop you on the floor."

  "What?" escaped me. "Why?"

  *I trusted Evadne, I saw her dedication, but... but that... is a bit much to take in at once.*

  "Well, she tried to help with catalyst binding, but failed miserably."

  "I'll ask her later. Stop being jealous of her," I scoffed.

  "I'm not jealous. I may be a little... possessive, but it's only because you're that important to me, Leonard."

  "Yeah, yeah. I don't have either the time or the energy for this now, Althea." I tried to open the door, but the violent sting in my shoulder blade convinced me otherwise.

  *Did she really ask them to drop me?*

  I slapped the door with a flat palm, a meat-like sound that barely echoed.

  "Corvus? Are you there? Open the door, please."

  The door opened; I lost my support but held the frame instead.

  "Yes, it's me. What do you need, Saint Leonard?"

  "Show me your face."

  Yeah, it was a silly request, I could admit that. But seeing his face, even if only for a moment before it was again hidden beneath his armor, calmed me.

  "Who's with you today?" I asked, shuffling over the threshold. He jumped to me and steadied me with his arm.

  "Idas, but Saint Leonard, you're all burning!" He raised his voice, and that irritated my ears somehow. "Shouldn't you rest in the bed before next session?" He tried to gently stop me, but I leaned on him with a grunt.

  "We're moving out," I pressed on, "The catalyst is too effective on me. If I don't move now, I'll be crippled."

  "W-wait, Saint Leonard, but without Crucible's Overseer?"

  I dropped "Who?" in between the slow steps.

  "Without High Priestess Evadne?"

  "She's resting," I hissed, "Corvus, I'm not the best version of myself right now. Please. Just do as I say."

  Fortunately, he did.

  We traveled the Temple's wide corridors and its bare stone walls. I spotted Idas twice, following at a distance behind us. People outside were busy with their lives, but an itching that wouldn't leave me didn't let me focus on anything else. All I noticed was the dark curtain hiding the sun, ash-grey, heavy clouds.

  *It would be nice to be in the palace now, in the warmth of the sun.*

  "Leonard," Althea said, "time is running out. Please get back to the Armory."

  "Corvus, let's go to the Holy Knight's Armory."

  "Yes, Saint Leonard," he said quickly, but he kept glancing between me and the path in front of us.

  "What is it?"

  "Brutus mentioned the first day was..." he trailed off, as if unsure what to say. "...difficult," he finally said.

  "That's one way to say it."

  "I can't imagine the effort, b-but he said you did well. He asked me to tell you that before you start today."

  I nodded, not trusting my voice to stay steady.

  We continued in silence, each step an effort. Finally, the armory entrance loomed ahead. The bulky door bore the symbol of the Holy Knights—a sword below a moon and sun. We stepped in.

  The Priest of Steel keeping watch greeted me enthusiastically. He congratulated me on finishing the first day of the Crucible.

  *Is he so dense he doesn't see me leaning on Corvus and grunting with every movement?*

  It didn't matter. I looked around for Pylades and Evadne. They were nowhere to be found. I spotted only Hector in the far end of the gym. He was looking through some equipment with his back to us.

  "Leonard, your fever is rising; you need a new dose in half an hour," Althea warned.

  Pythia's words rang in my mind, "Addicted." A new dose regularly or I'll die.