Witness the depiction of Seneschal,
My priest shall identify Her to you
Kiros hadn’t a clue which to choose. Unaware that Seneschal
had been depicted until now, he approached the murals slowly – to both display false confidence and to buy time for his guess. The final of the set appeared to tell the story's end, with a pair of figures overlooking what took place. The one on the right caught his eye immediately. It carried likeness to The Herald, or at least what he'd heard of the entity. When his approach brought him up to the mural, Kiros placed a single finger upon the figure on the left before stepping aside for the others to see clearly.
Be ever grateful for Her sacrifice
That delivered Arethil from demise
To his relief, he'd guessed correctly. Though he'd not trust
Itra, somehow he sense that the connection was true. That The Herald appeared to play a part spoke to the gravity of the lore unveiled before them. Some disaster had befallen those who had been the focus of the story, prompting apparent anger from him. Though he searched the figures for any that might match Itra, none could be found. Kiros had suspected She might have been the agent of Seneschal’s death, that appeared unikely. Doubtful that She was the cause, were The Herald involved. That they were spared the same tragic end the murals told him of implied that they must have done
something right.
Seneschal’s absence was tragic truth, then. A large part of him hoped to encounter Her again here, yet he hadn’t. Kiros saw her as a kind and caring goddess, and could not imagine that She would abandon them to the reckless guidance of Itra were She alive.
The murals contained designs that were further familiar to behold. They appeared like the designs upon the
portal stones scattered throughout the land. Were they so, the apparent process of their creation appeared a gruesome affair. The mural depicted entities called forth, with their cadavers carved up and their hearts carried off. Had the skeleton in the valley a heart that matched it in scale, it would have been roughly the same size as a
portal stone.
Was this the origin the portal stones, then?
Though some questions had been answered, many more remained, and plenty else was left to explore. Before they were done here, Kiros would scour every corner of the
ruins that he could, in search of further imagery and evidence. Perhaps he would find answers, or perhaps he would discover more questions. Any further information was highly sought after.
Itra spoke further words to all.
Explore these halls, gleam all wisdom you wish.
Learn these lessons and make no repeat of
The great folly of The Thief of the Crook
To those who'd allow it, a vision would form in mind of a chained and tormented figure Scarcely more than a silhouette could be seen of the man thrashing while the birds were biting bits of flesh off him. He and Xzaar had seem him before on the first trip, though Kiros had never known The Thief’s actual name. The images would last only a moment, fading from mind as mysteriously as they’d arrived.
May you all carry this knowledge with you
And also My blessing with you henceforth
My Priest shall give guidance and speak of it
Kiros had nothing but regret for his position as Her priest. He could now add remorse that
others were now involved. The announcement was cause for panic, rather than celebration – yet he could not display such an attitude before Her. Still and stone-faced, Kiros remained where he was while his mind raced for some way out of the situation. But there was no escaping it without rebuking Her, and there was no rebuking Her without condemning his own soul to eternal punishment in the afterlife.
His hesitation was too long for Her liking. She spoke, in words only audible to Kiros:
"Will you always delay My instruction?
Or ought I ask one of your companions?"
“Be blessed, that She has shown Herself.” Kiros authoritatively announced, hiding his disgust at his own egregious lie. He hadn’t a choice, as the others hadn’t a clue how horrible She truly was. As much as he hated his own position as Her priest, he’d not wish it upon any of them. It was his own mistakes that had placed him into his begrudging position. None of them deserved to suffer Her.
“No others on Arethil have been – we are among few.” Kiros continued.
And the fewer, the better! How he wished it would have stayed that way. How he wished Seneschal was still around.
“I shall guide you, should you accept.” Kiros spoke. He would add that they were free to reject Her – the divine did not bind mortals to contract as the fae might. Either was free to abandon the other at any time. Service to Her was simply preferable to the punishment his soul was condemned to. Though there was slight doubt,
at times.
Upon concluding his small speech, Kiros explored the remainder of the ruins, taking note of all he could see. Perhaps there would be further wisdom to be gleamed that they’d yet to discover. He hadn’t much chance to do so during his first visit to Ravaryn. He hadn’t a clue about a crook or a mural, Itra had told him absolutely nothing and
smote him upon the task’s completion, for reasons he did not know. She considered the quest to be successful, yet when he questioned why She smote him, she denied it – And She then
smote him for making the accusation.
If he wanted to discover any more of the legend they’d stumbled upon, it was better to see for himself. Whatever further wonders lied in this place, Kiros remained focused upon finding them – should they exist. He knew not what he was looking for, but this had been the chance at discovery that had motivated his trip in the first place.
He had to know more, and he’d not trust
Her to teach him.
By the time the search had concluded, the sun had long set. After a night’s sleep, the party prepared to depart back towards
Tirnua and the ships they had waiting for them. Though alert remained high over the three days their travel took, it was an uneventful affair – aside from a discovery by Kiros at the trip’s end.
Kiros hadn’t initially planned to return with the others. He and Xzaar had a missing person to locate, with payment awaiting their success. Yet, strangely, no search was needed. When he withdrew the beacon he had brought with him, he found it emit a fainted red glow – signalling that he had
already encountered the one he’d been commissioned to search for, deceased. That he did still carried pay, but
why it was lit remained a temporary mystery. Kiros could not recall finding a body, nor anyone external to their excursion at all. Confused for a moment, he briefly wondered why that was, before realization struck.
He pulled out his map again and gazed at it.
Only now did he realize who The Thief truly was.
