Chapter 7: The Eternalists

The road to the capital city of Todoryre was a long and mostly uneventful road. At least the Western continent was not constantly at war with each other (Unlike the Eastern continent).

The only threats for travelers were bandits and the rare wild monsters, but the guild's strong standing in the Western continent's countries meant a tight coverage of adventurers on and around the main roads connecting major cities. 

Even with connection and wagon from the Bureau, as well as priority travel through outposts and checkpoints, it took the party 4 days to reach the town of Menai, North of Niliphy, and another 6 days to finally arrive at a countryside town called Exandret, mere miles from the port city of Todoryre.

It was a small and quiet town, just with enough accommodation to be independent from the capital city. There was a bakery, a windmill and enough hunters and fishers to provide food, there was a farm with cows and grains, there was a blacksmith to mend hoes and pitchforks and horseshoes. And at the very entrance of the town, a small chapel used to stand proud where townsfolk would come and pray every morning and listen to the teachings of Lathander every noon.

But now, in its place was a charred and destroyed structure. 

The remaining stone walls burnt black with soot, the roof of the chapel collapsed entirely, and the once luxury tinted windows - costing an arm and a leg and was the pride of the Tressel family, depicting Lathander gracefully observing the Astral Sea now broken into pieces, utterly unrecognizable.

Stepping down from the wagon, the elf archer Elluin was worried that the cleric girl would break down again, after all, the chapel was her home for years, and now it lay in ruins. 

But her worry was uncalled for.

Roselie was calm facing her ruined home, despite mourning the whole way to Exandret. Her eyes projected a fiery determination Elluin had never seen before. 

But the elf archer's forte was not reading people's emotion and expression - that was the job of her husband. 

She turned around hoping to ask Harrison for his diagnosis, but he was already talking to a well dressed elf - much more well dressed than the locals. Elluin also noticed some locals staring at the party from afar, and it was expected as there weren't many adventurers passing through Exandret at the time.

"Lissa, please keep Roselie's company, okay?" the elf archer nodded to the halfling, who was already on her way to cling to the cleric girl. The pair slowly entered the demolished chapel.

Elluin then instructed the wagon driver to wait for the party in the smaller-than-average tavern, then she joined her husband. 

It turned out, the male elf Harrison was talking to was the guild representative of Todoryre, and Exandret, together with Murateamis, Didausairou and Sigenenoli (the four towns in the Neneia County) were under his management. His name was Ilrune Mirazorwyn, and he expressed a deep apology for letting such a violent crime happen in his area. He had already taken authority to send a letter to Roselie, managed the preservation of her family's deceased bodies and sent out guards and adventurers to investigate the culprit of the murders. 

"Any lead on who did it?" Harrison asked, not expecting a definitive answer. But Ilrune produced a strange metallic object from his personal bag of holding. 

It was a coat pin made of silver, depicting a snake in the shape of the symbol "infinity", and a sword skewering through the two loops of the snake's body. 

"This symbol here belongs to a cult." Answered Ilrune, a serious tone in his voice "They call themselves the "Eternalists", and, if I'm not mistaken, they believe in immortality and ways to extend their cultists lifespan."

The Eternalists.

This religion holds that every soul is immortal and eternal and that death is but a delusion. 

They disbelieve in reincarnation and karma and are adamant about protecting their current position and identity. 

The Cycle and Lathander teachings preached that every living soul, even from the gods themselves, will one day return to the cycle and to be reincarnated. 

Yet, to the Eternalists, the Cycle is nothing but a lie, an illusion casted by the, according to them, "foul" god Lathander.

They want to live forever. 

To do this, they employ a variety of techniques, including magic, science, and rituals, to lengthen their lives, increase their physical and magical prowess, or transfer their consciousness into different bodies or items. 

They despise The Cycle and the teaching of Lathander. 

By killing, enslaving, or obstructing the emancipation of individuals who follow the Cycle, they also attempt to disturb the natural cycle of life and death. 

The Eternalists want to impose their will on the rest of creation because they believe that they are superior beings who have overcome the limitations of mortality.

All living things should live in harmony, peace, and wisdom, according to Lathander's followers. As long as they don't cause harm to themselves or others, they appreciate the freedom and diversity of other religions and cultures. 

The Eternalists, on the other hand, believe that whoever opposes them or gets in their way will be subjected to dominance, exploitation, and destruction. They frequently persecute or enslave people from various religions and civilizations because they have no regard for their rights or dignity. Additionally, they aim to take over or infiltrate smaller countries in order to increase their power and domain. 

There have been hearsay and whispers that some Eternalists of higher positions have successfully integrated themselves into many powerful organizations around the world and started recruiting, as well as scheming their next move.

"Is that so?"

The stern and unmoving, emotionless voice of the cleric girl spoke out as the guild representative finished explaining the cult to Elluin and Harrison.

"Is it true that the Eternalists murdered my family?"

The elf representative stuttered, obviously abashed by the bold and indifferent tone of Roselie. But of course, the cleric was still in her early twenties, even though she had achieved the rank of Archdeacon of the church. Losing one's family was not an easy thing to get over, especially when it's so sudden and violent.

But Ilrune quickly gathered his composure.

After all, adventurers were a different breed - that much he knew.

"We strongly believe that members of the cult did commit these murders, here in Exandret."

"... Please take me to my family." Roselie nodded, her staff slightly jingled "And… sir Harrison, can you please find some builders and masons? Ask them to get materials for… you know… three graves."

Harrison simply nodded and dashed away as the rest of the party followed Ilrune Mirazorwyn to Exandret's only apothecary, currently temporarily serving as a morgue as the town's only chapel was burnt down.

Entering from the storefront, the party moved into the back office where three bodies were laid on stone tables, covered completely with plain white shrouds. 

The hazel-colored hair, middle aged pharmacist nodded to Roselie as she revealed the faces of her family to the cleric girl. Roselie stood there at their feet, as both of the elves' heard a deep and sharp inhale when the pharmacist finally revealed her brother's face.

Roselie spoke, now shaken with emotion.

"That… that is not my… brother… He's not… blond of hair. He had black hair like my father, while mine is blond, like my mother."

"Wha…?" Lissa let out a confused noise

The cleric girl stepped forward and forcefully pulled the shroud from the boy's body despite the protest of the pharmacist. He was a pale and slender boy, and there was a deep gash across his chest.

Then Roselie reached for his mouth before Elluin could hold her back. She pried the cold and stiff jaws apart and took a good look inside before the elf archer yanked her wrist and pulled her away from the stone table

The pharmacist, Lissa and the guild representative were mortified and could not react. 

They were at loss for words, they did not know how to describe the situation, even to themselves.

"What are you doing?" Elluin exclaimed, for she was flabbergasted that a cleric such as Roselie could do something so disrespectful to a dead person, even though he was not her brother. However, the absurdity of the situation had blinded Elluin's senses from what Roselie found out.

"This is a cultist." Roselie coldly claimed before snatching her wrist away from the elf archer's grip. 

And before anyone could say a word, Roselie, once again, approached the deceased with haste and slammed her palm onto his head while simultaneously slammed the floor with her staff.

"Rise!" She yelled out loud with a voice uncharacteristic of her "Rise and answer my questions!"

Elluin silently observed a wave of necromantic magic surged from the staff, through the cleric girl's body and into the deceased before the body sprang up as if Roselie had actually revived the cultist.

But she did not. 

She did not have the power to bring back the dead yet, and the boy's body was so frail that a reviving spell would most likely disintegrate what was left of him. She simply reanimated the body to ask it questions.

The pharmacist screamed a terrible cry and backed away from Roselie.

Ilrune attempted to step forward and stop the cleric, but he was met with Elluin, who now held him back. 

He was hesitant, for he wanted to put an end to the madness the poor girl was causing, maybe because she was crazed from the pain of losing her family. Yet, the look from the elf archer's green eyes told him enough: Elluin trusted her friend, and he should too.

Roselie removed her hand from the forehead of the body.

A strange hissing sound came out from its slightly agape mouth.

"Are you one of the Eternalist?" the cleric asked

"...Am I… Am I… yeees… I am onee… "

A terrible voice came out of the dead, but it was truly answering her beckon.

Lissa put her hand on the hilt of her dirge.

"Did you attack the chapel of Exandret?"

"I… We did…"

Elluin's ears caught an audible noise as Roselie squeezed her grip around the staff.

"Did you take my brother alive?" Roselie asked after a brief moment of consideration

"... don't… know. Died… by the… mother… before… knowing."

Elluin's eyes finally saw something strange inside the boy's mouth. His tongue, purple and pale in color, had a strange, black symbol, almost as if it was tattooed on. A snake in the shape of the infinity symbol, and a sword driving through it. That was why Roselie did that… The elf archer thought.

"Where is your lair?"

The dead suddenly stopped talking and looked over to the cleric. Its foggy eyes stared soulessly at her face, as if it was determining if she was a friend or a foe.

"Please answer the question." Roselie calmly said and repeated the question again.

"A town… North… of… Bythera…"

It finally answered.

"Are… Are you…" Roselie stuttered "Do you regret joining the Eternalists?"

She did not know why she wasted her last question like that. She should have asked for some useful information to help her infiltrate the lair and possibly save her brother. 

Yet… something urged her to ask that question the moment she laid her eyes on the young cultist. 

It was a strange sensation, a warmth inside her chest that she would usually feel after offering her prayer to her goddess. He was just a boy, no more than 15 years old.

And his answer broke her tough facade she wore the whole time in Exandret.

"...forced… to join… It… hurts…"

Roselie immediately bursted into tears and supported the boy by his shoulders as the magic gradually left the body. 

She carefully laid him down on the stone table before bringing out a bottle of holy water and a bundle of dried rosemary. 

It was now that Elluin ushered everyone else in the office to leave the room, to allow Roselie some private moment with her parents. (The pharmacist did not wait for but a second before bolting out of the room) 

And Roselie was appreciative of that. She thought the elf archer would hate her for what she did, for forcibly pulling away from her grasp, from her help. The cleric mumbled a tiny "Thank you" as the elf left the room, but she knew Elluin had heard it because the elf's ears flicked the moment she said it.

Roselie commenced a funeral ritual for her parents, and for the cultist boy too.

She begged her parents for forgiveness, for she was not there when they were attacked.

She took out an envelope, a beautiful white envelope of high quality paper, that she sent half a month ago. But clearly, they did not receive it, for it was still inside the mailbox of the chapel. She put it into her mother's hands.

She took out a necklace inside her bag - a necklace she had made in secret to celebrate her promotion to gold rank half a year ago, and put it in her father's hands.

For the cultist, she thanked him for answering her truthfully and put a single dried branch of daffodil on his chest. 

It was her way of saying she forgave him, and she wished him well on his reincarnation and hoped that he wouldn't be punished for what he had done in this life. She believed that her goddess would hear her prayer and spare some mercy for the young boy.

Roselie stepped back and silently looked at her parents' faces one last time.

The pharmacist did a brilliant job of cleaning and recovering the natural state of their face. It was almost as if they were asleep, and could wake up any time. Even though it has been more than a week since Roselie received the letter from the town representative, the body of her parents still looked natural.

I must give thanks to the pharmacist.

She thought.

It was the last time the cleric observed her parents in the flesh, for the next time it would be graves behind the chapel.

What needed to be done, was done.

And Roselie stepped out to her party waiting for her, with the wagon at the ready, ready to storm the cave of the cultist with her.

"Thank you." Roselie quietly whispered to the pharmacist behind the counter, whose face grayed in fear.

She had thought of sneaking away through the window, to face the cultists alone. But it was a stupid idea. She needed everyone's help to save her brother, if he was still alive. And there were two investigators in her party. They would track her down faster than a horse escaped from a barn.

Roselie simply smiled, albeit meekly, and joined her party.