Ch 27: The Chosen One?

"Our sacred text talked about travelers coming from another world. Some verses even speak of how they may be able to help us." Sansone said this as he looked towards Baldeur.

Baldeur wanted to roll his eyes. They were headed towards chosen one territory very quickly. It felt all too cliché at the moment.

"I don't suppose we could read these verses?" Piaras asked.

Baldeur was perfectly fine with Piaras taking the lead in this conversation. The Less he said the less he would stand out and the easier it would be for him to not get involved at all.

"Unfortunately, of the seven holy books only the first is available to those not of our faith. And the verses in question are in a book that only priests are allowed to read. But this matter is of great importance to our faith and our kingdom. I hope that you find it in your heart to help us." Sansone said.

Before Baldeur could reject what was coming his way, they were interrupted.

"Are you on this nonsense again nephew?" An older man had entered from the side of the main hall.

"Uncle Abel, the sacred texts are clear about this. I am merely servicing the will of the seven spirits." Sansone became irritated at the interruption.

"They're so clear that this is what, the third or fourth person you've brought here to charge with a holy mission. Didn't one of them die like an idiot because of what you told them? We can handle our own problems." Abel said.

"You are correct that the exact identity of the person isn't known, but that doesn't mean we shouldn't do our best to help the matter along." Sansone said. "And that person obviously wasn't the one that the verses speak about or they wouldn't have died so pathetically."

"Could you tell us the qualifications of the person you're looking for and what they're supposed to do? It might speed things along here." Piaras didn't want to involve himself in something that would distract from their overall mission.

But helping a high priest of the local religion would help establish the Zeerous Trade Company as an ally. He was also pretty sure that the royal family of this kingdom was named Dorie.

This is what Sansone had relied on each time he brought someone here to have this conversation.

"The traveler in question will have both of our world's power Sources. One of your group meets those requirements." Sansone said as everyone looked towards Baldeur.

He just shrugged in reply as Aisling rolled her eyes and let out an exasperated sigh. She couldn't believe this bum would end up a hero under any circumstance.

"The aid that he will render is simple. There is a threat within the Hoernter mountain range that he will help take care of." Sansone said.

"Threat!? Ha. He means there's a community of people that don't follow the seven spirits that he represents. It's his interpretation of the sacred books that say you're supposed to deal with them. Though even the sacred texts aren't explicit in what threat they pose or how you're supposed to deal with them." Abel said.

"They are heretics and there is more to it than that. If you weren't so… Apologies." Sansone was starting to lose his composure at his uncle's words.

"Well, we'll be headed to those mountains either way but I can't guarantee that Baldeur will be taking care of any threats, whatever they may be. He's a rather inexperienced recruit at the moment and is here more for experience than to add to the mission." Piaras said.

Baldeur outwardly looked offended but was happy he wasn't being railroaded into helping. It also didn't help that Baldeur could sense that Sansone was only telling partial truths. He couldn't tell if his words contained outright lies but he was hiding something about these prophesied verses.

"If it is the will of the Seven, then he will be guided to the proper resolution." Sansone said.

"Of course but our primary concern is with finding our missing people." Piaras said.

"Then don't let me keep you any longer. Go with virtue, friends. And may the Seven guide you" Sansone said.

Once the group of travelers left, Sansone's demeanor became darker.

"Maybe you should stop interfering, old man. Prophecies need to be fulfilled or there will be consequences." Sansone said.

"Fulfilled!? And here I thought you were trying to prevent a prophecy from being fulfilled. And don't think I'll stand back while you do whatever you want. Divine right or no." Abel's eyes glanced down towards where Baldeur had sensed the Divinus energy before he left the room.

Sansone's face grew even darker after his uncle left as he looked downwards as well.

"Soon this farce of a religion won't be able to hold me back." He said before collecting himself and letting the guards outside know that the cathedral was open to worshippers again.

Deep below the cathedral was a cavern with pure Singing Stone pillars. The same Celestion language from the cathedral was written on them. These, however, were much much older and were written in proper sentence order.

A pool of shining blue water sat in the middle of the cavern. Pure Singing Stone made up the edges of the pool.

Floating naked in the water was a young woman with pale blonde hair that bordered on white. She had her eyes open from the moment Baldeur entered the cathedral.

"He's not too bad looking. Maybe he's the one. I just hope Sansone doesn't interfere too much. Things will end badly for him if he does." She spoke to the empty cavern.

She then closed her bright blue eyes and went back to meditating. A melody started to come from the nearby Singing Stone when she did.

In the end she wasn't too hopeful that Baldeur was who the prophecy spoke about. This was the fourth person that met the requirements that her brother had brought here. And while she liked the look of him the most out of the four, he seemed too young and inexperienced to save her from her predicament.