Chapter 4 - The Hidden Witch Council
The
crusaders' strong belief in their religion gave them the motivation they needed
to fight back against the supposed forces of darkness. They became so empowered
that the summit of Guillume Mountain was becoming more vivid in their
sight.
“We’ve
entered the den of sin and witchcraft! This mountain is crawling with demonic
presences. Send word to the Watchers that we’ve located the witches’
stronghold!”
The
Commanding Knight closer to the rear of the mountain troops fired a sparkling purple
smoke signal into the air that was seen and comprehended by another army of the
cause that was stationed miles away at Vermont’s castle.
“That
is the signal! They’ve located the witches’ hideout!” The men stationed atop
Vermont Castle passed on the message to another group below who were on
horseback. One of them rode out of the city to go inform the Grand Inquisitor
who was at an outpost situated some distance to the northern region of
Vermont.
The
messenger arrived at the outpost in swift shakes of a horse’s tail. He was
stopped by a pair of guards just outside the main tent that hosted the Grand
Inquisitor.
“Hold
it right there, crusader. What brings you here?” Inquired the guards, roughly
pushing at the man’s chest whilst grasping the hilt of their swords.
The
massager responded eagerly, “I have an urgent message for the Grand Inquisitor.
Please let me pass.”
“Hold!”
The guards were giving the messenger a hard time but they soon stopped their
hassling after a husky voice that came from within the tent told them to let
the messenger in.
“The
Grand Inquisitor will see you now.”
Receiving
the go-ahead from the guards, the messenger barged into the tent and prostrated
on a carpet at the feet of an elderly priest who was sitting in a chair garbed
in white raiment laden with holy Latin inscriptions.
This
figure of nobility ordained by God was Ezeus V. Teppesh, otherwise, known as
the Grand Inquisitor, progenitor of the Astasia Inquisition. Caressing his
rosary crafted from Blessed Silver, he aimed his commanding eyes at the
messenger and told him, “Out with it.”
“Right
away, Grand Inquisitor.”
The
messenger conveyed crucial information about the witches’ stronghold to Ezeus.
He graced his long beard with a pensive attitude as he thought about his next
course of action.
“So
we’ve finally discovered where they’ve been hiding. Who would have thought that
those witches were holding up at Guillume Mountain all this time? It’s no
wonder they chose that place. The terrain there is rough to traverse by foot
but with the aid of magic they could easily fly to the summit.”
Ezeus
glanced at the loyal subject prone at his feet and said, “You’ve done well,
messenger. You may leave now.”
“Thank
you for receiving my presence, Grand Inquisitor. I shall be going now.” The
messenger respectably got up from the floor, turned his back and started walking
to the exit. However, he abruptly stopped as he was about to leave, moreover,
he secretly withdrew a dagger from his vest while glancing behind him with
malicious intent.
“Huh?”
Ezeus noticed the man’s idle body and inquired, “Why have you stopped, messenger?
Do you have something else to share?”
Transitioning
to a voice replete with murderous values, the messenger answered, “I do.” He
swiftly turned around and launched at the noble elder with the dagger thrusting
at his chest. “Now that I have you to myself, I’m going to cut out that damn
beating heart of yours!”
“Huh!”
Ezeus’s eyes were staring in shock at the keen blade getting closer to his
chest. “What’s the meaning of this betrayal, crusader? Did the witches’ magic
get to you?”
“Shut
up and die, you old fool!” The Sound of the messenger’s blade penetrating flesh
and bones produced such a noticeable audio that it attracted the guards.
“Grand
Inquisitor we heard strange noises of a struggle. Is everything alright in
here?”
The
2 guards who were stationed outside the tent, rushed inside with their drawn
swords as soon as they heard a voice screaming out for someone to die. Once
inside, they discovered a dead messenger lying on the ground with a dagger
poking through his back.
“What
happened here? Did the messenger commit suicide?”
“It
sure looks that way.” Assumed the other guard. Both of them stood there waiting
for Ezeus to tell them what truly happened.
Rising
gracefully from his lavish chair, Ezeus stepped over the corpse that was on his
carpet and went by an altar where he had his holy book partially opened. He
turned the pages until he located a verse that resonated with what he had just
experienced.
“Yea
though I walk through the valley of death and turmoil, I shall fear no evil,
for you are with my, thy rod and staff, they comfort me. Amen.”
He
glanced at the dead messenger and said to the guards. “This man has repented
for wrongfully raising his weapon to strike down a devoted man of God. His soul
has been released from the shackles of flesh and is now dwelling in the
permeating grace of our lord and master.”
“Huh?”
The guards stared at each other, expressing confusion. It wasn’t until Ezeus
told them to get rid of the corpse that they snapped out of their daze and
assented.
“Yes,
Grand Inquisitor!”
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