Ceres PoV
I looked at the shrine of me, and absorbed the devotion, the glowing fluid shooting into my hand.
And a new schematic came to mind, a structure, a place for my followers to go without stinking up the camp.
I would need to use sap over the wood, so the bowl would be easy to clean.
Of course, what if I used a rune to create a fire effect that could burn away the waste.
Fireproofing materials are rarer though.
Perhaps I could also create a system that funnels it to the garden, but how would it work?
I walked around the camp and blinked, in his house, Caleb was reading a book… when did he get back?
Maybe I should read… hmm.
Interesting, so, Dionynir really was Heket’s predecessor… but he wasn’t killed by the bishops with the rest of the pantheon… so, where did he go?
And how does not even Haro know where he went?
Maybe I should try and find him?
Dionynir?
Really?
That was old myth.
Even the pigs don’t worship him anymore.
I mean, finding Haro would help, but from my experience, Haro finds you, not the other way around.
… Ceres is reading my mind?
Why?
Wait, how did he detect me?!
Is he aware of mental intrusions now?
That is amazing!
Actually.
I felt you near me and decided to see if I could read minds… and the first thing I hear is you considering my considerings.
… Yeah, no, that was fair.
“Ok, let’s talk verbally now… though that may actually be a good way to communicate.”
“Yeah… Wait, I didn’t tell you I was back, did I?
Oh, that was my bad, I’m sorry.”
He seemed genuinely apologetic, that was adorable.
“Oh, it’s no issue.
Though, I didn’t know you went to Lessia.”
“Wha?”
“Oh, come on, that book even has a slider from the Library on its back, but I’m surprised, doesn’t your knowledge give you that stuff already?”
Caleb sighed and shook his head, “No, the game didn’t go into the previous pantheon.
I mean, even though Haro was shown, in the game, he was basically just a guy who talked about lore.
The closest to anything about the previous pantheon related to Ygnya, and that’s because she was an active thing in the game.
Other than that, it was just brief lore tablets that said vague things, including referring to Haro as a god of hunt.
So, I wanted to learn more.”
Now, that was interesting.
I really wish I could have a copy of that game.
It could be integral to learning important things before they happe-
“Gonna interrupt that look.
While, yes, I know some lore, and potentially even some timeline, but the game had no way to prepare me for this world.
Like, consider, Valefar was a tutorial boss, you beat him to learn how the game worked, as compared to, you know, Valefar.”
“Wow… I mean, you still knew of Pilgrim’s Path and other important places.”
“I knew Spore’s Grotto, Pilgrim’s Path, Midas’s Cave, Ratau’s cabin, and Smuggler’s Sanctuary, and before you get excited, I could still only point to Pilgrim’s Path on a map.
Places like Deephaven and Lessia weren’t as much as hinted to.
The Old Faith was four scattered cults that talked, not the coordinate theocratic government.”
Wow… that was way less than I thought… I almost thought Caleb was like a cheat sheet, and really, while he may know random vague things, his practical pre-knowledge is essentially nonexistent.
“What’s the most important thing you can think of?”
“The One who Waits’ name.”
My eyes widened… it never actually occurred to me that the One who Waits had a name.
I just thought he was some kind of primordial death entity that the Bishops trapped.
“What is his name?”
“Narinder, the Bishop of Death.”
… … B-B-Bishop?
I was working for a Bishop?!
You… no… he wasn’t lying.
I was working for a murderer, a deciever… but…
“But why would he want his siblings dead?” Caleb finished my thought, despite clearly not reading my mind.
“That’s what I want to know, but no matter what I find, I can’t find the reason.”
“What have you found?”
Caleb inspected me, and for a moment, he was calculating, rather clearly.
But nothing prepared me for what he said, “The Bishops were children.”
“…
I mean… we all were once…”
“No, like, when they ascended.
I mean, not all, Narinder, himself was 19 when he ascended, but Shamura was 17, and they get younger from there.”
That..
was interesting, “So, you’re telling me, I’m currently at war with a 12 year old worm?” That made me feel weird.
“A little younger.”
“11?
10?”
“Try 4.”
… … … 4?!
Four Years OLD?!
That was insane.
“Well… that’s gonna make me feel icky fighting him…”
“Yeah.” He seemed to hope for a response, and I had one.
Fighting a kid… that was dark, but that kid still did horrid things… and he would certainly continue them.
“So, I need to stop him even more… a child running for 5000 years, no wonder things have gone badly.
I understand…”
I moved away… but why did I feel that he was disappointed?
I mean, the Bishops are a threat, it’s not like we can all be friends… could that be what he wanted?
Idealism… it’s nice, but not realistic with the Bishops.
They’ve gone way to far to change now… it was as Gethel said, not everyone wants to be saved.
The Bishops would never want to be saved.
That could be heavily dangerous, and it could get him killed, or endanger the whole cult.
As I walked through the camp, I caught sight of Valefar, he was off the crutches, but he still hobbled.
“Ah, great leader, it’s a pleasure to see you.
Do you need anything?
Ritual ingredients?
Knowledge of Leshy’s inner workings?
I live to serve.”
“I am fine, Valefar.
Gather materials that Maty or Amdusias needs.”
“…
Yes, my wondrous lady.”
He constantly examined my mind, and I did his.
Both me and Amdusias didn’t give the red worm even an inch of weakness.
Even still, I can only think freely when he isn’t inside.
He is sharp, which is also his weakness.
A few things I’ve learned is that he is loyal to absolutely no one.
He is actively calculative.
I doubt I even saw the whole depth.
His mind is heavily partitioned.
The top layer, what he doctored for me to see, is full of aggrandizements.
Testing limits, and testing my response.
It changes each and every time.
This latest conversation he admired the sheen of my wool and even the shapelyness of me… yeah, he definitely was not a skilled flatterer, at least not for people without intense vanity.
His lower layers mapped plans that he never acted out, a secondary layer, intended to make us paranoid.
It included fake plans with other cult members.
Their minds never hinted to anything.
So, that second layer is another doctored one.
There was a third layer, but it was hazy, and was oddly visual… What little I saw seemed to be a full map of the camp.
There was more I didn’t see, but I had to try to break through to that third layer.
I gave the schematic I considered to Helo, who began gathering the materials, and I entered the woods.
I found a tree and sat by it.
… no, someone could walk up on me this close to the camp.
I bolted for about a second and stopped.
There was no way that anyone would walk in on me here… is that a clearing?
It looked like a flowered glade, lavender and camellia building most of the scent, but there were also rose and lavender, as well as many other scents.
It was also incredibly quiet, but it had a statue of Leshy.
Not like most I’d seen, it was sitting… and… and moving.
That wasn’t a statue.
He… was this close to camp?
But what if I… he didn’t see me, I could stri-
I no longer saw the garden… in fact, I didn’t see much as a force launched me away.
The exact moment I considered ambush, like it reacted to the mere notion of violence.
That was an interesting enchantment, especially for a bishop’s place.
I finally crashed into a tree far away, and stood…
That… would need to be investigated, and if I was right, then I needed to be careful not to have violent intent when I examined it.