As night fell, I returned, Ceres was just finishing making enough berries for the cult to be fed for the time she was away.
She looked up, “Oh, hey, Caleb, how was patrol?”
“Um, pretty cool, the forest is beautiful… OH, I also got you this.”
I give her the piece of a commandment stone I bought from Forneus.
She looks at in surprise.
“Wow, you actually found something like this?
I should send you scouting more.
These are rare.”
“Oh… I bought it from Forneus.”
“Ah, that makes sense, yeah she has a knack for having random things.
Did she give you tea?
She one time gave me tea in one of my journeys.”
“No, but we did chat a bit.”
“Ah, that’s sweet.”
“I also met Ratau.”
“Oh, yeah, my predecessor.
He’s really nice, I have no clue why the One who Waits dislikes him.” she smiled, but her eyes seemed analytical, testing my movements.
“Maybe it was because of his niceness?”
“Maybe, but hey, who knows what the god of death thinks.” She shrugged, and considered, her face darkening slightly.
“Agreed.”
Ceres smiled at me, “Well, you’re probably tired, your bedroll is still good.”
“Thanks…”
She noticed my look.
“Are… you okay?”
“I…
uh… yeah… I’m fine, just tired, hehe…”
She definitely didn’t believe me but also didn’t seem to want to pry, which I was thankful for.
“I’m… just going to go to bed.”
Ceres nodded slightly.
“Yeah, you do that.”
I stumbled to my bedroll, and flopped onto it, wincing as I hit a rock, I didn’t yelp as I didn’t want to wake anyone up, but I looked at my knee, and sure enough, I was bleeding.
I took a small piece of cloth, and rinsed it in the fountain before wrapping my leg with it.
I looked around and Ceres was definetely out.
I laid down, and I wasn’t sure whether it was my knee, or the pressure I felt.
In the moment, hearing I could save the bishops was encouraging… but now it felt smothering… I needed to clear my head.
I got up and walked towards the temple.
I sat in one of the pews, it creaked as I was double a regular person’s height here… that was still crazy to me.
I got up and looked around, the temple was definitely impressive.
I didn’t even realize it looked that cool, but there were sculptures of Ceres, and the Red Crown.
For a group of animal people that couldn’t carry a 2×4, this was really impressive.
… but how… I helped them with the base structure… but that was it.
Could it have been a feat by Narinder?
No, at this point none of the chains are broken, so he can only speak to Ceres.
But… I wonder… I walked to the several gates to the various regions, and I saw the door to the divine realm… where Narinder was sealed.
The door was locked by 4 chains, each linked to one of the bishops.
I touched the chain lowest on the left, and I… I felt Leshy’s presence… on the chain… like he was in front of me.
It was odd…
I touched the chain above it by standing on my tippy toes, and I felt Heket, her presence was calm and… hungry… go figure the god of Famine would be hungry…
I gave a light smirk and touched Kallamar’s chain, I could feel his paranoia and his love for juvenile behavior… I wonder how old he was, he was the only one I didn’t learn the pre godhood age of.
Somewhere between 10 and 17, obviously… probably a preteen or early teens given this sense of playfulness I feel from the chain… Another reminder to myself that these were children, groomed into roles that were far too much for their ages…
I felt Shamura’s chain, and despite the brain damage I knew she had… the sheer amount of wisdom I felt permeating… as though that was her trait.
And she had… an empathy… is was unlike the other bishops… almost like she never wanted to fight in the first place, but was too injured to argue…
In the game the other bishops told Leshy to deal with the Lamb so Shamura didn’t have to intervene, and would be able to rest…
They did care for each other… presumably, so did Narinder.
In fact, the game suggests he was bound for caring about his followers too much, but that didn’t add up… they don’t seem the type to betray because one gets popular… and Narinder doesn’t seem caring… I mean, even after Leshy’s death in the game, Shamura just mentions the prophecy before being told to rest and not worry by Heket…
…
Why did Narinder betray them?
It makes no sense, he clearly cared about them and made an environment where they cared deeply about each other… only Kallamar is cowardly enough to throw another one of them under the bus, but even then, that was after 2 others were dead, and he, himself was on his last defenses.
And each other bishop faced the lamb valiantly, a final match where they cast aside their beauty for primal forms… only to be beaten, and made into cultists…
Alive… into… cultists… after the chains were already broken…
…
I know how to save the bishops…..
maybe.