Fairy Opera Chapter 37: Entry

 

Entry

I turned to Rabar. “Are you a member of the disestablishment party?”

Rabar nodded. “I’m just a lowly priest. If you wish to speak with our leadership, I’m not the one for you.”

I took the letter I was about to take out and returned it to my pocket. “Okay. Can you get us a meeting with the leadership?”

Rabar shook his head. “No. We’re on a no-contact order right now. The tension within the church of the God Emperor has grown recently.”

“So you can’t get us a meeting with your leaders.”

Rabar sighed, lifting up his hands. “If I could, I would. I know you have something valuable to give to our leader.”

I looked at Elco and Cliss. “Do either of you have a way into the cathedral?”

Elco shook his head. “The cathedral is locked down tight at all times.”

“A while back I spoke with the grand cardinal Rist. He used a teleport spell to get me into the cathedral itself.”

Rabar’s eyebrows went up. “You met with the grand cardinal?”

“I did. I also spoke with the God Emperor. He gave me a boon.”

“A boon?” Rabar bowed. “Then you have more influence in the church than I can ever hope to have.”

“But that won’t help us, because I’m supposedly on the run. If the establishment party knew where I was, they’d hunt me down. In fact, I believe they’ve been doing it for a while now. I’ve already fought off one group of assassins.”

Rabar sighed. “Very well, then. We shall attempt to find you a method of entering the cathedral.” He turned to Cliss. “Do you Syndicate men have any ideas?”

“We do not.” Elco shook his head. “But we know someone who may, just maybe, have a map of the ancient church the cathedral was built on. If we can locate that map, then we’ll know of any secret tunnels that go into the place.”

“Where can I find this person?” I stood up.

Elco shrugged. “I do not know. He is a very reclusive person, never accepting visitors.” He lifted up his palms. “You’re going to have to look for him yourself.”

“How do I look for him if I don’t even know his name?”

Elco sighed. “Look. I wish I could help you more, but at this point there’s really nothing we can do. The church must sort out its own beef without us.”

“Okay. I’m going to figure out a way into the cathedral anyways. With or without this mystery person.” I pulled out the same tracking spell that I had used to see the assassins that had killed Jerimiah. I cast it, changing a few of the variables so that I could draw upon the knowledge of the people in the room.

I saw the person I needed, in a shop at the other side of the capitol. He was wearing a long cloak and had two swords by his side. I shut down the spell and then turned to Tae and Jak. “We’re going. I know where this person is now.”

Rabar stood up. “What kind of magic did you just use?”

“A custom spell. Nothing for you to worry about.” I shrugged. “If you want to come, you can. You might be of help.”

Rabar shook his head. “No. I don’t want to go out in the open right now. The church is in turmoil and priests are being attacked in the streets.”

I turned to Elco and Cliss. Both of them shook their heads. I nodded. Jak, Tae, and I left the underground room and crossed the city to the place where I had seen the man we were searching for. We reached the shop, just as the man in the hood was leaving. I stepped in front of him and stopped him.

The man appeared annoyed. “What do you want?”

“You have a map of the old church, right?”

The man looked both ways. “Who told you that?”

“I heard it from the Syndicate.”

The man groaned. “Ah, you’re with them. I don’t deal with the Syndicate anymore.”

“No, we’re not with the Syndicate. We just happened to get their help.”

“So who are you, then? Who are you with?”

“The Rebellion.”

The man’s eyes lit up. “Goodness.” He turned. “Then follow me.”

We followed him through the city until we came to a short tenement building. We entered, going to the third floor. The man opened a door and we stepped into his apartment. It was cluttered, with papers everywhere, as well as pieces of machinery and glass objects.

The man sat down in the only clear chair in the room. “Sit, sit.”

“Where?”

“Anywhere.” The man shrugged.

I brushed newspapers off of a crate and sat down on it. Tae and Jak did the same, finding seats where they could.

The man leaned forward. “My name is Crystal. What’s yours?”

“Tae.” Tae bowed.

“Jak.” Jak crossed his arms.

“Rock.” I nodded.

Crystal lifted his chin. “Very well then. You are with the Rebellion and you wish to take advantage of the current turmoil within the church leadership.”

“That’s about right.”

“And to do that you need entry into the cathedral.”

“Correct.”

Crystal sighed, picking up a pipe and lighting it. He puffed. “Very well then. If you allow me to plumb your memories, I will give you my map.”

“Plumb our memories? Why?”

Crystal puffed his pipe. “You see, I am a memory collector. One of the very few left in this world. I collect memories and store them, study them, and make use of them. So, in exchange for me giving you that map, you allow me to harvest your memories.”

I lifted my chin. “Then go ahead.”

Crystal put his pipe down. He walked up to me and placed his hands on my temples. He then looked me straight in the eyes. He pressed his forehead to mine.

A shock ran through my entire body. From my earliest memories, all my experiences played through my mind at lightning speed. I felt as if a funnel were sucking away everything in my head. This feeling lasted for about a minute, until Crystal pulled away. He sat down, resting his chin on his palm.

“You are an interesting fellow. Speaking with the God Emperor mano a mano is something that very few people have done. I shall treasure these memories. Next!” Crystal repeated the process with Tae and Jak.

“Tae. You have been strong your whole life, especially for Rock. You are a good person at heart but sometimes you have trouble expressing that. While your experiences have been somewhat normal, there are a few interesting things about you.” Crystal turned to Jak. “You were an adventurer. One of the best in the world. You decided to settle down in order to raise the children of your late brother.” Crystal held up his hands. “You are quite the honorable person.” He grabbed his pipe again and puffed it. “Very well. I shall give you the map that you seek.” He got up and started searching through the pile of papers on his desk. “No, no, this isn’t it. Where did I place that thing? Here, no here?” He shuffled through the papers. “Ah, here we are.” He pulled a large scroll out from underneath a pile of papers. He then took the scroll to the table in the middle of the room. Brushing off everything else, he set the scroll on its surface.

I leaned closer to take a look at it. It was a map of the old church that the cathedral had been built on. The map itself was probably hundreds of years old. I could see several passageways into the church that were probably forgotten.

Crystal pointed to one of those passages. It was a small tunnel that went underneath the former graveyard and came up in a cloister for one of the monks. If we could find the entrance to this tunnel, we would have a clear pathway to entry.

I took the map off the table and rolled it up. “Thank you.”

Crystal grinned. “Let me come with you.”

I blinked a few times in surprise. “Why would you want to come with us? You’re just going to endanger your life for no reason.”

“I’ve seen who you are.” Crystal stood up. “I want to see what happens to you. Do this as a favor to me.”

I sighed. “Okay. You get to stay with us. Just don’t drag us down.”

“I used to be an adventurer myself.” Crystal pointed to his chest. “I can hold my own in a battle.”

I nodded. “Then welcome aboard.”

We left the tenement and exited onto the street. The streets were packed, so we blended in well, without arousing any suspicion. We reached the small clearing behind the cathedral where the tunnel’s entrance supposedly existed. I cast a detection spell, a simple one, and located the tunnel’s entrance. It was behind a hastily-constructed brick wall. I pulled away the bricks with ease, their mortar having crumbled long ago. When I did, I came across the entrance to the tunnel. The tunnel was damp and dark. Dripping water echoed along its length.

We entered. I cast a light spell and held the ball of light above my head. The tunnel was tall, but narrow, only allowing us to travel single-file.

We traveled for about fifteen minutes until we came to the exit location, which was a monk’s cloister. We entered the cloister. It was abandoned.

Crystal began to search the room.

“What are you looking for?”

Crystal picked up a small red gem, about the size of a fingernail. “All monks possess one of these.” He closed his eyes. “Ah, yes. The memories. I know exactly where to head now.” He returned the gem to its original location.

We followed Crystal through the hallways outside the cloister. It was abandoned. No one had used it for ages. We did not meet a single person—which was quite lucky in my book.

Then we came to a small balcony overlooking one of the minor church rooms. There were a few monks praying in front of the small altar. We retreated back into the hallway to search for a different route.

Crystal led us to the office area. We snuck around, hiding behind planters and statues, until we came to Rists’s office. Or at least, Crystal was sure of it.

I knocked.

“Come in.”

We entered. Rist was sitting at his desk, writing in a scroll. He looked up and then did a double take. “By the God Emperor. It’s Rock.” He set down his pen. “How in hell did you get in here?”

“I’ve got no time.” I handed Rist Andrew’s letter. “We’re in trouble. We need your help to stop the assassination attempts on our leadership.”

Rist took the letter. “I know I said that I would support you and all, but this really isn’t the right time. The church is experiencing a fracture and we need everyone on deck to keep it from happening.” Rist opened the letter and read it. “Okay. I see now. You’re asking us to help you.” He set the letter down. “I’ll do what I can. In the meantime, please leave the cathedral. It’s far too dangerous for you to be here. I will meet you at the Orange Tower Inn at nightfall. God speed.”

I nodded. “Okay.” We left the office and returned to the tunnel without any incident. When we came out into the small clearing, Crystal looked up. “I can hear the rain.”

By the time we made it to the Orange Tower Inn, it was pouring. We ducked inside. The inn was normal, with a few patrons scattered across the tables. We took a table and sat down, ordering food once the barmaid came up to us. When the food came, we dug in.

Just then, the doors burst open and a number of Imperial constables entered. “We’re looking for the fugitives!”

I eyed Tae. “Stay calm.”

Tae nodded. “Okay.”

 

38

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