Chương 38: 37. Lady Tiren

Flames from the burning doors threw a strange orange cast across the interior of the temple. The huge shadows of men fighting ghouls danced across the walls.

"I'm going to talk to Lady Tiren. They can't hold out for much longer," Tavian said.

"If we all make a concerted push together, we could get most everyone back to the Fortress."

"She won't leave," Braun said.

"I tried. They won't see reason!"

"I'll give her a chance," Tavian said.

"Then we're getting out of here." Together they moved through the sea of gray robes desperately trying to empty the temple of anything worth protecting.

"Tavian," Braun said softly as they approached.

"Even if her mother refuses, will you help me get Anella to safety?" Tavian tightened his jaw.

"Will she defy her mother and go with us?" Braun just looked worried. Someone dropped something, and it shattered with a loud tinkling of glass.

"Get everything to the library," Valliroth was saying.

"It has a better chance there." Lady Tiren's weary eyes fell on Tavian, and she seemed surprised to see him.

"Are we saved?" she asked him, without hope.

"My lady," Tavian said.

"We may have a chance to save your family, but I fear the temple is lost. If we rally everyone we can break out and get to the fortress—" She shook her head sadly.

"We cannot abandon the Temple to the forces of darkness. Miasma silences our relics. It blinds our eyes to the light and knowledge that Ishtoran left for us. The sepulcher of Kusa cannot fall to their hands—it is one of the sacred pentagonal anchor points of the world hexgrid. If the ghouls penetrate this place and destroy this sepulcher, what darkness might they unleash?"

"I'm afraid of that too," Tavian said.

"But this fight has already been lost. If you stay here, you'll die," Tavian said.

"And everything you fought to preserve will fall into Anarvia's hands to be sifted."

"What would you have us do?" Lady Tiren said.

"Abandon the relics of our ancestors? Let the dark desecrate this holy resting place?"

"It would be better if House Tiren did not end here," Tavian said. Lady Tiren gestured to Tavian, pulling him closer to the sepulcher, gesturing for everyone else to stay back. His side twinged.

"Tavian," she said.

"It's not just a tomb. It's not just a monument. It is a seal. An anchor. If this sepulcher is destroyed, the very world grid of hextiles may begin to unravel. Surely that is what the darkness is after. Will you persist in telling us to abandon it?" Tavian crossed his arms.

"I know," Tavian said.

"What would happen if the sepulcher was not in the pentagon? It it was somehow placed wrong?"

"It couldn't be," Lady Tiren said.

"It has anchored the pentagon for generations. It draws on the powerful mana well beneath us to preserve the proper order of things." Something trembled in Tavian's soul at her words. Could this misalignment of the sepulcher have allowed the festering of miasma beneath them? He recalled his vision; flashes of light and color, suggesting that one of the mana wells had somehow been… damaged. Lady Tiren had dedicated her life to the preservation of a structure that she thought was protecting them.

How would she react if he told her that the sepulcher had moved? Would she even believe him?

"How do I tell you this?" Tavian asked, grabbing the woman by the shoulder, and forcing her to look where he pointed.

"The pentagon is over there." He pointed. Lady Tiren scowled at him.

"What do you mean?" This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

"I can see the hexgrid," Tavian explained.

"I can see the borders of the tiles, glowing on the ground. The pentagon is over there."

"That is impossible," she said.

"It can't be so."

"It can," Tavian said.

"I can prove it. I can give you the ability to see the world hexgrid. You just have to swear—""If you won't help us," Lady Tiren said, haughtily, "I believe Lord Anarvia will. He was a fool, trying to pressure us into supporting him. But surely he will come to our aid when he realizes what is happening. He won't let ghouls destroy the temple." A priest ran past with a bucket of water, entirely too small to quench the flames beginning to burn the antechamber doors. Tavian shook his head.

"He's already here," he said, and Lady Tiren brightened, looking around.

"These are his forces," Tavian clarified, pointing to the entrance.

"The ghouls are under his command." Lady Tiren looked aghast.

"He wouldn't—" A ghoul screamed, cutting her off.

"He wouldn't dare," she said.

"The other Houses would turn on him. He couldn't hope to hold the city without their support." Tavian pursed his lips.

"He has discovered a miasmic relic underground. He must believe that it gives him enough power to ignore the other Houses. We have to band together if we have a hope of stopping him!"

"Is it he?" Lady Tiren asked.

"Or is it you who controls them?" She pointed to Tavian's side, where his tunic covered the bandage around his miasmic wound. She glanced to his son.

"It's true, mother," Valliroth declared.

"I saw it. Some strange ritual, infusing miasma into his own flesh to gain powers over darkness." Tavian was taken aback at the lie.

"It's true I was wounded by a dark blade," Tavian protested.

"But it's nothing more than a wound. I do not control these ghouls." An arrow skittered across the floor nearby. It skipped off the ground and buried itself into a pillar.

"Then who can I believe?" Lady Tiren said.

"Two Lords, telling me different stories."

"He was lying," Tavian said.

"Where is he, if he is not a liar? I am here to help. He is attacking you."

"Why attack us?" Lady Tiren asked.

"Why destroy the temple?" Tavian met her gaze. She was truly a woman of faith, and couldn't fathom the cold logic of a man like Anarvia.

"He seeks fuel for his kingdom core." Lady Tiren's mouth fell open. She searched for words to describe her horror, but found none. Men screamed as they died, their shouts echoing through the dome. Finally, she merely said, "If what you say is true, he is lost."

"I think he knows exactly where he's gone," Tavian said.

"Power above virtue. The actions of a man who desires to win at any cost." Lady Tiren stared into empty space. Valliroth jumped in.

"We defend this place to the last man," he exclaimed.

"I thought you were coming to help us, Tavian, not to fight against us." His face was red, veins bulging in his forehead.

"We will never allow our temple to fall into the hands of ghouls!"

"You will die," Tavian said again, knowing the phrase was futile.

"If we die here, it is Ishtoran's will," Lady Tiren said.

"We swore an oath to protect this place," Valliroth insisted.

"My mother will never permit us to abandon the treasures of Ishtoran to be sifted for Anarvia's power. We are…" The sounds of fighting faded away. Valliroth's voice disappeared, and all the lights dimmed. Tavian felt his body shift. He was once more in the tunnels of the dungeon. Ghouls surrounded him. His collar itched, and his foot ached. He looked down, and saw torn pants, and only one boot. His side throbbed. He shuffled forward with the other Ghouls, hoping that they didn't notice him. Where were they going?

He heard sounds of men shouting and fighting overhead. They were close to the surface, then. He could feel something urging him onwards, but he didn't want to obey it. He only followed, because he was afraid of being discovered. Tavian snapped back to awareness. He lay on the ground in the temple, clutching his side. It throbbed with fresh pain, like he'd just been stabbed. Someone had pulled up his shirt, exposing the injury. Valliroth, Braun, and Lady Tiren loomed over him.

"See!" Valliroth shouted, as Braun stood defensively over Tavian.

"This is proof. His wound is miasmic, and it is taking over his mind. He's succumbing to the darkness." A few curious priests had gathered, and several of Tavian's men backed up Braun, creating space. Tavian shook his head, rising slowly; first to his knees, then up to his feet.

"This wound was given to me by a ghoul with a black blade," he said.

"Search among your men, you'll find others like it. My sister is working on a way to cure these injuries."

"We cannot trust someone who's been tainted by the darkness," Valliroth protested.

"We will not abandon our duty."

"Then die here and give the sepulcher over to Lord Anarvia's ghouls," Tavian said, rising to his feet.

"I hoped to help my friends and instead found zealots." He said this last part loud enough for Valliroth, Anella, and Braun to overhear. They stood awkwardly, pretending not to be listening in. Braun wrapped an arm around Anella, holding her close.

"Why should I believe you?" Lady Tiren asked.

"You have concealed a connection to the darkness from us. Unless you're here to help us, begone." Tavian was shocked by the passion in her voice.

"Why would I lie? I can prove it. Join my kingdom. I'll show you the grid, I'll—""We will not swear fealty to you," Lady Tiren declared.

"You carry the miasma within you. You are not in control of yourself, Tavian. Get away from here. Seek treatment. Go!"

"None of us will go with you," Valliroth declared, and Anella nodded, puling away from Braun and stepping toward her mother. One of the antechamber doors splintered, and more smoke began billowing up through the dome.