After following Liselle for a few minutes she stopped at a door in the middle of the corridor, beset by lit torches on each side. "Here's the archbishop's office. I'll be going if that's all."
"Thank you" I said, knocking on the door as the cleric walked off.
"Come in mage, we have some things to discuss" Came the muffled voice of the Archbishop.
I opened the door to see a lavishly decorated room. At the end was a desk at which Archbishop Dedaim sat, facing me with a placid expression. His desk had all sorts of documents and religious iconography, but the most peculiar thing was a cylindrical object. It wasn't a mind you, it was far too thick for that. No, it was quite literally a cylinder with a little needle pointing out at one end.
"You're here. Please, sit." he pointed at the chair that was facing him and sat down.
"You wanted to tell me about this rite of extermination if I'm not mistaken."
"You are a man who wastes no time, so I shall none with preamble. You owe money to the church and you do not have the gold or the means to pay this debt. As such, I can enact the rite of extermination, which shall condemn you to going to the sewers and slaying whatever abominations lurk there until you pay off the debt by redeeming bounties." I have to admit, I was relieved to hear that I wasn't the one being exterminated, but the sewers would doubtlessly be just as perilous.
"So do I redeem bounties? Cut off fingers?" I asked
"Queen of Heaven, of course not!" He cleared his throat. "You won't have to cut off any appendages, even if those ruffians in the city guard accept such barbaric practices. Body parts are hard to carry and messy, and I would like to avoid tainting this hallowed ground by bringing in kobold ears or snake heads. Instead you will be using this." He held up cylindrical object "This item here will keep track of the creatures you've killed, all you have to do is walk up to the dead remains of something and jab it with this sharp bit here. When you hold this object over a piece of paper it will write the name and number of what you've killed" he handed me the object "Interesting. How does it work?" I asked
"Let's stay on topic for now. You will have time to examine it later."
The next 30 or so minutes were spent hammering out details. Basically, starting tomorrow I have to spend each day delving into the sewers down below, killing monsters until I have enough money to pay off the debt I owe the church and move on. During downtime, I have to stay here, where I can be closely monitored by the cathedral. I also asked Dedaim about Mathra and thankfully he said he was being tended by healers, though he didn't say much more than that, saying I was on a 'need to know basis' and that I wasn't to be let near Mathra so I don't 'tamper anything with my foul magic.'
When that was all said and done I stood up, remembered the way I came and retreated back to my room, which would now be my temporary home. I then sat on the only piece of furniture (the bed) and examined the object given to me by the archbishop. "What a predicament you've gotten us in. " Eeuna commented.
"You have no idea. Maybe it would've been better to leave Mathra to die?" I mumbled.
"Geez talk about shallow."
"Well it's not as if it's all bad. At least we have a clean bed."
"We're supposed to fight monsters everyday for the foreseeable future and you're worried about whether or not you get to sleep in a clean bed? And here I thought I was the sleepy one."
"I guess it's just the atmosphere of the church. It makes me want to look on the bright side of things, you know?"
I don't remember the rest of that conversation, Eeuna's talk of sleepiness must've rubbed off on me because next thing I recall waking on that bed, to the sound of knocking on my door.
"Yes?" I groaned, sounding unintentionally groggy.
The door opened, revealing Liselle "I thought you might be hungry, so I brought you some food." she seemed to be in higher spirits.
"Breakfast? Is it morning already?" I asked
"Uh no, it's 6pm. " Last time I checked it was midday. Guess I really was tired.
My stomach made an audible growl. "Sorry."
"Pfft haha. Here" She laughed and reached to give me a plate of steak.
"Not bad." I said as I took a bite.
"Really? You think so?" She replied
"Yeah. This is pretty good."
"Thanks I made it myself." I could've sworn I saw her blush a little bit "Well um I'll leave you to eat."
"You, know I'm starting to see how things can't be that bad. This food is divine!" Eeuna said
The next day came up in flash. I woke up and went outside to look for a manhole. When I'd finally found one I peered over to Liselle who had come with me from the cathedral.
"Why are here with me?" I asked, so that I may know in the next chapter.
YOU ARE READING
Chronicles of a Mage, Book One
FantasiaAbout a year and a half ago as of when this story is being uploaded I had the random inspiration to start writing a book. At first I only wrote for fun but now I realize that there's no reason not to share my stories with the world. Granted, this wa...
