Rise of the Inquisition (Arc 4-6)

Chapter 94: Backstory of Lady Diane

On the dirt road towards the Great Burning Minotaur monument, there was absolutely nothing but endless green plains with hills upon hills. No trees were in sight for miles, no mountains were in sight, nor any towns. There was only one common thing that could be seen, endless hills of green grass. On the road to the Great Burning Minotaur, was the Third Convoy of the Coalition of Armies. For what seemed like over thirty brown carriages with white covers were moving at the same pace together towards the monument of the Great Burning Minotaur. Archer, sitting inside of one of the brown carriages with a white cover, was fully armored and was sitting across from Lady Diane. The two of them were able to secure a carriage just for themselves that would be driven for them, separating them from Ava who was at the front of the convoy.

"So Mordred--"

"Yes Archer?"

Archer was trying to stir up conversation that would make the distance between the Capital City of the Kingdom of Orion and the Great Burning Minotaur seem shorter than what it actually was. Archer wasn't a big fan of journeys that took an extreme amount of time, and because of this he would typically attempt to find ways to make the journey seem shorter than it actually was. Sometimes this would work, but in other times it would actually make the journey longer and piss people off.

"So what is your relation to the Icarus Cult, I remember you attacking Chaplain Hemlock's secret hideout, so what was the purpose behind that?"

Lady Diane looked at Archer, she prepared herself to explain the story of why she was attacking the Icarus Cult by making herself more comfortable on the wooden bench inside of the carriage that she was sitting on.

"Well, the story about it is very long--so prepare yourself," she said.

"I'm already ready, seeing that we have all day apparently."

Lady Diane chuckled at Archer's response, and she sighed.

"As the Master of the Hunt it was my duty to Hunt down those who committed crimes against the Kingdom and its people. Therefore, when I learned about a town being attacked in the House Demeter domain I felt compelled to investigate. When I arrived at the town, I found it was completely mauled by the Icarus Cult. The Cultists apparently charged in and hunted down every single living human in the village, not mattering whether it was a grown man, woman, child, or baby. They would kill indiscriminately apparently. I say apparently because the town was full of lifeless bodies that were stacked upon each other, creating small hills on the ground. As I investigated the town, I found things that would give you nightmares. Pools upon Pools of blood, with rats and crows tearing apart limbs from the bodies of the dead. In the churches, there were body parts hanging from the ceiling and some were stuck together making a cross. After seeing that sight, I spoke with Lord Demeter. He informed me that the Icarus Cult had been attacking his domain for many months, and in the wake of their path they would leave behind destruction. I asked Lord Demeter why he didn't fight back, and that is when he told me that House Demeter was dedicated solely to agriculture and nothing else. They were relying on the Royal Military to protect them, however the Royal Military were incompetent and slow, they were dealing with internal struggles with their Command structure and weren't able to react fast enough in time to stop them--"

"Typical of any large Military body," Archer interjected. He was referring to his experience with large Military bodies that had a chain of command.

"After speaking with Lord Demeter, I decided I would go on a mission to find the leader of the Icarus Cult and execute him myself. To do this, I would find the village that was farthest away from the protection of the Royal Military in that region and from Lord Demeter's mansion. On the outer edges of the Domain, I was able to find a town that was being attacked. I watched from the trees as the town was attacked, and I found out that particular Icarus Cult group's leader, Chaplain Hemlock. When I learned his name, I followed the Icarus Cult group around. Wherever they went, I went staying hidden in trees or whatever else I could find. From doing that, I was able to find their hideout and learn many other things about the Icarus Cult. I learned that they had the tendency to kidnap women from villages, only after that they find their stock of women getting low from their perspective. After thinking up a plan, I sprang into action. I decided that I would while using a transformative ability that I have disguise myself as an enslaved woman inside their hideout, and from their I would kill Chaplain Hemlock--that was when I met you--"