Rituals, Regrets, and Really Dumb People

Chapter 4: Sanctuary, More Like Ban-ctuary, Part 3

We got to Sanctuary a day and a half later, just like I said I—we—would. It was a small city, people living around a castle that still wore the scars of my previous raids here. Seemed Geraldine had her hands full if she couldn't repair her castle properly, and few of her soldiers and knights patrolled the roads. Ripe pickings if I was a little more inclined to do such.

The city, itself, felt very medieval. The nearby forest gave the people here wood to work with, so they built dark timber houses with thatched roofs. Some of the buildings were villas, some were shops, and the city proper was barricaded with spiked logs. On the outside of this wall was stretches of vulnerable farmland, that which grew different types of grain, vegetables, and sometimes fruit orchards. Very old-timey for this modern day, but resources were often denied to Sanctuary by folk like me and Nebuchadnezzar.

Lilly and I walked to the barricaded city and went in through the main gate. It wasn't so weird to the people here for two ho-hum travelers to come to their little haven, Sanctuary being a semi-popular place to stop. The multi-story housing mixed with the old blacksmith shops and restaurants formed a homey type of place. I could smell the fresh baked bread, the cooked meats and stews, the freshly cut herbs. It was succulent to the nose and tongue, something I had inadvertently overlooked when I burned a big part of the city the last time.

The population was relatively friendly as well. They talked amongst one another openly, little mistrust to be found here. Most the people who founded Sanctuary, and lived here, were outcasts from the Mainland, but not criminals. Not criminals in the most typical sense at least. Most who found themselves here in the Carcer were rejects of the Mainland's policies; religious folk, people who didn't vote the right way, etc. Leo, their previous king, was ejected from the Mainland for speaking out against the Council of Nation's policy to encourage cannibalism of the dead and bug sausage diets on the populace.

He was one of many, and these aberrant views on the Mainland left them exposed here to wolves like me, sadly.

Regardless, it was nice to see such a place, to see such friendly people. Lilly sure liked it, she was mingling and talking with strangers as we walked. Sometimes I'd have to stop to wait on her, but I didn't feel any agitation about it. Truth be told, I enjoyed listening to her naïve ramblings, her innocent view of the world. She even broke off a piece of bread from my backpack to feed stray birds and a dog. She was a gentle soul, which was betrayed by the body she was born into. She, the Darkness, was right; Lilly wasn't like usual succubi.

When we got closer to the castle, towards the inner districts with the more well-to-do folk, we began seeing more of Geraldine's knights patrolling the streets. Knight was a funny term to use, they were more like armored wanna-be heroes, but it was apt enough. Her knights were the peacekeepers here, picked from the best of the best of her soldiers, which was a tradition Leo started. Paladins was a fitting term as well; they were men and women of good standing, who worshiped He, who showed themselves to be of moral character. They were paragons of these people; charitable, giving, protective, and, most of all, fun to kill. Well, they were back then.

The knights often wore a breastplate and padded clothing over what was not armored. They were trained in melee weaponry, bows, and sometimes firearms if the army got ahold of such an item, but the latter was rarer. Most the guns I seen here were carried by the palace guards, old weapons yet well-kept and preserved. They got the best items that Sanctuary could find, and the Penitent were often in cahoots with the kingdom, trading arms and services in partnership.

A few of the Penitent were here in Sanctuary, mostly around the stonework cathedral close to the castle. The Penitent were a mix of warrior-monks and priests for He, their stronghold being at the center I had attacked just a few days previously. They took in outcasts, which is why they were so prominent on the Carcer, as everyone here were pariahs. Notably, they allowed vampires, werebeasts, the poor, and the previously-pagan in their ranks. It drove their devotion and loyalty to extreme ends, dedicated to He in a state of fearlessness. They were all insects to me when I was me, but I did respect their openness to the less wanted of society.