Pathfinder: Sacred Order - Chapter 77

It has been a little bit since Jacob was last at the temple. Out front, he spotted a few priests chanting something as they held each other’s hands and stood in a circle. While the sight was interesting Jacob ignored them and walked into the temple.

That is where he saw another priest carrying a few books in her hands.

From the way, the priest’s clothing was, Jacob knew it was a female. They also wore a transparent veil, something males did not wear.

“Lord?”

The female priest said as if she were asking a question. Unsure if this was the lord she knew or not.

Jacob recognized the voice, it belonged to Amelia.

“Amelia. How have you been?”

“Alright lord. Just a bit busy with my new tasks.”

“New tasks?”

Jacob asked her.

Amelia nodded.

“Yes, with Leah aiming to become the new bishop I have started to fill in her shoes. I’m in charge of a lot more now, but I also learn a lot as well.”

“That’s good. We should talk later, I want to know how things are going here. For now, I am supposed to meet someone here, my fiance. Have you seen her?”

“Does she have long platinum-colored hair? If so, then she is in the prayer room, I can take you right to her.”

Amelia did not know that the woman who came here earlier was Jacob’s fiancee, so now she was a bit interested to know what sort of woman she was. Amelia did not have much interest in Jacob as a man, he was not a romantic option for her.

Her love was for Mother Nessa, no one else. Well, there might be room for another, but that is something she could never have.

“Yes, that should be her.”

Jacob responded.

Amelia motioned for Jacob to follow her with her head as her hands were busy with the books she was carrying.

It was not that far of a walk so it was not long before they reached their destination.

Amelia turned and looked at Jacob.

“How is Jack by the way? I did not see him come with you.”

“Yeah, he left the city. He went to go see his family, he should return in a few days.”

In his mind, Jacob was not thinking Amelia’s concern for Jack meant anything. After all, she barely knew him. Still, he could see the change in her posture when he told her that, but did not take it for anything worth noting.

Opening the door, Jacob was greeted by a large statue of Mother Nessa along with ten rows of seats on each side of the room. There was a figure seated towards the front, closest to the statue.

Amelia closed the door to the prayer room after Jacob started walking towards the front of the room, leaving Jacob and the platinum-haired woman alone.

Jacob walked over to her and took a seat right next to her.

In her hands was a book, one that she closed as soon as she noticed his presence. Jacob did not have time to see what the book was, but he figured it may be something she used to help her pass the time.

She glanced over at him as she gave him a slight smile.

“I thought you might not come.”

“Now, why would you think that Angelia?”

“Just a feeling.”

Jacob settled himself into his seat as he took a comfortable position.

“There are actually a few things I want to tell you, but first, why don’t you go ahead and ask those questions you are eager to know?”

In his mind, there were a few questions he wanted to know. Some about Angelia, others about her father, and his dealings. But most importantly Jacob wanted to know why she needed to talk to him here, in the temple out of all places.

Was it really safe here? Yes, the door was closed and he doubted there would be anyone trying to spy upon them.

Temples were a sacred ground, meaning it was also a neutral zone majority of the time. None of the priests worked as spies, it did not work like that. Having a spy in a temple was utterly useless because of the oath that they took.

Corrupt as they can be, those part of the order were loyal to the Holy Mother and no one else.

“Just one. Are you both a mage and a mystic?”

Angelia twirled the ends of her platinum hair as she nodded her head.

“Is that really all you want to know?”

She questioned him with squinted eyes.

If she told this to someone else, they would not hesitate to ask her question after question. Mystics were rare, and some people wanted them to divine the future for them. Which was difficult to accomplish.

Jacob shrugged.

“Sort of, not much else to ask at this point. But does your father know?”

“No. No, he does not, and I would rather we kept it that way.”

As she said those words, Jacob could see the seriousness in her eyes. It made him wonder why she was hiding it from her dad, but he did not want to ask. The more he knew, the easier it was for him to get caught up in something he wanted no part in.

Something was bound to happen to this family, Jacob knew that based on the fact that they were not part of the storyline. Sometime between now, and the time when the empire breaks down, the Frost family dies. That or they go into hiding.

“What was so important that you needed to meet me in private?”

“As I said. I need to tell you a few things. My father has been planning something sinister, but I do not believe he truly understands what he is doing. If or when he succeeds in his plan, the entire city will burn.”

“And?”

“I can see that you want to know what this has to do with you. Frankly, nothing. But, I think we both know something that does have to do with you”

Angelia left him pondering on her next words.

Did Vulcan del Lezhalt do something in the past? If so and she knew about it, then she might ask him about it. However, Jacob had no idea as to what occurred then, meaning she would see through him and understand that he was not the real Vulcan del Lezhalt.

If that happened and she let this be known, he could kiss his life goodbye.

Jacob swallowed hard, as he looked into her blue eyes.

“What are you talking about?”

Angelia let out a short chuckle in response, clearly amused by his behavior.

“Relax a little bit, you should not be tense. It does not suit you well.”

“Just tell me what you are on about!”

Jacob nearly shouted but caught himself as he lowered his tone.

Angelia leaned in close to him, bringing her lips by his ear. She said a few words before she leaned back in her seat. Jacob’s face was frozen, not believing what he was just told.

“Now that, that is settled I would like to continue talking. I’ll save you the long story and give you the short one. The rebel army that no one believes exists, it does. My father is working with them, or at least he plans on making contact with them. At the gathering you attended, there was the Baron’s death. That was arranged by my father at the request of the rebels. Why? I do not know exactly, but Baron Cecil’s land is situated in an area where many key figures have to travel through to reach the capital. With the baron dead and his sons left to fight, the patrols in the area will weaken allowing the rebels to do whatever they want.”

“How do you know this?”

“That is the wrong question, but every noble has a spy here and there. It is something my father taught me at a young age. To have eyes and ears in every corner of the world.”

“Do you remember how I told you something interesting will happen that night? And that you would be part of it?”

Jacob nodded his head.

When she said those words, he assumed she had an idea of his plan for killing the baron, but it looks like she meant something else instead.

“You were not meant to be the one to find the baron’s body that night. Due to the fact that you did, my father changed his plans slightly. That night there were other nobles he was targeting, to shift the blame on them and force their hand. After they were taken into custody, he would be one of the only people that could save them. And he would, at a cost of course.”

Thinking back on it, the people at that gathering all had some notable status about them. Something that set them apart from normal nobles. Especially the associates that lord Frost wanted to introduce Jacob to.

They were powerful figures in the capital, people with a certain amount of pull.

Frankly, if Jacob did not know that the rebel army already existed, he would have called bullshit on everything Angelia has told him thus far. The things she was saying were a bit far-fetched. No one in their right mind would believe her.

Still, it brought upon the question. Why was she telling him all of this?

The rebel army was too big for him to handle alone. Even working together with Angelia, he could not bring them down.

Jacob raised his hand, signaling Angelia to stop talking for a moment.

“Why are you telling me all of this? Let us say I do believe in your words, what exactly can I do? I doubt my influence is as strong as your fathers and his associates. I doubt I can stop the rebel army by myself. So what exactly are you trying to get me to do?”

“You know I’m a mystic, and lately I’ve been seeing a lot of future events. Beforehand, I would not have spoken a word of this. However, after that small rebellion or slaughter, whatever you want to call it at your mansion a few weeks ago things started to change. I don’t want you to do anything difficult, the only thing I would like you to do is kidnap my mother.”

If he were drinking a glass of water right now, Jacob would have spit it out once he heard what she told him.

“That’s pretty twisted, don’t you think?”

“It’s for her own benefit. Just do that, and no one has to know your secret.”

“Should have figured you’d resort to blackmail.”

Angelia laughed.

“Just keep her safe, until everything is over.”

“I do have one last question though. Why did you tell me all of this? About your father, and the rebels?”

Angelia placed her slim finger on her chin as she thought about it. She could have done with leaving out a lot of details, but she still informed him of what was going on.