***
Germanicus detached the seal from the wall and wrapped it in his cloak. The fragrant profuse smell of primrose and laburnum lifted all of them; it was a far cry from the bitter chard taste they had just left. Thomas with Romulus at his side made sure they were not spied; they broke away from the others and quickly made a search of the area. The only one in the gardens other than themselves was a drunkard with a vague look on his face, he was still eyeing his bottle suspiciously, before the shock of what he had seen was too much, and he passed out.
Thebes was a sprawling metropolis, impressive and seemingly timeless in its appearance, a long established city that had been founded in antiquity, and still retained the remnants of its pagan past. There were temples dedicated to ancient gods and the old ways, as well as domed churches and extravagant monasteries, all with gilded frescos of Saints and Angels. Arenas and amphitheatres were scattered throughout the city as were places of learning and healing. It was a city of commerce with an opulent heart, and in testament to this fact were the many structures of marble and stone. This was a city confident within itself or it had been until the arrival of Charon.
As they all settled into their new surroundings those with the ability to do so could sense a feeling of uncertainty in the air, which even the cities magnificent gardens could not disguise, or worse, was there an atmosphere of dread. As they clambered over the wall and out into an alleyway, they knew instantly that this was a city in a state of fear. The streets were empty of life, you could barely see a light escape any of the buildings, nearby was a tall domed church that looked empty; quickly Adamous gestured for them to make for the sanctuary of its inner walls. No one saw their silhouettes as they escaped across a wide arcade, rush up a flight of steps, and stop a moment in the shadows; Paulus quickly broke open a padlock. The Chain was loosened and the door was slowly drawn too, just enough to let them pass. With a sense of relief they had made it unseen into the heart of Thebes.
Now that he had time Germanicus took out the Seal to study it, “What next? The energy within this will take time to restore itself, especially since we’ve used it to such a degree that it's been drained. And I don't suppose even Merit can help speed that process up.”
"Sorry," replied Merit with a smile, "my amulet also has its limitations. That Seal of yours sucked a lot of power from it, and I don't have the necessary environment or tools to increase its strength."
Adamous looked around the church, "That's not going to be a problem, since we’re not going anywhere till morning anyway. The thing is, I would like to know where the Seal came from and why it's here?”
"By all accounts," replied Germanicus, "there is something about the symbols that are vaguely familiar, also the underside has a mechanism that looks like it connects to something; which is rare for a Sacred Seal as usually they work in isolation of anything else."
"See if you can ascertain its purpose, I have a feeling it does more than just open portals."
Germanicus nodded and took it to one side, he found a pew to settle on, far from the others, and scrutinising the artefact in his charge, he ran his hand over its many glyphs, he sighed deeply, perplexed by its construction.
The Church as with most that were of Byzantine design had a high domed ceiling, multicoloured frescos of the Apostles surrounding Jesus were arrayed all around, there were aisle after aisle of ornately carved benches, and running through its centre a red velvet carpet, as though it were a channel of blood that led up to the alter, where stood an ancient stone font, that had the appearance of being one of the first ever made; brass candle holders were either side of it. A large Chandelier fell precariously from the centre of the dome. Large arched windows ran along the walls and were covered by deep velvet curtains.
One of the Stratiotai took off his helmet, and yawned deeply, his hair had twisted into matted clumps and he had clearly been in some discomfort, he approached Adamous, his eyes raised to the ceiling, “Sir, Romulus and I could do a little scavenging and be back here with a bite to eat.”
Merit’s hungered face searched out Adamous; and seeing her tired appearance, pity took him. “I don’t need to tell you that if you are caught you’ll most likely be killed or tortured, and the last thing we can afford is for you to give away our position.”
“We’ll move like ghosts, and besides we know how to blend in, no one will suspect a thing.”
“Just see that’s the case,” said Adamous sceptically.
The two departed with a smile; soft light filtered out of the opening of the door and was quickly extinguished as they passed through. Everyone spread out in the church; Merit went and sat on a bench facing the Iconostasis. Its brilliant paintings and carved gilt edged covers seemed to reach out; her head bowed reverently in admiration.
Adamous quietly stood by her side, “I never thought you one to pray.”
She looked up, her face glistened softly as though it had turned to glass, “I am respectful of the faith behind such things. And being a physician, an alchemist I see wonder in all beliefs that place love at their core. There is something I would like to say, I want to apologise for my behaviour earlier, when I felt that the Wraith were about to discover us, my whole body froze, and the thing is, I know I am better than that.”
“That is nothing to be ashamed of. Remember, there is no terror but that which we carry in our hearts. It is always easier to say, be bold, or have courage, at time of deep trial; all have their limits Merit. And it is not those that define you, but how you bear those trials; whether it is with grace, dignity and wisdom or with fear, hostility and folly. So instead I say, hold to your own resolve, it is that that has enabled you to come so far for so long. Think on this, since your arrival to these lands you have been thrown into one battle after the next. You’ve coped admirably. I do not claim to know you, but I feel that you have some part to play before the end of these events, though I don't know what that could be. I cannot believe our meeting was purely coincidental.”
“You sound more a philosopher than a soldier.”
“In time each of us plays many parts. The idea is that when we are put upon, that we play our part well, for ourselves and for the benefit of others. You have already done this; the challenge is whether or not you can keep on doing it.”
Merit became distant, almost sad, “I find it strange this war with Islam, the two religions have more in common than not.”
Adamous nodded, "Religious wars are always difficult to comprehend as in their nature they are a contradiction, and what we saw in that village was a great tragedy. But it was not the Saracens that did it; nor the Christians.”
Merit sighed, anguish written on her face, “They did not do it, but they are capable of doing it, and have done such things in the past and without doubt will do similar acts in the future. Even when the world was pagan such atrocities occurred, will it ever change.”
Adamous's eyes glistened in the dark, “Merit what is it you are after, the perfect world; there is no such thing. People, and I mean all people, would need a change of heart before such a thing happens. Even those with power have such grave concerns that they cannot see beyond what they perceive to be the natural order of things; and in some cases they do not wish to look for a different path to follow. You see all people have the same flaws of jealousy, pride and self-interest; and this war is not about religion it's about greed and envy; and such battles occur throughout life, between neighbours, even in peoples own families and especially where the rich and poor are concerned, but with religion such conflicts become more pronounced and easier to see; and the difference that the classes have, is that the rich, rightly or wrongly make the laws, so they can always be on the right side of them and use them to protect their interests. Laws are not made for the benefit of the masses but to control them. They are not made to make a better world but to make a more manageable one. So yes, you'll hear people say this is a religious war, but that really is far from the truth, and in the end, the nature of man will ou
t.”
Merit looked up keenly, “Why is that? Why can man not find peace? Why are people so conflicted and determined to war?”
Adamous paused a moment in thought then shrugged, “You have a compassionate heart and are a wise person, and in your wisdom you look for answers, but sometimes we ask the wrong questions; so we cannot get the answers we are looking for; we just get more questions.”
Quietly she hesitantly responded, “I don’t know what I’m looking for.”
Adamous could barely contain himself from laughing at that remark, “I’m sorry Merit but perhaps you do know what you’re looking for. I think you are looking for the Truth. It’s what everyone with a good heart is looking for; it has nothing to do with wealth or power, and it’s much simpler than jealousy or pride. You see the Saracens and the Christians for that matter: do what they do, because they've been taught that it's right to do so.”
“Well of course otherwise they wouldn’t do it.”
“Are but there’s the point, you can see that none of them are actually right to behave the way they do. Even so this begs the question as to why they do not realise for themselves that all wars are unnecessary. And I'm sure deep inside a large number of them do understand that killing is wrong, but it is so much part of their physical and mental makeup that they are comfortable with it, rationalising all their acts of hate as the prerequisite requirements to creating a better world for kith and kin. But in the end they do not build a better world, all they do is preserve the old one. Hence if it is part of their makeup, and they do not fight against their base nature but instead embrace it, then it could be argued that they know no different. And you must then ask yourself can they be held to account or be judged when they don't know that they are wicked, and that they do not understand that it is wrong to do what they are doing; especially if it's in the name of their faith or whatever other authority it is that tells them that it is right to do, the things that they do? Do you blame the wasp for stinging you, or do you say that that is a wasp, and its nature is to sting.”
“I see you appear to be harking back to the doctrine of what Christ said on the Cross, which was, 'forgive them father they know not what they do,' but do you truly believe that they are blameless?” Merit gave a shrug of resignation.
Adamous’s eyes glazed over a moment; the war of the Angelos had been long indeed, “Humanity is not the only race to deface love,” he murmured the words as if talking to himself.
“What was that?” she said not quite picking up the trail of what was said.
“Nothing Merit, just that these wars are not about any given ideal, this war, like all wars, is about, and I'll reiterate it envy and pride, and all the horrific acts that people do, which are done in the name of a greater power, are just an excuse for the greed and jealousy that controls the acts committed in war. If it had not been religion to war over, it would have been something else.”
“And what of their freewill? Perhaps they have none, and if they none, then what hope is there?”
“Until people take back control of their lives instead of having them dictated to, they will never have freewill because they will never be able to think for themselves, and they will always let others think and make decisions for them. But the point is there is always hope. There can always be a better future. The unfortunate thing is that too many people are willing to wait for it, rather than seize it. That is why there is such a lack of compassion, tolerance and understanding in the world today. So if you consider our civilisation and the world of the Saracens, both are in a constant state of peril, so much so that any pretence towards either side fulfilling their potential, is nothing more than an affectation, because the potential both sides have is completely nullified by the hate, malice and fear that overwhelms, drowns and consumes them. But even so there is still hope, and there will always be hope.”
Paulus who had opened the door slightly, and had been gazing out gestured for Adamous to join him.
Adamous took hold of Merits hand and gave it a gentle squeeze before creeping round the benches to him, “What’s the problem?”
“That's an interesting talk you were having there, I'm sorry to disturb you but there’s something out there; I saw it move from house to house; it crossed from the square to the municipal building over there, strange it was, as though it hovered for a moment in front of the church before moving off. I’ve seen many things in foreign lands but nothing like that. I’m just relieved whatever it was, it never saw me.”
Adamous placed his hand on Paulus’s shoulder; “It’s not strange; it could have been one of those creatures we saw with Garm, a Wraith. They are after all in league with Charon. It makes me curious to know what their master is up to though.”
"Maybe, but I had a good look at the Wraith, and what I saw, was nothing like them."
"I see, fair enough, just keep your eyes open and if you spot anything unusual again, let me know immediately. Charon may have called upon other creatures from the underworld that we don't know of, some more terrible even than Garm."
Paulus nodded grimly and brushed the fog from his eyes, “That's reassuring, that creatures more terrifying than Garm might be out there; I suppose it has something to do with that Talisman of yours.”
Adamous tiredly smiled, “You suppose right. After your watch make sure you get some sleep. Germanicus can stand guard next, he looks the least tired, and the Talisman as you put it, will keep him up, whilst he tries to work out exactly where it's from.”
Germanicus barely acknowledged them; now he had had a closer look at the device nothing was going to disturb his gaining a better understanding of the Seal and its true purpose. It had a limpet design, found only in some of the most ancient works. Slowly his hands ran along the symbols; such an instrument should have had a Watcher to guard it, so where were they. Also on the reverse side there was a carved image of a constellation that he did not recognise, which just deepened the mystery of it. He had easily discovered part of its purpose but it was time to find out the rest. The Universe was a vast place so how did something so powerful get to be on Terra Azure? Why was Charon looking for it? And was he acting alone. And as for the Wraith, for them to leave their domain could only mean trouble. There were too many intangibles for there to be a coherent answer. He was faced with a puzzle and the pieces simply did not fit together. Germanicus moved over to Paulus and tapped him on the shoulder and gestured for him to rest, he then placed the Seal within its wrap and carefully opened the door; the air was fresh. Someone was certainly cooking; there was the distinct smell of sage in the air. The square was quiet enough, nothing moved, and Paulus’s creature was nowhere to be seen. Behind him he could hear the shallow breathing of his companions, who had made themselves as comfortable as any could when laid out on wooden benches; they had been preferred to the hard stony floor. Thebes needed to be finished with sooner rather than later, so that they could be on their way to meet the Merovingian, that essentially had been their mission, and this side show was proving to be too much of a distraction, though it had proven to be a useful one, with the discovery of the Sacred Seal.
As his mind began to wonder his eyes were suddenly drawn to something, a movement, it was the being Paulus had seen earlier. So there you are he thought. It was still some distance of, so before it entered the square Germanicus eased the door too. Outside he could hear it move close, the patter of feet climbed the stair to the church. Germanicus quietly drew his sword. There was a sudden foul stench to the air; something that belonged more to a Rageon than a Wraith. It turned from the door and seemed to be pacing the perimeter of the church. There was a definite shuffling outside and a harsh sniffing, then it seemed to give out a gurgling gagging guttural splurge; apparently the smell of frankincense was not to its liking. The creature moved off in the direction of the palace, perhaps it had had enough for one night. Germanicus sheathed his sword and realised that Adamous was at his shoulder.
“The others are still resting, that was close. D
id you see what it was?”
Germanicus shook his head and once more dared to edge the door open. “I think it was too small for a Rageon and it was not a Wraith, they don't smell that bad. Interesting adventure this one, we do appear to be surrounded by some new enemies, as well as old ones.”
Adamous smiled grimly, “Yes, but I still do not feel that Charon is in league with the Dragon. He actually despised him. So we must ask ourselves what he is doing with the Wraith, and whoever else it is he has called upon.”
Germanicus looked up with a glint in his eyes, “You remember the old saying, the enemy of my enemy is my friend. Perhaps Charon has learnt that lesson, and has found new friends.”
Adamous peered through the gap in the door; “I believe in Terra Azure terms that would be like putting a Cobra in with a Mongoose; they would want to eat each other. Charon works for no one and to him the Wraith are just beings that have their uses. And I cannot believe for one moment that they actually trust Charon, which means of course that they have their own agenda. It’s a nice tidy relationship that I would not like to be part of.”
Germanicus looked back over his shoulder, “How’s Merit holding up?”
Adamous turned also to see her slight frame, “She’s doing well considering; since she left Alexandria she’s been abducted, corralled, and practically been in a constant state of flight and all she wanted was to get to the Merovingian.”
“You know there’s more to Merit than meets the eye, she’s a lot more powerful than she lets on. I even believe she let the Saracens take her. You saw the way she used that Amulet around her neck, that’s an older power than what they’ve got in Egypt. As for her being vulnerable, I’m not so sure. We need to be careful she doesn’t make fools out of us, there’s real power in her.”
“If it is a charade we’ll let her keep to it for the time being. Perhaps she’s just using us for protection until she gets to the Merovingian, but then again we are relying on her unusual gifts so to speak. So maybe she's just wary of us, and in a world such as this who could blame her.”
“Well I hope we earn her trust soon because with the abilities she's got, I'd hate to be on the wrong side of her if she flips out.”
Adamous smiled and imperceptibly nodded. As he stared out of the church, some distance away he heard the sound of a Cock Crow, morning was at hand. Two furtive figures raced across the square and flew up the steps. Thomas and Romulus had finally returned. They passed into the church unnoticed. They had with them three loaves of bread, a sack of wine, cheese and some salted meat, a fine catch that any scavenger would be proud of.
As Romulus placed the pile of goods on the floor; benches creaked as tired limbs heaved themselves from their slumber, the smell of the meats and bread gave vigour to their weary limbs.
Thomas gingerly rubbed his shoulders as if to free them from the cool air, “We had more than one close shave out there, fortunately or not the city has been closed down, which meant for the most part we could travel unhindered, though we did almost run into one of those Wraith creatures; and I can tell you Charon had the dogs out during the night; quite literally we had to hide in the sewers, to escape them; don’t worry the grub’s unspoiled; it was after we washed in the fresh waters of the garden fountains, that we went after the food. Also we saw one poor chap who was out when he shouldn’t have been; at first I thought he had approached a harlot for business as you might say, but the only business going on was hers, when she finally moved off, we took a look at the body that was left behind; it was emaciated as though he’d been maggot food for some time.”
Adamous's eyes narrowed, “Did you get a good look at her?”
Thomas thought a moment, “not really but there was one thing; she held in her hand a short staff, but considering her age it seemed unnecessary, and considering its size she’d of had to bend over like an old crone to use it.”
Adamous broke some bread off to eat; “A staff you say. Did you manage to get a look at it?”
“I think Romulus may have.”
Romulus rubbed his bristled chin and looked up at Adamous, he had jumped right into the food. In the Stratiotai you did not wait on ceremony where eating was concerned. He stood up removed a choice bit of meat that had got stuck in his teeth, swallowed deeply, gave out a rather large belch and smiled. “Meats good; I don’t really know what I saw. The staff had something at one end that lit up the dark, also this is going to sound strange but I thought it coiled itself round the woman’s arm the way a snake might do, perhaps with the dark and the strangeness of the situation, my mind may have been playing tricks on me. After all such a thing cannot have a life of its own, right?”
Adamous tugged at his ear thoughtfully, “I’m afraid this one does.”
Germanicus had been standing by Adamous, arms folded, intently listening, “You two are very lucky indeed; first you have an encounter with Charon, then Garm, then the Wraith, we discover a Sacred Seal, and now you’ve seen what seems to me to be a Siren, and you’ve lived to tell about it; this little adventure is truly getting interesting. I don’t even want to begin to contemplate who we’re going to meet next.”
Adamous’s eyes narrowed, he could see how spent the Stratiotai were, “There’s only one way to find out, the Sacred Seal must have recovered enough energy by now to be of use, especially for the short journey to the palace and we must leave the church; any suggestions people?”
"I don't think we can use the Seal to get directly into the palace: its use would be detected," replied Germanicus.
"So a direct assault is out of the question, anything else?"
Thomas was the first to reply, “From what I understand Charon leaves his servants to do his work. And I could say for sure, that he remains in the higher levels of the palace. I think he guides operations from there. I think he's in one of the top rear rooms, there's your best bet, but he will be well guarded, and there are too few of us for any prolonged venture, we would need to be in and out before we are discovered. Everything will be dependent on our ability to remain undetected.”
“Germanicus, what do you think?” asked Adamous turning to his old friend.
“Thomas is right, our movements must remain secret, otherwise we can’t hope to succeed, but the thing is if he has his dogs walking the grounds they’re sure to give the alert if we try to steal our way into the palace. And we don’t know what else might be waiting for us. I would suggest we use the symbols of the Angelos to prevent ourselves from being announced, they will afford us some protection at least and we already know they work. Also….”
Paulus cut him short with a wave of his hand; someone was approaching the church, silently Romulus gathered the food together and wrapped it in his cloak; Adamous gestured for everyone to get back, he had not realised the time; they had been there for too long. As they raced behind the alter; the chain was pulled away and the door was flung open and a broad light streamed in.
A dark figure of a robed individual stood at the entrance. He slowly took in the scene there was something not right; bending over, he picked up some crumbs from the floor. He stood erect smelling the air. His shuffling gait sluggishly past each aisle, his long shadow stretched out in front of him as light streamed in from the open door.
In the alter room, to the side was an antechamber, that held ceremonial wears, everyone entered and waited; impressive bejewelled Vestments and Omophor hung from walls, a gold encrusted font stood at the centre of the room. Two silver incense burners sat by the side of it. A stand held three Thuribles; chain like tentacles draped down and shone in the dark; to the side of these on a short legged table were three golden boats, to hold holy oil, or the holy-communion.
As they huddled together they could hear someone’s approach, Romulus’s hand fell to the hilt of his sword. Adamous stopped him from wrenching the weapon from its sheath. He wanted to get a good look at the person and he knew he would not have to wait that long to see who it was. The individual slowed and carefully approached the ro
om where they hid, a hand reached out to draw back the curtain that had been flung across the entrance; there was a sharp intake of breath; they were about to be discovered.