"Claire!"
The mayor shook Claire's shoulders, grabbing her attention. "Do you have any idea why this creature is depicted here?"
Claire swallowed hard. She glanced back at the mural, to Ursa and Toni, whom the Carpenters shouldn't have known about. "I-it has to be a sign…"
"Sign for what?" Elizabeth said in a calmer voice.
"That she's important," Claire mumbled. She looked back at the half-snake woman and the animals around her. "Are there others?"
Elizabeth tilted her head. "Others? Like other monsters?"
Claire hesitantly nodded. "Goblins."
Elizabeth blinked. "No. Should there be?"
"Um, I'm not sure," Claire said softly, her eyes wandering to the marble statue. She walked shakily towards the shrine, to the statue of the Goddess at the center. "Why did you build this?"
She stared at the statue expecting an answer, but it stood motionless. The sparse detail was off-putting. Like it was human, but not quite.
"Claire, you need to explain this," Elizabeth said with an exasperated sigh. "We need to figure this out."
"I-I get it," Claire said, taking a deep breath. She took in the details of the interior, the hearts in the design. There were several women as well, in deep stages of pregnancy. "It must be from growing power…"
"Growing power?" Elizabeth asked. "Your Goddess's?"
"Yes," Claire took another deep breath. "I might have spread her name alongside our own…"
"Smart." Elizabeth pursed her lips. "Honestly, if it weren't for the depiction of that Lamia, there wouldn't really be an issue."
Claire's eyes returned to Samira's portrait. She had so many questions for her Goddess upon seeing the church, the art, and especially Samira's piece. When was this painted? Why were the animals there? Would Samira be joining them, too?
"So you have nothing?" Elizabeth asked.
Claire shook her head. "Just more questions."
"Whatever, I'll take it as a good sign that you recognize the Lamia." Elizabeth sighed. She pinched her nose in frustration. " We'll cover this up, say it's a work in progress if anything…"
"I'll try to get answers the next time I talk to Her," Claire said. "But She's… not the best with answering questions."
"Figures." Elizabeth sighed once more. "At least she powers you up quite nicely."
"You can tell?" Claire asked.
"I can," The mayor said with a warm smile. "I have a strong analytical eye. It can't read your skills, but it can read your stats."
"Like Lily's?" Claire asked.
"A bit, but mine's geared more for judging people's potential." The mayor explained. "Useful for hiring adventurers or craftswomen. A handy skill for a mayor."
A thought occurred to her as she listened to the older woman. "Do you know what those animals symbolize?"
"Hm?" The mayor tilted her head, confused. "The animals?"
"Yeah, on the painting." Claire continued. "Like the dog I'd assume would be the Goddess Bennos. Now that I look at it in more detail, it looks like a Shepherd's breed."
The woman turned and studied the depiction, tilting her head further to the side. "Ah, I see what you're saying. The raven might represent wisdom, but Ostea's symbol is the Owl now."
"I think Lily mentioned something similar," Claire mumbled.
"Right, fuck," The mayor laughed. "Where is Lily? I was so caught up in all this that I forgot to ask."
"She's in Fyre…" Claire said, feeling a slight pain in her chest. She missed her Alchemist. "Studying history… to find out more about the Tyrant."
"Why?" Elizabeth asked.
Claire could see the questions forming from the mayor's expression. Claire contemplated for a moment, but decided to tell her. Jasmine trusted this woman, so Claire could, too. So she filled their mayor in on everything they learned.
The conversation lasted until Elizabeth sank into one of the pews, the weight of Claire's story forcing her to sit. Claire stood in silence as the woman digested what Claire told her. From her dreams with the Goddess to the two unique goblins. She left out the gifts and the relationship she has with her party.
"Jasmine's reaction," Elizabeth said softly. She scratched the back of her neck. "He really looked like Marcellus?"
"Ursa confirmed the similarities." Claire nodded.
"Not just the more… rougher features and facial hair," Elizabeth gulped. A pit began to form in the woman's stomach. "But like a spitting image?"
"I-I think so," Claire said hesitantly. She was more worried about calming Jasmine down at the time. "You'll have to ask her."
"I plan to," Elizabeth said. She looked back at the painting, biting her lip. "He's the horse."
"Huh?" Claire asked. She struggled to process both the words and the certainty behind them.
"It's an old breed of horses," Elizabeth said softly. "One that died out when I was younger. A Friesian horse, the only breed with all black hides. Used in war. Haven't seen one in a very long time… Maybe not since I was your age."
"So how do you know it's Him?" Claire asked.
"An old story from when I was young." She said with a hint of nostalgia. She looked up at Claire as she spoke. "One about Death and three sisters. The eldest, a prideful warrior, the middle, a grieving widow, and the youngest, a scholar. I forgot the contents of the story, but each sister was tempted with power, gifts from Marcellus Himself. The two older sisters died to their own selfishness, but the youngest… She used the power of the Divine for her child."
She took a deep breath, feeling a bit of nostalgia from her youth. "She was able to live a long, fulfilling life, escaping the fates of her sisters. But the ending is what matters now… Marcellus greeted the now elderly woman like an old friend, leading an all black horse for her to ride into the afterlife. That's the part that makes me certain."
Claire sat beside her, thinking over the conversation. "My Goddess said that Firewater and Silkie were hidden from her. She said ancient magic was used to do so…"
The mayor nodded slowly, a small smile forming on her face. "You should know that both Bennos and Marcellus were among the few survivors of the Tyrant's Betrayal. You learned that in school, didn't you? Though I recall you hating theology…"
Claire let out a nervous laugh. She remembered learning from the mayor and her wife as a kid and how hard it was for her to listen to their lectures. "It was the sitting for hours on end that I hated."
"That's fair, I know my voice can also be a little monotone…" The mayor chuckled. She leaned back, remembering teaching the entire generation.
"So it's the raven we still need…" Claire mumbled. She glanced back at the painting, at the animals surrounding the woman. The dog reminded her of her own herding companion from home.
"I doubt you'll find the name of that God or Goddess," Elizabeth said. She, too, was looking at the painting now. "We lost a lot of our historical records when the Tyrant went mad… He razed entire cities filled with our collective knowledge."
"Do you know anything more about him?" Claire asked. "Like, besides what you taught us?"
"Hmm, he was far less tyrannical than we say." She said, choosing her words carefully. "It wasn't until something broke him that he turned… evil"
"Wait? Was he not evil from the start?" Claire asked. She was thinking back to her lessons as a girl. The stories of the Tyrant's early life and the heinous deeds he committed. "Did he even kidnap the princess for ransom?"
"No, in fact it's speculated that they were lovers." Elizabeth said with a heavy sigh and slight disgust. "What we're forced to teach now is highly dramatized propaganda to justify how we treat men today. A divine punishment that was put on the entire gender."
Claire hung her head. "Of course. Can't have the nobles feeling sympathy…"
Her words received a hardy laugh from the mayor. "No, we cannot! Now you're starting to get it."
Everything, as always, circled back to noble greed and their desperate need to feel righteous about it.