The ground floor of the cathedral was in complete disarray. Pews and sculptures were strewn haphazardly across the open space, and many of the stained glass windows were shattered. Dean had been escorted through here when he was first taken to the catacombs, and the fact that it had become ruined in such a short amount of time left him at a loss for words.
Matin had warned him not to look towards the altar as they were leaving, but his morbid curiosity got the better of him. Thankfully, there was little food in his body, so he didn't vomit. He did, however, let out an involuntary whimper at the sight.
He had expected something terrible, of course. The screams and cries he had heard from his cell had suggested terrible violence, but he hadn't expected carnage on this inhuman scale.
It looked as though a pack of starving wolves had been given free rein of a slaughterhouse. What remained of the bodies was barely recognizable as human. Torn flesh, skulls and ribcages lay on ground that was stained with dried blood. The worst part was seeing remnants of student's robes mixed in. Nothing in any depraved book he'd ever read even came close to what he could see now.
"Look away, Dean, please," Cait said with a trembling voice.
Dean was more than happy to oblige her request.
"When the beasts finally broke through the outer walls, many retreated here to seek the protection of the Goddess. Little good it did the poor fools," Marianne explained. Even her usually strong and confident voice had a subdued quality to it.
"I hope dying here helped their souls move on comfortably to the next life, at the very least," Matin said a little shakily. He was as white as a sheet and was keeping his gaze as far away from the altar as humanly possible.
"Dead is dead," Dean said simply. In his opinion, dying in the manner these poor people had was not worth any kind of rebirth.
"Saying such things in the house of the Goddess," Marianne muttered disapprovingly, shaking her head.
Dean elected not to answer. They had often butted heads in matters of religion, but he had no desire to argue now. He was simply too tired for it.
Cait placed a hand on Dean's shoulder. Her expression looked deeply concerned. Dean just gave her a reassuring smile, all the while wondering why she was concerning herself so much with him. Her actions didn't go unnoticed by Matin and Marianne, who looked at her with distrust.
"Where are all the monsters now, then?" Dean asked.
The state of the cathedral definitely lent credence to the story that monsters had attacked in great numbers but all seemed quiet as they made their way to the entrance.
"Anybody who didn't find a safe place has been completely consumed, and those of us who survived have dared not venture out. Once all the food was gone, the beasts left of their own accord. We sometimes see one or two hunting in the night, however." Marianne explained.
"Won't they catch our scent if we stay out like this?"
"Yes, so let's stop dawdling, yes?"
"I wasn't dawdling," Dean muttered under his breath.
When they stepped outside the cathedral, they were met by white silence. Snow was falling heavily, obscuring most of the distant view. What buildings they could see were covered in a significant amount already. Dean knew the snow might come early this year, but he never thought it would be this severe. This amount was rare, even during the heart of winter. Seeing the snow reminded him of a certain person.
"Addi. Where is she?" he asked.
He couldn't hide the worry from his voice, and that worry seemed well-founded as both Matin and Marianne looked at each other with complicated expressions.
"Addi hasn't been seen since the day you were…taken in," Matin said in a hurry. "She's not alone. Many people have gone missing."
"Missing?" Dean asked flatly as he recalled the unidentifiable remains in the cathedral. "She's the priestess. The Priestess! How could you lose her?"
It simply boggled his mind that the most protected person in the empire, aside from Oscar himself, could have just up and vanished like that. Dean glared at Marianne, who didn't seem one bit interested in answering his question.
"The guards at her door said she went into her room and just vanished into thin air." Matin said, though his tone implied that he found the story unbelievable.
Vanished indeed! The guards had probably run, trying to save their own skin. He always knew that man, Mitch was of the shifty sort.
"Has anyone even tried looking for her?" Dean asked. "Or is she just not a factor in your plotting?"
Matin bit his lip while Marianne turned on him.
"We've had our hands full protecting our own lives," she snapped. "You aren't aware of how quickly things went wrong up here, so keep your judgments to yourself."
Dean allowed himself a derisive smile.
"All your maneuvering and manipulation skills don't seem to be worth much in a crisis, do they?" he said, his words sharp as a knife's edge.
To his surprise and slight disappointment, Marianne didn't respond. He was not planning on letting her off the hook anytime soon. He wasn't sure how deeply she was involved in all this, but at the very least she had kept him away from his friends at the worst possible time, and that was something he couldn't easily forgive.
"We tried fighting back as best we could, but as the number of soldiers decreased and the weather worsened, we were forced to flee into the round tower." Matin explained, trying to move the topic in a less confrontational direction.
The round tower. That did seem to be their destination as they continued to walk up the hill towards the west side of the cathedral.
"Hey, Dean," Matin whispered as he walked beside Dean. "Could you keep the fact that mother was keeping you down in the catacombs a secret?"
Dean gave his friend a scathing look.
"What? You don't want me to drag her name through the dirt and let her suffer what she deserves?"
Matin flinched at Dean's hostility but continued to speak.
"Sorry, I know how bad that sounds. You can say whatever you want after this is all over, but please, there's so few of us left. If we fought amongst ourselves now, we'd probably fall apart."
Dean considered Matin's words. A big part of him wanted to get back at Marianne as much as possible, but that could wait. There were other, more important matters to worry about for the time being.
"I'll let it go for now," he said quietly. "I want to focus on finding Addi and the others."
Matin gave him a grateful nod and spoke no more.
The round tower stood close to the cathedral's walls at the edge of the gardens, climbing higher than the cathedral itself. A sound place to stay in an emergency, a bastion where stone and height offered reliable protection. Luckily, the walk to the round tower was a short one, and they didn't encounter any hostiles on their way there. Once they got to its base, Marianne called out, and a rope ladder was lowered down to them. Marianne made sure Matin went up first, followed by Dean and Cait, before climbing up herself.
Their climb was a slow one as Matin struggled with the freezing wind and his nerves, climbing a single rung before taking a deep breath, closing his eyes, and proceeding once more. At one point, his foot slipped on the icy wood, forcing a panicked shriek.
"Careful now, if you fall, you'll be taking me along for the ride," Dean warned.
Well, he would be sure to grab Marianne by the hair as he fell. That alone would make the accident worth it. Unfortunately, Cait would also suffer, so he quickly dismissed the idea.
Eventually, they reached the top, and someone pulled a shaken Matin into the tower itself. When it came time for Dean to be pulled up, he reached his hands up but froze when he saw who was waiting for him.
"Even in trying times you end up going off and doing your own thing, eh lad?" Morgan Kasanagh said with an insufferable smile.
As it turned out, even a great tragedy wasn't enough to keep Morgan from quipping at every opportunity.
"Well, what are you waiting for, lad? It's freezing and we're letting all the heat out. Not to mention Marianne's glaring daggers at your behind."
Forcing back a retort, Dean reached out his hand and allowed himself to be pulled into the tower. The smell of old hay, smoke, and mold assaulted his nostrils as he looked around the small, circular room. It was dark, with only a small amount of light coming from the level above, which was connected to their current one by a rustic wooden ladder.
Eventually, Marianne found her way up, cursing the primitiveness of rope ladders as she dusted some snow off her dress. Despite her complaining, she was not at all out of breath.
"Was hoping for a soldier or two, but at least they're young and fit. Welcome back, Marianne." Morgan said, ignoring Dean completely.
"It's good to see you too, Father." Dean exclaimed. "I shouldn't be surprised you didn't come to see me. The catacombs are awfully dirty and they smell too."
Morgan's polite smile didn't falter as he turned to Dean.
"You know your father well. Probably wouldn't have gone down there myself even if I'd known you were there. Sadly, I didn't order the soldiers to explore the catacombs when I sent them out looking for you."
Even his own father, the Duke Kasanagh, hadn't known of his location. He shot a look towards Marianne, who stared at him blankly. What was she trying to accomplish? At least Matin had the sense to look slightly ashamed of himself.
"And who's the young lady?" Morgan asked.
His expression remained relaxed for the most part, but there was a sharpness in his eyes that Dean recognised all too well.
"She helped me make it back here," Dean said quickly. "Without her, I would've died."
"I see," Morgan whispered. "Well. She is welcome, of course. Come, there's a fire burning above, and the others are surely wondering what we're all talking about down here."
Morgan led them to the next floor. Thankfully, it was much cleaner than the floor below, though still a far cry from a comfortable room. A fire had been lit near an arrow slit in an attempt to keep the smoke to a minimum. Even so, Dean found breathing slightly irritating. Rudimentary mattresses of linen filled with hay had been placed all around the floor, and a small group of people sat huddled together on top of them.
Dean felt a wave of relief when he spotted both Rosetta and Layota. Rosetta was smiling back, though her eyes were bloodshot and her blond hair was a scraggly mess.
When she saw who had come up the ladder, Layota got to her feet and embraced Dean.
"Thank the Goddess you're alright, dear," the old lady said in utter relief with tears in her eyes.
Dean returned the embrace.
"I'm happy to see you safe too, Mother Layota," he replied.
As he hugged the matron, he locked eyes with Rosetta, who gave him a soft smile. Another one of his friends was safe. He could take solace in that much. At the very least.
The last person present was leaning against the wall near the fire and looked at the new arrivals with indifference.
Dean was surprised to see Guardsman Mitch here, of all people. Not least of all because he was one of Addi's personal guards. He made a mental note to interrogate the man about Addi's whereabouts as soon as he got the chance.
After a few moments of greeting, everyone settled down near the fire. Dean was surprised by how good the fire felt after days in a cell. With this new comfort, his body was almost begging him to lie down and sleep, but there were a lot of things he needed to discuss. He had agreed not to divulge how Marianne had kept him locked away, but there was the matter of what would be done next. He couldn't sit idly around when there were possibly others in need of help. Unfortunately, the floor space of the round tower was extremely limited despite having almost six levels, and Morgan made clear that their stockpile of food would not last the week with so many in the tower.
"Still, I'm surprised you decided to go out and look for survivors yourself," Morgan was saying to Marianne. "I figured you'd only care about feeding Matin here."
"Yes, well." Marianne said, carefully choosing her words. "I decided we would need an extra pair of hands or two. Whether our supplies run out in eight days or six is of little consequence. The winter will last months."
Marianne seemed dead set on keeping her genuine reasons for venturing out a secret from the others. Dean wondered if he could use that against her at some point. Although he was honor-bound to keep it a secret, betraying Matin's trust was probably not worth the satisfaction.
"In that case, we'll need to head out for food soon," Morgan said.
"We had plenty of food kept in the orphanage." Layota said quickly, shoving herself into the conversation with a desperate look on her face.
Marianne clicked her tongue while Morgan gave Layota an apologetic smile.
"My apologies, Mother. But it's too far away. Besides, the children are most likely no longer with us. We'd be much better served going to the guesthouse's kitchens," he explained.
"But I told them to lock the doors and go to the basement if there was ever trouble. The orphanage is secluded. There's still a chance that-"
"Enough!" Marianne shouted. "Even if they are still alive, those children would only be dead weight and extra mouths to feed to us now. We cannot afford to take on that burden."
"Burden?" Layota asked, her voice cracking under emotional strain. "They're naught but young children. Please countess, have some mercy on them?"
Layota's desperate plea fell on deaf ears as Marianne ignored her and continued on. Dean felt a stab of shame and anger towards his father and Marianne. He opened his mouth to interrupt and give them a piece of his mind, but Marianne spoke over him.
"Why make the decision now? We still have supplies, so we should wait and see if the weather clears. I say we wait here a couple of days before making any hot-headed decisions."
Morgan shook his head.
"I'd rather not wait until we are desperately low on food to go and get more. I say we make for the guesthouse today or tomorrow. There should be plenty there to keep us going."
Dean listened silently as the debate continued. Layota stood there forlornly, having given up on trying to persuade Marianne. He remembered his time at the monastery with Joan and the rest of the children. He also thought of Addi and came to a decision. Finding survivors should take priority over everything else. His father and Marianne would only ever look out for themselves. Typical of the nobility, really.
"I agree with Layota, we should make sure the kids are safe first." Dean said, butting his way into the conversation. "After that, we should look for Addi and other survivors."
He wanted to find Addi most of all. He really did. However, the logical side of his brain knew that the kids needed help more than anyone else. He hoped the training he had given Addi would allow her to survive just a little longer wherever she was.
"Don't think for even a second that you have any say in this!" Marianne shouted, rounding on him. "Haven't you heard a word I just said? We don't have the resources to mind several tens of children!"
"Sorry Marianne, but your authority doesn't really mean much to me when we're stuck in a tower like this. I'm going to do it no matter what you say."
Layota's eyes lit up, and she gave him a grateful smile, but his father just looked at him and shook his head
"The orphanage is a long distance away from here, lad. Not to mention you have to walk through some forest. You'll be torn apart before you even get halfway there."
"Well, that's a risk I'm willing to take." Dean said indignantly.
He was well aware of the danger, but there was no way he could stay sitting in this tall tower while the children were down there being eaten alive.
"Won't you stop and think rationally for even a second!" Marianne said, losing patience.
Matin raised his hand towards his mother in a flimsy attempt to calm her down. Unfortunately, it didn't seem like she noticed in the slightest.
"I was given charge of this place when Oscar left, and I command you all to wait!"
"Sorry, Marianne no can do. You agree, don't you, Mitch?" Morgan said.
The severe,dark-haired man had yet to take part in the conversation, but as both Marianne and Morgan stared at him, he sighed and closed his eyes.
"Anyone can see that waiting the creatures and the weather out is a fool's errand. I have to agree with Duke Kasanagh on this."
Morgan nodded in satisfaction while Marianne's face contorted into an even more severe scowl. Rosetta and Cait, who hadn't even tried to get a word in, looked at the two nobles with open fear. Marianne was about to say something when Matin stood up.
"Mother, I think that Dean is right. I wouldn't be able to live with myself if I sat around here when there were people who needed my help."
Marianne's scowl faded as she turned to her son.
"Matin, dear. I'm just trying to make sure you're safe, nothing more than that. Can't you see?"
"I'm perfectly fine, Mother. I'm safe here, so now we need to go and check on the others. We should also look for food while we're out. That way we'll all be able to relax a little more."
Marianne's expression grew complicated. Eventually, after pinching the bridge of her nose, she nodded.
"Well, fine, there's enough of us here to split into two groups. Let's set out tomorrow. We can bring the weapons we brought with us."
Dean felt the tension drain from his shoulders. It seemed he wouldn't have to fight his way out of the tower after all. With Marianne finally giving in, there were only two choices left: go to the orphanage or go to the guest house. Rather than fighting over it, they would split into two teams and tackle them both, allowing for more food to be collected. There was a risk in splitting up, but if they had weapons then there was still a good chance of survival.
"It's so nice of you to worry about children like that," Cait whispered as she walked up to him.
He noticed Rosetta looking at Cait with suspicion before getting to her feet and joining them. Both women had, rather smartly, remained out of the conversation.
"Who's she?" Rosetta asked sharply as she glared at the other girl.
It wasn't unusual for Rosetta to look upon strangers with hostile suspicion, but it seemed even more pronounced with Cait. Dean considered his next words carefully. Everyone looked at Cait with hostility, but he was hoping Rosetta, being his friend, would understand.
"She helped me out when the attack happened." He lied. "I wouldn't be here now if it weren't for her. She saved my life and I consider her my hero so hope you can get along with her."
Cait's eyes lit up upon hearing Dean's words, and he might have heard her squeal in delight. It wasn't a complete lie. He would have been a lot worse off mentally if Cait hadn't been there to keep him company. Despite his words, Rosetta continued to glare at Cait as if she were some sort of cockroach. For her part, Cait kept her eyes to the ground, looking extremely meek in the process.
"Rosetta, please." Dean begged.
He gave a pleading look, one he hoped would stir her sympathetic side. Rosetta bit her lip before grunting in annoyance.
"Ugh, fine, but if she thinks we're gonna get along just because we're both girls around the same age, then she can think again."
Rosetta turned sharply and returned to her sitting spot. There, she sat down, hugging her knees while staring off into empty space.
"She's been through a lot. Don't take what she says too hard." Dean whispered.
Maria and Rosetta had been very close, and he knew how much she had relied on her older friend. Dean wanted to comfort her, but knew he should probably wait a while and let her grieve in peace.
"It's fine," Cait said quickly. "She just wants to be alone right now."
Dean smiled in appreciation. If everyone in the tower were a little more understanding like Cait, then perhaps the atmosphere wouldn't be quite so volatile.
*
The next day, those who had sought refuge in the tower split themselves into two groups, decided by Marianne, of course. Morgan had tried to get a word in, but as if she were trying to make up for her loss the previous day, Marianne refused to back down or listen to any alternative decisions. It was decided that Dean would go with his father, Layota and Cait to the orphanage, while the rest would go to the guesthouse kitchens.
Marianne evidently wanted Matin on the safer trip even though he wanted to go with Dean. Morgan, who had been most vocal about going to the guest house, was forced to go with Dean on Marianne's insistence. He seemed troubled by the fact but evidently didn't care enough to have a shouting match over it.
Rosetta seemed unwilling to go anywhere at first, but when Marianne confronted her with the fact that she'd be staying in the tower alone, she quickly buckled and volunteered to join the guesthouse run. Now she looked like a walking corpse. Her skin was pale and her hair a mess. She probably hadn't gotten much sleep the night before.
"You sure you don't want to stay here?" Dean asked her. "You could get some rest while we're out and about."
Rosetta shook her head.
"I don't want to be alone right now," she said evenly.
She had always been more than happy to be shut away by herself, so it surprised him that she was so eager to join them. He didn't question her about that. It wasn't too difficult to imagine the dangerous situation they were in influencing her decision.
Morgan came down from the upper floor, a bundle of weapons in his hands. He handed Dean a long knife and a rod-shaped object with a grip and trigger at one end. Morgan kept a similar, longer rod for himself.
"Is this a-" Dean asked, voice trailing off.
"A lythment, yes. One that uses lyth stones as an energy source to fire projectiles. The one you have usually shoots out ice projectiles. Think of it like a bow. First time seeing one?"
Dean shook his head. He'd seen some high-ranking soldiers holding these as well as some nobles. This was the first time he had held one however.
"It's element-based," Morgan explained. "It works well no matter the weather, but with all this snow around, it practically has unlimited uses."
"How does it work, exactly?" Dean asked, looking down the length of the weapon.
"It uses water energy to fire frozen shards or spray out ice icy wind in a cone, freezing your targets. The creatures are rather resistant to cold, so I don't recommend the second setting, but an ice shard will pierce them as true as any bolt."
Dean couldn't help but whistle in appreciation. He found himself almost wanting to encounter a wolf or ghoul in order to try it out. There was a pale blue stone embedded in a socket at the top of the rod. Dean recognized it as a lyth stone that powered the whole thing.
"And for the lady," Morgan said, handing Cait a crossbow.
She flinched, but Morgan forced it into her hands before drawing closer to her and whispering into her ear. Dean didn't hear what he said, but Cait's eyes widened in fear. When Morgan moved on, Dean approached her quickly.
"What did he say?" Dean demanded.
"He said that if he catches me aiming this at anything other than a monster, then he'll shoot me himself."
Dean felt his mouth twist in disgust as he looked toward his father. He'd always treated women well. Of course, it was primarily because of his flirtatious nature, but at least he never treated them with cruelty.
"Don't mind him or any of the others. They're just paranoid," he muttered.
Cait smiled at him and almost instantly, he felt his anger recede.
"Don't give me that, just hand it to me. I can still use it despite my age!"
Dean looked over to find Layota pestering his father for the second crossbow. Morgan seemed hesitant at first, but eventually gave in. Layota looked awfully proud as she hefted the crossbow up and peered down its sights.
"Careful with that thing! It reloads automatically," Morgan said, ducking out of the way.
"Are we all set to go then?" came an impatient voice from the other side of the room.
Marianne stood there, a lythment of her own cradled in her arms. Mitch had a smaller version that could be held comfortably with a single hand, while Matin and Rosetta held their own crossbows and long knives.
"Yes, let's meet at the library before dark, eh?"
"No need to say it again, Morgan." Marianne responded. "Only a fool would be caught out there after dark."
They had decided to reconvene at the library rather than the round tower. If they were bringing back more people, then the tower could no longer house them all. Besides, the library used to be a fortress and was the next most easily defended building on the monastery grounds.
"Let's be off then," Marianne snapped, setting a pace for the rest of her group.
Her group went on ahead, and Dean watched as they climbed down the ladder. Marianne cursed at a terrified Rosetta as she struggled to climb down.
"It's only snow down here so you won't hurt yourself even if you fall, stupid girl!" Marianne shouted.
Eventually, it was time for Dean's party to go down. He expected Layota to struggle somewhat, but she was surprisingly spry for her age and made a better go of it than either Matin or Rosetta.
By the time Dean had gotten to the bottom, Marianne and the others had already disappeared behind the cathedral.
"That woman needs to learn how to relax every now and then," Morgan muttered to himself.
"Well, let's not wait around too long ourselves. We don't know what could be watching us," Layota said.
The journey through the monastery grounds turned out to be uneventful. Thankfully, not a creature could be seen as they moved as quickly as they could between the quiet buildings.
"Hopefully, all the creatures moved on when all the food ran out." Morgan noted.
Dean didn't need to ask what he meant by food. He hoped there were other groups of people locked away behind thick doors, just as they had been.
That said, signs of trouble were evident. Desecrated corpses of soldiers and students could be found throughout the grounds. Even so, Dean thought it strange how quiet the place was.
Cait hid her face behind Dean's back as they walked by a particularly morbid example. Dean was for once happy with the cold, as it prevented rot from setting in. They did not linger near the bodies and kept moving on.
When they reached the courtyard near the monastery's entrance, they quickened their pace. Dean couldn't help but feel exposed in the open space, and the others must have felt the same as they kept looking around as they walked.
Even when they entered the forest which led to the orphanage, they came across very little. A pack of wolves watched them from a distance, but quickly dispersed when Dean shot an ice shard in their direction.
The shard exploded from the rod faster than Dean's eye could track. Unfortunately, his aim was off, and the shard struck a distant three with a loud snapping sound. A large chunk of bark and wood shattered from the impact.
"Woah," Dean gasped, unable to hide his astonishment.
"Pretty destructive, huh?" Morgan asked. "Shame they can't be mass-produced yet."
Dean narrowed his eyes at his father's words. He could scarcely imagine what a battlefield powered by lyth stones would be like.
Eventually, the orphanage came into sight. Dean's relief was quickly shattered, however. Layota let out a painfully loud scream of terror. She rushed forward, and it took Dean a moment to see what she was running towards. In the snow, just before the building's entrance was a large patch of deep red with different longer patches fanning out in different directions from it.
There was enough blood on the ground to suggest that many people had been dragged out of the building. Dean felt panic rise in his chest as he rushed towards the site of the attack. They were too late.