-Inside the quarters-
Diana looked around the sparsely decorated room and noted the layout's similarity to a modern military barracks with eighteen beds on each side of the room and a clear path down the middle. She also noted the presence of a gray shield with a red cross hanging on the left wall with two swords crossed behind it. Were the previous tenants of the temple a monastic military order like those she had read about in history class? She was not sure. The layout of the room and the wooden footlockers made her think of a modern military barracks, but that could be entirely coincidental and not indicative of a monastic military order.
Aside from the sparse decoration and the layout, Diana also noted the sheer amount of dust and cobwebs in the room, especially in the corners of the floor and ceiling. It had obviously not been used in a long time and had not been cleaned in an even longer time. Diana wondered why that was.
Remembering the contents of the note in her pocket, Diana began to search for the bed that had once belonged to Brother Lucas to find what he had left behind. Starting all the way from the left, Diana carefully looked over each and every bed, paying special attention to the footlockers in case they had names etched onto them. On the top of the seventh wooden footlocker Diana noticed a name etched on top in small letters.
BROTHER LUCAS
Diana bent down to open it and saw that the bracelet glowed silver before she lifted the lid. A silver shield dispelled and the lid opened without any resistance. Inside was a small gray book with a small red cross in the center. Its coloration was the same as the shield on the wall, a resemblance that was hardly coincidental. She picked up the book and opened it to the middle.
"
...I have noticed that lately the order has shifted away from protecting the minds and bodies of travelers in the Cursed Lands to worshiping some mistress of unknown origin. I am confounded by this change in focus and have brought up the matter with the abbot, but so far he has not answered me. He claims that all will become clear with the passage of time." Brother Lucas had written in an entry made on a spring day roughly 125 years ago. Diana thumbed through the journal to learn more about the change in focus and her eyes settled on another entry made in summer of the same year.
"
The abbot still refuses to give me a clear answer to my questions. I noticed that the order has become more secretive and has excluded me and other doubters from its rituals. I feel that is for the best because I noticed that lately guests who stay the night tend to vanish without a trace. I suspect that something foul is going on." Brother Lucas had written. Two pages later Diana found another observation dated for two weeks after the summer entry; this one concerned a meeting with other members of the order who had expressed reservations about its change in mission.
"
Today I met with Brother Matthias, Brother Benedict, Brother Maynard, and Brother Henry in the bell tower to discuss the unsettling changes within the order. They too are perturbed by the abbot's refusal to give clear answers to our questions and they too suspect that something foul is happening. Brother Maynard reported that last night another guest has gone missing from the guest quarters. This has to stop!" Brother Lucas reported. Diana moved on and thumbed through more of the book, stopping on an entry dated for the middle of winter.
"
Brother Matthias, Brother Benedict, and Brother Henry have left the order to go their own way. I can hardly blame them. Lately the order has become obsessed with worshiping the Mistress to the virtual exclusion of its other duties. It has also started drinking wine at its rituals when wine has been expressly forbidden by the rules governing the order. Brother Maynard suspects that the "wine" is actually blood from the missing guests, but since we have nothing but suspicion, we cannot prove that their drink is blood. Brother Maynard is going to continue his investigation.
I wish that I was brave enough to join him, but I am too afraid. Brother Maynard and I are among the only dissenters left and our days are numbered." The entry ended. Diana thumbed through one last time and found an entry in winter dated just before the new year.
"
Brother Maynard has gone missing! Before he vanished he told me of blasphemous rituals conducted in honor of a Dark Mistress that involve human sacrifice, details I have recorded both here and in another journal I am taking with me because I fear that my life may soon end and I do not want any information on the cult's activities to die with me. I have locked my journal in this footlocker and have enchanted it with a spell to protect it from the demon's servants so that they may not find and destroy the evidence of their activities. My bracelet, which I have hidden in the bell tower, is one of the only things that can break the enchantment.
I feel that the demon worshipers are onto me, so I must depart as soon as possible. I will leave this journal as a warning to any who may find it. If they are wise and fortunate enough to escape with their lives, they would leave this place and never return!" Brother Lucas had written. Diana noticed a red cloth bookmark and opened the journal to it. On the pages were Brother Maynard's description of the rituals involved in the worship of the Dark Mistress. They involved human sacrifice along with bloodletting by the monks and the drinking of blood. Diana closed the book and put it in her left side pocket, then turned to leave the room with the information she had acquired.
-Outside the monks' quarters, in the hallway-
Diana shut the door behind her and peered left and right to look for trouble, but the hallway was empty. No black-robed monks, no demons, nothing. Diana turned to the left and went back the way she had come. As she walked up the stairs she felt a surge in dark energy coming from the main hall. That might have been a sign that the cult was preparing a last-ditch effort to keep the huntress from escaping, so Diana mentally prepared herself for a fight.
-In the main hall-
Diana emerged at the top of the stairs to find that there was a welcoming committee waiting on her. Around two dozen monks were waiting for her and at their head was a white-haired young woman with red eyes, a black dress, fangs, and a curious black collar with a pearl necklace. Was she the Dark Mistress?
She had to be.The dark energy spike was centered around her. None of the black-robed men with her were nearly as powerful as she was. The young woman looked at Diana with curiosity.
- The Dark Mistress:
[Post Word Count: 1,200]
[Total Word Count: 10,142/11,000]