It was the dead of night and Amaya had reached the area marked on the map. The land was grass-covered and there wasn't much besides a forest which was quite a distance away. Amaya's eyes scanned the area from left to right. A structure caught her attention. In front of the forest, there was a large house with white paint. It was dark outside due to the lack of light, so those were the only details she could make out.
'That has to be the place where I meet the dark mages.'
Of course, that was her conclusion as it was the only building around.
As she came closer to approaching it, she saw that it wasn't a house. Infact, it was a church, an incredibly large one.
'This is the creepiest place a church could be.'
Being right in front of a dark forest, the vibe the place gave off was eerie and left Amaya with a bitter taste in her mouth. Something felt really weird about the church. Despite this, she brought herself to knock on the doors.
Amaya stepped up and brought herself to knock on the doors of the church, despite it feeling off.
Knock. Knock. Knock.
After a couple seconds of waiting, the doors slowly opened, and a blue-haired Nun who held a candle peeked out.
The light from the candle was appealing as it was the only light Amaya had seen since leaving the town of Buryanston.
"Oh, a guest. Are you here to receive a blessing from the priest?" The nun asked.
Amaya shook her head and stated "Uhm..no. I'm just here to meet with your leader."
The nun tilted her head in utter confusion.
"?..Leader? I have no clue what you mean. Are you perhaps asking for Father Ammiel?"
"No..I mean one of the leaders of your group wanted to speak with me. You know, I'm the one you took the little girl from. Her name is Emi." Amaya explained.
This only brought more confusion to the Nun's face.
"?Nobody of the church would do such a thing."
Letting out a sigh, Amaya did the next best thing she could do. And that was to speak to whoever 'Father Ammiel' was.
"I'd like to speak to the priest. Would you mind?"
The nun shook her head, answering "No, not at all. Father enjoys having guests. Wait here for a moment please."
The Nun went back inside, closing the door.
'Maybe I really did come to the wrong place. That Nun was genuinely confused. I guess talking to the priest first wouldn't hurt.'
Clink.
The door opened once more and the Blue-haired nun walked out, along with a black-haired nun. Behind them was a man, wearing an all white uniform.
"This is Father Ammiel." said the Nun.
"What is it you'd like to speak to me about? Are you by chance here to fill your mind with our teachings?" Father Ammiel asked.
"No thanks, I'll pass. I'm here about the little girl you took from me. Her name is Emi."
Just like the nun, Father Ammiel wore a confused expression.
"...I know nothing about a little girl. It looks like you're mistaken, young lady."
Amaya's efforts were starting to seem as if they weren't getting anything done. Maybe she wasn't giving enough info to them, so she decided to be upfront about everything.
"I'm looking for the dark mages. Are they here?"
The two nuns looked at each other in a surprised manner. However, Father Ammiel only stood calm with a smile.
"Dark Mages? One should not speak the name of that organization on holy ground. It is quite terrible that you think they would be here of all places."
"Yes. Mistaking us for unholy folk such as dark mages is hurtful." said the nun with blue hair.
"Please. For future reference, avoid speaking that name here." said the nun with black hair.
Amaya was left with no words. She was wrong about the dark mages being here and she even managed to offend the nuns along with the priest. Amaya had been completely wrong. The only place left to search was the nearby forest.
"Oh. Well, then, I am terribly sorry for bothering you all. It wasn't my intention to inconvenience you."
She then gave them all a respectful bow before turning away and walking off. But she didn't get far as the priest spoke something of interest.
"Wait...I think I could help you. I do have some knowledge on that organization."
His words were expected as Amaya hadn't completely shook the feeling that they weren't saying everything they knew.
'Okay. Acting time, go.' she thought to herself.
Again, she turned to face them.
"What? You're willing to help me? I couldn't be more happy and grateful. Thank you, Father."
"Yes, yes. Let us go speak more inside. It's getting cold out." Father Ammiel replied.
"Of course."
Amaya followed the two nuns and the priest through the doors and into the church. Once inside, Amaya felt the cold feeling fade off her skin and turn to warmth. The inside of the church was beautiful. There was a single path leading down, then on each both sides of the room were rows of seats. Above them were other floors with rails that would allow anyone to look down at them.
'This place is pretty big.' Amaya thought to herself.
Father Ammiel took a seat, offering one to his guest as well. Amaya happily accepted and sat as she started the conversation back up.
"So, what kind of knowledge do you exactly have about the dark mages."
"I see, I see. We're getting straight to the point, then?" the priest asked.
Amaya nodded, replying with "If that's okay."
"I suppose that's fine. First, I'd like to know your name." Father Ammiel requested.
"My name is Ama-..."
Amaya was able to stop herself just in time from finishing that sentence.. It was a close call as she was supposed to introduce herself to anyone she met as 'Sapphire Slater'
"I'm sorry. I didn't quite catch that." The priest stated, leaning forward to hear better.
"My name is Sapphire....Sapphire Slater."
"Ah, that's a wonderful name."
Amaya/Sapphire couldn't help but feel that the priest was trying to buy time for something. But for what? She was sure to keep her guard up in case of anything. The priest noticed the tenseness in Sapphire's/Amaya's body and chuckled.
"It's fine. There's no need to be scared. I'm not plotting anything. Here, we can get back on topic. But before we do, I want to know why you're seeking out the dark mages. Are you perhaps working with them?"
The accusation almost made Sapphire jump out of her seat.
"What?? No. I'm just a curious journalist. I was hoping to get a word with them."
It was quickly thought up, but at least it explained why she was hunting the dark mages. And hopefully, it threw off the accusation of her working with them.
"Hmm. But earlier you said that they took a girl from you and that's why you were looking for them."
Sapphire wanted to bite her lip in stress. How could she be so dumb? Now, if anything, it made her more suspicious.
"..." She was at a loss for words and had trapped herself into a lying corner.
But, an unexpected response came from the priest.
"It's fine. I see your reason for lying but, I'd appreciate it if you were just honest. You don't seem well at deception. But like i said, It's fine. I don't think you're working with them. If that was the case, they wouldn't have abducted someone you cared about. So, tell me, what makes you think they were here in this church?"
Sapphire's face turned blank and her eyes started to squint. Her vision became blurry and her body felt suddenly weakened. And within seconds, her face turned pale while an immense pain throbbed through her chest.
Sapphire fell out of her seat, holding her chest in pain.
Thump.
The two nuns came running over to her side.
"Are you okay? What's Wrong?"
"Miss Sapphire!"
Sapphire laind on the floor, unable to say a word as she was in too much pain. She was only able to think to herself 'What...is this?..'
Everything became too much for her to bear and her vision slowly faded, until she completely passed out.