That night, Julius taught Rafael how to write in both Latin and runic. "How can you learn all this so easily?"
"I don't know; maybe I was blessed by Him at the same time I received my mission." He noticed that the high priest was clearly distracted and apprehensive about something. It was easy to guess the reason.
I just hope I can retrieve my book. Rafael thought.
The next day, Rafael woke up at the same time as Julius. "My boy, I'm going to meet with the other priests to discuss what we should do about the situation in the village and the possible corruption of Baron Floutt. I'll also use the opportunity to introduce you, my new apprentice, to those who don't yet know about you and to seek their support."
"Thank you, High Priest. Truly, thank you," Rafael said sincerely, joining his hands as if in prayer. The old man nodded and then left the room. The morning went as usual: he cleaned the church and went for a walk through the city.
While walking, he noticed someone seemed to be following and observing him from afar. Rafael stopped in front of a tent selling fruit and bought one to eat. He used this opportunity to scan his surroundings as if he were simply enjoying his orange while watching the crowd pass by, talking and buying things.
Hmm... Is it a soldier? They don't seem to be a cleric or a commoner, based on their clothes... What do they want? He managed to catch a glimpse of the person. Rafael decided to continue his walk until noon when he returned to the inner circle to eat.
After Julius left the church, he went to the clerics' chambers inside the mansion and requested their help to inform all priests of Calistoga about an urgent meeting. They were to halt everything and come to meet him. Within an hour, every priest had arrived.
"Good morning and God bless you, Julius. How are you feeling?" One of the first priests to arrive, a friend of Julius, greeted him.
"I'm fine, don't worry. And how is that translation you were working on? Last time you mentioned you were stuck on a specific word."
"Oh right, since there was no one else who knew it, I had to improvise and translate it the best I could." After some time, Julius looked around and saw that everyone was present.
"My greetings to you all, priests of Calistoga." The clerics had arranged two of the widest tables together so they could sit around.
"Greetings, High Priest." There were eight priests in the city, two for each church outside the inner circle. All of them were younger than Julius but not by much.
"So, High Priest, why this sudden meeting? I was in the middle of my morning prayers to the Lord." The only differences among them were their faces, hair, and mannerisms. The one who spoke was not a friend of Julius.
"A new situation has arisen in a village under Baron Floutt's command. As you all know, the knight sent to spy on the village and the Baron informed me through a letter about some strange events happening there. *cough cough* I promptly sent a delegation to investigate, and last night, I learned from them about some devious occurrences."
"What?"
"The devil has descended there?"
"If this is true, then we cannot ignore it." The priests began to murmur among themselves after hearing what Julius said.
"High Priest, this is a serious matter. If what you're saying is true, please share with us the details." One of the men, who did not like Julius, demanded more information.
*cough* "There is something... They call it the Chariot of Hell…"
"They who?" Another priest asked, interrupting the high priest.
"The villagers and even some guards from there. I must warn you, Baron Floutt already knows about this thing and has sent a large number of guards and commoners to the village. That's what my delegation reported."
"Did they see this Chariot of Hell?" One priest asked while stroking his long white beard.
"Yes. It was something he had never seen before. It appeared to be made of metal and had a massive dome above it made entirely from a single piece of glass."
"What?! An entire dome made from a single piece of glass? Are you sure?!" They all started talking among themselves again, unsure if they should believe such statement.
After a while, one of the priests turned to Julius and asked, "And why is Baron Floutt involved in this? Why did he send guards and people there?"
"Don't pretend you don't know! Isn't it obvious? He is going to sacrifice everyone in some evil ritual!" One of the priests, the oldest among them, shouted.
"We don't know that yet. I think we should send another group to gather more information." Another priest suggested.
"We cannot allow this... Evil to spread to other cities! We must act now! We have to prepare our armies and send them there to destroy it!"
The High Priest listened to all their opinions. Some were more conservative and cautious, while others were more proactive and direct. Eventually, they all looked at him. "High Priest, what should we do? Half of us want to act immediately, while the other half thinks it's best to stay alert and learn more about what's happening."
Julius looked at each of them before speaking. "I too agree we should…"
*cough cough cough*
"High Priest! Are you okay?" Some of them stood up, worried about the old man.
"I'm fine, don't worry. Now, as I was saying, my decision is…