My group and I were guided by armed men deeper and deeper into the cathedral. I assumed that people of Aon take lost items very seriously and that they keep anything found in the deepest treasuries.
When we were led to the Chamber of Cardinals, I thought that the people of Aon were crazy serious about their lost and found system.
We walked into the middle of the room, we were surrounded by more armed men and some guys with pointy hats sitting on tables that might as well double as a small tower.
"So...ugh...anyways. About the lost dagger..." I began.
"You unfaithful dogs! You should wait for the Grand Cardinal to permit you to talk!" One of the angry armed mobs shouted.
All of the people surrounding us started to approach us menacingly before being stopped by the one called the Grand Cardinal.
"Enough. We are here to talk. You must be the one named 'Boz', is that right?" The Grand Cardinal asked me.
"Boz? No, that's not my name. My name is…" Uno interrupted me before I could introduce myself.
"You pointed-hat elderlies, give us our dagger back!" Uno demanded. By now, the flames are starting to leak from the gaps of his armor.
"The dagger. So you really are the owner of the dagger, Boz. As well as the coins," The Grand Cardinal said as he tossed a coin towards me. I caught the coin and observed it. It appeared to be the coins we were giving out.
"Er...boss, you think they found out that we're using fun money that's just used for our inside gambling?" Daggerless whispered to me.
"Yes, we are the owners of the coins. Are we in trouble because of this?" I asked as I sweated bullets imaginarily.
"Of course, you're in great trouble. You infiltrated the city, went around unnoticed and caused a massive schism. And you still had the guts to come to the strongest men in Aon," The Grand Cardinal explained.
"Schism?" I asked.
"Yes. You caused a great unrest among my fellow brothers and sisters who walk upon the Path. With a simple problem as to how to pronounce Aon. I have without a doubt, believe that you are here to simply get to the miasma of death that is at the center of Aon to achieve the powers of immortality through becoming a lich!" The Grand Cardinal elaborated.
Pronounced? Miasma of death? I turned to my companions looking for explanation. Most of them shrugged.
"Boss, didn't you asked how to pronounce Aon earlier?" Daggerless asked me.
Now that I thought about it, I did. It was just a simple question. I placed my hand on my chin and thought. I looked at the banner covering the Grand Cardinal's table. On it were familiar characters.
So far, the language spoken in Aon seemed familiar but alien to my companions and I. We even had trouble reading most of the time. Uno suggested that languages develop over time and the language in Aon could also have been a derivation of the Common we knew.
But the characters on the banner were familiar. I am starting to remember Aon bit by bit but for some reason, not in the reason I would to.
"Isn't that pronounced A-on? As in 'A' then 'On'? Judging from the characters on that banner," I pointed it out.
The other old men on the tables started to talk among themselves while nodding. Even the Inquisitors were nodding among each other.
"That….now that I thought about it. Indeed, how did you know? Why do you know Ancient Commons? It's a language that's been dead for centuries that even I, the Grand Cardinal, had trouble studying. Isn't your accent a bit odd?" The Grand Cardinal remarked.
My accent is odd? His accent is the weird one! My skull is cracking just decoding what he's saying. Also, in regards to what he said, Ancient Commons? Commons is dead? The language spoken by everyone in the entire continent and beyond was dead?!
"Blah, blah, blah. Quit talking and give us the dagger already, old man! Or you'll get hurt!" Uno threatened.
"He threatened his Holiness, everyone, attack!" One of the high ranking Inquisitors ordered. Groups of men started charging at us in waves.
I enjoy the calm and carefree Uno. The serious Uno was foul-mouthed and hot-headed. Most of the time negotiations break down much more easily when Uno is pissed.
My companions prepared their combat stance. They surrounded me and drew their weapon to protect me. I sighed as I liked being a negotiator more than a fighter. I guess we'll knock these guys out and continue our talk. It appeared that even the Grand Cardinal was telling them to stop.
I raised my arms and opened my palms. I rotated my hands and raised them, giving a form of command to the ground to rise. The stone floor cracked and chunks of the floor sprouted out, forming walls, throwing some Inquisitors into the air and directly knocking out some.
Some of the Inquisitors paced around the walls and drew their crossbows at us. Their well-spunned strings launched viciously, pelting silver bolts at us.
I clenched my fist as if crushing a fruit and many of the bolts were crushed. Any bolts I did not crush, my companions blocked them with their weapons and shields. The Inquisitors were well-trained and fast. Once they were close enough, some of the lightly armored ones leaped at us with spears, while the heavier ones threw their crossed javelins at us to support the wave of attack.
Like a conductor in an orchestra, I could hear music being played. I swung my hands, doing waves. I would lose myself to dementia whenever I cast my spells. The highest levels of spells could not be comprehended by mortal immature minds. But as I was beyond death, I've learned ways to cope with dealing with and understanding these nearly divine power.
You had to sacrifice something in return for using this power. For simpler spells, you simply exert yourself. But as you push further, you go over the thread between life and death and dive deeper.
The ecstasy started to flood my senses. The brightness of the light amplified and time started to slow down. These spells were drugs to me. They intoxicated me and tried to control me.
However, I had a thousand years to do my homework. I mastered them until the spells stopped controlling me. I started whipping the spells to do my bidding instead of the other way around. The spirits began to obey me as I slowly showed my dominance.