Cackle opened the door, apparently taking Phoebe's groan as an invitation. He wore a brazen smile. "Oh, come now. Pheebs is a perfect foreshortening of your name. Unless you'd like to be called something new? Amnesia is a great excuse to pick a new name. New identity and all that. Whaddya say?"
Phoebe groaned again, shaking her head. "No, I think I'll keep the last and maybe only thing I remember, thank you very much. Anyways, I'm surprised the barkeeper is up already, considering how loud you two were last night."
Cackle's eyes twinkled with merriment. "Mildred has plenty of delicious secrets. It was pleasant to add to them so richly."
Phoebe raised an eyebrow. "Mildred? You manipulated and bedded a sweet old lady named Mildred?"
Cackle chuckled. "Oh, dear. Am I becoming something of a corrupting influence in your eyes? What does that say about you, the pretty young amnesiac I found lost in a cave?"
Phoebe rolled her eyes and set the tray on the floor, leaving the spoon in the bowl. "Was Mildred at least helpful in helping you figure out what out next move is?"
"Our next move?" Cackle tilted his head quizzically, a smile still spreading his lips. "I didn't know I was leading us anywhere in particular. Or that we were doing anything specific either."
Phoebe huffed. "Then what are we doing here?"
Cackle's smile grew a touch wider. "We came here so you could sleep and so I could find out what the world is like now, remember? And I must say, those two things are very much done. So, what now?"
Phoebe scowled. He can be so frustrating! How am I supposed to know what to do now? I still know noth--
Phoebe's expression cleared as her line of thought suddenly took a turn. That's right. I know nothing. And Cackle knows a lot now. And he has to answer my questions.
Cackle's lips split in a toothy grin. "There it is! I knew you'd get there eventually!"
Phoebe suddenly felt her face growing very hot. "If you knew what I needed, why did you wait for me to know first?"
Cackle stood up from his leaning position against the wall and walked into the room, closing the door behind himself. He walked forward and crouched, laying his elbows on his knees as he met her at eye level. His smile disappeared as he wore his serious expression for a moment. "Because if I'd just started telling you things, you might not have listened or wanted to pay attention. Because you need to ask questions if you want answers. Because no piece of knowledge is worth anything if it's truly given freely."
The moment passed, and he was suddenly wearing that toothy grin again. "Besides. It was funny to watch!"
Phoebe huffed again, refusing to think about the fact that he could feel her begrudging acknowledgement. She instead diverted her attention to thinking of good questions to ask.
"...What's the state of the world like?"
Cackle rocked back on his heels, letting himself down on the ground a few feet away from Phoebe. He took and let out a deep breath. "Not great. There's a lot of civil unrest, and the new king of the area is completely taken in by the Church of Luminus. They basically control politics and policy. And they are very corrupt, as far as I seem to be able to tell. Last I remember, they kept count of the year by the time since the founding of the church by the being they call Luminus, but now they keep count of the year by however long the current direct head of the church has been in that position, which sometimes lasts for centuries longer than it should, at least according to what I know about mortal lifetimes."
"So you don't know exactly how long you've been gone?"
"Nope. I'd probably be able to find out better if we made it to a major city, but considering what I am, that might be inviting trouble."
"Why is that?"
"The Church of Luminus has been really cracking down on 'heretical worship'. Outlawed worship of anything but Luminus, as well as the discussion of lots of powerful beings that used to be worshipped, including Madnesses."
"Wait. Isn't Luminus actually a Madness? Glois or something?
Cackle smiled bitterly. "Glaoru. The Bright Madness. And yeah, but they've gone pretty far to suppress that information. I bet you and I represent a significant portion of those who would even think that."
"Wait, are gods even real?"
Cackle tilted his head back and forth. "Depends on what you define as a god. Certainly there are beings so powerful as to be essentially forces of nature that are worshipped as such. There are even beings that are either powerful enough or uniquely capable of answering most forms of worship with apparent miracles. Back before I went in the cave, there were a few beings that even I might consider gods. But if you define a god as an immortal being that was there since the beginning of existence and has control over one or more aspects of reality?
"Just two that I know of. The Stars and the Void."
Phoebe shivered. She didn't know why, but she felt something strange at the mention of those names. "I... don't want to know, do I."
"No you do not."
Phoebe shifted uncomfortably. "Um, where were we?"
"Discussing the state of the world."
"Right. Um, what's the name of this kingdom?"
"Well, up until about three years ago, everyone called it the Kryos kingdom. Ruled by a pretty standard patrilineal monarchy. But then, the new king ascended to the throne, and on his coronation, declared that it was now the Luminus Theocracy. There would have been revolts, but he's authorized the Church of Luminus to amass armies and act on behalf of the crown."
"Wow. So, basically, the church rules everything here. Don't they have their own seat of power anywhere?"
"They do, but it's on the borders of the former kingdom of Kryos anyways, in a mountain range that's either to the north or the east. Maybe both."
"Wait. How do you know all this? And why don't you know that?"
"Oh, simple. I know everything Mildred knows now. And she doesn't know exactly where the seat of power for the Church of Luminus is, either. She only knows that visitors who go wear warm clothing and either come from or go in the direction that forks north or east, depending. She's made a point to steer clear of them."
"Are they mean?"
"Well, the priests themselves seem good enough most of the time. But they travel in the company of guards this far from the capital, especially in recent times. And the few priests that aren't so kind are... well yes, they are mean. Put mildly."