Chapter - 74

Remus frowned. "An introduction? To whom? The Lord? You already know him."

"Higher," Leo said.

"The Baron?"

"Higher."

"The King?" Remus looked alarmed. "I cannot get you an audience with the King."

"No," Leo shook his head. "I want an audience with the High Priestess."

Remus froze. His mouth dropped open. He looked at Leo as if the boy had just asked for a meeting with the sun itself.

"The... High Priestess?" Remus whispered. "Her Holiness? The Voice of the Light?"

"That's the one," Leo nodded.

"Impossible," Remus snapped. "Absolutely not. She resides in the Capital. She is the most holy woman in the Kingdom. She speaks only to Royals and Archbishops. You are... you are a mercenary! A commoner! Why in the name of the gods would you want to meet her?"

Leo remembered the cart ride with Grendel. The old man's lecherous grin. The description of the High Priestess who had visited Auravale years ago.

"Gorgeous woman, that one. Supple voice and... ahem... blessed in more ways than one."

Leo smirked. "A friend of mine told me about her. Said she was... inspiring. Said she had a 'divine presence' that could bring a man to his knees."

"She is a Saint!" Remus sputtered, his face turning red. "She is pure! She is untouched!"

"Yeah, yeah," Leo waved his hand. "That's what they all say. My friend also said she has the biggest set of—"

"SILENCE!" Remus shrieked, slamming his hand on the desk. "Do not finish that sentence! Do not blaspheme in this room!"

Remus was breathing heavily, clutching his chest. "You want to meet the High Priestess because you heard she is... attractive?"

"I want to meet her because I'm delivering a nuclear weapon to her doorstep," Leo corrected him, though the lecherous glint didn't leave his eyes. "But yes. I also want to check if the rumours are true. If I'm going to risk my life carrying this 'Black Sky' across the country, I want to hand it to someone worth looking at."

"You are a pig," Remus spat.

"I'm your courier," Leo reminded him. "Do we have a deal or not?"

Remus slumped in his chair. He rubbed his temples. He was trapped. He needed the weapon moved. The Iron Saints couldn't leave. His own paladins were corrupt or incompetent. Leo was his only option.

"She is always traveling," Remus muttered, trying to find an excuse. "She moves between the Great Temples. It is hard to pin her down. Even if you go to the Capital, she might not be there."

"I'll find her," Leo said confidently. "Just get me in the door."

Remus sighed, a sound of total defeat. He opened a drawer and pulled out a sheet of heavy, cream-colored parchment embossed with gold leaf. He grabbed a quill.

"I cannot grant you an audience," Remus grumbled as he wrote. "I do not have that power. She answers to no one but the Gods."

"But," he scratched furiously, the quill tearing at the paper. "I can write you a Letter of High Recommendation. It will identify you as a special envoy of the Auravale Temple. It will verify that you helped transport a relic. It will get you past the Temple Guards and into the Inner Sanctum."

He finished writing and stamped it with his personal seal in red wax.

"What you do once you are inside," Remus said, handing the letter to Leo with shaking fingers, "Is your problem. If you offend her... if you look at her the way you look at Lady Seraphine... she will likely incinerate you with holy fire. She is not a woman to be trifled with, Leo. She is Level 60."

Leo took the letter.

[Item Acquired: Letter of the High Priest]

[Rank: Epic Quest Item]

[Description: Grants entry to the Inner Sanctum of the Temple of Light in the Capital. Grants +50 Initial Reputation with Clergy.]

"Level 60," Leo mused, tucking the letter into his inventory next to the Rhino Tusk. "A powerful woman. I like them feisty."

"She isn't feisty," Remus groaned, pouring himself another glass of wine and drinking it in one gulp. "She is terrifying."

"We'll see," Leo said.

He stood up, adjusting his coat. He had everything he needed. The protection. The money for Ryana. The ticket to the Capital. And a quest that would make him rich beyond his wildest dreams.

"Pleasure doing business with you, Remus," Leo said. "I'll expect that order for the Silver Route to be placed by morning."

"It will be done," Remus waved him away, looking exhausted. "Just... go. Go before you ask for the King's crown next."

Leo walked to the door.

"Oh, and Remus?"

The High Priest looked up, wary. "What now?"

"The Black Sky," Leo said, his hand on the latch. "When do I get it?"

"It arrives in three days," Remus said. "A covert caravan from Zarth is meeting our contacts at the edge of the Endless Forest. You will meet them there. I will send you the coordinates."

"Three days," Leo nodded. "Good. That gives me time to wrap up my business here."

"One last thing," Remus said, his voice quiet.

Leo paused.

"Do not open the box," Remus warned, his eyes dark and serious. "The Black Sky... it whispers. If you open the containment box, it will get into your head. And I cannot save you from that."

Leo smirked. "I've got a strong head. Don't worry about me."

He stepped out of the study, closing the door on the worried, withered old man.

As he walked down the corridor of the Temple, ignoring the terrified glances of the acolytes sweeping up the debris from the earlier fight, Leo felt a surge of triumph.

He had walked into a trap and turned it into a ladder.

He checked his quest log.

[Quest: The Carrier of Calamity - Status: ACCEPTED]

[Quest: The Merchant Queen's Heart - Status: IN PROGRESS]

[Quest: The Matriarch's Vengeance - Status: IN PROGRESS]

"Three days," Leo muttered to himself, stepping out into the evening air of Auravale. "Time to go pay a visit to the Red Queen. I have a guild to save and a woman to conquer."

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