Through the Fire, Dancing

[Lion]

Mercuxio averted Kent's eyes and moved a little out of the light and pursed his lips in thought.  "It is difficult to read in this lighting," he said.  "I'm not sure though it does seem to be a list of some kind.  Of people no less.  Unless my eyes deceive me and these names are cattle."

[visualspice]

"Well if the man were a mage and that were a list of his friends, then it would be of little more consequence than a list of cattle. Though I suppose we ought to report this in, along with the body and that necklace?" Kentamin inquired with a sniff, peering around the bell tower as he shivered. "You wouldn't think it'd be so cold up here. THough you don't suppose there are any more bodies? Or is it this bugger who just reeks so godawfully bad." And Kentamin readjusted the kerchief back over his nose.

[Lion]

"Are you a man?" Mercuxio asked Kentamin, giving him a hard scowl.  "Because you gripe and whine like a mammy or a nursemaid.  Your hair would certainly make you look like one.  If indeed you are a man, you'll remove the clothes from that body this instant for cataloguing or I'll flog you here and now and personally see to it that you're at a desk for the next fifty years of your life!"

[visualspice]

Kentamin was taking back by the reprimand, gritting his teeth through it all. Not only had he mocked him, but now he was barking out orders and threats. Seething below the surface, he tried to swallow down his pride as he realized, sadly, this man was right. He had to obey and help him, but he couldn't help but gripe, "Well, alright." And he huffed. "At least I brought a bag I can put those clothes in." And he made a face as he began to undress the man, dropping his shirt when maggots were found crawling beneath it from the wound.

"Angsar's name, this is so gross." He could have wretched, but swallowed back the acid rising in the back of his throat before turning his eyes away and shaking the maggots of the clothe. Shivering, he folded the clothes into a pile and proceeded to undress the rest of the man, and with the clothing shoved into a bag, he tightened the cord and tied it shut before slinging it over his shoulder.
"So are we to just leave the body up here?"
And part o fhim hoped they would. He had a feeling he might be the one to carry it if it were necessary, and he wasn't fond of the idea of dragging a naked corpse alllll the way down those spiraling steps. Especially since it was now crawling with maggots and stunk to the high heavens.  Yes, he could not wait to be done with this chore!

[Lion]

"You did well boy," Mercuxio said with a satisfied nod.  He had put away the note and the necklace that had been found for safekeeping - not trusting the apprentice enough with such significant items.  No, he was more suited for menial work and heavy lifting.  Lest, Merric be forced to beat some humility into him.  But before the younger priest could make a face of disgust, possibly expecting him to carry the body back, Mercuxio gave a dry laugh and shook his head.

"No,  I will carry it back.  We could possible learn more on how this man died by inspecting the body," Mercuxio nodded to the younger man and moved around the attic until he found something suitable to carry it with.  He didn't mind the smell very much - or at least certainly didn't show it - and when he found a large burlap sack, he dusted it off from the ash and walked over to carefully move it around the body and the maggots.  It was quite stiff for being as old as it was but he managed to stuff it into the bag before tying the end up.

"I think we've gathered what we could here for now.  Most of the street rabble have come along and scavenged what goods they could find on their own.  At least none of them thought to come up here.  You did well, Kentamin," Merric said, giving him small praise despite all his whining.

[visualspice]

Kentamin would have felt more from the praise had he not been wrinkling his nose over the idea of actually bringing the corpse down with them. Though it seemed as they made their way down the spiraling stairs, Mercuxio did not utter a single ounce of complaint, and though Kentamin could commend him for it, he wouldn't open his lips to ever say it. So once they were back in the ashes and rubble of the building, Kentamin released a thankful sigh.

"So should we continue the investigation? I heard some of the basement might be intact. Who knows. We could find more dead bodies down there." And his tone, while trying to remain indifferent, definitely had a hint of sarcasm in it's bite.

[Lion]

Kentamin really should have kept his mouth shut.

Mercuxio hoisted the body down toward the horses and gave a nod to the younger Confessor.  "That is the first good idea you've had all night.  And you can carry the rest of them up here.  Let's go have a look."  Mercuxio led the way this time, moving stone and mortar where it impeded their path toward the stone steps of a makeshift basement.

They were used to store all manner of supplies for a small chapel such as this - food, rations, blankets for the poor, and a massive tankard for water, and many other miscellaneous items.

[visualspice]

Kentamin scowled inwardly at himself, but part of it was still worn on the outside. He really SHOULD have kept his mouth shut. Silently following, for it was all he could do, the pair made their way into the basement. The first level, they would find, was a normal cellar, but it was evident here was another layer heading down to something deeper, and after Kentamin freed the door, he peered down into a darkened stair case and held his torch forward.

"A second basement... " he mused out loud, and the dankness coming up from the bottom put an unnatural anxiousness that formed a knot in his belly. "I wonder what the church keeps down here..." but even a boy his age was not ignorant to the rumors, and the idea that this church might have kept mages, in hopes to 'cure' them through... experiments, made him recall all the horror stories told to children when he was growing up. He just hoped one of those 'creatures' wasn't still alive.

Though as they entered the basement and there was no bodies in sight, the tell-tale signs of torture were everywhere. Stains of blood still lingering and rusted chains across stone tables. It made Kentamin frown.
"Well.. no dead bodies," he said, and peered over at Mercuxio. "So should we head back up now?" He couldn't wait to get out of here. It gave him the chills.

[Lion]

Kentamin may not have been ignorant to rumors, but he was ignorant to listening, humility, obedience, and just all around common sense.  But Mercuxio couldn't really blame the boy.  He hadn't had time to grow into his potential yet.  He was young and needed to be molded in the right shape, the right direction, lest he fall out of place within the ranks.  Mercuxio did not hold any sympathy for the poor fool, but it was only that he hated to see potential go to waste.

Now if only he could get out of this basement fast enough.  It seemed, he proved to be some use and pointed out a small, narrow door half hidden behind a bookcase when the light of Merric's torch hit it.  He moved toward the door and gestured toward Kentamin to look through the rest of the basement while he set the torch on the torch rack and moved the bookshelf out of the way, revealing the door.  It seemed like it was hidden in a rush, and the door was locked, but  not for long.

Mercuxio's boot went through the door and it slammed nearly off it's hinges.  Then he took the torch back in hand again and proceeded through the darkness of the chamber.

[visualspice]

Kentamin gave a snort at the find, his voice echoing into the darkened staircase below.
"A secret area, what in the bloody hell do you think the church was hiding?" Though even as he spoke the words outloud- he already knew. Following quickly behind Mercuxio, lest he have to fumble down steps in the darkness, Kentamin held his breath and followed his teacher blindly into the waiting dark.

[Lion]

Mercuxio did not answer his apprentice and instead used the torch to focus more on what the light lit in his path.  The room did not stir a sickness in his gut as he might have suspected, instead it only solidified his earlier suspicions.  While it might not have been unusual for a church to be destroyed in these turbulent times, he knew there had to have been a more strategic reason behind the assault.  The man being hung, the priest disguised in a guard's uniform, the list left in his pocket, the dagger in his body.

Mercuxio saw a table spread at the center of the room, across from it was another table, stained here and there with obvious signs of blood, a roll of tools that had been used as instruments of salvation - or whatever it was the priests were really doing here.  The table at the center had clasps for the appendages, even one for a man's organ should the need arise.

"Taken here...to be questioned?  Or cleansed?" Merric mused to himself mostly, but was said aloud nonetheless.  "You'll come to know that the Church hides many secrets, Confessor Kentamin.  Some of which is best if you didn't know.  But some, we'd best uncover before things like this happen.  Look around, see what you can find."

[visualspice]

Kentamin moved uneasily through the room. He had a bad feeling about this place, as if something darker were at work- perhaps magic, he dare not say. He crossed his hands across his chest and peered over at Mercuxio before nodding and moving around the room.

"Do you think the church has documentation for this room?" he wondered out loud , seeming not to find much of anything, except more stains and a few scattered pieces of debris. Though nothing was significant- though he had found something blackened inthe corner, and upon kicking t, he made a face.

"Looks like the fire was down here, too." Though there was no evidence of that- but a blackened book lay crumpled and in pieces at his feet.

[Lion]

"Obviously not," Merric reasoned.  "If they kept any official record, it would not be in a place readily seen.  It would be less obvious."  He made a face at the extraction tools rolled out on the table and he carefully rolled them back up and tied the strip of leather around it.    "What was that?"

He pointed to Kentamin and what resided at his feet.  "What is that?  That book."

[visualspice]

"I don't know. But it looks all burnt. The pages are all black. When I kicked it, the thing practically broke in half."

[Lion]

At that, Merric gave an exhausted sigh.  He walked over and carefully picked up the delicate book in his gloved hands, careful not do any more damage to it than what was already done.  He opened it as gently as he could and  scanned the blackened ink.  "These look like journal entries.  By Bishop Carlo Asti, apparently," he observed as he flipped pages.

[visualspice]

And as he turned the page, one of them had a half drawn image of a woman- and the eye and piece of hair, and partial shape of a nose that remained, not lost to the fires, resembled something close to a familiar of his- Lady Attalia Arrant.

[Lion]

When his eyes rested on the image of Attalia, Mercuxio did pause for a long second and he felt a knot quickly building within his throat.  His expression,however remained stony and he turned the page as if it were nothing.  "Seems mages were being taken here for crude experimentation," he said, scanning the pages and burying Attalia's umage underneath as many of them as he could.  "They were likely unpleasant experiments, meant to cleanse them of their magic. I gues they didn't realize only a Confessor could do that..."

[visualspice]

Kentamin peered over at Mercuxio.
"Yes, but who's to say the church might not be able to find a way? If there was a way to extend Ansgar's blessing..." And peering around the room, he was just glad he'd never have to be on the end of whatever it was that was going on here.
"They deserve it anyway." he said, witha  sniff. "Bodies tainted with sin ought to be cleansed, one way or another."

[Lion]

"That very well may be, but we should care in that it is our duty to purge them from that sin, Kentamin.  And I think we have as much as we can get from this place.  The rest of it has been cleared out.  Let's take out leave now," Merric nodded to the younger man.  He nodded to him and took the torch from the rack.

[visualspice]

Kentamin grumbled but followed.
"Thank Ansgar. This place smells weird." And he didn't bother to cast a glance back as they made their way up the stairs.