NOVEL NEXT Chapter 37 - A man of the cloth
The dwarf calmly turns to face her and speaks in a soothing, assured voice.
“Calm down, young lady. I promise to lend my aid, so breathe in deeply. Maybe take a seat. Then, when you are ready, tell me more. I will read these words in the meantime.”
Gently, he guides the shaking woman to the benches, where she takes a seat and hands him the letter.
He opens it and begins focusing on its contents while Romeo goes to console the distraught nurse. Taking his sweet time, the dwarf increases the audience's anticipation until he finally puts it down and lets out a huge sigh.
“You were right to turn to a man of the cloth. It seems you were right, Romeo, a great evil has indeed descended on this town. A devil runs rampant in the halls of nobility and the lady has beseeched me for aid. Her father has decided to accept the prince’s proposal of an arranged marriage between the young lady and the prince himself in order to receive the protection of the prince and his men. They must be truly desperate. The lady asks that we intervene on her behalf. Romeo, you will help the lady, yes? If the Fiend is slain, the Baron will not have any reason to go along with this plan.”
“Then what are you waiting for? We have to find the monster! Can you tell us what happened so far, so we know where we might look for it?” Romeo addresses the distraught lady.
“Well, it all started a few months back, a few days after the prince visited the baron, when the mistress bodyguard went missing. A fine knight he was, and his swordplay was unmatched. And then we found him, a few days later, dismembered at the private shrine back on the estate. There was a huge fuss and a few days later, a second disappearance. 11 Men and women have died so far. There have been manhunts, but nothing could be found. They are desperate.”
“That is terrible!” Romeo exclaims. “We must do something at once.”
“Calm down, boy!” the Friar interjects. “We have to be smart about this. Whatever monster is capable of such bloodshed may well be smart enough to foil any half-baked plan we come up with. Even with the grace of the goddess, we must have a full understanding of our foe, and a reliable group of allies. Now, here is what we are going to do…”
The dwarf brings his fellow actors in close, and amidst the applause of the audience, the curtain drops on the second scene.
Well, that was something. The dwarf was mighty impressive, after getting over his initial shock at seeing Juliette's skill. Understandable, I suppose. Seeing a monster turn into a human might have that effect on people. Oh, I hope this is not some kind of taboo actually. I can well imagine worse intentioned dungeon cores with abilities like that causing all kinds of chaos, especially when their monsters can eventually leave their domains.
Welp, what's done is done, clearly he didn’t seem to mind too much since he carried on with the show. Probably just a shock to see is all.
Well, preparations for the next scene are underway in the meantime, the paladin is getting ready for his part. I study him curiously. His expression grew more and more… unhappy, as time passed. It seems he is getting impatient and growing increasingly restless. I am growing somewhat concerned at his behavior. He seemed happy enough to go along with whatever was going on before. What could have caused him to change gears like this?
Whatever the case, he takes his position and centers himself, as the curtain raises for the third scene.
When next the stage becomes visible, the scenery has changed once again. A manors wall is visible at the back of what appears to be a simple courtyard. Juliette is standing there, back in her normal appearance and role as Juliette, standing opposite the paladin.
“Prince Escalus,” she begins, “such an honor to finally meet you.”
“Yes, indeed.” the paladin replies in a dismissive tone, that is not quite intended but fitting for the character nonetheless. “Such a shame we could not be introduced at my last visit. But it is only right I should meet you in person before any arrangements involving yourself be set in stone.”
“Ah, yes. My family is deeply honored by your proposal.” Juliette responds.
Before he can respond, the paladin gets a faraway look on his face for a second, then clutches at his head in pain.
“Ouch. I had not realized this charade would occupy so much of my time.” he reaches for his sword and unsheathes the weapon.
“I apologize, but this farce has taken too long. My master is calling.”
With those ominous words, he stabs Juliette.