86th of Dusk, 102
Marcus repeatedly tapped his finger on the long wooden table. Kael sat beside him, quill in hand. It was another rainy morning in Tairos, the common weather for the southern city. The glass-painted window looming above the Sentinels lit up the room in a gray hue, while the rain constantly kept a rhythmic tapping on the glass heard throughout the room. The four bishops sat in silence on the other side, dressed in lavish robes, ornately decorated. Marcus looked over his shoulder at the door and sighed. "Is he usually late?"
The bishops looked to each other, silently selecting who should speak. The one sitting across from Kael eventually spoke. "I…I'm sure brother Kallo will be here soon."
Marcus rolled his eyes. "Let's get your names down." He started at the bishop to the far left. "Your name?
"Lartes Polk." Kael wrote it down. Marcus went to the next.
"Brand Soter."
"That is my last name as well," Marcus chuckled.
"Oh, how interesting," Brand replied, looking down.
"Maybe we're distant cousins."
"Ah, yes, maybe."
Kael lifted his quill and waited. Marcus corrected his posture and continued. "And you?"
"Odo Hartwell."
"Okay, well—" The Sentinel was cut off by the sound of the door coming open. He turned around. An older, bald man walked towards the table, wearing the same robes as the rest, dripping rain to the floor.
"Apologies for being late, I was having breakfast on the outskirts with the Tellenor family. Their farms are truly something special," the man said, giving a nod to the Sentinels as he continued around the table. "I hope I have not held up business."
"You have," said Marcus. "Take a seat."
The bishop gave Marcus a scornful look as he sat down across from them.
"Your name?" Marcus asked.
"Bishop Kallo."
Kael went to write, then stopped. "Your first and last name. We know you are a bishop," he said.
Bishop Kallo clicked his tongue. "Ovince Kallo."
Marcus sighed. "Spectacular, let's begin now. Victor Heron went missing a week ago, correct?"
"I would say so, yes," Ovince replied.
"And when was the last time you all had seen him?"
"We were all together, the night before. It was our weekly supper."
"Interesting."
Kael eyed Ovince Kallo as he wrote. He's the only one speaking. "Was he acting strangely when you saw him, did anything seem out of the ordinary?" asked Marcus.
"Yes," said Ovince, "he seemed distraught."
"How so?"
"He was very quiet, barely spoke, and when he did, it seemed as if his mind was somewhere else. I don't know, though, did you all feel the same?" He turned towards the other bishops sitting in silence to his right. They hesitated, then all spoke over each other.
"Yes, yes, he did."
"Something was off, yes."
"He seemed stressed."
"Very quiet."
Kael didn't bother to write all of their responses. 'Unanimous agreement—strange, quiet behavior', he wrote.
"You know," Ovince said, "you should speak to his secretary, Cara Amsat. I'm sure she would be of great assistance. I've heard she was especially close to the Archbishop."
"Especially close?"
"Yes, well, I'm sure you can infer." The bishop let out a slight chuckle.
"Are you saying the Archbishop sinned?" asked Kael.
"Well, I don't know, maybe it's hearsay…"
"Where can we find this Cara Amsat?" asked Marcus.
"Well, she has no duties here at the moment, so I would not know. I would check out the Stitch & Saddle down by the central market, her husband runs the shop." Kael wrote down the location.
"Cara Amsat, you said? Okay, we will give her a visit. How about the city? Who will stand in for Father Heron while we search?"
For the first time, Bishop Ovince Kallo was not the first to respond. Instead, he waited, and once again, the rest of the bishops looked to themselves, each trying not to be the one to speak. They kept bickering with their eyes until finally, Bishop Hartwell spoke. "We've decided—unanimously—that it should be Brother Kallo." No surprise.
"Why him?"
"What do you mean, why me?" Bishop Kallo snapped. Marcus kept his eyes on Odo Hartwell.
The bishop realized the Sentinel was waiting for his answer, and continued. "Brother Kallo manages the Central Church, so he carries much favor with the nobility. He is well respected by the upper-class, therefore…we thought he was most fit to become archbishop."
"Until Archbishop Heron returns…" Marcus added, furrowing his brow.
"Oh, yes, until Father Heron returns," Ovince echoed, giving a tense chuckle. "When we heard you were coming, we decided to keep the news from the public until we received your confirmation to have a transfer of power."
"You have it," Marcus said, rising from his seat, "that should be all for now. Please return to your duties."
The bishops got up one by one, each giving a slight bow to the Sentinels as they left. Kael kept his eye on the newly anointed archbishop as the man walked by him and out the door. Once the room was empty, Marcus sat back down. "What do you think, Kael?"
"I think Ovince Kallo benefits a lot from this situation."
"I think so as well, he's definitely someone we should keep our eyes on. But about the rest of them? Seemed like they were terrified to speak."
"That was evident. Something is definitely odd, however…I believe we should pay Cara Amsat a visit."
"Well," Marcus got back up. "I was thinking we should check out Archbishop Heron's manor, but this can come first. Stitch and Saddle, was it?"