Shrouded Piety: Order of Yaktosh - Chapter 5

Chapter 4 < | > Chapter 6
The peak of the Templar's troubles has been reached as a traitor seeks to escape to Rome and expose Suri to the Vatican, and Sir Egbert enters a rather depressed state following the violation of various Templar laws in trying to hide Suri from sight. Knowing she has messed up in some capacity, Suri has become compliant in her everyday life under the Order for Egbert's sake. Tension remains high overall in the Order, but on this day, that tensions arrive at its most extreme conclusion as Templar Marshal Baldrick tracks down the supposed traitor with the authority to handle the situation however he sees fit. The outcome of this confrontation carries only the most controversial implications, especially for Suri...
==Chapter Reading==
== Chapter 5 – Arrière-pensée =
It was an ordinary day in Acre with commerce flowing, farming and fishing steady, prayers easy, and warfare between the Christian and Islamic world still. Although Sir Egbert never returned to his normal state of mind, the educating of Suri returned to its regular course, as did the murmurs of discontent over her presence in the castle among the naysayer knights. Perhaps most importantly of all was that even with the passing of a week, the issue of the Templar traitor had not been resolved—someone of the Order was well intending to rat out the Order to the Vatican without the permission of the Grand Master.
This was not a matter that would go unaddressed.
That afternoon, the nearly perfect status quo that kept the day on an ordinary path was destroyed with the violent kicking of a door that had been sealed shut by means of a single plank of wood. Standing before the breached door was the Templar Marshal—Baldrick—already equipped with his longsword and in a defensive stance, prepared for any surprises. The house he was staring into had a single candle lit, barely enough to light much of anything.
“Come on out and surrender yourself!” Baldrick demanded, but to no response. “I know you’re in there; the honey merchant told us you’ve been holed up here, it’s no use resisting!”
Even now, silence persisted without even a floorboard creak. The completely dead silence did well in making Baldrick second guess the situation, but the existence of a single candle was enough evidence of human activity to keep him ready. Consequently, the persisting silence only further rattled the Templar Marshal and evoked a mad brow.
“Why don’t you… just come out now. We can talk about this,” Baldrick negotiated. “Better we talk as civilized men of God than resort to savage instincts.”
Just from his loud voice alone, a small crowd of Acre citizens had begun to observe this event as it occurred. Not even the needless crowd would make Baldrick move a muscle away from this breached door. Eventually, however, the lone candle in the home would mysteriously vanish, blown out from a source Baldrick could not see.
Soon, emerging from the darkness of the room ahead, the white-robed figure of a dear friend, Conrad, emerged with a sword of his own drawn. The sight of Conrad put an immediate look of disgust onto Baldrick’s face.
“Any respect I may have still held for you, Conrad…” he paused for a moment, dramatically communicating his disgust with a slow shake, “It burned the moment I saw you still wearing the robes of an Order you betrayed.”
Conrad planted his sword down and argued, “I did not betray the Order, it is your misguided faction that betrayed the Order. My oath resides with the tradition the Grand Master has chosen to make a mockery of. I, am a Templar to the night I die.”
Baldrick shook again, “Do not play the noble traditionalist, Conrad. You were there. You, me, Egbert, and the Grand Master. We were all together for that adventure to Crimea, and we knew who we were after.”
“I did not entertain the Grand Master’s little adventure with a design on incorporating her as a Templar Knight. And don’t act like you did either, I know you, Baldrick, you’d never have gone on that trip to Crimea if you knew she’d be coming back to live with us.”
The Marshal thought about this without breaking eye contact. “Maybe you’re right. But she’s not a knight -”
“Don’t spew that rubbish, you know well that the Grand Master is trying to incorporate her into the Order.” Baldrick dared to take a step forward, thus prompting a paranoid Conrad to raise his sword and back up. “Perhaps the Grand Master has forgotten our oath, but I have not. No women.” Conrad glared and started to list with his fingers. “No wives, no sisters, no daughters, no mothers, no aunts, no mistresses. None of it! They’re not for us! Especially no magic women.”
Baldrick took another two steps forward, “Don’t you know I agree with you? We all do! No one is comfortable with her around, especially not I. But she is an exception only for the time being -”
The two men came in a fighting range of each other and even met blades gently, and Conrad interrupted, “Is it not plain as God’s blue sky that Suri is destroying this Order? We, the Templar, agreed that women will lead us to disarray, have you become so blind by this ‘exception’ that you cannot see the division her place has caused?”
Baldrick narrowed his eyes, “You betrayed the Templar…”
Conrad swallowed, “Alas, you will not see clear reason. But you can do nothing about it. I am within my right to take leave for Rome.”
The Marshal pointed straight at him, “This is not so! You are on a mission to Rome on the Templar Order’s behalf; therefore, you are still by your own identity, a Templar Knight!” He now pointed behind his shoulder, “And so I am ordering you, a Templar Knight, to report back to your Grand Master at once, knight.” Conrad licked his lips nervously. “You are either a Templar going on an unauthorized mission and therefore under my command, otherwise, you are an enemy agent on a mission to destroy our Order. So, what will it be, Conrad?”
The cornered Templar put out a desperate and silent laugh for a moment, “Does it make any difference?”
But before Baldrick could supply an answer, Conrad performed an unprecedented stunt by kicking the table beside them, thus knocking over a shelf of many books. While hardly an obstacle of any kind, it was enough of a shock and distraction to briefly break Baldrick’s concentration.
With a swift blow to Baldrick’s hilt, the Marshal was nearly made to drop his sword but held onto it ultimately. Conrad nevertheless attempted to jump past him and make a run for it, partially succeeded as he got out the door, but Baldrick was quick enough to catch up, ultimately resulting in a clash of blades just out the door.
Some citizens watched with awe or entertainment while others panicked and fled. The sight of two Templar knights exchanging attacks was something of exceptional interest in this crusader kingdom of all places. Despite one being the Templar Marshal, the two would appear to be evenly matched.
“Come to your senses, Baldrick!” Conrad delivered a mighty hit to the hull of Baldrick’s blade and attempted to hold it still so he could speak. “Would we be doing this right now if Suri never came here!? Is that not evidence enough that the oath was right to keep women out of our minds!?”
“No one is forbidding contact with the pope,” Baldrick claimed. “But there is a system in place. You need to argue for that motion, convince the Order, convince the Grand Master.” Baldrick easily batted away Conrad’s latest series of attacks and concluded, “But no, you couldn’t be bothered. You were just going to circumvent our whole institution and impose your will as the dominant will.”
Conrad, in the process of dodging a very close series of attacks, accidentally kicked a potted plant to pieces and turned the corner of a building. Baldrick stayed on him persistently through the entire process and now imposed an upper edge of attacks.
“That’s not true! It is what most in the Order want.”
Baldrick got another good swing at Conrad, only for Conrad to in return nearly remove Baldrick’s left hand with a close swing of his own.
“I have always been loyal to the Order. Always! I always will be, but you need to understand where -”
His reasoning was cut short, however. One bad attempt at a block by Conrad was the only mistake he’d be allowed to make, for Baldrick was quick and precise with thrusting through his old friend. Immediately, gasps were sounded off everywhere, and Conrad himself was unable to keep hold of his sword beyond the impalement. Baldrick quickly responded to this victory by grabbing hold of the defeated, and after doing so, he held him very close, as one would do with a close relation. In a matter of seconds, it was as if they went from being foes to the closest of friends.
“I- I suppose yo- your point has been made…” Conrad cleared his throat in a very extensive way. “Always thought I would die fighting in Jerusalem… I didn’t envision falling to a crusader though…”
“Conrad, quickly, I need to know…” Baldrick’s eyes watered ever so slightly with a hand firmly in control of the sword still inside Conrad. “Are you a Templar knight?”
Conrad hesitated to answer, but fighting through a very pained groan, he eventually answered, “I told you… I am a Templar until I die.”
Without further hesitation, Baldrick got a good hold of him and took his side, “Come on, Conrad.”
Meanwhile, back in the Templar castle, yet another general lesson was underway for Suri. Egbert now had a noticeably less maintained appearance almost typical of a drunkard, but otherwise sounded quite normal. The same could not be said for his pupil; Suri was not only combed and sitting with more civility but was visibly trying much harder with her lessons than before and asking questions regularly. Suri was becoming a student who suddenly had the drive to make her teacher proud. Whether Suri was efficiently learning or not was a different matter.
“Okay, let’s try to finish the sentence again,” Egbert cleared his throat, “‘The dog…’”
Suri spoke, “‘The dog… ate the… wolf.’”
“No. Better though…” He pointed at a drawn illustration of a wolf. “This is a wolf.” He dragged the finger down to an illustration of a duck. “Try again. ‘The dog…’”
Suri put a finger to her lip, “‘The dog… ate the… pig.’”
Egbert fluctuated between a grin and a stressed grimace. “Alright, now you’re just messing with me.”
This rather casual if not warm interaction was abruptly cut short by Bérard, who had at that moment rushed into the room with distress in his eyes.
“Egbert! We have a situation!”
Egbert had already reached for his sword, “We’re not under attack, are we!?”
Bérard stopped just short of Suri, and with a frozen expression explained, “No, it’s… Conrad…” Egbert, too, froze his face upon hearing this. “Baldrick didn’t show much mercy -”
“What!?” Egbert rushed forward, now placing Suri awkwardly in the dead center of the two. “Bérard, what are you talking about!? Are you saying Conrad really was the traitor?”
“You best come with me to the infirmary. Conrad doesn’t have long now that the sword’s been removed.”
“What do you mean ‘the sword’s been removed’!?”
The two rushed off together, but before Egbert could get too far, Suri asked in a very calm voice, “Where are you going, Egbert? To the infirmary? Infirmary?”
“Our good friend has been severely hurt, Suri. Just stay here and practice your animals. Uh… ‘duck’ is the word. Practice.”
He shut the door behind him, leaving Suri alone with a concerned expression.
Speed walking their way to the castle infirmary, Egbert asked, “Even if Conrad’s the traitor, did Baldrick feel it necessary to stab the man!? He was threatening to report information to the pope, not bring down the whole Order!”
“I don’t know what Baldrick was thinking. He may get expelled for this.”
Egbert grimaced and shook wildly, “No, no, no, don’t tell me that, Bérard. Conrad leaves us for the Lord and Baldrick gets expelled from the Order? Those are two incredible losses!”
Bérard sighed, “If Baldrick knowingly brought blood to a member of the Templar Order, then expulsion is mandatory.”
“B- But isn’t Conrad being called a traitor?”
“Yes, but the question is whether Conrad is still a Templar. A Templar traitor.”
Egbert confessed, “This is making no sense to me.”
“One problem at a time.”
Suddenly, the unexpected presence of Suri right beside Egbert alarmed both Templars, especially as they were already nearing the forbidden section of the castle.
She asked, “Your friend is in danger?”
“Yes, Suri, a great friend. One of my oldest friends here. More like a brother.” Suri widened her eyes. “We’re all brothers here, however, Conrad is… well, I’m going to be very sad to see him leave us.”
“Leave us?”
Bérard rolled his eyes, annoyed by Suri’s innocent nature. Egbert stuttered just trying to think how to explain this.
“Well, Conrad, he’s… been hurt, very badly. His injury is so bad that he is in danger, in danger of leaving for a long time—forever in fact.”
Suri looked him in the eyes, “Conrad will die?”
Bérard flailed his arms, “Well I could have told her that!”
Egbert, growing a bit emotional, scolded her, “Go back to studying, Suri.”
“I don’t want you to be sad again.”
“It is alright, Suri. Just go back and practice your teachings.”
But Suri instead insisted, “I can help, Egbert! I can help Conrad. Please and thank you.”
They reached the final door of the area Suri was allowed in, and it was here Egbert turned and said to her, “Even you and your necklace cannot stop death.”
Bérard opened the door and gestured a palm at her, “Now, stay back, there’s nothing for Suri out here.”
Yet with the door closing, she pleaded, “But Egbert! I can help! I can help!”
Alas, the door closed on her, once more isolating her from a side of the castle that wanted nothing to do with her. The Crimean stood there at the door feeling helpful, yet powerless.
“Now I am sad.”
A great air of drama, suspense, and tension filled the castle infirmary that day. The room was designed to fit several men, but an unsustainable amount of bodies was cramming into this room to witness and react to the dying Sir Conrad, situated over a table and oversaw by Baldrick, who had put him in this situation. Grand Master de Vichiers was also present among the crowd, but neither his presence nor words had enough power to silence the irate mass this time. The truth was that even the Grand Master was stunned by this situation, never expecting anyone to die over the Suri matter.
One knight criticized Baldrick to his face, “Bringing down your own crusading brother! Are you sure you are a Christian and not some Meccan agent of evil!?”
Despite a sea of similar words, Baldrick chose to respond to him in particular, “A true brother is beside each other through thick and thin!”
“You stabbed your brother in the back over a woman!”
Egbert and Bérard had now just arrived at the scene, and the Grand Master attempted to move things forward, “Templar! Now is not the time for infighting! We must pray for our fallen -”
“There must be justice!” a voice interrupted.
Egbert forced himself through the crowd with haste, “Step aside, move aside with you all!” The tense crowd was kind enough to step aside for the man, allowing him to approach the heavily bloodied Conrad. “By cruel fate, Conrad, what has happened to you!? Are you truly against us!?”
The dying knight looked up at Egbert, “Egbert…” he moaned his pains aloud, “…y- you look terrible, what is harming your soul..?”
This strange off-topic comment was ignored by Egbert, who instead approached Conrad by the side and said, “Conrad, you fought Baldrick? But why!?”
Baldrick defended, “I had no choice,”
But Conrad argued, “…you had every bit of choice, Baldrick…” he dropped his face against the table, unable to keep it up much longer, “…you refused to see reason right before your eyes…”
This prompted Egbert to look up and glare, “Baldrick, why did you not simply capture him!?”
“I did not want to harm Conrad! He was violent toward me and by his own foolish letter he had left the Order.” Baldrick waved his arm at the disapproving crowd dismissively. “You all curse me for taking Conrad’s word of resignation as an honest one! I would not stab a Templar!”
One knight shouted, “And yet you did!”
Egbert looked down at the wound in question and grit his teeth. “Have we prayed for the man yet!?”
Baldrick struck both hands over the table, “The Grand Master and I have been trying to pray for his soul, against the wishes of this barbaric mob of so-called brothers!”
As the volume picked up from all corners of the room, Bérard came by the Grand Master and quietly discussed, “…we’ve extended this Suri controversy as far as possible. The Order is at its limit, Grand Master. At this point, it may be impossible to prevent this Order’s complete collapse, but I would advise we cut our losses and make way with Suri!” Vichiers fluttered his eyes in deep thought to Bérard’s suggestion. “If we keep Suri around, we may end up with no castle to teach her under anyway. At least with her expulsion, we may retain some of the Order.” The Grand Master began to rub his chin in even greater contemplation. “Either way if you’re going to make such a concession, make it now before this entire room drops their robes and -”
This tense lecture was instantly shut down by several gasps and frightened reactions around the room, supported by a decreasing overall volume. The many knights within the infirmary had turned around toward the door, and for a moment, only the sound of blood dripping off the table could be heard. Even the fading Conrad had the remaining strength to bring his head and gaze forward, the little breath he had remaining being put toward a fellow gasp.
Now standing before the countless knights and a dying Conrad was the unlikely Suri, garbed in brown, with a necklace out, and a small bowl of water in her possession. Even with the many scared looks and glares imposed upon her, as well as a man who was moments away from certain death, Suri’s gaze was fixated on Egbert’s—of whom had the least expression of them all.
Inevitably, a knight protested, “S- She is not supposed to be here! The Grand Master swore to keep her away!”
The man’s obvious statement was met with rowdy words of disagreement from many in the crowd, but Suri seemed undisturbed by the protests. Grand Master de Vichiers remained still, a whole hand over his mouth as he spectated this suspense.
“Suri,” Egbert spoke from the table, “This does not concern you. Return to your quarter.”
It was only his protest that prompted her to respond, “I can help!”
The sound of her voice revigorated the naysayers, resulting in more gasps and a greater intensity of disapproving sounds. Meanwhile, as if these three words came at the man like an arrow, Conrad collapsed over the table with only a tremble about him.
Baldrick flailed his arms, “Forget the woman! Can we please get this prayer forged!?”
The scene continued to escalate quickly, however, for Suri dared to approach the table. Her approach had a powerful force on every Templar, as even someone as high up as Sir Bérard evaded the woman, creating a sort of involuntary path for her to the table. Egbert and Baldrick were the only two who refused to move a muscle with Suri’s movement; everyone else was so cautious of being at reaching range of her.
“I will save him, Egbert,” Suri willed, “I will save him. I can save him.”
She placed the bowl of water beside Conrad and assumed an extremely frantic face, one Egbert had never seen from her. There she began to concentrate on the water and with a face that seemed to be searching desperately for a kind of serenity, despite her obvious franticness.
One of the naysayer knights demanded, “Egbert, Grand Master, someone stop this woman! By God, she will destroy this Order!”
Egbert was quick to argue, “What do you expect of anyone? To grab her?” The mere suggestion left most knights exchanging faces that ranged from temptation to fear. “Does anyone wish to break Templar law and grab her!?”
Suri finally dipped her fingers in the water, took a deep breath, and encroached on the twitching Templar body. It was this move that led some to draw their swords, an action that somehow had no effect at all on Suri’s process or even behavior.
One armed knight practically begged, “Grand Master, say that we are justified in attacking her!”
The Grand Master quickly answered, “No! By God, you will have us all drawn to Hell should you lay metal upon her!”
“But..!”
Egbert was one of the few men able to watch as Suri committed a high-intensity taboo of feeling up Conrad, albeit in the precise location of his wound. She did not go light on the water she was putting directly into him, and personally underwent the burden of making sure to scrub every bit of wounded flesh she could.
“He’s right,” Egbert defended, “She has offered to help and nothing more. There is no justification in striking down someone who offers a hand of help, let alone a woman of God!”
Some shouting occurred between men and swords remained out, but it was ultimately Baldrick who raised his brows at the sight of something unexpected.
“Brothers, be silent!”
Surprisingly, the men were mostly compliant with Baldrick, even more so as it was revealed to all that Suri was speaking whole sentences aloud to Conrad—but in her Gothic language. There were mixed reactions all around to this.
Bérard asked, “Egbert, what is she saying?”
“She speaks the Devil’s rot!” someone claimed.
But Egbert was able to hear otherwise, but barely, “…it’s strange, but I have no doubt she is relaying something Biblical to Conrad… something… outdated yet relevant.”
Suri calmly interrupted her chatter to clarify, “Respect Jesus for being good to us.”
These broken words did little in solving the drama of this room, but it did lead Baldrick to take a commanding pose and say, “Say what you will of Suri, what is inherently true at this moment is our need to come together and pray for the soul of Conrad!” Everyone remained silent while Suri continued to work. “Until God receives our praise and request for guidance, nothing else matters. Conrad, Suri, and all who utter their names, we are all united under this simple fact for now!”
At last, the silence Baldrick had been trying for so long to gather came. No matter the feelings on Suri’s place here or her decision to impose herself over Conrad, the men at this moment surrendered their minds to a united faith. Suri respected their manner of silent prayer by staying silent herself. This went on for around two minutes until suddenly, Conrad unexpectedly opened his eyes again and gasped for air, as if choking.
“Eek!” Suri panicked with two bloody hands up.
Egbert’s eyes widened fast, “C- Conrad!?”
The wounded knight was hyperventilating with eyes wide himself; Baldrick and Egbert rushed to hold him down, fearing he would roll off the table in his panic. Suri had at this time backed away toward the door, gawking a bit in shock at the revived Conrad.
“Easy there, Conrad, old friend,” Egbert urged, “Easy… easy…”
Conrad continued to breathe heavily, but now complying as best he could with Egbert, he rolled his eyes up at his old friend and muttered, “…Egbert…”
Baldrick intervened, “You need to relax and be with God, for these moments may be your last.”
“No, no…” Conrad shook his head and looked Egbert in the eyes, “A miracle has come to me, Egbert.”
He held Conrad by the hand and asked, “What is it?”
Finally, Conrad’s heavy breathing slowed, and with a slow but heavily shaking free hand, he pointed to the site of his wound. Egbert’s eyes traveled down in this direction, at first fearful of the gore he would need to see, but then left grunting out in sudden shock.
“I feel no pain…” Only Egbert currently was close enough to witness the incredible sight of a completely smooth and bloodless surface where a gaping flesh cut used to exist. “I was as good as dead, but Suri spoke into my dreams. Now I live, spared by God, his wish transmitted through Suri.”
Egbert was so lost and shocked that he came to be left grinning. “…what?”
Suddenly the room again raised in volume, many voices at once offering words of agreement, disagreement, or alternative views. Many would also come to stare at Suri, who patiently stood at the door with a blank face.
The Grand Master was the one to turn to Suri and ask, “Suri, did you reverse Conrad’s wound?” The Crimean puckered her lip at him, her browless face trying to communicate confusion. “Conrad. Him,” he pointed, “Did you heal him?”
Suri hesitantly offered a nod mixed with an unsure shrug. “I helped him.”
Egbert cupped a hand over his face, in awe at the fact that his friend was already back on his rear, “God is greatest… for you have been escaped from a fate of death!”
Conrad, Baldrick, and Egbert all simultaneously turned their attention onto Suri, who was no longer receiving unanimous heat for her illegal presence in the forbidden side of the castle, but all the same, was attracting a lot of attention and discussion.
Baldrick wondered aloud, “But is this revival a miraculous work of God, or a mischievous trick of Satan?”
That evening, an emergency meeting of the Templar had once more led to a rowdy mess of opinions in the meeting chamber, albeit the Grand Master seemed to have more control over the knights this time. Bérard once more took the Grand Master’s side at the podium, but this time the spot usually reserved for Marshal Baldrick was instead occupied by Sir Egbert due to the relevancy of his character. The extreme circumstances of Conrad escaping death by Suri’s hand were enough to save the Templar Order from falling apart on the spot, but perhaps only temporarily so that they could debate this latest bit of news. At the end of the day, miracle or not, Grand Master de Vichiers promised Suri would not trespass beyond the castle chambers permitted to her, and that promise had now been violated.
The representative of the more aggressive faction offered his opinion, “There is no doubting the miracle of Conrad’s survival as well as his subsequent clearing of demonic possession; be that as it may…” the knight flailed his arms in a fury, “Scripture says nothing about such powers being available to the commoner; only the Lord may possess such abilities, and to name this Suri the great second return of Christ is outrageous and criminally heretic!”
The Grand Master intervened, “No one in the Order has suggested that Suri is Christ. There is so little we truly know of her, precisely why we are educating her before making our next move. She is gifted.”
A brand new faction comprised of former naysayers argued otherwise, “The uneventful exorcism of Conrad following Suri’s healing proves what we did not know until now: It is a gift from God, not a trick from Satan.” This knight gained approving nods from the several men he represented. “We have seen the light, Grand Master, and beg our brothers to follow suit. We misjudged Suri, she is here for a reason sanctioned by God himself.”
“Nonsense!” the opposing faction shouted.
But the man doubled down, “Not only did we misjudge Suri as an enemy, but it would seem clear that Suri’s place here is God’s designed way of helping us deliver our enemies from Jerusalem!” This bold claim led to very loud infighting, so intense that Bérard stood up in anticipation for a physical fight to arise. The man dared to continue this thought, “Under Suri—God’s blessing to us—we can heal any knight we lose in our fight to the Saracens! Nay—her very talent just might even draw infidels and heretics back to the light that is God! Her existence is proof of God’s favor toward us!”
The other faction shouted through the infighting, “What an absurd claim!”
The Grand Master pounded his podium with a hammer, and in doing so managed to quiet down the room.
“May I inquire the expectations of your faction?”
“Indeed,” the faction leader posed strongly, “You say yourself, Grand Master, that we know nothing of this Suri. I do not recall her explaining her process of healing. How was this possible? Who does she credit this miracle to? Herself? Satan? God?” He turned his attention onto Egbert, “You know more than any of us, Sir Egbert. Explain this.”
Egbert defended, “If you allow me to go and ask her -”
“No,” the man quickly replied, “Your relationship with her goes too deep, you may influence her response.”
“What?” Egbert winced, “You exaggerate my relationship with Suri. I know very little about her.”
The Grand Master thus added his thoughts, “So you desire a logical citation for Suri’s healing miracle?”
Some hesitation followed, but the faction leader ultimately nodded, “That is the next step. Who Suri credits this miracle to will have massive implications for how we want her dealt with.”
Then the Grand Master posed a similar question to the other faction, “What is it you expect?”
This man gladly replied, “We seek to apologize to Suri and expand her rights in the Order, as a non-member ally of the Templar.” A simple enough desire, however, this man soon grabbed his waist and added, “But I concur with desiring an answer from Suri. If we are to reward Suri, she must know where she is acquiring this power from.”
“So, a near majority of the Order desires to hear Suri defend herself,” the Grand Master suggested. Contrary to his claim, it was a clear majority that spoke their approval. “Very well… Summon Suri.”
Egbert grunted, “Wait, Grand Master, isn’t this unfair to Suri? She is in the middle of being educated and you expect her to stand trial?”
“As it is the will of the Order, Suri’s current education will need to do.”
“But…”
The Grand Master insisted, “It will be a simple question, something even she can surely answer with minimal education.” Egbert gawked a bit, and at the Grand Master’s order, began to step down from the podium. “Now, bring Suri to the stand.”
Most in the Order—strict as they were to their code—did not want to so much as even look at this woman, but these were exceptional times for the Templar, and today a special kind of day. The Suri debate had seemingly reached its climax and all sides of the debate could at least agree at this point that it would be best for the Order to get this matter over with.
Most would not put their eyes onto Suri as she entered down the aisle of chairs, while others could not take their eyes off of her. She was slow in moving toward the podiums, mostly concentrated on the many knights in the congregation. Only now was she grasping just how many knights existed in this holy order.
“Come, Suri,” the Grand Master directed, “Take your place by my side.”
“Okay,” she answered cluelessly.
The Crimean would take her time, clearly in no rush to go down the aisle and up the podium. Eventually, she passed Egbert and made direct eye contact with him, signaling confusion in the process. He gave her a shrug, the best response he felt he could give at the moment—Suri was on her own in this situation.
Over time, Suri discovered her way up to the podium, where she took the place Egbert had originally been standing. It was here she became a bit intimidated by the countless Templar who silently stared up at her.
The Grand Master spoke, “Suri.”
She turned, “Hello.”
“The Order of the Templar Knights has witnessed your actions on this day, seemingly rescuing Sir Conrad from certain death. We unanimously recognize your role in performing this miracle for our brother.” Suri blinked at him, presenting herself as clueless, but nevertheless listening hard. “But this miracle you performed is unorthodox; many would accuse you of being a devil practitioner, while some might wonder if you have some connection to Jesus Christ.” Suri nodded. “Conrad was soon to die, his flesh torn and his body drained of blood, but you saved him. So, tell us, Suri… Who deserves credit for this miracle?”
“Credit?” She froze. “What… What is credit?”
Egbert fiddled with his fingers, having predicted this issue.
“Who do you thank for this miracle, Suri?” She still gazed at him, confused. “Who deserves to be thanked for saving Conrad?”
“Who… to thank? …credit… who to… credit…” Suri’s eyes began to cross the entire chamber, looking at all the knights awaiting an answer. “Credit.”
Egbert licked his lips and put his hands together, nervously awaiting her to reach some answer. Suri seemed to comprehend the question, possibly even feigning ignorance to buy herself time. For a time, it would seem as though she were truly stumped.
Finally, Suri answered with a passionate tone, “Egbert.”
Many gasped, with Egbert himself responding, “Eh?”
The Grand Master inquired, “What do you mean?”
To the best of her ability, Suri explained, “Egbert tells me about Jesus. I love Jesus. I look up to Jesus. I want to heal the…” she poked at her head, “I want to heal the head as Jesus can. Egbert makes me want to… not give up. I need to learn from Jesus and follow him. Egbert helps me so much.”
A dramatic silence ensued, only sometimes interrupted by silent discussion amongst knights. The Grand Master and Bérard exchanged some words for a moment, followed by a raised brow from the Grand Master.
“So… you credit your miracle healing to the Lord, Jesus Christ?”
Suri smacked her lips and shrugged, “Okay.”
“Interesting.”
While Suri would remain up by the podiums as minutes went by, she was asked nothing further. Factions of the Templar debated amongst each other in an appropriate and civil volume. The debating would remain this way for most of the time, but five or so minutes later picked up in energy as certain words struck disagreement. Ultimately, the chamber would begin to silence again as factions reached agreements and understandings on how Suri’s testament would steer a final decision.
Grand Master de Vichiers requested, “Who shall speak first for the Templar?”
The naysaying faction leader accepted the right to speak, humbly offered by the opposition. “In light of Suri’s credit of Conrad’s miracle to almighty God, the men I represent have, reluctantly, agreed that Suri’s place here in Acre is… tolerable under the strictest of conditions.”
Egbert gave Suri a look of relief, and for just a moment, a hint of cheer; the Crimean returned no specific reaction.
“What conditions do you believe are fair?” the Grand Master inquired.
“Addressing the most basic issue: Suri is still a woman, and we are sworn off women. Henceforth, Suri must be banished from touching any man and vice versa within the Order.”
In an unexpected scene, Suri raised herself and protested, “I can help everyone!”
The man responded, “And yet you must help no one. Help all of those you wish with your God-granted powers, but do not interrupt the destiny of a knight, even if death calls.”
The Grand Master defended Suri, “She has the ability to prevent death caused by the Saracens, bestowed to her by God, and you would have this invaluable gift censored? That is quite the sacrifice.”
“Indeed, but it is a temptation th-”
To the naysayer’s surprise, a majority number of knights in the chamber opened up in loud protest to the condition. While a fraction of the chamber stood by this idea, it was clear to the man that he was making a demand too far.
“So be it…” the same man crossed his arms at the Grand Master, “Then let it be that Suri touches no man of the Order. She may only appeal to God’s gift and heal a knight if he consciously consents to it.” This reassessed condition led to some discontent from his men but ultimately seemed to satisfy the mass. “May God have mercy on those who would fall to this unnecessary temptation.”
The Grand Master questioned, “I presume that attached to this is Suri’s admittance to the full castle?”
“All but the quarters of men!”
The more supportive faction leader nodded, “All reasonable conditions.”
“But no knight is required to interact with Suri. They may share the same castle, but they are perfectly within their right to act as though she does not exist!”
Bérard leaned toward the Grand Master and whispered, “…that could prove problematic…”
Nonetheless, the Grand Master asked, “What added conditions are you thinking of?”
The naysayer was especially loud in demanding, “Most importantly, Suri must conform to all of the rules of the Templar, without ever being a Templar!” He was met with praise from men even traditionally supportive of Suri. “Suri will never be a knight of the Templar Order! She may pray under the styles and direction of the Templar, but never shall she have the honor of wearing the red cross.”
Most eyes now came down upon Suri, who maintained a dull stance, clearly not offended in the slightest by anything being said—be it out of acceptance or not understanding.
The Grand Master asked the Order, “Is this the appropriate path for us to take concerning Suri?”
There was not much enthusiasm from anyone, but the chamber was nevertheless filled with supportive words. Gazes were exchanged between the Grand Master and Sir Bérard, and then with Egbert and Suri. Without further need for debate, the Grand Master stood tall to face the many knights.
“Then with God as our ultimate judge and witness, let this be regarded as the official stance of the Templar Order. May God go with you all; serve the Lord without regret.”
That day ended for Suri with an astounding victory, against the odds stacked against her, proving once and for all that amidst a sea of division in the Templar Order, submission to God was the uniting adhesive disallowing its breakup. For Suri in particular, while there were still alienating restrictions in place toward her, she had won her right to walk the halls of the Templar—yet interestingly she was outright resistant to taking advantage of these new rights. The lone Crimean had gone back to self-study and then retired to her chamber in the style of a recluse.
Now alone together in the dimly lit chamber of the Grand Master, where he and the most loyal Sir Bérard stood together by a window overlooking the Mediterranean. There was a peace in their time together, yet a serious topic at hand.
His second-hand man continued with a discussion, “If that is your final position, may I at least convince you to put the matter to the Order to debate on?” Grand Master de Vichiers stared at the moonlit sea with great contemplation. “We’ve only just gotten the Order to reluctantly warm up to the idea of Suri being here. It would be a sign of good faith to allow the knights to have a say in where we go from here. To this, surely you would agree?”
Grand Master de Vichiers crossed his arms over his belly, thinking this over, but ultimately declaring, “We’ve tempered the waters long enough, it is time to get Suri out of their minds and focus on restoring holy order to the lands.” A long pause ensued, dramatically ended by, “Suri is key.”
Bérard offered a final challenge, “The Order unanimously agreed that Suri shall not bear the crusader cross. If the Order finds out about this, they may see this as circumventing that—a soft initiation into the Templar.” His words had a continuing contemplative effect on Vichiers. “You know the Order will find out about this, and the consequences of them not seeing this from your point of view could be… damning to the Order.”
The Grand Master’s eyes rested on the nearly full moon as he continued to mull over the matter.
“Summon them.”
That evening, Sir Egbert directed a visibly confused Suri down the hall she was always allowed to venture through but seldom did. Egbert himself certainly allowed puzzlement to seize his face as well, though to a lesser extent as he somehow expected the events of today would have the two summoned at some point; as to the purpose of the summoning, he could not guess. Despite Bérard performing the summon, he wasted no time in dusting the two and returning to the Grand Master.
Egbert opened the door to the Grand Master’s chamber and permitted Suri to enter before him, which she did without hesitation. She stopped at an appropriate distance from the two high-ranking Templars, somewhat in awe of the perfect alignment of the moon over Grand Master de Vichiers’ head and the candle just below him, a combination of which had him glowing orange in front and blue in the rear.
The rough-looking Egbert approached Suri from the side and greeted, “What does my Grand Master request of us?”
He quickly answered, “Your full attention, for I am about to finally direct a full explanation to you, and subsequently my true expectations.”
Egbert cringed a bit with a brow raised, “Whatever do you mean?”
“Egbert, my brother, I have not been entirely open with you these passing months. As you might have already guessed, there is more to what we know of Suri than I have let on.”
This news left Egbert widening his eyes and turning to Bérard for confirmation, who affirmed this statement with a simple nod.
“Grand Master, you lied to us!?”
Vichiers took exception to this, “A hasty accusation. I did not lie about anything, I simply… was not transparent with you about all the details.” At this time, he moved the candle closer to Egbert and placed down a familiar document. “You will recall this writing.”
Egbert did not need to read a single word, instantly recognizing the well-aged parchment, “Bishop Modestus.” Hearing this name sent Suri into a momentary trance of which only Bérard took notice of. “We used that writing to locate Suri. I must have read it over at least a hundred times, what about it?”
The Grand Master now put down an unfamiliar piece—a collection of similar writings in stitched form. An explanation was hardly needed for Egbert to guess what this was, yet the Grand Master did so anyway.
“The writing we took with us to Crimea was merely a page out of a collection of many—just Modestus’ final account of things. There is a full detailed account of his mission from the day he received his missionary assignment to the day he returned from Crimea.” The Grand Master crossed his arms, looking Egbert in the eyes and declaring, “There is much more written about Suri than you were led to believe.”
Egbert placed a hand over the book and quietly muttered aloud, “…I should have known…”
“It was a painstaking task acquiring this collection from the Vatican, for even the cardinals for centuries have here and there debated whether Modestus’ work should be designated as evil.”
“Evil?” Egbert looked at Suri, who widened her eyes at him. “How could you possibly call something written by a man so high in God’s favor evil?”
“Read for yourself, if you dare,” the Grand Master began to pace around, “The written account speaks for itself. The bishops who met Suri—Modestus, Sixtus, and Pius—were brought to Crimea to erase an evil god known to them as ‘Baphomet’ from the Crimean Goths.” A very fearing Suri fell victim to Grand Master de Vichiers’ intense stare. “Suri was Baphomet’s most powerful agent.”
Egbert raised his voice, “What!?”
“But yet, interestingly, Suri was having a religious affair simultaneously,” he reached his hand toward Suri, “In the writing, Modestus attests a genuine loyalty and inspiration to the Lord—something we again saw demonstrated today.” He asked Suri straight, “But your people only saw the Baphometic side of you and had you exiled from the world, didn’t they?”
An intense silence followed as everyone stared at Suri. The scared girl occasionally glanced around the room, analyzing the looks of heavy judgment. Ultimately, she nodded.
“You still hold some faith in this false god,” the Grand Master accused in an unfittingly calm tone.
To this, Suri again looked around the room, this time refusing to acknowledge the question, but her intimidated face remained evident. They gave her time to respond, but it soon became clear she either did not understand or was refusing to answer.
Egbert arrived at his own conclusion, “When Baldrick descended into that well, he found Egyptian script and some illustration of a woman along with it.” He turned a question to Suri, “Is this woman your Baphomet?”
Suri brought forth a similar silence but seemed to ease up her fear while looking into Egbert’s eyes. She confessed, “It is possible, but I do not know who she is. I do not know who Baphomet is either.”
Her mentor let out an exasperated sigh, but seconds later dropped his brows and hummed, “Now wait, if you knew this all along, why was Suri not executed for pagan infidelity?”
The Grand Master raised his brows, “Because according to Modestus, she fit Baphomet into a Christian narrative, not the other way around, and so… she is… perhaps more fittingly a confused heretic.”
Egbert hesitantly noted, “Heretics have been burned before. What difference does it make if she’s an infidel or heretic?”
“Because a heretic is one step closer to a true believer, and that is where we need you to step up, Sir Egbert.”
He looked down upon Suri and momentarily guessed, “You want me to secretly clean Suri’s theology.”
“Continue to educate her, make her a true Catholic, so that she can fully embrace her purpose.”
Egbert crossed his arms, “I suppose these writings make clear of her true purpose?”
“Sadly, no, however…” the Grand Master looked to Bérard and then back to Egbert, “As you will read in the writings, Suri has certain abilities that are invaluable to the Christian cause beyond what we witnessed today. She is our best chance to turn the tide in our fight against infidelity.”
This left Egbert wincing with great confusion, “You… want her to take a sword and fight..?”
“Not exactly,” the Grand Master dramatically approached the table and revealed, “Once Suri has sufficient education, I am attaching you two to a team of knights responsible for the recovery of lost artifacts essential to our cause.”
Suri spoke, “Artifacts.”
Egbert tilted his head, “U---Uh… artifacts..?”
An inspired Grand Master pounded his fist into a palm and elaborated, “Items that will inspire the Christian world to come forth, and perhaps bring forth guidance from God on how to achieve victory.” He listed specifics with fingers, “Items once used by the Lord, fragments of the Cross, the Holy Grail, the Ark of the Covenant, Moses’ staff… Invaluable artifacts that hold great respect and divine nature.”
Suri asked, “Why me?”
“Suri has demonstrated a kind of connection to God. Through her, I have no doubt we will bring home that of which is holy and sacred to us.” He nodded at Suri and added, “It would prove your commitment to the Bible and bring purpose to your existence as well.”
Egbert rubbed his chin, wondering aloud, “Where would we even begin such an undertaking?”
The Grand Master turned to a shelf of various works, “I will supply you with all the Vatican has shared with us about the whereabouts of these many scattered items. It is up to you, and Suri, to bring them home.”
Finally, Egbert noted, “You realize Suri can hardly read or speak.”
Still faced away, the Grand Master acknowledged, “This is a long-term ambition. You will continue to educate Suri until you deem her as ready to face this destiny. Teach her to read and speak, rid her of any evil Baphometic influences that linger in her soul, all the while, learn alongside her all the clues to finding these ancient relics. When the time is right, go forth and recover that of which you can find, with God blowing you in the right direction.”
Egbert faced Suri and commented, “It looks like our days together are only just beginning.”
In a very rare instance, Suri went from blankly staring at the man to smiling as a response. He barely reciprocated the feeling, at best responding with a momentary smirk.
“May God be with the two of you,” the Grand Master concluded.
Just like that, in a single day, Suri went from being permitted access to the entire castle, to more or less being assigned a long and possibly impossible mission of locating and securing artifacts of Biblical significance. It would take Suri much time to fully comprehend what she was being assigned to do given her lack of education, but Egbert now had a clearer direction on where to go with her education. There was no telling whether locating ancient artifacts would have any real effect on the crusades—or if they were even possible to recover—but in an era where the crusader muscle in Jerusalem was wading, this could best be assessed as Grand Master de Vichiers’ unexpected last-ditch effort to keep the crusader kingdom alive.
Of course, beyond this treasure hunting assignment, there was an even more troubling matter for Egbert. For all he knew, his pupil could be an infiltrator for a long-forgotten pagan god. There was a long future for him and Suri, but undoubtedly a future shrouded by her mysterious nature…
To be continued…
Chapter 4 < | > Chapter 6
==Chapter Summary==
# A peaceful, ordinary day is disrupted as Marshal Baldrick tracks down the Templar traitor at a house. After an exchange, the traitor is revealed to be Conrad, one of the Templar knights who had gone to Crimea.
# Trying to avoid a fight, Conrad argues that he did not betray the Templar Order, but that the Grand Master and his loyalists have. From his point of view, he is a Templar knight trying to save the Order's integrity.
# Conrad attempts to escape, and a fight ensues. Despite his attempts yet to convince Baldrick of the Templar's fall from grace, he is defeated by a thrust. Baldrick embraces his fallen brother and seeks clarity if he is to die a Templar or a traitor. Conrad defends that he is still a Templar, and so Baldrick carries him back to the castle.
# A rougher, more depressed looking Egbert pushes on with educating Suri, who is now trying much harder to be a good pupil. The lecture is interrupted by Sir Bérard, who informs Egbert that Conrad was the traitor and is dying. The two rush off to the infirmary. Suri is informed that Conrad is going to die, to which she pleads to Egbert for a chance to help. This is denied and Suri is left behind.
# In the infirmary, a riot is occurring around a dying Conrad. Baldrick is trying to rally prayers for the dying Templar but cannot get past the outrage of a Templar slaying a fellow Templar. Now it is Baldrick who finds himself at risk of being expelled or worse.
# Just as Conrad nears his end, surprise takes the room as Suri reveals herself to everyone with a bowl of water in hand. She is knowingly trespassing in forbidden territory and breaking the Grand Master's promise to keep her out of sight of the naysayer faction, and yet no one has the will to do anything about her due to their aversion to touching a woman. Several take out their swords asking for permission to simply kill her, but the Grand Master passionately rejects this request.
# Unable to touch or kill Suri, no one can stop her from applying her water magic onto Conrad's wound. In time, his wound begins to vanish to the amazement of all. She further surprises the room by initiating her own Biblical-inspired prayer, thus finally prompting everyone else to pray for Conrad. Conrad shows sparks of life again, she retreats to the door slowly.
# The room is amazed by Suri's capacity to save Conrad from death, but with this amazement comes great controversy over the nature of this power.
# Once more, a meeting is held over how to handle the whole situation. A new emergent faction of former naysayers are now convinced that Suri had been misjudged and that she is a gift by God; the other faction maintains doubt that this is a miracle from God, instead suggesting this is some dark trickery of Satan. It is, ultimately, decided that despite her lack of education, Suri herself must testify to the Order.
# Presented before the entire Order and interrogated, Suri is asked to answer for her action. Asked of who she credits this miracle to, she initially answers Egbert as the source of the miracle, but upon further elaboration explains that Egbert had reminded her of the healing ways of Jesus Christ.
# Suri's citation of Christ as the source of her miracle saves her in the end, as the unanimous agreement of the Order is that Suri should be vindicated of her crimes and permitted access to the full castle--excluding private chambers--in addition to not being allowed to ever join the Templar Order while still being expected to follow its rules.
# Later that night, Grand Master de Vichiers summons Egbert and Suri to his chamber. He reveals to Egbert that all this time he had a collection of writings by Bishop Modestus which offers a far greater explanation of Suri and her situation. He reveals that he knows Suri has incredible powers, and even that she is or was a follower of Baphomet. Regardless, he defends that due to her incorporation of Baphomet into a Christian narrative, she is more heretic than infidel and can thus be fixed.
# Trying to understand the Baphometic connection, Egbert notes that Baldrick found Egyptian hieroglyphics and an illustration of a woman in the well, and inquires if this woman is Baphomet. Surprisingly, Suri claims to not know herself.
# Egbert is given Modestus' full collection of writings along with the task of fully converting Suri and continuing to educate her. It is then revealed that Suri is to, eventually, join a team of Templar knights who specialize in the recovery of Biblical artifacts such as the Ark of the Covenant in hope of turning the tide of the crusades.
# Egbert acknowledges that he and Suri will be a team for a long time in their quest for these artifacts, and thus moves forward to educate her towards this long-term ambition. Yet he fears what consequences could arise from letting someone with pagan influence walk among the Templar, and whether he has what it takes to fully convert her.
==Author Notes==
====Choosing a Traitor====
At first, I was going in a direction where the traitor in question would be an entirely new character, but sensing that I had not taken much advantage of Sir Conrad since Chapter 2, I instead chose to make him the rat. This was also due to interest in the idea that one of the men directly responsible for saving Suri from the well would go on to throw her and the whole order under the bus, and also that there should be a major Templar character not part of the pro-Suri faction. What happens to Conrad after Suri saves him is left a mystery, as he does not appear again, but it can be presumed that he simply fell in line after this chapter and stopped associating so closely with Baldrick and Egbert.
==Chapter Illustration==
This was the second time a chapter used a text summary of the current situation in the story in place of a traditional chapter illustration; this practice would not persist as the motivation to return to traditional illustrations returned by Chapter 6. As far as background and character goes, the image differs from Chapter 4 only in text.
The image was prepared through Adobe Photoshop and finished in Adobe InDesign.