Maiors

Olin XXIX

Today was the day. Hollice had loaded us up on his personal zeppelin. We all stood on the observation deck. I don't think any of us flew on zeppelins that often. We were like kids, gawking and aweing at every sight we saw. The cathedrals on Île Royale, the Gros Cul mountain range on Eveque's borders. From the air, it all looked magnificent. Once we got closer to our landing sight, Hollice joined us on the deck.

"Enjoying the flight?" he asked.

"This is amazing!" Sebatian exclaimed, "Do you have this view all the time?"

"Every clear day." he smirked. He gestured for us to follow him to a conference room. Pierre and Renee were sitting there, waiting for us.

"Have a seat." Hollice said, "I have something you all need to see." He passed out manila folders to everyone. Inside were reports, pictures of corpses, and death counts.

"What is this?" I asked.

"It appears," Hollice explained, "Events are happening much sooner than we anticipated." He projected the reports onto a wall.

"It happened around a month and a half ago." he continued, "There was a sudden eclipse over the entire country of Kmet. An impossible event, given the full moon was just the night before. Once the sun was covered, thousands of people just dropped dead, no explanation."

"Ho-how could this happen?" Leo asked.

"The only way to explain that is Menthu." he replied, "That's how he makes his warriors. He killed some of his people as a sacrifice for this evil magic." I looked over at Leo.

Still questioning Hollice?

"There's no mistaking it now." Hollice said, "Menthu is back, and his Mauvais are here."

Everyone was silent for a moment. Yes we expected Menthu's return. Hollice told us about the increasing number of Maiors, the malice between the FGN, the prospect of war. Some subtle things that may be because of Menthu. But this, this wasn't like the others. It was blatant. This wasn't a sign he was coming, it was proof he's already here.

"Where did you get this?" Leo asked, breaking the silence, "Something this big would be all over the news right?"

"Not so." Hollice replied, "It seems the Kmetian government often lies about its affairs. No wonder they'd conceal this."

"They're probably summoning Menthu themselves." Sebatian said, "We have to hurry with this and stop them as soon as possible."

"I see." Leo said. They were speechless. It was happening, Menthu was coming back. A deep unsettling feeling began to swell inside us all. But I kept my eye on Leo. It seemed as if the closer we got to the seminary, the more nervous they seemed.

"But how do we find Menthu?" Jackie asked, "There's no way we can just search the whole country."

"Don't worry about that part." Hollice said, "I've been working with the other Patrons to come up with a plan."

"Like what?" Leo asked.

"In time." Hollice said, "No need to worry. We'll tell you more when the time arises. For now, focus on our current objective."

"You're right." Leo said, "I'm sorry."

"No need to apologize."

FWOOWOO!!

The zeppelin was coming into the dock.

"This is it." Hollice said, "You'll take a truck and head for the seminary. Start your search there."

"How do we know if we find it?" Jackie asked.

"The temples are homes of magic." Pierre answered, "You'll feel it."