It was a quiet morning for Elmori City, even more so than usual. The news of the incursion had frightened more than a few people and under the support of the Hero's Guard it was an opportune time for a holiday. That wasn't to say the streets were empty as the city still simmered with life here and there. The path to the address Mr Devro had given Kyle however was especially quiet. Being not too far from the incursion sight and along with the early morning, the atmosphere dipped to a strained tension as if the two were wandering the halls of the forgotten.
After quarter of an hour Lillia and Kyle reached their destination. The large building was a standard rectangular shape with several floors however the oddly decorated front and dusty windows made it more than a little suspicious.
Lillia checked the note in Kyle's hand once more and looked towards the sign post, "Hmmm looks like this really is the right place. So what did you need here again?"
"We'll find out," even to Lillia he was hesitant to explain, as for one, he didn't quite understand it himself. With a strong jolt he lifted the rusted door knocker and pushed it against the wooden frame. The thud resounded with no tell if anyone inside heard or not and after a long slow minute nothing happened.
"Maybe they're not home," Lillia suggested seeing Kyle's tense disappoint. "How about we walk around a bit more and try again later?"
"Yeah maybe that's for the best," his shoulders sagged but as the two turned a groaning creek caused them to look back. The door stood ajar releasing a somewhat musty smell towards them. "Hello?" Kyle stepped towards the door.
"Wait are you sure this is safe?" Lillia held him back.
"I don't think Mr Devro would mean any harm." He took another step closer and pushed the door till it revealed the corridor beyond. The sight however caused him to snap back in surprise.
Standing straight and waiting with a mischievous smirk was an old butler. His greying hair and wrinkled skin revealed his age but a youthful spark remained in his eyes. "Welcome," he bowed politely. "And to what do I owe the pleasure of your visit today? It's rare for us to find such beautiful young women in these parts of town."
Lillia stood in front of Kyle protectively, "He's a boy actually."
"Of course he is," the butler replied easily.
Feeling a bit put off by his casual regard Kyle fixed his posture, "I had some questions and was told they could be answered here. Mr Devro, as in Dilly Devro, recommended this place to me."
"Ah then please come in," the butler stepped back and gestured for them to enter. "You're in luck. The mistress has returned after some time."
"Mistress?" Lillia again looked at Kyle suspiciously but couldn't hold it for long as the butler began moving further inside.
Kyle followed after him while avoiding the clutter that filled the hallway. The walls and even floor were filled with odds and ends from books and scrolls, to tablets and rocks. It was a collection of things that even those with the best education would struggle with and for Kyle, he barely recognised even a fraction of them.
"Umm excuse me but what kind of place is this?" he asked as they reached a case of stairs.
The butler chuckled amused, "For you to come here and not know is quite intriguing indeed. Mr Devro must find you quite trustworthy to send you here." The wizened man stood by the stairs but instead of climbing them to the floors above, he reached behind a nearby pedestal triggering some kind of click. The next moment the space beside the stair case opened revealing a hidden basement, "This way."
Kyle paused but eventually followed, "You didn't really answer my question." His only comfort was that he at least had Lillia beside him.
"The mistress shall explain. I'd rather not take from her the opportunity to say it herself. She rarely has the chance after all."
"Right...."
The way down was short but opened into a vast array of rooms that went past the boundaries of the building above. If that wasn't strange enough, the contents of the room was what had them shocked. Treasures of a forgotten world that seemed to fill every nook and cranny. Simply by seeing the sight both Lillia and Kyle knew they were in over their heads. An audible gulp came from the two as they slowly followed the butler with wide eyes.
"Mistress you have some visitors," the butler came to stop in one of the few open spaces of the room.
A feminine voice filled with authority replied, "Visitors? Why isn't that a wonder." The women revealed herself and to both parties surprise they knew each other. Though visibly aged and well worked it was hard to gage just how old the lady was. Her vivid and youthful eyes held an experience that was hard to fathom. She laughed, "Well if it isn't Bethial's young companions."
"Lady Petunia Marigold?" Kyle blinked as he somehow remembered the name. She was the head of the Sweeper Camp back in the east, the same one they had visited not long after Kyle had begun his new life.
"Quite right you are," she smiled. "Did you come on an errand for the dear Captain? It's quite rare for him to send someone here personally."
Kyle quickly shook his head, "No I'm here for myself. It was Mr Devro who told me about this place."
"Dilly told you and further you're here for yourself?" her cheeks pinned back from her powerful grin. "My, my, what a treat today is. I'm sure you must be here for a good reason then."
Lillia cut in, "Hold on a moment. Just what is this place?" She frowned, "From what I can tell half of the things in here are unsanctioned goods banned by the Church."
"Quite right you are there missy," Lady Marigold replied undeterred by her comment. "This is a place where things not meant to be found are found."
Hearing that Kyle felt his chest shiver, "What kind of things?"
"Knowledge and information. Trinkets of the forgotten and erased." The lady sat down on a nearby chair as her butler dismissed himself to fetch some refreshments. "Please sit." The two looked around and could only see a pair of rather ornate and delicate looking chairs. Seeing the lady's intent gaze they did as asked. She continued, "Even before Sweepers were made legal my family made it their role to explore the world beyond the fog and from it we've collected quite the few things, as you can see. Our base of information spreads far further back then the libraries of any city. The question is what you want to know?"
Lillia spoke before Kyle could, "Before we ask anything, just what is your angle on this? How much are we paying to be here?"
Her comment caused the Lady to laugh, "Don't worry. While some people must pay for our services you will not. I'm much too curious as to why you're here."
Kyle hesitated beginning to think his simple query was getting out of hand, "I'm sorry to disappoint you but I'm really not looking for much. I just wanted to know if you had any information on devils or gods."
An unexpected silence came between them as Lady Marigold stared at him with pensive eyes. Finally she burst into a chuckle that lasted for some time, "My apologies for a moment I wasn't sure if you were serious or pulling my leg."
"What do you mean?" Kyle couldn't hold back his confusion.
"You say you're not looking for much yet you just asked for one of the few things the Church tries to hide the most."
His brow pinched together, "I don't think I quite understand."
"All information found concerning the devils and gods of the old world is strictly protected by the Church. Had you gone anywhere else you would have been turned away but lucky for you I'm not anywhere else." The Lady stood up excited and began to rifle through a set of books close by, "The Marigold family are those that push past rules and expectations. We've found a lot and what we found on devils and gods is the most intriguing."
"Wait!" Lillia stopped her before she could spout anything else. "Kyle maybe we shouldn't be hearing this. You heard what she just said, this is illegal knowledge and if you haven't noticed we both work for the Church!"
"The knowledge itself is not 'illegal' per say. You can't outright ban all knowledge on a topic. After all devils and gods are quite common in stories. It's the spreading of such information that's banned."
"And isn't that what you're about to do with us?" Lillis threw up her hands.
The lady waved her off too excited to stop, "It's just a little. Now let's continue with devils first. What we've gathered from the fog over the centuries is actually quite small but unlike stories, devils were very real and extraordinarily powerful. Only the finest of humanity could face them. And sitting at the top were the Archdevils that seeded chaos wherever they appeared." She laughed, "They make the demons we face now seem like child's play. The only threat to them would be the Primarchs."
Kyle struggled to keep his heart steady as he tried to remain casual about the conversation, "If the devils were so strong where are they now? As much as the Church keeps them a secret they can only do that because no one sees them right?"
Lady Marigold heaved a sad breath, "And there you begin to pry at the mystery of our world and the fog beyond. I've been past the boundary many times and while we find the occasional monster and lurking demons there has never been what we could intelligent life. Just memories of what once was." Her eyes dimmed as she played with a small bell beside her, "Even with all my family have gathered we still can't piece it together and high chances are that it won't happen in my lifetime. As for the devils, who knows what happened to them. Perhaps like our ancestors they were forced to hide away from the relentless onslaught of demons or maybe they never had the chance to and perished."
With a sudden clap she dispelled the lulling atmosphere and smiled, "But that is why we go into the fog, to discover the truth." Her smile edged into a cheeky smirk, "The money we make is a simple bonus. Now have I answered your question Mr Barker?"
"Not quite...." Unable to think of a way to ask without looking suspicious Kyle decided to just go for it, "Does the name Kalvara ring a bell to you?"
The Lady's reaction was much more than she expected as her eyes flew bright and wide, "How do you know that name?"
Kyle pushed himself back in the chair as she suddenly came closer much to Lillia's displeasure, "I... umm... I read it in a book I found."
"A book? Do you have that book? Where is it?" she continued to pressure him until finally Lillia pushed her back.
Her tone was firm, "I get that you're excited but shouldn't you mind your manners my Lady?"
"My apologies," she straightened herself and properly returned to her seat just as the butler returned with a tray of tea. "The name Kalvara has appeared several times in our records with indications he was an Archdevil. In fact the tablet on the wall over there is one such depiction of him." Not far away hanging against the velvet surface was a large stone mural. To say it was a tablet was an injustice, however it was clear that the piece wasn't complete. Chiselled into the stone was a strange story with writing that Lillia and Kyle had never seen before. Standing in the centre was a horned being with a strange adornment in his chest and what looked like wings against his back. Before him were human figures being forced to kneel. Just by looking at it Kyle felt a strange tightness in his chest as if he despised the very mural.
"The letters read Kalvara our One True Lord," Lady Marigold explained. "From what we can tell the tablet is at least 1000 years old and could be much older. Can you see why I was so surprised about hearing the devil's name? He might be the lead we need to discover much more of our world before the fog." Her eyes focused on Kyle.
A slight guilt built in his heart as he lied, "I don't have the book anymore and it might not even exist. It was some time ago and the contents were vague but now that I'm part of the Hero's Guard I just became a bit more curious."
"I see...," the Lady sighed and sipped her tea. "That is a shame."
Kyle pushed on, "Can you tell me what type of devil Kalvara was?"
"I can vaguely but first please explain to my why you have become so 'curious'." Her eyes hardened.
His eyes flicked to Lillia as he spoke the truth, "I want to put a stop to the demons appearing again and I have reason to believe that Kalvara might have been involved." Although his dreams hadn't caught up to the moment, he believed they were giving him clues. If he could piece together that world and discover the truth, the children might be able to one day be truly free. It was a slim chance but he couldn't let it go.
Lady Marigold nodded, "Yes that might just be true. Kalvara was one of the strongest among the Archdevils and a true sower of chaos, however his power was always placed in check by a certain group of heroes that we only know little about. If the stories we collected are anything to go by, the demons we face today might have been caused by him or at least the other Archdevils. Unfortunately we can't know for sure."
"Is there a way we can know?" Kyle asked intently.
She smiled, "You've visited my Camp once already perhaps you should come again. It's a dangerous job on par with the Hero's Guard but if you truly want to know, you now have an invitation." From her pocket she pulled a solid black card and handed it to him, "If you ever want to get in touch use this to meet me. I rarely come back here but if you're in a Sweeper camp this should help you."
"Thank you," Kyle took it gratefully. "I'm quite busy with other things but if I get the chance I'll definitely try learn more."
"Of course. I've seen the promotions," she said smugly. "Also if you ever find that book I would pay more than a small fortune for it."
"Ah right...," he nodded a little awkwardly. "So what about the gods? Do you know about any of them?"
"Bits and pieces. The Church tends to sensor the information even more than that of the devils. However I do know something that may be of interest considering who you work for."
"Anything would be nice," Kyle insisted.
"Did you know the Church of the Hero wasn't always called what it is? It's only called that due to our relation with the Eternal Hero but what about before that?" her words caused Lillia to frown. "Our oldest records show that in the beginning years of our world once we separated from the fog, the Church was actually known as the Church of the Four. Interesting isn't it? It would suggest that there use to be more than just one Hero."
Lillia's body tensed, "That's... how can that be true? If there were more than one of u- more than one Hero then... wouldn't everything be much easier?"
She shrugged, "I couldn't tell you. It's also possible that there was only ever one. What interests me more is that in the time before that the Church had another name, one I think you should never mention." Her eyes became firm, "This time I will ask you specially if you'd like me to speak. This knowledge could be a burden."
Kyle turned his eyes to Lillia and sensing that this meant more than he was letting on simply nodded. With her permission he looked back at the Lady, "Please."
"You wondered if gods existed and they certainly might. After all before the Four or the Hero, it was once called the Church of the Sleeping God."