Chapter 178 - A teacher’s past
Scarlett and her party spent some time retracing their steps back to the main chamber where they had begun their exploration. From there, they randomly chose one of the two remaining tunnels to continue their venturing.
Similar to the first path they had taken, they encountered several groups of concealed enemies — Auranthials, as Raimond called them. While dealing with these foes did require some effort, it was far from the worst Scarlett and her party faced.
After a little over an hour, they reached the end of the second path, entering another large chamber. Similar to the previous chamber, a stone table stood at the far end, holding two small chests, a burning candle, and a weathered book. Above the table, an inscription was carved into the wall.
For my most austere disciple, I leave my regrets that I treated you with too little care as a master, although I suspect you never saw me as such. Not until it was too late did I realize my negligence, and I am still plagued with doubts about whether I could have prevented the events that unfolded. Though you might not care as your brother did, I am still sorry.
Scarlett read the text carefully as they crossed the room.
She couldn’t recall much about these inscriptions from the game. It was possible they had said something completely different there or had simply contained less text. To her, they had been nothing but set pieces for the dungeon, only loosely connected to Arlene’s backstory. Since the woman had always been an enigmatic character with an uncertain identity, there had never been a large focus on these parts of her past.
However, now that Scarlett had come to know the person behind that character, she found herself increasingly curious about it all. Apart from the title Arlene had gone by towards the end, and a few of the people she had known, this was the closest to information about her origins that Scarlett had encountered. Because while none of these inscriptions talked about Arlene herself, they were referring to her fellow disciples.
Knowing who they were could tell Scarlett more about Arlene.
“This old deacon certainly sounds like the remorseful type,” Rosa said as the group stopped before the table with the items on it. “Don’t tell me he built this place just because he felt bad about disappointing his disciples.”
“It would appear so.” Raimond studied the text with a thoughtful expression. “I find it rather intriguing, actually. Perhaps this will provide more context for the other actions carried out by the venerable deacon towards the end of his life.”
“Did he do something unusual?” Allyssa asked, leaning over to examine the dusty cover of the book on the table.
“I wouldn’t know,” Raimond replied. “I am far from an expert on the annals of the original deacons. The record keepers would be the ones to ask about that. But I am aware that there were certain questions left unanswered after his death that we still wonder about today. Shedding more light on the happenings of the past can always be considered a constructive endeavour. Especially when it concerns influential figures who shaped the institutions of their time.”