Chapter 197 - Into the depths
Scarlett narrowed her eyes at the sight of Raimond in front of them. The smiling priest was waving cheerfully at their approaching group. A deacon of the Quorum, standing alone in the front of the entrance to a bastion housing the manifested avatar of one of the most powerful demons in existence was already odd enough, but the fact that he seemed so unfazed by their presence was even stranger.
What on earth was Raimond doing here?
Scarlett was certain he hadn’t been part of this questline in the game. None of the Followers had been involved, at least not during this part. So what was it that had brought him here now, of all times?
“Is that…Father Abraham?” Allyssa asked from her perch on a horse behind one of the other knights, leaning over the man’s back to get a better look at Raimond.
“Contain your excitement, for it is indeed I, Ray Abraham!” the priest shouted enthusiastically in response, his voice carrying over the distance. “Welcome and salutations, my erstwhile shrine-venturing companions!”
Their group drew closer. Where he stood, a short distance away from the citadel’s entrance, the surroundings had taken on a pale, crimson hue. The citadel’s entrance consisted of a thirty-meter tall gate gaping ominously, its depths shrouded in a veil of darkness that seemed to beckon them in.
Scarlett eyed it for a few moments before returning her attention to Raimond as they stopped not far from him. The priest’s eyes were scanning over her and the rest of the group.
“Baroness Hartford, Allyssa, Shin, and Fynn,” he said. “Allow me to express my deepest admiration and delight at our fortuitous reunion, though the circumstances themselves are less than ideal. It seems fate is rather insistent on orchestrating our rendezvous.”
“…That does indeed appear to be true,” Scarlett replied, scrutinizing him closely as the knight who she’d been riding behind helped her dismount. The knight gave Raimond a brief, surprised look, evidently taken aback by the sight of a follower of Ittar here. While Raimond’s white robes deviated from the typical attire of the Followers, the intricate patterns on his sleeves hinted at his affiliation.
How could he be here, just as they arrived? How long had he been waiting? Why, of all places, would he be standing outside of Anguish’s citadel? A multitude of questions swirled through Scarlett’s mind, but perhaps the most pressing of them all was this: how much did he know?
Raimond’s smile only seemed to grow wider as he observed her expression. “I shall pose you the same query I suspect you have for me, Baroness. What brings you and your retinue to this most foreboding of places?” He gestured dramatically towards the colossal citadel, its imposing presence casting a long shadow over them.
Scarlett remained silent for a moment, weighing her answer. “…I was working alongside Duke Valentino on an investigation of a nearby village when this structure materialized out of thin air. Given the circumstances, we could not simply ignore its presence. Thus, I was chosen to assess the situation.” She motioned towards the six knights who accompanied them, all of whom had now dismounted along with the rest of her party. “These are members of the Sable Knight order, under the command of Sir Franke Home.”