Chapter 40: Revisiting Vintross
"Then," Alia's voice dropped lower, laced with fear, "yesterday... the Church returned. Not with healers. With guards. Led by the Verstach..." She shuddered. "They declared it a curse."
Lysaria's head snapped up as she took a quick glance at Sherry. "A curse?" An involuntary flicker of unease crossed her face, a deeply ingrained reaction to the word, perhaps momentarily associating it with the village's newest resident who practiced different arts. She pushed the thought away, disturbed by her own subconscious bias, but the seed of doubt lingered.
"Yes," Alia choked out, tears finally spilling. "Said the orphanage was tainted by dark influences – blaming the children, blaming me for bringing ill fortune. They said they were taking the children into 'protective custody' at the temple for purification."
Sherry, who had been listening silently near the back, stiffened visibly, her eyes flashing with a familiar spark of anger and remembered trauma. "Dark influences... always the same excuse," she muttered darkly.
"They took them?" Lysaria breathed, her face paling now with horror at the accusation and the action. "By force? Based on what evidence?"
"They rounded them up," Alia sobbed. "The guards... they pushed us. Said we were cursed." The eldest boy added weakly, "They took Elara... and Finn... said they'd burn the sickness out..."
"They wouldn't let me near them," Alia continued, her voice breaking. "Said I was the source of the 'taint'. I... I managed to hide these two in the cellar. Slipped out through the old passages after dark. I took the pony... I just ran. I had to find you, Riku. You're the only one who..."
Her words dissolved into quiet sobs. She buried her face in her hands, her small frame shaking.
Riku placed a comforting hand on her shoulder, his expression grim but resolute. Lysaria stood frozen, horror, confusion, and a growing, uncomfortable suspicion warring within her. The Church turning away the sick? Guards taking children? Accusations of curses? It didn't align with the ideals she held. But there was a Verstach involved! Surely, he would not do anything without cause?