Chapter 3
Chapter 3
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 3
Chapter Title: Father Danel
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The mountains and fields were fully cloaked in the fresh green of spring, but the river breeze remained chill. Father Danel, who had just removed his overcoat due to sweat a moment ago, now had to put it back on.
"I’ll give you 5 Has."
Father Danel spoke to the old ferryman sitting idly in front of the boat, puffing on a pipe.
The old ferryman turned to him with a mischievous grin, as if ready to haggle. But upon noticing that his interlocutor was about his own age and wore the star-cross necklace symbolizing the Kettlic Church around his neck—a priest—he rose to his feet.
"What did you say just now, Father?"
"I said I’ll give you 5 Has." Father Danel repeated.
The Has was the common currency of the Rom Empire, worth more than the silver coins of the Pharens Kingdom, Glitten, or the Lituna Duchy. Rumors had recently spread that the Pharens silver coins were alloyed with bronze, so even in the border regions of Pharens, Rom Has commanded a higher value.
"If it’s for the fare, 1 Has is more than enough."
The old ferryman said cautiously.
Danel knew full well that 1 Has could cover three round trips on this small ferryboat.
"I’m not talking about the fare for tonight."
Danel continued as he pulled five silver coins from his pocket.
"It might be past midnight. Could even be dawn tomorrow. Will you wait here until then? This is payment in advance for your waiting."
The ferryman eyed Danel suspiciously once more.
To show there was nothing to doubt, Danel removed his hood, revealing his white hair. The bald spot in the center looked deliberately shaved, like that of any monk.
The ferryman asked,
"Why cross the river so late at night?"
"I have my reasons."
"You don’t believe that rumor about being cursed if you cross the Devil’s Bridge at night, do you?"
"Of course not. It’s just too much of a detour to take that bridge."
Danel added with a smile.
"If you don’t like it, introduce me to another ferryman."
The old ferryman extended his hand.
"That’s not what I meant."
Danel dropped the five silver coins into the old man’s callused palm.
"If you wait as promised, I’ll give you two more silver coins."
"Will you be coming alone?"
"I’ll have one companion."
"Very well."
Danel turned away after confirming the ferryman’s nod.
The path from the river to Jerva Monastery was over two miles, winding through hills.
To conceal his appearance, Danel pulled his hood low. Anyone would find it odd to see a white-haired old man ascending a mountain path in one swift go—a trail that even the young would struggle to climb at a run.
"Excuse me."
Near the monastery entrance, Danel greeted a young man trudging along with heavy cloth sacks over both shoulders. He appeared just over twenty, with eyes that failed to focus on Danel. His robes marked him as a novice.
He set down the sack bulging with fruit and bowed politely to Danel.
"Where do you hail from?"
"From the Rom Priesthood. Here to see Abbot Thomas."
"I’m Poi. Ah, the Rom Priesthood... could it be...?"
The young novice continued with a worried expression.
"Are you... Father Danel?"
"That’s right."
"If you came because of the letter, you’re too late. Father Jade’s execution has been set for tomorrow."
Poi said, his face crumpling as if he might cry.
Danel had known already, but he feigned shock as if hearing it for the first time.
"Good heavens, I’m too late. Then we must hurry even more. Fetch the abbot at once."
"Yes."
Poi lifted the two loads again but staggered under their weight.
Danel took them from him. Poi looked stunned to see the old man lift with one hand what he himself could barely manage.
"Hurry, hurry!"
Poi’s speech was halting, but his actions were swift. He soon brought Abbot Thomas before Danel.
"Go fetch some wine."
Thomas instructed Poi, then led Danel to the refectory.
Danel glanced up at the cracked ceiling and remarked,
"The ceiling’s in poor shape. It’d collapse in a storm."
"The Church’s aid is sorely needed."
Thomas launched into a long explanation, as if he’d been waiting for those words.
"I haven’t said it, but St. Antonius Monastery’s finances are dire right now. People abandon the doctrines and forsake the faith, and we can do nothing but watch."
Poi arrived with a black bottle and two glasses, setting them on the table.
"Finish your tasks."
Poi seemed eager to stay, but at Thomas’s glance, he reluctantly withdrew.
Thomas poured wine for Danel and said,
"This is from a freshly opened oak barrel. Please, try it."
Danel took a sip and nodded.
"Excellent. I heard the grape harvest two years ago was bountiful—this must be from that."
Thomas smiled brightly and replied,
"It might be the finest wine made at this monastery. I was thinking of sending a few bottles to Bishop David as a gift—what do you think, Father?"
"He’d love it. I’ll mention it, so send them right away. But where is Jade now?"
Danel abruptly changed the subject. Thomas’s gaze turned uneasy as he sipped a few mouthfuls of wine.
Danel grew anxious but waited for him to speak first.
"Jade’s dangerous ideas have brought this upon himself. I warned him repeatedly, but he wouldn’t stop."
Danel had received about three letters from Abbot Thomas recently.
They begged to send Jade to another monastery. One even suggested prison might be better, offering to recommend one with better conditions than monastery life.
Danel had some inkling of the reason but played dumb.
"What dangerous ideas?"
"Jade twists Kettlic doctrine and spreads it to the common folk."
"For example?"
"Once, a fishmonger came from the market. He’d come to beg forgiveness from God for beating his wife. He thought she’d been unfaithful, but it was a misunderstanding. Beating one’s wife over such a mistake is something anyone might do and move past—yet he came to seek God’s pardon. What faithful devotion!"
Thomas sighed and continued.
"But Jade suddenly says, ‘Did you apologize to your wife?’ The fishmonger replies, ‘Isn’t apologizing to God the same as apologizing to my wife?’ The fishmonger more faithful to doctrine than the priest! And Jade tells him, ‘Go apologize to your wife first and receive her forgiveness. That will be your apology to God. If you’re still uneasy, come back once more.’ Good heavens, words from a priest’s mouth?"
Danel stifled a laugh inside but nodded gravely on the outside.
Thomas’s lament didn’t end there.
"That wasn’t the first or second time. It’d take forever to list them all. Two years ago, he dug ditches in the vineyard to irrigate."
"What? Isn’t that a good thing?"
"How can you say that, Father Danel? The monastery pursues spiritual purification through bodily mortification. We carry water buckets ten times a day to tend the vines, and he handles it with one press of a treadle. When I scolded him for such slothful thinking, he called it ‘efficient.’"
"Making it efficient might be why the wine tastes so good."
Thomas frowned.
"Abbot Thomas need worry no more about Jade."
Danel rose and continued.
"Oh, and send a couple bottles to me too? It’s too good to give only to Bishop David."
"Too good?"
"Bishop David’s a drunk who knows nothing of wine’s flavor—he just gets smashed."
Thomas looked shocked, as if hearing another blasphemy.
"Calling wine mere liquor is a first in my life. People get drunk on wine due to its holy power alone. It’s not the same as spirits. Could it be..."
Thomas eyed him suspiciously.
"...that you taught Jade such strange ideas, Father Danel?"
"I’ve never taught him ideas. Just shared a few old tales."
Danel left the refectory without looking back.
As he passed through the main gate, novice Poi came running after him.
"Uh, Father Danel."
Thinking time was short, Danel guessed at Poi’s words and replied preemptively.
"If it’s about Jade, don’t worry. I’ll pull every string to keep him from trial."
Poi looked utterly surprised, as if it wasn’t what he’d meant. He’d apparently been sobbing already.
Danel smiled and asked,
"Wasn’t that what you wanted to ask?"
Poi nodded once, then shook his head repeatedly.
"I wanted to ask about Father Jade."
"Go ahead."
"Is he human?"
"...What do you mean?"
"He’s always talking about angels, and as a priest, he says things that don’t align with doctrine..."
Poi’s voice grew softer.
"Honestly, it’s less defying doctrine and more transcending it. The other brothers call it demonic, but I often think he’s an angel. Or perhaps a saint reborn..."
Danel gripped his shoulder to silence him.
"Poi! Never voice such thoughts. The reason he spouts unorthodox things so often is poor study—he barely graduated theology college. His angel talk is just from loving fairy tales."
"But there was this one time."
Poi glanced around the monastery. No one nearby, but he lowered his voice.
"A year or two ago in Jerva, five people died. Victims hacked to pieces and strung up around town. Some thought the organs weren’t human but pig or animal. Others said the five weren’t murdered but fled—because they were all whores."
"I heard about it in Rom too. The killer was never caught. What does that have to do with Jade?"
"This part only I know."
Poi whispered even softer.
Danel had to lean in to hear.
"It was a rainy night. An unknown man came to the monastery. I was guarding the door, and he demanded confession right away. I said we’re a monastery and don’t do that. But Jade told me to bring him to his room."
"Jade heard his confession?"
"He never did before. Locals loved him and came often for confession, but he always refused. Yet that night he accepted. It was odd. Confession isn’t done like that."
Poi looked terrified.
Danel could guess the rest without hearing it. And why Jade hadn’t told him about such a grave matter.
"There’d been murders, and the mood that night was eerie... I knew I shouldn’t, but I eavesdropped from beyond the door. I heard the priest’s voice and the man’s. Couldn’t make out words, but the man laughed. That laugh—it was unmistakably a murderer’s."
Poi clutched the fabric near his chest.
"I was certain. It was the serial killer at our monastery! But it was nominally confession, so I couldn’t burst in. I waited, club in hand, ready to fight if needed."
Lost in the tale, Poi mimed gripping a club.
"Then suddenly, silence. I thought something happened and flung open the door without thinking, club raised. But only Father Jade in the room. The man gone. Jade looked mildly surprised. I asked where he was. Jade said he finished confession and left."
Danel clicked his tongue.
*Jade, you fool—I told you to be careful...*
Excited, Poi’s voice rose bit by bit.
"I’d never seen Father Jade lie, but I knew it then. How could he leave with me at the door? The window’s too small for a man. And the chair before Jade... it was piled with gray ash."
Poi continued in a voice still quaking at the memory.
"Someone had sat there moments ago and burned up. I know of the miracle where human flesh ignites spontaneously. Whether God’s miracle or devil’s magic, I don’t know. But that’s what it was."
Poi struggled for the right words.
Danel wanted to hear him out but stopped him, fearing Poi might really break down.
"That’s enough. You haven’t told anyone else, right, Poi?"
"Yes. No one. I’ll take it to my grave."
"Good. Even telling me was risky. So never speak of it again, forget it. Best forget Jade exists. Seems he’s a malign influence on you."
Worried about abandoning Poi, Danel added,
"If monastery penance can’t erase it and nightmares plague you nightly, seek me at the Rom Priesthood. I’ll help."
Poi nodded quietly.
Danel turned and descended the hillside path almost at a run. The sun was already setting.
*Jade, I left you at the monastery to avoid trouble, and you stir this up—what am I to do?*