Inquisitor's Promise (Act Three, Chapter Twenty-Four)

The Holy League had been united, but the Grey Globe continued to move towards Earth. Aeneas and the members of his inner circle knew they had much to do and little time to prepare.

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Chapter Twenty-Four: The Living and the Dead

Galatea was understandably taken aback when Aeneas asked her to go to the crypt together. Thankfully, Aeneas then explained to her that he was referring to the Crypt of House Aquilanus. The lady knight quickly accepted the offer and off they went.

Located under an unassuming abbey at the western end of Prochyta, the crypt had been maintained by the local monks. For over a thousand years, it served as the burial place for the members of House Aquilanus.

Galatea had wondered why Aeneas wanted to go at such an early hour, to which Aeneas responded that even in this chaotic time the crypt was often swarmed by tourists in the regular hours. And he didn’t want the two of them to be interrupted. She accepted his explanation readily.

The idea of simply kicking out the visitors never occurred to either of them.

The crypt was a large sprawling underground complex, deep enough to be considered as a part of the undercities.

Stepping down the stairs, Aeneas and Galatea saw a large hallway that split into two paths. Around them were lightly painted walls of stonemasonry. There was a large space right in front of where the paths diverged. Cordoned by a short fence, that space contained two coffins.

“Who are those two?” Galatea asked.

“This is the founder’s vault,” Aeneas answered as he motioned towards the coffins. “Here are the founders of House Aquilanus, Aetius and Joanna.”

“I’ve read up on their stories,” Galatea said in awe.

“You have?”

“Yes! Especially Lady Joanna. She was a Dark Age clone who was sealed away until she was woken up by Lord Inquisitor Aetius Aquilanus. And then she became his protector as he traveled through time,” Galatea explained breathlessly.

“Settle down, Galatea,” Aeneas said with a chuckle. “I know my own family history.”

“My apologies,” Galatea said sheepishly. “I’ve read her up ever since we met for the first time in San Felipe.”

Aeneas raised his eyes in realization. “Wait a minute. That means you’ve been planning this whole thing for quite some time!”

“It was when I first laid eyes on you, after your triumphant return with Uncle Carlos from Raul de Cambrai’s stronghold. That’s when I fell in love with you,” Galatea said with reminiscence.

“No way…”

“Having encouraged my dreams of knighthood, Uncle Carlos saw an opportunity. And thus, we worked together.”

Aeneas nodded. “That makes sense.”

“When we first went to Castle Aquila, I was so nervous. Our whole plan seemed crazy, even to me. But Lord Anchises had assured me that you’re a hopeless romantic,” Galatea explained.

“Papa was in on it too?” Aeneas said in shock. But he soon calmed down. “It made sense, he must have realized that things weren’t working out between Lavinia and I.”

Soon after, the two walked on. They took the path to the right, which took them to the chambers where the Patriarchs were interred. There, Galatea saw what looked to be small windows on the walls of the chambers. She learned that in each chamber, located side-by-side, coffins of the Patriarchs and Matriarchs were interred.

Finally, Aeneas and Galatea reached the end of the path. Their destination was the chamber at the far edge. Unlike the rest of the complex, this area was messy. There were rocks strewn about the ground. The path itself would have gone on, but it was cordoned by tall metallic fences. In front of said fences were yellow-colored signs telling people to keep out.

“This part of the Crypt looks to be under construction,” Galatea commented.

“That’s because it is,” Aeneas responded. “Throughout the generations, we’ve been digging deeper to expand the crypt. We even have to make sure that lostians of the undercities don’t get disturbed. Though some have decided to help us out.”

“Really?”

Like most people of the 74th century, Galatea knew of the lostians. The dwellers of Earth’s massive undercities were perhaps the most numerous race of humanity, even more than the baseline. Even to this day, much of the undercities remained unexplored.

Aeneas nodded. “They made quite a bit of money from the tourism.”

Galatea shifted uncomfortably. The idea that people would make money off of her corpse in the future did not comfort her in the least. “Um.”

“Even in death, we still serve our people,” Aeneas said.

Galatea was now deep in thought. “That is kind of romantic.” Her apprehension disappeared in an instant.

And so, Aeneas and Galatea entered the chamber. The newest chamber to be constructed, it looked pristine compared to the rest of the crypt.

The chamber was small. At the center of the far-side wall, there were two door-like structures; this was how the crypt’s caretakers get access to the coffins. On them, two names were listed, one for each door. On the left said Anchises Aquilanus; on the right, Aphrodisia Palaiologina Aquilana. Under their names were their respective dates of birth and death.

“I’ve met your papa before. But I’ve never met your mama,” Galatea said.

“She died when I was only fourteen,” Aeneas responded. “She would have liked you.”

Galatea smiled. “What kind of person was your mama?”

“She was kind, gentle, but she was also very determined. She never let circumstances bring her down,” Aeneas said. “A princess from the Duchy of Lepanto, she was doted on by everyone around her. But she was sickly, and her family would have locked her away for the rest of her life if papa hadn’t asked for her hand-in-marriage. Married life wasn’t easy for her, though. My birth was so difficult for her that she almost died. Afterwards, she was unable to fulfill her marital debt.”

“Oh no.”

“But papa remained faithful to her, nonetheless. And throughout it all, she always smiled. She taught me to smile no matter how difficult,” Aeneas said.

“Both your parents sound like great people,” Galatea said admiringly. “I have no doubt that they’re in Heaven right now.”

But Aeneas gave Galatea an odd look. “That’s for God to judge, no?”

“Of course,” Galatea said sheepishly.

Speaking of judgement…

Aeneas brought himself close to the walls, right between the two doors behind which were his parents’ coffins. And he knelt down.

“Will you pray with me, Galatea? Pray for the repose of their souls?”

Galatea nodded. “It would be my honor, Lord Aeneas.”

And the two prayed. As Aeneas prayed, he thought of the souls in purgatory who needed their prayers but also prayed for them in return. He also thought of the souls in Heaven, interceding for the souls down on this Earth. And he realized an element that he had often overlooked in his fight against the Grey Globe, so focused he was on the tangible aspects of the war effort. And yet, this was the most important.

After all, if God is with us, then who can be against us?

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