The Mad Priest (1)

Joshua ordered everyone to leave the throne room except the guards before questioning the archbishop about the horror they had just witnessed. Dexter calmly explained that, although he was careful to ensure an accurate translation of the scrolls' spells, he was still working on his exact phonetics. If the guards had not exterminated the magnificent creation, it would probably have died a few minutes later, as had happened with the other test animals with which the archbishop had performed the ritual at his headquarters in Greenland. However, he was confident that, with more time and a portion of the kingdom's tiny resources and treasures, he could perfect the process and thus transform these magnificent mundane creatures into an army of savage warrior beasts who instilled fear in the hearts of the Norse. Over time, he continues, these beasts could be tamed and trained to kill not only Danes but any enemies of Auriana who might still present themselves.

Joshua, still furious, ordered the archbishop to be escorted to his quarters and summoned his senior advisers to seek guidance. And while none of them denied the odious nature of the event that everyone witnessed, the vast majority agreed that Dexter's solution should not be rejected immediately without any consideration for the image of the security of their lands. Everyone shared Joshua's concerns about the chance of further hostilities by the Nordics, especially in light of Guthrum's precarious health. And even though Joshua had done a lot to strengthen the kingdom against attack, Theliwyth still carried the wounds of her long conflict with the Danes and could barely keep up in another open war so long, both in lives and resources - whether human or not. .

The recommendation of Joshua's council was almost unanimous: as sworn defenders of the kingdom, it was their duty to be strong, both stomach and purpose. They could not allow their heartbreak, however intense and unbearable, to go out, by the unconventional methods proposed by Dexter, one of his advisers called them euphemistically - to take advantage of what could be the best opportunity to guarantee peace. for all Theliwyth and for all Auriana. So overwhelming was the promise that Dexter brought to them that, in the whole conversation, none of the men present dared to utter the word that haunted each one without their intimacy. Witchcraft.

And so, Joshua reluctantly agreed, much reluctance in his heart. Dexter and his Greenland group were stationed in Wythchester and were given everything they needed to perfect their 'arcane arts'.

God only knew how many poor animals suffered and died in the archbishop's twisted experiments during the following months. Joshua had lost count when he could no longer stand the sight of the abominations that Dexter conjured daily.

At first, none of them lived for a long time. The malformed things born of every cat, dog, mule and horse on which Dexter practiced his art dismantled and died after a few minutes or needed to be impaled by spearmen when they turned against the archbishop or his assistants. In time, when Dexter undertook refinements and corrections in the pronunciation and cadence of the spells written on the ancient scrolls, and in the described hand gestures that accompanied them, the monsters he created began to live longer. For hours, then days, then indefinitely. But one thing has not changed. In all cases, no matter how long they lived, monsters were cruelly aggressive from the moment they were "born". They attacked anything without any provocation - even each other. Dexter once watched two hunting dogs, brothers from the same litter, who had never shown any sign of mutual aggression, being transformed by the ritual into a pair of lupine demons with scales and humpbacks, and began to shatter immediately. Fascinated, he made a detailed entry in his diary.

Dexter also found that, with subtle changes in summons, he was able to create varied forms of beasts with each base animal. He managed to transform a pig into the same almost arachnid he had created in Joshua's throne room or, with a small change in the phrases, to create a kind of deformed and horrible jackal, with oily skin and a bird's beak made of meat and secretions that expelled smells almost how unbearable.

All of these experiments were carefully documented by Dexter's apprentices in an increasingly bulky and dirty bestiary, Dexter practiced tirelessly every day for several months, creating dozens of variations, until he was convinced that he had exhausted all possible permutations for each animal that served as a base. A cat could only turn into a number of things, he learned, and when there was nothing left to be raised from a cat, it started again with geese, birds or badgers or any poor, innocent creature in its eyes . Over time, he learned to give life to all species of creatures with flammable specificities, from the length of the tail to the way they spit fire. Flames were his favorites; the day he discovered that specific variation sparked one of the most enthusiastic records in his diary, and the fire-eaters had secured their own section in the Divine Bestiary - so Dexter named it.

However, even with all of Dexter's achievements, the problem of lack of control resisted. He had recruited the most skilled trainers in the kingdom-men who subdued the most skittish horses and managed to make a wild wolf eat from the palm of his hand - even one of them has already managed to tame the king of the savannahs, a naturally generated mixture, when a lion sexually copulated with a leather goat, a wild creature that although he did not speak had the intelligence of an adult man, fortunately they did not have the ability to breed and spread their descendants in the world - if they had humans, they would have been extinct long ago, but none could control any of Dexter's creatures. More and more it seemed that these beasts were beyond any form of dominance, although Dexter herself stubbornly refused to accept that fact. While he insisted that in the end he would be able to control them, Joshua's impatience grew. Finally, the king, already haunted at night by visions of the things he saw in the courtyard every day, decided that he had seen too much.

On one occasion, a battleship reptilian monster that had been a fox jumped on the trainer who was trying to feed the creature with a whole piece of beef and tore the man's arm off at shoulder level. Joshua then became enraged. I told the archbishop that I did not want to see any more of his "advances" until the priest proved that the beasts could be controlled or not. Otherwise, what use would they have in battle?

They were likely to attack their trainers instead of the enemy they were supposed to attack blindly and mercilessly. Before leaving the courtyard to smoke that day, the king warned Aetheired if this problem was not resolved, and soon, he would have the experiments shut down once and for all.

***

Two months later, Joshua returned, despite his reluctance. He had seen many horrors and brutal and bloody scenes in the war, but none compared to what he witnesses there, in his own courtyard, since the archbishop will start his experiments. The ground was scratched and pitted like a battlefield and stained with great streaks of dried blood. The wood of many structures around it was scorched black and white by the fire. And the most noticeable was the nauseating odor of sulfur that hung in the air all the time. The entire courtyard stank of the purest sulfur - very similar or perhaps even more concentrated than the sulfur in the Balron Mines. Joshua pulled an indigo scarf from his sleeve that he kept with him for these unfortunate visits and held it over his mouth and nose as he crossed the blood-streaked quadrangle. Even the strongest and most striking perfume that the apothecary put the handkerchief to rest the last night was insufficient to completely disguise the sulfur smell.

Dexter was waiting for him, dressed as always in the striking ecclesiastical garments that fit his high position and prestige, and displayed an air of confidence. Joshua had not seen him for weeks; the archbishop reluctantly obeyed the king's order, never asking for his presence since the poor handler had been mutilated and lost his arm, and so Joshua guessed there must be a good reason for being called. He found himself analyzing his low expectations. Did he want Dexter to succeed in overcoming those beasts and, by extension, Auriana's enemies? Or were you hoping for failure, which would finally give you reason to end all that disgusting story and get Dexter out of Greenland once and for all? 'I should have done something a long time ago,' said Joshua to himself, again, again.

"Thank you for your presence, your majesty," said Dexter when he saw Joshua approaching slowly.

"After the failure of your last demonstration, I must assume that you wouldn't call me here without a good reason, am I right?" Joshua replied coldly.

Dexter ignored the obvious disdain and simply nodded. "Indeed. I think you will be very pleased with our progress since I was here last, Your Majesty."

Joshua sighed, not wanting to hear Dexter's preambles. "Dexter, I want to know if you can really control them or not?" Joshua asked with an expression of anguish.

"I doubt that they will be domesticated as pets, just like dogs or cats, but for the intended purpose ... as weapons of war ... yes, I think I can control them now. It wasn't easy, but that's what I've been working on. last weeks."

Joshua just looked at Dexter anxiously, if the archbishop was expecting a compliment, some kind of recognition for the hours dedicated to creating such heinous freaks, there would be none.

"Very well, then!" Declared Dexter, and turned to the guards nearby. "Stand by, please!" A dozen of Joshua's best and most experienced spearmen were ready and ready, weapons drawn. They were all strong men, but it was clear from their expression that they preferred to patrol the Danelaw border, freeze in a remote observation tower or clean up the mud of the castle styes. They preferred to be anywhere but there. Nobody wanted to take on that task. Those who were assigned to her rarely slept well for the next few weeks, Joshua knew very well, even too well, that fact.

Next to them was a small troop of servants carrying buckets full of water, ready to extinguish the fire that the archbishop's beast might set fire to again. This lesson was learned with great difficulty when one of the first "Infernals", as Dexter liked to call them, set fire to the old wooden stables in the courtyard with a single breath. The fire would have spread and consumed the kitchens and library in the castle, but there was a quick reaction from an improvised bucket brigade in a hurry. The stable was not saved; and by Joshua's orders the pledged wood had not been removed as a reminder, and now the "Erasers" were in place before each incantation.

Satisfied that everything was ready, Dexter signaled to the apprentice across the yard who was handling the gate of the pen where the test animals were. The apprentice lifted the lock on the gate, and when it opened at once, there was a low growl, and Joshua shivered; already hated that sound. He had to hear it many times: it was the sound that served as a kind of omen for the squeals and screams of some poor cursed creature who was transformed by Dexter's words. 'What kind of animal will he select for today's sick and bloody presentation?' Asked Joshua.

For a moment, nothing happened. Joshua was perplexed; in general, the trapped animal would appear immediately in the yard, happy to be released from confinement, without knowing the cruel and inhumane fate that awaited him. He looked at Dexter, who looked a little embarrassed for a moment, before impatiently gesturing at the apprentice.

First the apprentice just watched, hesitantly; but, in the face of the archbishop's angry gaze, he reluctantly entered the pen to attract its occupant.

He disappeared for an instant, but Joshua could hear him fawning over the beast. 'Get out of there, come on. Let's go! The archbishop is waiting for me! Don't you dare be ashamed or I'll be gutted! '

Joshua blinked, bewildered, when another man emerged from the pen. Naked to the waist, with bare feet, thin to the point of ribs showing, pale, he seemed not to eat for days or perhaps weeks. The apprentice was behind him, pushing him into the center of the courtyard.

Joshua turned to Dexter asked; "What is it?"

"An advance," replied the archbishop with a frightening smile on his face.

Joshua looked back at the half-naked man and recognized the signs of emaciation, the lost look, the whip scars behind his back. The leggings were those worn by his foot soldiers - mainly the deserters. The man was a deserter who had been captured, one of many who had daily cowered on the castle steps. In recent times, desertions had grown, especially in Wythchester, as men decided it was better to risk escape than to be deployed to the courtyard with Dexter and submit to the nightmares that traumatized so many of his colleagues and friends.

"Explain that to me now," demanded Joshua in a cold voice.

"I noticed that the transformation greatly diminished the test animal's cognitive ability," said Dexter. "A stupid animal, even if well-trained, does not retain enough intelligence to recognize the most basic commands. But a man ... yes a man ... a man survives the process with plenty of intelligence. Enough, I believe, to be controlled with confidence."

Joshua's face took on a pale tone. He looked at Dexter in horror; "You can't be serious about this."

"Our mistake was using animals from the beginning of the experiments," said Dexter in a voice full of absolute confidence and a hidden and mysterious feeling. "We learned a lot, it was useful, but this practice was never intended for use in lesser forms of life. I'm sure of it now."

Joshua looked at Dexter with hatred; "I will not allow such a thing."

"Sir, should I remember what is at stake here? The unfaithful barbarians in Danelaw are growing in strength and number and are waiting for the moment to launch a new attack on us. With Guthrum dead or dying, that moment will surely come soon. use every means available to defend this kingdom and our unwavering determination in faith, or risk seeing the two of them destroyed by a race of pagan savages across the sea. "

"I was already uncomfortable with your animal experiments," said Joshua. "I will not tolerate this… this… this witchcraft practiced on men by the hands of other men!"

Dexter raised an eyebrow and said coldly; "Witchcraft? Your Majesty, this is the furthest thing from any known witchcraft. The discovery of the scrolls was not an accident. It was a gift from the Supreme Himself. He favors us with his knowledge and wisdom ... this power he gives us. He granted and intends us to use it He saw the crimes that these Danish heretics perpetrated against His Will ... Ruined monasteries ... destroyed holy relics, good men in cassocks staked and burned alive, pregnant women with their belly cut and trampled babies. Their war is a war against God Himself, and He has blessed us with the means to wipe them out in His glorious and matchless name. "

"The God I believe in would never allow these blasphemous beasts to walk on His land," replied Joshua. "Whatever the origin of these scrolls is, that shouldn't be your goal." He was already tired of hearing Dexter's increasingly crazy and inadmissible refutations and words. He turned to the nearby spearmen and pointed to the ragged prisoner in the center of the courtyard and said; "Send this man back to the stake. And get him a hot meal."

When the spearmen moved to take the prisoner. Dexter put his arms back and started an enchantment. He will be very experienced and more than proficient to say all the words he would need to say and do in just a few moments. Joshua, as fast as he realized what Dexter was up to, did not manage to stop him in time.

"Stop him!" Shouted Joshua to the guards, who ran towards the archbishop. But Joshua has already seen the prisoner's body writhing, plagued by a sudden attack of painful and agonizing convulsions. Dexter ended the spell the moment guards took him by the arms. He did not resist, his eyes were fixed on the prisoner's, now hunched in agony. The poor man's eyes widened as if they were going to explode, and he opened his mouth wide, letting out a cry of torture and agony.

Joshua grabbed Dexter by the collar. The deserter was on his knees now, arms folded, clutching his stomach, staring blindly at the floor, as if trying to spit something stuck in his throat.

"Undo it now!" Ordered Joshua.

"I can't, it's too late ... there's no way to stop the show," replied Dexter coldly as he watched with fascination and adoration in his eyes. "You need to follow your course."

Powerless, Joshua looked back at the prisoner. All the eyes in the courtyard were on the man at that moment. He had fallen on his side and was convulsing, he was madly kicking the ground as he got his nails done, scraping bloody nails over his chest and neck as if trying to get out of his own feverish skin.

And then he did just that. The sternum swelled against his chest, then burst, showing the ends of a dozen bone tips. One of the erasers released his bucket of water and fled with a face in fear; the others walked away in horror when the prisoner's entire torso turned inside out. He howled in agony and pain, the organs being dumped on the ground when a dark, damp thing emerged in their place. And what was left of the man began to break and dismount, the skin on his arms, legs, his head peeling away as pulsating and bloody shapes sprouted up.

Joshua stared at the thing that just moments before had been a human being. She stepped back on her new hind legs as tentacles slid, unfolded and groped the floor beneath him. The man no longer had a head: instead, a tangle of long saliva-covered tongues protruded from the split stump of his neck. They licked and cracked around the beast's shoulders, which at that moment were covered by some kind of pale bone plate and gave a dark feeling. The little that was still recognizable as a man hung limp around the creature's deformed waist, something like a belt. A macabre belt made of skinned human skin.