Fear of the unknowm (1/3)
His talk with Count Edwin was somewhat frustrating to say the least. Rafael thought that the man would understand quickly just like when he showed the compass to him, but this time, maybe Edwin was just too stupid or refused to believe it took almost an hour until he accepted his idea.
I'm quite sure he still did not understand my idea but I don't care, I got his permission. He did mention the church two times but that can't be the reason he was against my idea right? Rafael left the place and, with the help of a servant, found the main tailor of the city.
There he selected different types of fabrics for the old man to use and create small-scale balloons.
He received those balloons the next day. Inside his lab, Rafael tested all of them and classified them on a scale of which one trapped the hot air better and which one was harder to ignite on fire.
Three days later, he had a fairly large balloon made from two layers, each layer using one of the two best fabrics he tested days before.
Its color was plain white on the outside because he would paint something only after it flew, to not draw attention and at the same time keep it a "secret" about how it works. Rafael was led by a servant and a guard to the gardens behind the castle.
The onlookers consisted of Count Edwin, a beautiful woman that stood by his side, some servants, and a few guards. Rafael ignited the fire, and the hot gases were trapped inside the balloon, making it inflate. While everything was going fine, three people arrived to see his experiment.
"Is this your strategy to win this fight? What even is that?" An old man wearing a brown robe with a green strip on his arms spoke. Besides him were two other priests, looking at Rafael.
Edwin greeted the three before saying, "That man offered me a possible way of avoiding the incoming siege and the loss of hundreds of lives. It would be stupid of me to refuse such an offer, don't you agree, priests?"
Edwin was a religious man but, because of his title of nobility and all the matters he had to take care of, like managing a large city, it made him put other priorities first. He, like any other noble, would put his greed in front of a lot of things.
Why are they here? Or better saying, how did they know we would be here? he thought.
Rafael almost let a curse slip after hearing the priests.
"It depends on who is the one and what he is offering. Would you accept something coming directly from the Dark One?" The priest was referring to the devil.
The servants and even some soldiers made the cross sign on their foreheads after hearing that. Edwin looked at them, taking some time to think before saying no.
"Hmph, you better remember your answer." Edwin was almost asking them what they meant by that when shocked gasps came from the others. He looked at the priests and saw the three of them with their mouths open.
All the servants stepped back in shock or even fear. The soldiers got tense and found themselves holding tight to their short swords on their waists.
Edwin finally turned toward where everyone was looking and, just like the others, stood in shock. In front of them, the balloon was somehow levitating above the ground, and the only thing holding it down was Rafael with a rope in his hand, preventing it from flying away.
Hahaha... If I could take a picture of their faces. Initially, it was going as expected; they would be shocked first and then curious afterward. But contrary to what he expected, from shock they went to fear. Some dropped to their knees and started praying.
"What in the name of God is that?!" one priest shouted.
"It's witchcraft! It must be!"
"He is a demon! He's using magic to lift it!"
"Wait! You all are wrong! Edwin, I spoke to you, remember? I explained how this is made the same way I explained the compass!..."
"Don't listen to this heretic! The devil always lies," one priest spoke.
"... This is fabric and this is fire, how can it be magic? Making a sword is the same..."
"Silence! You will be judged by us tomorrow morning. Guards, take him to the prison!"
"... You take rocks from the ground and melt it on fire! It's all the same, everything coming from God!" Rafael was surrounded, five soldiers holding short swords closing in on him. They all walked slowly because the balloon above Rafael scared them.
Say something, you bitch! His best escape option was, again, to side with the lord of those lands. The only one who could protect him from the church. Rafael looked toward Edwin, asking for help with his eyes.
"Guards, stop!"
"What? Don't fall for the devil's tricks! He will only bring suffering for all of us! Guards, I order you in the name of God! Kill that man right now!"
The servants ran back to the castle in fear.
"Stop!" From the six soldiers there, only four stopped. They hesitated on whose orders they should listen to. The other two kept advancing with the resolve of doing God's will.
"I said stop! You're forbidden from attacking this man! My soldiers, save the white-robed man!" The four soldiers looked at each other without knowing what to do, their heads a mess. While they made up their minds, Rafael was still holding the balloon.
One soldier tried to stab him, becoming surprised when the young man easily avoided being hit and, before he could attack again, kicked him in the chest, making the soldier lose his breath and fall to the ground.
"You see?! No normal man is capable of winning a fight against a well-trained soldier like you! God's wish is for that man to be killed!" Those old men used the fact that Rafael, a young man that supposedly was the same as a peasant, had won a fight against a soldier.
"That man is innocent and is our only chance of winning this war! Save him!" Edwin too was trying to gain the minds of his own soldiers.