They thanked Saffron for delivering the message and she smiled at them. Raezyr thought her gaze lingered on Trychon, but he couldn't be sure. After telling Violet and Mathias that they would meet them as soon as possible, they made their way over to the Temple Garden, where Saffron had said he would be waiting for them.
As they went, they quietly discussed what to tell Father Monahan, should he have figured out who had caused the ripple in the Force last night. They decided that a mix of honesty and deflection was probably the best course of action for them.
They continued on their way. The sun was warm and there was already a cool breeze starting. Many of the villagers were on their way to their various chores and trades and several stopped them to chat. Trychon and Raezyr politely exchanged pleasantries, but quickly excused themselves, explaining they had an appointment to keep with Father Monahan.
Once they finally arrived at the gardens, they opened the gate and wandered around for a few minutes before finally spotting the elder Monk sitting beneath some sort of flowering tree. It's blossoms were a pale shade of blue, and the petals were already beginning to drop, leaving a light blanket on the soft grass where Monahan sat, and each time a light gust of wind trickled through, a few more petals would sprinkle down gracefully from their perch.
They stopped before the meditating man, and waited. They could feel the Force flowing through him, but could tell that it was the Light Side. It felt weak and pale compared to what they were used to feeling.
Finally he opened his eyes and looked up at the two young men. "Please, sit down," he invited, a warm smile on his face. "I wanted to ask your opinion on something."
They took up cross-legged positions across from Monahan on the soft grass. "What can we do for you, sir?" Trychon asked.
"I know that you two have had Jedi training, and while I don't know much about it, I know that you must be sensitive to the Force," he said and then hesitated for a moment. "Last evening, just around nightfall, there was a... ripple in the Force. I felt it, and so did the Elders. We met immediately and discussed the incident."
Oh, boy, here it comes, Raezyr thought to himself.
"It's not something that happens normally, and we were hoping that with you Jedi skills, you may have felt it as well. If so, maybe you might be able to shed some light as to what happened," the priest explained.
Both Trychon and Raezyr had expected to feel some sort of deception, as if he was beating around the bush and trying to trick them into incriminating themselves, but both Sith felt he was completely earnest in his request.
"Well sir," Trychon began. "We did indeed feel what you are describing. We were actually discussing it on the way over here, but I'm a bit embarrassed to admit that both of us had a few too many glasses of ale last night." He added a sheepish grin, hoping it would complete the facade.
The older monk sighed. "Well, I guess we'll never know what it was exactly," he said getting to his feet and the two Sith did likewise. "Please do me a favor, though, keep your senses out in case something like that happens again."
The two Sith sighed inwardly, thankful that they hadn't messed up too badly. They assured Father Monahan that they would keep an 'eye' out for any further incidents, and headed out for their respective jobs.
Just as they were leaving the garden, Mannix came jogging up the path toward them. He stopped and handed them a small folded piece of paper, sealed with wax. Without a word, he turned and left.
They opened the paper and inside was a note from Brother Varth which read:
"Here is the next prophecy:
'The bell shall toll and the people will say, 'They are dead. The tomb is sealed,' but He of Right shall reply, 'All hope is not lost.' And the earth shall be torn asunder, and the dead shall live once more.'
Be ready."
"How is that supposed to help us?" Raezyr asked aloud.
"I don't know, but I'm sure we'll figure it out when the time is right," Trychon replied, crumpling the note and stuffing it into an inside pocket, deciding that the moment he had the opportunity, he'd burn it.
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