Chapter 12: The Beginning of the End
Since arriving in Rome, Penny had became rather distracted, looking around at the beautiful sights of the ancient city (while she'd toured and hunted through France and Germany some years ago, she hadn't come further south than northern Italy) and stealing more glances at Ian and the others, but saying little. It had been almost dizzying to go from Palestine to Ethiopia to Rome in the space of a day, and she found she missed the experience of proper travel via train, ship, or coach that let one adapt and anticipate, as well as recuperate, and she regretted not getting to see the famous rock-cut churches of Lalibela. But they had no time to spare, the quest drove them ever onwards. And the stress of it, from the weariness of constant fighting and research to the dread of Belial, was wearing her down. Yet Penny found herself with ever more reserves of perseverance. She simply must press on. She had no other option.
From gazing out over the Roman skyline and finishing her zeppole, Penny touched a napkin to her lips and at last replied Loki. An obvious answer, maybe, but under Sherlock's tutelage Penny had learned to think beyond the obvious. 'The obvious place would be the Vatican: it is holy ground and well defended by men of the church, the Swiss Guard, and others, and it has many other holy relics our scroll would be overlooked beside and no end of ancient buildings in which to conceal them. Few, if any, demons could have infiltrated it. The early Templars would have had the access, authority, and money to establish a vault. On the other hand, they were headquartered in Jerusalem, not Rome, and so any space they used here must have been granted by the Pope or Cardinals of the day.'
'But, the Vatican is a large district with many buildings, and Rome has no shortage of other churches and ancient structures outside the Vatican's walls. And they all have libraries with scrolls. So, on those terms, finding our particular scroll would be like finding the proverbial needle in a haystack.'
Penny sipped her espresso, pondering her next words, then went on 'I do know we seek Rossal, one of the other nine founding Templars for whom history does not record a fate, while the others will find either Geoffroi Bisol or Gondamar of Portugal. Rossal's name suggests him to be a Norman knight of Shropshire or Lancashire, so at least we shall find an Englishman.'
She looked quizzically to Loki, finishing 'Now, perhaps you could give us a clue?'
OOC: Knowledge (History) 23, Knowledge (Theology & Philosophy) 20
This message was last edited by the player at 05:57, Sun 28 Mar 2021.