After chatting with Alina, Jeanne finally gained a rough understanding of what had just transpired. Put simply, the monks of the Vine-Bear Court felt that her actions during the chaos had been utterly disrespectful to their deity.
Hurling an ancient, sacred relic through a wall with her bare hands had shocked them to their core. What horrified them even more was the realization that after being tossed around like a sack of grain, the holy stone had inevitably chipped.
"Are these idiots just blinded by scripture, or were they born without a brain?" Jeanne chuckled, shaking her head in disbelief. "I've rarely seen you this genuinely exasperated, Alina."
"I'm fine," Alina said, shooting Jeanne a dry, exasperated look as she dusted off her sleeves.
"Right then, let me prepare for our descent. You've experienced firsthand how slow these people move. If we wait around for them, night will fall before we even reach the valley."
The two began mulling over how best to make the trip down the mountain. Alina's idea was for Jeanne to carry her on her back and sprint down the mountain paths. It would be a bit jarring, sure, but far less likely to draw unwanted eyes.
Jeanne's proposal, naturally, was far simpler: summon her trusty dragon and glide down in comfort. With such a convenient option sitting right there, why in the world would she use her own two legs?
"No way am I walking," Jeanne declared like a stubborn child, crossing her arms. "I used up all my energy for the day back in that fire. If you insist on walking, you can carry me down."
Alina merely gave her a look reserved for toddlers.
"There you are," Enya called out as she approached the pair, her smile tired. Lately, she felt as though her entire existence had been reduced to playing mediator and messenger. "I'm relieved to see you unharmed, Jeanne."
"And my sincere apologies, Alina, for making you witness such a mess," Enya added, her tone apologetic. "There are indeed a fair few rigid minds in the Vine-Bear Court, but I assure you, most people in Kjerag are hospitable."
"When even their own Saintess admits they're hopeless, this place really is a lost cause," Jeanne murmured, glancing at the nearby monks who were still watching them with heavy suspicion.
"Still, the main hall is burnt to ashes," Jeanne asked, pointing toward the blackened timber behind them. "Are you really planning to stay up here?"
They had experienced the brutal mountaintop cold the night before. Left out in the open on a night like this, these monks would be frozen solid into ice sculptures by sunrise.
If these people were truly fanatic enough to freeze to death for the sake of doctrine, Jeanne might actually have to reconsider her opinion of them.
"Oh, no," Enya explained, pointing across the yard. "We're gathering what we can salvage and preparing to move down to the valley. It's impossible to lodge up here for now. Even if we rebuild the Vine-Bear Court, we'll have to wait until the weather warms up."
Following Enya's hand, Jeanne saw groups of attendants frantically hauling salvaged crates out of the ashes—artifacts and supplies rescued from the fire.
"The carriages from Clan Paleroches should be arriving shortly," Enya offered. "Why not wait a little longer and head down together?"
"No need, we've already found our ride," Jeanne replied.
Before Alina could voice a word of protest, Jeanne summoned her massive dragon and vaulted straight onto its back in one smooth motion, pulling Alina up behind her.
The monks lurking in the shadows gasped in absolute horror as the colossal beast materialised. As it spread its wings and took to the sky, a heavy, stunned silence fell over the mountaintop.
Judging the beast's intimidating size, the guards collectively realized that if such a creature ever attacked them, they wouldn't even make a full meal for it. Who could possibly fight a giant flying monster like that?
Meanwhile, inside a temporary shelter, Ratatos massaged her throbbing temples as the remaining leaders argued over transport arrangements.
"Do you think there was a slight chance," the Zalak Leader grumbled, eyeing the monks gathered around the table, "that we could have asked her to fly the Sacred Stone down for us, instead of sitting here arguing about how to haul a five-ton rock?"
The room fell dead silent.
It wasn't just that they had completely overlooked the possibility—deep down, they knew it never would have worked. Although Jeanne and her companion were invited guests, the conservative faction viewed them as foreign heretics and barely dared to speak to them.
In truth, Enya was the only one on decent terms with the outsiders. Everyone else was simply too awkward—or too proud—to ask for a favor.
"Why not leave the Sacred Stone here for now?" Enya suggested into the quiet room. "Moving something that massive down the mountain on short notice is impractical. Dragging it down only to haul it back up later makes little sense. We can leave a detachment of guards to watch over it."
Her proposal was met with instant nods of agreement. Moving a giant boulder through deep snow was a logistical nightmare nobody wanted to touch.
"Let us proceed as the Saintess suggests," Arctosz grunted, waving a heavy hand in dismissive agreement. "Until the Grand Elder awakens, the Saintess is in charge of administrative affairs anyway. What she says goes."
The monks were visibly displeased by the outcome—not because the decision was flawed, but because it had come from Enya herself. Acceptance tasted bitter, but with Arctosz backing her, they had no ground to object. Exchanging sullen glances, they quietly went back to packing their belongings.
Down in the valley, townspeople stood with their mouths agape, staring up at the shadow gliding across the clouds. No one in Kjerag had ever seen a living creature that large—let alone one that could fly.
"Come on, let's go see how our Saintess enjoyed her little mountain getaway," the Doctor said the moment she spotted the dragon overhead, tossing her paperwork aside and marching out to greet them.
"You're back!" the Doctor called out as Jeanne slid off the dragon's back. "If you took any longer, I was going to assume those monks locked you up to keep you out of my hair... Wait, why are you covered in soot?"
Taking a closer look at Jeanne's singed clothes, the Doctor and Blaze exchanged a wide-eyed glance and spoke in perfect unison:
"Did a holy war break out between Laterano and Kjerag?! Looking at you, I take it you won and burned the Vine-Bear Court to the ground?"
"Will you two stop talking nonsense?" Jeanne snapped, utterly exasperated. "Do I look like the type of person who goes around starting random fights?"
She paused, then added dryly, "Though you did get one thing right. The Vine-Bear Court is a pile of smoking ashes now. But that had nothing to do with me!"
"What?! You actually burned down the Vine-Bear Court?!" Blaze gasped, her eyes glittering with misplaced excitement. "Should we start running for our lives?! Or, uh, execute a strategic tactical retreat?!"
"Where do you get your news, the Major gossip tabloids?" Jeanne whacked the Doctor's helmet with a dull clack. "Spreading rumors with a straight face!"
"Keep talking like that and I really won't be able to leave Kjerag," Jeanne threatened, crossing her arms. "And if I get stuck here, I'm dragging you down as my co-conspirator!"
The Doctor shrank back a few paces, rubbing her helmet, before creeping back over with a winning, overly dramatic grin.
"Oh, come now, Lady Jeanne, holy Saintess of Laterano! A grand figure like you wouldn't hold a grudge over a tiny joke, right? A kind, benevolent soul like you would never commit arson!"
The Doctor laid the flattery on so thick that Blaze shivered, rubbing her arms. "Stop talking like that, Doctor, it's creeping me out."
"Speak normally," Jeanne grumbled, pushing away the Doctor, who was attempting to dramatically grab her coat sleeve. "Let's head inside first. I have news. When I was up on that mountain, I actually caught a glimpse of Kjeragandr herself!"
The Doctor froze in her tracks, her jaw dropping inside her helmet.