Armand’s First Letter. Amelia’s First Letter.
29 Août 1021, St. Rocher
Ma chère Mme Archer,
As I write, Dr. Peyronnet and I are resting over a field in the little village of Saint Rocher—which is a name most peculiar. In your tongue it would be called Saint Rock, bringing to mind the Lord’s chief companion, sans doute; but in Provençese he is known as Saint Pierre. Indeed there are several villages by that name across Provençe.
We have spoken with the village priest, and he is most clear: Saint Rocher is not Saint Pierre, though he understands our confusion. “For I was perplexed aussi, moi, when first I was assigned here. But the villagers made it perfectly clear to me that Saint Rocher was a fellow villager in time out of mind, and they tell many tales about him. Though, to be sure, the stories are such as are told about many a rural saint, so I would not take them au pied de la lettre.“
They say that Saint Rocher is buried beneath the village church, though no tomb or marker is to be seen in the nave; and this is fascinating, though it may seem to you a thing of the most commonplace. Pourquoi? Because the church sits directly upon a ley node! Four ley lines radiate it from it, including the one we followed to this spot. And there is more: the residual magic in the lines is markedly stronger within the vicinity of the church than we have seen to date. We have begun to think that Saint Rocher was not a holy man, but rather a “Holy Rock” on top of which this little village church was constructed.
There is a crypt below the nave of the church. Perhaps, if you were to investigate, you might find something interesting.
For our part, we have not attempted to penetrate so far within, nor asked any questions any visitor would not ask, save only about the local plants. We have found it advisable, though we are following the ley lines, to speak only of our Vollantine endeavors. Two wizards wandering about looking at wild plants are not so remarkable, for we are assumed to be eccentric, n’est-ce pas? And it is known to be a thing wizards do in the warm months.
Tomorrow we shall leave Saint Rocher behind; but you will find it clearly marked on the enclosed sketch.
Amicalement,
Claude Bergeron
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Photo by Didier VEILLON on Unsplash
Zymurgia House 