"I'm guessing that when you said 'witness a miracle tomorrow morning' last night, you didn't mean this?" Adrian stared at the stranger bound tightly to the chair, breaking into a cold sweat.
As someone who had lived for a long time in a building belonging to the Church, he had long since lost any sense of needing to guard against intruders. This area had been semi-closed off for years. It saw fewer people coming and going than the Church proper, but shared the same security patrols.
The only people who came in were Church clergy, guards, eunuchs, apprentices, and the occasional person like William.
There weren't even many servants to handle odd jobs. The priests could take care of their own day-to-day needs. Only more distinguished figures, such as a Bishop, had one or two trusted attendants.
Besides, the Church itself held a powerful sacred authority. Ordinary people might not believe the gods would bless them, but most believed that anyone who desecrated a Sanctuary would be punished.
Unless they were truly desperate, no one would dare target the Church. Especially not a large church compound like this one. In a thief's eyes, it was a terrible risk for little reward: everything inside was bulky, distinctive, hard to steal, and hard to fence.
If caught, the Church's influence meant that while it might hesitate to act against innocent people, no one would ask questions if a petty thief simply disappeared. Under the moral standards and inadequate laws of the time, that was entirely reasonable.
So the chances that the intruder had come purely to steal a few valuables were slim. His entry here was probably no coincidence.
"Unless your potion can make people appear out of thin air, I don't think there should be any outsiders here."
"No, but the