The Bell Tower is steep and rises high above the building. The stairs are made of rickety wood and go up thirty stories. The bell is so old that the cracks seem almost perfectly set in the iron.
Bell Tower, Inside Church
hermit
someone
I am someone. I live in the village. I help watch after the King and Queen.
Be calm, friend. I'm here on the King's business. He fights a great battle today, and I am charged with ringing the bell to announce his victory for all the village to hear. Say it isn't so! Surely the King is still not fighting the same war I escaped as a younger man?! Tis true, man, how did you not know this? His evil brother, the usurper, has finally been cornered like the rat he is! The war never seemed to end. It consumed all....so I hid myself away, no longer able to bear witness to the atrocities that my countrymen had grown numb to. Then now can be your time of peace. This long war is finally over. Tell me, friend, what were you? Knight, bowman, what was it? I...used to be an Oarsman on one of the King's finest ships... We were attacked on both sides...I can still hear...no... You survived though, be thankful and don't forget that. I've lost many brothers over the years to these scum, attacked in the night like the cowards they are! Why was I allowed to survive? There were many braver, more worthy men than I that perished! I could not bear the grief....so I hid myself away, floated off to distant shores, letting my name join those missing in battle... God only knows. It's pointless to torture yourself like this, let me buy you a drink in the tavern and tell me a great sea story. Tell me of foreign lands! What is your name, friend? No, I count myself among the dead now. So much of me died along with my comrades. It would do you no good to hang around an old ghost like me. Very well, have it your way. At least help me pull this rope and ring this godforsaken bell. Very well, for the message of peace and for the honor of those who gave for it, I will help you.