There were elements of both hope and unease that hung over the room as silence fell on it again. Some of it was something that made Zoe feel a bit uneasy. Some of it was that unlike her brother and older sister, who had the personalities and interests to be the natural "leaders" for the Chapman family, at least so far as the present crisis that had led to them all becoming Slug People, Zoe was more interested in sports and action. She usually felt her best when she was actually doing something. She couldn't strategize the way her brother did, albeit through video games, and she didn't have the drive and personal sense of "direction" that Lucy did to think over things and make decisions on that basis. Zoe wasn't stupid by any means, but to a great extent, much of her concern and mindset with the whole issue was that Cupple was bad and there had to be a way to stop him.
And the conversation had produced some ideas and at least a point to start with. The suspicion that Cupple's actual power in magic was rather weak was something good and exposing Cupple's abilities as a sorcerer would go a long way to proving their accusations against him. Zoe did like that part, but the worries that Reverand Jack and Simon both warned on did suck a lot of the energy out of the room. It didn't say, "don't do it," but it was something of a warning to be careful, and after going through such a dramatic transformation and seeing Jeff give knocked over by Cupple's magic when the Chapmans first escaped their house, being careful was not a bad idea. It just sat on the wrong end of Zoe's nerves, and that she didn't like. After all, they'd already done a lot to try and figure out what was going on and trying to find help, there had to be something that could be done and be done quickly. Eventually, Zoe's mind caught up with something that Reverand Jack said...
"We'd need a wizard," Zoe said slowly turning both eyes to Reverand Jack, her mind also still surprised that the family's reverend was the Slug Person Colony's main ally and had been leading a clandestine group of "knights" to deal with evil.
"To better assess how much power Cupple actually has, particularly if you intend to go through with a plan to try and trigger him into exposing his abilities," Reverand Jack answered, "for those skilled in magic are the best suited to gauging the abilities of those who use magic."
"Wouldn't some of the things the church has picked up help with that?" Jeff wondered, "I mean... we were able to meet with the priest for the Catholic Church here. He made some mention of providing help."
"They can help explain how things work," Reverand Jack commented, "and our denomination has often talked with the Catholic Church for the academic knowledge on dealing with those playing around with magic or with beings that naturally swim in magic... Like the Slug People. But a lot of that is academic in nature, and outside of the use of some specific talismans and items, you'd still need someone who could actually wield magic to know how to work with things. And not all white wizards are also members of the Catholic Church."
"And we really can't do more now as Slug People?" Zoe asked to Simon, turning one eye to the other male Slug Person there.
"Not the way that Cupple can use his magic," Simon nodded, "most of what abilities we have are defensive in nature or would relate to assuring the transformation of someone into a Slug Person... and that one is still one where we require the consent to do so."
"Show that we aren't like Cupple," Jeff commented.
"Precisely," Simon agreed.
Zoe nodded and returned her gaze to Reverand Jack. He was standing relatively still and had his hands crossed in front of him. She wasn't sure if he had some place he needed to be and was patiently waiting for them to run out of questions for help on or if he was wrestling with his own emotions. The reverend might not be a Slug Person, but Zoe could almost feel the man's guilt when he talked about the issues that related to the death of the Chapman family's patriarch.
"I suppose that then brings us to one last question," Zoe said slowly and trying to sound a bit hopeful as she spoke, "do you know a wizard that could help, Reverend Jack? Unless you're a wizard too..."
"I'm no wizard," Reverend Jack raised his right hand and waved that last sentence of Zoe's office, "and I'm afraid that most wizards generally try to stay clear of churchmen, regardless of whether or not they're Catholic, Orthodox, or Protestant. Much of it generally being how many sorcerers were treated by the church... The best case has generally been that they've been tense."
"Even the white wizards that were part of our race's creation were supposedly nervous around the churchmen than helped bust the rings that were essentially abusing Slug People as a living magic battery," Simon commented, "largely fearing persecution."
"I'd imagine that the drop in the belief in magic wouldn't necessarily help in searching for a wizard that could help us against Cupple, wouldn't it?" Jeff asked to Reverend Jack.
Reverend Jack nodded to that and then wrung his hands for a moment, "and has also contributed to why just about every church has had to turn more to persuasion and more general "preaching," as the drop in the belief in magic made many of the things that the churches could use in the Medieval period for power were no longer there."
"You wouldn't have some secret handshake or other signal to find a wizard?" Zoe asked, "a wizard who could help us deal with Cupple. Before he turns more people into enslaved Slug People."
"I am afraid not," Reverend Jack sighed heavily, "I wish things were that simple. But they aren't. His actions and interactions with the colony here was about the only thing that even alerted us to the possibility that he was a wizard and one operating in a less than noble fashion. And other limitations would make it difficult to publicize information without proof..."
"If some of the efforts to expose his magic include things like protests and the like," Jeff began, "do you think that might draw attention to all this by other wizards? As surely, if they're hiding from the church or the general public, they might not do so if the see beings that would at least have a "connection" to "their" world that they could come to our aid?"
Reverend Jack scratched his chin for a moment, "that may work, but it wouldn't be easy. You'd essentially be looking for a needle in a haystack, as it were. It'd take time and repeated effort."
"It'll be something to work with and work on," Jeff nodded, "we might need to ask around with some of our neighbors and see what sort of offers Cupple has made for their homes, or if he's tried to pull stunts similar to what he did with us with them..."
"Hopefully he hasn't or hasn't had the success that he had in seeing to our transformations," Lucy commented while squeezing Melody's hand.
There were a few more nods, and Zoe found herself sighing as she nodded along. She'd been hoping to get something quick at least something they could do quickly, but it appeared that some things weren't lining up to go that way.
"Is there anything else for the immediate moment...?" Lucy then asked.