>>6164936[2/???]
"Sure you want us to wait out here, boss?" your driver asks as you head out.
"Yeah, don't worry. I just feel like it'd be better as a cardinal to cardinal talk, is all."
The guard, currently wearing a set of flowing robes inspired by the colors of the pontifical guard along with an empty plate-carrier, nods and grabs a cold drink from the cooler. "At least hand him this on my behalf."
You add the beer to your backpack, already filled with food and drinks, and head out.
The 'path' to Trkulja's hut consists of just following a ridgeline on a nameless hill, but it's easy enough. There's a good amount of vegetation on account of recent rains, but not enough to meaningfully slow you down as you get to the hermit's dwelling less than a mile away.
"Ah, Musella!" you hear from the shrubs as Trkulja gets up from surprisingly close to where you are and awkwardly walks toward you as he shakes sand off of his rags. "Forgive my appearance, I was in a state of meditation and prayer, one which God has evidently answered."
He's a lot calmer than before, but just as nuts as you thought he'd be. His full beard is wild and untrimmed, the dry desert air making it appear as rough as the sandpaper his skin seems to be turning into. He's lost a lot of weight since he's been in the desert, evident from his now prominent facial bones and sinking eyes. "Dragomir, good to see you," you tell him while pulling out a bottle of still cold water from your backpack and neglecting to end the sentence with 'alive.'
"Yes, it is Providence, as I have seen it." He nods up and down. "There is much to discuss. The plans for defeating Satan's armies, the finer points of the Crusade, so much work is to be done," he rambles as he walks over to his hut awkwardly as he's still shaking the sand out of his rags.
His hut, a hastily constructed structure little better than a tent slapped together with scrap material from Mobile, is not nearly as dirty or 'homeless' looking as you would have expected. The hastily nailed together wood floor is surprisingly smooth and free of debris. There's no furniture except for a small nightstand with a Bible on top...
