Sylvester was confused by the people's behaviour, but he decided not to take any drastic measures from the get-go.
"Archpriest Augustus, you said your team was murdered. Who killed them? These people?" He questioned.
"It was the Bloodling, Lord Bard. We couldn't even enter this village and were attacked by a giant blob of vines that caught them one by one and strangled or ripped their limbs apart."
Sylvester looked at the crowd of people and decided to speak with them. So, he walked over to one wrinkled old man who appeared to be wearing different clothes than the rest. He had wrapped a sheet of cloth below and had one draped over his left shoulder, falling down to the right side of the waist. Other than that, he also had a few chains around his neck made of gold and some strange stones.
"Can you understand what I am saying?" Sylvester asked him. "Nod your head if you can."
Soon, the man nodded but dared not look Sylvester in the eyes.
"You number in the hundreds. You can easily overpower a few of us and perhaps even kill the Baroness, then why do you stand here with heads held low weakly?" Sylvester asked them the main question directly, no matter how hurtful it was to the Baroness.
However, the people remained silent, and the man Sylvester spoke to dug his head deeper.
"Speak, or I will initiate my actions, which will destroy your home. Speak and put forward your side of the story, for this is the last and only chance to decide whether you become history."
In front of his authoritative tone and mighty form, the man finally squealed a few words. "W-We are mere dwellers of the lands you own, my lord. Who are we to deny you access and will over this piece of dirt? All we can do is plead for mercy—To you, the overlord, the owner, the demi-god of this land."
'Ugh, why do I feel like I'm the bad guy here?' Sylvester grunted internally and looked around.
He soon noticed the building at the end of the street in the distance. "Is that your temple?"
"Y-Yes, my esteemed lord."
Sylvester corrected him. "I am no lord, for I am a mere servant of Solis. Call me Sire or Archpriest instead. Now, come with me and show me the temple from the inside. The rest of you, stay here and do not move an inch. Do not harm anyone, or I will write down your names and hand it to the Holy Land."
Sylvester looked at Augustus and shook his head to make him not follow. He wanted to see the temple on his own and ask the man a few questions. Since he smelled no danger, he was fine with this.
"Y-Yes, sire."
The man guided Sylvester to the temple and then into it. The building was not too tall and seemed to use the trunk of a few trees as a base. The entire structure was built of bricks, however.
Sylvester looked around in awe at the site. It was all just a big round hall inside, but what made it strange was that the thin vine had created symmetrical patterns that seemed more like a magical rune over the entire ceiling.
Then, in the end, just in front of the gate, a platform of bricks was set, and on the brick was an idol of something. He couldn't call it a human, as the thing had no natural features. It was just a standing object made of vines. It did have two legs, but above that, it was all a mess.
"Why do you pray to a Bloodling?" Sylvester questioned him.
The man kept his palms in a praying position while replying. "Bloodling? I do not understand what it is, sire."
"It's an evil dark creature that takes birth in a place where many people had died and didn't get cremated. A bloodling is extremely strong and kills anything close to it." Sylvester explained to him shortly. "So, why do you pray to a bloodling?"
"We don't! If what you describe is a bloodling, then our Mirnor is the opposite. She is the beauty incarnate, the mother of nature and all that lies within it. She protects us and helps us live here. She never harms anyone, sire."
Sylvester rubbed his chin and thought of something. "So you're worshipping a nymph? The spirit of nature imagined as a beautiful maiden inhabiting a river, woods, or other locations."
The old man turned angry. "No, she's not a Nymph. We know what that creature is. Goddess Mirnor is the protector of this forest, and she is all-powerful and all-knowing. One thousand years ago, when the son of Baron Rosewood of that time fell extremely sick, the Baron brought him to our tribe in hopes of finding some herbal medicine. But here, he witnessed the goddess Mirnor in her true form.
"So the Baron pleaded to her, and in the end, Mirnor agreed to heal the boy if the Baron agreed to give away the forest land to my tribe. He was warned, however, that if his descendants ever dared to take the land back, then the doom of House Rosewood would surmise. Sadly, the recent death of Baron Rosewood occurred because of this. He tried to force us out of here. Now, his wife tries to do the same."
Sylvester breathed in silence and contemplated the events. Again, he smelled no lies from the man, but if someone does not know the truth, then their lies would also smell like the truth.
"It's hard to imagine that an all-powerful goddess lives here. I'm more inclined to believe it is a nymph who can cast curses. But what now? Will you leave this forest or not? Because the Baroness wishes to have this forest emptied." Sylvester asked him.
The man turned rageful instantly. "Never! The Baroness wishes to harm the forest, and as the loyal worshipers of Mirnor, we will never leave her! Burn us with the forest if you want to."
'This is not good. But why is the Baroness so adamant about taking this region over? Why mess with a tribe just living in peace?' Sylvester wondered.
"Can I speak to your 'goddess?'. I desire to hear her wishes directly. If she is indeed a goddess, you are committing heresy, punishable by death."
Although his words couldn't be more precise, the man smelled of nothing but worship and anxiety. "We… We can not decide it, sire. She only speaks through the medium, which is the young child you saw near the gate. He's an orphan, as his parents were killed by the Baron."
'Ugh… Then I will have to do my own investigation. But first, I need to find the reason for Baroness' infatuation with this place. Still, if these people keep praying to a nymph, I'll have to kill them too.'
He stood up and headed to the door. "I will leave for now, but I will return soon. I am the servant of Solis, and I can't allow a false god to disturb the harmony so close to the Holy Land. Still, you can expect fairness from me."
"M-Mercy is all we ask… That's all we ever asked for." The man prayed to Sylvester's leaving back. His head held low, and his eyes were full of helpless tears.
Sylvester ignored all the curious eyes and reached the Baroness. "I'm afraid the Bloodling is more dangerous than we expected. The Bloodling can move around anywhere in the forest, my lady. So we should leave for now and return with a better plan to kill it."
"What!" She jumped over near Sylvester and held his arm tight over her chest. "It's free to move around? Then… What if it's waiting for us?"
"Don't worry. I am a light wizard. I will remain at the front. You sit with me on my horse, my lady." He offered her, knowing she'd jump at the chance.
So, soon they all rode out of the small village. The Baroness sat in front of Sylvester, making sure as many parts of her body touched him as possible. The scent of lust had not left her, after all, and Sylvester knew what was going to come next eventually.
But he remained focused on the task for now. Carefully, he brought the Baroness out of the forest. However, he only dropped her at the castle and didn't follow in.
"Please allow me to show my hospitality, my lord." The Baroness voiced while looking at him from the ground.
Sylvester got down and reached her. Then he kissed the back of her hand and kept the game going. "My lady, my heart tells me to accept this offer, but my mind forces me to first ensure your safety. So please give me some time as I shall prepare for the Bloodling hunt outside."
She turned red from his direct words. "I will be waiting then, my lord."
Sylvester turned around and left with his team in triumph. However, Sir Dolorem and Augustus were focused on him the whole time.
"What?"
Augustus iterated his doubts. "Your actions with the Baroness don't seem fake to me."
"That means I'm a great actor. But don't worry, I try to keep her as flustered as possible since it clouds her judgement and allows us to do anything we want in her land. Let's move now. The same procedure follows. Interview people and try to find out what's special in the forest. Sir Dolorem, you can go with Augustus." Sylvester ordered them.
"Understood." Sir Dolorem was used to this intel-gathering phase in past assignments, so he left with Augustus.
As for Sylvester, he had a special place to go and finally test the fruits of the labour of his dear mother.
He went directly to the small monastery in the town. It was small, and an Archpriest was supposed to man it. But at that moment, it was mostly empty as people went to work at that hour. The Archpriest and his assistant priests had to perform various duties in the town.
But the Bright Mothers remained there for medical aid in the monastery.
So, Sylvester wrote down something on parchment and dropped it in front of a Bright Mother who was passing by. Of course, it was not a random woman but a face he recognised.
After giving the paper, he went to the empty prayer hall to wait silently.
"O' Solis, prays to you, your bard.
Bless this quest to not be hard…"
Pat!
"Solis is the sun, and stars are the sun. Solis is infinite."
Sylvester looked to his side after he recognised one of the ten initiation keys. A Bright Mother stood by him, wearing the usual pale golden robes, with a book and a dagger tied to the sides of her waist. She was smiling widely through her headscarf.
Sylvester bowed his head. "We are stardust. We are children of Solis."
She bowed to her as well and left without saying a word. But, she dropped a small parchment behind while leaving.
Sylvester quickly opened it to discover why the Baroness wanted the forest back after so many years.
And the parchment didn't disappoint him.
'So it's gold veins.'
1000 GT = 1 Bonus chapter.
1 Super Gift = 1 Bonus chapter.
Ape Together Strong
