Chapter 204: The Outpost
The Beinz Blood Lake was a sacred ground for the Disciples of Glory. All along the lake, there were outposts set up by the Church’s knights. Any adventurer or mercenary group who had gotten the Church’s approval to venture into the area would need to report themselves there before being permitted to operate within the approved parameters. Even though there were many incidents near the lake of late, which resulted in the management of the place being a little messy, this basic rule was pretty much ironclad.
While the Blood Lake was indeed sacred grounds, it was not forbidden grounds. The checks made for approved mercenaries were pretty lax and Hilda managed to get through by identifying herself as part of Hao Ren’s party. The group then went towards the rest area on the elevated platform by the lake.
The facilities in the outpost were pretty bare. The place comprised of two towers and a few long tent-houses. The entire area was about 200 square metres wide. The whole outpost was build upon a rock platform that seemed to be raised by magic. Surrounding it was a number ward guardians. By the looks of things, security seemed to be the least of their worries. The wards could easily hold off most of the monsters that popped out of the forest. If things became pressing enough, there was another powerful garrison, and ward guardians from the island at the centre of the lake for aid.
A portion of the outpost was designated for outsiders. As most of the mercenary groups had already retreated to Leyton, there was plenty of space there. Becky then led Hao Ren to look for the officer in charge and after a simple registration process, they were given permission to stay for a short while. Aside from the rooms however, food and medication had to be supplied by the tenants themselves. The quartermaster would avail some of their stocks for sale, a primary source of income for the church in the Beinz region as adventurers and mercenaries were aplenty.
By the time the group had settled down in their camps, it was night.
After completing the registration process, Becky went about looking for the monks, who would have come into contact with the other mercenaries. When she came back to the tent, she had a rather disappointed look on her face.
Hao Ren and his group were sitting together, discussing their next course of action when Becky showed up. Her dour look caught all of them by surprise. Vivian asked with a concerned look on her face, “What’s wrong? Ill tidings?”
“Seems like striking it big isn’t all that easy.” Becky said as she sat on the chair. “I spoke to some of the folks here, and it seems like a few renowned mercenary groups have already searched the area a week ago. Aside from the western tribal mountains, most of the places have already been investigated, including the depths of the Great Ravine. Six teams went through the place for a good 12 days. You remember Marshal Ophra? She was here to personally monitor the process of the search. Most of the search areas were handled by her own personal elites. There’s no place they didn’t not scour yet.”
The reason Becky had decided to tag along to with Hao Ren to the Beinz region was partly due to the sense of gratitude in receiving such a gift like the “music box”. The honest mercenary simply just did not want to owe anybody favours. Another reason was that she wanted to try her luck at finding the Orb of the holy Synod. Perhaps by chance, if she did find it, her reputation would grow beyond measure.
She never thought that the search would progress to such a level and scale that it left her feeling powerless. Marshal Ophra and her elites, with the help of a large group of well known mercenaries had already combed every nook and cranny within the area. Yet, they had nothing to show for their efforts. Her party consisted of a tank who could not hold in his aggro, three “wizards” who loved melee combat, and a scaredy-cat healer or nanny who did not heal in the middle of combat…
Hao Ren and his group had little interest in the Orb. Becky was the only one who had it in her sights, as such, none present shared her disappointment. Vivian then shared her observation, “If you ask me, based on the reports of the day the Orb went missing, it really seemed like it was teleported away. If that’s the case, wouldn’t the chances of it being in the Beinz region small? It looks like a fool’s errand to search from here.”
“You don’t know much do you?” Becky looked up at Vivian. “The church itself is protected by the sacred bones of the previous popes. If someone used teleportation magic, they would not have been able to get out of the Blood Lake region. Holy energy would lock the Orb within a certain radius. Besides, the spell lock has not been broken before.”
Hao Ren never thought that the Disciples of Glory had such ability under their sleeves. No wonder they believed that the Orb was still within the Beinz region. It seemed like a plausible explanation, especially since some bones of a dead holy man were protecting it…
Something then dawned upon him. Could a catacomb actually exist underneath the small church in the middle of the lake?
“So, what’s your next plan?” Lily asked without much reservation. “I’ll let you know… We aren’t interested in the Orb… I think we’ve made it clear that we’re only interested in the Blood Lake itself.”
“You’re still on about that?” Becky looked at Hao Ren and the others, perplexed. After ruffling her hair for a bit, she went, “Well, that’s that then. I too agreed to just be your guide to the area, and after we reach the Blood Lake, we’d go about our own stuff. We are an ad-hoc group anyway. I’ll be heading towards the island tomorrow, to check for any clues. If you guys are interested do feel free to tag along, if not…then just do what you need to do. We should let each other know before any of us leave, at least we part on good terms.”
It was true that Hao Ren and his squad were in a temporary group with Becky. This was made clear before they departed. Becky had come along as a guide and she had since completed their agreement.
Lily’s ears drooped. “Oh… I don’t like farewells…. Makes me sad…”
Becky was much more open about it, being the seasoned mercenary she was. “Heh, well we’ll be doing our own stuff for tomorrow. It’s not like any of us are leaving for good. Besides, you lot will be in Holetta for a while, right? We’ll definitely have other chances to work together.”
As she said that, she was aware that it was the end of their partnership. The group had no interest in the Orb and she cheerfully waved her hand. “I’ll be going back to my room. I’m staying at the house at the far east side. We’ll talk again tomorrow if there’s anything else. I’ll be around before noon.”
After Becky left, the room was quiet for a moment. Hao Ren and his party actually liked the lass. She was honest, cheerful and straightforward. Even though she was a little bit greedy, her heart was at the right place, a reliable partner to have when you were out and about. But alas, their partnership was only temporary, and she was an “outsider”, so they would have needed to say their farewells sooner or later.
Now that Becky had left, they could discuss their plans in earnest.
“I plan to look around the centre of the lake tonight,” Hao Ren said as he eyed the party. “Silent ops, bypassing the guards.”
“Why do we still need to do things so secretly?” Lily could not figure things out. “You said you weren’t interested in the Orb. If you want to look for it, we can just go along with Becky.”
“I have no interest in the Orb, but I am curious about what actually happened in the church in the middle of the lake. Since some of the stuff I’ll be doing is beyond the comprehension of this world, it’s better if we keep to the shadows.”
As Hao Ren explained, he put his treasured pot on the table and called the MDT as he opened the lid. “Get out, time to work.”
“Shhhhhhh, your precious daughter is still asleep,” the MDT rang out in his head. “If you want to pull me out right now…”
Hao Ren took a peek into the pot and found Lil Pea sound asleep at the bottom. She had curled up by the MDT and she was hugging it tightly. The scene almost looked like the carps in those Chinese New Year decorations….
“Oh…if that’s the case, just soak in there for a while longer. We’ll only move out later at night.”
Hao Ren just left the MDT where it was and looked up towards Hilda, who was seated at a corner.
“Right… There’s some time left before late night, tell us your story. You’ve been looking at us for a good while now, I’m sure you have plenty of questions, no?”
“Seems what you said earlier in the day were half-truths.” Hilda came to know this group of strangers about half a day ago, and from their actions now, she could tell that they were had not been totally honest with her. “So…the lady who left, she is not part of your group?”
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