Sylvester truly felt the need for some modern communication devices at that moment. There was no way of quickly telling Sir Dolorem and Gabriel about his decision to go to the Vine Forest. He had to physically head back to find the two.
“I don’t like the feeling of this, the Vine Forest is an unmapped area, and if the sinners are hiding there, they likely know the place better than us. So they can easily hide from us and attack us from places we wouldn’t expect.” Sylvester muttered.
He wanted some more assurance that no matter what they find in there, they can actually defeat it. He’d rather not have one more Goldstown incident on his head at the start of his career.
“What do you suggest?” Felix asked.
“We need to go to Ranthburg Town first. It’s the largest town in Gracia Kingdom’s south. We will likely find a garrison of Inquisitors there, and I think they will be happy to help me.” He planned.
The two moved on the dirt road towards Ranthburg town. Their way passed through the Evergreen Mountains. It had blossoming flowers and fruit-producing trees all around the year.
But the whole place was packed with trees, making it hard to look much farther. This was common in the South of Gracia and the whole of Riveria Kingdoms, as the two kingdoms had the highest crop production and green cover.
Sadly, that also meant unsafe woods for travelers. Thieves, murderers, creatures of the night, all such things haunt the commoners, as securing the roads at all times was an excruciatingly expensive task that no one wanted to embark on. ｂ𝚍ｎｏ𝚟ｌ.
There was a saying. ‘Getting mugged ain’t no fun, and there is nowhere to run.’
From one look, it was clear why this was said. Nobody can run away from thieves who live their whole lives in the mountains.
The two first made their way to meet Sir Dolorem and Gabriel. However, for that, they had to go back, but thankfully they met in the middle.
However, Sylvester was shocked when he saw the old man with blond hair, beard, and golden eyes. He felt he was looking at himself, but maybe a few hundred years down the line. Although, he didn’t think this could be his father.
Likewise, the old man was surprised to see another person with golden eyes. This was so rare he had not seen another one with such in his whole life. “Are you by any chance related to me?”
Sir Dolorem chuckled at the reaction from Jax. “This is Priest Sylvester Maximilian, the Lord’s Bard, Adventurer Jax. I doubt he’s related to you if you’ve lived most of your life in the West.”
Sylvester eyed the man with suspicion. He didn’t feel any sincerity from him, no matter what he was saying. However, it didn’t feel like an outright lie.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Jax. So you will be joining us?” Sylvester asked him.
Jax nodded his head and respectfully replied. “I am, respected priest. This humble servant of the Lord is forever happy to help you.”
‘Lies!’ Sylvester caught it instantly as he felt sourness in his mouth.
‘What’s this man’s goal now?’ Sylvester wondered. But he didn’t speak just yet, as that was counterproductive.
“Great, let’s move to Ranthburg first. Then, we shall take the Holy Road to enter the Riviera Kingdom and move east from there.” He did not tell them what he was planning, however.
He tried to find out more about the supposed adventurer that appeared out of nowhere along the way. “So, what brought here from the west? I reckon the Masan Empire is not too bad. It’s rich and still powerful.”
“It is, but also corrupt. They face the same problem as any, too big to administer, and hence corruption is rampant. As a result, many people are moving either south or east in search of a better life, away from the corrupt officials.” Jax revealed, but he didn’t stop there. “I, instead, work to help people cross over the various land boundaries as traveling can be quite dangerous. And when I heard about the murders of Bright Mothers, I knew my calling had come.”
‘What a bastard, almost everything is a lie!’ Sylvester caught it all fairly quickly. By now, he knew that this man was either a spy or someone with ulterior motives for him.
Knowing the man was a lost cause, he moved near Sir Dolorem and asked him about the Vine Forest. “Was there ever any large population living inside the Vine Forest? Perhaps before or during the war?”
Sir Dolorem tried to think about it. “Hmm… There have been no such findings as far as I know. Forget having people living there; even traversing around is hard. Even if you have a dinghy, it’s impossible to move because you don’t know the waterways.”
“So we’re going to need a local guide? Let’s hope the garrisons in Ranthburg have someone there.”
The five slowly made their way to the town. They had parked their carriage in the Molgoth village as they were going offroad. Doing that also allowed them to go faster.
Traveling through the Evergreen Mountains and the various farmlands that came after, they arrived at the last town of the Gracia Kingdom.
It was large and full of activity as it was the last point before entering Riveria. Not to mention, the church’s presence was much more here.
Sylvester had the authority as a Sanctum Inspector, so he directly headed into the local Inquisitor camp, manned by an Inquisitor General, a position just below the Inquisitor High Lord.
The man was an Arch Wizard with a clergy position of Archbishop and looked old as most people of his status. He was a pure wizard with no knightly talent, but in Holy Inquisitors, the magic was often more helpful in major circumstances.
Sylvester was granted a meeting with the man in the camp full of tents. And since Sir Dolorem was high in the Holy Inquisitors’ administration, his clout was even more.
“I am Priest Sylvester Maximilian, Sanctum Inspector. I need some men to come with me into the Vine Forest. We suspect the people behind the recent killings of Bright Mothers are hiding in there.” Sylvester was direct and precise in talks.
“Greetings, Inspector. I am Inquisitor General Van Joseph. I’ve heard much about you from the traveling clergymen coming from the Holy Land. If I don’t help the bard, I know Lord Inquisitor will make my life hard… haha. How many men do you need?” The man replied in a mellow tone.
This was the case with most Inquisitors. They were not usually repulsive, abusive people but just acted that way with civilians to keep the fear among the masses.
Sylvester thought about the killings and the more clues he got from Jax, which he felt were true. “How many men do you have?”
“I have four battalions here, each having 1500 men. Two of them are currently deployed, so we only have the remaining two. How many enemies do you suspect?”
That was the problem. They had no idea. “We don’t know, but they are heathens, good as hunters, and possibly have a hidden motive behind the killing; noted from the specific way of mutilating the bodies.
“I would ask for at least one company to come with us… and some guides who know how to travel the Vine Forest.”
The Inquisitor General immediately agreed. “That’s it? I thought you’d need whole battalions. Well, if all you need is a company, then take it. I shall assign you the best one we have here, and the best guides will accompany you.”
Bam!
As soon as the old man slammed his staff to the ground, his adjutant stepped into the tent. “General?”
“Call in Holy Commander Arnold. I have a task for him, and tell the water wizards to prepare to go into Vine Forest.”
“Right away, General.”
Sylvester and Sir Dolorem made small talk with the old man as they waited. Then, as always, the man asked Sylvester for a hymn, but he had to reject, knowing if he obliged once, he’d be asked all the time.
Eventually, the commander named Arnold appeared, a big muscular Golden Knight, a rank although on the same number as Arch Wizard, but much weaker in terms of power.
“Son, go with Sanctum Inspectors and kill the heathens responsible for murdering Bright Mothers. They hide in Vine Forest–leave not even their ashes there.”
The knight thumped his chest and bowed his head. “I will make you proud, General.”
With that, Sylvester had a small army of 250 men coming with him. However, he didn’t let them walk with him as he didn’t know if there were enemy spies around the town that might alert those in the Vine Forest. Heck, he sent Felix, Gabriel, and Jax first towards Vine Forest, as he suspected Jax too.
Once the army mounted their horses, Sylvester, Sir Dolorem, and one water wizard guide galloped on their horses and caught up with Felix’s party.
“Let’s go. The Inquisitors have dinghies positioned at the shore.” Sylvester rushed them as well.
So all of them made their way into the Vine Forest. The name was misleading, as it was more of a mangrove. However, it was full of so many vines hanging from mangrove trees, tall and small, so dense that it seemed like a forest.
They had to leave their horses outside and walk on foot. But as soon as they entered, they felt how dangerous the place was. The forest was extremely dense, and the trees blocked half of the light. It was just green everywhere, so much so that even the water looked green due to algae, making it harder to differentiate between water and land.
Splash!
“Ah! Fu…” Felix cursed when he suddenly felt his leg fall into a water hole, deep enough to swallow the leg whole.
“Watch out!” Jax quickly caught him and pulled him out. “Take every step carefully. There is mostly water under this vegetative surface.”
Felix took a sigh of relief but with a face full of horror, “I-I… I felt like something was pulling me down, man!”
The guide quickly warned when he heard this. “So it must be true, I’ve heard this forest has cannibal vines that are spread everywhere under the surface, so if you fall in the water, they will catch you and drown you–in time, consuming you for nutrition by piercing your body.”
Gabriel and Felix gulped their saliva after hearing that. And the worst thing was they had only entered the forest. They were yet to reach the shore of the first major waterway.
Sir Dolorem looked at the water hole where Felix fell and noticed something. He quickly used his sword and picked the little white orb out. “Strange…”
“This is… a skull?” Gabriel wondered after looking.
But Sylvester gloomed after seeing it. “This does not resemble a human, yet it’s too humanoid!”
The guide coughed, pulling their attention. “Please don’t touch things. This forest is uncharted land. Nobody knows what kind of species lived here before the light of Solis touched us all. I would love to explore, but we need to hurry. I do not wish to remain here after sunset–not after the fog sets.”
“Why? What happens after sunset?” Felix inquired, knowing well he wouldn’t like the answer.
The guide, with a horrified face, blurted. “Free reign of death! The vines come to life and move, changing the landscape entirely. Even if we get lost here and somehow survive the night, we won’t ever reach back alive.”
Sylvester frowned and couldn’t help but worry for the army instead. For 250 men inside this dangerous land, it was an accident waiting to happen.
But he needed them, so he sighed and moved along. ‘Considering my luck, we’re staying here for days.’
[A/N: Check this para comment to see the map.]
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YOU CAN DO IT!
**1069 Stones = Bonus Chapter!**
APE TOGETHER STRONG!