Chapter 187

Despite tempting fate with his hopeful thoughts, they found nothing waiting for them on the way to the next temple.They were following the path left by the fourteenth company, but the sudden absence of monsters, after being attacked at every turn, only heightened his paranoia.

Utilizing to its fullest, Nick scanned the grassland for hidden dangers, seeking any slightest hint that he might have overlooked.

His newly discovered spiritual affinity made it easy to effortlessly locate living creatures, as it had seamlessly integrated into the spell without requiring any adjustments. However, only a handful of field mice and feeble hunting cats were present.

It was frustrating. They had spent an entire day walking away from the temple where they had fought the dwarves and were now approaching the easternmost one, where Nick recalled seeing a dark cloud of smoke rising. And yet, nothing.

This wasn’t the unnatural stillness that the dwarves had imposed. Life still thrived in this part of the grassland. It was as if anything dangerous had completely vanished from the area.

Despite his worries, they reached the temple before dusk, and what a sight it was! Burnt grass and ashes covered the ground, but the main building still stood.

Evidence of its use as a base could be seen just about everywhere, with broken tents, discarded equipment, and even personal belongings scattered throughout the clearing.

They, too, were ruined by the fire that had ripped through the area weeks ago.

Surprisingly, the tall grass had begun to encroach upon the temple, though not for long, as much space still remained clear. Some of this was due to the fire, but if Nick had to guess, he’d say that whatever protections this temple once had against being overtaken by nature had recently failed.

Despite pushing himself and even peering into the astral plane, Nick could find no signs of anything lurking nearby. No domain greeted him. The temple was as deserted as it appeared.

“There was a battle here," Rhea finally declared. “A pretty one-sided one, at that.”

“A massacre,” Elia muttered, stepping over a deep impression in the ground where a body had been thrown.

It was no longer there, but the shape it left behind was unmistakable.

“This doesn’t look like the work of the knights,” Nick commented, telekinetically pulling apart the few still-standing tents to check their contents.

Only charred clothing and a few rusted weapons were inside.

Finally, they took the plunge and walked into the temple itself. It was a surprisingly well-preserved building, although much squatter than the others they had encountered so far, and with fewer carvings and statues.

Only two remained visible: one of a fox woman and one of a shrouded man. Nick prodded them with a weak , trying to incite a reaction, but aside from some wobbling, they remained still.

“Try not to destroy what little has been left,” Elia grunted, walking deeper into the building.

The sight that revealed itself made it clear that while a one-sided battle had raged outside, a far more intense duel had been fought within, and not long ago, considering the splotches of blood still visible everywhere.

It was dried but not degraded enough to suggest an ancient fight.

Something about this place set Nick’s instincts on edge. Not his mystical senses, but something else.

Somehow, he sensed that a formidable predator had battled here. Not a knight, nor a mage. It was someone who fought with the primal strength and slyness of a hunting cat.

It felt unexpectedly familiar, and as he looked around at the grooves etched into the otherwise smooth stone, he began to piece together a picture.

Eventually, they reached the furthest room, where the altar was located. There, they discovered even more blood, but this was different. Darker and oilier, it was surprisingly similar to the remains left by the dwarves they had killed.

This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

“Look at this,” Elia murmured, crouching over a particularly large puddle. She touched it with a finger, and when she pulled back, some residue remained. “It hasn’t dried completely yet.”

“Dark dwarves hold fats in their blood to better survive the underground,” Rhea revealed, walking over to a wall, where an empty shackle rested. “I’m starting to think that this place isn’t too different from what we found ourselves. It’s just that someone else got here first.”

The last piece of the puzzle was the remains of a doll laid upon the altar. It was ruined beyond repair, but some elements were distinct enough for Nick to recognize it as that of a foxkin. Probably a priestess, if the white thread hanging off it was any indication.

It seemed almost out of place, considering all the violence that had been inflicted upon this location. Whoever committed the act had chosen to leave the doll on the altar, as if it were a sacrifice for the gods or perhaps as a mark of respect.

“Do you think it was one of my people who did this?” Elia asked softly.

Nick looked around, taking in the scene. The complete absence of bodies made him doubt it had been the work of a monster, but the ferocity of the marks could be explained by the mysterious warrior being a beastman. “It’s possible,” he admitted.

In the end, there were just not enough clues for them to get the full picture.

Nick was just about to suggest they leave for the night and take a better look in the morning after getting some sleep when something entered his sensory range.

For the first time in a while, he recognized the presence as humans, and not particularly powerful ones at that. They moved clumsily, with only the one in the lead displaying any kind of stealth, and walked through a hidden path in the grass with purpose.

“We have company,” he said, “Five humans are walking toward us.”

Elia’s eyes hardened, probably thinking of them as bandits, but he quickly shook his head. “I don’t think this is anyone hostile. They are far too weak to be soldiers or bandits. It’s probably someone from the local villages.”

She inclined her head, sighing softly. “Alright, let’s see if they have any answers. The temple might not be consecrated anymore, but I still want to know who fought a battle within it.”

As promised, as they left the temple, they saw the group emerge from the tall grass. An older man, dressed like a ranger, led them with a hunting bow and a knife strapped to his hip. Behind him were four young men, all seemingly surprised to find them.

“Who are you?!” One shouted, pointing a spear at them.

“Travelers,” Nick answered before Elia could bristle. While she had matured during this trip, she was still on edge, and he didn’t trust her not to complicate things needlessly.

“And what do you seek here?” The older man asked, taking them in. To Nick’s surprise, he wasn’t dismissing them despite their youthful appearance. If anything, he seemed warier after realizing just how young they were.

“My friend here is a foxkin. She wanted to see the temple, but we found it in this condition and entered to investigate.”

The scout nodded gravely, gazing at the scorched earth and the charred remains of the camp. “I see. It is unfortunate that you saw it in this condition. The temple was taken over by a dangerous group of bandits weeks ago, and the adventurer we hired to take care of them had to wage a bloody battle to eliminate them.”

One of the young men behind him gritted his teeth, grief tinging his expression, and Nick had the feeling that this particular group hadn’t deemed it necessary to keep as far away from civilization as the other had.

Not that he believed any dwarf general who devised the plan would feel remorse. They would likely view the disruption to the locals’ lives as beneficial, as it would necessitate redirecting more resources away from the skirmishes in the mountains.

“So this was the work of a single adventurer?” Rhea asked curiously as she looked around at the scorched clearing.

The temple itself appeared relatively unscathed by the flames, but that likely had more to do with its construction quality than any effort to shield it from the battle, considering the scene they had discovered within.

“Indeed,” the old man nodded, “The B-rank mission we paid for brought a powerful adventurer to our doorstep, and she took care of the entire camp in just a day.”

“She’s still hanging around though,” one of the young men grumbled, “flirting with all the girls.”

“Is she?” Nick asked in surprise. The fire had been almost two weeks ago. For this adventurer to have stuck around… “Was she injured?”

“Bah, she had a couple of cuts she made a big deal about, asking to be nursed back to health by my sister.” Another cut in, looking irritated and embarrassed.

Rhea snorted while Elia concealed a smile. Whoever this woman was, she had to be a real piece of work. Still, she had handled the entire group of mercenaries on her own, which meant she held some power.

“Would it be possible to lead us to her?” Nick asked. “We have some questions she might be able to answer.”

One of the young men opened his mouth, likely to deny them, but the old scout raised a hand to silence him. “We’ve come here to finish cleaning up the area. If you will lend us your aid, we will take you back to our village and you will be able to meet her.”

When the same man tried to protest, he turned around and gave him a hard look. “They are not locals. To be able to travel the grassland from far away and be so young… Do not underestimate them.”

Nick raised an eyebrow in surprise. Common sense was a rare currency, but then again, the old man seemed to possess some experience. He’d probably been around enough to see all sorts of things.

“We would have done it anyway.” Elia agreed, smiling slightly now that she knew these people weren’t here to desecrate the temple.

Some might have balked at the thought of cleaning up a battlefield, especially one so burned and broken, but Nick didn’t particularly mind. After all, he had an advantage.

Gusts of wind howled from the skies above, spiraling through the clearing and gathering all the loose ash into a miniature tornado before coalescing into a compact sphere. Scattered tents, weapons, and personal effects rose at his prompting, flying through the air only to neatly settle at his feet, stacking atop one another for easy transport.

Once he finished, Rhea pulled a vial from her bag and started sprinkling its contents across the clearing. Where drops of emerald liquid landed, new grass began to sprout, quickly filling in both holes and burned areas.

Elia walked back into the temple, and Nick could feel the temperature rise dramatically inside as she cleansed it of blood and dirt with her flames.

Overall, it took them just a few minutes to complete a process that would have taken days if done manually.

“There, that should be enough,” Nick said cheerfully as Elia exited the temple, brushing the soot off her clothes.

The poor men stared at the suddenly much neater area with expressions of astonishment. Even the old scout, who had recognized their potential power, appeared so confused that it took Nick snapping his fingers before he blinked and shook himself awake.

“You promised to lead us to your village,” he reminded them, and the men were so thoroughly shocked that not one of them put up a fight this time. They simply turned around and began marching back in silence, still struggling to process what had just happened.