Only ten or fifteen minutes after they left the forest, the whole place was swarmed by almost hundred Qi masters. Even if they were at their peak – it would’ve be hard or even impossible for the three youths to win this fight, although escaping would be a different question. Be as it may, they were still lucky enough to leave almost at the last moment.
What Nick, YunYun and Zia didn’t know was that after they lost their pursuers and elder Sonor didn’t come back within few hours, bishop mobilized all the available forces around capital Moira and formed search parties. They methodically scanned the surrounding territories and only on the third day realized that the big blast could be connected to the incident in the capital.
At first no one connected the attack on the temple with the explosion because there were no casualties found. Only on the eve of the second day an alchemist who was still researching the explosion site found a fingernail with a burned piece of flesh attached. Unfortunately it wasn’t possible to identify the owner.
After he called for a backup, the next day a larger group of people came over and checked every rock and pebble in the pit. They managed to find hundreds of pieces of flesh and bones. The downside was that the pieces were too small and there was no telling who or how many people died here. Thus, the only thing left was to search the surrounding area.
Later few scout groups noticed the weird phenomenon of yellow Qi mist and were eliminated one after another until finally one Qi master escaped and raised the alarm.
But now, while YunYun and Nick, carrying Zia, were on their way to Moira, dozens of Qi masters fruitlessly searched the forest inch by inch not realizing their efforts will not bring any results and the only clues they would get were the words from the only eyewitness.
Because of the earlier rebellious activities that were happening all over the country, guards and military forces even in every small town and settlement were in the state of emergency. They were checking identities of anyone entering the towns as well as inspecting people randomly on the streets.
On the way observing this situation, Nick decided to enter Moira stealthily after dark and get back to the “Desert Night” first. Feroz definitely had some useful information and they needed to have a normal rest as well. Also, even though Zia did wake up few hours after they left the forest, she was still wounded and weak, although refused to acknowledge it herself.
The streets of Moira were dark and quiet when three black shadows sneaked in the top floor of the “Desert Night”. The room they occupied before was exactly as they left it and empty. Apparently the old man still held some hope for their return.
While the girls cleaned themselves up and tended to Zia’s wounds, Nick quickly found Feroz’s room. The old man got a small shock when Nick woke him up, but, for him to not make any unnecessary sounds, Nick covered Feroz’s mouth with his palm. The shock in old man’s eyes was quickly replaced with joy when he realized who was in front of him.
Before Feroz could say anything, Nick whispered, “We just returned. Please brief me on the situation in the capital.”
“Don’t worry, it’s safe.” Old man smiled, “The atmosphere in Moira is calm and, apart from the frequent checks on the streets, nothing much is going on.”
“Has the army returned?” Nick asked.
“Yes, but it’s mostly spread in the regions to quell the uprising. Actually to everyone’s big surprise when the army returned, no new incidents happened. Despite that, looks like the bishop is too afraid to send it out on the crusade again. They have not caught the main culprits and the few captives they have can’t give any valuable intelligence – at least my sources in the army and the city guard said so.” Feroz answered, “Boy, tell me what happened. On that night you caused a huge commotion. Bishop’s forces ran around the city like crazy flies searching every nook and cranny. Are the girls alright?”
“Ye, they’re fine and probably are having a rest in our room.” Nick smiled, “On that night we barely entered the temple grounds when we were discovered and a direct escape was our only option. Oh, right! You need to contact king Spencer and give him report on this.”
“I already did.” Old man knowingly nodded.
“No, no. This you don’t know. Bishop has cultivated some Qi technique allowing him to feel or know the condition or location of his subordinates. Thus, if you kill someone like we did on the temple grounds, he will immediately notice it. Unfortunately we are not certain about the range of this technique or the amount of people he can monitor, but without doubt it’s very powerful.” Nick explained.
At this point Feroz was already taking notes.
“Next,” Nick continued, “When we entered the temple grounds, bishop was having a discussion with Holy Order’s elder Sonor. As you might know, he’s an expert Qi sword master and one of the strongest in the world.”
Feroz looked back at Nick in shock, “How did you manage to escape?”
“We didn’t.” Nick grinned back, “That bastard is dead.”
Old man froze hearing these news. Nick let him digest everything for a few minutes and then continued.
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“Before death, elder Sonor revealed some valuable information. He was probably confident on killing us, therefore didn’t try to hide much. Although we have to be careful since it might be false as well – he was an experienced elder of the Holy Order and all of them are psychopaths. So, the myth of Lori temple housing goddess Lori is actually not a myth. Most likely she is …”
“Wait, wait, wait!” Feroz interrupted him. His pupils were dilated and lips trembling while he spoke, “You are telling me that Lori goddess actually is real and alive? A person?”
“Yup. Of course, she’s not an actual goddess, but most likely a really old bitch that is just called a ‘goddess’. You could be considered a toddler if we compare your age to hers. That is in case this information is actually true. Ok, now the most important part.” Nick suddenly became serious, “I’m not certain how much you know about the Holy Order and in the Sun kingdom this is considered a top secret information. Unfortunately you are the only one who can deliver it to king Spenser and he, to king Alexander Maxwell. So, what I want you to inform them is that I’m almost certain that this Lori goddess is one of the ‘Trinity’.”
“What is ‘Trinity’?” Feroz asked with furrowed brows.
“There is not much information on it and I can’t really tell you about it, but this might be the breakthrough we all were looking for. Inform your king about all of this and I trust you to understand how crucial it is for everything to maintain absolute secrecy.” Nick said.
“Sigh, alright. What are your plans now?” Feroz nodded.
“We’ll stay here for a day or two.” Nick said and scratched his head, “Is it possible for you to do some local investigation while we are recuperating? I want to know where the base of the Holy Order is.”
“Oh? We know that already.” Feroz finally smiled, “Since their elder is dead, you are confident on checking it out?”
He took out a map of Moira and pointed at a spot not far from the center.
“Over here. It’s a large white mansion, well guarded, of course.”
“How many guards? How many people in red robes?” Nick asked.
“To be hundred percent certain I’ll put a couple of my men on it tomorrow. You guys rest. Do you want something to eat?”
“No need, we’ll just go to bed and then have breakfast in the morning.” Nick said and got up to leave when suddenly stopped in his tracks.
“Wait! Please show me the map of the city again!” Nick took the map in his hands and continuously mumbled something to himself while drawing lines on it with his finger for a minute or two, “I don’t know why I didn’t notice that earlier, but it seems like the whole city is built like some kind of formation.”
“You mean, because of the temple in the center?” Feroz asked.
“Yes, but not only that. You see, all the main streets are going from outskirts towards the center and exactly according to the cardinal directions. I had a thought of this while we escaped towards the east – that street was absolutely straight and also wider than others. And now from this map it looks like the streets to the north, west and south might be the same. And then there are these smaller ones to north-east, south-east, south-west and north-west. It almost looks like the city is built around this temple for a specific reason, don’t you think?” Nick mostly pondered aloud and didn’t really expect any answer.
“As far as I know, there are no archives describing the founding of the city, only religious stories.” Feroz scratched his head in confusion.
“Ok, forget it. Let’s proceed with our plan. Inform me when you have any news on the Holy Order’s residence.”
Although Zia was wounded all over, the wounds were all superficial and under YunYun’s care along with few expensive ointments she was almost completely recovered two days later. Meanwhile Feroz investigated the Holy Order’s manor and brought more detailed information.
Turns out, after elder Sonor disappeared, people from the Holy Order barely showed any activity. From the report it seemed there are only four of them in Moira and only one left the mansion to, probably, give a regular report at the temple two times a day. Unfortunately Feroz couldn’t tell if all four were Qi masters, but for now Nick assumed they were.
Besides the four people from the Holy Order, there were two servants who took care of their daily needs, but they came only during the day.
“Don’t you find it strange? Why they are not using any slaves? And only two servants – it’s not like they’re poor, right?” YunYun asked while reading the report.
“It was similar in Olava. The slave trade is blooming in both Nestri empire and Lori kingdom and every wealthy household has them. But the Holy Order is avoiding of having any, probably because of security reasons – slaves are not reliable. They might divulge information much easier than their own people, or steal and escape, or attack their owners. Be as it may, it’s good for us there aren’t any.” Nick explained.
“Alright, but do we have a plan? Should we sneak in and get rid of those four?” Zia asked.
“What do you think are the chances they know more about the temple?” YunYun pondered.
“I also want to know that. But there is no way we could get in that building and remain unnoticed for a prolonged period of time. If we want to do any reconnaissance, we will have to do it from the outside. For example, in the cover of the night, we will hide in the shadows below their windows or the roof. It’s incredibly tedious and boring endeavor.” In the end Nick sighed and looked at Zia.
“Why? You think I can’t do it?” She immediately got all worked up.
“But we could learn of some ways to get into temple or something else useful.” Nick ignored her.
“What about defensive formations? If they are permanently stationed here, I doubt they haven’t thought of the risk of anyone eavesdropping.” YunYun said.
“Exactly. That’s why we will approach this methodically.” Nick nodded, “And since we don’t know the inner layout of the mansion, on the first night we will take one side each, find a suitable spot and stay there to not raise any alarm. If there are any suspicious activities inside, we will immediately retreat.”
Soon they agreed on this simple plan and the same night three barely discernible shadows ‘guarded’ the Holy Order’s mansion.