The Hall of the Mountain King loomed in front of me, and although I had seen it only a few days ago, it bewitched me anew with its mysterious aura. I was like a child whose parents amused twice with the same trick, shrewdly leaving an appropriate interval in between. The wagon passed through the outside gate and then entered the courtyard. I got off with a quick jump, forfeiting a staring contest with the stone gargoyles.
“There’s no need to wait for us, Gabriel,” Reinfried said. “It’s dangerous to stay.”
“Fine, I’ll head back to the inn.”
While the wagon was turning around, Reinfried and I scanned the corners of the courtyard. We hadn’t been greeted by any castle guards, and no one was guarding the entrance to the underground jail. The place was deserted.
“It’s too silent.” I noticed that even the morning birds weren’t chirping.
“We don’t know what might have happened last night,” Reinfried said. “Let’s check the inside.”
We went up the stairs and pushed the giant door ajar. Old wood creaked, and rusty metal clanged. The noise echoed in an otherwise silent world. Eyes peeked at us from the door crack and disappeared into the darkness. Then, suddenly, spears were aimed at our faces.
Reinfried and I sidestepped and fell to the ground. We avoided the deadly thrusts at the last moment, but the attack itself bode ill for us. What happened last night? Did the enemy take control of the castle? We stood up and drew our swords. We waited for someone to push the door open and strike out at us, but a friendly voice came from inside: “Sir Reinfried? Sir, it’s you, right?”
“What do you mean? Of course, it’s me.”
“You’re alive and well. Thank the Heart of Mana! We thought you had turned into one of them.”
The giant door opened wide, and a castle guard stepped out of the darkness. He was pale and exhausted. Wearing full armor and holding a spear, he seemed to have had a long, tough shift.
“We’re holed up in the castle, sir,” he said. “Last night was a disaster.”
“What happened?” Reinfried asked.
“We heard cries for help a few hours before dawn. They were your men, sir, the ones who were sent to search the mountains for the strange lights. They sought refuge in the castle, but when we took them in, they started killing us.”
“They were reanimated by the mages and sent to attack the castle,” I said.
The guard nodded. “That’s what we think too.”
“And after that attack?” Reinfried said.
“Not much happened, sir. The forest was swarming with the undead, but their voices died out after dawn.”
“Is Lord Faust safe?”
“Yes, we had only three casualties, and they were castle guards.”
“Lead us to him.”
“Yes, sir.”
The guard entered the castle and gestured respectfully for Reinfried and me to follow. The doors closed behind us, and two other castle guards eyed us with suspicion and alarm. The atmosphere in the castle was tense, and the eeriness of the candlelit corridor kindled fear. We found Lord Faust in the throne room. I tried to be decorous but didn’t have enough time to bow; he began to talk as soon as he saw us.
“The men you sent up the mountains were killed.”
“I’m aware, Lord Faust,” Reinfried said.
“They gathered no clues. They returned as reanimated corpses and killed three of the castle guards. Your men killed mine.”
“Yes, Lord Faust,” Reinfried said. “I’m aware and ashamed.”
“And what happened to the poor souls that you led?”
“They died in the fog. Only Lance and I escaped.”
“None survived?” Lord Faust asked with implacable anger.
“Yes. Failing to take the worst into account, I have displayed rashness and poor leadership.”
“It’s not his fault,” I interrupted. Both men looked at me as if I shouldn’t have spoken, but I continued, “The giant Aberration attacked, and we defeated it. Then we were ambushed by a lawless mage. We did our best to protect the town. We saved Ashenbrook from a disaster.”
Lord Faust ignored me and said, “Who will maintain order in the town now? This failure… You understand what it means, Reinfried.”
“I will resign, and I’m ready to accept any form of punishment.”
Weren’t we here to show Lord Faust the grimoire? Why are they talking about failure and resignation and punishment? For a moment, I couldn’t understand the situation. But then I remembered that I was in the presence of an imperial noble. The rigid flow of the conversation, which didn’t even allow me to mention the grimoire, was part of the formalities and customs that were dictated by years of tradition.
Reinfried knelt and placed his sword on the ground in a ceremonial gesture.
“If you punish Reinfried, you’ll have no one to defeat the mages,” I said. “You can’t make this mistake. You should―”
“Silence!” Lord Faust said. None of my words could change his mind. He wanted to dismiss Reinfried, and the delay was only for him to pick the most humiliating words. Before he found them, however, his eyes spotted the grimoire. Furrows appeared on his forehead, and his eyelids twitched. His anger transformed into dismay. He looked back at the ashamed knight and said, “This book in your hand, show it to me.”
The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.
The grimoire rotated in Lord Faust’s hands until he saw the small emblem on the cover―the headless white sheep.
“No… Wilhelm was right.”
“What do you know about this grimoire?” I said.
No answer came, and the room was plunged into a chasm of silence. Even the castle guards couldn’t whisper to each other.
“Reinfried, after seeing this, I cannot dispense with your help,” Lord Faust said. Then he turned his attention to me and added, “Lance, I will need your cooperation. This is a crisis. It is no longer a matter of Aberrations or fog.”
Is Lord Faust asking a guild member for help? This grimoire really does magic.
He flopped down into his throne and said, “Everything makes sense now.” He mumbled words that neither Reinfried nor I could hear. Then, suddenly, he stood up with a jerk and added, “I will keep the death of your men a secret for now. We will tell the town that you are camping in the grasslands. And the castle guards will maintain order.”
“Why would you keep the deaths a secret?” I said, feeling sorry for the families of the victims. “Shouldn’t the people know what happened?”
“Think of the widespread panic,” Lord Faust said. “If news of the deaths gets out, the townspeople will form mobs and go on witch hunts.”
“I got your point,” I said.
He nodded and continued, “We have many matters to attend to. But before anything, we should meet with Wilhelm.”
***
“Wilhelm Adler is a scholar and a friend of the family,” Lord Faust said, leading the way through the labyrinthine castle. “My late father hired him as a librarian. And I shamefully admit that he knows more about the history of my family than I do. He also knows more about the Cult of Belphegor, so his advice can guide our next move.”
Belphegor? I heard this word before.
I passed under an arch and found myself walking through a dead garden. A few floral skeletons were desperately clinging to life, but there was neither light nor water to aid their growth. Dry twigs broke beneath my feet, and yellow leaves rustled with every breeze. I followed a stone pathway and then marveled at the ornamented door that appeared at its end. The metalwork around the knob formed tiny dragons, and the stained glass above it portrayed a rising sun.
“This is the library,” Lord Faust said and pushed the door open.
It was a cylindrical building with two levels connected by a spiral staircase. The ground was tiled with snowy marble, and bookcases covered the walls, bending with the curves of the building. The air smelled of old books and dry ink. A desk was placed ten paces from the entrance. And there sat the man named Wilhelm.
He was older than Lord Faust but as short as a child. With thick white brows hanging over his eyes and a long beard that reached his waist, he resembled a dwarf. He dropped his pen, looked at us with curiosity, and said, “Clement, how could I be of service?”
“You were right. The Cult of Belphegor has returned.” Lord Faust placed the grimoire on the table. “It was foolish to dismiss your observations.”
“And now you want to hear the old story.” Wilhelm didn’t look surprised and shook his head. “Many times I tried to teach you about your family’s past, but you were always busy.”
“Sir Reinfried and this adventurer are eager to listen. Will you turn us away?”
“Don’t mistake my fatherly reproach for rudeness,” Wilhelm smiled. “I can’t turn a lord away. I will tell you everything, and even pray that you put the knowledge to good use. The Cult of Belphegor… These are dark times.”
Wilhelm walked to one of the bookcases. Golden letters spelled the names of the books, and he traced them with his finger as he searched for a particular title. Then he returned with several volumes that had been resting on the lowest shelf. After opening them on his desk, he said:
“There was a time when Ashenbrook was a forbidding wilderness. Back then, the mountains were heaving with lawless mages, cultists who worshiped demons. They dug caves, carved statues, and offered sacrifices. Many of them were ruthless savages, but one group stood out as the epitome of evil: the Cult of Belphegor.
“Wherever the worshipers of Belphegor went, mass destruction followed. They became so notorious that Empress Ingrid IV needed to act. Her Highness sent Valentine Faust, a young commander, to defeat the cult. If he succeeded, he would become nobility; if he failed, a life of shame awaited him. And I am afraid to say that the odds were against him.
“The Cult of Belphegor possessed a destructive weapon: demons. These infernal ghosts stole the bodies of weak-souled warriors. When they appeared on a battlefield, people collapsed as if with an arcane disease. The cult also possessed a devious weapon: the Fruit of Belphegor. It looked and tasted like an apple, but a strong-souled warrior who ate it became an easy target for the demons. It allowed the cultists to overcome their most spiritually gifted enemies.
“Naturally, Valentine Faust was overwhelmed, and his men died horrible deaths. There were very few survivors and no clues about what had happened. The Empress blamed the defeat on Valentine’s leadership, but the young commander wasn’t at fault. He was called a failure, but he didn’t give up. And his perseverance led him to Zeke Yuchi.”
Zeke Yuchi? The name sounded familiar. Oh, it’s from the book Rick told me about.
“Valentine was desperate, and the legendary Yuchi appeared like a messiah to guide him. Yuchi said that the cultists could be defeated. He asked Valentine to raid their caves once more, taking with him only the survivors of the first battle. This time, Valentine succeeded in destroying the cult. The Hall of the Mountain King was built to guard the area, and he became the first Lord of Ashenbrook.”
Wilhelm stopped here.
“What? Is the tale over?” I said in disappointment. “How did Valentine win?”
“I am afraid that there aren’t enough details about the final battle,” Wilhelm said. “You see, some of the volumes were destroyed in a fire.”
“When will our luck improve?” Reinfried sighed.
“What’s the use of this long story if we still don’t know what to do?” I protested.
“You learned about the enemy,” Wilhelm said. “It’s not my fault that no clues survived.”
“But there were clues, Wilhelm,” Lord Faust said. He turned his attention to Reinfried and me, continuing, “Zeke Yuchi told my ancestor to lead the survivors into a second battle. This must have had meaning.”
“You might be right,” I said.
“Strong-souled warriors are immune to the demons,” Lord Faust said.
“Indeed, they are.” Wilhelm nodded.
I remembered the warmth that had burned the ghosts, the heat that protected Reinfried and me. Was it a form of immunity? Were we among the chosen few who could win a battle against the cult?
Lord Faust continued, “Lance, Reinfried, you are the survivors. And I am of Faustian blood. The three of us should raid the cult’s hideout. This must be the answer.”
“If that is your wish, Lord Faust,” Reinfried said.
I had no opinion on the matter. I had promised to fight alongside Reinfried, and if he was ready to attack the cult’s hideout, so was I.
Lord Faust turned to Wilhelm and said, “Do you still have the maps of the old caverns?”
“Yes, they survived the fire. I will get them for you.”
I guess it’s settled. We’ll attack the cultists’ hideout. My allies are Reinfried and…
“Wait a minute!” I said, and everyone turned to look at me. “I understand that Reinfried and I should go, but Lord Faust too? No, no, no! Don’t turn this into an escort mission. I won’t protect an old man.”
“And the old man won’t protect you,” Lord Faust said.
Protect me?
“Watch your tongue, adventurer,” Wilhelm laughed. “You’re speaking to a high-level mage.”
“I don’t care if he’s nobility or… Wait, what?”