The sun had already disappeared behind the treetops when the soldiers of the village witnessed a change coming from the direction of the tower. The last, desperate cry of many voices that remained muffled, as if muffled or the source of the sound moved away.
"What was that?" Ascar asked.
All four men were resting near the cattle after the burning of the monster's remains was complete.
"I don't know... but can you feel it?" Indres responded.
The uneasy feeling from the tower's side was gone. The atmosphere around seemed to be getting better as well. A breeze picked up, which began to chase away the stench from the monsters' burning.
"Perhaps... the curse is broken?" Erwan guessed.
"Then we can go inside?" The magic acolyte got to his feet, preparing to head towards the tower.
"They'll tell us when it's safe to do so." Indres replied.
"Yes? When? After they've collected everything of value? If they haven't already?" Verna's voice expressed contempt.
"Don't start again..." Hunter sighed and tried to remain calm.
When Indres told some of the events that had happened in the tower and the Lights guard's instruction to the village soldiers to wait outside until the purification ritual was over, the magical acolyte openly voiced his displeasure at the hunter's concession and cast a shadow over the Temple Guards' motives.
"If you weren't so naive-"
"Enough! If you want, go and talk to him yourself!" Indres raised his voice and interrupted the other man in halfword.
Vern looked surprised, then flushed with anger, his fists clenched as if ready for battle.
Not now, Indres regretted his loss of temper.
But he was tired of listening to the constant complaining and blame, all the more so because he himself was suspicious, if of something else.
"Peace, my friends! We are all alive after that... bone monster. Rejoice!" Ascar tried to ease the tension.
Fortunately, the Temple guards at this moment opened the tower door and invited the village soldiers to come closer.
"Erwan, stay with the beasts." Indres told his comrade.
The other three went across the clearing towards the tower. The flames from the gates had died down. Only one, the largest, still smoldered with embers. Nearby, the smell was stronger, and many dark patches around the burnt monsters and the empty, barren ground around the tower itself reminded them that even without the curse, the place was not very pleasant.
Praise the Eternal! The curse is broken!" Baern joyfully announced, standing in the doorway.
No doubt this was good news, Indres and the others did not hesitate to thank the Temple guards for their work. True, Indres and Verne were a little reserved.
"So we can go in now?" The magic acolyte asked immediately afterward, trying to show a polite smile.
Too direct... Indres gave the man a disapproving look.
Fortunately, the Lights guard was not angry.
"Yes, of course. I'll just ask you to be with one of us at all times. I've already checked the premises, but still, if you find anything magical or suspicious, say so immediately!" As before with Indres, Baern gave a warning.
Neither Vern nor Ascar thought of objecting. Anyone found in possession of a book or object related to black magic was liable to severe punishment.
The Temple guards wanted to rest first and asked for water and some food. While Ascar went back to animals and bags, Vern had to content himself for the time being with looking around the second-floor room that Indres had seen before. The magician's acolyte found nothing of value, which made the man's mood worse.
"Have you been upstairs yet?" he said to the Temple guards.
"Only me, and not for very long. Those rooms look pretty normal, but I found and destroyed a few things related to black magic. Of course, there may be more." Baern recalled.
"I see..." Vern gave Indres another frustrated look.
Fortunately, the magic acolyte did not voice any unwarranted suspicions or even accusations against the Temple guards. Indres did not consider Vern to be particularly clever, but the man was able to understand what would happen if he annoyed the nobles.
The Temple Guards put aside their helmets, armored gauntlets and spears and looked rather tired. Three days in a row in plate armor could not have been pleasant. The soldiers in the village felt the same way and also lightened their shoulders. Indres didn't like it, but he knew it would be strange to be the only one armed to the teeth, so he followed the example of the others. It was also true that the hunter no longer felt the supernatural atmosphere inside the building, nor heard the mysterious whispers.
After the Temple guards had eaten a short meal and regained their strength, the whole group went upstairs. No one else was allowed to enter the Shrine of Death, and Indres had assured them that there was nothing else there apart from the strange evil objects. The stores of supplies did not seem interesting either and had already been checked, so the village soldiers wanted to explore what was upstairs.
The third floor was a spacious living room, with not only a dining table but also a fireplace and a few sofas that could also serve as beds if needed. Verne noticed the silver candlesticks on the table and the cutlery in the cupboard near the wall. Baern assured him that the men of the village could safely take it all for themselves. If only for a moment, Indres noticed a glint of contempt in the Lights guard's eyes as the magic acolyte began to touch the items.
No, they were not here to line their pockets, Indres felt certain.
The fourth floor was a large bedroom, which also contained a desk, several bookshelves, a wardrobe and some other furniture. This floor looked like the private chamber of the owner of the tower, so Verne was eager to search it thoroughly for valuables. What made him nervous was that some of the books had been dropped on the floor, apparently when Baern was alone here. Indres also smelled a slight burning smell and saw fresh ashes in the fireplace.
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However, to the delight of the magician, there were gold and silver coins in the desk, and he also found a box with several rings inside. These rings glimmered, set with precious stones.
"Are these magical? No... ordinary." Vern sounded a little disappointed.
"Still, they're valuable, aren't they?" Ascar asked, stepping closer.
"Yes, of course. But not as much as magical ones. This one looks like a mage's tower, so I was hoping to find something magical."
"But still - gold coins and rings with precious stones! How much will it be in silver?" The village gatekeeper's eyes shone as he looked at the valuables.
"Hard to say, could be several hundred argus."
One silver argus was a day's wage for a skilled worker. The village gatekeepers received about the same. Indres's income hadn't been much better since the loss of Teru.
"If half goes to the village, the rest to the four of us..." Ascar began to calculate, lifting his fingers.
"It's hasty to count anything. Materials in the basement, silverware downstairs... plus the books are probably valuable too." Indres chimed in.
He had approached the bookshelf to study its contents but decided to engage the villagers in conversation before they showed themselves too greedy in front of the Temple guards. Even if the latter did not ask for a material reward, it would be polite to offer something.
"The only magic item I found was upstairs." Baern also spoke.
This prompted Verne to climb up to the last, fifth floor with the others. Unlike the other rooms, the windows here looked out on all four sides of the sky and were larger. The room itself also seemed a little bigger, with a clay-tiled roof, slightly sloping, instead of a beamed ceiling. Looking out to the west, you could see the sunlight on the horizon, while to the east the stars were already shining.
At one of the windows was a strange device, like a metal cylinder at arm’s length and with thick glass at both ends. The cylinder was set in a metal frame with a several rotating knobs and a plate-like mirror. On the floor was a large circle with strange symbols and lines, and near one of the walls was a table with several rolls of paper on it.
"Is this... some kind of weapon?" Vern furrowed his brows, studying the device carefully.
"No, a tool that allows you to better see what you normally can't. That which is distant, or normally invisible. The vidiscope, or something like that it's called, as I recall. The scrolls have star charts, so the device was probably used to study the night sky. It's possible that it was used for other purposes, but I'm not sensing black magic in it." Baern explained.
"But it's valuable?" As usual, the magic acolyte's focus was on the practical benefits.
"Yes, for mages. Probably more valuable than the money and jewelry that was downstairs."
"Excellent!" A wide grin broke across Ascar's face.
Indres found it hard to believe that something so strange and incomprehensible could be so valuable. But magicians did strange and incomprehensible things too. In fact, they were like that themselves. In any case, he could not deny the excitement in his heart at rising income.
Now was not the time, focus on what's important, the hunter reminded himself.
"Sir, it's late, does that mean we're staying here tonight?" he said to the Lights guard.
"Even without the curse, this place is no good; it can cause nightmares. Better to spend the night among the trees with our animals." Baern replied.
"What do you mean, no good? Isn’t the curse gone?" Vern wanted to know.
"The will that created the wraith is shattered, but these walls are soaked with pain and evil memories. It will take a lot of time and blessings to make it disappear completely. It is easier to simply destroy the tower."
"Destroy? But we could use it!" The thin man raised his voice.
"What do you mean, use it?" Baern furrowed his brows.
"Well, I don't know... hunters could sleep here, for instance. Or if the village is in danger, they can come here and hide... I mean, if there's no curse, this is an ordinary but well-built tower. It would be a pity to just destroy it, wouldn't it?" Vern tried to explain and looked at his comrades for support.
Neither Indres nor Ascar thought of anything to say.
"Acolyte Gesur, do you know what was done here?" The Lights guard stepped closer to the thin man.
Baern was much taller and stronger looking than the magic user, so the latter's face reflected unease.
"Yes, sir, I heard... a bit." Vern replied quietly, lowering his eyes.
"This isn't a place you want to use, even without the curse. Take what you can. Then we'll burn this place down." Baern's voice was firm.
"But we can't take everything now, sir! Beds and tables, we'll need a cart to transport it!" Ascar chimed in.
"Gold, silver and magical tools - not enough for you? Were we not generous enough to give up our share? What's more, do I need your permission?" Violet eyes coldly studied the man who had dared to speak.
Ascar had nothing to answer, so he also lowered his gaze.
Indres noticed the puzzled expressions on the faces of the two younger Temple guards at their commander's behavior, but they remained silent. The thought also occurred to hunter that the land was technically village territory, but he was aware that anything to do with black magic was beyond the rights of ordinary citizens. This was one of the reasons why the village elders wanted to find help in an informal way.
Seeing that no one dared to object, Baern spoke up again.
"Take anything you want under our supervision that can be loaded on the backs of our beasts. This place will then be destroyed. That is non-negotiable."
The mood in the group had changed. It become more tense.
"While there is time, I want to search the bedroom, maybe there is a hidden chamber." Vern muttered, swallowing his saliva.
"Fine... Ascar, maybe you start collecting valuables in the living room? In the meantime, I'll try to figure out how this device can be more conveniently packed and brought downstairs." Indres pointed to the vidiscope.
"Tedot, stay with the ranger. Pival - to the living room with the soldier." Baern ordert his man.
"Yes, master." Both young men nodded.
Just as they had promised, the Temple guards watched everything the village men did.
While Indres studied the device, he was also trying to work out in his mind what would be the best thing to do. On the one hand, he could submit to Baern's will and forget the dubious circumstances. In the end, they would still have won a valuable prize. Indres did not regret the loss of the furniture or other supplies; in fact, he wanted nothing of the place in his house.
But that would have meant losing the chance to know the truth. The reason why he had found this place.
The metal legs on which the magician's device rested could be removed. Indres found the pieces of cloth in the bedroom to wrap the vidiscope and then brought the device down to the entrance chamber. Tedot helped him but also followed him the whole time. Indres did manage to have a few words with Ascar in private as he passed through the living room. It was a simple, one might say even a little foolish request.
Indres was returning to the fifth floor to collect the metal legs and also the scrolls when a loud shout came from downstairs.
"Hey! I think there's a secret chamber in here!"
It was Ascar from the third floor.
As could be expected, Vern and Baern, who were in the bedroom, both rushed downstairs. Indres and his companion did too, but hunter began to lag behind on the stairs. Fortunately, Tedot was too fascinated by the find to pay attention to it.
Indres didn't hesitate to return to the bedroom and went straight to the fireplace. Unlike the living room and upstairs, only here was something burning, so here was what Baern wanted to hide, or rather destroy. As far as one could tell, some books had been burned, probably other papers as well. The remains were too fragile to get in the fingers, and they had turned black, not allowing anything to be read. The ashes were still warm, but Indres still risked digging deeper, hoping to find something more than paper.
He succeeded.
A small, metallic object was under the coals, warm, almost hot. The hunter pulled it absently out, sighing off the ashen remains. It was a relief, the shield of a noble family, with symbols and a few words. It had probably been used as an ornament on an object or a book cover. Indres invoked the magic of light to see the object better. He was certainly no expert in the symbolism of noble families, and the letters were old-style, but he could still make out the word in the center.
BAERN
***