"Let's find a place to stay first," Montag recommended. "I'll get some rooms at the inn with Lina. Derik, you go check out what's in the town. I haven't been here in a few years, but if I remember correctly, this town has quite the commercial hub."

"Alright, sounds like a good plan," Derik affirmed as he began to walk towards the middle of Silesia.

As Derik entered the town square, he saw that there were all sorts of shops selling different goods that went up and down the entire length of the street. No space was left vacant between the various buildings. Food, weapons, clothes, exotic goods, and jewelry were all on display; however, one building, in particular, caught Derik's eye. It was a large white brick structure with the stylized symbol of a blazing torch placed on its roof. He could only assume it was a place of worship from the various robe-clad individuals walking in and out of the building. It also held a sign that read, "New Baden survivors welcome." The news of the attack must have reached here already.

Derik decided to enter the establishment to get some information on what happened to the rest of the city while he was busy in the central square. He went into the building, and he was surprised by the silence. There must not have been any sort of gathering going on at the moment as there were a few people walking throughout. He began to walk the halls, hoping that he wasn't treading on any restricted grounds. Eventually, he opened a set of double doors which revealed a massive domed room filled with pews. Derik assumed this was a place for sermons or meetings.

"Good sir, good sir!" he heard a faint voice from the back of the room.

A figure adorned in white robes that draped all the way down to their feet ran down the length of the pews.

"It's quite rare to get a visitor at this time of day." the figure said as they looked Derik up and down. "You aren't from around here, are you?" the figure asked, pointing to Derik's dirty gambeson.

"Yeh, I arrived from New Baden," Derik replied.

"Ah, one of the survivors, you have my condolences. My name is Jules. Allow me to assist you." Jules motioned for Derik to follow him. They walked back along the pews and turned right to enter a side room. Derik followed Jules into the room and discovered a few others in garb similar to himself laid out on the ground in bedrolls.

"You are welcome to stay here with some of the other survivors while I get you some food and a change of clothes," Jules remarked.

"No need to get me a meal or clothes," Derik replied, "I am doing quite fine."

"Very well, I will be in the main room if you need me."

Jules did a slight bow as he backed out of the door. Derik began to wander around the resting area. He counted 23 people all packed inside the room. Derik knelt down to face one of the city guards that laid directly next to the door.

"What happened to you during the fighting in New Baden?" Derik asked.

"Sod off, I ain't keen to answer no questions," the guard replied and gestured to the bowl of soup that lay by his lap.

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"Soooorrry," Derik said. He looked around the room and saw most of the other soldiers otherwise occupied. As he turned to leave the room, he heard someone speak.

"I'll tell you my story if you would listen," the guard on the opposite side of the door spoke out.

Derik turned around and crouched beside him.

"Names Aldrick," the man said.

"Derik, nice to meet you."

"You were asking about the battle at New Baden?"

"Yes, what's your story?"

"I was stationed on the eastern wall during the attack," the man began. "The beasts were upon us quickly. We had no time to prepare. I ended up defending a breach in the palisade along with a few dozen others. It wasn't looking good for us at all, there were way too many to fend off. We had all but accepted our fate, but then I saw it. A woman that shot arrows with the grace of a god. Twas a miracle, a divine being whose arrows didn't follow the wind, but controlled it. She dragged the monsters away, and we were able to escape out towards the east. I was separated during the run through the city and ended up sheltering in a ruin. I waited there until the fighting died down, and that's when I was able to escape."

"I guess things were bad all around," Derik thought.

Having gotten some insight as to what happened at New Baden Derik left the room and backtracked to the main sermon room. He found Jules waiting as promised, sitting in one of the pews.

"Ah, you're back," Jules said.

"I don't need any necessities," Derik stated, "But I could use some information. I'm sure you've heard about what happened. Could you tell me how we ended up fighting a bunch of enlarged bugs? I mean they really remind me of a certain movie."

"You have come to the right person," Jules stood proudly. "If you want a history lesson, you may as well come to my study. I keep my manuscripts in there. I was doing some research into the matter myself."

Derik followed him through the winding halls until they reached the study.

"Quite the collection of papers," Derik mentioned upon entering the room.

"I'm flattered. It is my job to oversee these sorts of things," Jules responded.

Jules took out a stack of papers from one of the drawers. An unfinished manuscript lay on top.

"Sorry about the mess. I haven't fully finished transcribing yet."

"You manually copy things down, you mean?"

"Yes, we haven't been able to get a printing press as of yet. It's hard to get one from the far east. Money is a bit tight as of late with the war and all," said Jules. "As you know, we are at war with the nations of Baliskar, Melilla, Gauteng, and New Tango. The insects could be from Melilla as they do have quite a variety of large insect species. Melilla is far north, so it is unlikely, even if these creatures did pop up recently, that they made it to Mesburg. My best guess is they were magically enlarged using gems. Historically, that was quite a gem effective method for a sorcerer to raise a force. If we go by that assumption, the Lord Theurge seems the most likely option."

"Alright, I got the picture. Thanks for all the help," Derik said as he left the study.

Jules said, "Happy to be of assistance." He waved, then went back to writing.

Derik made his way back to the entrance of the church. He retraced his steps to keep himself from getting lost in the convoluted halls of the church.

"Great, now there is a sorcerer to contend with," he thought. He was approaching the exit when he bumped into someone from behind.

"Sorry, I didn't see you there," Derik said.

"It's nothing," the woman said as she collected the book she was carrying off the floor. She appeared to be wearing similar robes to those of Jules, only more heavily stylized with embellishments of silver. She had short blond hair and various necklaces dangled around her neck. "Say you look like one of the survivors from New Baden. Would you like to join the New Order of the Blazing Torch? Its light provides a guide in these trying times."

"Thanks for the offer, but I'm going to have to decline." Derik waved his hand in dismissal, "I've already got a religion."

Derik turned around and left down the hall. He noticed the woman was staring at him as he left the church. He thought it was a little odd. He continued to follow the street to the edge of the town but didn't find anything of note. He reasoned that he had done enough surveying of the town for today, and Derik started to walk back towards the town square.