The Record of Unusual Creature

The sudden and safe return of the orb brought the town into a furore. Leyton was a special township, only sparsely populated by normal civilians. It was mostly inhabited by clergymen as well as royal knights, and perhaps a contingent or two of militias. All present had been involved in the search for the missing Orb to some extent, because they were aware of its significance to the kingdom. So, it was no surprise that the entire town rose into a huge cheer when a knight came bearing good news across the street, shouting, “The Orb has been found!”

Hao Ren and his group followed a group of knights as the latter escorted them into Leyton. They were soon mobbed by the townsfolk, who came to see what was going on and they were soon joined by the receiving troops. As they reached the town’s trunk road, someone toiled away in the town’s bell tower. The distant and loud sounds of the bell seemingly functioned to dispel the gloomy atmosphere that had canvassed the town for about half a month. The ringing also drew an ever bigger crowd and Hao Ren could not help but turn towards the leader of the knights beside him. “Is it alright to let the news out? Logically speaking, the return of such an important treasure would normally be kept secret…”

“This is the land of the goddess.” The commander’s face was grim as he pointed towards the church. “The people here are the most loyal servants of the goddess. The Orb of the Holy Synod has returned to its rightful home and…” The captain stopped for a moment as he broke into a smile. “Every sorry sod here needs something to be happy about. It has been nothing but sorry news for months. We need good news to let everyone know that the goddess is watching over her people.”

Big Beardy as well as the three other ascetics were surrounded by knights and they could not care less about the commotion. The young ascetic with the hoarse voice only glanced up for a second before looking back down again. “…Too noisy.”

“At least, we’ve completed our mission,” Big Beardy said softly. “Much has happened since and I will be praying for the night once we get back. Perhaps this is an omen by the goddess.”

The town still bore the scars previously left by the rock monsters’ invasion. The main road had clearly been repaired recently and some parts of the pavement were obviously new as well. The houses along both sides of the road had sustained visible damage while some had totally collapsed. Hao Ren still remembered how the town looked when he first came. Some of its buildings had since disappeared and only rubble or wooden frames were left where the buildings originally stood. Simple wooden shelters or tents dotted the streets and that was how the citizens of Leyton had been living since the attack. Based on the commander’s description, the rock monsters had charged directly through the centre of town, ignoring the two side roads. Their objective was obvious and the headlong charge destroyed the trunk road and everything around it. The only structure still unscathed was the church in the centre of the town. As it was protected with a powerful, magical forcefield, the rock monsters had circumvented the church and laid waste to everything else around it.

Thus, the plaza on both sides of the church was nothing but rubble now.

It did not take long for the group to reach the church. In front of it, an old man in magnificent robes was waiting for them. Hao Ren recognised the figure as Bishop Gelton. The clergyman had personally come out to welcome the return of the Orb of the Holy Synod. The old man looked even frailer in the cold wind and Hao Ren really wondered how long this man could hold on. Since the last time they met, the bishop had aged even more, and he was now as gaunt as a corpse.

The group dismounted from their horses and the four ascetics walked forth towards the bishop. Big Beardy and the bishop then exchanged greetings. “Bishop Gelton, it has been a while. By the goddess’ mercy, we have made it back alive.”

Gelton nodded and quivered as if his frail body would collapse at any time. But, his voice was still crystal clear. “It is great to see all four masters back, safe and sound. The thought of putting your names into the Book of Martyrs just did not feel right.”

The ascetics were a special group within the Disciples of Glory. To receive the title of a “master”, one needed to constantly practice and study all forms of arcane knowledge. This not only meant that these people were strong in faith, they were also learned in academia, theology, history and all sorts of fields. Most common believers treated the ascetics with reverence, which was only reserved for someone with more seniority. For high level clergies, the title “master” was used as a “professional title”.

Big Beardy waved the bishop off. “Being a martyr is something I could only dream of. If needed, I am ever willing to trade my life for the glory of the goddess. But, it seems that she would like for us to wait and she has brought us back safely. Alright, let us not tarry. We need to bring the Orb back into the church.”

Gelton nodded and looked at Hao Ren as well as the rest with rather cloudy eyes. “These mercenaries here… Ah… I still remember you lot. So, it is you…. such awe-inspiring youngsters. I never thought you would be the one to complete such a divine calling. The goddess will be pleased, and the kingdom will remember your contributions.”

At that point, even Becky was too embarrassed to even mention the rewards. The mercenary lass held a heroic pose as she said, “You’re welcome, you’re welcome. It is my honour to serve the goddess and the kingdom…”

Gelton was an experienced man and could tell that Becky was just another money-loving mercenary. However, he did not say anything more and simply nodded. “Come along, I would like to hear how you managed to find the Orb of the Holy Synod and the four masters.”

The group then headed into the church. The structure was protected by a powerful forcefield, thus it was safe from damage during the rock monsters’ assault. Inside the church were a group of monks in black robes—the church’s combat specialists. Their numbers seemed to have doubled, or tripled since the last time Hao Ren was there and they looked as formidable as ever. Hao Ren then entered the meeting hall where he first met the bishop. He also remembered another prominent figure who graced the room: the Royal Marshal, Ophra.

But, the general was not around today. Perhaps, she was stationed in the outer defensive perimeter.

The group sat on the benches and tall chairs in the room with Gelton being the last to be seated on his own tall chair. He coughed softly before he looked at Big Beardy. “So, Master, where did come from and how did you return?”

Big Beardy threw a glance at Hao Ren and narrated the story the way they had discussed earlier. “We were trapped in an alternate dimension for a few months until we were saved not too long ago by this group of young ones.”

A glimmer of shock flickered through Gelton’s cloudy eyes. “Alternate dimension? What is that about?”

“It appeared to be the remnants of the Ancient Magic Civilisation,” Big Beardy explained. The Plane of Dreams indeed had ruins of alternate dimensions dotted across it, even more so than Earth. This was the unusual restures’ “land of origin” after all. Thus, this was the best excuse available. “This is another trial by the goddess. We survived the cold and hunger in the alternate dimension and we had to hunt the strange beasts in that dimension to keep going. Our faith has led us till the end. We found a weakspot in the dimension and managed to re-establish contact with the outside world. This group of youngsters hail from the Hognar Empire. Their knowledge of dimensional magic is astounding and they were the ones who managed to open a pathway for us to escape. However, the exit is very far away, in the northern wasteland.”

Hao Ren nodded slightly as he listened and glanced at Becky. This whole hogwash tale was her doing. Or else, how could Hao Ren and Big Beardy come up with a story that fit the locals’ understanding without getting busted? Becky had spent countless nights in the taverns throughout her mercenary days and over-the-top stories were never short in supply.

After carefully curating your typical tavern tale off of parts where the hero slayed a dragon or demon king, most of the other parts would pretty much be true. A little salt and pepper made the story of the four ascetics, who disappeared believable. Besides, there was no way to disprove the matter or that such incidents were not unheard of.

But most importantly, most common people wouldnever think that the ascetics would play them for a fool…

Gelton nodded and seemed to trust what Big Beardy had told him. He knew that this was not the first time someone was trapped in the alternate dimensions left by the ancient ruins. The stories of other survivors were equally harrowing, and for that to happen to the goddess’ most fervant of servants, the only explanation was: it was her will. As such, the bishop stood up and faced the statue of the goddess, bowing before it. “Thank the goddess for her mercy.”

He then turned towards Hao Ren. “I am interested in hearing your story…”

Hao Ren quickly perked up, knowing that his time to act all cool and heroic had come. He sat in his most heroic posture before Gelton’s first words put a damper to it. “I remember that your group being called the ‘Dogs Have Gotten All the Good Names’, right?”

Hao Ren’s heroic facade crumbled in an instant before he nodded gingerly. “…Uh… right…”

“Such stoic heroism.” Gelton laughed. “The captain of Dogs Have Gotten All the Good Names sure is mysterious.”

Hao Ren could only keep a straight face on. “…Umm… thanks…”