Shadow's Oath

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Chapter 60: The Heretics' Temple (3)

Damion stepped forward, blocking the workers’ path with his body as they approached with hammers in hand.

The workers, wary of laying a hand on the prince, stopped abruptly.

“The ritual must come first. Do not destroy anything yet.”

Aikob, with a puzzled expression, asked,

“Would something like this really be necessary for a ritual, Your Highness?”

“If we’re going to do it, it should be in its original state, don’t you think? Especially if we want to show that we’re not afraid of such things.”

The decision to destroy had been quick, but the decision not to was taking more time.

“...You’re right, Your Highness. Where should we conduct the ritual?”

“Well, Hag... no,”

Damion corrected himself, choosing a word Aikob would understand better.

“The witch mentioned that she’d find a suitable spot once she arrived…”

Ram, out of habit, surveyed the cave.

Were there any potential entrances?

Where might enemies penetrate if an unexpected attack occurred?

He mentally mapped the locations of every object in the space and the distances between them.

What would he do if the lights went out completely?

Could he move without seeing?

Where could he stand unseen if someone entered from the main entrance?

It had to be somewhere he wouldn’t be detected when a target came in…

‘What am I even doing?’

Ram halted his unnecessary assessments.

His gaze shifted back to the faint smoke trailing along the wall.

The smoke was flowing out through a hole in the ceiling that let in light.

The flow of air was so subtle that it was almost imperceptible unless one focused intently.

The sunlight pouring through the hole illuminated a stone floor.

A single step away from that spot was a waist-high rock.

Its width resembled a table in General Terdin’s tent, its surface flat and smoothed, with a hollow, bowl-like indentation in the center.

The traces of intentional polishing were evident.

Inspecting the hollow, Ram noticed burnt residue and what looked like stains from dye.

Before Ram could announce his discovery, Jedrick was already standing before it, nodding slightly to confirm Ram’s suspicions.

“It appears to be here,”

Ram said.

Jedrick could have spoken, but he chose to remain silent.

Ram understood why.

“Let me take a look.”

As Aikob approached, Jedrick stepped back.

In Ram’s eyes, Jedrick seemed far more intent on avoiding contact with Aikob than Charlon did.

“It looks like a stone table… This must be it. Your Highness, please come over here. It seems we’ve found the spot,”

Aikob declared as if he’d made the discovery himself.

When Damion and Charlon joined him at the stone table, Aikob began explaining the obvious.

“If you burn the ritual powder in this hollow, the smoke will likely rise through that hole in the ceiling. The idea is to make it seem mystical, as if the smoke reaches the gods. Typical savages’ ingenuity.”

Aikob extended his hand to Ram.

“Well then, shall we begin the ritual? Where are the ritual powders and sacred stones?”

Ram reached into his pouch and handed it—not to Aikob but to Prince Damion.

Damion, in turn, gestured toward the archbishop with his eyes, prompting Ram to finally pass it to Aikob.

Aikob glared at Ram with an irritated expression but quickly replaced it with a smile, declining to take the pouch.

“You have a fine servant, Your Highness.”

“Stuga is not my servant, Archbishop.”

“Is that so? His behavior suggests otherwise. Where did you say you’re from?”

Though his voice was gentle, Aikob’s eyes remained piercing.

Those loaded questions, pretending ignorance, were nothing short of torture for Ram.

Damion intervened.

“Why ask such questions, Archbishop?”

“Surely you understand, Your Highness. My duty is to explore human nature. That’s why I ask such things of those I meet for the first time. After all, human nature often follows one’s origins.”

His words began stretching toward a sermon.

“An experienced cleric like myself can discern a person’s character just by their skin tone. By learning their birthplace, I can predict what position they might reach. Southerners, for instance, can never become central officials. Westerners should never be given command of the military. So naturally, I’m curious about this boy’s lineage. Is he truly of status befitting your side?”

At that moment, the sound of a knight running approached from afar.

Ram turned even before Aikob finished speaking, instinctively positioning himself to block any potential thrown weapon.

The knight wasn’t an enemy, but Ram couldn’t stop his body from reacting.

“Archbishop Aikob!”

“What is it?”

Aikob responded with an irritated look, displeased that his lecture had been interrupted.

“We’ve found another temple.”

Aikob had ordered the area to be scoured before entering this cave, with knights spreading out on horseback.

Ram had assumed “scouring” meant checking for nearby enemies.

“What about it?”

“It’s far larger and contains many more statues of heretical gods than this one.”

“Is that so?”

Aikob glanced at Jedrick with an air of knowing disdain.

“How curious. Wasn’t this temple supposed to be the sanctuary of Raham, the greatest god and father of the gods, according to the Gerons, barbarian chieftain?”

Jedrick met Aikob’s sly gaze head-on and replied.

“This is the temple of Raham, and also the temple of Iktaron.”

“And yet, you say there’s an even larger temple nearby. How do you explain that?”

“There are many temples larger than this one. If they found one nearby, it’s probably Glon’s temple. She’s the goddess of abundance and the earth, so more people visit and embellish it more lavishly.”

Aikob, still gazing at Jedrick, asked the knight who had delivered the report,

“What does the statue in that temple look like? If she’s the goddess of abundance, I’d expect her to be plump and have large or even multiple breasts.”

“She didn’t look much like a goddess, though. More like a big warrior in armor.”

“And how do you explain that, barbarian?”

Jedrick couldn’t respond.

Whether he couldn’t or wouldn’t was unclear.

Unable to stand it anymore, Damion stepped in.

“Why are you saying this, Archbishop?”

“That barbarian has deceived us.”

“Pardon?”

“When I announced I would destroy the temple, he must’ve led us to a fake one, perhaps a less significant one. Then he performed some phony rituals here and allowed us to waste our efforts destroying an unimportant place.”

Aikob shook his head as if in pity.

“With such pitiful schemes, it’s no wonder barbarians are called uncivilized.”

Though Damion’s discomfort was evident, he didn’t argue.

“Let us move, Your Highness. We’ll head to that place.”

Damion thought for a moment before shaking his head.

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“I’m feeling unwell and would like to rest for a while. I find myself tiring quickly since I fainted. Besides, it’s warmer here than outside. Don’t you think so, Charlon?”

Feigning exhaustion, Charlon said,

“If the Archbishop permits, I’d like to stay and rest here with His Highness.”

Aikob replied with a benevolent expression,

“Very well. On the off chance that this barbarian’s words hold some truth, and we’d be wasting our time, I’ll personally go and check. If it’s false, I’ll return. If true, I’ll send knights later.”

“That sounds like a good plan. We’ll wait here.”

Smiling, Damion turned to the other knights and instructed,

“So that the lady may rest comfortably, all of you escort the Archbishop out. This is a dead end with only one path, so guarding the entrance is enough. Anyone not on duty can have their meal first.”

The knights were pleased with his final comment and exited the cave in a rush.

Aikob, pointing at the leather pouch Ram was holding, said,

“You’ll bring that yourself later.”

“Yes, Archbishop.”

With Aikob’s departure, only the four of them remained.

Ram confirmed through the sound of footsteps and said,

“They’ve all left.”

“Can they hear us outside?”

Damion asked.

“No. When the knights were inspecting this place earlier, I kept listening. Even though they spoke quite loudly, their voices were muffled, and I couldn’t make out the words. Unless we shout, there’s no risk of them eavesdropping.”

“Good.”

Standing in front of the stone table, Damion asked Jedrick,

“You said Glon was a goddess, right? Then the statue in that temple—wasn’t it of a woman?”

He didn’t even bother to ask if this temple was truly Raham’s.

“It is a woman. Our goddess is a warrior, just like our god. When war breaks out, she fights alongside us. The statue doesn’t emphasize her femininity.”

Charlon, devoid of any suspicion that Jedrick had led them to another temple, asked,

“Why is Raham’s temple smaller than Glon’s? Though I do think this place is sacred enough as it is.”

Jedrick’s answer was simple.

“Because that one was built later.”

Damion burst into laughter.

“It’s the same for us. The holiest, most ancient cathedrals tend to be small. But the cathedral Aikob is building for himself rivals a royal palace in size.”

Jedrick let out a short chuckle.

“Everyone seems eager to avoid Aikob, even Charlon…”

Charlon also smiled.

“When the Archbishop decided to head to another temple, I saw an opportunity. I understood the prince’s intention right away.”

“Now it’s just us.”

Damion looked up at the sunlight streaming from the ceiling.

The light was so bright it made him squint.

“This stone table’s position is remarkable. Though the light doesn’t hit it directly now, I bet it falls perfectly on this spot at noon. Right?”

“It would seem so,”

Charlon remarked in admiration.

Damion looked at her with satisfaction, but Jedrick shook his head.

“Not noon—midnight.”

“How could there be sunlight at midnight?”

“It’s not for sunlight. It’s for moonlight. On the night of the full moon, at midnight, the moonlight will illuminate this stone table. Specifically on the winter solstice. It’s designed that way.”

“You’re kidding. You’re saying they built this on purpose?”

“I didn’t build it, so don’t ask me.”

As the two bickered, Charlon was the only one marveling.n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

“When moonlight pierces through the darkness to shine on this stone, it must be beautiful. I’d love to see it on the winter solstice.”

“Don’t expect too much. And that’s assuming Aikob doesn’t destroy this place first,”

Jedrick replied in a flat tone.

“There’s no need to destroy it,”

Charlon said, looking regretful.

“Before he wrecks this table, we need to get to work,”

Damion interjected, gesturing.

Ram placed two leather pouches on the stone table—one filled with powder, the other with rune stones.

Damion declared,

“Let’s begin.”

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