The Temple on the Burial Ground

Although Huvel felt uncomfortable with his disguise, he had to wear them again because he would have to face countless stares and questions if he were to visit the Temple of the Goddess of the Underworld in Warso Valley as a human. Although that temple was avoided by humans, many other homo races visited the temple and paid their respect to the goddess whenever they passed by. So, Huvel had no choice but to wear the dog ears to avoid suspicions.

He hired four horses and three mercenaries to guide him to the temple. The mercenaries were reluctant when they heard of the destination. They finally agreed after their pockets were filled with some heavy coins. Huvel chose to travel with horse because travelling with horses would be the fastest. Although he disguised as a pilgrim, he did not even bother to bring many offerings.

Huvel whined inwardly after travelling for five days in the wagon. "It took only two days to travel between the capitals of these two neighbouring kingdoms. But it took me five days to reach Warso Valley from Blue Hippogriff! Technology… no, magic is really amazing. I hope they have more 'airports' in the future."

When they finally reached Warso Valley, Huvel saw that it was a huge valley. The forest around there was thick but he had already heard that there were not many animals that could harm the travelers. Even if a tiger came out, the three mercenaries could somehow deal with it since it was the reason they were hired.

As they proceeded through the forest with caution, they were soon on the burial ground. It was said that the very burial ground before them used to be the biggest burial ground in the Blue Hippogriff Kingdom. Even the members of the royal family was buried there until that incident a hundred years ago. The former glory of the burial ground was no where to be seen when Huvel and his party walked on it. There were numerous mounds on the ground that seemed like 'mass-produced'.

"These must be the graves of those three-thousand dead soldier that tried to launch a siege. Either the priests of the temple or the pilgrims must have buried those bodies out of pity." Huvel sighed inwardly as he glanced at the scattered mounds. "I can feel the dark energy in the air. It is almost overwhelming!"

When he looked at the mercenaries who bragged their glorious feat before on the way before, all three of them looked around their surroundings timidly.

"I feel like someone… is watching us!" One of them murmured.

"It must be just your imagination!" Another one interjected. "The pressure here was so heavy that I cannot sense anything at all!"

"Speak less or the nymph will be annoyed!" The third one shut them off with a single sentence!

Huvel smiled lightly when he heard them. He could not sense a nymph at all with his [Dark Shroud] but he was happy since there was abundant dark energy everywhere around him. He wanted to stop his horse and meditate there but he had to play his façade till the end. They continued toward the temple.

The sight of the temple soon came into his view. It was an enormous building made of brick. It was painted in shades of dark grey and gave an eerie feeling.

"This temple gives me the vibe of an old gothic cathedral! And the god worshipped here is the Goddess of Death. Such a good combination! Gothic-gals-loving weebs might make a cult if they know this… oh wait, she is a goddess in real life here so am I thinking backward?"

Huvel collected his scattered thoughts and focused on the people that came out of the temple. There were two and both of them seemed to be male. One of them was a human and the other was a hucanis. They wore dull gray robes that covered their entire bodies. The robes looked like a pit of darkness; they did not reflect any light that fell onto them.

The two introduced themselves as the priests of the temple and welcomed them without any hint of doing harm to them. They lead Huvel and the mercenaries to a place to rest. Huvel was worried if the hucanis priest could see through his disguise. He sighed in relief when the priest left without saying anything about his appearance.

After resting for a while, Huvel put the offerings he brought onto the altar inside main hall of the temple. It was an enormous hall befitting for a temple dedicated to one of the fourteen gods. There was a statue of the Goddess of the Underworld behind the altar in the hall. It was a stone statue that was about twelve feet tall and the facial features were not carved. One of the hands held a long mace and the other was spread open. Some extravagant clothes made of exotic fabrics were put on its stone body.

"Do I have to say my prayers now?" Huvel thought before kneeling in front of the goddess's statue. "Even if I pray, will the goddess even hear it? She might be busy fondling her toy boys' chests as I pray! Well anyway, it is my duty to give her a report whether she hears it or not."

Huvel verbally expressed his thanks to the goddess for giving him a chance. He then reported that he had seen one of the goddess's lovers. He also asked the goddess to help him achieve a higher mana circle in a short period. After praying, he sat silently in front of the alter. Then he bowed his head and left for his lodging.

Huvel gave all the priests in the temple some presents he prepared. There were six priests and only two of them were humans. Another three were hucanis and the last one and the head priest was a hucervid, a half-human and half-deer race. Huvel explained to them that he got an urge to pray to the goddess for a few days and requested for the permission to stay there for a long period.