A Traitor?

"Hmm? Three humans have recently taken residence in our village and are working with the mercenary guild?" Elion mused aloud.

"Interesting… Didn't I destroy the guild when I discovered the corruption inside their ranks, or… was it a dream?"

He was going through the weekly report sent by his servant when he heard a commotion outside his house.

"Who's there?" He barked.

"Lord Barhawk! The villagers are gathered at our doorsteps. They have some urgent matter that needs your immediate attention." One of the servants in charge of taking care of Elion and his house opened the door to his room and informed him.

Elion frowned, his morning was already ruined by having to go through the useless weekly report, but now he had to deal with this mob.

He couldn't deny their request either or else they would simply go to his father, who would in turn dump the work back on him again.

He reluctantly got up and inhaled his normal dose of Rave Spirit before exiting his house to meet with the villagers.

He was sure he needed that extra energy to deal with this rowdy bunch.

"Lord Barhawk! The witch has entered one of the abodes in the village! You must evict her!" A man with shoulder length grey hair— a proof of his advanced age— complained in his raspy voice.

"Who?" Elion blanked for a couple of seconds. His mind was a bit addled by the drug that was slowly diffusing into his veins. It took him a considerable amount of time to recall who this 'witch' was.

"My Lord, we're talking about Vivian!" This time a middle aged woman stepped forward. "Isn't she forbidden from entering any residence? She thinks she is allowed to break the rules because of Lord Ronan's backing!"

"You must take action, My Lord!"

"Yes!!"

"You must punish her!"

Elion rubbed his forehead in irritation. What was wrong with Vivian entering the village? What was he supposed to do now?

Elion had a hard time figuring out what was transpiring. As far as he knew, his father was in talks with Lord Ronan to arrange a betrothal between them.

When did she get banished from the Inner Sanctum— ah, wait! He remembered!

She was punished for trying to break the statue of their WindGod. Suddenly, the influx of old memories flooded his brain and Elion closed his eyes shut in order to assimilate them.

"Urgh!" He groaned and passed out on the doorstep.

"Lord Barhwak! What happened!?"

The crowd broke into chaos. Some rushed to Elion's side instantly while shouting about calling for healers, but most of them chose to stand by and watch in curiosity.

These people were bored and hungry for some entertainment— being stuck in a place where their life was monotonous and boring had dulled their sense of morality.

As long as they got something to break them out of their shell of boredom at other's expanse, they were all in it for watching scandals, tragedies, or anything remotely engaging event, unfold.

It was the same with Vivian's case. Even though she had done nothing to warrant their hatred, they still mocked her and spread vile rumours about her simply for the sake of their entertainment.

They weren't even fully aware of the reason why she was banished from the Inner Sanctum. All they knew was she had done something terrible and was aptly punished for that crime.

And honestly, that's all they needed to target her for their amusement.

Now that they had witnessed her breaking the law and entering a house, how could they let go of the chance to spice up their day?

It would be great if they could create a scuffle between the village protector and Vivian.

"Step aside, step aside," Elion's servant quickly pushed the crowd away from his lord and checked his vitals.

"Ahh. it seems Lord Barhwak is tired from overworking! He needs some rest." He lied. He was perfectly aware of the reason for his lord's sudden collapse.

"But who is going to deal with that—"

"Oh shut up!" The servant growled. "She is not going to eat your kids now, is she?"

"But she—"

"As I said, there is no need to worry. Once Lord Barhawk has recovered from his exhaustion he will deal with her. Now, don't you guys have work to do?"

The servant shooed them off rudely and set to bring his lord back into the house where he could check his condition thoroughly.

"Huap…!" The servant dropped the unconscious body of Elion on the bed and started nursing him back to awareness.

***

Ronan walked up to the tree house near the World Tree where the High Priestess had asked him to meet her.

He had prepared himself for the worst. Calling him back abruptly when he was out on his duties meant only one thing— the High Priestess was up to something.

Something that did not sit well with him.

He had been busy since yesterday after hearing disturbing news about Puppet Makers from Raymond.

He still had his doubt about whether the brat was being honest or was simply playing with him. But those doubts were squashed as soon as he saw the remnants of the battle where Raymond had mentioned having fought the Puppet Maker.

Sure enough, the brat wasn't lying and there really was a Puppet Maker in the forest.

Ronan's heart sank to the bottom as he realised the implications of finding the monster here.

He thoroughly investigated the torn parts of the monster and came to a rather disturbing conclusion: someone has manually aided in not only their creation but also their rapid growth.

There was a cultivator with wood affinity running amok in the forest and creating Puppet Makers.

As for how reached that conclusion, it was simply his intuition. These things never tended to be as simple as they appeared on the surface.

There had to be someone behind this incident and unfortunately, his intuition was on the spot when he inquired about the nearby villages for missing nubile girls.

And the result was harrowing— there were several cases of missing girls; most of them who had gone out to work had never returned.

Ronan's frown deepened as his thoughts went to his High Priestess. He wasn't sure if she would be even willing to help in this matter.

Ever since the time that brat had awakened on that mountain, she never left the Sacred Chamber let alone the Inner Sanctum.

Ronan wouldn't be surprised if she just pushed the work onto himself and retreated to her daily stalking activities.

"Ronan, come inside." A soft yet commanding voice reached his ears as soon as he climbed the stairs and reached her door.

Ronan stepped into the gloomy living hall of the tree house and found Celestia sitting cross-legged on the floor. There was no hint of anyone having lived for a long time inside the house.

It was empty and dark with poorly lit oil lamps mounted on the walls.

"May the blessing of Nature be with you, Ronan" Celestia gestured for him to sit in front of her.

"Likewise, First Lady." Ronan nodded as he sat on the floor.

"Where have you been these past few days?" She asked, narrowing her eyes on him.

"Ahh, My Lady, I have been busy travelling the outskirts of our territory and I have discovered rather unsettling news while on my excursion." Ronan didn't care what she had called him here for. He wanted to get this out of his system first and seek her help.

"What is it?" Celestia asked.

"I believe we have a criminal in our midst who is creating Puppet Makers."

"What!?" Celestia's eyebrows disappeared into her hairline. "Do you suspect anyone, Ronan?"

Celestia had known Ronan for all her life. He even taught her the ins and outs of cultivation and was practically a teacher to her before she became the High Priestess, as such, she knew he wouldn't have come to her if he wasn't sure about his discoveries.

"The knowledge about making a Puppet Maker is only known to us in this part of the world. Although the rudimentary information about the process is well known, nobody is aware of the intricate spell formation needed to successfully create one.

"That knowledge has been removed from our library a long time ago. Either it is someone who had gone through the process before it was removed or someone who has obtained the knowledge from outside of this Continent."

"What do you think, Ronan?"

"I believe it is the former, My Lady," Ronan said heavily. "There is a traitor among us and I highly suspect that it is one of our elders."

"Now, don't jump to conclusions so hastily. It is hard to say the culprit is one of our own without any substantial evidence." Celestia spoke in her soothing voice which managed to miraculously alleviate the old man's worries for a moment. "For all we know, it might be someone from Varn.

"That place has never shied away from dabbling in unorthodox practices and rituals. Even half of the leading authorities of that continent are contracted to demonic beasts."

Ronan visibly deflated after contemplating over her words. Even after thinking for a while he was not fully convinced.

"It is better to put ourselves under scrutiny before pointing fingers at others," He said as an afterthought.

"That is true," Celestia nodded. "But that might create a conflict between our elders. We need to tread carefully."

Ronan bowed towards the High Priestess, his forehead almost touching the ground.

"My Lady, there is a simple solution to all these problems— it only needs your cooperation."

Celestia's face darkened soon after his request. He was suggesting she seek help from the World Tree.

"Ronan, I thought you knew this but mother does not like it when I combine my ability with her World Connection— especially if it is for anything other than observing Lord Raymond."

Celestia was not going to reveal the fact that she had been kicked out of the Sacred Chamber for the time being.

She would be subjected to an endless tirade from her old mentor if she did that.