Chapter 48. Night Adventures

The four people continued discussing possibilities for the next couple of hours and even came up with some formation in which they should move through the wilderness.

After all, even if they were to search for the 'lost' priest, they had to travel westward of Kyovashad and toward Menestad.

[Even if the road is paved, there are hills, valleys, and forests in between. The possibility of an ambush is high](Aybdah)

[Agreed.](Christine)

[In that case, we should search for the priest while being ready to fight monsters and demons. We already covered most of our abilities and have a general idea of how to respond if attacked.](Burt)

"While that's true, an imaginary scenario is different than reality. Fortunately, newbies or not, we've all been through fights before, so we shouldn't freeze when faced with an ambush."

With most preparations done, the party continued to discuss things over a light meal, after which they let Raskya know their plans and prepared to go out.

It was common sense among Wanderers to let someone know of their next adventure in case their bodies needed to be hauled back to the city—a grim but realistic situation in the Sanctuary.

The party first visited Lidka, and Michael paid 75 gold coins to refill his empty vials. Burt offered to pay the fee, but Michael refused when seeing the gold pile he secured so far.

Next, they visited the blacksmith, where Burt and Christine did maintenance on their gear while Michael and Aybdah only said hello.

It was unfortunate, but neither the party nor Orzen nor his wife had any shields Michael could buy.

'It makes me feel unsafe without it, but fortunately, I learned how to fight with a two-handed weapon already. Both in training with Martel and real life against Bosses and minions.'

Michael could feel his anxiety levels increasing, but he pushed it down to avoid unnerve the rest of the party.

They were already at the western gate of Kyovashad, going through an inspection before leaving.

[Going on a Quest, you said? What type? Any details you can give me? Do you have the established route?](Guard)

The party provided all the details asked, and in the end, they were given clearance to leave and some flares/fireworks they could use in case of trouble.

With all the much-needed bureaucracy out of the way, the party slowly advanced toward Menestad, following the paved road.

[According to the guards, the priest left yesterday with one of the Church's carts. That means that he can only follow the main road.](Aybdah)

[I was thinking the same. Also, it's a half-day dtravel with a cart to Menestad, so he should've returned by nighttime yesterday.](Burt)

[Maybe he stayed in Menestad overnight. Not everyone likes to travel at night.](Christine)

"That's also true. In that case, our trip will be swift and uneventful. Let's hope for that."

Indeed, the trip to Menestad was completed relatively fast, even on foot. The party arrived before night, and they planned to check with the guards if the priest arrived yesterday.

If he did and is still in town, they would stick around until tomorrow and return with him back to Kyovashad. If the guy didn't make it, something happened to him on the road.

[Stop there! Come here for a routine inspection.](Guard)

"We were planning to ask you some questions as well, sir. If you don't mind, of course."

[Hmm? What's that about?](Guard)

"We're on a Quest..."

Hearing the explanation about the missing priest, the guard shook his head and called some of the guys on shift yesterday.

The party looked gloomy when the men said they saw no priest coming from Kyovashad.

The guards even called a monk from the nearby Church and explained the situation.

[The tithes? Yes. Bozan met with Talgun yesterday but left quickly with his guards. Could it be that something happened to him?](Monk)

[Why don't we have a record of him passing through!?](Guard)

Hearing the explanation, the party was unsure what to do next.

[There's a chance of him being alive.](Christine)

[Unlikley. If there were bandits, they would've only stolen the goods and let the man go.](Burt)

"I agree with Burt, but Christine might be right as well. We can't assume the man's dead until we find his corpse or some clues of his demise."

[The question is, what do we do next? Do we go out and search now? Or wait until morning?](Aybdah)

Seeing the party torn between searching during the night or waiting until daylight, the guards and the Monk offered their input.

[While your zeal is commendable, it's a terrible idea for a group of newbies like you to venture out at night. Every threat you'll encounter at night is more active, ferocious, and prepared to deal with you than you are them.](Guard)

[I concur. The sentiment is enough, but it's unlikely that the priest is still alive. You going at night to search for him is a horrible idea. One person dying is bad enough, but to drag four young ones such as yourself with him, I don't think he would be willing to see that.](Monk)

The group agreed with the suggestion; however, something felt off.

It wasn't just Michael feeling it; the other three were in a similar situation, feeling unnerved for no particular reason.

In the next second, four falling stars seemed to break through the clouds and hit the hands of each Wanderer in the party.

"What the fuck!?"

The surprise was pretty obvious on their faces, while the guards and the Monk looked somewhat troubled.

Since they seemed to know what happened, Michael turned and asked.

"What was that about?"

[Well... it's a mark.](Guard)

"Can you please elaborate?"

Michael almost cursed at the man. He could see the red rhombus on the back of his head also, so he was aware of it being a mark.

It was the same situation for the other three.

[It's a blessing of sorts from the Sanctuary. Every monster, demon, or even human you will meet in your Quests will be suppressed within five levels of your own.](Guard)

[Since you're marked as a party, it will count as the lowest level of your party member.](Monk)

"How long does it usually last?"

[About that... It depends from Quest to Quest. Usually, the Sanctuary would add...](Monk)

[ Quest update - Menestad Coffers

Objective: Investigate the road to Menestad for Monk Bozan.

Remaining time: 4 hours, 59 minutes, 55 seconds

Rewarded blessing #1: 5 Level Restriction (all enemies encountered will be reduced to five levels about the lowest leveled member of the party)

Rewarded blessing #2: Night Vision (the moon lights your path, allowing you to better see in the dark) ]

[... a time limit to urgent Quests.](Monk)

"I see..."

[Ugh... it just did. We have less than five hours left to find Monk Bozan.](Aybdah)

[*Sigh* That's both good and bad news.](Guard)

[Can you please elaborate? It would help us a lot if we don't go trying to complete this Quest completely blind.](Burt)

[By good news, he means that Bozan should still be alive. By bad news, it means that the difficulty of your Quest just increased sizeably. As for how exactly that happened, we can't possibly know the exact details.](Monk)

[Then, Monk Bozan might be in danger currently. And if we don't find him within these five hours, he might die?](Aybdah)

"Either that, or he's currently captured, and we'll need to save him. Therefore, the increase in difficulty."

[We're wasting time.](Christine)

Looking at the already setting sun, they voted and unanimously decided to search for the Monk. Since they had the '5 Level Restriction' and the lowest level in our party was Aybdah at Level 5, it would mean that the highest level enemy we would face should be a Level 10.

There were still no horses, so they had to go again on foot.

After saying their goodbyes and, the guardsman mentioned they would send a search party for them if they were not back by morning.

It brought comfort, knowing that at least some corpses might be recovered if everything went to shit.

"While we are indeed in a hurry, I'd still suggest we take it slow and carefully investigate our surroundings."

[Seconded.](Christine)

[Mhm.](Burt)

[Sure. I was initially worried about the lack of light, but with this second blessing, I can see just as well as in daylight.](Aybdah)

"Mhm. Also, did your MAP updated as well? Can you see the area marked?"

[[[Yes.]]]

Upon inspection, the marked area was slightly off the path they took. Burt and Christine helped identify that area as the Western Ways.

[It's an alternative path to the one we took. It's a bit of a detour, but it's generally safer as it climbs up a cliff and then returns to the main road, much closer to Menestad. That road is cleaned up daily by Wanderers since merchants pay for it. So... it's weird.](Burt)

[Monk Bozan wasn't attacked by monsters or bandits. Maybe demons?](Christine)

"Maybe... as for the alternatives... He either wanted to steal the tithes himself or..."

[Someone from his guards turned rogue.](Aybdah)

Everyone flinched at the ugly words. Betrayal is one of the things you can't properly guard against when in the wilderness.

Especially in dangerous areas where you count on your party members to have your back.

"Well, we have our target. Let's get going. Time's ticking!"

The trek would've been perilous without the moon lighting the path. Fortunately, the snow was also white enough to glisten at night, making it almost comparable to a field of vision during the day.

It wasn't long until the party reached a separation between two cliffs.

"It seems that we have to jump. On the other side is the beginning of the marked territory on the MAP."

[It looks only about a meter or so. An easy jump.](Aybdah)

[Snow and ice. It will be slippery on the edges.](Christine)

"She's right. So, I'll jump first and wait to receive the rest of you."

Waving my scythe to hint at them, I didn't wait for an answer and just jumped to the other side.

As expected, I made it easily to the other side and almost instantly slipped on the icy edge of the cliff. To secure my footing, I stabbed the scythe into the ground in front of me and managed to stabilize myself.

"As expected, there's a decent chunk of ice under the layer of snow. I'll try something first."

Casting a blob of Blight at the ground near the edge of the cliff. As expected, the ice and some ground melted slightly, just enough to create a patch free of ice.

"Nice! Aim for this patch; I'll be here to catch you."

[Sweet! I'll go first.](Aybdah)

As the guy jumped, unexpectedly, he jumped so high and far that if Michael hadn't moved out of the way, he might've landed boots first on the Necromancer's face.

Laughing together, the remaining two also crossed with the blighted area being useful only to Burt, who had heavy armor equipped.

"Let's get moving. We only have less than two hours left."

Fortunately, it didn't take long until they reached a cliff edge by the side of this 'road' where somewhat fresh hoof marks indicated a strange possibility.

Scratching their heads, the four walked closer to the edge and looked downward.

What appeared to be three corpses were sitting in a wreck at the bottom of the cliff. The distance was about five meters or so, allowing them to see the corpse of a horse, two people lying on the snow, their fate unknown, and a box.

"Did they both fall? This makes no sense at all."

[Too strange.](Christine)

[Let's get down and inspect it?](Aybdah)

[There's a path over there. Let's go.](Burt)

Seeing the excited Burt and Aybdah, Michael and Christine shook their heads and followed behind them.

The situation was strange, so Michael resummoned his four Skeleton Warriors that boxed in the party, ensuring they would be able to respond to all threats in the fastest possible manner.

Soon, they reached the bottom of the cliff where the bodies were. Much to their surprise, one of the previously lying bodies was sitting on its ass, back against the wall.

He was pretty bruised, and his left arm and left leg were in unnatural positions, probably from the fall.

Christine signaled, and all of them went on high alert. Michael carefully stepped forward to question the man.

"Are you Bozan the Monk?"

[Indeed I am. Ugh... Did the Church send you?](Bozan)

"Yes. As you went missing for too long, Miss Kudomyla issued the Quest to find your whereabouts."

[*Sigh* Thank the Father for her insight; otherwise, I don't think I would've made it through the night here.](Bozan)

With his right hand, he moved aside the cloak covering his left leg, showing the gruesome sight of a bone piercing through the skin.

There was already a small pool of blood underneath.

"Looks like your shinbone is broken. Probably wrecked some veins or arteries when it pushed through."

[Please, Wanderers! Do you have some Healing Potions to spare?](Bozan)

"We do, but there are two things we must do first. One, before you drink the Healing Potion, the bone must be set back in. That will hurt. A lot."

[*Sigh* We monks are used to pain. It's faith that keeps us alive and serves as our medicine.](Bozan)

Holding back the snide reply about how he should use his faith to cure his wound, Michael looked back at the trio on his sides and nodded.

"Second and most important, what the hell just happened here? How could the two of you fall off the cliff?"