Chapter 227. Orbei Monastery

Like all other major religions in history, the Order of Zakarum, otherwise known as the Church of Light, Zakarum Church, and Religion of the Light, is a religious order in Sanctuary.

It is dedicated to worshipping the Light and its tenets, but its faith has often led to fanaticism. As most religions do.

However, unlike most religions who started slow and maintained a low profile, the Zakarum were much bolder.

The Church has maintained arms militant. It had twelve Grand Inquisitors originally to detect corruption within the populace. The number of inquisitors increased as the influence of the Prime Evils spread in the past.

Eventually, the priesthood itself took on the role of judge and jury and sent out the Zakarum Zealots to play the role of executioner to any who were considered corrupt. Additionally, the Church has utilized at least two Paladin orders—the Protectors of the Word and the Hand of Zakarum.

The former has long been defunct, while the latter collapsed under the weight of the Zakarum's corruption. The Soldiers of the Faith acted as bodyguards for the Church's highest-ranking members.

As for why Michael found it relevant, it was because of a little snippet he read in the first damned chapter of the book.

Zakarumites have a negative view of the Priests of Rathma and have traditionally used any excuse they could to hunt them down. The blood moon persists as a sign of woe for the most superstitious Zakarum faithful. Children born under it are often considered cursed and cast out, lest it spread.

Or, simpler put, they didn't like Necromancers very much, and the feeling was mutual in the Necromancer society.

"And if that wasn't enough, prior to the Darkening of Tristram, the Church tried to have its own currency accepted as the new gold standard. However, it gained little acceptance, and the attempt failed. The bastards were actually trying to create a religious empire! Haha!"

His laughter and gloating stopped in his throat upon seeing a slain monk on the ground and a golden Dungeon mark on the MAP appearing deep within the monastery.

Sighing, he approached the dead man and took out a letter from his hands.

[ Lorath Nahr, how bizarre it is to hear from you. Your charming apprentice arrived just this morning with equally disturbing news, but he made no mention of you. Am I to assume you did not send him? Please join us at Orbei as soon as you are able. ]

Scratching his head at when Elias arrived here, Michael continued on his way to the Side Quest marker and found another dead monk, next to which there was a blood-splattered scroll he was trying hard to protect even in his last moments.

Curiously opening the scroll to read it, he realized that it was the Quest Item he needed to accept the mission.

[ In my dreams, a figure bathed in Light named Izzoth came and spoke words of great power. I have written them down and placed the scroll at Khotum's Reach, where only the faithful will find it.

Seek the first trail marker at the graveyard of ships. ]

The Side Quest was instantly accepted, and Michael saw the area marked on the MAP, which was west of his location on the continent's coastline.

With the message mentioning a graveyard of ships as well as hearing about the Drowned from the chatty woman at the Inn in Ked Bardu, the Necromancer already knew what to expect.

[ Side Quest issued - Exhuming Faith

Objective: Find the Zakarum Trail Marker in Khotun's Reach

Description: You've found a dead monk's journal along with a note giving cryptic clues to a scroll of great power hidden on the coast of Khotun's Reach. 

You should search for the first location in the note. ]

To be completely honest, Michael was entirely not interested in this 'scroll of great power,' but the idea of it falling into the wrong hands and then being sent by the Sanctuary to clean up the mess... was disconcerting. 

Shrugging, he threw everything irrelevant at the back of his mind, summoned his minions, and prepared to enter the Dungeon called 'Orbei Monastery Halls.'

"*Sigh* I hope no fanatics are left to pick a fight with me because of my Class. Actually... that's preferable to finding that every single one of them was slaughtered by Elias on his visit 'this morning.'"

Descending to the Lower Levels but finding nothing on his way there, the Necromancer was getting more creeped out by the second.

There was no blood, no bodies, and no sign of a struggle. 

Yet the Sanctuary kept pestering him with Quest updates.

[ Main Quest update - Suffering Disquiet

Objective: Search for the Abbot of the Monastery. ]

Finding himself in a situation oddly reminiscent of a horror movie, Michael grinned and yelled at the top of his voice.

"Is anyone here!?"

The walls of the Outer Cloister echoed his voice and mirrored it repeatedly. If there were any monsters or enemies hidden deeper in, they would certainly be attracted.

As for going in silently... Turning to look at his minions, whose armors kept slapping against their metallic bones, producing loud noise, and the Quarterback smashing the paved ground on the halls with each step, he completely gave up that option.

Fortunately, his voice produced some results.

[Murder! Murder in the Sacristy!](?)

[Lock the doors!](?)

[What about the others!? The Abbot?](?)

[Do as I say!](?)

The first voice was of a man, and it was borderline hysteric, while the second one was of a woman. Her strong tone had hints of panic well hidden but obviously prioritized the lives of those unaffected by whatever happened.

As for what happened, Michael found his answer after reaching a large hall in the Outer Cloister, where bodies of slain monks littered the ground.

One of them was highlighted by the Sanctuary, but before Michael could go search it, the sound of metallic mechanisms locking something echoed through the now silent halls.

[ Main Quest update - Suffering Disquiet

Objective: Pick up the Crusader Skull. ]

Seeing the word 'Crusader' brought a large grin on the Necromancer's face. After all, just like back on Earth, the Zakarum also had their own crusades.

During the mid-twelfth century, after the Church of Zakarum had gained prominence in the East, the Church decreed that the visions of Akarat would be spread throughout the known world in order to redeem the masses. Thus, the Church selected a group of its most charismatic and devoted priests and sent them on a mission to proselytize the people of the West.

Unfortunately, they had not prepared these men for the rigors of travel nor the hazards of the world. The priests who survived their missions recounted tales of harsh weather, inadequate supplies, attacks from bandits, and even encounters with horrible monsters.

To ensure the success of future missions, the Church set about training holy warriors, Paladins, to accompany and safeguard their missionaries. In practice, these 'Protectors of the Word' proved to be more successful at converting the native peoples than the Priests that they were assigned to defend.

Impressing the locals with daring deeds, powerful weapons, and martial prowess was far more convincing than the condemnations of a soft-spoken monk. However, once the Word had been spread to every major city of the West, the "Protectors of the Word" faded from public view.

Some decades later, Paladins were again called into service. During the height of the Time of Troubles, the Church commenced a second campaign of conversion. This time, however, the inconvincible were deemed evil.

The Zakarum Inquisition spread through the lands like a tempest, laying waste to all suspected of demonic possession or corruption. Leading this crusade was a new generation of Paladins known as the "Hand of Zakarum." These cavaliers of righteousness swept through the lands, expunging the taint of demonic contamination wherever they found it.

In the midst of this bloody crusade, a rebellion arose within the ranks of the Paladins of Zakarum. The rebels condemned the methods of the Inquisition, proclaiming that the new Order of Paladins should protect the innocent and that the evil corruption was rooted in their forebear's failure.

They resolved to fight the true source of corruption, the Prime Evils.

And so, these rebellious Paladins left their Zakarum brethren and ventured west.

With the end of these crusades, Zakarum had spread to almost every corner of the world, with few regions untouched by its influence. At the height of its power, Zakarum was considered an empire in its own right.

Grabbing the Crusader Skull hidden behind the dead monk, Michael walked to the closed doors and placed it on the pedestal highlighted by the Sanctuary.

As soon as he did, pounding could be heard behind the door.

[Open the doors!](?)

[Let us out!](?)

Voices filled with desperation and pain could be heard, but once the doors opened, there was nothing behind them except some dead monks.

Sneering, Michael ordered two Reapers to cover the back, then placed his Cold Mages behind him and the rest of the minions at the front.

Surely enough, not even a couple steps in, he was ambushed by Phantoms and Wraiths.

During his fight with one of the Wrathful Phantoms, he saw it open its mouth and produce words that chilled him to his core.

[We're under attack!](?)

Hearing the human voice filled with utter terror, Michael frowned and laid these pitiful souls to rest. 

Moving through the left Lower Levels, he found a stand on which stood a book identified by the system as Abbot's Journal.

Quickly grabbing and opening it to read what was inside, he was stunned at the words he found.

[ Lo, the Great Beast Tathamet was struck down, and its blackened husk sank below the abyss. There, it smoldered and festered, and from the ruin of its Seven Heads were born Seven Great Evils. Three Primes and Four Lesser. Enemies of all creation. ]

Rolling his eyes, he threw the small journal in his inventory and continued searching.

His face sunk upon taking the body of another dead Priestess from one of the walls and seeing a red phantom rising from within it.

[Not a Horadrim, not a man... a devil.](?)

With the confirmation of Elias being behind the attack on the Orbei Monastery, Michael nodded to the phantom, and it dissipated, much to the Necromancer's surprise.

Continuing downward to the Inner Cloister, almost every body he found on the ground became a Wratful Phantom. He didn't know much about how life and death worked in the Sanctuary, but it didn't take a genius to realize that Elias must've done something to these people.

[Protect the archive!](?)

Seeing a group of ten Wrathful Phantoms charge at him, with the one in the lead yelling at the top of his lungs, Michael's face slowly turned steely. 

Among the group of Phantoms, one stood out because it was clutching its head and was blue instead of red like the others.

[Damn you, Abbot! Why did you let him in!?](?)

Moments later, it joined the others in attacking the minions, its body also becoming red.

"Possible corruption. Demonic, no doubt, since even the dead Priestess said so. As for the little pale bastard coming here, it was obviously for the archives. There must be something there, he sought."

Approaching a small upturned shelf with destroyed books, Michael picked up two of them titled The Orbei Monastery Part 1 and 2.

[ Commissioned during the Times of Troubles, the Orbei ARchives once served to codify heresies for the Inquisition. Since then, the Archive has expanded to study of all evils, restricted to only the most devout Scholars of Zakarum. ]

Remembering the foolish monk praying to 'Akarat' until his very last moments, the Necromancer realized that Elias must've drawn him there for a specific purpose.

Continuing with his inspection of Part 2, an eyebrow was raised in response to what he read.

[ Critics rightly fear the dangers of our scholarship, but ignorance of evil offers little protection from it. Our insights have proven invaluable to Paladins, Horadrim, and Angels alike in the fight against the darkness. ]

"And now again, everyone is searching for your knowledge, each for their own agendas. How frightful! Without the power to protect it, what's the use of your amassed knowledge? It can only serve others you might even deem enemies."

Shaking his head, he continued roaming the halls, arranging the dead bodies to at least offer them some decency. He initially wanted to store them all in his inventory, but he didn't have nearly enough space for all of them.

[Unto evening... unto evening, I shall keep it safe, and then...](?)

Hearing the mumbling voice of someone, Michael quickly made his way forward. The voice was not as clear as the phantoms he met so far, so he hoped to find a living person.

And his wish was proven true, with a monk lying in the middle of a room holding his head in pain. Without approaching the man, the Necromancer inquired about his situation from afar.

"Are you wounded? Where is the Abbot?"

[The Abbot? The Abbot! He... opened the door! And the pale devil smiled. He took the forbidden knowledge.](?)

'Of-fucking-course he did... Tell me something useful!'

"Shh, it's all right. I've cleared the way out. Can you walk?"

[There is no way out! What knowledge remains must never leave! 'Unto Evening, I shall keep it safe! And into the Night hereafter!' We must. Protect. The Archive!](?)

After barely squeezing out those last words, the man collapsed on the ground, dead like the rest.