Chapter 423 Got Any Better Ideas?

Thomas leapt off the branch. The rope quickly pulled taut as he swung forwards. He released his grip and flew across the clearing. There was only one problem: landing.

The second Thomas touched the ground, his life essence flared. He tucked his legs in, rolling to a stop behind a carriage, one of many around the camp's exterior. 'I told you I could do it,' he said while brushing dirt off his back.

'I will not argue with results,' Doevm responded. 'You have improved.'

Thomas smiled behind his mask: 'Was that a compliment?' Slowly circling to the corner of the carriage, he peeked his head out at the worst time as the door flew open. Two War Monks emerged and Thomas dove out of sight.

"The report can wait. I am certain that I heard something, Brother Armond," one of them said as they circled the carriage. Without names, it was impossible to tell them apart since their hoods covered their bald heads.

"You just need rest after yesterday's purge, Brother Joseph," Brother Armond said. "As we speak, our leader is finishing what we started in that accursed ruin. You may need your strength for what is to come."

Brother Joseph shook his head, lowering his voice to a whisper: "I hesitate to place my faith in that…false hope, even if he is acting on orders from the council."

"Half the camp wouldn't mind such remarks." Brother Armond said. He paused, eyes narrowing on footprints. "Were those there before?"

Brother Joseph crouched down, bringing his light crystal over the tracks. "See? The goddess whispered to me that we missed something, however I imagined it to be another Ghoul. These seem far larger. Don't you think so as well, bro-"

A crossbow bolt pierced his throat as he looked back. He hit the ground, eyes growing wide as he spotted Brother Armond, laying with his throat slit beneath a masked figure. Brother Joseph opened his mouth to speak, to warn someone of the coming peril, but only raspy gasps and blood spilled out. With the last of his strength, he pulled the symbol of the goddess off his neck, lest he get it bloody. It was already smeared with it.

Thomas stuffed them both under the carriage.

'That was…sufficient,' Doevm said.

'Alexander was a general, not an assassin. I'm not exactly a trained professional,' Thomas said as he examined a letter he found in brother Armond's pocket. 'Is this the type of information you wanted?'

'Read it.'

Thomas read through the letter's contents.

"To council member Oath,

Our travels began on thin ice as our young leader placed his faith in an outsider, paid in a handful of gold, to guide us in a week-long, winter expedition. I have already lost track of the amount of times we had to drag our carriages out of mud and vegetation, commonly found in this god-forsaken forest. Had it not been the council's decision, half of us would never have accompanied Sir Wilhelm in the first place. After his recent failure. we thought ourselves abandoned by the goddess. What had we done to deserve such punishment? Events, however, soon took a strange turn.

Only our guide held the map, but we all knew when we arrived. All of us gawked at the exterior of the ruin with child-like wonder. It was a much needed boost to morale, seeing some truth behind the guide's claims. No, the goddess did not forget our years of dedication. This was a reward for us, or so we thought.

We should have listened to the guide's warnings, but we were too tired and bitter from the journey. We were woken in the night by screeching, howling beasts. The dead poured out of the tree as if crawling out of hell itself. Sir Wilhelm quickly proved his worth by leading the vanguard. He never complained, and never wavered. This mission was no punishment, nor was it a reward. It was simply a task given to us, because only we could do it. Our leader has a long way to go to restore his reputation, but this was a good start. I will report on our findings once the cleansing has been completed.

Faithfully,

Brother Armond."

Thomas put the letter into his spatial ring. 'This should be good enough, right? Should I come back with this?'

'No, not yet,' Doevm said, much to Thomas's dismay. 'The letter mentioned a guide, who knew of this location beforehand. Find them.'

'What about Wilhelm, their leader? The War Monks and this report said that he was finishing up "cleansing". What does that mean?'

'It means he is likely distracted,' Doevm said. 'Move, quickly. A leader who doesn't have trust won't leave his men for too long.'

Thomas peaked around the corner of the carriage. In the time it had taken him to dispose of the two War Monks, the camp had come to life with laughter and idle chatter. Several fire spits in the center displayed sizzling meat, drawing the War Monks out of their carriages. Thomas almost laughed at the irony: letting their guard down was when moving around had become the most difficult. 'How am I supposed to find the guide amongst all of this? There's so many of them.'

'What has our information told us so far?' Doevm asked. 'The guide is an outsider, correct? Therefore, they will be the only person who isn't wearing a robe or the symbol of the goddess.'

'I don't see anyone like that,' Thomas said after scanning the crowd with life essence around his eyes. His urge to leave grew by the second.

'Then check elsewhere, such as the tents.'

'Can do.'

That being said, what could Thomas do? How could he sneak his way past dozens of eyes without any cover? He couldn't go around the crowd, since the camp was formed around the entire base of the giant tree. Thomas looked to the dead War Monks, and it was as if a light crystal lit up in his head. 'This is perfect. I can just blend in.'

After Thomas derobed the War Monks, however, he realized the folly in his logic. Both robes were meant for large, muscular War Monks and, although Thomas might have been taller than average, he was skin and bones by comparison. He had more use for the robes as blankets than as disguises.

'You aren't thinking of going out like that,' Doevm groaned.

'Do you have any better ideas?' Thomas asked.

'Sarcasm will not help.'

'I wasn't being sarcastic. Please tell me you have a better idea so I don't have to go through with this.'