Chapter 83 Wooden Mask?

Inside a dimly lit room there sat a man wearing a dark black mask that looked as though it were a piece of unrefined tree bark. The man was wearing a dark black cloak with the image of a basilisk in red on the back of it.

A basilisk is a creature that is known for its ability to turn a living creature into stone, how it does so is unclear as those who get close enough to find out have never come back.

The door to the room opened and a woman walked in wearing a similar styled cloak to the man, except the basilisk image was smaller and on her shoulder rather than her back.

The woman had no mask on her face and upon entering she immediately got down on one knee. "Excuse the intrusion, Master. I have something to report."

The seated man that the woman was addressing nodded and the woman continued.

"The boy, Leofalor. His group have just arrived in Grove village and have begun asking around about 'the masked people' that have been seen in the town."

The Master perked up when she mentioned Leo, his interested piqued. "I see. We must capture him as soon as possible, the longer we wait the more powerful he becomes. He's a necessary component for our success." The Master said with a deep and muffled voice.

"Yes, Master. The great ones did say that..."

The Master raised his hand and the woman stopped speaking.

"The 'great ones' are not my concern. They may want the boy for something, but my reasoning is different. Capture the boy and bring him to me."

The woman bowed her head slightly and stood up to leave. As she opened the door and began walking through it, the Master spoke again. " Oh and Jenna." The woman paused her steps upon hearing her name used." You know what will happen if you fail to capture him for a third time, so you better make sure you succeed." The Masters voice was filled with malice but still maintained a calm composure.

"Y-Yes... Master." With shaking hands, Jenna closed the door and left the master alone in the room.

"Let's see if you can escape for a third time you nuisance." The Master said while clenching a metal goblet so hard it began to dent and bend.

***

Inside the military headquarters, two men sat opposite each other in a room. One of the men was Lieutenant Anders, he was currently reading a report about the assailants that recently broke into the base.

"They went straight into your office, General. They clearly had something specific in mind when coming here." Anders said while looking up at the man across from him.

General Zogarth was the other person within the room and it was his office that had been broken into.

" Yes, they only took the files pertaining to the Cult of Umbra." The General stated. A look of shock appeared on Anders face. "What!? But that's one of the most confidential topics within the military, if the public sees the information within those documents... "

"All hell would break loose, yes I am aware. You've never seen the document so I know your words are only a repeat of what you've heard your superiors say before. Tell me, what do you think is in those documents that would cause fear among the masses?" The General asked.

Lieutenant Anders looked down and contemplated his answer for a moment." I suppose the public would initially be concerned about the existence of the cult in the first place. That alone would scare people." He finally said.

​ General Zogarth nodded his head slightly. "That is part of it, yes. The word 'cult' has very bad memories attached to it. Everytime a cult appears bad things happen, that much has becomes common knowledge. Unfortunately that would be overlooked rather quickly since there is something about this cult in particular that would cause mass panic."

Lieutenant Anders was confused by the Generals words." Is it really that bad?"

" Yes. The Cult of Umbra... " The General looked like he was contemplating something as he took a pause before he continued.

" You see, they worship something they refer to as 'The Great Ones'. We've done as much research as we can and we've only been able to confirm one thing. These 'Great Ones' are some kind of powerful being, something on par with a demon or maybe even a God. We have heard reports that some cult members that we questioned, said that they had personally seen and spoken to the Great Ones, indicating they have a direct influence on the Cults actions . We don't know exactly what's going on with that Cult, but it can't be good for anybody."

Lieutenant Anders felt a shiver go down his spine as he listened to the General. 'A God or a Demon... Do such things really exist? I've heard stories but they're just that, stories... Or are they?'

" Anyways, I don't think we need to worry about the information spreading." The General suddenly said.

"Why not?" Anders asked with a very confused look.

"Because I know who stole the documents and why they did so." The General said matter of factly.

"Then we should be arresting them immediately and getting those documents back!" Anders jumped to his feet and shouted.

"Calm down, thats not necessary. Even if they have the documents, they can't read most of it as it's written in a code."

"Even so, shouldn't we go after them?" Anders asked with an expectant tone.

"No. Have you not realized yet that the day my office was broken into was the same day that that group of trainees disappeared from the academy. They had even confirmed that the Cult was responsible for taking their friend. It was obviously them." The General said.

" I... I suppose... " Anders was at a loss for words. Although he had considered this, he didn't want to believe it. Now that the General had said it, he knew he could no longer deny the trainees potential involvement.

" Unfortunately it's my fault they got away so easily. " The general sighed while pinching his nose and looking up. "I'm sure you're aware, my daughter was one of those trainees. She asked for a carriage and I happily gave her one to use with her friends. If I had known they were the ones who broke into my office I would have stopped them, but now that it's gone this far I ask that you pretend not to know about them being involved. To be honest, when I was told to deny their request to help the kidnapped trainee, it broke my heart. Now that they are already gone, we should just hope they are successful, I'd go so far as to say we should help them where we can." The general let out a deep sigh and leaned backwards in his chair.

The two men sat in silence as they contemplated everything they had just discussed.