Rise From The Ashes

Chapter 4 - Veils of Mystery

Richmond

Travelling to Werth Keep Outpost takes up a whole day by using horses. It will took even longer time if we walk on our feet. We reached there once the sun has set and is replaced by the full moon, and the lights from oil lanterns begin to fill the outpost. In fact, this is the second time Dylan and I visit this place.

This torch-litted outpost is unusually crowded in the evening. Many people are still wandering around busily, as if another incident has just happened recently. I think they are still investigating the keep, searching for any clues that they have missed.

We dismount our steeds in the outpost's stable. As soon as we leave the stables, the three of us are greeted by the guards there. Judging from the Lion crest on their armor, I figured that they are the Royal Guards from Highmont.

"What is your business here, people of ASAC?" The guards must have noticed the jacket we wore. It is now emblazoned with the ASAC's sigil of a Bronze Eagle, recently found a year ago.

"We are here to investigate the incident on ourselves," Dylan says as he reaches for a piece of fine envelope with the Bronze Eagle seal from his bag. "Here, this is the parchment letter."

One of the guards opens the letter to read it, with another one helps him by slightly tilting his torch to provide the lighting he needs.

" ... So you guys are the spec ops they sent for this duty." The guard returns the letter to Dylan. "Fine then. We'll escort you to your personal tent. Follow us."

"Lead on then."

We follow the guards to enter their campsite, which is also crowded. The atmosphere feels like just a crowd of merchants who are busy preparing their stalls for the day's business, only this time it is in the evening and instead of merchants, they are guards and scholars.

"Here we are."

We arrived at the tent, specially reserved for us. It is a medium-sized one, filled with three bedrolls, a desk, two wooden chairs, a trunk of preserved food, and some bottles filled with water. My attention is caught at a pile of paper of different colors stacked messily on the desk.

"Enjoy yourself here. Should the trunk is empty, you can ask the quartermaster to restock it."

"Thank you Sir. We appreciate it."

"No problem. Oh, that paper stack is the collection of reports the scholars have done for the whole year. Use them as you please, but return them to the Head Scholar Carden once you've finished with them."

They make their way out from the tent. Leaving the three of us to check at the reports they mentioned.

"Finally, all the things we actually need are gathered here," Roland says happily. "This is way too easy!"

Dylan shushes him off. "No, we're not done yet. We still need to see the inside of the keep on ourselves. And most prominently, the scene of the massacre."

I nod in approval. "Right now, why don't we read the whole reports thoroughly first? See if we can learn anything new."

We spent the next hour skimming through the reports. Mostly they are just the profile of the victims of the massacre, their cause of death, autopsy reports, track records, and so on. All of them were related in one thing: they were people of high-class status, and our principal is one of them. Ordinary guards killed during the incident are not listed.

"Nothing much of importance here after all. What do you guys think?" Dylan asks the two of us. We look at each other and shake our heads disappointingly.