A few days later, Herish Town witnessed a visit by the Baron. Locke had entered the town on horseback, observing the construction of the wall around the town.

The townspeople saluted when they saw the Baron. Several people, especially women and children came forward to thank him.

Locke found the adoration in the eyes of the people uncomfortable, but he didn't let it show on his poker face. Ghost followed behind Locke on another horse, her face appropriately masked.

Locke directly made his way to the Sun Temple. In the past couple of months, with open preaching in Herish Town and a lot of charity work, the Sun Temple had increased its popularity among the people. The result was that Father Molard had been elevated from the position of a Priest to that of a High Priest.

"High Priest Molard." Locke greeted the chubby man with a smile.

"Baron Mith." Molard responded with the appropriate gestures. "To what reason do I owe your presence?" 

"I have been hearing worrying news. I felt the Temple might be the best place to find out about the matter." Locke said seriously.

Molard noticed the serious look on Locke's face and quickly led him to Molard's private study.

"What did you want to talk about in such seriousness?" Molard asked, dropping his formal attitude. The two, priest and Baron had developed some understanding of each other. Neither of them were fond of shallow pleasantries.

"Ghone Forest." Locke said just two words as he tapped his fingers on the chair 

Molard was left momentarily speechless. He quickly began to analyze how much the Baron did know. He couldn't possibly just open up directly.

"What about it? Isn't it in the Mid West? Barony Mith is quite a distance away." Molard replied with a smile.

Locke chuckled. "High Priest, even an idiot can notice something is wrong with those troop movements. However, I pay particular attention to any news that could threaten the Barony, and certainly a threat to the country would also be a threat to the Barony."

"I understand that. But shouldn't you take this up with the Nobility instead of the Temple?" Molard asked while internally being relieved. It seemed to him that the Baron had found out about troop movements. However, Locke's next words shattered his calm.

"Three thousand six hundred troops lost in a single day. We are talking about the potential levy of an entire Marquisate wiped out." Locke said. "Just by entering a rather unremarkable forest. Father Molard, if you know something, it is better you let me know."

Molard let out a deep breath. "What else do you know?" 

Locke took out a scroll and handed it to Molard. It had exact details about the disappearance of troops, the appearance of 'monsters' and most important of all, a sketch of a pyramid.

Molard wiped the sweat off his forehead. "Your intelligence gathering is truly remarkable, Baron." He said.

Locke sighed. "I wish it weren't. Sometimes ignorance truly is bliss. Just what did the Kingdom unleash?"

Molard didn't directly answer him. Instead he asked a question. "What do you know about Legacies?"

Locke had a poker face on. "Absolutely nothing." He replied calmly.

"That is a surprise." Molard said, pausing to take a deep breath before continuing. "How much do you know about the history of the continent?"

"Most of what I've read only chronicled the history after the establishment of the five kingdoms." Locke replied.

Molard nodded. "That certainly was an intention of the Kingdom." 

"Humanity is a relative newcomer on this continent. Where we really came from is not quite clear. Some say we were created from soil for fun by the Gods, others say we came from a distant continent in boats.

What is clear though, is that the sudden appearance of humans put the ecosystem into an imbalance. The other species which coexisted on the planet in an equilibrium decided to eliminate us humans.

We didn't have magic like the elves, or strength like the orcs. Nor did we have the forgery of the Dwarves. However, we humans had heroes and ingenuity. Human heroes managed to create abilities through a deep understanding of what it meant to be human. Those who weren't heroes were ingenious. We stole magic from the elves, weapons from the dwarves and knighthood from the orcs and modified them for our own purposes.

Humans fought back these opponents from the continent and ended up creating their own place in the ecosystem. However, with peace, the art of legacies died out." 

Locke understood. As he heard the story, his mind was quickly calculating.

"So Legacies are the true human abilities while magic and knights are actually adapted techniques. So are these legacies very powerful?" He asked.

Molard shook his head. "Not at all. Rather, they are absurdly weak and peculiar in nature. It is their rarity which makes them sought after, especially by those who are weak."

"Oh? So this pyramid was thought to hold a Legacy and when the troops opened it, it caused some kind of disaster?" Locke asked.

"Yes. Yes, that is what seems to have happened." Molard sighed. "And whatever it is, is extremely malevolent."

"What is the contingency right now?" Locke asked.

Molard shook his head. "I don't know. I can only hope the Archbishops can handle the matter." 

Locke nodded. "I hope so too." He said before he left the temple.

---

"What do you think, Ghost?" Locke asked. He would frequently do this as an exercise to make her work her brain.

"The priest was trembling." Ghost said. "Whatever it is, he knows more than he revealed and he is frightened."

"Oh?" Locke mumbled to himself in surprise. "Looks like this might truly be quite bad."

When Locke returned to the mansion, he found that a letter addressed to him had arrived from the capital. It was from his father. The letter was rather brief, but the tone was urgent.

"Serious tensions at the capital. The future is uncertain."

The content made Locke frown. The old man wouldn't write a cryptic message just for the sake of it. Something really serious must be taking place.