The morning mist permeates Lake Majland, dancing like a veil in the wind. A few rays of sunlight shine from behind the clouds onto the calm surface of the lake, creating a soft halo above the waves, and even the black cliffs that rise over the west of the lake no longer look so eerie, and the houses scattered on the south bank are even more peaceful and picturesque in the morning light.

Gabriel, the small village on the shores of the lake, shows its best on this early spring morning.

The gentle sound of the water seemed to instantly wash away the fatigue of the travelers who had arrived overnight. Kormit exhaled slightly, reluctantly changing his mood, taking a closer look at the village he had visited for the first time.

Lake Majland is the largest lake in the Kasdan Forest, half surrounded by steep Mount Kane and the other half by dense forest, with only a gentle slope to the south suitable for human habitation.

This is a land of abundance. In addition to the vast forests for hunting, the lake is also rich in fishing, and the people who live here have no food and clothing, but life is not very comfortable. Lake Majlan is connected to the Deer Shadow River by a small river that has been driven along the river for many years by barbarians during the dry or frozen season. To the east of the lake, between the forest and the lake, there was another village, and the villagers were so disturbed that they eventually abandoned their homes and moved to the safer depths of the forest. As they approached the southeastern path, Kormit saw the crumbling ruins that had been swallowed up by the forest again, and looked ghostly, long forgotten by time.

But Gabriel's people persevered. They quarried stone from Mount Kane and erected a stone fence outside the village that is rare in the Kasdan Forest. It was guarded day and night. When you enter the village gate, you can even see a rough but sturdy catapult under the wall, but it seems that it has not been used for a long time. After all, since the year before, the barbarians, who have suffered various disasters in a row, have taken care of themselves.

The people of the village have already started their day's work. They watched in silence at the stranger who suddenly appeared, and although no one stepped forward to stop or ask anything, the look on their faces could hardly be described as friendly or welcoming. Even if Andy deliberately called the term "Lord Pastor" so that even the deaf could hear it, it didn't change their attitude much.

They were obviously nervous about something...... Or always has been.

Andy sprang away, anxious to bring the news of the priest's arrival to his companions. Kellian scratched at his short hair, which was wet with the morning mist. Carelessly gazing at Mount Kane across the lake, apparently unconcerned about everything around him—but he refused to give up the thirty gold coins that were so desperate that Kormit had to take him.

He could have paid him thirty gold coins to let him go—the priest was slightly confused about his choice. It's not really that much reluctance to be reluctant to those dozens of gold coins. He had to admit that this strange, unknown young man gave him a strange sense of security...... And he's not a country blacksmith who can be easily fooled by expressions like "Oh, I'm so good!"

Maybe he should cast a spell to see if he has fallen for the spell without knowing it...... It's a pity that I don't have much time to figure out my mind now.

Kormit looked away from Kellian and quietly observed the people around him. There are many villages in the vicinity where people have become fully believers in Nesses. But Gabriel is not one of them. These people who dare to confront the barbarians head-on have their own stubbornness and persistence. For centuries they had worshipped the great Anduch and the water god N'o, and while Lake Magellan and Mount Cairn did protect and nourish them, they were less desperate to pray to a new deity for more...... It's not easy to change that.

Kormit is not attached to this, after all, people have the right to choose their own beliefs. But he also knows very well that in any kind of faith, there are believers who are too fanatical and become extreme. He only hoped that the tension evident in the village was not brought about by the followers of Nessas...... After all, almost all of the people who came to Gabriel to replenish their supplies were young and vigorous warriors. And the Anktann people have probably not learned how to "avoid conflict" since they were born.

His hopes were ultimately lost.

Andy rushed towards them. Nervous but excited, he shouted before he could reach them, "Lord Reverend, they won't let us go to the other side of Mount Cain to find Enoch!"

He seems to be in a hurry to complain, or to seek Kormit's support, but Kormit doesn't intend to "do justice" before anything is clear.

"Tell them no one is allowed to do anything!" he snapped.

Andy was stunned for a moment, but he immediately rushed back very obediently.

As he walked to the open space in the village where various gatherings and ceremonies were held, Kormit heard quarrels. If he had expected the maturing Lyad to be a steady and reliable leader who could control the scene in such a situation, he would have been a bit disappointed. In the midst of the commotion, Khaliart's voice was almost at the highest, and he was indeed trying to prevent the young men on both sides from snarling at each other from colliding into each other, but his more provocative tone obviously only made the anger of both sides burn more and more.

"Haryat!" he shouted.

The blacksmith-turned-"Lord Priest" was so loud that even his own ears were ringing, and everyone was silenced in unison.

Kurmit stood still outside the crowd, his calm gaze sweeping over the angry faces, and after a few moments, he raised his voice again, "I'm Kormit Ansel, the blacksmith of Bayou, and the priest of Nesses...... If these young people cause any trouble to the village, I apologize for them. ”

"The gods are above. He heard someone whisper dissatisfiedly, "Another one." ”

Kormit frowned, realizing that it wasn't just these impulsive young warriors, but even Enoch wasn't popular. This is a rare occurrence in such remote villages, where priests of few deities are present...... What did they do to attract such undisguised disgust?

Haryat parted the crowd and strode up to him, bowing respectfully to him, though his eyes still burned with anger.

"Your Excellency. He said, "We didn't do it! We just wanted to borrow a boat and go to the cliff to see if there were any clues......

"And our ancestors are buried there, if we don't want them to be unnecessarily infestation...... I'm sure the pastor will be able to understand that. ”

An old voice interjected, and in the crowd that had only stood by and watched, a thin but energetic old man stepped forward, so that Kormit finally knew who to talk to.

In such remote villages, where kings and nobles had no time to pay attention, the administrators were usually respectable old men, and Gabriel seemed to be no exception.

"Of course. The priest turned to the old man, and did not come closer, but looked at the other person calmly, "But I know that these young men have come here to completely remove the necromancer's threat to everyone, and if this goal is not completely beneficial to you, can you give us some convenience when necessary?"

He was calm and calm, neither aggressive nor contemptuous—after so many years in the Chamber of Commerce in Estuary Town, there was always something to gain.

The old man looked at him silently for a long time, and then nodded slowly.

"You're right. He said, bowing his head in a sign of due respect to a member of the priesthood, "and let me apologize to you, that it is not Gabriel's hospitality to greet a priest in this way, and if you wish, please come with me so that my family can prepare you a satisfying breakfast." ”

Of course, Kormit would not refuse such an invitation, and at the same time he was slightly surprised—although this old man was ordinary in appearance and dressed no different from the others, he spoke politely, from the tone to the choice of words, not at all like an ordinary person who had spent his life in such a mountain wilderness, and probably did not even know a word, but like some kind of reclusive nobleman.

Despite the fact that Kharyat had apparently not learned how to control his temper, Kormit took him with him, and succeeded in getting him to honestly bow his head and apologize to the old man with just a look.

But the clash was not entirely his fault, even the old village chief named Dean Tablis admitted it. The boat they borrowed belonged to a fisherman who believed in Nesses, and the rest of the village had no right to interfere.

"But it is the resting place of all our ancestors. Again, Tablis stressed to Kormit, "We don't want outsiders to go around there without hard evidence." ”

Kormit looked out the window. Half of the Tablis's house is built on the lake, and from the window you can clearly see the Kane Hill on the other side of the lake, and the steep black cliffs stand almost upright on the lake's edge, and there is no place to use as a cemetery.

“...... You have chosen a special place as a cemetery. He said.

Tablis nodded: "In the embrace of mountains and water, it is a sacred place...... It's sacred, and it's safe. I know that your young people are looking for traces of necromancers, and I know what the shadows of the night can do to desecrate their lives, but no necromancer has visited this place for hundreds of years...... Perhaps, until you show up. ”

Kormit frowned slightly, and heard the old man's words—it was a tactful accusation that they had brought danger to the village that it never had to face.

(To be continued......)