The box opened with a small creaking sound due its bad hinges. Inside of it, there was a mask, a pendant, a hundred or so coins and a few oddities.
First and foremost, the mask.
Jed took out the mask and looked closely at it. It was a strange but unique piece of artefact. It was an elongated oval shaped mask. It had a concave front and seemed more like a face than a normal mask would. It seemed that the mask was made by joining two different pieces, with the upper part made by a thicker metal and the lower part made with a thinner one joined by a strange, elastic red strip of metal. The upper part of the mask was specifically made like a human face with a large forehead, two small horizontal leaf-shaped eyes and a long nose. The lower part seemed more like a stylish guard with a sharp jawline and chin. The whole mask was perfect but it was only made for someone bigger, with a larger face. Along with it, the mask was had six strange markings on it, three on each side and each symmetrical to its consecutive side.
All in all, the mask was very unique but for some reason, Jed got a few quite peculiar vibes from it. He ran his fingers on it very gently but was still wasn't quite able to detect the changes. He frowned and kept it aside, determined to keep it. Chris looked curious at the mask and asked, "What is that, bro?"
Jed answered, "A mask." He paused and then lied, "Its cursed. Don't touch it."
Chris nodded and didn't touch, instead, she looked more closely inside the box. The others smiled at them softly and then turned their gaze away, towards their food.
Jed rummaged through the stuffs and his frowned deepened more and more. Other than the pendant, he identified most of the items in the box.
"Why do you look so troubled, bro?" Chris asked.
Jed sighed and replied, "Because they are all bad stuffs. See these coins, these are Devil Coins, used only in Hell and is an important ingredient in Hell summoning. You see these dead flowers, these are Krenolia flowers, very holy when they are fresh but when they die and rot, they can also be used in devil summoning. This grass, this is the Rank 0 Underworld Grass, very spooky and this. This is Magnum Hell Steel. This steel is very common weapon used by devils…. All of these things are serious hoodoo stuffs, so let's burn them."
Chris listened attentively to Jed. She looked very attentive and interested and asked in a curious tone, "Are you sure that burning them is good?"
Jed smiled and replied, "Yes. These are just simple Rank 0 summoning ingredients, so simple fire can easily put them out. But when you deal with Rank 1 summoning and higher, you need to take more precautions and measures. Things get messy as the ranks increases."
"Have you ever seen a Rank 1 or higher summoning?" she asked.
"Yes, I did." He smiled broader, "I was eleven then and my elder sister, Mesa's gift was letting me see what a real devil summoning and subjugation looked like. It was a Rank 2 summoning and was personally handed by the Bishop of the Church of Light, so, I didn't need to fear much about it breaking out but I had to say. It was something very frightening and gory. I saw some high-level Crusaders get torn into pieces. Not something you and kids your age should see." He smiled and then turned to the box of materials. He kept the pendant and the mask away and tossed all the other stuffs into the bright flames. The Devil-summoning items burnt to crisps without any significant changes.
Jed smiled and sat back down. He picked his barbeque stick, let Chris have a few bites and continued eating.
….
After an hour of rest, the team packed their belongings and started their journey back to the camp. Now, with the disaster and insects gone, they could've easily move through the center, but they chose to go about a roundabout way to the camp. Jed and Peg, too, packed their belongings, which included the 2kg packs of rocksalt, of which only half-a-kg was left now and their thick leather-armored apparels, the mask and the pendant. Jed packed Wendigo too and equipped Arbalin and his hatchet, as he didn't want to waste anymore of his shells.
Their journey would've gone for another hour and half but before that, they met a contingent of Mie City soldiers. They were bewildered for a sec but then they were informed about the immensity of the situation they were in. They were informed that the altars they destroyed weren't some normal altars but Altars of Hell and that they had just prevented a Grade 6 Disaster.
Gross and his team was totally surprised, but Jed and Peg weren't. They simply moved on, ignoring them. They were too tired to even begin explaining their knowledge to them. What they really needed right now was a good night's sleep.
…
Jed and Peg entered the expeditionary camp and found the entire camp to be teeming with soldiers and priests from the local church of the Holy Light. The soldiers were barging into each of the tents and checking it from top to bottom, while the priests were purifying everything they saw. Other than them, there weren't many adventurers in there. Jed had predicted it, after all surviving from the large swarms of Hell Insects, wasn't something low level adventurers can do. They saw the soldiers raiding one tent after another, apparently searching for someone. Jed and Peg understood who they were searching for. It was Sean and Herald.
They weren't too keen on messing around with the soldiers, so they decided to go around the camp, but they were noticed by a Sergeant.
"Hey, stop there, you two!!" he screamed at the top of his voice, even though he was only a few yards away from them.
Jed grimaced a little, but chose not to show any disrespect. He turned to him and showed his best smile to him and asked in the most friendliest tone, "What may I do for you, sire?"
"Stop with the acting, thief and spill everything you know." he grinded his teeth in disgust.
"…. T-thief…" Jed grimaced a little at being wrongly accused. Actually, the Han people of Mie City, especially the rich and well-off people, consider the westerners as thieves and crooks. It was kinda justified because most adventurers are usually kids and people from the Poor Section, who only work part time as adventurers as their main job was thievery and frauds. Jed had been accused like this many time, but he took all of them in with a glass of water.
"Do you guys know any person named Sean and Herald?" he asked in a tone of seriousness.
Jed rolled his eyes and replied, "Sir, we're adventurers. All of us were basically contracted by them."
"Why did you work for him? Even when knowing that they are from the Emerald Dynasty."
Jed again rolled his eyes and replied, "'Cause he f*cking paid us 3 Gold for it. Who won't risk their lives for 3 Golds, Sir. Moreover, we didn't know he was from the Emerald Dynasty and even if he was from there, what does it matter to us? We're simple adventurers."
"Uh-huh…" he nodded, "Do you know that the Emerald Dynasty is the secret ally of the Beliryon Empire in the south and they are planning a massive attack on the Huyan Empire. So, if you know anything you should tell us or else…"
Jed sighed and said, "Look Sir, we don't know anything of value about the men named Sean and Herald. We're adventurers and we rarely deal with the personal information of our clients. Checking the personal information of the contractors is the duty of the Guild and not us, even for such high-class expedition request. Thus, I have no clearance of handling such info. But…" Jed's voice trailed off in a curious note. The Sergeant frowned and asked, "But what?"
"You see, Sir… I heard Sean and Herald had something to do right at the middle of the Hell Formation. I don't know what it is, and since it was discussed in the leader's meeting, I don't hope many of the remaining adventurers know about it. As it happens to be, I'm one such leader and I lost my entire squad to him. Thus, I want revenge. You get it, Sir? I don't want any rewards for my knowledge or anything, just give those two bastards hell when you catch him. Here, let me mark it for you."
The Sergeant was surprised by the sudden willingness of Jed but he knew how to cash on in an opportunity. He immediately pushed a map to Jed and he marked a few points on the maps. He glanced at the marked points and just like he said, they were really close to the middle of the Black Lions' Gorge. The Sergeant thanked him and dashed back to the camp. Jed and Peg gave them a warm goodbye and snuck back into the sewer tunnel to the East gate.
"Did you really mark genuine points on the map, Jed?" Peg asked with a slight smile on his face.
A grin flashed on Jed's face and he replied, "Perhaps. With luck, they might be able to catch Sean and Herald, but I hope they do not. Those guys are not some people these pricks can take on. I'm just saving their poor lives. They will need some real badass powerhouse from the Lord's Mansion to deal with them. And…. Aren't military and adventurers arch-enemies? Why should I help them willingly?"
"You surely live up to your tradition. I hope that foolish Sergeant makes it back to reflect on his foolishness…"
"Hahaha…."
…
Jed and Peg returned to Larry's house at about ten past midnight. Thankfully, Julie still hasn't gone to sleep and thus, Jed and Peg were able to sneak back into Larry's room without causing a ruckus. They entered his room and found him, sleeping quite peacefully on his cranky bed. Jed sighed and prayed for once and then snuck beside him, pushing him in his course. The sleeping Larry objected to such treatment and resisted, but suddenly, he was picked up and thrown down.
"Wahh!!" he cried in surprise as he fell on the floor with a thump. "Stay there, you mutt!!" Peg barked at him, as he lied comfortably on his spot. As for Jed, he waved him a goodnight and turned away, ignoring him completely.
"Why?!!!!!" Larry cried in distraught.
….