Chereads / The Blacksmith's Path / Chapter 2 - Chapter 2 - Seeking Answers

Chapter 2 - Chapter 2 - Seeking Answers

Now the only thing he had to figure out was how to obtain a system that everyone else had.

First off, Lucas tried rummaging around in his old memories. While Lucas had zero impression of a system announcement in his memories, he also did not know when he should have had a system do something for him. He honestly couldn't be sure that he didn't have a system. Most people would learn in school or from their parents all the essential information of being a system user. Could Lucas have a system and not know it?

As he thought about what William and John said, the temple seemed to have a way of checking your system's status. Perhaps going to the temple was an excellent first step to see if he had one. However, old Lucas's memories indicated that the temple was on the noble's side of town. While no one would notice Lucas and his clothes in the merchant quarters, he wouldn't be able to pass muster and gain access through the gates to reach the temple in his worn-out, patched clothes. The guards would stop him from entering in a heartbeat.

When Lucas returned to the shop, he went to his room on the second floor. The room he had been calling his own for the last few years used to be a storage room. A couple of old shelves were loaded with boxes in one half of the room. The other half of the room had his bed roll and blankets. While the room was packed, it still left enough room for Lucas to lie down entirely without being cramped.

Lucas checked his clothes pile to see if he had anything more presentable, with no luck. Checking out the boxes on the shelves, Lucas found them to be full of books. The writing on the spine and cover didn't appear familiar to anything he had seen before. There was nothing in the closet worth mentioning, just more boxes of books.

Leaving the room in defeat, Lucas suddenly spotted a black cloak hanging inside the doorway to his master's room. Since his master's death, Lucas had not been in the room and had left the door half open.

Lucas had faint memories of his master wearing the cloak on rainy days. So, Lucas gathered his courage and reached through the doorway to grab the cape. He successfully gained the cover without anything grabbing his arm or jumping out, which seemed the only good use of his luck today. Trying the cloak on, Lucas found that it was a few sizes too big, but it would work even if no one could tell who was inside the cape.

Leaving the shop once again, Lucas headed to the upper town gates. The town of Blackrock was built in three layers around the Lonely Mountain in the country of Rawlins. The top layer was known as the noble layer, and the town's most prominent buildings were located there—the Temple of All Gods, the Grand Market, and the castle. The upper layer was also home to the wealthiest townspeople, the nobles. Thus, a rule was created to limit the 'standard' of people allowed to enter to keep crime and trash levels low.

Lucas approached the upper layer gates. A few merchants lined up with carts, waiting to get in. It was only a few minutes until his turn.

"Reason for entering the upper layer?" asked the guard in a relaxed monotonous tone that comes from repeating himself all day.

"I am visiting the Temple of All Gods today," Lucas replied.

"Entering the upper layer to visit the temple is 50 coppers per person," the guard stated while waving at the coin box by the gate.

Lucas quickly deposited his coins and entered the gate. No reason to argue or give them time to find issues.

From what Lucas had heard in the past, the Temple of All Gods entrance was near the town square in the center of town. As Lucas began his journey towards the town square, he noticed the difference on the streets. The streets were slightly narrower but completely clear compared to the merchant layer. No food carts or small stalls at any of the corners, and even the alleys were completely clear of trash.

The town square was home to the city's Grand Market. Lucas could see many colorful banners, tall merchant display carts with tables full of goods, and crowds of citizens enjoying the sunny afternoon. Fortuitously for Lucas, the gate he entered was on the same side of the square as the temple. Lucas quickly saved thirty minutes of travel by not having to pass through the market. As Lucas approached the main temple gate, Lucas was forced to join a small crowd of people waiting to enter.

Lucas took advantage of the holdup to scan the surroundings. The wall seemed to be made out of some type of stone that was layered in a bricked manner. While the stone was not purely white, it appeared to have been covered with something that made it almost glow. As for the gate Lucas was being delayed at, it was probably 14 feet high if you ignored the decorations.

However, decorations covered the gate. Some of the decorations were made of the same type of stone as the wall in different forms of symbols. Others were made up of a random assortment of materials to make statues of beasts and creatures that were hung from various points around the gate. Maybe the statues' materials were essential to each of those beasts.

Cough.

Lucas jumped at the unexpected sound. It appeared that the line to enter the temple had a new obstruction to frustrate all who sought to enter, him. While Lucas had been lost looking at the gate decorations, the front line had cleared, and everyone behind was now waiting on him. The cough was a gentle reminder from an elder dressed in a colorful robe.

Lucas turned and gave a short bow to those behind him. "My apologies."

As Lucas entered the gate, he found himself in a large plaza. Scattered around the area were small structures with different symbols displayed on a flag by the door. In the center was a vast temple multiple times larger than the rest. Besides the buildings, the plaza was empty except for people entering or leaving by the gate. Lucas walked down the main path toward the center temple, hoping someone there would be able to direct him to where he could get his status checked.

When he passed a large number of buildings with a red flag, the smell coming from them nearly knocked him off his feet. Lucas could smell a mix of animal and burnt flesh. Uncertain about the activities that led to the smell, he knew he didn't want to be part of it.

COUGH.

Lucas jumped at the unexpected sound that was much louder than last time. Peeking behind him was the same elder in a colorful robe waiting for him. Compared to the previous time, the reminder was not as gentle.

Lucas halfway turned to the elder and nodded, saying, "Sorry." There was no need to be extra polite when the elder wasn't. Not waiting for a response, Lucas hurried to the large temple in the plaza's center.

The center temple was different from the others right from the doorway. Instead of flags with symbols like the rest of the temples, the center temple had giant statues on both sides of the gateway. The figures were of a well-endowed female with a prominent golden symbol in the middle of her chest.

In the middle of the walkway past the gate was a priest. He was wearing a white robe with golden ribbons lining the edges, and an aura of authority seemed to wrap itself around him naturally. Two young boys stood behind him to each side. While also wearing a white robe, the condition of the robe was much more worn, without the golden ribbons.

"Welcome to the Temple of the White Lady." The lead priest announced as Lucas and the elder approached.

Lucas came to a stop and gave the priest a bow. "Greetings, sir. I heard that one could receive help with…."

"There was no need for the welcome, Bishop Gerolt. "The elder spoke over Lucas as if his presence wasn't noticed. "I can perfectly locate your office after all these years."

"After all the years you have helped support us, Mr. Roget, it's the least I could do." With a smile, the priest answered and beckoned Mr. Roget inside. Colorfully robed, Mr. Roget followed the priest's intention and left the room with him. One of the young-robed priests followed, while another waited until they were gone before turning to Lucas.

"Sorry for the wait. Welcome to the Temple of the White Lady. How may I help you today." It rolled off the young priest's tongue with practiced ease and made clear that he was not addressing the disrespect from the Bishop earlier.

Lucas would have loved to give back a proper sassy response, maybe something along the lines of expecting nothing else when visiting the temple. However, he was the petitioner today, asking for help from others. He bit his tongue and asked.

"I heard that the temple here had a way to help seekers learn more about their current status and path. I was hoping to have mine checked."

"Of course, sir. Our temple is equipped with a god's eye, and we are happy to let visitors use it." The priest explained while pointing to a hallway on the left. "However, we do ask for a donation to the White Lady to maintain the temple."

"I understand completely."

Lucas began walking down the hallway he was guided to while trying to determine what an appropriate donation amount would be. At the end of the hall was a room with a large gem on a pedestal in the center. Surrounding it along the walls was a light-colored rock that seemed to be giving off the light in the room. A tiny tray was placed a few feet into the room with silver coins.

The young priest waved at the tray, and Lucas got the hint. He added twenty silvers to the tray and stepped back while eyeing the young priest. From the casual nod of the priest, he figured that the amount was neither high nor low. When the priest took a stance on the far side of the center gem, Lucas walked forward to place his hand on the gem.

As Lucas's hand made contact with the giant gem, the gem began to glow with a blue light. Lucas felt something flowing under his skin and racing across his body. Just when the feeling reached his head, Lucas suddenly felt it stop. The surface beneath his skin turned fire hot and roared across his body as the feeling retreated back to the gem. Once the feeling left his body completely, the gem began to glow with a bright red light.

Both the priest and Lucas just stared at the gem. A few moments passed before Lucas found his voice to ask, "Is this normally what…."

Lucas's voice seemed to bring the young priest back to his senses. Before Lucas could finish his question, the priest screams.

"Heretic!"