A day later, Valens awoke early in the morning, having slept for more than twelve hours. He looked up at the window.
The sun was about to rise, but the sky outside remained overcast but the two decided to continue with their mission.
As they got down from the inn's front door, the two men noticed a crowd gathered by a fountain not far away. It was a public place; people used to meet there. Valens and his brother moved toward the area.
They were surprised when they saw two guards being hanged from an old tree at the far end of the park.
Their bodies lay lifeless and bloody, dangling high in the air, swaying side to side with each passing gust. The two men had been stripped naked, then strung up.
The crowd was talking in low voices, whispering as if they knew something. As Valens and Ember drew closer, they could hear what they were saying:
"Poor guys. They should have listened to the old woman." "They deserved it!"
One man laughed. Others followed suit. Some of them spat on the ground where the two men were hanging.
When Val and Ember had heard it, Ember asked one of the people in the crowd, "What happened to those two?"
The person answered: "Oh, them? They should have listened to the Village Head when she warned them to give some sacrifice."
Now this caught the two brothers' attention.
"Sacrifice? What are you talking about?" Valens asked.
"The temple had asked for sacrifices for each citizen here. We all paid our tithes; we were all supposed to sacrifice one ox, two sheep, or chickens — anything edible, really. These two, however, said no — they just kept on denying it until finally, they got punished."
Ember didn't miss what the person had said about a temple, it might have some leads about their mission. So, he asked the person, "Which temple?"
The man answered: "It's called the Temple of Sheol."
As soon as Ember heard that name, his brows furrowed together and he said, "Where is this temple located?"
"It's in the town, not far away. Just turn left at the next crossroad," answered the man.
Ember took a glance around him, then went back into the inn and asked for directions., with Val behind him.
Soon they found themselves before the building that was said to be home to the Temple of Sheol.
A big square building stood tall by the street corner, looking much like a castle. There was a wide gate through which many people passed; men, women, and children going out as well as coming in.
It seemed like a large marketplace of sorts; many goods were sold and purchased on these streets.
A number of beggars were seen huddled up along the footpath, while others wandered aimlessly in the market, begging.
In addition, there was a great throng of people milling around this particular place; some of them had gathered at a little distance from the street, waiting to enter the compound of the Temple of Sheol.
Many more were seated under awnings near the entrance; some were eating food, and there was also a lot of talk among those who had gathered there.
Ember saw a group of women sitting nearby and wearing black garments. All of them were wearing the same, except that both Ember and Val had noticed a very familiar symbol. They recognized it to be that from the Hades' Wrath cult.
Ember looked at Valens.
We have been looking for the location of the Blovik Empire but seems like just staying here gains us some leads about the cult too, Ember communicated with their Mind Link activated. This may prove fruitful for our investigation.
Valens nodded, looking thoughtful and then he continued saying, Let's get closer. If we want to get anything out of these women, we should speak with them ourselves.
When they approached, the two brothers began questioning some of those in line who might know something of the temple, disguising themselves as new pilgrim members.
One man after the other gave them an answer that confirmed their suspicions that this temple had been established quite recently. It had only existed for a year or more, perhaps even less than one and it was still new.
Finally, when the two brothers walked a bit further away from the group of women, one young man who overheard the conversation between the two brothers and the women earlier walked towards the two and told them this: "This is a Temple of Sheol — a cult dedicated to worshiping the dead."
The young man also said in a hushed voice towards the brothers, "I am not sure about those women, but one thing is for sure, there were many rumors about this temple. Even though it was built just years ago, they say that behind these closed doors, there were sacrifices that were made."
He paused and took a breath before continuing. "Some people who knew a little about it told me that these women were members of this cult. There was nothing I could do since none of them seemed to like me much, and if I ever got into trouble, my life would be the next sacrifice."
As Ember nodded his head slowly to the young man's words, he looked up at the Temple of Sheol building again.
The sun had begun setting; the sky above was painted orange, purple, blue, and green, and it seemed to glow in different colors with every second.
Before they let the man go, Ember asked the young man, "Do you perhaps know someone who has been living here for a long time before this temple was built? Like the history of this place?"
"Yes," replied the young man.
"Do you know where he lives? Can you lead us there?" Ember asked.
The young man said, "I'll try."
The young man led the brothers straight to a small hut on a back street behind the Temple of Sheol building.
A single lamp burned near its door through which Ember and Valens peered as they approached.
The young man said, "Grandpa! I'm back!" and ran inside the hut.
A few moments later, an old man came out, dressed in the same black clothes the other women wore. His hair was white and tied back by a strip of cloth; he must have been in his eighties or so, Ember guessed.
Ember and Val went inside, walked up to him, and introduced themselves as a pilgrim passing through and that they wanted to learn something about the history of this particular building.
"Well," replied the old man, "this Temple of Sheol was built recently."
"Yes sir," said Ember.
"But not by people," said the old man.
Ember was curious; he was sure the old man knew more than what he had revealed so far.
He then told them how some people wearing black robes from who knows where had arrived one day at the city's gates.
There were only seven of them: six men and one woman. There were no weapons, no banners, nothing — just black cloaks and black hoods.
They claimed they were priests of a new religion; they said that those who would join them should do so voluntarily and that no coercion was needed or permitted.
They said that they did not believe in God the Father, but rather in Hades, the Lord of the Dead, the One who is also called Sheol, the Darkest.
The people welcomed this religion since it appeared to be peaceful, without any violence whatsoever; and even better, the priests promised to take care of any problems which might arise from this.
As they kept going along, Ember asked, "Is it true that the temple had asked for sacrifices?"
The old man was quiet for a minute, looking at them both as if he knows something that they should have not known; perhaps something important.
Finally, he replied, "Yes."
"Did they sacrifice animals, men, or women?"
"Men — human sacrifices."
At these words, Valens turned pale with anger. He clenched his fists as if he wanted to kill everyone in the cult. But he knew it would not solve anything and it may only complicate matters.
Ember on the other hand did not seem surprised and stayed on his calm self. Ember asked the old man, "Were they forced?"
The old man paused again before replying. "Tortured first; then murdered."
Both brothers were quiet; all eyes were on the old man— waiting for him to continue.
The old man continued, "There was one person who tried to stand up against them; an ex-priest who had served Sheol. He fought them off when they came to get his own brother — a good man by all accounts. The brother escaped and lived, but the priest never recovered. He died after three months; he lost half his skull when they hit him with that iron thing. He had some trouble with walking for a while and he became an alcoholic."
He stopped talking now, apparently at a loss as to what else to say.
The silence dragged on for so long that Ember thought it would go on forever until Val asked, earning a side glare from Ember.
"Since you have lived here for quite some time, have you perhaps heard of the Blovik Empire?"
The old man looked at Valens with astonishment for a moment before saying, "Yes."
The old man looked at him with a puzzled look, not understanding why this pilgrim seemed to care so much about that nation's history. "Yes, I know of the Blovik Empire; it has been a long time since then, though."
"How long has it been since you've heard of it?" asked Valens.
"To be honest, I've only heard stories about the Blovik Empire when I was little. Some stories were passed down in our generation. Some of those stories would mention Blovik Empire has been around 40 years, some stories would mention it's around more than 100 years."
Valens did not look convinced by the old man's answer, and neither Ember nor he cared much either; they were too intent on hearing anything more they could from the old man.
They both had a theory which they wanted to put into play — one that was in favor of their plans. They both hoped the old man could give them some information that may lead to a conclusion that would benefit their plan.
Valens, with an anxious expression on his face, said, "And what were those stories about the Blovik Empire you've heard of?"
"Some people say that it was just a myth, some say that it was an empire that fell into ruins because of some wrong ruler. Others claim there are ruins all around its territory."
"What do you think?" asked Valens, who still appeared unconvinced.
"It could have existed; I can't deny it," he said, looking straight at Valens and Ember.
"But if that's true, then that place where the empire stood before could be uninhabited now. No one has been there for over one or two hundred years, so no one knows whether it is really abandoned or if it was ever inhabited in the first place. All that I know is that it has been a long time since people heard of the Blovik Empire."
"Do you mean that it is completely deserted? Or simply not yet visited by anyone?"
The old man thought for a moment before responding: "It is as if the Blovik Empire has never existed — there is nothing left of it. I have seen many old people and children here in this place, but I can assure you none of them know anything about the country or even remember hearing stories of its existence."
They were all silent for a while again, as if waiting to hear more from the old man, when suddenly Ember spoke up and said, "In all of those stories, was there any mention of where was the Blovik Empire?"
"That's a good question," he responded, and he looked at Ember as if trying to decide what to say.
It took him some time to find his voice before he began talking again: "I don't believe they mentioned exactly where the Blovik Empire is, but I've heard several people claim that it is here on the southern continent — somewhere between here and the mountains."
Ember stared at the old man, as did Valens. The two brothers listened attentively to the old man's response.
After a minute or so had passed, Valens interrupted him with an inquiry.
"Do you think we could see these ruins of the Blovik Empire? If that is indeed where they were located, there should still be some evidence of their presence there."
The old man looked at Valens with uncertainty.
He seemed to be weighing the idea of letting them go. "What would you like to know about the Blovik Empire?" asked the old man.
Valens answered immediately, "If possible, I would like to know how many miles away from here it is."
"Well, I suppose I can tell you something; but don't say my name after you leave," said the old man, "I don't want to lose my life or my grandson's over something I told you."
Valens nodded and the old man continued.
"It is approximately fifty-five miles south of here. From where we are now to the coast there is an open plain, which goes into mountains; from those mountains, it slopes down to a small, rocky island; there's nothing around the island except sand dunes and some small shrubs, and then from that point, you can see an immense, sandy plain stretching out before you. And that is all I can tell you without endangering my and my grandson's life, and also I'm afraid of being found here."
This time, the young man, the old man's grandson chimed in and said, "Don't worry Grandpa, I lead them this way using a secret path."
Ember smiled.
Valens turned to the old man and said, "Thank you very much, sir. That's exactly what we wanted to know."
They both got up to depart. As they did, Ember asked the old man, "Could you have your grandson show us the path back to the temple?"
The old man looked at him doubtfully and was about to say no when his grandson said that it was okay and that he'll be careful to come back here.
After they were led back to the Temple's grounds, the two brothers thanked the young man and they went back to the inn.
Once they were inside the room, Ember said, "I have my doubts when he first said that there were claims on the exact location of the empire. He didn't mention at first the location, but he did tell us the location of the ruins."
"You're right. It's odd," said Valens.
"That doesn't mean it isn't true — only that he probably is lying to us or is simply mistaken. The point is that we've been walking all day without finding anything," said Ember.
They sat down in front of the fire as the sun had now set and Ember said, "I'll call Exeo first to report about the cult's branch."
He grabbed the phone in his pocket and dialed Exeo's number.
Exeo picked up on the other side after a few rings: "Ember?"
"Brother."
"Is everything alright?"
"Yes, and we may have some intel that might be helpful about the cult."
"Oh yeah?" Exeo responded eagerly.
"Yes. We talked to an old man in some village here in the south and told us about a group of people who arrived in this area who claimed to be priests of a new religion, that they do not believe in God or Father, but in Hades, the Lord of the Dead or Sheol, which is also called the Darkest."
Exeo was quiet for a moment, "What else did he tell you? Is the information you got reliable?"
Ember hesitated for a moment before he answered, "And that they also use human sacrifices, tortured first then murdered. That said, yes, it is reliable, the intel we got from HQ matches with what we have gathered here."
Ember also added, "I think it is another branch of Hades' Wrath cult because we also saw some followers who were wearing black robes and the Hades' Wrath symbols on the back of their robes. They had similar insignias to what Gen. Luis had shown us during our first mission. I've sent you some photos we secretly got when we were roaming in the area. Just check it once you're done. "
"That is definitely a connection; I don't know what to say,"
Exeo was silent for a while, checking immediately what Ember had sent to his device, and said, "Okay, I've received it, I'll report to General Luis about this and after we're done here on our end too. Thanks, Em."
Exeo ended the conversation and put down the phone. "We've got our work cut out for us. I hope he has some good intel from this cultist in our database," said Ember.