Gasps ran through the crowd. Although the black-clad warriors had attacked before, only a few students were present at that time. Now that such a large group had gathered, everyone felt there was strength in numbers.
The students grew bold again, anxious to enter the temple.
But just as they thought the opponents would give in, they proved their determination in blood.
Naturally, some students made the same discovery as Tepo.
"What?! You are no aspirants!"
"What's with that speed?!"
The students' emotions were chaotic as they watched their peer supported by others, dragged to the side, and fed a pill.
The black-clad warriors stayed silent but their eyes were obviously mocking.
Meanwhile the students didn't know what to do. Some tried to unify the crowd, but it was difficult to estimate their chances if those warriors were determined to block the door.
At the back a few students separated, either to search for another entrance or to inform the teachers outside.
"What should we do?", asked Yerive his friend. By now, they were loosely surrounded by Shorey's group. Since Inurol'ah and Droa'va were too highly ranked, they didn't enter the dungeon.
Tepo frowned as he contemplated the situation.
"Let's observe for a while."
The young man eyed the back of the group. A few minutes later a few students returned with dejected faces.
They didn't find another way in…
Tepo let out a sigh. With no support from the outside and no other way in, they had to come up with their own solutions.
"Would you be angry if I go in alone?", whispered Tepo carefully.
"No, no. I would be happy if you made it and beat those aristocrats!
Every second we waste out here, they are already searching the temple. We shouldn't let them succeed so easily!"
Tepo nodded with a faint smile as a plan formed in his mind. He tapped Shorey's shoulder, whispering something in his ear.
The young man looked at Tepo in surprise before agreeing quietly.
Thus, Tepo sneakily separated from the crowd. He went behind the corner and activated his stealth.
A moment later Shorey felt someone pat his shoulder again. He complied with Tepo's plan, signaling his friends to push forward.
Tepo mixed into the small group invisibly as they approached the door.
At the front the young man waited patiently for the black-clad warriors to direct their attention elsewhere. After a short while they all looked towards the other side, where someone tried to unite the students again.
Tepo saw his chance. He quickly dashed towards the door. The noise was easily drowned out by the students.
With his breath held he had to pass only one of the warriors. His body was tense. A single second seemed like an eternity.
Tepo took step after step. He made it past the warrior, but the later suddenly frowned. They turner their head in confusion.
Fortunately, Tepo was mentally prepared. Instead of directly roaming the large hall, he took a step to the side, silently pressing his back close to the wall still as a statue.
A few seconds later the warrior turned back. Tepo did his best to let out a silent breath. He made it.
Relieved, the young man scanned the sight before him.
He was in a grand hall, sturdy pillars supporting the high ceiling. Towards the left and right were broken cabinets, their contents scattered on the stone floor between dirty, torn, and bloody cushions.
At the front was a flat altar surrounded by rubble and religious memorabilia. Above it a balcony was connected to the outside by a large arc.
Small windows at the top of the wall let in some light, creating a bleak atmosphere. It allowed Tepo to barely see the many damages on the floor. Together with the blood it was obvious that a fight had engulfed the temple.
But there are no ghosts here…
Tepo frowned as he noticed this fact. It might've made sense if no one died in this place, but this could be excluded as Tepo turned his head towards the altar.
He approached it quietly, his eyes scanning the man pinned to the stone surface by a long sword. His face was old, but his body seemed still athletic.
A murky ray of light fell on the corpse, highlighting the mutilated upper body and the dried blood everywhere on the man's skin.
The sight wasn't for the fainthearted, but Tepo was unperturbed. He had seen scenes like this before. Compared to the torture some outsiders liked to inflict, humans were often rather harmless.
Tepo studied the wounds calmly.
Those cuts aren't clean. They were done with too much strength, probably in anger. Still, they were not deadly. If the old man was a warrior such wounds might not even hinder his movement.
Maybe a spell was added.
Hmm but this is interesting. One set of wounds clearly doesn't fit in with the rest.
From what I can tell those might have formed a pattern. Unfortunately, the torturer has made it impossible to see clearly.
Still, why do I feel as if this pattern… seems… familiar…
A shiver ran down Tepo's spine. His chest tightened.
But quickly the young man focused his mind again. It was not the time for baseless speculations.
Suddenly voices reached his ears. Tepo's eyes lit up as he did his best to listen. He realized that the aristocratic youths should be talking somewhere above him.
"Kalmin… see anything?"
"… powerful … no heart…"
"… clear eyes … no fight?"
Only able to hear parts of the conversation, Tepo had to fill in the rest in his mind.
They are investigating the general. And there are no signs of a fight? Did the general rip out his own heart?
Tepo could only put his doubts at the back of his mind for now. He continued observing his surroundings.
So much rubble around this altar. A hand? And a socket is left. Maybe a statue?
Was this a culture where strong warriors were worshipped? Like the general? Or…
Not daring to think further, Tepo turned around. He carefully inspected the relics scattered on the floor.
But nothing stood out to him among those. Among candleholders, urns, vases, etc. nothing appeared unique. The only clue he got was that nothing valuable seemed to have been taken away.
With some guesses in his mind, Tepo decided to leave the room. Close to the altar was a big wooden door. It was still open, maybe because the aristocrats passed it, leading to a broad hallway.
Immediately a confusing sight entered Tepo's eyes. He saw men in priest robes running along the hallway. Some of them looked panicked, but most had fanatical lights in their eyes.
Suddenly holes opened in some of their chests. Heads were cut off. One priest even had his legs cut of before something punctured his back.
A moment later the bodies vanished. They appeared again in their starting positions, repeating the cycle.
No remains of bodies could be seen on the floor. Some of the ghostly priests apparently tried to fight back, but no ghosts of their enemies appeared in the hall.
Obviously, the priests were outmatched. To the left and right of the hallway were many open doors. Some of the priests tried to reach those rooms, maybe hoping to hide there.
Tepo passed the scene, watching the ghostly priests die around him. He observed them closely, but their wide, white robes didn't have any clues on them.
Strange… wouldn't priests normally wear some holy signs?
Shaking his head, the investigator entered one of the side rooms. With one glance he made himself an overview.
The room was rather small, with a single window at the top of the wall. It allowed light to fall on a smaller version of the altar.
Tepo scanned the room closely, but other than the altar it was completely empty.
Without new clues Tepo left, entering the other rooms. All of them turned out to be the same as the first room, but Tepo wasn't impatient.
He thoroughly searched everything, making sure not to miss any clues. Only the second to last room rewarded his patience.
Tepo's kept a calm face as he took a closer look at something on the floor. Ignoring the priest who got his head cut of next to him, Tepo took a few small objects in his hand.
It's grain. Looks like a sacrifice.
Not ignoring even the small hint, Tepo left the room. After the last one turned out to be empty as well the investigator climbed the stairs at the end of the hallway.
Upstairs the path only led in one direction. Turning around, an open door immediately entered Tepo's eyes, leading back towards the balcony above the first altar.
Suddenly he could head some voices again. They sounded nonchalant, coming from the only room on this floor. Tepo sneaked forward quietly, putting his back against the wall, overhearing the aristocrats' conversions.
Immediately his eyes lit up as he understood that he found the head priest's office.