Chapter 101: The Messenger

"What's wrong?" Kraft's inquiry came from behind, his hand already resting on the shoulder, the pressure increasing.

"I'm fine!"

His body shuddered; he couldn't shake off that hand, which instead showed a tendency to tighten further. Frightened, Kup quickly declared he hadn't been zoning out. The spot pinched earlier still throbbed faintly, and this time it had thoughtfully switched to the other side; a moment later and it would be symmetrical.

Freed from the threat on his shoulder, Kup tilted his head back to gaze at the sheer rock wall. The image was over two men tall; below, a segmented, worm-like creature that was neither snake nor insect lay at the center of the lamplight, its long body coiled to occupy half the surface.

It should have been the protagonist of the scene, yet it received insufficient brushstrokes. Where the segments overlapped, they resembled scales, though they could also be seen as a carapace, and its winding form was no less than that of an earthworm or soft-bodied creature.

Within the long body straddling several forms lay numerous human figures sketched with a few cursory strokes, utterly distinct from the broad-faced human figures above the dividing line. The former were mass-produced, nearly symbolic stick figures, while the latter were individual entities emphasized with distinct personal traits.

Those distorted features, warped by the widening of the faces, all displayed sharp differentiation, deliberately highlighting the contour details of a realistic style, so thorough they felt no less than a portrait painted before one's eyes.

Yet he had never seen a person shaped like this, or rather, it looked more like something flattened and stretched out, not naturally so.

An abstract, unidentified entity coexisted with realistic facial masks, intensifying the contrast between the two parts while connecting them through an opening in the segmented long body at the dividing line.

His gaze followed the twisting strip upward, from tadpole-like little figures to those with roughly human forms, and finally to the figures in the upper half of the image, their varied broad faces growing farther from the lamplight.

"William, I have a suggestion." Kraft stopped William, who was heading toward the village. Although he understood nothing about what this painting depicted, one thing was quite clear:

Not lighting a lamp at midnight for use was a huge waste, especially here. Any such behavior would inevitably be linked to non-utilitarian purposes.

Analogous to the candles burning day and night in a church, aside from the few necessary for illumination, they were closer to acts of worship. This oil lamp might serve a similar purpose; the multiple, mixed, and abnormal forms satisfied the needs of veneration.

Unlike the church's hierarchy with the divine above and figures arrayed below, it did the opposite: placing the human forms in the upper half and that thing below.

"Put away your pendants; someone might not like them."

The double-winged haloed saint's emblem amulets on their chests gleamed in the firelight. Such items were nearly ubiquitous among sailors, who were quite willing to spend the money. The materials generally contained silver; William's even used pure silver, making them as conspicuous as possible.

Kraft didn't think wearing those pendants while knocking on doors was a good idea. "For the sake of gold coins, don't mess up at the final step."

"Alright." William grabbed his collar, took the lead in unfastening the saint's emblem pendant and stuffing it into an inner pocket. With him setting the example, and considering the captain and the reward, the sailors were willing to temporarily compromise.

Peter, whose faith was the most pure, wore no insignia related to the church, sparing them the trouble of persuading him specifically.

Having settled matters on this end, Kraft turned to his squire. Kup still stood in place, his eyes seemingly glued to the mural, having never looked away since first seeing it.

More precisely, the upper part of the stone wall.

"Any discoveries?"

"I..." Kup opened his mouth, realized he wasn't the only one looking at him, cut himself off, shook his head, and followed the group. "I've never seen anything like this; it's a bit novel."

"Ha, then you'll have plenty of opportunities for novelty in the future." William and the sailors burst into good-natured laughter. They had seen much; a small patch of suspected heresy was nothing strange. Closed-off regions produced bizarre customs and strange beliefs by the dozen; nothing could be stranger than the ice plains.

After all, they were all people who needed to eat and drink. Setting aside minor regional differences, equating the heresies mentioned by the church with worshipping devils was not the same thing; one would understand naturally after seeing enough.

"No need to worry; I believe they recognize this." A golden, circular metal object appeared in William's hand, then was immediately swapped for a silver one. "Alright, I admit they might not recognize the first one."

The sailors laughed as one, following William toward the village. The unpleasantness on the mountain path was somewhat diluted. A mere horse, with no loss of life involved, wasn't worth dwelling on.

Kraft called Yin Feng into his line of sight, slowed his steps to wait for Kup to move closer to him, increasing the distance from the front of the group. "Now it's fine; speak."

He turned his head, seeing Kup with his hands clasped before him, deliberately shifting to the right, away from the hammer handle. It seemed he had taken Kraft's words to heart, though execution was not easy.

"I'm not sure." Kup fell into a mild trance, his wandering eyes not avoiding the question but rather disrupted by an insoluble confusion that scrambled his logic, generating self-doubt.

On the mountain path earlier, Kraft had indeed vaguely sensed something unusual, but several attempts to extend his spiritual senses had detected nothing. He hadn't expected Kup to unknowingly fall into some trap.

Now that he thought about it, this unlucky fellow being targeted so quickly during the Salt Tide Zone incident wasn't entirely due to that well water; there was also his own "susceptibility," making him more easily influenced and turning him into a weak link.

"Just say it; do you fear I'll mock you?"

William was pounding on the door of the nearest house. The thudding drew a coarse female voice cursing from inside, completely drowning out the conversation on their side.

Yin Feng was startled by the sudden noise, his attention drawn away. If they were to discuss something difficult to utter, the moment was perfect for both of them; once inside, there wouldn't be such space for private talk.

"I'm really not too sure; it's just an idea." Kup interlaced his fingers, repeatedly negating himself, reluctant even to admit it to Kraft. "It's those things drawn up there... those things that look like faces."

His speech was hesitant; his lips and teeth seemed to disapprove of the words spoken, as if struggling in contradiction with himself. What made him hesitate wasn't telling others his idea, but rejecting the idea itself; mentioning it was tantamount to admitting its existence.

A void-like, unformed, ridiculous guess, once spoken, could not be cast aside, firmly listed among the possibilities.

A muscular arm slammed the door against William's face. A woman with a headscarf, holding a pickaxe, poked her head out to check; her attitude softened slightly upon seeing the coins in his hand.

Since the most effective language of communication still worked here, and with a local guide to mediate, arranging lodging should not be difficult. The sailors waved to their teammates lagging behind, beckoning Kraft to follow.

"There's one in there that I might have seen."