Karl tried to focus on Hawk’s memories of the people at the railroad tracks, but he couldn’t get a clear image. Their communication was more verbal than imagery, and Hawk had described them as being in various forms of white clothes.
That sounded like clergy, but he couldn’t be certain.
“Alright everyone, the clergy group up ahead may or may not actually be clergy, and they might be here with ill intentions. Hawk got a weird vibe from them, so we should be cautious approaching.
They are at the railroad, though, so unless we make a large detour and stay back in the trees, they will see us waiting.” Karl informed the group.
“They shouldn’t have any reason to be hostile to us.” The cleric boy reminded them.
One of the warrior boys frowned. “You mean, other than the missing High Priest? I know it’s not your fault, and so does everyone else here, but the question is if they’re going to listen to a bunch of trainee Elites when one of their own is missing in the area. One of the High Priests had his carriage robbed while he was in my town, and the church was not happy with anyone.”
Put like that, it would be best to be careful how they phrased the first interactions with the group up ahead.
Everyone turned to Karl, and Dana smiled at him.
“Well, good luck, Team Leader. We’re counting on you to make a good first impression.” She announced.
“Fine, I will go talk to them. Everyone else, wait here for me to return.” Karl sighed.
Karl walked the last few hundred metres to the tree line, and then out into the open, covering the last half kilometre to the railroad tracks, where roughly fifty men in clergy uniforms were gathered.
There were two High Priests that Karl could see, and four young boys, about the age of the two students that they had rescued, along with the fifty clergy guards. Hopefully, this was the group from the Seminary Academy that had been out gathering resources.
The closest of the guards raised his fist in a silent greeting, which Karl returned as he walked. If he recalled right, that was done by guards and soldiers so that their voice didn’t attract monsters or the enemy.
Once he got close, the guard began to speak.
“Who might you be, all alone out here in the woods?” The middle-aged guard asked.
“Not all alone, just cautious. I take it you’re with the Seminary Academy, out to gather herbs?” Karl replied.
The guard nodded, and his gaze turned curious. “You met with the missing team, or you wouldn’t know that. Are they alright? Where did you see them last?”
“Their escort has been killed by an Ascended Rank Giant beetle, but I brought the students with me on our mission for safety. We happened to discover a Holy Relic, and when one of our team touched the crystals, we were pulled into a World Dragon Trial Instance, as the guardians of that place called it.” Karl explained, skipping most of the details to get the important part out.
“A Trial Instance? What did it look like?” The closer of the two clerics asked eagerly.
“A forested space with a gigantic golden pyramid temple in the middle. There were stairs up the four sides, testing your strength, magic, willpower and fate. We remained there for four days, until it kicked us out, but I got the guardian Golem to tell me that it opens at the will of the World Dragon, so it’s not broken or anything, just waiting.” Karl explained.
“Before you two go on a tangent, where are the students?” The guard asked.
“And did you find the body of the High Priest?” The other cleric asked.
“I found the body, partially eaten by the beetle. I have it with me so it could be given a proper burial. The students are with the rest of my group, I can go get them.” Karl replied.
“Why so cautious?” The second cleric asked.
“Not to sound rude, but we are trained to be cautious of everything out here in the wilderness, and we couldn’t be sure that you were really from the church just going by the fact you wear white. I didn’t want to put my team at risk.” Karl replied quietly.
“Understandable. But your badge says you’re still an Awakened Rank student, wouldn’t that put you at risk?” The first cleric asked.
“Better one than all. I am the Team Leader, it is my duty to keep them safe.” Karl replied with a shrug.
The guards nodded in appreciation for a good leader, though their attitude seemed a bit insulted that he appeared to think that he could take them all at once, even if it was just long enough to escape. Even if as an Awakened Elite, he was one, and they were fifty with Holy Magic from the clerics.
Really, Karl was just trusting in his physique and Lightning Shield to make a break for it if things went wrong.
“If you would please go get the rest of your team, there should be a train here in the next two hours. We were going to return and call a search team, but if you have them with you, we can all return home.” The closer of the two old clerics suggested.
“Of course. I will go get them and I will be right back.”
Karl turned to walk away, and sensed both Thor and Hawk in their spaces, watching the group as he disappeared back into the trees.
[They’re not following you, but they’re watching closely.] Hawk informed him.
[Alright, that’s normal. They’re expecting me to come back with their students.]
Karl walked back to the group and gestured them forward. “There are two more clerics, I think they’re High Priests, as well as four boys about your age. They have fifty guards with them, and they’re waiting on the train to go back to the school.”
The two young cleric trainees gave each other a high five.
“Did you explain about the Holy Relic? Because they’re going to be able to sense the Holy Magic as we approach.” The girl asked.
“I did. I didn’t go into much detail, but I told them that it existed and that you two were safe.” Karl explained.
“That should be enough. Are we going now?”
Karl nodded and turned back to the tracks. “Everyone, follow us, same formation as usual, keep the mages and clerics in the centre of the triple file. We’re heading toward a group of career soldiers, so try not to make yourselves look like the brand-new students that you are.”
The team laughed at the notion they might look like anything but a bunch of first year students out on their first mission. Sure, they had grown in power a lot since they arrived at the Holy Relic, but that didn’t make them any more experienced about being out in the world.
They exited the trees with Karl in the lead, and he could see that the clerics were actively looking for the two students. Then, as they got closer, the two priests got a strange look, and began to search around in every direction.
“Is there something wrong?” Karl called, and motioned for the team to stop.
“I sensed Holy Magic, there is someone else here.” One of the clerics called back.
He was clearly nervous that someone was following them, so perhaps they had come across something good as well and didn’t want another claiming the credit for their discovery.
