East Road Quest

Chapter 57

In the desert, a clear sky often heralded a challenging day. Yet, Jade was not afraid. For the first time since their journey began, hope was in sight. This tale unfolds before the founding of the Roman Empire and after the fall of Rome.

After the empire’s fall, Rome quickly turned to ruins. Wealthy merchants and nobles had already sought new lives in other cities or countries, leaving behind only powerless aristocrats and poor citizens who wished to leave but could not.

It was then that Baltian’s conquering army advanced.

Originally, Baltian was merely a tribal chief leading the nomads of the Cuman steppes. However, within a few years, he unified the surrounding barbarian tribes and eventually established an empire on the Cuman steppes.

The onslaught of the Cuman army was like a tidal wave, unstoppable even by the most fortified cities. People believed Baltian had made a pact with the devil, wielding dark magic.

Numerous western kingdoms fell under the Cuman Empire’s dominion, and the northern kingdoms surrendered without a fight, forced to pay tribute.

Even during Rome’s heyday, the barbarians were a significant nuisance, but Baltian’s army was of a different caliber. All the armies of the western kingdoms combined could not stand against them. With Rome’s fall and no army left to defend the city, people thought the end of the world had come.

At that moment, Leopold Browne, the First Bishop of Rome, stepped out alone beyond the city gates.

A miracle occurred. Many citizens of Rome witnessed Leopold Browne on the right, with the Fire Angel Gabriel standing beside him, and on the left, Saint Magdalena walking alongside.

Leopold Browne rebuked Baltian, and Gabriel’s flaming sword turned the sky red. Terrified, Baltian retreated with his army from Rome.

The people hailed Leopold Browne as the true king of Rome and pleaded with him to accept the crown.

Leopold Browne refused, declaring that he followed not the power of man but the word of God. Thus, the people called him the Holy Emperor of the Catholic faith.

Naturally, all previous First Bishops of Rome were posthumously honored with the title of Holy Emperor.

Not long after, Baltian died of illness. People believed it was the holy power of Gabriel that caused his death.

The Cuman Empire declined rapidly within a decade after Baltian’s death.

Later, the Roman Empire was established, and the great Roman general Scipio completely destroyed the Cuman Empire, leaving only remnants on the Cuman steppes.

The Cuman people continued to wander the fringes of Rome, leading a barbaric and impoverished life, heedless of the voice of God.

“Now, what do you think?”

Poe asked.

“Think about what?”

Ruby retorted.

“I gave you a chance to prove you’re an angel. I still can’t believe you’re one.”

Ruby was walking about five steps ahead of Poe and Jade, still awkwardly dragging chains attached to the shackles on her wrists and ankles, maintaining a slow pace out of consideration for the two.

“I asked Jade about our future journey, and Jade insisted we must pass through the Cuman steppes to reach the Dark Forest. When I questioned why we should take such a long detour, Jade was saying it’s because there might be pursuers, and in the middle of that, why suddenly bring up the Emperor of Cuman to prove I’m an angel, you blockhead!”

Poe emphasized once more.

“Doesn’t this story make you want to speak of the greatness of God and the holiness of Holy Emperor Leopold Browne?”

“I don’t know about holiness, but I do see a foolish mistake.”

“Foolish? A mistake?”

Poe asked, his stance combative. His expression and tone hadn’t changed, but his clenched fists gave him away.

Ruby paused, turned around, and crossed her arms. Poe naturally approached and stopped in front of her.

“You said this happened 500 years ago, right?” Ruby leaned in close to Poe’s face and continued the conversation leisurely.

“Perhaps I have met someone named Baltian or Mitchel before,” mused the Angel Chief. “But what does it matter? Back then, I was too busy playing hide and seek with the angels, too occupied with the flowers to care about such trivial matters.”

As is often the case, the landscape doesn’t dramatically change the moment you cross a boundary on a map. The desert wasn’t just sand and wilderness, nor did the sand suddenly vanish once you passed through it. Instead, gradually, the frequency of seeing grass and trees increased, and the red-hued earth began to diminish.

They were finally beginning to leave the red desert behind.

“However, considering the strategies, wars, cultures, and the nomads’ way of fighting that I know of from those times, the ‘Miracle of Rome’ you speak of is likely one of two possibilities,” said Jade.

“Go on,” urged Poe.

“Vibius must have been a clever man, right? Then he might have imposed superstitious beliefs on Baltian. ‘If you retreat now, we’ll pay you, but if you refuse this deal and attack Rome, our god will curse you…’ something like that. If Baltian was superstitious, even the god of another religion would have scared him a bit. And if he could make money without invading the city, he might have just retreated.”

“But that’s…”

Sapph was about to immediately object when Ruby raised her hand to stop him and finished her point.

“Secondly, if Baltian wasn’t superstitious, he probably wouldn’t have retreated. There’s no need to back down from a city without an army to stop you, whether it’s a festival or the emperor himself. So, from Vibius’s perspective, there was only one way to make such enemies retreat.”

Jade knew what strategy Ruby was hinting at but let her continue speaking.

“Open the city gates and let them loot the city, but spare the people. From Baltian’s perspective, that would have been an acceptable deal.”

“How could such a trade be possible? The first one I can somewhat understand, but the second sounds foolish!”

Sapph emphasized his point, as if to get back at being called foolish earlier.

Ruby, unfazed by the insult, explained further.

“The Kun tribe probably wanted food and gold, not murder. Vibius could protect the city and its people, and Baltian could easily take what he wanted without a fight, satisfying both parties.”

“The Kun are barbarians. If the gates were opened, they would have broken their promise and burned Rome. They would have taken people as slaves, and if there was resistance… they wouldn’t have hesitated to kill!”

“If they burned the city, there would be nothing left to loot. It’s better to raid and take goods every few years without any effort. Nomads would have loved the city’s alcohol, pottery, and fabrics. And they couldn’t kidnap people either. If they started, the city would disappear or the people would flee.”

“What about the eyewitness accounts of an angel and a saint appearing beside Vibius? Tens of thousands saw it!”

“They ‘recorded’ what they witnessed!” Ruby said with a scoff.

“Gatriel was the angel I feared the most. Almost the only being I found hard to defeat in battle.”

Jade smiled inwardly.

‘Not that he couldn’t win, but that it was hard to win? Look at him, still maintaining his pride.’

Ruby continued nonchalantly.

“Gatriel had little interest in human affairs. Even if he did, Gatriel wouldn’t have sided with Rome to defeat the Kun tribe’s army. Because to Gatriel, both sides were just humans.”

“That can’t be right? The Kun don’t believe in Caitlic. Gatriel, the guardian of Caitlic, wouldn’t have treated such heretics equally.”

Sapph spoke with the tone of a teacher.

“I’ve never heard that Gatriel was the guardian of Caitlic?”

Ruby tilted her head thoughtfully.

“Now that I think about it, I haven’t heard it either, but it’s possible.”

Sapph raised his voice as if he had been waiting for this moment.

“See! You’re mistaken.”

“I concede. There was a position called the Vineyard Guard Captain, so there could be one called the Guardian of Caitlic,” Ruby admitted.

Jade couldn’t help but smile at the earnestness of Poe, but his seriousness was such that she found herself unable to laugh.

Poe, though his face did not betray it, was visibly agitated, breathing heavily through his nose.

“Ruby, you once said that the Bible is nothing more than a book of ramblings left by angels, didn’t you?” Poe questioned.

“I didn’t say it exactly like that, but yes, that was the gist of it,” Ruby replied with a nod.

“I can’t agree with that. The Bible contains many stories, but the most widely read one is the scripture written by the Angel Chief to Saint Magdalena, conveying the words of God. All the other scriptures also bear the names of the angels who spoke them and the saints who recorded them. It’s not just random scribblings!”

“I’m curious about these angelic tales. Do you have that scripture with you? Let’s read it,” Ruby said, extending her hand suddenly.

Poe shuddered as if he had committed a grave sin.

“I, I’ve lost it.”

As Poe recounted the events that had transpired on their journey, he was burdened with guilt for many things. Now, the loss of the scripture added to his woes.

Unable to watch any longer, Jade intervened.

“The scripture can be found anywhere. We’ll probably get a new one in the next village.”

“Hmm, then our debate will have to wait until later,” Ruby said, turning away with a hint of disappointment and resuming his walk.

Jade asked, “Ruby, do you read books?”

“What’s so strange about that?”

“You just don’t seem like the book-reading type.”

“I’ve read hundreds, thousands of books in the Library of Roxandria; reading one more is hardly a chore.” Ruby scratched his chin, trying to recall.

“Hmm, now that I think about it, I remember reading scrolls in the library titled ‘The Word,’ ‘The Creation of the World’…”

“Those must have been ancient scriptures. Stories of angels that existed before the current scriptures were written by Magdalena and other saints.”

“Then reading the current one might jog my memory of the old ones. Maybe even where I left my weapon.”

“If you’re talking about the weapon forged from Umphaluton, it’s probably still in the Red Desert where you last fought. It’s so heavy that no one could lift it, likely buried deep in the sand for five hundred years.”

“I thought as much. It was a fine weapon, a real shame.”

Ruby trudged ahead, leading the way once more.

Jade, walking beside a slumped Poe, said, “Poe, a book is just a book. Losing the scripture doesn’t mean there’s a problem with your faith.”

“I know. But it doesn’t feel that way.”

Ruby, walking leisurely with his hands clasped behind him like an old man, asked, “Back to the original question. Why must we go through the Dark Forest?”

“It was Father Daniel’s directive,” Jade answered, then turned to Poe, who nodded in agreement.

Jade knew the story of Daniel as well as Poe did, as if a teacher had taught the same subject to two separate students.

If it had been anyone else, jealousy might have ensued, but with Poe, it was a relief. If there were any gaps or errors in memory, Poe could correct them.

“Alright. Then explain in more detail the route that Daniel mentioned before he died,” Ruby said, sounding like a superior officer awaiting a report.

“Father Daniel’s death hasn’t been confirmed yet,” Jade clarified.

“But didn’t many witness his house burning down and collapsing?”

When Ruby looked back at Poe, he reluctantly nodded.

“Moreover, Yol confessed to killing him, even in a state where he couldn’t lie. Remember? You asked him.”

Ruby added, seeking confirmation, but Jade shook her head in denial.

“I won’t believe it until I see it for myself.”

“Ha. Ha. Ha. And yet, here’s a girl who believes in eyewitness accounts from five hundred years ago as if they were gospel truth,” Ruby scoffed with a forced laugh.

Poe clenched his fist tightly.

“Father, if I hit Ruby, it’s only my hand that will hurt, right?”

“You’d be better off hitting a rock.”

“What if I threw a stone?”

“He wouldn’t feel it, and knowing him, he’d catch it and throw it back. Better to hold your peace.”

“I wish I could use that book of light magic. Tighten the noose around his neck!”

“It’s good to see you’ve regained your spirit, Poe.”

Jade patted Poe’s shoulder, then addressed Ruby again.

“According to Father Daniel, beyond the Dark Forest lies the realm of the elves, and if we head to the easternmost point, there are several ports. He said it’s faster to reach the eastern continent by using those ports.”

“That makes sense in terms of speed. The ships steered by elves are incomparably faster and safer than those manned by humans.”

Ruby agreed, continuing the conversation.

“However, if we take the shortest route by land, we might offset that speed advantage, so it’s not necessarily faster to cross the Dark Forest. Just so you know, elves aren’t particularly fond of humans. It might not be a safe path for you two.”

Saph whispered to Jade, asking, “Do elves really exist? Father Daniel always spoke of them, but I still can’t believe it.”

Ruby, puzzled, inquired, “I, who have met elves here, am present. Why ask someone who hasn’t met them?”

“You haven’t even finished answering my question. So, I won’t ask a new one.”

“Huh? I’ve forgotten what your question was.”

Ruby, not sounding the least bit teasing, stretched out her words before continuing, “With me, assassins and pursuers cease to be a problem. In fact, from now on, there’s nothing problematic at all. As long as we’re clear on the direction, we can go straight ahead! No need to choose this path or that. If a mountain blocks us, I can make a way through it!”

Ruby pointed eastward.

“How convenient. Let’s see then.”

Jade closed her eyes for a moment, picturing a map in her mind.

“The shortest route from here to the Mediterranean is straight east towards the Duchy of Luna, but their ports lack ships good enough to cross the sea.”

“Does that country lack shipbuilding skills?” Ruby asked.

Jade, eyes still closed, replied, “Not exactly, but it’s also true. According to the directives of the Roman Empire and the Vatican, trade routes with the eastern continent are exclusively through the port of Pisa. Hence, other nations have no need to refine the art of building seafaring vessels.”

Jade opened her eyes and shook her head.

“Having come this far, crossing the Red Desert southward to return to the port of Pisa is almost the same distance as continuing north through the Dark Forest. And we have another purpose now…”

Jade hesitated to use the word ‘hellgate,’ but Ruby had no such reservations.

“Did that scoundrel Kraukus say there’s another hellgate in the Dark Forest? Why should ‘we’ take responsibility for it?”

“There’s no need for you to feel responsible. But having heard it, I feel the obligation to at least verify it,” Jade retorted.

“Don’t play with words. If you’re involved, I get dragged in too! So, it becomes ‘our’ responsibility!”

“Is that so?”

Jade laughed helplessly.

Saph said, “I don’t think Father Daniel predicted the hellgate and told us to head for the Dark Forest. Nor do I believe he calculated we’d be chased by assassins if we went to the port of Pisa. He spoke of such things long before this incident occurred. I think there must be another reason we’re unaware of.”

Ruby spoke with admiration, “That old man Daniel is quite trustworthy.”

“Of course! He is…”

Saph hesitated briefly before continuing, “…like a father to us. He wouldn’t have taught us a path meant for unnecessary hardship.”

“I don’t think it’s a path of unnecessary hardship either. If we chose a human port, we might have to wait months if a storm blocked the sea route, but elven ships don’t sink in storms, and dwarves have vessels that can navigate underwater, saving us much time.”

Jade was momentarily taken aback.

“Ships that navigate underwater? Sounds like a boastful sailor’s scam.”

“Boasting is what people with little experience do when they encounter something grand. I’m an adventurer who has roamed the world for centuries. I have so many experiences that summarizing them is the hard part, not exaggerating them!”

Ruby squinted northward.

“Hmm, finally, a village is in sight.”

“If my calculations are correct, that should be ‘Achillia.’ I’ve heard it’s quite a large city. I hope there’s an inn where we can sleep in a bed.”

Jade said earnestly.

“Achillia? The name I saw on the abbot’s map in the monastery was different. Was it Peyervang?”

Ruby asked.

“I’ve never heard that name. You must have seen it wrong.”

“Is that so? Well, what does the name of the village matter?”

Saph interjected.

“Is there a cathedral there?”

Before Jade could answer, Saph challenged Ruby, “I’ll borrow a bible from there for you to read, Ruby. Then we’ll have to revisit our earlier conversation!”

Ruby laughed as if amused.

“Wasn’t that conversation over? Hey, you’re more persistent than you look.”

“Of course. Father Jade might have mistakenly brought you here instead of the holy angel left at the temple of Byphel!”

“If reading the bible could reveal whether I’m an angel or not, why would I have bothered with this arduous adventure?”

Ruby spoke nonchalantly.

“No. I think I can tell.”

Saph persisted as they continued on their way.

“Make sure your clothes are tied properly. Do you realize your chest is showing every time you walk?” Ruby teased, and Sapph hurriedly retied her clothing knots.

Ruby chuckled. “I lied. It’s not showing.”

“You’re definitely not an angel!”

“Am I not an angel just because I play a prank?”

“If you bore the name of a holy angel, you wouldn’t play such pranks!”

“Sure, sure. Those revered and holy angels wouldn’t stoop to such jests. They’re too busy scorching heretics with balls of fire.”

Ruby’s voice dripped with sarcasm.

“Stop it! That’s blasphemy.”

“Blasphemy? If you heard the curses I hurled at angels five hundred years ago, you’d faint.”

Ruby laughed again, while Sapph clenched her fists and kicked at the dirt on the ground as she walked, irritated.

‘It’s quite astonishing.’

Jade was deep in thought.

‘That Ruby would let Sapph so openly question her identity and even take it as a joke.’

Jade took this as a good sign.