In the lush oasis, a new moon slowly rose, and stars gradually dotted the night sky.
EeDechi stood beneath the balcony of a two-story building, looking down at the remnants marching in formation below. They were performing the Sacred Blood Rite.
The remnants stood in row after row, surrounding the temple at the oasis's center. Goblets were taken from the temple and passed among them. Each goblet held a crimson liquid, and the remnants lifted them to drink in one gulp, their eyes shining with endless joy.
"Is that blood they're drinking?" EeDechi watched for a moment, spotting nothing unusual, then turned and walked back into the room to discuss plans with Barrett.
Barrett's arm was wrapped in bandages, but his wound had mostly healed. Cheeko was squatting on the table, hugging a crystal and gnawing away at it with relish.
EeDechi recognized that the crystal Cheeko was eating came from the crystal chandelier on the ceiling.
Authority and wealth—complete these two, and they could meet the 30 guardians of the Eight Greed Kings. Though EeDechi had plenty of gold coins in her pocket and Barrett had collected a heap of gold, silver, and jewels, filling the moat with their own riches was nothing short of a pipe dream.
"First, we need a way to prove authority," EeDechi mused.
In the end, Barrett came up with a wild idea: if they only had to place a symbol of authorityinto the slot, the crown worn by the remnants' female leader seemed like a solid choice.
EeDechi and Barrett decided to "borrow" the female leader's crown without her knowing, then return it once they were done.
Antilene was still recovering from her injuries, and Franco was probably tangled up with the maids serving him, so tonight's crown-borrowing mission would have to be handled by EeDechi and Barrett alone.
Knock, knock, knock. The door suddenly rapped. Barrett pursed his lips and opened it to find the maids delivering food.
Several pretty maids pushed a copper food cart into the room. On the cart was a row of silver trays, laden with roast chicken, cantaloupe, beer, mashed potatoes, and other foods. Though the ingredients were plentiful, the menu seemed utterly chaotic.
EeDechi and Barrett dug into the plates with gusto. After filling their bellies, they rested for a moment, then began plotting their operation.
...
It was the dead of night, already midnight.
Barrett softened his footsteps, slipping quietly through the temple. He and EeDechi had split up, with him in charge of sneaking in from the southeast. All around was deathly silent, without even a single guard in sight.
Suddenly, voices drifted from the corridor beyond the wall. Barrett pressed against it, straining to listen.
"The guests are gone... they... can't find..." "Check the well... disappeared," "Not in the mill..."
The voices came in bits and pieces, but Barrett caught the main idea. Some of the temple's clergy were organizing guards to hunt for traces of him and EeDechi.
Barrett couldn't help but snicker to himself. The people these guards were scouring the oasis for were hiding right under their noses.
But why the hell were they looking for us in the middle of the night? Barrett wondered, a bit confused.
Thud, thud, thud... A synchronized marching sound approached, the clatter of scabbards and armor especially loud.
Barrett realized the patrolling soldiers were coming. But this didn't stump him; he reached out, pried open a glass window, and ducked inside in a flash.
Once the soldiers had passed, Barrett drew the curtains over the windows on all sides, pulled out a small glowing crystal to light up the room around him, and looked to see if there were any goodies. Passing up free loot just wasn't in an adventurer's blood.
The faint glow from the crystal illuminated the surroundings. This was a spacious room, with stacks of parchment scrolls piled up in front. Around them were quill pens, gold threads, and other items.
Barrett reached out and took a scroll, carefully unrolling it. Suddenly, the scroll burst into radiance, dazzling golden light flowing across its surface, intricate patterns springing to life.
Barrett snapped the scroll shut, plunging the surroundings back into darkness and utter silence, but a drop of cold sweat trickled down his back.
It wasn't that Barrett had been startled by the suddenly glowing scroll, but because this scroll was a complete Imperial Map!
Imperial Map—a name dripping with temptation. Beyond the Eight Greed Kings desert, only rare Imperial Map Fragments could be found.
Legend said it held a treasure map of the Eight Greed Kings desert. By gathering all the Imperial Map Fragments, one could uncover the authority and wealth that the Eight Greed Kings had used to rule the world.
Countless adventurers, travelers, merchants, mages, nobles, and even kings tirelessly hunted for Imperial Map Fragments, hoping one day to piece them all together and seize endless wealth and authority in the Eight Greed Kings desert.
Barrett had busted his hump to acquire two Imperial Map Fragments, but later he got a complete Imperial Map from Steve's hands.
Then he met Antilene, who also held an Imperial Map—that was a precious map pieced together by the Slane Theocracy after centuries of scouring the Eight Greed Kings desert.
Demiurge seemed to have been guided to the City of Remnants only after piecing together the Imperial Map.
Barrett had long wondered why there were so many Imperial Maps. Now, he seemed to have uncovered the reason!
Barrett pulled out a scroll from the stack of parchments, eagerly unrolling it. Dazzling golden light burst forth—it was an Imperial Map. He tossed aside the one in his hand, grabbed another tube of scrolls and opened it—again, an Imperial Map. He opened yet another—still an Imperial Map...
Barrett glanced around, secretly shocked. This place seemed like a factory for churning out Imperial Maps! It was obviously a trap, baiting the greedy outsiders from beyond the Eight Greed Kings desert into exploring inside it!
Barrett had no idea how many people had trekked into the desert chasing these illusory Imperial Maps, only to perish in the deadly grip of horrific monsters and skeleton soldiers.
But even so, adventurers, mages, and nobles kept charging in one after another into the Eight Greed Kings desert, tossing their lives away for that legendary treasure.
Suddenly, a wave of dizziness washed over him. Barrett braced against the wall, a sinking feeling in his gut. He struggled to clutch the table edge, trying to steady himself, but his whole body felt limp, completely drained of strength.
"Damn it, something was off with tonight's dinner!"
Barrett thrashed desperately, but every muscle and bone in his body ignored him. Finally, his vision went black, and he crumpled to the ground, out cold.
In that instant of falling, Barrett knocked over the table, sending several parchment scrolls spilling open. Blinding golden light lit up the entire room.
Creak~
The room door swung open, and several guards stepped in. They gazed at the unconscious Barrett on the floor, their blank faces showing not a flicker of emotion.
"Guest, we've finally found you."
The guards hauled up the limp Barrett, dragging him out the door and toward the temple's center.