Kael had no choice but to follow where the scream came from. He was certain it was from one of the men he came with. He arrived at the scene not long after. The one who screamed was kneeling at the edge of a cliff, covering his entire face in devastation, while the other two men were grieving in silent agony.
Kael moved closer to the cliff. His eyes shrank after witnessing piles of bodies underneath, buried in soil. The cliff wasn't that high, and it wasn't sharp and sturdy either. A landslide occurred in that part, breaking the soil apart. The group was caught in a landslide. So, they were buried not so far below. Kael closed his eyes and muttered a silent prayer. Then, he came up to the kneeling man and patted his back.
After a few minutes of somber silence, the man wiped his face. He gazed down the cliff in anguish and whispered, "Is it possible to dig their bodies? I'd like to bring them back home."
Without complaints, the four of them carefully slid below the cliff. Kael helped dig out the bodies of the villagers. He grabbed the pale, grubby hand he found and pulled it, but something caught his eye that halted him. The arm he pulled had markings.
Kael stiffened. When he heard the others claiming that the corpses seemed strange, he stood and asked, "Does your village use some kind of symbols or markings? Like this one?" He showed the arm to the three men. One of them almost tumbled down since the arm was severed from the body. Kael knew that the bodies were cut into pieces; why else would he be able to pull the hand so easily?
The leader replied, "After the monk who built the shrine not far from our village arrived, he gave us protective markings since we live closer to the Devil's Mountain." He pulled his right sleeve to his shoulder and showed the three black dots vertically aligned on his upper arm.
Kael had seen that marking. The Triad Arc of Protection. One against malice, one against misfortune, and one against unseen evils—three dots symbolizing three realms. Malice borne by humans, misfortune falling from heaven, and evil dwelling in hell. But the markings on the severed arm were entirely different.
Kael declared, "These corpses don't belong to your people."
The three men gasped. But as soon as they confirmed it themselves, they were engulfed with relief and newfound hope. They continued to search for the group while Kael remained at the scene.
When the others left, he began pulling out every body part he found. And to his horror, each belonged to another. But there was more! Not only were these corpses entombed beneath the collapsed soil, but they were also stacked like stones within the earthen walls!
No wonder the forest flourishes—its roots feast on human corpses, Kael thought. He was mortified. He cast a spell on the severed arm, then wrapped it in a piece of cloth. After that, he climbed back to the flat ground and joined the search.
Thankfully, the group was found just near the accident. They were unable to pass through because of the gap in the soil created when the ground quaked due to a landslide. They were rescued, and some of them were injured, but there were no casualties. By noon, the two groups had returned to the village, safe but tired.
"Thank you so much for helping us, good priest," the chief said. He gave a basket to Kael. "Accept this. You declined our offer to stay longer, so I assume your next destination will be quite far from here. We hope it will sustain you on your way."
Kael gratefully accepted the basket. Before, he would say that he had no fixed destination, but now he had one in mind. He had to report what he saw in the mountain, which was why he brought the severed arm with him as proof.
Before he left, he asked one more question. "The monk who gave you the protective markings, where is he now?"
The chief shook his head. "None of us knows where. One day, the shrine he built sat empty. We waited for him, but he did not return after that. The protective markings he gave us boosted our confidence to hunt in the forest without fearing wandering spirits. And what do you know? After we obtained it, there haven't been any cases of possession in my village!"
As Kael expected. None of the stranded group came back possessed. Anyone who had stayed in the mountain for that long would at least drag an unseen evil on his person, but all of them were sane and untainted.
As a priest, he also noticed the markings. It was done with mastery. The spacing was exact, not a breath of error between each point. He didn't know how long they had had it, but the ink neither bled nor faded, holding with unnatural clarity against the skin.
Kael exhaled slowly, almost reverently. "Whoever marked you," he murmured, "was no ordinary monk."
***
A few years ago, Kael was a reverend priest in one of Solvantar's temples. Just like the other priest, he followed a strict routine.
Rising before the first light to perform the waking offering, temple duties begin in the early morning, providing guidance and healing to visitors at mid-morning, a sacred meal and rest at midday. In the afternoon, studies, preparation, and rites were held. A second offering in the evening, and then a final vigil at night.
He was known as the kindest among the clergy. He always helped the needy, was never late in time, and was always diligent to listen in confessions and give counseling. On top of that, he was famous because of his unusual hair color. White.
A few young'uns would ask when they saw him: Priest Kael, did you dye your hair? How old are you? Kael would just laugh and answer, How old do you think? These young people would then say white hair suited him best, and that he looked more divine with it. Due to this, the salons were flocked with priests dying their hair white. He thought that after being scolded by the High Priest, this would stop. But stepping foot in the temple again after many years, he found out that nothing had changed.
A young priest with bobbed, white hair noticed Kael enter the temple. He frowned and immediately approached him. "Good sir, did you not know that white hair is symbolic to temple priests? Only they are allowed to dye their hair white."
"..." Kael roamed the temple with his gaze. All of the priests present indeed had white hair. He cleared his throat and looked at the young priest again. "I'm also a priest." He showed the medallion. He also explained, "I had an unfortunate encounter during my travels, which forced me to lose my priestly garments."
The young priest narrowed his eyes at the medallion, and even after asking for Kael's name and knowing it, he still eyed him suspiciously.
Kael thought, I've never met a priest so distrustful like this person. Is it a good thing or a bad one?
"Your medallion doesn't seem fake. Are you part of this temple's clergy, or do you belong to another branch?" the young priest asked.
"I was. And no, I don't belong to any branch," Kael replied. "I came here to see the High Priest. I have something to report. It is very important."
The young priest's face clearly said, Who are you to brazenly ask for the High Priest's presence? But after pondering for a minute, he turned his back and motioned for Kael to follow him.
Kael sighed in relief. The young priest did not know him, which meant he was newly ordained. His last days in this temple weren't worth remembering, but it certainly stuck in the minds of other priests who were present on those days.
"Wait here. I will have to inform a senior priest about you. I can't guarantee that you can meet the High Priest, though," the young priest said and left without waiting for Kael's answer.
Kael stood outside the door. He looked out at the open side of the hallway and watched other priests come and go into the building in the distance. This temple was the largest, so there were other buildings other than the main prayer hall. He was also aware that he, a priest out of service, could not easily meet with the High Priest.
He heaved a deep, long sigh. Asking for removal was his own choice. He needed to leave this temple because he had been serving here as a priest for nearly three decades.
"Priest Kaelwyn."
Kael turned to the priest who called him by that name. Not many knew his full name. Whenever someone would ask, he'd answer "Kael", even leaving out the "priest" part. He immediately bowed to the old man. "High Priest," he replied politely.
"I knew it was you the moment you stepped onto the temple's premises," the High Priest said with a smile. He studied Kael for a moment, then sighed in spite of himself. "It's been a decade since you left, yet look at you. You haven't aged…not even a day."
Kael only smiled. Until he finds what can lift his curse, he won't age…or die.