The evening meal was held in the paladin's cafeteria instead of the breakfast hall. They hoped to gain some more information about the battle priests and what was happening in the swamps. With all of the paladins gathered together they might be more willing to talk then when they were in small groups.
Unlike the breakfast hall that had individual tables the paladin's cafeteria was just four long tables extending the length of the hall. Food was placed on the table at various points and people just sat down near what they wanted to eat.
Choosing a group that was animatedly chatting amongst themselves Chronos and Gregory sat down next to them.
"How long do you think this stricter training will continue?" A young paladin asked.
"It's only normal to increase the training after losing nearly a quarter of the men in the swamps. We can't even revive them since we don't know where their corpses are." Another commented.
"Commander isn't training us for that, whatever is out there is still alive and it might be coming this way instead of heading for the empire." An older paladin with a scar on his right eye stated.
"He's not just preparing for that. Battle priests are coming and we'll be deployed with them."
This statement caused concern amongst the paladins as they started to argue about whether they were going to be deployed.
After listening to them for a while Gregory tried to bring them back on track, "How long do you think it will be before the battle priests arrive? They only received the letter last week, right?"
"Not long, if it's an emergency the church alliance will activate the teleport gate that connects churches together and bring them through today, but I'm guessing they are making preparations for an extended campaign so they should arrive within the next 3 or 4 days." The paladin with the scar said.
The teleport gates were not a secret nearly everyone knew of them, but they were rarely activated as you would need 100 or more high priests channeling energy into them to activate and keep them open.
Nations couldn't use them either as they could only be built in a temple or other major church. The nations stupid enough to try and misuse them always seemed to suffer droughts, earthquakes, or other natural disasters when they made the attempt.
Eventually everyone gave up and switched to trying to make their own, with some level of success.
The first paladin to speak got a contemplative look on his face before saying, "That makes sense, our quartermaster sent out several riders to call for supplies from nearby villages and cities."
Hearing this Chronos realized his family would likely send soldiers and knights to assist in the coming battles.
"So, we'll be sent out when the battle priests arrive. Good, it gives us time to write our will's."
The scared paladin spoke up again, "That's assuming the naga and lizardfolk in the swamps can hold off the beasts on their own. If we receive an emergency call for help, we will be sent out earlier. Everyone, make sure your will is finalized tonight and tell your loved ones you love them."
Some of the older paladins agreed with that while others suddenly looked concerned. Especially the younger ones who may have to say goodbye to a priestess soon.
"What preparations should we make before then?"
With the talks at the tables turning to necessary supplies and extra pairs of socks Chronos and Gregory finished their meal and quietly took their leave.
Only the scarred paladin seemed to notice their absence.
.....
On their way back to the rooms, they met Sariah who was carrying a large tome with her.
"Come on, we're having a meeting in Chronos' room."
"Alright."
Once the door was securely shut and they were certain that nobody was listening in they started sharing what they learned that day.
Chronos reported first, "Commander Adam confirmed that we were going to be fighting more dark beasts in the swamps and the church needs help dealing with them. The red priests were also fighting more strongly for the mead then I thought they would."
"That makes sense. If the red priests are going to war, they will want more alcohol than normal. I've never heard of one that didn't have a personal bottle while at war." Sariah chimed in.
"Then we're certain that the battle priests aren't just coming for an investigation. This gives credence to the legends I found in the library." Gregory said with concern in his eyes.
He sat down before continuing, "The church's historical records confirm that the dark beasts appeared over 1000 years ago and multiple nations collapsed but they don't say much about what they are. Our nation, the Leighla kingdom, was founded during this time period as well.
Some of the legends talk about them covering the lands and amassing together in massive tides. These tides are what wiped out nations. However, there wasn't much information about the beasts themselves. It was like whoever wrote about them didn't think it was important to record details about the creatures, just that they existed. After that I bribed a green priest for more information, but you aren't going to like it.
According to him the dark beasts can take on any form and are unkillable."
"If they can change their forms then it would explain why the church never thought it important to record their forms. Preparing for a specific creature would leave them weak against a different form, it's much better to train for anything you might fight and adjust your combat style later." Chronos said while thinking about the implications of this.
"Hang on, didn't we kill a bunch of them on our way here?" Sariah asked.
"Yes, but if they just returned to the shadows then we would have to fight them again once they reform. If we don't find whoever or whatever is making them and destroy it then it won't matter how many we defeat." Chronos stated.
"And whatever that "is" is in the depths of the swamps. The only ones who might know where it is would be the naga's, they technically rule the swamps. It has been a long time since anyone searched through the swamp so this will be a long campaign, even if they are willing to help us." Gregory spoke as he pondered on how to gain information in a place where nobody liked you.
Sariah was going over all the information they had when she realized that they had overlooked one piece of information that could be very important. It had only been mentioned once by Chronos the first time they had fought the dark beasts.
"Um, didn't Commander Adam say something about a tear in the world when we first met him?"
Chronos tried to remember before saying, "He did, so much was going on that I nearly forgot about it. He said that the dark beasts were gathered around a tear and that another opened to the south when he tried to retreat."
Sariah thought about this for a moment before proposing her idea.
"What if they don't just gather around the tear? What if they come from it?"
"Like an invasion?" Gregory asked. "Announcing their presence like that doesn't make sense unless they can open them all over the place."
"Not if it is the scouts being sent out first. Or maybe it was opened in the Dracofen swamp in the hopes that nobody would see it until it was too late. It could also be that they can't control where the tear appears." Sariah countered his logic.
Those were good points, but Chronos felt that something was still missing.
"Hmm, I think we are still missing some important information. For one, where did the feeling of being watched that first night come from?"
"I was never able to track it, but it was most likely tracking the paladins, and we just got in the way. I bet it was trying to get rid of them before they could report what they had seen." Sariah stated.
"That would explain the last attack. It happened just as everyone relaxed after seeing the church. With the fourth ranked goblin lord included in the attack it would be near impossible to survive if a hobgoblin had assisted it when it attacked Adam." Gregory grimaced at the memory.
Chronos laughed at that. "If so then our enemy is an idiot or vastly underestimated how strong Commander Adam is. He could've handled several hobgoblins and the lord on his own.
So, we know that the enemy is creating these tears and has some level of intelligence. Next, we should look for information about the tears. Most of it will be forgotten so look in old texts or recorded myths.
Oh, and always keep your weapons and gear nearby. The church could be attacked, or an emergency call could happen at any time."
"Sounds good, now I'm going to bed." Sariah opened the door and left.
"I'll keep looking and see what I find."
"Thank you." Chronos said as Gregory returned to his room as well.