The ground did not wait to become even drier the further they advanced. The white soil cracked like cursed salt, resembling the discarded scales of a dragon. Dawn had broken long ago, illuminating Jaspin's bewildered expression at the changing climate.
"This is unnatural… I mean, not even a year has passed."
They had not walked much longer when Helena suddenly shouted:
"I see it…
Godyferty is right theeeere!"
"Wait, let me see…
You're right. We were walking right beside it."
Jaspin fell silent as she stared at the white hill near the pyramid-shaped structure behind the town.
"Did they change the type of stone?"
As the road became clearer and more defined, walls of farms appeared, filled with dead plants and emaciated animals that found nothing to graze on.
The further they advanced, the denser the wooden buildings became in the middle of the dry desert.
< Jaspin was right. This contradictory town should be built with the resources of this dry place, not with wood. >
As they approached the town, they noticed a person at its outskirts waving his hand to get their attention. He then stepped forward. They saw no reason to ignore him. He was a bald man without a single hair on his head, with sharp facial angles and a defined jaw. He wore two large pieces of dirty white cloth wrapped skillfully around his body to prevent them from coming loose. Beneath the cloth, his muscles were clearly defined rather than bulky, restrained by his white skin that had been burned by the sun's heat. He said with a suspicious smile:
"Are you ladies lost?
I can guide you to a suitable place to stay for a reasonable price."
Jaspin replied:
"No thank you. Just guide us to the town hall."
"Don't worry, my lady. I am a monk. I will not ask for any payment for my service."
After entering the town, another person with a similar appearance but with a graying beard approached them at a hurried pace. The first man blocked his way, spreading his arms.
"Get away, you scum. I found them first."
"Do you want to scam them?"
The guide grabbed the intruder by the neck violently:
"You don't know who I am. My brothers will cut off your limbs and fry you in oil.
Just ask who Zaki is and you'll understand."
He released him and threw him aside. The man shrank back like a frightened dog and retreated, saying:
"I'll remember you, you whore-faced bastard."
The man turned around and said:
"This drought has even turned some ascetic Scumers into highway robbers."
Jaspin said:
"What's wrong with this place? I remember it being much greener."
Zaki thought for a moment and said:
"Honestly, I think the excessive seclusion and worship in this place has angered the gods."
"Are you serious?!"
"There is no other explanation… Godyferty is the capital of this kingdom within the Fertalina sect of Trigonianism. This drought looks like a curse from heaven. It rains, but the earth grows nothing."
"When did this start?"
"It started about four months ago… How far did the drought extend when you were coming?"
"From a full day's journey away. Literally, all the trees disappeared, and there is an area where the soil is still fertile but nothing grows."
"Yes, unnatural layers of drought have begun to appear."
"What do you mean?"
Zaki noticed one of his companions and said:
"Jon, call the others from the other branches. We want to block the road."
Jaspin asked:
"Why all this protection around us?"
"For your own good, my lady. I was guarding the town entrance at the time. Many monks have started luring people to steal their belongings…
As for your question, purple soil has started to appear. Have you seen that before?"
"Then why don't you move to another place?
Or summon one of the guilds that investigate supernatural phenomena?"
"We go wherever our mother settles…
And honestly, do you want us to spread the curse everywhere?
This is our problem. As our mother says:
'Whoever tied it with their hands must untie it with their teeth.'"
Soon, several monks gathered around Helena, Jaspin, and Hailey. They seemed to be trying to hide them, which only increased the suspicion and tension. Helena and Jaspin moved closer to Hailey, who was in the middle, preparing for any possible danger.
The monks of this place were distinguished by shaving every hair on their bodies, even the women among them. Jaspin whispered to Helena:
"All of them are brothers from the same mother, but they have divided themselves into generations."
This surprised Helena, who asked in a whisper:
"Are they sons of a fertility goddess?"
"Yes. Only fertility goddesses can give birth to this many children…
I think their mother is from the Solivians, who can reproduce parthenogenetically."
"Wow, how did she give birth to all these numbers?"
"Hehe, I've never met her to ask."
The monk Zaki said:
"We are not all sons of the exact same mother. There are layers as well. Me and these brothers of mine are from the highest layer, the closest to the mother. As for the rest of the monks the uneducated and immoral Scumers they are from lower layers and branches."
"But how do you reproduce?"
The monk tilted his head and looked annoyed:
"Those whom the mother allows, whether male or female, can marry outside the town. Do you think we practice incest?"
"I'm sorry."
"It's fine. I understand. You outsiders think we are strange because we isolate ourselves in remote places for worship, but no.
We are not that ascetic. Our lives are normal too. We are not like the Stoic way, whose monks never see women. Hhh."
Zaki was sincere and actually led them to the town hall.