Steampunk: Sixth Era Epic-Chapter 631 - Twin Worship
Chapter 631: Chapter 631 Twin Worship
Chapter 631: Chapter 631 Twin Worship
While Captain Lades was greeting the police officers who had just arrived to search the secret room, capturing the attention of the entire castle, Shard found him once again in Professor Dunn’s office. After explaining the situation, the professor looked very troubled with a pained expression:
“That bronze jar was used as a vessel to cook a corpse? Oh.”
“Yes, Captain said that Henry Val wanted to find an antique with some years on it to use as a container, and then you happened to acquire that bronze jar, so he took a liking to it.”
“Oh, my God, that’s an aged antique. Heating it with fire will damage its condition!”
The professor seemed troubled, though not necessarily by the fact that the jar had been used to contain a corpse.
“Anyway, the investigation of the antique is over. I think Mrs. Zina Cassandra will be able to retrieve it as evidence from the police station.”
Shard said, and the professor nodded:
“I never thought such a thing would happen. I’ll have to go apologize to Ms. Cassandra when I have time. I am partly responsible for not looking after it well.”
As he spoke, he pulled out a ten-pound banknote from a drawer and handed it to Shard. After thanking him, Shard’s expression turned serious:
“So, Professor, can we talk about the local Twin Gods worship customs now?”
“Oh, yes, I suppose so.”
When the conversation turned to his area of expertise, Professor Dunn temporarily set aside his regret over the potential damage to the antique:
“Take a seat, let’s talk at length. So, Mr. Watson, let me think where to start… Yes, Twin Gods worship is a very, very ancient Old God worship in the Midshire Fort Area. Evidence comes not only from local traditions but also from prehistoric ruins excavations.”
What ordinary people refer to as “prehistoric” is actually Before the Era.
“My teacher once assisted the church in the excavation of the Sicarl Mountain relics and left me some materials. Among the unearthed stone slabs were vast amounts of information about religious rituals and strange ceremonies, all sadly taken by the church. But the notes in my teacher’s relics mentioned that, Before the Era, that Great One who came from the sky, referred to as the Old God – the Twin Gods, truly set foot on this Earth.”
Shard frowned slightly; this seemed to depict a summoning ritual.
“Of course, there is still debate in the academic community about whether the so-called Old Gods truly existed. However, we’re discussing purely from an academic perspective right now, and mean no disrespect to any deity.”
Professor Dunn took out a pipe, gestured to Shard to see if he minded, and upon seeing no objection, began to knock out the ash from his pipe and continued:
“Those ancient texts recorded many things. Forgive me for using this word, cough cough, ‘Their’ Order, appeared in this locality for the first time Before the Era and summoned the Great One, providing a pair of twins representing black and white with a very powerful blessing. It gave them, pardon me, I don’t know their specific genders, so I use the neutral term ‘them’, the strength to overcome a terrible enemy.”
Although the professor, a layman, was discussing matters of the divine, he didn’t show any odd behavior because he knew only vague details.
“This is indeed more specific than the local traditions and customs… Aside from those ancient excavated texts that were taken by the church, do you have any other materials?”
Shard couldn’t exactly run to the church to ask for materials.
Professor Dunn lit the tobacco in his pipe with a match and took a satisfying puff:
“Of course, these stories, which once happened Before the Era, have become part of Midshire Fort’s local ancient legends. If you frequent pubs, you might hear some highly dubious stories from local bards. After all, bards have to attract people with exaggerated stories, and we folklore scholars are responsible for sorting out those contents.”
The professor adjusted his glasses:
“Mr. Watson, even if that ancient faith has long since faded, Midshire Fort is still deeply influenced by it.
The Twin Gods worship continues to this day in this city. If a family has twins, the locals and neighbors consider it a very good omen. This tradition even radiates throughout the entire area surrounding Sicarl Mountain, and can be witnessed as far as Carsonrick at the southern foot of the Rommel Mountains.”
“So, faith becomes culture, thus forging a part of civilization?”
The outlander asked, and Professor Dunn gave him a surprisingly look, adjusting his chair to face Shard directly, as he had been sitting at an angle:
“Yes, that’s a very good way of putting it. When faith becomes culture, do those ancient gods who have supposedly left us really gone? Perhaps the Great Ones, or indescribable natural phenomena, continue to coexist with us and our world in another form.”
Professor Dunn spoke eloquently, and Shard nodded thoughtfully:
“Yes, I’ve always believed that perhaps the Old Gods have only left temporarily… faith turning into culture… So, if I want to continue delving into the matter of Twin Gods worship, how should I go about it?”
The Twin Gods worship was not only related to this city but could also help solve the issues with Dorothy and Lecia, so Shard was very much invested:
“My teacher has long passed away, but the folklore scholars and archaeologists who participated in that excavation thirty years ago should still have some materials in their possession… Please wait.”
The professor stood up and searched through the bookshelf by the office door for a while, finally retrieving a notebook that had clearly not been touched for a long time.
The notebook was very old, and Professor Dunn, upon returning to his desk, opened it to reveal yellowed pages, some even showing signs of insect damage, with names and addresses recorded, though most names were marked with death dates:
“This was left to me by my teacher, his friends. After all, in our line of work, frequent visits and exchanges are common, so having more friends is always a good thing.”
He quickly found the names of those who had participated in the archaeological excavation at the northern slope of Sicarl Mountain thirty years ago:
“Oh, good, several of the old professors who were there are still alive, but are abroad. Let me see, this one comes highly recommended by me.”
“Who is the other party?”
Shard also tilted his head to look as Professor Dunn pointed to the handwriting in the notebook:
“The other party is an archaeology professor from Tobesk, he should have retired by age, but such a senior professor is likely to be rehired. Let me see the address, yes, it’s this one, Tiris Manning, living at 17 Cat Tail Alley, Tobesk City University District. I visited him when I was in Tobesk for a conference five years ago, and Professor Manning looked quite healthy then. I wonder how he’s doing now.”
New novel chapt𝒆rs are published on ƒгeewebnovёl.com.
Professor Dunn gestured that Shard could copy down the address from the notebook and write to Professor Manning for help.
“Professor Manning…”
The past involving the professor, the Dream Pen, and the cat once again jumped into Shard’s head.
With a smile at the corner of his mouth, he copied down the familiar address, wondering just how many archaeological digs his friend, Professor Manning, had been involved in. A month ago, when Miss Aphrola took him to a small town next to Coldwater Port to seek the “Vibration” Spirit Rune, he also encountered an old man related to Professor Manning.
“Okay, if I need to, I will come to you again, so goodbye for now, Professor Dunn.”
Shard stood up to leave, and Professor Dunn saw him to the door. When he closed the door to continue writing his report, he muttered under his breath:
“Ms. Cassandra, why are you so obsessed with that worthless Bronze Jar? Even going so far as to send someone to investigate it.”
After putting down his pipe and thinking for a moment:
“Could it have something to do with Miss Helen Black, who has just returned to the academy?”
Now that he had a lead for his next step, Shard could leave Midshire Fort. Before leaving, he greeted Captain Lades, shared with him the 5-pound remuneration, and left the address of the House of the Blind as his own contact address.
The captain was enthusiastic about inviting Shard as a guest to the Red Water Camp on Rising Wind Trail, and while Captain Lades obviously couldn’t move in and out of the camp at will, he could come out during his holiday next Thursday.
The Rising Wind Trail, being the most important forest road through Sicarl Mountain, had a camp next to Red Water Camp where merchants and travelers gathered. Captain Lades won the Spear of Kindness playing Roder Card in the tavern there.
When Shard bid farewell to the captain, the evening sky had just started to glow with sunset colors, but by the time Shard crossed through the forest to reach the ruined tower in the mountains, the last ray of the sun had already vanished at the edge of Sicarl Mountain.
The Month of Harvest was nearing its end, and daylight hours were becoming ever shorter.
When he returned to Saint Delan Square, Luviya had already arrived and continued her stargazing on the third floor. She had no time to talk to Shard as she had fallen a bit behind in her progress.
“Wanna join for dinner?”
“Oh, Shard, go ahead on your own, I’m busy here.”
The voice carried down from the third floor.
“Then I’ll bring something back for you!”
Shard shouted from the second-floor stair landing, and after receiving a reply, turned to Mia Cat at his feet:
“Have you had your dinner?”
“Meow~”
Mia Cat hurried down the stairs, probably hungry and wanting Shard to take her to eat.
Because he had to deliver food to Luviya and didn’t want to take Mia Cat to Professor Manning’s house, Shard took the cat home after dinner. On his way upstairs, he encountered Luviya coming down with tea, who thanked Shard and curiously asked while holding her cup:
“I’ve already fed the cat for you, why did you take it out for dinner again?”
“Hmm?”
Shard looked at the orange cat snuggling in his arms:
“But it seemed very happy eating just now, not at all like it had already had dinner.”
“Meow!”
The cat let out a soft cry and rubbed against Shard’s chest, and the girl with purple eyes laughed and said:
“It seems you’ve been conned by a cat.”
Letting Mia Cat run around the house on her own, it headed straight to the third floor instead of to the second floor to sharpen its claws. Shard didn’t bother with it, as a run after eating was also good for the cat’s figure.
After saying goodbye to Luviya and explaining that he might not return home until late, he set out again into the night, heading for the home of Professor Manning in the University District.
It was late, but the professor, naturally at home, was delighted to host Shard upon his arrival. After the customary pleasantries, Shard asked about the Twin Gods and twin worship, and the old professor, wearing his pajamas, seemed quite surprised as he looked from behind his desk toward the young man at the edge of the light from the gas lamp:
“Oh? What brings up such a subject suddenly?”
