Book 11: Chapter 5: Umberlee’s Church

About fifty or sixty meters to the right of Qin Lun’s corner, at the end of a branching passage, two silver arrows were embedded in the foreheads of masked guards.

The arrows had shot through two stone walls within dozens of meters. By the time they entered the guards’ sight, they were less than ten meters away. They pierced the brains directly, killing these two capable warriors instantly.

Behind the masks covering their faces, the guards’ gazes held confusion. They died without ever realizing where the danger came from. The two guards stood stiffly for several seconds, gripping their scimitars tightly, before toppling face-first onto the ground.

Right then, ripples appeared in the shadows of the passageway. A black figure shot out like lightning towards the two corpses. When the figure landed, it grabbed one body’s collar in its jaws, while the other corpse conveniently draped across its back.

Venus shared a deep understanding with Qin Lun and possessed high intelligence. It perfectly handled the cleanup this time, ensuring the bodies made little noise.

The Shadow Gale Panther dragged the two guards to a corner of the corridor, then melted back into the darkness, slipping towards the guarded doorway. Meanwhile, Qin Lun emerged at the intersection. Treading softly, he ran over, retrieving the magical Mithril Arrow that had killed the two guards.

Receiving no warning signal from the Shadow Gale Panther that had entered the branching doorway, Qin Lun didn’t hesitate. He swept past the intersection and burst into the area the guards had been protecting. To his surprise, it wasn’t a passage ahead, but a chamber roughly a hundred square meters in size.

Qin Lun quickly surveyed the empty room. Hill and Rand were already causing chaos above ground; he had very little time to waste.

On the left and right sides of the chamber stood rows of tall floor lamp stands. These slender stands, chest-high and crafted from precious metal, held half-meter-long candles. They looked dignified and ornate, typically religious artifacts used in church ceremonies.

Yet in this dim room, the flickering candlelight cast dancing shadows, creating an eerie atmosphere.

Qin Lun’s gaze moved from the walls to the small altar erected at the front of the chamber. A copper statue of a deity sat upon it. Seeing this bust statue, about a foot tall, his expression changed slightly.

The statue depicted a turquoise female torso. It held a trident and was carved wearing a top made of shells and a purple cloak woven from jellyfish. Her fingertips bore sharp claws, fins protruded from her elbows, her eyes were glowing white pearls, and her hair was made of dark green seaweed.

“Antantaril… Mermaid speech. I should have guessed. This is Umberlee’s Church’s secret outpost,” Qin Lun muttered to himself. When mentioning Umberlee’s divine name, he deliberately lowered his head, avoiding looking directly at the statue, lest he attract the goddess’s notice.

Back when Qin Lun had traveled the Ancient Path with the Sun Elf Diplomatic Mission, he’d spent considerable time with the scholarly Elf Prince Milleras. He’d learned many secrets about the Faerûn continent and acquired knowledge about its pantheon of gods.

He’d aimed to increase his World Exploration Degree back then. Later, realizing he might obtain a World Token, he’d questioned Milleras more actively, preparing for a possible return to Toril.

Umberlee was an Intermediate Power sea goddess. Her divine realm lay in the Heart of Fury, and she was one of the Deities of Fury. The leader of that pantheon was Talos, God of Storms and Disasters, an overall Chaotic Evil group.

Goddess Umberlee was also called the Queen of the Bitch. She was vicious, violent, and evil, the nightmare lurking in the hearts of sailors and coastal dwellers worldwide.

She broke promises on whim, delighted in watching ships swallowed by the sea, and gleefully drowned sailors. She was extremely vain, loved flattery, and constantly craved more power while enthusiastically demonstrating violence.

She created wereshark-kin, the only race that truly worshipped and praised her. Other sailors and seafarers who donated to her did so merely out of fear of her power, hoping for safe voyages.

Because the Sea Queen was so capricious and oath-breaking, the coastal port cities along the Sword Coast of Faerûn held extremely complex attitudes towards her.

On one hand, people despised the Sea Goddess’s Chaotic Evil nature and instead prayed to Selûne or Valkur, who also held domains over sailing and sea battles. On the other hand, they feared the Sea Queen’s power and had to donate large sums to her priests before sailing.

Priests of Umberlee’s Church had distinctly two-sided status in coastal cities like Baldur’s Gate, Calimshan, and Athkatla.

Port cities generally did not allow Umberlee’s Church to build temples within city walls. Hence, her followers had to place shrines on remote shores beside harbors or in sea caverns half-submerged beneath the waves.

Yet, when large fleets departed a port, they greatly welcomed priests of Umberlee onboard, hoping the Queen of the Bitch would grant them a safe voyage for her believers’ sake.

Establishing this outpost inside the city clearly violated Baldur’s Gate’s official rules. So Qin Lun and his companions had been correct earlier; if this place was exposed, they at least wouldn’t face a full city guard hunt.

Most city Mafia/Syndicate groups wouldn’t help Umberlee’s Church either, because the Bitch Queen was too unpredictable. She wouldn’t skip their required tithes just because of small favors.

This reality, however, didn’t reassure Qin Lun. On the contrary, his expression darkened.

People avoided helping Umberlee’s Church, but that didn’t mean the church was easy to mess with. Umberlee’s Church was among the wealthiest of all faiths, surpassed only by the Church of Light and the Church of the God of Wealth.

Even though their shrines on remote shores often looked ramshackle, the annual tributes from fleets and merchant companies along the Sword Coast amounted to astronomical figures. Umberlee’s Church had sufficient funds to hire Legendary Profession individuals to chase Qin Lun’s trio to the ends of the world.

“Leave now, before the church’s High Rank priests return!”

The thought flashed in Qin Lun’s mind. He turned back to find the two slain guards dragged into the corner by Venus. He quickly stripped off their masks and black cloaks, grabbed their scimitars, intending to disguise himself.

“Huh? No wonder they all wore masks and cloaks. They weren’t human.” After removing the masks, Qin Lun saw the faces of these tall, large warriors covered in bluish scales. Gills flared on the sides of their heads; they were amphibious fish-folk of a type he didn’t recognize.

Qin Lun put on the mask and cloak and sped towards another tunnel opposite the chamber. He didn’t know if guards waited beyond, but with this disguise and the Shadow Gale Panther, he’d at least have a chance for a sneak attack.

“Hill, Rand, be careful not to reveal your identities. Avoid skills that are too unique or recognizable. This is Umberlee’s Church outpost… Hmm, I’ll explain the details about this sea goddess and her church after we’re out.” Even while escaping, he remembered to warn his companions.

“Listening to that kid, I already feel like I’m in deep trouble!” Rand, who was busy lighting fires, murmured bitterly to Hill.

“Get used to it,” Hill replied softly with an unchanged expression.

Having received Qin Lun’s message earlier, the two had immediately started sabotaging the carriage house. This time, they refrained from random killing. Instead, they used Rand’s abilities to start fires across the vast establishment.

The carriage house was full of dry hay, making the fire hard to contain once started. Large livestock inside, disturbed by the smoke and flames, grew restless. The entire place descended into chaos.

Qin Lun had managed his stealthy entry deep underground largely because the senior priests who should have been at the outpost had been drawn away by the fire above.

“Halt!” Qin Lun’s luck, however, seemed to have run out. Shortly after leaving the chamber, he encountered several masked guards carrying torches. Their leader, wearing a bronze ram mask, rasped, “What are you doing here? Come with me!”

Without waiting for a reply, the bronze ram turned and entered a branch passageway on the right.

Qin Lun’s grip tightened on his scimitar. He subtly signaled the Shadow Gale Panther shadowing him to remain quiet, then followed the masked guards without giving himself away.

Trailing these guards, Qin Lun caught a faint whiff of fishy brine in his nostrils. Clearly, these masked guards weren’t human, but some kind of ocean-dwelling people.

This actually made him thankful for his own unpleasant odor; otherwise, these guards would have probably detected his outsider status much earlier. Led by the four masked guards through twists and turns, Qin Lun soon found himself guided to a cold, dry space.

“Priest Rod said the fire up top seems like deliberate sabotage. Baldur’s Gate might have discovered this outpost,” the bronze ram said, pointing ahead to a dark room. “We need to move what’s inside to the ship. These are offerings for the goddess at the next ritual. We can’t leave them for greedy mortals.”

“Offerings?” Qin Lun’s eyes gleamed slightly behind his mask. Although the Queen of the Bitch belonged to a Chaotic Evil alignment, her offerings were typically wealth, not bloody sacrifices like some evil deities demanded.

His trio seemed to be short on gold pieces before their next mission. Hill and Rand had pocketed some things during their earlier raid on that small Mafia/Syndicate, but street thugs rarely had much. It was barely enough for a few meals.

Stepping into the small, dark chamber, Qin Lun froze in surprise. There, a dozen treasure chests lay piled haphazardly on the floor. Most chests were unlocked, their open lids catching the torchlight, reflecting glints of precious metals and gems.

Beneath a half-opened jewelry chest, Qin Lun even spotted a pile of Magic Crystals and Magic Cores, plus a bundle of ancient scrolls and a Mithril staff half-buried in gold coins. An enormous purple gem at the staff’s tip cast dazzling rays, seeming to make the whole room glitter.

“What are you just standing there for?!” The bronze ram snapped impatiently, seeing Qin Lun motionless.

“I was just thinking… about how I should thank you!” Qin Lun looked up. Behind the mask, a captivating smile spread across his face.