Chapter 712: The Qiemi Mountains

After two days of rest in Sweetwater Town, part of the expedition heads into the wilderness.

The wilderness is beautiful in early summer, though the season has its drawbacks.

There is the fickle weather, for one, and the mosquitoes spoiling for a fight, for another.

Don't imagine that camping in the wild is romantic. If it were, humanity would never have bothered building houses.

The moment someone stops to admire nature's beauty, it delivers a sharp slap and reveals its cruel side.

Venomous insects alone are enough to make life miserable.

Sir Dimoson's party from Sweetwater Town has clearly had enough.

Only nine days have passed, yet the knightly retainers have already had enough of the harsh conditions.

They can hardly be blamed. Their training was rigorous, but none of it concerned wilderness survival.

That training does them no good now. Mosquito bites cover their bodies, while two unlucky men have been poisoned by snakes or insects and reduced to burdens on the party.

Henwell's people, by contrast, do not care how pungent and unpleasant the insect-repellent salve smells.

Everyone in the survey party, Solomon included, smears it over every patch of exposed skin.

The salve came from nearby herders, and their hard-earned knowledge is worth trusting.

The salve is remarkably effective at driving away mosquitoes and other insects.

In addition, every guard in the expedition is at least at the Knight rank.

The life-force fields surrounding extraordinary professionals instinctively frighten small creatures such as snakes and insects.

Over the past few days, Solomon's true survey team has steadily narrowed its search area and finally identified the ruins' approximate location.

What follows is a painstaking search of the area itself.

The ruins lie near a small range formed by more than a dozen hills.

The area is technically outside Sir Dimoson's territory.

However, because the whole region is vast and sparsely populated, it still falls under Dimoson's jurisdiction.

If they discover a mineral deposit and actually want to mine it, they will need a royal mining permit.

A knightly lord like Dimoson has no authority to approve it, and their agreement would carry no legal force.

Everyone tacitly ignores that problem.

Royal oversight barely reaches this remote place. Half a year can pass without anyone coming through, and no one would investigate an illicit mine.

Solomon's people care even less. They never intended to invest in a mine in the first place.

Now that the general area of the ruins has been established, everyone needs to return, rest, and divide up the search zones.

When they hear that they can go back, the entire party, including Sir Dimoson, cannot help cheering.

When Sir Dimoson learns they will return in a few days, he firmly resolves not to come out and suffer again.

The morning after they return to Sweetwater Town, Sir Dimoson sends a message.

He claims to have business to handle and says he cannot accompany the survey party for the time being.

At a farmhouse rented exclusively by the expedition, Solomon calls a meeting. "We have confirmed that our target lies in the mountain range the locals call Qiemi."

"It covers a large area, and we need to find the correct entrance, so we will search in three directions."

"I will lead one team. Mr. Adolf and Lady Thatcher will each lead another."

"I will assign several of my archaeologists to each of you."

"You two must keep them safe. These archaeologists are extremely valuable."

Henwell and the Lady of Calamity nod in agreement.

The small mountain range known locally as Qiemi contains more than a dozen hills of varying heights and covers nearly fifty square kilometers.

They cannot mobilize a large workforce, so they have little choice but to split up.

Solomon's plan is to divide the Qiemi Mountains into two broad regions, north and south.

The three teams will first search part of the southern region.

Each team will search one hill, remaining close enough to signal the others at any time if it discovers something.

This arrangement improves efficiency while also preventing Henwell's two groups from keeping any discovery to themselves.

Both teams will be accompanied by archaeologists and guards from the King's Shield.

Henwell and the Lady of Calamity are not worried about Solomon trying anything underhanded. If his people discover something, they cannot conceal it from the powerful professionals on their side.

Half the Qili Guild's guards remain in Sweetwater Town, while the other half follow Henwell into the mountains.

That afternoon, everyone sets up a temporary camp and gets to work.

By the end of the day, they are drenched in sweat and have found nothing.

The two neighboring teams also come up empty-handed, making Henwell's disloyal subordinates restless.

Philir complains, "Could the location be wrong? No matter how I look at this miserable place, it doesn't seem like the site of any ruins!"

The archaeologist assigned to their team explains, "Finding ruins is slow, meticulous work."

"We must search carefully for any trace of human activity."

"It might be a shard of pottery or a fragment of some metal object."

"A mural, stone tablet, or something similar could also point us toward our final destination."

Philir sidles over with a broad grin. "Heh... Do you know how much treasure is in there?"

The archaeologist shakes his head. "We can't be certain. Based on our clues..."

"There should be a city called Fendicasa here, though it might have been a castle instead."

"We care more about its artifacts than its treasure. They could help fill a major gap in our historical record."

"There may be treasure left behind, or there may be nothing but the ruins themselves..."

Philir's voice rises. "What? No treasure? Are you making fools of us?"

He reaches for the archaeologist's collar. Four of Solomon's guards immediately step forward with their hands on their sword hilts.

Philir's deputy and the others draw their weapons as well, and a fight looks ready to break out.

Beside the tent, Henwell coughs. "Philir, stop!"

Philir pretends not to hear. Still grinning viciously, he advances on the archaeologist, who retreats in alarm.

Miller frowns over his bowl of soup. "Are you deaf, Philir? Didn't you hear him tell you to stop?"

Philir finally stops and turns a cold, mocking look on Henwell.

Henwell acts as though he has not noticed. "Apologize to Mr. Abbas."

Philir barely has time to raise an eyebrow before Miller stands. "You really must be deaf. Didn't you hear the guildmaster?"

"Are your ears only there for decoration? Would you like me to cut those useless things off for you?"

After a beat of silence, Philir pastes on a smile, approaches Abbas, and smooths the wrinkles from the scholar's clothing.

"Mr. Abbas, I was only joking! Treasure or no treasure, finding the ruins is what matters most!"

Henwell rises and extends an invitation to Abbas. "Would you join me for a chat, sir?"

Abbas hesitates, then nods and sits down beside him.

Philir's eyes are filled with malice when he looks at Henwell, but the instant his gaze meets Miller's, he reins himself in.

As one of Adolf's right-hand men, Philir has no desire to fight Miller. He knows he would lose.