Chapter Six - The Shrine and the Library

The blacksmith can finish the product within three days so I was told by the dowager to stay in the town until the sword is done. She introduced the people to me and they were really hospitable.

"Your highness, you can stay in our inn. We also improved our menu so try them later" offered the apron wearing girl.

"Alright, later. I'll take her somewhere first. See you later"

"Where are we going your majesty?" I asked

"We are going to the place where a clan of priests, priestesses and shrine maidens reside. I never visited it once since I don't want to visit the place alone. It is the Cazanette shrine."

"Shrine? They have religion, haven't they? Are they monotheist or polytheist?"

"I have no idea. They may also be aetheist so the priests and the priestesses will be responsible for their prayer ceremony. Honestly, I don't know what I'm saying. I have no idea how the religion here goes."

"Prayer ceremony?"

"I'm also curious about it even though I reigned for years. The shrine is their holy place for its ability to give any material needs if you send them your prayer in a scroll of paper."

"You can wish whatever, really?"

"I heard, only material things can be wished." The dowager crossed her arms and sighed – maybe tired of walking or she was just unsatisfied with how the things go in Cazanette.

The shrine was across the bridge opposite the Town of Knowledge located at a small plateau in the mountain range that envelops the whole Cazanette land. Maybe the reason why they have plenty of foods and raw materials was they have worshipped a creator who provides them material needs. After a few walks, we arrived in front of the shrine's tall ladder – the only way to its gate. Gaila was left in the inn and a village girl took care of her while we were away.

We reached the gate and hesitated to enter. "Are we going to knock? Is there a doorbell?"

"I don't know either" said the dowager while peeping between the shrine's gates. "There is a shrine maiden inside. We should ask her. I wonder how we get her attention." The shrine maidens didn't wear Shinto styled outfit – I'm referring to the color. They wear black top and violet bottom with chains of silver wrapped around their waste.

I suddenly whistled aloud as an impulse. "Sorry, I can't control it."

The shrine maiden looked for the sound's source. She peeped between the gate and asked, "Is someone there?"

"Would you let us in?" asked the dowager

"Yes. Welcome to the Cazanette's shrine." The shrine maiden welcomed while she opened the gate. "Is this your first visit?"

"Yes. This is our first visit. Please take care of us" answered the dowager who really sounded like an aristocrat of a Western country.

"Before you go to the shrine to ask for blessings, write your names in these wooden tiles and hang it on that tree. The brush and ink are on that booth. Come back to me once you're done."

I wrote my name in Roman alphabet and while letting the ink dry, I watched the dowager write her name. I haven't heard her name yet. I tried to read her name. it has seven characters which; the first letter is spelled as capital letter A, followed by a smooth lower case letter p, a zero which is cut in half by a horizontal line, a sign of euro, a letter U which has tails on each side, a small "shi" hiragana and a small letter a. I have no idea how to read it, maybe the dowager really planned to write it that way so that she can hide her name. I also do not have the right to ask it directly from her. After she's done, we hanged the tiles on the tree and approached the shrine maiden.

"Since this is your first visit, I'll tell you some instructions. You can't stroll around the shrine compound unless you're done to state your wishes. Inside the shrine, you should remove your footwear before the first platform, and then leave your things on the table at the center of the platform where your things should be put separately. For example, the things inside your purse should all be put out. Only one person can enter the shrine at one time. You should keep silent inside. Once you are on the altar, you should keep your head on a bow. Any questions?"

"How long do we need to keep our head low?" I asked

"From the table to the table"

"Well, that would mean all the time." Said the dowager

"Who will go first?" asked the shrine maiden

"I will go first" said the dowager with the determination on her face. It seems that there is a thing that she really wanted to have.

The dowager went inside the shrine. I could not see the inside of the shrine outdoors. I waited for about twenty minutes in front of the door while wondering what took the dowager so long. Later, she opened the door and stepped outside,

"Your turn" she smiled while patting my left shoulder

It was my turn. I walked in front of the door and opened it slowly. The shrine looked dark and I can barely see. Suddenly, candle lights were lighted up to show the way to the altar. I walked slowly and after seven steps, I felt the platform and removed my boots. I stepped up a foot slowly focusing my sight on the table. I reached the table and removed the things from my bag. I have a habit of pressing the first unlock button of my phone. Surprisingly, my phone has a signal in the shrine so I also looked for the network coverage of Reevahn's phone and it's the same. Our phone has still three out of four bars of battery left. If their creator allows them to receive presents, this might be his gift for me. The shrine maiden didn't say that you cannot stay long inside the shrine so I took the opportunity to send a text message to my mother. I turned my phone in silent mode and composed a message.

"Mother, something happened but don't worry, I'm unharmed. I'm with Reevahn and Brix. You may not believe me but we're in another world called Cazanette and they need our help in exchange of going home. We'll be home as soon as possible. I'm strong so trust me. ^_^"

After I send it to my mother, I walked to the altar while lowering my head. At the altar, there was a long sheet of paper, a brush and and ink. On the left side of the altar, I saw a scroll with the characters' for the dowager's name which was obviously hers. To think about it, I haven't decided yet what to wish for. While thinking, another habit of mine was done. If I am in the state of thinking, I automatically looked at the ceiling. The teachers usually tease me that I was looking for answers at the ceiling. Because of this habit, I noticed the hole above the altar. The hole's size is as a manhole's size. There was also a dot of light in the middle of the hole. Suddenly, it thought about some things that were used in an escape game that I played on the internet so I listed some of it and also added things that I needed and wanted. Some that I've written includes ropes, shades, telescope, magnifying glass, wrist watch and an anime cd. Of course I don't expect that these will be given so I wrote another sentence. "Please return our original clothes." Then, I went out with my belongings.

"Come, follow me. The priests and priestesses will be at the shrine to ask the creator. We will now be going to the sacred cave of this mountain. You can see if your wish were granted in this cave"

"But I can't see any cave around"

"Of course you can't for now. The creator will open the path after he accepted your wishes and prayers."

"How long will it take for an answer?"

"It has minimum of one day so you can come back tomorrow."

"Do we need to bring anything tomorrwow?"

"No need. Just yourselves. There is also no ritual involve unlike what you did in the shrine."

"Thank you."

We went out of the shrine's premises and the shrine maiden closed the gate.

"What did you wish for?" asked the dowager

"Just some random things and our previous clothes. What about yours?"

"Something that will be needed to make clothes. I've dreamed of that a long time ago."

"I'm imagining you making gowns"

"Really?" she smiled "Come on, our inn owner friend is going to cook us our dinner. Let's hurry!"

"Yes. I actually feel a little hungry already"

"Really? I do too!" then we rushed back to the town.

Meanwhile, Brix and Reevahn along with Globus and Granger were taking a day-long journey which also includes stop overs from the Elder's abode.

"Reevahn, are we there yet? I'm already tired" complained Brix.

"According to the map, we should pass the harpies' cave to reach the town of knowledge. I'm already tired too"

"Can we sleep in the harpies' cave?" asked Granger

"Good idea, Granger. That is better than a bivouac" Globus agreed

"So then, just few walks and we can reach it"

"Ride on us. It will be faster" suggested Globus

"Really?! We can?!" confirmed Brix

"We are all tired so it's the most intelligent way to rest as soon as possible."

"And we should stick together to avoid the incident last time"

"Globus and Granger raced hastily to the harpies' cave. Fortunately, Alnah is hospitable and let them sleep at that night.

"If you want to eat, just eat some fruits here" Alnah offered with a basket of fruits. "Have a good rest then. Goodnight."

"Alnah left them in a tent inside the cave and positioned herself like a bat in a room which has curtain-like walls.

"We are really in a bat cave, Reevahn" Brix whispered while getting fruits to eat. "I hope they do not eat humans like us." Then, he bit an apple.

"Yeah. Because if they do, they might put some sleeping potions on fruits so they can eat you alive"

"Is that true?!"

"Who know. Now, sleep."

"Your highness, I am going to take a walk with Gaila"

"But it's already dark out there. It's dangerous I'll go with you"

"Don't bother. I will be with Gaila anyway. I'll be back. I'm going to leave my things in my room."

"Alright. Take care a lot."

Gaila and I walked away from the inn and strolled around the lightened-by-colorful-lanterns town. I was surprised to see townspeople strolled around which reminds me of a night market. We looked around at some booths and took the chance for I did not have the chance to go window shopping at Marketplace when we were looking for Alnah. There were lots of accessories, gems, clothings and housewares in most alleys of the Town of Knowledge. Because of seeing gems, I wondered what the use of the gem on my armored costume is. I came to think of what kind of world we are in. the townspeople of the Town of Knowledge doesn't have lots of hybrids unlike in the Marketplace. Most or all of them are purebreds. That maybe the reason why the dowager feels comfortable in this town. It feels like we were sucked up in a console RPG where we encounter a lot of Non Playable Characters. Later, I decided to go near the bridge.

"Gaila, are you tired already? I want to go near the bridge."

"No problem, I'll go with you."

We reached the foot of the bridge. There were some benches that you can sit on. Opposite the river was the shrine that we went into. At far right, we can see a part of the glowing tower and as its name says, it glows with yellow green light. The shrine above the mountains in front of us was lighted around with lanterns so we can see the outline of the structure. There were also lights around its gate that you could be able to see some of its area. Suddenly, I remembered the phone signal that I had earlier,

"Gaila, what do you think of Cazanette?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, how do you see Cazanette and us? Is this another world or dimension? Or a part of us?"

"Well, I think, I see this as our own world. I believe, in your world, there are no hybrids – that is because you freaked out when we started to talk."

"Well, we have mixed breeds which means cross breeding of the same gene but not of different gene like winged animals to humans…"

"Why did you ask anyway?" said Gaila as she stopped walking.

"Well, this morning, remember, we went to the shrine. Before we go to the altar, we should leave our things on the table. I saw our phones got signal."

"Signal? What is that? What do you mean?"

"We need signals to connect to other phones. Network sites produce our signals and it has on the shrine. What if Cazanette is part of our world? But if this is part of our material world, there's no way our clothes suddenly changed into this by just dipping in water. I'm really confused. If this is a dream, it should not hurt when we hit each other before."

"You may be thinking too much. That signal must be one of the shrine's granted wishes of yours. Well, we don't know the truth. Nina, believe in what you see. If it's unclear, remove the dust in your eyes and seek for the real thing, but if you're not aware of the dust, just let the time and the air remove it eventually."

"Thank you, Gaila. I can't believe you talk like a poet sometimes. You're right. I'll just wait for the dust to be removed if I'm not aware of it and I will do something to it if I know that the dust alters my sight."

Suddenly, my peripheral vision caught an illumination near the shrine. I glanced where the light came from. It was from the cave that was said to claim your wishes. The light was emanating light around the outline of the rock that serves as its gate.

"Gaila, look at that light! It's the cave where you receive your wishes. I want to know what's happening there!"

"Ride on" offered Gaila. We flew to the shrine's cave and made sure no one oticed us.

Gaila let me peep between the openings of the cave. There were people wearing black who were busy opening boxes. Because of curiosity, I observed them longer. Some of them were unpacking the boxes and some of them group the things from the boxes. There was a person who checks the items – he seemed like a supervisor to me. Suddenly, the supervisor looked at the space where I was standing. I startled and quickly ride on Gaila. I also heard screaming voices. Suddenly, they opened the opening and chased us.

"Those species caught us! After them! I don't care whether they're dead or alive after! Attack them!" the leader commanded.

Gaila spread her wings and we flew. The subordinates gathered bows and arrows and aimed at us. Unfortunately, Gaila can't fly longer and she had difficulty in the air.

A lucky arrow shot me in the back as I resist the stabbing pain to support Gaila's flight. Before I felt the numbness in my body, I had the chance to encourage Gaila.

"Gaila, if you did it last time, it's better this time."

As she tried to escape even with her wings weakened, the numbness conquered my body while falling from Gaila's back to the water's surface. I saw Gaila struggling and threw herself in the river's shore. Seeing that she was alright and survived, water covered my face and I lost my consciousness.

Morning has come and the boy's group was on their way to the Town of Knowledge.

"Reevahn, why do you think it was named Town of Knowledge?" whispered Brix

"Because the library is located here?"

"I'm also thinking of that…"

"Then, why ask?"

The Town of Knowledge is downhill from the hills where the coliseum is. The group made their way to the town using the villager's road of the coliseum mountain.

"This town is as large as the Marketplace. Is there shops around here also?"

"Yes, there are also inns and restaurants" answered Globus

"I'm excited to eat!!!" screamed Brix

"I hate to say this but I second the motion. I don't like fruits that much and since we departed from Master Ren's mansion, I haven't eaten properly."

"Anyway, we haven't bought anything since we arrived here. I wonder how the trading works." Inquired Brix

"Huh?! Where did you get the cookies?!" answered Globus, "whoever bought that cookie, you should already know that we exchange goods for goods or gems for goods. Sometimes, other people entertain the public and they give them their own products."

"Barter system? In our case, we don't have anything."

"In your case, you can have them for free. Remember, you have great responsibility in Cazanette to prove the hypothesis of the previous kings and release us to this unexplained confinement in this world! If you want, make your own money" said Globus.

Brix and Reevahn shined with excitement

"Make our own money?" Reevahn smiled

"Others entertain the public huh?" said Brix

Brix and Reevahn excitedly rushed to the town and stand in the center of the road. In school, they are a singing duo who sings popular songs in their own way and usually invited to sing their rendition of the song during our school events. The townspeople's attention was caught when they started to sing their winning song. Globus and Granger were amazed of the different personality that they showed when it comes to entertainment.

An inn owner invited them to eat at her restaurant.

"This is so great. I'm grateful of this talent! I can use it anywhere!"

"You have such great voices. Why don't you stay in my inn for free? Are you going somewhere?" the owner offered.

"Thank you, Madame. For now, we will be going to the library" said Reevahn.

"The library is at the right street of the main road. You will see the big building there."

"Thank you again."

"But the librarian is introverted, so, good luck"

After eating, Brix and Reevahn went to the library. Globus and Granger walked around the town while waiting for the two. The town of knowledge is a town with Western touch. There were alleys where some vendors vend, shops for magicians and warriors, tailors, etc.

Straight to the corner of the street and the main road erects the library. It was a two story building with pillars designed in Greek curves. The arched wooden door is wide enough for four cars to enter at once. On the left side when you enter is the librarian's desk. The library was filled with tables and chairs and the bookshelves rest on the library walls.

They approached the librarian.

"Excuse us, miss. We need your assistance."

The librarian was silently reading a book and doesn't look like she's listening to the two. She looked like a twelve year old girl in our original world. Her hair was blonde and up to shoulder long. She was wearing a dress similar to a merchant's dress in a popular MMORPG. Suddenly, Brix noticed a card pinned in her clothes.

"Miss Chaeldra?" Brix inquired. The girl suddenly threw the book out of surprise.

"Yes? What can I help you? I mean, how can I help you?"

"We need assistance. We're looking for some references."

Chaeldra looked around inside the library to check for present patrons. Seeing there's no one inside, she closed the doors.

"Needing my assistance means privacy. Please list down your names and occupation on the logbook" she said

The boys wrote on the logbook and when Chaeldra checked them, she was shocked. "You both are unemployed? How pathetic."

"We wanted to see the history of Cazanette, the writings of the kings and geography." said Reevahn.

"Sorry, but only the king's writings are available in your inquiry. I'll get them so wait here."

While Chaeldra is looking for the materials, Brix and Reevahn also look for interesting books.

"The blind man. What kind of story is this?" asked Brix

"It is about the friendship of a blind milkman and a horse. The horse is always guiding the blindman during their delivery so everyone thought that the milkman can see. The blind man died in an accident because he didn't bring his horse." explained Chaeldra.

"I think we have similar story like that, Reevahn."

"What about this? The scarf?" asked Reevahn.

"It's about the disguise of a prince as an old man using the scarf to look for a woman who will truly love him despite his looks."

"Isn't that the story of Don Juan Tiñoso?"

Brix and Reevahn looked for literature books which has similarities in real world. They were developing doubts about the literature. Chaeldra brought the kings' books and put them on the table. They read the kings' biographies, their journeys and also the journals they made. Some of them also have composed poems and short stories. They took notes of some interesting writings.

"I was standing at an edge of Cazanette observing the world outside. It was an endless horizon of water so far to explore."

"The mountain's earth is endless. It's like there is a way to reach the other side of the globe – if we are in a globe."

"I wonder where the light comes from. Are we species of a star or a satellite? The skies light up Cazanette in every corner where there are minimal shadows in the morning and becomes shadow itself in the evening."

"This is the plan that I was looking for." said Reevahn

"That is a geographic description. Not a plan."

"It's the same"

"Why are you looking for those? What are you planning to do with that?" asked Chaeldra.

"So that we can go home to our world."

"I see. So you are one of those they say legends."

"They say you are introverted. Why do you know a lot?"

"I can hear them. I am mesoverted but I love to read and they don't understand that. They just love to think about magic without even thinking how it should be done, it's advantages and disadvantages."

After the conversation, they went to an inn with Globus and Granger. Suddenly, a middle-aged woman run inside the inn's restaurant and shouted.

"Help me! A hybrid horse is unconscious near the bridge! Someone help me! We need to rescue her!"

Brix and Reevahn offered their help and went to the river with Globus and Granger.

The disctance between them was not too far and the two horses saw a familiar face.

"Gaila!!!"