Unclear Pieces of a Puzzle

"Please follow us, Lord Dullip." The two Merit Priests led him to a large open space in the agricultural center. Situated there was a pool, spanning a volume of a million cubic litres.

"Such a large pool…" Dullip frowned for a moment as he extended his hand, "Why has the demand increased as compared to a month ago?"

One of the Merit Priests extended him a scroll, saying, "It's an export order from Wharu City. They're paying a premium for every litre."

"If it's Wharu City, shouldn't the request be sent to father? Only he can produce the amount necessary to satisfy their demand…" Dullip clicked his tongue as he stared at the contents of the scroll, muttering once he finished reading it, "So, it's an unofficial request from a trader based in Wharu City."

"What's their background?" He asked next.

"The sender's unknown." The Merit Priest bowed in apology, "It is an anonymous request. So we are unable to track and figure out their identity. Our embassy situated there is stretched thin as is."

"Then just ignore the request." Dullip returned the scroll, "We are exporting enough blessed water as is. No need to expend our resources for some cash."

"We'll do as you command, Lord Dullip." Saying so, the two Merit Priests stood in silence. The crowd of farmer children had gathered around the pool and stared at it with expectant gazes.

Knowing very well that this was one of the activities that strengthened their faith the most, Dullip Garobu intended to put on his best show. He raised his hand high up in the air, his actions slow and solemn, causing the jingling sounds to reverberate in the surroundings.

He expended a bit of energy to rile up the air around him, causing the tiny sickles forming his coat to jingle louder. The spectators stared with rapt attention as Dullip uttered slowly, "I, Spirit of Garobu City, named Dullip, bless this water to aid in a pest-free harvest."

His sickle appeared in his hand, accompanied by a lot of flairs, the majority of which was just for dramatic effect. When he summoned it to face Iota, it was subtle and deadly.

The sickle brimmed with a torrent of power as Dullip dropped it into the water, watching it melt in a matter of seconds and raise steam.

He felt weak as all the faith stored in him flowed into the pool of water, granting it the property—of getting rid of pests. Basically, it was a form of insecticide, one without any side effects when used on crops and later consumed by humans.

The Garobu Faith was related to harvests and hence possessed power regarding fields related to it.

The water in the pool turned a mild shade of grey as the faith permeated homogenously within it, forming a stable mixture.

"It's done," Dullip spoke, accompanied by cheers from the farmer children.

"That was amazing, Lord!" One of the kids exclaimed in hype, "I've never seen a better demonstration to date!"

'His words are genuine.' Dullip was pleased by the flattery as he patted the boy's head, "Work hard to become a proud farmer."

"Yes, I will!" The boy bowed happily, overjoyed to hear Dullip's words directed at him.

In their eyes, Dullip wasn't an official with power, but the manifestation of their faith. So, there was a semblance of fanatism involved.

"Everyone, I'll be stationed here for the next two days. So, if you have any queries or concerns, direct them to my office. I'll see to it that they are resolved immediately." He stared at the farmer children, "Can you spread the word to the adults?"

"We'll do it immediately!" Saying so, the children rushed out of the agricultural center and informed every adult they chanced upon.

"Class…isn't over yet." The teacher stared at their rushing backs and could only sigh in response.

"Seems I've inconvenienced you, teacher." Dullip sported a wry smile in response and cupped his fists before the teacher.

"No, it's not an inconvenience." The teacher bowed in a hurry, "Or rather, I have to thank you, Lord Dullip. Your arrival has raised their enthusiasm. They'll be more attentive in class after this."

"It has been months since they were this hyped."

"Months?" Dullip frowned at the statement, "Didn't a Spirit arrive here last month and every month before that?"

"Yes, but…" The teacher hesitated, falling silent.

"Continue," Dullip said, motioning at the two Merit Priests to leave them be.

Once they were alone, the teacher began to speak, "Lord Dullip, I'm…not sure if I'm overstepping my bounds to say this. It feels blasphemous…"

"You're a respectful citizen of Garobu City. So, you have every right to state anything you feel is necessary for the rightful functioning of our society." Dullip Garobu patted the teacher's shoulder, giving the latter a much-needed boost of confidence.

"The Spirit that arrived last month didn't even bother to have a word with us." The teacher finally gathered enough courage and spoke, "She came here, accompanied by a group of people, none of which were Priests. Once she blessed the water, she promptly left. She had a cold visage, so we dared not approach her."

"She wasn't accompanied by any Priests?" Dullip frowned, because no matter who it was, as long as a Spirit performed any official duties, they were always accompanied by at least one Priest—Servants of Deities.

It was a mandatory practice as the Priests did all the grunt work needed to facilitate a Spirit's actions.

"Who was she?" Dullip asked next. His father, Merku Garobu had a lot of children, with the oldest being granted the power of an Apostle while the rest became Spirits. And to maintain the city's functions, the Spirits were constantly on the move, so except for the logistics department, no one else knew of the positions of each Spirit.

"I don't know, Lord Dullip. I offer my apologies." The teacher said in helplessness, "I haven't seen her before. I've never heard any discussions about her prior to this. The others too were unaware of her identity. She didn't seem to be well-known like you."

"I'll look into it." Dullip Garobu said as he paused in thought, asking, "Wait, you said the children hadn't been excited for months."

"Were all the Spirits that arrived in these past few months the same as her?" He asked, feeling that something was amiss.

"Not all of them, but even if they weren't as bad as the previous Spirit, none of them bothered to interact with us." The teacher said.

"Ok, you can leave now." Dullip waved his hand, watching the teacher leave after a bow. After remaining in thought for a minute, he clapped his hand, watching the two Priests return, prompting them, "Let's head to the logistics department."

"There's something I need to check."