160: Pixie and the Haunted House

Chapter 158: Pixies and the Haunted House

In the evening, Arthur awoke from his deep sleep.

He was roused by the sound of prayers coming from outside his window.

After his consciousness returned, Arthur stepped out of his room.

He saw Vanka and Flora directing the group of fervent believers as they washed themselves.

Seeing Arthur, Flora immediately stepped forward to report, "My Lord, besides the food shortage, we are now running low on clothes as well."

"With so many people suddenly here, and the previous battles, many clothes are already damaged beyond repair."

She continued, "Furthermore, the weather is so cold; I'm worried they will get sick."

Arthur looked at the sparsely dressed believers and replied, "Apply for two sets of clothes for each of them. For now, charge it to the Pioneer Group's account."

"Once the town returns to normal and we merge our finances, the situation will be more comfortable."

Flora acknowledged him and then suggested, "My Lord, I think we should postpone the training for a bit."

"Aren't you planning to settle the believers near the church?"

"They can start by repairing the church."

"Will they be willing to do this work?" Arthur asked.

"As you said, their symptoms of frenzy are subsiding," Flora explained. "I think they will be happy to do it,"

"as long as we tell them they are building a temple for the Goddess."

"Good, let's do that." Arthur agreed to the plan.

Giving these fanatics something to do was better than having them pray endlessly or stare blankly all day.

This was indeed a good idea.

After bidding farewell to Flora, Arthur found a secluded spot and began to ponder the current situation.

He particularly missed Godwin at this moment. If he were here, many troublesome matters could be handed over to him to deal with all at once.

Arthur had thought about having Godwin come here, but the management of the caravan still depended on him.

The most crucial point was that, according to their plan, as soon as Catherine purchased the disputed land, Godwin would lead people to establish a trade hub there.

By then, more and more merchants would flock to Mist Town.

Of course, this was not something that could be accomplished overnight.

Now, Arthur could only hope that Catherine would sort things out quickly and then come to Mist Town to assist him.

Subsequently, Arthur began to wonder if his role as the leader of Mist Town was a wise decision.

He had never imagined that his prestige in Mist Town would rise so quickly.

The advantage of taking over as leader early was that he could convey his plans and deployments sooner;

but the disadvantages were also obvious: he was now pushed to the forefront,

and every decision would be subject to scrutiny, so every choice had to be made with extreme caution.

To avoid this situation, he needed to cultivate a group of loyal supporters.

This was not a difficult task.

In this world where true gods existed, he could completely develop his loyal followers in the name of the Goddess.

As for how loyal those supporters could be, the fanatics were the best example.

The moon began to rise, and Arthur estimated that it was about time, so he walked towards the ruins on the small slope.

He approached cautiously and soon heard a fierce argument coming from behind the ruins.

He slowed his steps again, quietly making his way towards the sound.

Behind a half-collapsed wall, Arthur saw a light.

Just then, the quarrel suddenly stopped.

Arthur quickened his pace, appearing before the pixies before they could react.

These small sprites, less than a foot tall with delicate, light wings on their backs, were clearly startled.

They flew around in a panic, and two of them even collided with each other.

Pixies are fey creatures originating from the Feywild.

In D&D, there are many planes, which can be simply understood as other worlds, and the Feywild is one of them.

It is a wondrous, fairytale-like place, famous for producing these mischievous little sprites.

Arthur was pleased that he had successfully startled these little creatures. Pixies, after all, were known as prank experts.

Their mischievous nature always made them try to play tricks on others.

"Don't be afraid, little ones, I'm not a bad person."

Arthur cast a Light spell and simultaneously pulled a few candies from his pocket.

The hidden pixies all poked their heads out.

One of the braver ones asked, "Who are you?"

"I am a priest of Mother Earth."

"Who is Mother Earth?"

"Goddess Shanteya."

"Are you sure you're not a fey hunter?" she pressed again.

Because these little creatures can fly, speak, and are very endearing in appearance,

many powerful and influential people like to keep pixies as pets.

For those people, a pixie in a cage could display status much more effectively than a canary in a cage.

And because of this, many fey hunters emerged who made a living from it.

"I swear by the Goddess, I am absolutely not a hunter." Arthur said solemnly, "I am a follower of the great Goddess Shanteya."

After a while, the boldest pixie finally squeezed out from a crack in the wall.

She was a very charming little creature, wearing a dress woven from leaves and petals.

Behind her were a pair of colorful butterfly wings.

Fiery red curly hair, large eyes, pointed ears, a tiny nose, and thin lips together formed an adorable face.

Since coming to Qingfeng Valley, Arthur had rarely seen such vibrant colors.

No wonder some people wanted to keep pixies as pets.

To make the other party lower her guard, Arthur placed the candies on the collapsed wall and then stepped back a few paces.

The pixie flew over, quickly grabbed a piece of candy, and flew back.

Seeing this, the other pixies also appeared, looking eager to try.

"What were you discussing?"

Arthur asked, pulling a piece of dried meat from his pocket.

"Can't tell you." The pixie who got the candy replied, "That's our secret."

Arthur placed the dried meat in the same spot.

The pixies waited for him to retreat, then flew towards the food all at once.

"Alright, I'll ask a different question." Arthur said, "Why are you little ones here?

"This isn't where you should be. The spiders in the forest will prey on you."

Pixies have many natural enemies, the most common being various forest creatures—ravens, bird-eating spiders, venomous snakes, and so on.

And Qingfeng Valley has no shortage of these things.

The little creatures started chattering and arguing.

Arthur couldn't understand what they were saying.

If he remembered correctly, pixies usually communicated in Sylvan, and only some clever ones would use Common and Elvish.

Evidently, only the bold pixie among them could speak Common.

Soon, the arguing subsided.

The red-haired pixie flew out and advised, "You should leave here, human."

"Why?"

"Because it's haunted here."

"Ah, that's wonderful." Arthur said with a smile, "Exorcism is my specialty."

"Are you sure?" The other party questioned, "We just think you're an unreliable human."

"I won't dwell on your impolite assessment." Arthur said, "Tell me about the haunting here."

"Alright, if you insist." The red-haired pixie said, "Do you see this abandoned house?

"It's a haunted house, and it appears every full moon night.

"If anyone accidentally wanders in, they will be lost inside forever."

After speaking, the red-haired little creature even made a scary face, trying to frighten Arthur.

"Full moon night?"

Arthur looked up at the night sky; a plump, round moon hung high above.

"If that's the case, aren't you afraid being here?"

The pixie shook her head and replied, "We're going to rescue the princess!"

As soon as she said this, the hidden pixies immediately cried out loudly.

They were probably scolding the red-haired little one for talking too much.

"I guess this princess accidentally wandered into the haunted house, and you are discussing whether or not to rescue her, right?"

"Hey, how did you know?" The red-haired little one asked in alarm.

At this moment, that piece of intelligence had new developments.

Arthur, prompted, clicked to view:

[Purple Intel / Enhanced / Follow-up] Help the pixies find their princess.

Do not dispel the roses and thorns in the haunted house; they will guide you to a safe path.

The fewer people who enter the haunted house, the weaker the monsters inside will be.

After some thought, Arthur said, "I'll help. Just as I said, exorcism is my forte."