Lord of the Oasis

There was really something at the bottom of the well.

Kant frowned slightly. He vaguely made out the outline of a golden disk.

He straightened himself and ordered a Swadian Footman, who was on standby at his side, “Get some ropes and someone down there to have a better look. Haul that thing up if possible.”

“Yes, My Lord.” The footmen around him all immediately nodded.

They quickly retrieved ropes from the carriage and had the smallest Swadian Footman take off his armor. They tied the rope securely around his waist and slowly lowered him into the well.

Several others worked from behind them to keep the rope steady. The footman in the well finally touched the surface of the water.

Kant waited at the side of the well. He paid close attention as his soldier was being lowered slowly into the well. He frowned and said, “Be careful down there. Notify us at once if you run into anything. We’ll pull you up right away.”

“Rest assured, Lord Kant, there is nothing out of the ordinary down here.”

The lowered footman replied in a rather delighted tone, “It’s really cool down here. It reminds me of autumn back in Swadia. I’d like to sleep down here.”

He touched the water’s surface and made several clear splashes. It sounded like music to their ears.

However, the footmen keeping the rope steady above the well were all sweating from the exhaustion. They chastised him as they panted, “Don’t waste Lord Kant’s time. Finish the job quickly. If you still want to sleep down there when the job’s done, we’ll let go and you can sleep forever down there. Hell, I think you’d thank us for that later!”

“Hurry up. We haven’t got all day,” Kant said.

“Yes, My Lord. I’ll try to fish things up right away. The water in the well doesn’t seem to be all that deep.”

The footman in the well immediately responded and splashed about again. He finally found the golden disk, which was about 3 feet in diameter, at that bottom of the clear water. He unconsciously gulped.

He slowly extended his hand and sunk his arms into the water. It was a refreshing experience.

The water in the well was just cool enough instead of feeling ice cold like how it typically was deep underground. He thought it was curious but did not think much about it. He raised his voice and shouted to the people above, “Keep lowering the rope. Slowly.”

The robe around his waist was lowered quite a bit, enabling his thighs to hit the water.

His toes stepped on the stone walls of the well. Half of that footman’s body had sunk into the water, but he still was unable to reach the golden disk with his arm. He wiped the water off of his face. Basking himself in the cooling sensation, he said, “Lower the rope for a few more feet. I’m about to reach the disk!”

“Be careful,” Kant said as the rope was lowered further.

The footman was still part of a unit capable that was upgradeable to become a Swadian Man-at-Arms. Losing one in a non-combative situation would have been a huge loss. Kant had no intention of losing another soldier who had the potential to become a powerful heavy cavalry unit.

“I’m fine down here,” the footman responded.

His arms waddled about in the water. His feet were already stepping on the golden disk. He straightened himself and found that the water was just above his chest.

The water was not deep. It was only about 5 feet deep.

The footman was quite relaxed. Since the water was so shallow, it meant that nothing would happen to him so long as he remained careful. As such, he bent over and dived. He grabbed one side of the golden disk and leaned backward. He pulled hard with his back against the stone wall. He was finally able to flip the golden disk over.

“Huff.” His head emerged from the water. The footman shouted with glee to those above, “I’ve got the disk. It’s not all that heavy. You can pull me up now!”

He took off a section of the rope tied around his waist. The section was reserved for an emergency.

He quickly tied it around the golden disk at the bottom of the well. Since it was only 3 feet in diameter, the disk fit rather well in his arm. As the footmen above pulled, it was slowly hoisted up the well.

That footman in the well was perceptive enough to notice bubbles emerging at the bottom where the golden disk sat.

It was apparent that the well was connected to an underground reserve.

At the top of the well, everyone was working hard.

Kant frowned slightly. While that footman below was not that heavy, Kant noticed that the people pulling the rope were sweating all over their bodies. They were gritting their teeth as they slowly pulled the one footman up from the well. It was obvious that they were using quite a lot of strength for the task.

“Get more people here to help them out.” Kant said to a footman, who was still searching the tribe not far where Kant was, “Tell the others to come here and pull the guy in the well up.”

More than a dozen other footmen who knew what happened came to help pull the rope.

When the footmen who had descended into the well got close enough, some of the others went to the mouth of the well to help hoist him up. They dragged the footman, who was drenched and cradling a golden disk in his arms, out of the well.

“This is it, Lord Kant.”

That footman was panting when he was hoisted out of the well.

He quickly put the disk in his arms onto the ground and commented, “While this thing initially felt light, it was actually quite heavy. I reckon it is about as heavy as four to five steel shields put together.”

“Good job.” Kant nodded and complimented the footman.

A dialog box from the system instantly appeared on his retina.

[Ding… Your relentless efforts have finally allowed you to get your hands on this mysterious item.]

[Side Quest: Mystery in the Well is complete.]

[Quest Reward: Posthouse x 1]

[Introduction: The mysterious item found in the well seems to be emanating some faint special energy. The energy will allow the system to decipher the rules of this world better. Would you like to allow the system to absorb it?]

[Remark: The system shall be amplified further after absorption.]

[Will you allow the system to absorb the item?]

Kant had no problem making his choice regarding that question.

However, he did not immediately respond.

He squatted next to the golden disk. Suspicion and puzzlement were seen in his eyes. For some reason, that golden disk felt rather familiar to him.

Kant was feeling that he had seen something like it before.

He narrowed his gaze on it and extended his hand to touch the golden disk.

The disk felt cool and intricate. A golden sheen was seen glittering off of it when exposed to sunlight. There were tight, detailed patterns on it, which gave it its mystical feeling and made it look like an intricate, beautiful piece of art. Kant was quite astonished by its beauty.

The water on the patterns was evaporating in the sunlight.

Noon was approaching, so the sunlight was getting increasingly intense. The golden sheen on the disk seemed to have given off a faint golden sparkle under the scorching sunlight. It spread out all over the place.

It was beautiful and very attractive.

It was definitely a piece of treasure that was worth cities.

The system had also verified it to be a mysterious item that possessed mystical powers.

Kant’s frown deepened.

Something seemed to have popped up in his mind, which caused his eyes to suddenly widen.

“This thing…” Kant was extremely astonished.

He continued to eye the disk before him and was unable to help but gulp. He moved his hands all over the patterns on the disk, comparing it to the ones he remembered. He muttered in disbelief, “The lost city…”

It was a myth that even children back in the Dukedom of Leo knew about.

Kings throughout the generations of the kingdom yearned for the discovery of the city, yet all of them eventually found nothing. The tale eventually became nothing but an age-old myth.

It was said that before the dukedom was established, humans had been thriving in a golden city standing tall somewhere in the desert thousands of years ago. It was a city that only those with the noble blood of gods were permitted to take up residence in.

It was the lost city.

Kant lowered his head and quietly eyed the golden disk before him. He finally knew why the item felt so familiar to him.

Scholar Hank had given Kant a book that contained his life’s work. There was an important chapter in it that introduced the patterns in detail. The pattern was one that specifically belonged to the lost city.

It was the Sacred Sun Pattern.

Kant still remembered the name of the pattern.

After gathering the experience of those who came before him, the scholar had coined that name. It was then cross-referenced with his archaeological findings and old study texts. Scholar Hank eventually claimed, albeit only through speculations without specific proof, that the Sacred Sun Pattern had been the highest, noblest pattern found in the golden city.

The pattern symbolized a sun that never set.

Kant looked at the golden disk, as well as the Sacred Sun Pattern clearly seen before his eyes, and gulped. He muttered to himself, “The lost city really does exist, Master Hank…”

It was solid proof that would have dispelled all prior ridicule and verified the existence of the lost city.

Master Hank’s research had been correct after all.

Scholars in the academy, as well as the nobles and the mages, had laughed at and ridiculed Scholar Hank. At the moment, it seemed that they were the ones who should be laughed at and ridiculed. They were the ones who had been living under a rock.

However, Kant’s expression immediately calmed.

He turned around to scan his surroundings. Swadian Footmen gathered around while the Swadian Men-at-Arms waited somewhere not far away for orders, tending to their horses.

It was a secret he could not let anyone else know about.