“I killed him,” Rockbrain said plainly. “He trespassed on our holy ground and had the nerve to profane our gods. It turns out, in this place, his gods weren’t enough to save him.”

Stone Breakers behind him chuckled. Rockbrain studied the man before him and saw his red face and trembling muscles. The amount of sheer willpower he used to control himself was impressive.

“Is that enough reason to kill him?”

“Haha,” the Stone Break laughed. “Look at you, I made one comment about your god, and you almost cast your magic at me. How can a fool like you still ask that? I mean, seriously, what do they teach you in that seminary? Go ahead, question my two prisoners here. Ask them who antagonized who.”

The bishop looked at the two and back at the Stone Breaker.

“Regardless, a debt must be paid,” the bishop said, not caring about the truth.

“This is true. You must pay if you wish me to unhand my prisoners. We’ve also confirmed they are colluding with the Scath, those Shadowmen that have infested our caverns. Are you also involved in summoning those monsters here? Please be clear with your answer.”

Bishop Norberto froze and stared hard at Rockbrain. At that moment, he knew he’d been underestimating this simple-looking warrior. At the same time, the bishop’s silence was damning, but he was too shocked to reply. He might not be high in the hierarchy, but he knew enough to know that his order had some dealings with those Shadowmen. It was too late to realize that there was no way these two lesser paladins knew anything. All the confirmation this Stone Breaker had just gleaned was done by tricking him.

“Guess it’s true. I have to wonder what the Minnustern gain from working with those creatures. We both are intelligent people, so let me tell you an idiom used by our people. You may put your dick into a beauty, but never get in bed with her.”

This time the Stone Breakers were laughing uproariously.

“I’m not sure I follow that idiom,” Bishop Norberto said through grit teeth.

“It’s simple. Beauty is the epitome of a calamity. It’s fine to tease and admire her, but the moment you get into bed with her, you give up all control of the situation. What happens next is your fault. You’ve bedded the Scath. What comes next is your fault.”

The bishop stared hard at Rockbrain and felt chills going down his spine. He wasn’t an idiot and had always looked down on the Stone Breakers as uneducated tribal people. Based on what he was facing now, he felt fear. Not just because he was sure these people would destroy him and those behind him but because of what he’d said. It was a stupid idiom, but the truth behind the words wasn’t so easily refuted.

“Sir,” an Inquisitor whispered behind him. “I can take him down. Just give the order.”

“You can’t take him down. We can’t fight them here,” the bishop replied softly. Then he raised his voice. “Never cross the Stone Breakers in a place like this. Even their weakest member could kill you all. Don’t be a fool like that idiot, Fitz.”

“Heh, you are a smart man, Bishop Norberto,” Rockbrain said. “Let me give you another tip. Even if you whisper a kilometer away, we can understand everything you say.”

All the Stone Breakers stared at the Inquisitor, who asked to kill Rockbrain. Seeing all the eyes focused on him, he gulped loudly. Even the bishop was taken aback. He absolutely could not afford to anger these people, but he was in a bit of a dilemma. They knew the Minnustern and the Scath were in collaboration. The damage was already done even if he rushed back to bring an army. They wouldn’t be able to stop their scouts from escaping. Word was going to get out.

“What do you want for those two?” Bishop Norberto finally asked. Rockbrain looked at the two and then used Tremor Sense to redirect the question to Carrot.

“We’ve been told that you have harvested many Mountain Heart Crystals. How about a hundred of those crystals for each prisoner?” Rockbrain wasn’t being unreasonable. Mountain Heart Crystals were valuable, but humans didn’t find them all that useful except in making weapons. The Stone Breakers found them helpful to their cultivation, which is why he asked for so many.

Bishop Norberto stared at Rockbrain and consulted with the people behind him. Before long, he offered a small spatial object with two hundred crystals inside. Rockbrain tossed it to Carrot and gave the two paladins a light shove, indicating they could go.

“And Bishop?”

Norberto turned back. “Yes?”

“Keep your people away from this area. I wasn’t joking about this being one of our holy sites. We’ll kill any of the Minnustern that enter without permission in the future. While there is nothing here that could be considered of value, this place holds sentimentality for all the clans of my people. This is the only warning we’ll give. Please pass this on to your leaders. As long as you stay away from here, we won’t involve ourselves in your mess. If my guess isn’t wrong, you are all about to implode, anyway. You don’t need another enemy at your gates.”

The bishop shuddered and nodded. “I’ll warn them. We won’t enter your territory again.”

Ten minutes later, the Stone Breakers released their stone armor and returned to cleaning up the mess left behind by the Scath.

“You think they’ll stay put?” Carrot asked. He was smart about many things but never could understand how humans operated. It was why Rockbrain was always in charge of external operations like this.

“No. But I don’t intend to stay put, either. You’ll take our warriors back to my father. We’ve done what we set out to do and have our answers. He needs to know what is going on here.”

“What are you planning on doing?”

“Not sure. You know of my bloodline ability, yes?”

“You are referring to Stonespeak?”

“Yes. The stones are asking me to go someplace. Warn my father about this as well. When my ability acts up like this, things become troublesome.”

“Alright, brother. We’ll do as you say. May you return safely to your hearth,” Carrot said and ordered the Stone Breakers to hurry with their tasks. An hour later, they were all marching off while Rockbrain followed a different path, guided by his bloodline ability.