Chapter 9 Encounter
A slight crackling sound warned Brian that someone had passed through the confines of the stone chamber.
Although in this stone room where freedom is restricted, setting up restrictions is undoubtedly unnecessary, but he still set up a redundant one out of a good habit he usually developed.
He raised his eyes from the book and glanced coldly in the direction of the sound.
The door to the stone chamber was sealed by magic, and he knew a spell to unlock the seal.
He could even escape without any trouble if he wanted to.
But he has self-awareness, and the situation at this time did not force him to choose this path.
As he cast his gaze in the direction of the sound, to his surprise, it was not as he imagined: after the restriction was triggered, a wave of imperceptible blue and white would surge out of the stone door. Energy waves.
A trace of confusion crept onto his increasingly solemn face.
He forced himself to remain calm, but his mind was thinking about the intruder in the room at an extremely fast speed.
It could be seen from the untouched stone door that the mortal stalker was hiding in the dark with the help of some kind of magic. The empty room also made him understand that this intruder was proficient in superb hiding skills.
Thinking of this, Brian frowned slightly.
He found that with his perception and the sensitivity given by his elf blood, he could not find any clues.
If he hadn't arranged an extra restriction, he could even imagine that he might not even know how he died.
In other words, someone maintained the invisibility magic and sneaked into his room quietly.
So, what is the purpose of this enemy?
Brian's eyebrows immediately tightened. He was ready to fight. One hand was unconsciously hidden under the table, ready to use deadly spells at any time.
Suddenly, a bright energy ball circled the sharp turn of the bookshelf and flew toward him.
Brian, who had been prepared for a long time, entered a fighting state almost as soon as the energy ball appeared.
——"Asteroplasmic Barrier!"
He put down the book in his hand and sat on the chair without moving at all. In a state of high concentration, a light blue energy barrier appeared instantly.
The biggest feature of creative psychics is to absorb astral energy to summon or protect themselves.
The most typical abilities include: ectoplasmic constructs, ectoplasmic creepers, ectoplasmic protective films, and ectoplasmic protective barriers.
And his "ectoplasm barrier" is a power that can resist magical damage that only psions who are proficient in the creative department can master.
And when performing it, as long as you are highly concentrated, no spiritual energy will be consumed.
Although the power of the protective barrier is minimal without consuming additional spiritual energy.
But through his spell recognition ability, Brian could sense the spells attacking him, and the damage was not as fatal as imagined.
In other words, the enemy's attack was more like a test, or there was no intention to take his life at all.
Thinking of this, Brian vaguely guessed a possibility.
“Bang!”
Just like the sound of gravel falling onto the lake, the bright energy ball splashed a few ripples on the light blue barrier, and finally collapsed and disappeared.
Almost the moment the energy ball disappeared, Brian, who was prepared, quickly stood up and let the chair behind him fall. Then without hesitation, he lowered his head and rolled forward along the table to the ground, barely dodging two speeding arrows. And the darts came.
The two cross darts hit the stone wall, causing bright sparks to fall to the ground in the harsh collision.
Brian secretly wiped away the cold sweat. He took advantage of the opportunity to stand up and immediately checked the enemy who was attacking him.
Just in time to see a slender female drow emerge from the shadows.
She was wearing a black magic cloak, and her arms were making a series of complex gestures at extremely fast speeds.
Brian saw the crackling energy condensing at her fingertips, and then turned into an arrow of magic energy and rushed towards him.
When the energy left the drow's hands, it illuminated her beautiful face hidden by her long hair, and a pair of blue eyes that were very unusual among the drow race.
Why is she here?
Brian looked stunned. He gave up trying to fight back, and quickly mobilized his spiritual energy to strengthen the defensive strength of the protective ability "ectoplasm barrier".
Because he thought of a simpler way to deal with it.
This is a meaningless magic battle, and he does not want to spend most of his energy here.
After all, on the second day, he will face a test that is so severe that it concerns his own life and safety, so when he is sure that his life is safe, he is ready to abort it.
Brian saw that he was hit by a magic energy arrow, and tiny lightning bolts kept jumping around his body, bursting out with brilliant electric sparks.
Just as he expected.
An attack of this level cannot cause any harm to him at all.
Immediately afterwards, he felt the fourth attack prepared by the drow wizard in advance.
A dozen tough spider threads shot out from the ceiling of the wall without warning. He was caught off guard and wrapped tightly around most of his body, lying on the ground.
Brian lay on the cold ground in shock, struggled a few more times symbolically, and then raised his head and looked at his enemy.
This is a young drow.
Her black satin skin gives the appearance of a living sculpture, which is enhanced by soft, tight-fitting black leather armor and ebony-toned chain mail.
Santila Pumol.
Brian recognized the identity of the drow, and also understood that the other party was his opponent tomorrow.
So, he didn't want to have a meaningless fight with her today.
Otherwise, his methods are likely to be predicted in advance, and his hope of winning will become slim.
Moreover, because of his understanding of her, he was still confident that he could subdue her with his own physical means alone.
This is also the fundamental reason why he did not fight.
He continued to stare at the familiar face. She had an elf-like strange beauty, as well as delicate and distinct facial features, and her thick white hair was as smooth as the moonlight on the new snow.
Her face looks vivid, sometimes naughty, sometimes as cold as ice. She is dominated by a pair of large almond-shaped eyes, the color of which is like the deep blue sky.
The rebellious daughter of a wealthy Drow family, a spoiled Drow princess, uses her unique virginity style to find a way to escape social oppression.
Brian remembered something about this girl.
He met the other party at Skull Harbor in Waterdeep City.
At that time, this rebellious drow who escaped from the underground was looking for the wandering temple of the dark girl Eilistraee in the Leyline Maze City of Waterdeep City.
During the ‘Arcane Catastrophe’ period, many horrific events occurred, and even the gods became high-risk professions.
A huge change will inevitably occur in the Underdark.
The Dark Maiden Eilistraee.
The only goddess who protects all good drow.
Fell in the War of the Spider Queen, all her followers were accepted by the elven god Corellon (Note: excerpted from "The War of the Spider Queen - The Penitent Daughter").
But there is a small group of drow elves who have maintained firm faith from beginning to end, hiding in the Wandering Temple in Skull Harbor, preparing a great plan to resurrect the goddess.
Among the participants in this plan to resurrect Eilistraee, there is also a growing group of players like them.
In order to mobilize the power of the group, some players even promoted a slogan on the forum:
"Although Eilistraee has fallen, she has always lived in our faith (seed)."
As for whether it was successful or not, Brian was not sure.
He only knew that the Walking Temple hidden in the Lost City of Waterdeep City began to surface, which meant that the resurrection plan had reached the most critical step.
"The battle mage of the Kingdom of Cormyr?" Santila raised her chin, showed a proud smile, and walked around in front of Brian with a frivolous pace.
"So, you came prepared." Brian came back to his senses, thought carefully, and guessed the other party's true purpose.
It can be seen from the bright blue eyes of the drow that she came here out of curiosity, which is in line with her character.
As for who was instructed or instigated, it is easy to guess.
"Yes, you are quite proficient in speaking Drow."
Santilla kept her distance, then bent down and looked at Brian, "You can say a little more Really? I heard from Xierlin that the way you yell is the funniest thing.”
"What do you mean?"
Brian said pretending to be annoyed, "You want an excuse to hit someone? If you want to hit someone, just say so. I have seen you drow do this before. If you like it, feel free to vent your excess energy."
While the other party diverted his attention, he quietly used his psychic secondary creation technique to prepare a tool to help him get out of trouble.
"I also want to punch you twice from close range and see your painful expression."
Santilla flashed her long eyelashes and smiled; "But I I know your little thoughts, so I will use long-range magic to deal with you.”
"As you wish."
Brian shrugged indifferently, "It's up to you. You probably won't miss a target that is tied up and unable to move."
Santila was surprised by the other party's indifference. She stared at him, straightened her back, stretched out her slender fingers, and said eagerly:
"Yes, I won't miss it. The magic is always on target, but I can guarantee that you will not be killed by the first spell, nor the second one. I will work hard to ensure that you can feel your own death. Do you still want to try?"
"As long as you are happy." Brian smiled at her.
"Very good, very good." Santila stared at Brian's relaxed smile. She was stunned for a moment and then praised:
"Since you understand Drow language, you must know that the Underdark It is ruled by the drow, so according to the rules we established and the guarantee given to me by Shireen, I declare that your life belongs to me, just as I need a new slave."
Bryan. Not bothering to ask what Xi Lin promised her, he twisted his body, changed into a comfortable position and lay on the ground, and casually replied, "That is my honor, noble lady, how do you plan to take me away? Is it carried gracefully on the shoulders?"
"Well, it's really difficult." Santila frowned as she looked at Brian who was entangled in spider silk.
"Let's do this, you can loosen the spider silk from my legs, and I'll just walk back with you."
Brian put forward his suggestion to her, "What do you think? Or, actually, you I'm worried that I can't beat a wizard with his hands tied. If this is true, I have nothing to say."
"A good suggestion." Santila nodded slightly.
She played with a silver necklace hanging on her chest, deliberately making it shine with a faint magical luster, then looked at him warily, feeling that she was still not at ease, and said threateningly:
< br>"You'd better not play any tricks, otherwise, I will show you my methods."
Brian looked at the magic jewelry that Santila deliberately showed him, and felt the dangerous magic energy. His eyelids couldn't help but twitch.
"I want to live a little longer." He said with a cooperative look.
The drow nodded slightly, then leaned down, ready to loosen the spider silk binding his legs.
Brian saw the other person's necklace hanging just above his head. His eyes flickered, and he immediately tensed his muscles, stood up suddenly, bumped his whole face into her chest, and took the opportunity to open his mouth and use His teeth gripped her necklace.
Then he curled up his legs, pulled hard, and then turned to the side.
Caught off guard, Santila screamed, her slender body suddenly lost balance and fell on him.
Brian twisted his body like a fish, pressed her under him, tilted his head back hard, and slammed his forehead against her just-raised forehead.
Under the violent impact, the back of Santila's head hit the hard ground again, causing a second additional injury. She let out a cry of pain, and Brian, the bookshelf and table in the stone room in her sight began to dance. Dance.
Brian also felt a sharp pain in his forehead. He forced himself to keep his head clear. With a thought, he used magic to control a sharp blade condensed in his hand, spinning rapidly to cut through the bundled spider silk.
The moment his body regained freedom, he immediately pulled back and distanced himself from him.
——"Lightning pull!"
Then with a quick whisper, a magic whip with jumping lightning swept over.
This magic rope flexibly entangled Santila, and the tiny crackling lightning made her groan in pain, and her body, which struggled to stand up, fell to the ground again.
"I'm so sorry, you were captured by a slave."
Brian rubbed his aching forehead and looked at the ferocious-looking drow, "If you speak Beg for mercy, maybe if you feel better, I will let you go.”
"The drow never beg for mercy."
Santila shook off the long hair that blocked her sight, gasping for air from the pain. She raised her head proudly, looked at Brian, and showed no signs of weakness. Said, "Not to mention bowing to a male."
"Maybe you can start this trend." Brian threatened.
“Don’t you dare do anything to me.”
Santila calmed down and suddenly showed a meaningful smile, “Otherwise, Aunt Jonara will never let you go. Don’t forget who you are.”
You're the one who won't let me go, Brian thought to himself.
Of course, it is absolutely impossible to say this at this time.
Because this will affect my plan to escape tomorrow.
At the same time, he began to feel a little anxious in his heart.
Worried about why Jonara hasn’t shown up yet, take this troublesome rebellious drow away quickly.
After all, he really didn't dare to offend the other party too severely.
Otherwise, it would be too late to cry when the next day we meet and a dimensionality reduction blow occurs.
This is the reason why he is least willing to associate with the drow.
If you remain too tough, you will leave a bad impression, even generate hatred, and your name will be recorded in a small blacklist.
If there is too much goodwill, it will make this group of drow elves who are good at conspiracy and intrigues suspicious.
Therefore, this troublesome ‘degree’ must be kept in an appropriate amount.
"Indeed, your statement sounds more convincing." Brian said pretending to be submissive.
Santilla, who was ready to counterattack, heard the words and looked at the dejected Brian in surprise.
She felt that this half-elf from the surface was more intelligent than she expected, and it almost felt a bit shameful to enslave such a creature.
Her eyes flickered a few times and she said cautiously, "To be honest, you fell into the hands of Aunt Jonara and were undoubtedly waiting for death. From this point of view, it is really a bit of a waste."
When his pain point was mentioned, Brian snorted pretending to be displeased.
When Santila saw this, she blinked, gave him the most charming smile, and said in a moving and soft voice, "This is the Underdark, a terrible land. It is impossible for a person to survive alone. , let alone being a prisoner, maybe we can have a good talk."
"What's there to talk about?" Brian took two steps forward cautiously, looking down at her with a look of emotion. Interested look.
"You are a half-elf from the surface and a spell caster. I want to learn more about the surface." Santila said frankly, "If you are willing to cooperate with me, I will I can take you with me."
"Knowledge is a good thing."
Brian nodded in agreement, and then said with a vigilant look, "But as you said just now, I understand the Drow language, and naturally I know a lot about the special culture of your Underdark region.
In my hometown, traveling Adventure and adventure are our traditional culture, but in your blindly xenophobic and hierarchical city of Ancient Orens, a drow who is interested in the surface of the earth is, in my opinion, a completely deviant existence. Such people often do not survive. Long."
"Travel and adventure are actually your traditional culture."
Santila caught another important point in the words, and said with envy, "It's really impressive. It's incredible that some people encourage their young people to travel and take risks."
"Then do you know Waterdeep?" She looked at Brian expectantly.
Waterdeep?
I didn’t expect that the other party already knew about Waterdeep City at this time.
Brian looked at the drow girl with a hint of surprise in his eyes.
"Of course I know."
He said briefly, "It is one of the core areas of the continent, known as the 'Glorious Land'. In Waterdeep City, a god once died and was resurrected. If there is a god and there is a mortal who can become a god, the population of a city is enough to equal a country.”
"You even know about Waterdeep City." Brian looked at the drow girl with a meaningful look, "Does it mean that you have already been to the surface world."
"That is a terrifying place. "
Santila nodded gloomily, "Every day, a huge fireball jumps into the air from the ground, emitting a dazzling light that is more dazzling than the dazzling light used by the priests of Lolth to punish sinners.
Even at night, when the fireball falls below the ground level, no one can escape the indescribable terror on the ground. Countless small bright spots, and sometimes a smaller silver fireball, will shatter the peaceful atmosphere. The dark sky makes it impossible to forget the punishment that will come the next day. "
"Is this your first feeling?" Brian asked with a skeptical tone.
"No." Santila shook her head slightly, "This is how my compatriots who have never seen the surface world described it to me."
"You didn't say you have been there once, what do you think?"< br>
“I’m not sure.”
The drow girl lowered her head, letting her thick long hair cover her face, and then stared at Brian’s face from the corner of her eye, using a sad expression The tone said:
“When I was five years old, my mother took me to escape to the surface. I only remember coming to a pond and seeing many wide round leaves floating on the water, with people sitting on them. Lots of little green creatures that looked a little like fat, round lizards, and for a while I listened to them singing, because lizards never sing in the Underdark."
Lotus leaves and frogs.
Based on the drow girl's description, Brian thought of a very appropriate creature.
“Then what?”
“Then my mother was killed by the underground compatriots who chased me, and I was captured by them.” Santila’s voice was very soft. , the thin shoulders seemed to be shaking constantly due to sad sobs.
Brian looked at her with pity and was about to speak when he suddenly noticed that her eyes were dry and flashed with a cunning blue light.
By the time he realized all this, it was already too late.
There was a soft sound of 'bang', like the sound of some kind of alchemy potion exploding.
The entire closed stone chamber was suddenly enveloped in a darkness that seemed to be substantial.
Feeling his eyes go dark, Brian's expression changed, and he quickly and calmly set up a defensive force field for himself to deal with Santila's surprise attack at any time.
However, the imaginary attack did not come, but a crisp voice full of mockery.
"Cunning half-elf, I keep my word. I swear on Rose's eighth leg that when I complete the coming-of-age ceremony tomorrow, I will definitely come and buy you."
The darkness gradually dissipated, Brian breathed a sigh of relief when he saw the drow disappear.
He recalled the words the other party left before leaving, and suddenly felt that his chance of escaping had increased a lot again.
"Well done, at least it didn't expose your strength and ideas." A cold voice came from behind without warning.
Brian had long been accustomed to the other party appearing unexpectedly, so he didn't pay attention. He said expressionlessly, "Don't tell me, this is an unexpected coincidence."
"In fact."
The drow wizard Jonara walked up to him leisurely, and Shireen followed behind with her head lowered. She looked directly into Brian's eyes and said coldly, " This is indeed a coincidence."
As soon as she finished speaking, she reached out and slapped Xierlin loudly, shouting: "Idiot! You almost ruined my plan, get out!"
< br>Xirin covered her slightly swollen purple cheeks and left the room without saying a word.
"Tomorrow, at the right time, you will be taken to the tunnel in the wild. As part of the preparation, I will give you a detailed map and useful magic equipment."
"Remember, if you want to survive, do as I say." The drow wizard warned coldly, and then disappeared as suddenly as he came.
(End of this chapter)