Chapter 317 The Dusk Gate to the Shadow Plane
In the swamp covered with rotten branches and vines, a small fortress stands quietly. This is a fortress that has long been eroded by the swamp. It has been abandoned in this swamp for at least a hundred years.
Led by the lizardman scouts of the Sharptooth Tribe, Brian and Caradna had already found this fortress hidden deep in Guangze.
He and the sorceress beside him used hidden magic to cover up their figures, squatted in a dense bush, and carefully observed the specific situation of the fortress.
The entire fortress is completely protected by a wall about 10 meters high. The wall is covered with green vines and is full of ancient charm.
He saw not far in front of him, a pond filled with rancid black water surrounding the south and southwest corners of the fortress, and there was also such a pond in the northeast corner in the distance.
The pungent smell carried by the breeze made Brian realize that the black water in these two ponds contained strong toxicity and acidity and was a natural defense barrier. The two wanted to quietly It's obviously a bit difficult to lurk from here quietly.
At the farthest point of their sight, at the northern end of the fortress, there was a circular tower standing alone, about twice the height of the wall.
Vaguely, Brian, who had a keen intuition about magic, could feel that a superb detection spell had been cast on this tower.
If these two people show up rashly, they will definitely be noticed immediately.
Directly in front of him, on the southeast side of the fortress, a portcullis was used to block the inside and outside, and the vines stopped here, revealing a small piece of open space.
He saw jumping firelight coming from the dense arrow holes on the wall, like a large torch burning in front of the fortress.
A light smoke curled up from somewhere behind the gate.
The iron bars of this gate have long been rusted by the erosion of the swamp. Looking through the gap in the gate, there is a long and narrow passage behind the gate.
If you look closely, you will find that just like the dense arrow holes on the outer wall, there are also many such mechanisms on the inner wall of the passage.
At the end of the passage, there is a second portcullis blocking the way forward.
There are many gravels scattered in the passage. The setting sun casts down from the gaps in the ceiling, casting a little yellowish light in the holes of these stones.
"I suddenly regretted coming here with you." The sorceress squatting in the bushes moved her body away from an unknown beast that she had accidentally stepped on that was already rotting and full of maggots. Leg bones, she moved closer to Brian, frowned and complained in a low voice, "The environment here is worse than imagined, it's hard to describe in words."
Although a line of closeness had been erected around her in advance. The invisible magic shield could isolate her from any smell and mosquito intrusion, but the harsh environment and the visual impact of the surrounding rotting animals and plants still made her feel instinctively disgusted.
While speaking, a strong fragrance of rose came over me.
Brian noticed that the sorceress moved towards him again, and the distance between the two even made him feel the warmth radiating from the other person's skin.
If he looked down, he could also see a pair of dazzling white slender legs protruding from the slit skirt. This strong visual impact actually made him want to go up and touch it. impulse.
Brian was immediately shocked by the sudden thoughts in his mind, and asked himself that he was not a leg control, and could only blame it on the passive influence of Caradna's charismatic charm.
This is the advantage of being a Master. Even in a harsh environment like a swamp, this sorceress wearing high heels can still walk on the ground spotlessly and easily.
Of course, the cost of doing this is also very serious, that is, it isolates most of one's perception except vision. If it encounters an ambush or sneak attack, it is very likely that it will not be able to react in an instant.
If you are in a well-equipped team of adventurers, there will naturally be no problem, because the dirty work such as reconnaissance and vigilance is completely handled by the ranger or rogue.
The situation is different now. There are only two of them, so this important task naturally falls on Brian with the departure of the lizard man scouts.
As a professional who has long been accustomed to this kind of adventure, Brian will definitely not be like this delicate-looking sorceress, who would like to wrap himself in a solid protective shield to protect himself. This is to isolate all perceptions from the outside world.
In addition to simply casting a few spells on himself to isolate himself from the interference of poisonous insects and lighten his body, he walked through the harsh environment of the swamp firsthand.
“You can’t stand this?”
Brian looked at the fortress in the distance, thinking about how to break into it, and said casually without looking back: "At this point, you are far behind Hesiah."
Speaking of the sword mage who transformed into the Iron Queen, Brian couldn't help but recall the scene when he and Hesiah broke into the Fungus Queen's base camp together. The undead creatures transformed from the rotten fungi that grew on human flesh were... The most terrifying and disgusting.
Even though it had been so long ago, when he suddenly recalled it, his stomach still twitched slightly instinctively.
"Oh, it's just a group of corrupt fungi. What can't be tolerated? There is no comparison between the two." Caradna snorted unconvinced:
"I have never seen anything like this before, and I will be frightened by those rotten things. When I was most embarrassed, I was just like you, even the contents of the slime monster's stomach were ripped out by it."< br>
After hearing these words, Brian realized that Hesiah and the sorceress might have really talked about everything, and they even revealed all their dark history.
I just don’t know to what extent Hesiah betrayed him.
“But your performance makes it hard for me to imagine that you have traveled all over the continent, and even other planes.” Brian turned to look at the sorceress and said with a smile.
At this time, the sorceress squatted beside him in an unsightly posture. When he turned around, he naturally saw two balls of hair wrapped in a dark purple lace bra. The dazzling whiteness of the snow and the looming mysterious ravines.
“What do you know, this is a kind of confidence.”
Caradna seemed to be aware of Brian's gaze, raised her long eyelashes and glared at him, unhurriedly tightened the cloak around her body, pretending to be serious and thoughtful:
"As a spellcaster, I usually do what works best for me when facing various dangers and harsh environments. There is no doubt that this is also the case today."
"But She looks like a pampered noble lady today. "I'm curious, where does your confidence come from?" Brian asked in confusion. "Of course my confidence comes from." Since..."
The words the sorceress blurted out suddenly stopped, she looked at Brian intently, and suddenly winked her burgundy eyes playfully at him, and said with a smile: "Of course it comes from Your cultivation and strength.”
"Okay." Brian turned around speechlessly.
“Hey.” Caradna touched Brian’s arm and came close to him, her crystal white chin almost resting on his shoulder, “Are you planning to let me squat with you? At that time, since their defense is so tight, with the strength of the two of us, there will be no problem even if we rush in."
"Of course I understand what you said." Between the two of us. The distance made Brian almost feel that this soft and delicate body was close to him. He remained unmoved and pondered slightly, saying: "Forcibly charging is of course the best choice. I just want to keep it as long as possible." Strength, after all, what awaits us in the shadow plane is an extremely dangerous and long fierce battle. We can't waste too much physical strength and magic here."
"I'm so scared." She opened her mouth exaggeratedly and exclaimed, but her bright burgundy eyes clearly betrayed her, revealing the excitement of eagerness to try. She happily took Brian's arm like a child and said:
“The shadow plane is great. I haven’t been there for a long time. I don’t know what kind of environment the shadow crack in Guangze can transport us to.”
"In that case, let's rush in."
After Brian couldn't think of a perfect way to sneak into the fortress, he could only choose to compromise. He casually took the sorceress's hand from his arm. Pulling it out, patting the back of her soft and smooth hand, she reminded her, "However, when you rush into the fortress later, you only need to stay alert. I will deal with all the enemies by myself."
"Why?" Caradna reluctantly stood up from the bush where she was hiding, and her two looming beautiful snow jade legs were exposed just right, exuding a flawless silky and crystal luster, which feasted Brian's eyes when he just raised his head.
"Of course this is to allow you to preserve your strength as much as possible." Brian stood up and held her wrist. Without permission, he used the space node just set behind the fortress's portcullis door to follow the magic energy. The surge was sent directly.
“Bang!”
Brian kicked open the door to the guard room, and it was unexpectedly empty and comfortable inside.
Brian glanced quickly around the room.
On the right side of the door is a burning stove, exuding a warm and bright atmosphere. A light smoke drifts out from the hole in the ceiling directly above the stove. Behind the stove, there are two thick straw beds. Mat, spread parallel to the ground.
A round table is placed in the southeast corner opposite the door, surrounded by four high-back chairs, and four fully armed guards sitting there.
Their weapons were casually leaning aside, and they were drinking and eating meat around the table.
Everyone was stunned by Brian's unexpected and forceful intrusion.
One of the guards who stood up and was pouring wine was so frightened that he froze in place, letting the wine in the jug keep pouring towards the already overflowing wine glass on the table.
——"Curse Fire Bullet!"
Bryan took out his staff in advance, before the guards could react, he raised his staff and waved it lightly, four fist-sized balls, The fireballs shining with blue and white light condensed and formed, and under the guidance of the staff, they shot towards the four guards respectively like lead bullets.
“Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!”
With four loud explosions, all four guards were blown into bloody corpses by the fireball condensed by the original magical energy of the cursed fire.
One of the Shar priests who reacted in time tried to defend himself with a magical shield that resisted fire damage. However, the moment the fireball hit the barrier, it was like dry wood encountering a fierce fire, causing the bursting flame energy to explode. , suddenly soared a few points, and became the unlucky guy among the four who was the first to be reduced to ashes.
Seeing the damage caused by the curse fire bullet, Brian nodded secretly, feeling quite satisfied.
Since acquiring the Curse Fire, he has not only relied on leveling up to acquire the various characteristics of the Curse Fire, but has also been studying its usage techniques.
For example, the cursed fire bomb he just released is a technique that can be released without any energy consumption, because as long as he kills the enemy with the cursed fire bomb, he can independently absorb the life energy of the killed person and replenish it. Just consumed.
"Let's go!" The enemies in the guard room had been cleared away. Brian wasted no time and immediately waved to the sorceress who was standing aside, watching, and walked out.
"Is this the cursed fire? It's really amazing."
Caradna played with a strand of hair hanging on her chest, looked at the burnt corpse, and murmured He muttered something to himself, then looked at Brian's leaving back, with an inexplicable smile on his lips, and quickly followed him.
"Who is there?" As soon as the two people walked out of the guard room, a vulgar voice came from the arrow hole in the wall, "Leave immediately, you are not welcome here!"
Although The words of warning to the two men were meant to expel them, but the warning person did not take any time to relax, and it was obvious that he intended to expel them violently.
As soon as he finished speaking, a group of patrols, numbering around fifteen, hurried over and tried to surround Brian and the two of them.
These creatures look like humans, but they are obviously taller and slender, with dark gray skin, black hair, purple tattoos on their faces, and decorative jewelry on their ears and noses. .
They were also wearing rough black armor, and their whole bodies seemed to be entangled in shadows.
Shadow Warriors, Brian recognized the true identity of the patrol in an instant, and this group of people are still the elite of the Ghost Warriors, and their strength is at least around level 2 and level 10.
"Stupid intruder!"
A ghost warrior who looked obviously burly, with cold blood-red eyes, looked directly at Brian and Brian through the gap in the steel mask, his voice was hoarse and loud, "Who do you think you are? A hero? Then let me Let’s give you a heroic ending.”
A fireball as big as a basin roared out, like a cannonball, and fell into the group of ghost warriors.
"Boom!"
The hot fire exploded, and the fiercely burning high-temperature flames raged everywhere, and even the entire fortress seemed to be shaking slightly in the explosion.
As soon as the fireball was fired, four ghost warriors were blown to pieces on the spot. The impact of the fireball's instantaneous explosion blew all the enemies outside the center of the explosion upside down.
Even the ghost leader who managed to survive opened his mouth and spurted out a stream of blood, and his whole body was ignited with fire.
“Are you a legendary powerhouse?!” The ghost leader got up from the ground and looked at Brian and Brian in shock.
It's a pity it's too late.
Because no one answered his question, the only answer he received was a fist-sized blue and white cursed fire bomb.
After getting rid of these obstructive guards, Brian quickly led Caradna towards the depths of the fortress.
There is a large open space between the guard room and the main building of the fortress. The open space is surrounded by walls that were once intact but have now been eroded by the swamp.
The situation at the site is very pessimistic. It seems that in just a few years, the swamp will be completely assimilated.
Because on the west side of the open space, a large area of land has been swamped and turned into a large rancid pond, with many ferns, shrubs and vines growing.
There is a fountain made of stone in the center of the open space, but the water in the fountain is already covered with yellow-green algae.
The pool water exudes green luster diffuses from the pool and forms a pool of water towards the main building complex on the north side.
Although the main building is still well preserved, the wall on the west side of the courtyard does appear to be in disrepair and is crumbling.
Brian's attack had obviously triggered the defense system of the entire fortress. As soon as the two passed through the guard room and arrived at the main building complex of the fortress, they heard bursts of rapid warning sounds.
A group of lizardmen came over in a menacing manner.
Their eyes were blood red, and their bodies were covered with dark black scales. Shadow energy lingered around them, and their running momentum was like rolling clouds of darkness.
However, Brian also noticed that behind this group of lizard men, there were two humans who looked like they were wearing full black armor.
A clear and high-decibel voice came from under one of the helmets, and it was easy to tell that it was a woman.
"How dare you invade our holy land and seek death!"
——"Sunfire Explosion!"
A dazzling bright light, as Brian moved The staff suddenly exploded.
In an instant, shrill wails and hisses sounded one after another.
Facing ghost creatures, there is no spell that is more shocking than the damage caused by a large-area group attack spell such as "Yangyan Explosion".
The strong light dissipated, and the surrounding air was filled with a disgusting burning smell. All the surrounding lizard warriors who had received the blessing of shadow energy were transformed into a corpse under the scorching strong light. A charred corpse.
Although the two leading female priests survived by chance, they were immediately followed by cursed fire bombs from Brian, which sent them to the warm embrace of the Lost Lady.
"Hey, next time you cast this kind of spell, let me know in advance." The warlock lady on the side rubbed her eyes that were filled with tears due to the strong light, and complained to Brian.
"I know." After hearing this, Brian looked at her calmly, then replied casually, and immediately motioned for her to keep up with him.
After dealing with three waves of enemies in a row, they finally came to the interior of the hall.
The situation here is obviously much worse than it looks.
The entrance hall is filled with rubble. It looks like some are fragments of the ceiling, some are from the surrounding stone pillars, and some are even from collapsed walls.
It can be said that even if this area collapsed at the next moment, it would not be a strange thing.
Brian noticed that there was a large door on the north side of the foyer, and a door of the same shape on the right.
In the corner on the left sits a headless statue. The statue's armor and sword have very unique decorative shapes that look like Cormyr's style.
“This is the ancestral lord of the Kingdom of Cormyr, Azern IV.” Caradna’s clear and melodious voice rang in the hall, helping Brian to clear up his doubts, “This is your Sisay. Queen Ya's grandfather, it is said that this fortress was originally built for..."
"You don't care why, the most important thing now is not to waste time." Brian interrupted the sorceress's smug voice. He motioned for her to follow quickly.
They came to the end of the hall as quickly as possible. A large piece of garbage was piled up in this passage, dead plant stems, bones, leather, and other such garbage.
The corner outside the garbage dump looks quite clean.
Moreover, the ceiling of the passage has almost collapsed, and the wall has sunk in a large area. There are four doors on both sides of the room, one of which is obviously Brian's goal.
Because a heavily armed middle-aged man wearing a priestly robe of the goddess of magic Mystra was standing at the door, blocking their way, as if he had been waiting for a long time.
He looked like a human, but his face was a little gray and expressionless, and there seemed to be a shadow surrounding him. Behind him, there were three humans, two men and one woman standing together like benchmarks. Row.
They were all expressionless, wearing purple robes, ready for battle, with one hand raised and the other hand stretched into the spell material bag.
The middle-aged man wearing the priest robe of the goddess of magic shouted loudly: "Stupid intruders, Mystra will make you pay for what you have done!"
< br>
The three people behind then repeated mechanically: "Yes, the goddess will definitely do it."
Brian's response to this group of hapless people who had been completely brainwashed was a group sleeping technique, allowing them to Get a good night's sleep before the entire fortress is destroyed.
Because if they are lucky enough to persist until the Shadow Demon Network node is destroyed, then they may be lucky enough to save a small life.
After careful inspection, Brian carefully pushed open the door that had just been guarded.
In the dim room, erratic shadows were flying aimlessly, and there was no obvious light source.
The two corners of the room had partially collapsed, leaving only rubble on the ground and a large hole in the ceiling that could directly see the sky.
There is also a headless statue in the southeast corner of the hall, but this is a woman wearing armor.
“This is Queen Inkla of Asparin.” The sorceress following Brian was playing with the hair hanging on her chest in boredom while explaining like a historian. The origin of the statue:
“In DR1162, after this queen married Paragrad, the crown prince of Cormyr, all the territory of Asparin was annexed to Cormyr.”
Brian ignored her muttering to herself and walked straight through the hall to the depths of the fortress. What appeared in the sight of the two people was once a magnificent and solemn hall.
The exquisite Goliath-style columns lead to arc-shaped areas from the ceiling. Of course, several columns have collapsed, and the ceiling above has also collapsed.
Four statues stand under the walls on both sides, and two similar statues stand on the platform in the far corner.
The most impressive thing in the hall is the huge black sphere floating in the center of the hall.
The black ball is like an air vortex woven with shadows. At first glance, it is bottomless. There are many huge shadow-like tentacles extending from the ball, tangled and intertwined in the air, stretching all the way around. on the wall.
These tentacles seemed to squeeze the light from the air, making the hall look much darker.
Some creatures guard this room, seemingly ready for battle.
A half-dragon stood in the center of the hall, surrounded by flickering shadows.
Her eyes were filled with a blasphemous luster, reminding Brian of the appearance of the leader of the Shadowscale Tribe described to him by the old shaman of the Sharptooth Tribe.
"You fool who dares to challenge me, I have more power than my ancestors, come and die!"
The female lizardman roared in skilled dragon language. Next to her was a man with pale skin and tattoos, his body hidden in the shadows.
He was posing as if he were casting a spell, and at the same time he was preparing a thorn chain in his other hand, "The shadow will definitely take you away."
Legendary powerhouse!
Seeing the man with pale skin and tattoos, Brian guessed his approximate strength, and then said to the sorceress beside him, who was obviously alert, "I will leave the lizardman leader to you. "
As soon as he finished speaking, he used the "Psychic Exile Technique" without hesitation, and appeared in the vast astral plane together with the legendary priest of the Lost Lady.
After a moment of spinning, the male priest felt himself floating on the boundless silver sea. There was a clear trace of panic in his gloomy expression, and he subconsciously wanted to escape.
Of course Brian would not give him this chance.
——"Space Lock!"
An invisible force field enveloped the space between the two of them.
——"Chain dispelling magic!"
——"Advanced dispelling magic!"
As Brian's staff was raised, streams of nearly invisible magical energy suddenly hit the priest's body, causing all the magical shields and magic around him to explode. All magical gains collapsed and disappeared.
——"Level 7 power: Overfrequency explosion!"
——"Level 8 power: Experience death!"
——"Level 9 power : Tornado! ”
In the astral space, Brian was originally like an invisible psychic power. At the moment of release, it all seemed to be substantial, and he impressively blasted towards the priest floating in the silver sea.
In an instant, his fragile body was torn apart by the roaring tornado into a rain of blood pouring down from the sky.
A Shar priest, whose strength reached the legendary realm, died in humiliation in the storm created by Brian's clean psychic energy and arcane magic.
A flash of spiritual light flashed, and Brian's figure reappeared in the material plane.
He saw the half-dragon lizard man lying on the ground dying, with a large pool of blood seeping out on the ground.
Seeing Brian appearing in front of her safe and sound, the sorceress Caradna's eyes widened in surprise, unbelievable at his efficiency.
Brian ignored it, just stretched out his staff and pointed a finger, and a fireball killed this dragon-veined lizardman warlock who was only at the fourth level of strength.
Then, with a motion of his hand, he picked out a letter from Pastor Shar's trophies and studied it carefully. The sorceress on the side also came forward curiously and tilted her head to examine it.
To Khosrow Seravan:
My Mistress says she is powerless to break the pact your souls made with her kingdom.
But I guarantee that if her plan succeeds, your people will have a land in Faerûn that is no longer cursed.
The Great Swamp will be the perfect place for you to build your own kingdom.
There is no doubt that, except for some tribes that are easily massacred or conquered, there will be no interference from other forces. You can make your own decisions.
Your efforts in the Great Swamp will lay a good foundation for you to occupy the Kingdom of Cormyr and settle here. You will no longer be afraid of losing your soul.
She has long provided the power of the Shadow Web, and I can provide you with more training.
I suggest you persuade your kind to accept this kind gift.
You have seen its power, and in no more than a year your people will know its power.
————Elsweyr Graycastle
The content of this letter mainly talks about why the lizardmen of the Shadowscale Tribe devoted themselves to the Church of the Lost Lady, and the Lost Lady A future promised to the lizardmen.
"Elsweir Graycastle?" Karadna showed a puzzled expression. It was obvious that she did not know the specific origin of this priestess.
"She is the patriarch of the Church of the Lost Lady in charge of Cormyr, Sembia, Valley and Cormanso." Brian put away the letter and said to her:
"A person who is no less ruthless than ' The character of Black Veil' Eliriel, she is now in charge of tearing apart the magic network in the Valley of Shadows, and we will meet her soon."
"This should be the priest and lizardman just now. The person in charge of the fortress." He checked everything in the room and said, "Don't waste time, find the secret room leading to the shadow plane as soon as possible."
Caradna nodded and worked carefully with him. Check everything in the room.
Soon, the sorceress found a lever-like switch on the statue platform in the northeast corner.
"Rumble..."
With a burst of roar, the stage began to rotate, and then slowly turned in a circle, and a downward spiral staircase appeared.
This is a small room shrouded in shadow.
There is a small altar under the wall opposite the stairs. A black round wooden dish surrounded by a purple ring hangs on the wall above the altar.
Brian had no difficulty in recognizing that this was the emblem of the lost lady Shar.
There is also a small lamp placed on the altar. It seems that the source of the shadows in the room is this lamp. The oil inside is burning, but it emits shadows.
There is a letter in the shadow of the desk lamp.
Brian picked it up curiously, took it apart and looked at it.
Despiel:
The Lost Lady has seen your sincerity, and she intends to reward you for it.
So I sent Selvin to you, and he will deliver this letter to you with his own hand.
At the same time, he also brought a method to reopen the Dusk Gate, which will help our common purpose.
When you pass through this door, you will find that you are in a reflection of the fortress.
One of Selvin's kin, a Shadowborn Lizardman, will be waiting there to take you to Abendu Monastery.
I will be there waiting for your arrival, and we will have many things to discuss.
Protect your secrets.
One day, they will end the mystery.
————Elsweir Graycastle
"Who is Despiel?" Caradna looked at Brian like a curious baby.
"An ancient black dragon guarding the shadow plane." Brian put away the letter and explained to her: "In the ceremony of tearing the magic network apart, this black dragon was responsible for Guangze's part. .”
"Then the Gate of Twilight is the passage to the Shadow Plane you are looking for, is that right?" The sorceress expressed her guess.
"Correct answer." Brian smiled at her, but the latter's beautiful white eyes responded to him.
"Strange, why is the passage to the shadow plane called the Gate of Twilight?"
Caradna found the focus of another question, and she sat casually on the table. , shaking his long and beautiful legs, looked at Brian who was deep in thought, and asked curiously: "There must be some story hidden in this."
"Because it was the Twilight Lord who made this door. "Brian observed the surroundings while answering the sorceress's question, "There is a very inconspicuous legend that mentions that the Twilight Lord once studied the power of shadows and finally established a passage to the shadow world. He has never been able to leave again. Back.”
Three hundred years ago, there once was a prosperous tribe living in the land between Thunder Peak and the Elf territory.
They call themselves: Seth Lund, and their lord is called: Twilight Lord by the people.
Later, the then lord of Bow Valley accused the Twilight Lord of polluting the land with his research on undead magic and other dark forces.
So, the war broke out.
Whether or not the accusation is true, that's just what happened.
Eventually, Bowvale's armies destroyed the towns of Sethlund, and after three weeks of massacre, the civilization disappeared.
Most of the remaining people moved westward into the Kingdom of Cormyr, and most of the wealth was brought back to Bow Valley by plunderers.
And Seth Lund just disappeared from history and was gradually forgotten.
Only a few scholars still debate the fate of the Twilight Lords.
Some people think that he is dead, while others think that he relies on powerful undead magic to maintain his existence.
Judging from earlier folk legends, the latter may be true: the Twilight Lord fled to Guangze and has lived in seclusion here ever since.
One hundred and fifty years later, the belief that the Twilight Lord lived in seclusion in Guangze gradually disappeared.
Only a handful of people insist that he is still here, in the body of a lich...
"So that's it." The sorceress who listened with interest couldn't help but look at Brian a few more times and smiled. Said: "I didn't expect you to know so much hidden history."
"There are records in the historical area of the Crown Hall." Brian looked at her and said, "About the history and speculation of the 'Twilight Lord' , or written by your teacher Sandra Cote herself.”
"Okay..." Caradna's cheeks flushed slightly, feeling a little embarrassed for no reason.
Brian was too lazy to pay attention to her. After once again dealing with two groups of unlucky patrols that broke in here, they walked non-stop through the fortress complex and came to a low stone tower.
There are no windows or light sources on this tower, and it is as dark and gloomy as a cellar.
Five haggard lizards and a young woman were also handcuffed on the wall. They did not make any reaction to the arrival of the two.
These lizards and the only human looked very haggard and tired.
Brian waved his hand and used magic to open their shackles. After a brief understanding, it was as he imagined that these lizardmen were all from the Sharptooth tribe.
For example, the old shaman’s beloved wife Ashara, and their former leader Ganran.
The only thing that surprised Brian was a Bedai barbarian named Brunhiti.
This young barbarian female warrior is not only tall, but also has a beauty that is extremely rare among the Bedai barbarian tribe.
Her fiery red hair is now tied into a refreshing ponytail hanging behind her head, her big eyes are shining with clear light like stars in the sky, her tall and straight nose, and her slightly thick Her lips revealed the stubbornness of this barbarian woman's character.
Although it has been exposed to wind and sun for many years, the fair skin is still smooth and delicate, and the feeling when touching it is the same as the oil extracted from whale fat.
Seeing this, Brian immediately understood that it was no wonder that Ekasia, the eighth prince of the Ghost City, was so obsessed with her. She did have some merit in her appearance.
According to the other party's story, he learned that the female barbarian was originally imprisoned in the floating city of Sacross by the eighth prince. The second prince Yada couldn't stand it anymore, so he secretly released her and Guide her through Guangze and seek refuge in Cormyr.
As a result, I happened to meet someone from the Shar Church and imprisoned him here. I planned to wait for the mission to be completed and return it to the eighth prince Ekasia.
As for why she did not return to her Bedai barbarian tribe, there is no doubt that she has become the only survivor of the griffon tribe in the Enoch Desert.
Brian didn't waste much time. After guiding the group of lizardmen on a path, he continued to lead Caradna to find the Dusk Gate in the fortress.
“Why did you guide the female barbarian named Brunhiti to a different path from the lizard people.” The danger in the fortress was lifted, and the sorceress’s high heels clicked happily on the marble floor. , she caught up with Brian, walked side by side, and asked with a puzzled face:
"Didn't you say that you have notified the governor of Huailun City to go to Guangze and ask the lizard people of the Sharptooth Tribe to come to Guangze?" Cormier signed an allegiance pact, why not let her go back with the lizard people? Wouldn't it be more convenient? "
"Have you heard a word?" Brian stopped and looked at Kara. Dana, "It's hard to persuade a damn ghost with words."
"Why do you say that?" Caradna was stunned.
"In the communication with this female barbarian just now, I can already feel her overwhelming hatred for the ghost people. After all, they destroyed the griffon tribe." Brian said calmly:
" Letting such a person go with the kingdom's army, I'm worried that it will bring danger to them, so I just let her die on her own."
He already knew that the eighth prince of the Ghost City, Ekasia, was worried about this. The female barbarian was so infatuated that if he really allowed her to return to the Kingdom of Cormyr with the governor of Huailun City, he would be worried about encountering Ecacia who was following her along the way.
Obviously, this Ghost Ranger, whose strength has reached the mid-level legend, is a disaster for the entire lizardman tribe and the Archon's troops.
Caradna nodded in understanding, a smile appeared on the corner of her mouth: "I thought you were the kind of person who couldn't walk when he saw a beautiful girl, so you would definitely tolerate it. I couldn’t help but reach out to help her, but I didn’t expect you to be very considerate.”
"Am I that kind of person?" Brian looked at the sorceress who was teasing him angrily, and said with a straight face and a tone of fake displeasure.
He didn't know much about this girl from the Bedai Barbarian Tribe. He only knew that the eighth prince of the City of Shadows was obsessed with her, and that the latter was flattering her only to find an opportunity for revenge.
So, he didn't want to cause a lot of trouble for himself because of this unexpected change.
"Isn't it?" Caradna obviously didn't accept his trick. She puffed out her plump chest and asked her soul without any sign of weakness. "If it wasn't, why did you do it in the dark place in the first place?" "The two are different in nature, forget it, I'm too lazy to explain to you." Brian didn't want to chat with her, so he quickened his pace and continued to move forward. Walk deep into the fortress.
They came to a large courtyard in the deepest part, where the ground had long been eroded into a layer of mud.
This seems to have been a garden.
But it is now covered by dense weeds, vines and shrubs.
These vegetations grew so luxuriantly that there was almost no place to set foot on the ground, and the wall on the north side was submerged by the vegetation growing inside and outside.
The growth direction of the vegetation spreads towards the tower, making it appear dark and silent.
Brian led the sorceress into the interior of the tower. In the center of the octagonal room was a rickety spiral staircase that passed through a hole in the ceiling and led to the upper floor.
They no longer hesitated and stepped onto the spiral staircase to the top of the tower. Just as he thought, there was an open-air obsidian altar.
Brian stared at the sky where the sunset was about to disappear, pondered for a moment, took out the fragment of the Shadow Stone, and placed it in the center of the obsidian altar.
As expected.
In just a moment, amidst the surge of shadow energy, a portal with a dark scene inside appeared silently in front of the two of them.
Obviously, this is the Dusk Gate to the Shadow Plane.
"I finally found the passage to the shadow plane. Be more vigilant. The next task will become very difficult. If you accidentally die in it, I will not collect your body for you."
Brian took the Shadow Stone, reminded the sorceress who was looking at the portal with great interest, led her through the portal and disappeared into the tower.
…………
(End of this chapter)