Chapter 328 The Guidance of Azuth, the Mage God
The brilliance of the morning light falls.
After successfully solving Guangze’s dark ritual, Brian set off non-stop towards the location of Shadow Valley.
After leaving the border of Cormyr, he had already traveled a long distance along the northern horse trail.
This time he went to Shadow Valley alone. It didn’t mean that he was unwilling to let the warlock lady accompany him. The main reason was that when dealing with the black dragon Despiel, Caradna activated her warlock bloodline. , and injected all his power into the Chaos Wand to help him successfully kill the ancient black dragon, which caused him to fall into a weak state for a long time.
Faced with this situation, he could only choose to send it back to Susar Imperial City, and set off towards Shadow Valley alone.
At this moment, judging from the map, there is only more than an hour left before he reaches Shadow Valley.
Although the end was just ahead, his mood became inexplicably complicated.
He couldn't even tell whether he was feeling nervous at the moment or whether he was looking forward to something...
Thinking of this, he couldn't help but slow down his horse and recalled that in the game world , experienced a series of subversive conspiracies by the lost lady Shar against the magic goddess Mystra.
In this long adventure, many famous forces from all over the world have appeared one after another.
This includes the Lost Lady Shar, the God of Murder Cyric, the temple and priests of the Dark Lord Bane, the Northland Rangers of the Zhentarim and the Harpers, the Elven Court and the Land of Darkness. The drow family, as well as the ghosts of Sultan Thrall and the magical creatures guarding the ancient heritage underground in the Anorok desert, and even the ancient guardian of Mith Drannor and the great arcana of the Netherese era who are still hidden in the world. Masters, wait...
Especially the Valley of Shadows will become the main battle location where many forces gather here.
To be honest, Brian doesn't have much confidence in completing the task of repairing the magic network among such a complex and powerful force.
So, he couldn't help but guess that this should be the root cause of his expectations or nervousness.
He stopped thinking about it and started walking calmly.
On the forest road leading to Shadow Valley, thick leaves cover both sides of the road. The cleanliness in the center of the road shows that although Shadow Valley is occupied by evil forces, there are still civilians and adventurers. Or traces of the activities of the mercenary group.
As Brian's horse walked along the road towards the hillside, he suddenly noticed that there were countless plumes of thick smoke rising into the sky in an area about half a kilometer away to his left.
With a look on his face, he drove his horse to a forest. With the help of the trees, he used the eagle eye technique to look at the scene of the incident.
Soon he saw a small village nestled beside a creek and surrounded by the shadows of oak trees on the hills.
This simple village consists of about a dozen families and a conspicuous water mill. Unfortunately, it has been turned into ruins and all the buildings were engulfed by fire.
A small group of heavily armed humans and humanoid creatures occupied the open area. Around them, many unarmed villagers lay scattered.
Although from this distance, Brian could not tell whether all the villagers were dead or just in a coma, he unexpectedly discovered that this group of bandits, mainly humans and humanoid creatures, seemed to Got into some kind of confrontation.
Brian dismounted from his horse, used magic to hide his figure, came to the vicinity of the group of robbers, and carefully observed the surrounding situation.
With his current strength, it is very simple to kill this group of people, but he is about to arrive in Shadow Valley, so he wants to learn about the specific situation in the valley through the information obtained by this group of bandits.
As he expected, he used invisibility to approach the group of bandits without being noticed by anyone. Even the Jackal Ranger with a keen sense of smell did not feel anything strange.
After careful observation, he discovered that this small village located under Oak Mountain was destroyed by two mercenary teams from the Zhentarim occupying army.
Among the 36 residents, nine are dead, seven are in a dying state, and four are just comatose. The others are tied up and gathered under an oak tree.
The two groups of mercenaries attacked the village together, but then fell out again.
This group of mercenaries, mainly ogres, belongs to a mercenary group called Broken Tooth. The name comes from the two fangs of their leader that were broken by some kind of hard object.
They stood about 3 meters tall, had dark brown skin, an offensive stench, sharp, blood-stained teeth, wore finely crafted leather armor, and held huge axes.
On their chests was drawn a rough blue ring, in the center was the image of a waxing moon separated by a flash of lightning.
Standing at the front of the humanoid creatures seems to be their leader. He is a whole head taller than the others.
A particularly eye-catching feature is that the handle of his ax is inlaid with a string of various teeth.
Humans are the local force of Shadow Valley, the Skull Mercenary Group.
The mercenaries all wore half-body armor, carried large steel shields, and wore long swords. They had short bows ready for shooting at any time. On the shield, there was a picture of a human skull being shot at by a thigh-bone-shaped stick. Down hammered graphics.
Seeing this pattern, Brian couldn't help but think of Melkor, one of the three gods of death, a god who was killed by the goddess of magic in the Catastrophe of the Saints.
Obviously, this should be the origin of the name of their mercenary group.
Their leader is a grey-haired veteran with a short gray beard and a loud voice.
In the battle with the residents, the ogres lost two people and the humans lost four. The wealth, copper coins and silver products, and family heirlooms accumulated by the villagers for generations were piled up between the two mercenaries. of open space.
Although the two teams of mercenaries attacked the small village together, they had conflicts over the distribution of the spoils.
"Has's men are the most powerful and must get the most loot." The ogre leader carried a big ax and shouted at the human leader; "Don't force Haas to take action, Haas takes action." Come on, you’re even afraid of yourself.”
As soon as he finished speaking, a group of ferocious humanoid creatures standing behind the ogre leader clenched their weapons and looked like they were about to be defeated. .
"Four of us died. The most troublesome paladin in this village was killed by my subordinates." The human leader frowned, "We should be the ones who contributed the most. If you dare to mess around If so, I will report this matter to Sir Seluer.”
Although he said this, Brian could clearly see the fear in the eyes of the human mercenaries. They are not this kind of people. The opponent of human beings.
It can be seen that they are already on the verge of war. As long as they provoke these mindless ogres a little, they can make one team think that they are being attacked by another team, and internal fighting will occur.
If Brian does nothing at this moment and just waits for the situation to develop, then the more rational human mercenaries will most likely prefer to suffer some losses themselves and reach an agreement with the ogre on the spoils of war. Then leave separately.
Brian pondered for a moment, then appeared without warning. Before the mercenaries on both sides could react, the group of about 50 mercenaries were all submerged in the indiscriminate bombing. In the magic, died an untimely death.
At the end of the battle, Brian waved his hand, and all the ropes binding the villagers fell off automatically. Those villagers who were seriously injured or unconscious were also rescued by him through simple healing powers.
After the surviving villagers expressed their gratitude to him excitedly, a burly middle-aged man came over on his own initiative.
The other person seemed to have been an adventurer, but it could be seen from his steps that he had a slight limp, which was obviously the reason why he lived in seclusion here.
"What's going on with these mercenaries?" Brian asked: "What happened in Shadow Valley."
"Dear Mr. Mage." The middle-aged man said, "This A group of mercenaries came to our village to plunder under the name of 'Fist of Bane'."
The middle-aged man glanced at the body of a young paladin being carried away and said through gritted teeth. : "Damn it, ever since Moglin, the lord of Shadow Valley, invited the Zhentarim army to station in Shadow Valley, evil mercenary groups from the Valley, Sembia and Moonsea regions have all gathered here to attack our two... The team, mercenaries hired by the Dark Intelligence Network, seems to be hunting down a person named Azara Hawkhand."
"This person named Azara is probably more likely to die in the Misty Valley. Miss Fu must have something to do with it," said an old man who came over.
Azara Hawkhand.
Brian is very familiar with this name.
The two elects, Storm and Ximbu, led the elite troops in the valley, including the ranger Azara of Melikai.
After the magic net was torn apart, Storm and Xinbu were unable to approach the Valley of Shadows due to the silver fire, and were forcibly teleported away by life-saving spells.
The troops they led were more unlucky. Without the help of Storm and Xinbu, they suddenly became leaderless and isolated, and had to hide and wait for the arrival of reinforcements.
Brian's first mission when he went to Shadow Valley alone was to find Azara, so that he could assemble an elite force in Shadow Valley, and Azara could also help him contact the elves from Cormanthor. Reinforcements.
Storm, the leader of the Harper Alliance, also told him that the leader of the support army sent by the elves turned out to be the 'Crowned One' Ilseveri, the future Elf Queen of Myth Drannor.
If he gets the help of the Elf Queen holding the Ruler's Blade, the pressure of his next mission will become much easier.
So, his most important task when going to Shadow Valley right now is to find Azara first, and then let him contact the elven reinforcements and the dormant elite troops.
After asking for no detailed information, Brian guided these refugees to a safe refuge and headed towards the Valley of Shadows again. It takes about an hour.
When Brian saw the outline of Shadow Valley through the gaps in the woods, a wizard in black robes appeared in his sight.
He rode a black creature with bat wings, flew down from the sky and landed on the ground.
The squatting posture of the black-robed wizard's mount and its swollen body are directly reminiscent of a toad with wings. It is about 6 meters long and 2.5 meters high. It has long black skin. Covered with irregular bumps, the long, narrow and toothy face also has a pair of red eyes.
“Welcome to the Valley of Shadows.”
The black-robed wizard riding on Lazy Toad's saddle pointed a wand at Brian, his tone and demeanor looking arrogant.
"Now, tell me your name and the reason for setting foot in Lord Moglin's territory, otherwise..."
"Otherwise what?" Brian looked at this person with interest. A black-robed wizard whose strength is around the third level.
The blocker who appeared in front of him was a member of the "Sky Mage Group", a special organization of the Zhentarim.
Sky Mage is a special advanced profession that can only be mastered by joining the Zhentarim.
Any wizard or warlock who advances to this profession can bring his or her familiar and be blessed in the Temple of Bane, allowing it to grow a pair of wings capable of flying.
Whether it is a mouse, a turtle, a caterpillar, and other small animals, they can be blessed and grow in size while growing a pair of wings to assist the wizard in fighting.
"If you don't tell me the purpose of coming here, then get out of here before the Lord of Darkness's boot kicks your ass!" The black-robed wizard raised his wand and showed a terrifying smile.
Brian calmly raised his hand and pointed, dispelling magic and instantly dispelling all the opponent's spell protection. Then with a dissociation spell, the black-robed wizard, together with his magic pet, disappeared. .
In the Valley of Shadows at this moment, any pilgrims, emissaries of foreign forces, emissaries of hostile religious forces, and nosy people will be ordered to leave.
Those who refuse to reveal their intentions, refuse to leave when expelled, or openly defy the authority of the Zhentarim or Lord Morgryn will be attacked.
Only those who claim to be merchants or mercenaries will enter the valley without trouble.
But in Brian's opinion, in order to quietly enter the Valley of Shadows, there is no better way to hide from others than to kill all those who stand in the way.
After all, his Purple Dragon Mark has powerful anti-detection capabilities. Without mastering divine energy, it is almost impossible for a legendary powerhouse to predict his whereabouts.
After arriving in Shadow Valley quietly, Brian discovered that the residents of the entire valley and the occupying forces of the Zhentarim were not getting along in harmony.
All the residents have been severely threatened. Although some surviving opponents have secretly formed the Shadow Valley Free Alliance and occasionally get together to complain and complain, it still has no effect.
The occupying forces have viewed Shadow Valley as a winter base for new operations in the spring.
However, Brian can still feel that the sleepy appearance of Shadow Valley and the unsociable habits of the local residents may have paralyzed at least half a dozen enemies who claim to be conquerors. Make them mistakenly despise their goals.
Following the instructions of the storm, Brian came to the largest Old Skull Tavern in Shadow Valley.
This tavern has a high reputation among adventurers, merchants and merchants traveling on the Northern Horse Road.
Because of the honesty and integrity of the operators, the well-known mead, and the safe environment of Shadow Valley.
But since the occupying forces moved in, the tavern has been like a magnet, attracting mercenaries who want to make money.
Rough, shady characters now live in the tavern, keeping the lobby bar noisy all day long.
Although he mingled in the tavern and sat in an inconspicuous corner without attracting anyone's attention, soon a woman who looked like the owner of the tavern came over on her own initiative.
This is an elegant and strong woman with long brown hair, always braided into many small braids.
Although she was wearing a simple but exquisite black dress, Brian felt a dangerous flavor in her body.
This lady is called Olenna. She has inherited this tavern from her father for about five years. She also has another identity: Harper Scout.
When Brian quietly walked into the tavern, he had already successfully contacted this member of the Harper Alliance through the method taught by Storm.
“I need to know Azara’s location.” Brian said straight to the point through telepathy.
“He has been captured by the Zhentarim.” The tavern owner responded while placing a glass of bright red wine in front of Brian: “He is currently being held in the prison of Cragg Castle. There is a newly built portal there, and the Zhentarim can continuously summon reinforcements from Zhentil Keep to help defend the Valley of Shadows.”
While Olenna was communicating secretly with him, the other party quietly handed a tied map into Brian's hand.
"Please use it slowly, distinguished guest."
The tavern owner held a pig hand that was trying to touch his buttocks, and waited until the owner of the pig hand made a scream like a pig. After calling, he turned around and left with a smile.
Brian sat in the corner, patiently sipping the wine in the glass, waiting until he finished it in small sips, and then left quietly.
Coming to an area where no one could notice, he immediately opened the scroll given to him by the tavern owner and found that it actually contained a detailed map of the interior of Kragg Castle and where Azala was being held. Location and Zhentarim portal.
Brian was about to leave this place when he suddenly discovered that a giant transparent hand with white shimmering light had appeared in front of him at some point.
Manifestation of Azuth, the Mage God.
Brian looked at the manifestation in front of him in surprise. He looked around cautiously, and then said with a slightly respectful look, "Salute to you, the Supreme Lord of Magic."
< br>The Mage God Azuth is the god of arcane spellcasters and has served as an advisor to the goddess of magic.
He is also the lover of the second generation magic goddess.
There are rumors claiming that since the second-generation magic goddess was killed by the guardian god Heim in the Year of Turmoil and the mortal mage Midnight became the third-generation magic goddess, Azuth, the mage god, has been in a state of self-destruction. The goddess of magic fulfills her duties as a deity and advisor.
The reason for this is mainly because the camp of the second-generation magic goddess is lawful and neutral, while the camp of the third-generation magic goddess called Midnight is neutral and good.
Differences in the camps have led to various overt and covert battles between the goddess of magic and Cyric and Shar since she took office, in which the God of Mage rarely participates.
In Azus's words: The goddess of magic still has not fully understood how she should play her role as a balance maintainer and a neutral arbiter of the magic network.
Although Brian knew in the game world that Azuth, the mage god, had appeared in this battle for the magic network, he was still quite surprised when he suddenly appeared in front of him.
He saw the huge index finger pointing into the distance. Looking in the direction of the finger, there was an area on the northeastern mountain that shone with a faint silver light.
Then, a heavy voice with a slight echo effect sounded beside him:
"The young arcane seeker, the messenger of Mystra, the witch of the Shadow Valley withered, Along with her beloved Archmage's Staff, she fell into a deep sleep."
"Confined by the Lost Lady's attendants, she was now in the most difficult situation."
" You can find her remaining ashes wherever injustice is done in the name of justice.”
"The unburnt remains of what she sacrificed her life and slain imprison her."
"Go and let the roaring sea come in and drown those who feed on the silver fire of Mystra Monster."
"Her kiss contains blessings. The longest among the seven will definitely help you limit this conspiracy."
The old voice finished. The shimmering translucent giant hand automatically disintegrated into the air.
Brian came back to his senses, and through the eagle eye technique, he looked at the place pointed by Azuth, which was a Watcher's Mountain not far to the northeast outside the Valley of Shadows.
A tomb is built on this hill.
"It turns out that the Archmage's Staff is buried in that tomb. So if you want to repair the magic network, you can only rescue Xiron's soul first." Brian nodded thoughtfully, Determine your next goal.
(End of this chapter)