Arcane Journey

Chapter 116 Banquet
Rather than saying that Mokou Town is a frontier town, it might as well be called a small town.

Brian stood on the tower of the manor, overlooking the whole town.

Mokou Town was established near the Mokou Mountains in the north of Cormyr Kingdom.

Once, a rocky wasteland between the Stormhorn Mountains and the Ernook Desert, the region was inhabited by militarized hobgoblins, gnolls, orcs, and evil humans, all known as: Frontier Raiders.

For nearly a hundred years, the rulers of Cormyr have continuously provided generous land rewards and adventurers who can domesticate the land and develop human strongholds to clear the monsters, bandits, and agents of the Sanlinta Society there.

This policy continued until 20 years ago. A priest adventurer who believed in Oghma, the god of knowledge, led his team and mercenary group to smash the conspiracy of the Sanrinta Society and the god of tyranny, Bane, and drive out Goblins, gnolls and orcs successfully established the fortress, which is now Mokou Town.

In fact, the Rocky Badlands, as its name suggests, is a mostly rocky barren land with many valleys and hills, characterized by knife-edged ridges, deep ravines, caves and overhangs.

Because of this, few adventurers in this land are interested in it.

The powerful adventure team looks down on it, and the weak ones can't take it down.

Apart from the driven evil humanoids, only the Sanlintas were interested in this barren land, hoping to expand their power to the Kingdom of Cormyr through the rocky land.

But with the Year of Wild Magic, everything has changed dramatically since the City of Shades returned strongly from the Shadow Plane, and even the Rocky Wasteland has benefited from it.

As a remnant of Netheril, the City of Shadows naturally regards the entire Ennook Desert as its own territory. While guarding their own territory, they are constantly using magic to improve the environment of the desert.

Controlling deserts is inseparable from water sources.

The Supreme King Telamant Tanshul of the City of Shadows, a Nether Elder who lived for thousands of years and was a contemporary of Karthus, set up the Supreme Glacier Group just north of the Ennook Desert.

In the ancient time of Netheril, before the appearance of Felim, the territory of the entire empire was dominated by forests and plains suitable for human habitation.

And the icebergs in the north of the empire were navigable seas during the Netheril period.

As the lord of the Ghost City melted most of the ice of the highest glacier through the legendary spell "Marvin's World Weaving Technique", many ancient rivers and inland seas in the Ennook Desert became active, and green oases began to emerge. Slowly dotted in the wild sandy desert.

Most critically, the delicate balance of climate and weather across the continent has been disrupted by the melting of the supreme glaciers, with many places suffering systemic and widespread damage.

The rocky wasteland has gradually become fertile due to decades of abundant rainfall and a suitable climate.

It is for this reason that, driven by interests, many powerful adventure teams set their sights on this land, and finally formed today's Mokou Town.

Mokou Town is surrounded by Ennook Desert, Mokou Mountains, Stormhorn Mountains and Far Sea Swamp, and it is also the fastest shortcut to the inland of all countries.

And because of the continuous exploration and discovery of various mineral deposits, it has attracted countless adventurers and caravans, making this town very prosperous in the past 20 years of rapid development, and even belongs to the northern cities of the Kingdom of Cormyr, second only to In the existence of Araby City.

Naturally, it also attracted the attention of many evil forces.

Ten years ago, during a Red Dragon Rebellion, Mokou Town was lost from the Kingdom of Cormyr and fell into the hands of the Sanlin Tower Society.

The reason why Graal, the richest man in Mokou Town, was able to gain a certain right to speak in this town, apart from the secret support of Lord Arabe, is also inseparable from his own business talent.

That's why when the City of Shadows gradually revealed its intentions, it was the first to attract the attention of the richest businessman in Mokou Town.

Of course, Bryan was also playing the opponent's attention.

With the support of such a large consortium, the speed of his development will also increase a lot.

Relatively speaking, his approach is much gentler.

In fact, through these two days of contact, he has already discovered a problem.

The reason why Graal, a businessman who started his career as a businessman, can survive so far is more like a fat sheep that Sanlinta will herd.

When he is fat enough, he will be slaughtered directly.

The City of Shadows obviously also took a fancy to this fat sheep and tried to take the lead.

Brian didn't think about it any more. After sorting out all his belongings and magic props, he opened the door and walked out of the room.

He saw the bard Ellend Windfall walking out of another room the moment he opened the door as if he had timed it well.

As usual, the half-elven bard wore a neat dark purple coat and rose breeches, his hair the color and eyes of molten silver.

"You don't look nervous at all." Brian looked at the poet, greeted him, and said curiously.

"There's nothing to be nervous about."

Elend smiled, "See that parties are in our nature, and they can satisfy many of our inner needs. In my opinion, people should meet and gather with friends from time to time, laughing, singing, eating kebabs, and drinking together." Beer, listening to music, watching dances, and even flirting with girls whose skin is shining with sweat.

How boring life would be if everyone used the same old ways to meet their needs or didn't have any needs, and refused to participate in organized collective activities. "

Brian did not reply, but looked at the poet with meaningful eyes.

Feeling the scorching gaze of the other party, the half-elf poet smiled uncomfortably, and asked in doubt: "What's the problem? Am I wrong? In fact, festivals and gatherings were invented because of this, so when encountering such a occasion."

"No problem." Brian interrupted him, shaking his head slightly, quickened his pace, and threw him a sentence, "I just don't think you're a bit human."

It was just a casual joke he said.

The reason why he said such a sentence suddenly was mainly because he was a little curious to see that the other party was not nervous at all.

After all, he was about to fight the people from the City of Shadows. This guy not only acted very positively, but also looked relaxed, as if he had already secured his chances of winning.

"."

There was a look of surprise in Ellende's expression, and then he suddenly came to his senses, so he caught up with him and said with a smile, "Of course, seriously, neither of us are human beings, because we are half-elves. .”

"As long as you're happy." Brian smiled back.

When the goddess Sharbu casts the stars, the people of the world put on the veil of night, and Brian and Elend also came to the wedding scene in the cool night.

The venue for the wedding was a banquet hall in Graal Manor that could accommodate hundreds of people.

The hall is brightly lit, with exquisite crystal chandeliers hanging on the ceiling, which is extraordinarily dazzling.

Many merchants and lords from Mokou Town were well-dressed, chatting and laughing as they exchanged cups.

Brian noticed that a burly ogre bodyguard was clinking glasses with the troll hunter. The splashed beer just landed on the face of a passing dragonborn warrior covered in black scales, and the three of them immediately quarreled.

In the shadow of the corner, a blue-skinned tiefling with a pair of sharp horns on his forehead, a wicked smile hanging from the corner of his mouth, restless eyes flashed in his cunning triangular eyes, wandering among the luxuriously dressed rich people between.

Two naughty goblins who were chasing and fighting accidentally knocked over a ghost man's wine glass. The latter's eyes flashed a frightening red light. The two little guys covered their eyes and screamed in unison.

The three half-orc mercenaries drank to their heart's content, their big faces behind their beards were flushed, they kept toasting each other, and ate every dish endlessly like a hungry ghost.

What surprised Brian even more was that he actually saw a Tom paladin wearing an iron gauntlet emblem.

He sat on the chair calmly, with his back straight, his hands flat on his knees, and within two meters around him, there was a vacuum.

From Brian's point of view, this paladin was probably also panicked.

He withdrew his gaze from the paladin, who had sensed his gaze.

In the banquet hall at this moment, the men were either sitting at the table, or gathered in a corner of the hall, talking with glasses of wine.

The women were dressed brightly and attractively, whispering in groups of two or three, covering their mouths and smiling slightly when they were happy.

Most of the people attending the banquet were prominent merchants, slave owners, and members of the council who jointly managed the town in Mokou Town, as well as the guards and bodyguards of all kinds and races they brought.

Undoubtedly, since Mokou Town was controlled by the Sanlinta Society, the owner of this small town with a population of about 5000 has gradually become a slave owner and a merchant lord.

Thousands of slaves toiled in the mansions of slaveholders and merchants among the hills, growing food crops, herding sheep and goats, and mining rock salt and ore.

In the land of Mokou Town, merchants and slave owners practiced cruel and desperate slavery in the form of bonded slavery and serfdom.

The slave owners from the Sanlinta Society openly exchanged slaves in various forms to extract their value.

Aware of this situation, Brian knew that for the territory to develop towards a healthy state, slavery must be abolished after he recaptured the town.

So after discussing the plan for the City of Shadows with Graal, he proposed to the other party that he should try his best to invite prominent figures in Mokou Town.

In this way, he can take advantage of this opportunity to clean them all up, saving the trouble of cleaning up when he gets the chance.

After all, with his arrival, the situation in Mokou Town will definitely undergo earth-shaking changes.

In his opinion, short-term pain is worse than long-term pain, so he simply solved it all at once.

The wayside witch is barefoot,

A venomous snake bites bad things,
Snake's little life is given away in vain,

The witch is still alive and kicking.

…………

When the half-elf poet Ellend saw a sweet-looking elf mage, his eyes lit up, and he immediately sang and danced to strike up a conversation.

The elf female mage smiled back at him, and blinked her lovely eyes provocatively.

Brian ignored him, sitting alone in an inconspicuous corner of the hall, silently observing everything around him.

He saw that Lando, the son of today's protagonist Graal, had taken off his armor and was wearing a formal suit. The bride standing beside him was also wearing an elegant dress.

As the half-elf poets have said, this Miss Natasha from the City of Shades is not a transformed Shade.

The beautiful bride has a haughty, slender face and long, loose black hair. Her lips and eyelids are dusted with sapphire powder, and she wears a black gown embellished with purple patterns.

As she spun, it seemed to be an ever-changing shadow.

Looking at the familiar yet unfamiliar figure, Brian couldn't help recalling the information about her.

Natasha Tanshul, daughter of the Shadow Prince Dessoud.

Her occupation is 5th level Netheril Arcanist/10th level Shadow Instructor, and she also works part-time as 5th level Shar Priest. (Remarks: Arcanist comes from Netheril, the term for wizards, so whether it is a warlock or a wizard, Shadow City follows the ancient tradition and calls itself an arcanist.)
In addition to Natasha participating in the shadow wedding in Mokou Town.

The most famous thing is that after the Kingdom of Cormyr fell, she and her sister were secretly summoned by the High King, and in a communication banquet composed of young spellcasters from the City of Shades, they transformed another patient into a lich. The Elder of Seril, Lavok, an old lich whose strength is comparable to the High King's, is attracted here.

When the old lich tried to strip the souls and minds of these young spellcasters, he fell into the trap of the High King and was almost killed on the spot.

Although the Netheril Empire has long since perished, with the fall of the floating city and the failure of the longevity technique, many powerful arcanists died as a result.

But there are also a small number of liches who survived through transforming into liches, such as Iolum, Owo, and Laroch. These liches with a challenge level of 35 or above still survive to this day.

When another Netheril remnant, the Harua from the south of the mainland, predicted the return of Abel, the twin world of Toril, which would lead to the destruction of the Halua Kingdom.

In order to avoid the disaster, they descended to the Ainuooke desert again.

Suddenly, the entire desert became lively.

The tripartite forces of Netheril's Liches, Shamans, and Halru's, like a group of demons dancing wildly, are engaged in traditional battles in the Ennook Desert.

Of course, apart from their competition for orthodox status and territory, the root cause was the melting of the highest glaciers. During the Netheril period, many intact relics and strategic fortresses surfaced, and there were even rumors about the three major creations. The ancient city of Sarukh, one of the orc races.

This is also the reason why Brian set his goal in the Ennook Desert.

Although he was facing the city of ghosts, he resolutely made his choice.

After all, as a force of the evil camp, the City of Shadows inevitably has a tradition of involution and intrigue.

In his opinion, the degree of introversion of these ghost princes is only a little bit worse than Serre's red-robed wizard.

There are even some ambitious Shade Princes who seek to take the High King's place.

It is obviously impossible to get such a group of people to work together.

He also clearly knew that the ghost forces responsible for invading Mokou Town and Cormyr, in addition to Prince Desoud Tanshul, also had the Supreme King's deputy Hajhorna, a shadow mage who had also reached the legendary realm .

Desoud Tanshul's class is Netherese Arcanist 15/Shadow Tutor 10.

He is the most silent of the 12 princes, and his silence has long been famous in the city of shade.

Because he rarely speaks directly to people, and when he does, his tone conveys wisdom and insight.

In the royal family, he has more of a peacemaker role, with the other 11 princes often seeking his advice on vexing issues and secret squabbles.

In these questions, he is rarely biased, but analyzes the situation in detail, and then proposes a deep and reasonable solution.

The High King often made him a member of military or political councils, and he was second only to the Grand Prince among his countrymen.

This most silent prince has never heard of him stepping out of the City of Shadows.

Hajhorner's class is 12th-level Netheril Arcanist/10th-level Shadow Instructor.

Evil, ruthless, and scheming, Hajhorna is not the son of the High King, but he has risen to the top of Shade's power class through his talent, determination, and manipulation of hostile forces.

At the same time, he is also the personal messenger and spokesperson of the Lord of the Ghost City.

From the two legendary mages sent by the High King to deal with the Kingdom of Cormyr, it can be seen how much they attach importance to this kingdom.

The only thing that made Brian happy was that the two legendary arcanists were afraid of the chosen ones of the Goddess of Magic from the Valley of Shadows, so they didn't dare to step out of the City of Shadows easily, which allowed him to take advantage of the loophole.

"Dear ladies and gentlemen! You are welcome to come here. Welcome our guests from Sultanza!"

Just when Brian was thinking, the merchant Graal shook his bloated body and said loudly with enthusiasm: "Praise the Lost Lady! Praise the priestesses of the Lost Lady! Your arrival has given us a great honor!"

"Crack! Crack! Crack!."

Regardless of whether it was sincere or false, the thunderous applause instantly overwhelmed Graal's excited speech.

Brian put aside the messy voices and secretly looked at the group of people who stepped in from the entrance of the banquet hall.

A total of 30 people entered the banquet hall.

Half of them were dressed in black heavy armor. On the buff cloaks of these stern-looking dark knights, there was a black rising sun that symbolized the power of Shadow Prince Desud Tanshul.

The other 15 people were all dressed in black priest robes with purple borders. From the black disk imprint inside the purple frame, it could be seen that these people were all priests of Shar, the goddess of the night.

At this time, facing the cheers of the slave owners and businessmen, Graal in the crowd was as proud as a fat peacock with its tail open, laughing heartily.

"Since our most distinguished guest has arrived, I declare that the sacred wedding ceremony will begin now!" Graal raised his hands, his whole body fat and tremblingly cheered:
"Let's praise the Lost Lady together!"

"Praise the Lost Lady!"

The shouts spread quickly and spread throughout the banquet hall.

Looking at such a lively scene, Brian snorted, as long as he knew enough about the Lost Lady, it was easy to see that this was obviously a conspiracy.

For Shar, the goddess of the night, has a strong love for the hidden.

To put it simply, the priests of Shar can please their goddess through secret affairs.

Therefore, her priests prefer to satisfy her need for secrecy through behind-the-scenes manipulation and behind-the-scenes intrigue.

It is the existence of this dark cabal and organization that evokes the desire to be part of an elite or something important, and they are equally committed to using and promoting such groups to keep secrets.

With enthusiastic cheers, the priest from Shar, the goddess of the night, came out of the corner and slowly came to the couple.

They all lifted their hoods, revealing their long black hair, and shouted loudly:

"Under the witness of the lost lady Shar, I send you the most sincere blessings, and the time to witness our loyalty and faith has come!

Great Miss Lost.

We have emptied our hearts of hypocrisy.

We have defeated your enemies.

In the dark we see your truth.

Embrace us, you loyal warriors.

Hide us in your shadow.

Lead us to victory.

Follow the will of the Goddess.

It's like night falls. "

…………

Fifteen priestesses of Shar followed Miss Natasha, chanting fanatical carols together.

It really is the night shrouded ceremony!
Just when most people in the audience felt something was wrong, Brian had already guessed the intentions of these priestesses.

The most important ritual of the Shars is called Nightfall, which means even darkness falls.

The ceremony consisted of the following: a prayer of the Lord, a dance, a priest from the goddess, or a dark-haired woman, an accusation, or words of encouragement, from the mouth of the devotee, and a A carnival celebration consisting of eating, drinking and dancing together.

Ordinary believers are required to attend at least one nightfall.

On moonless nights, Nightfall will be known as Goddessfall, and each devotee must perform some great act of vengeance or evil in the name of the Lady of the Night.

In other words, it will be a horrific ritual of carnage and evil that lasts all night and ends with a feast.

Brian knew very well that these priestesses wanted to use the power brought by this ceremony, and while increasing their own strength, they would also send all their subordinates entrenched outside Mokou Town.

Otherwise, it would be impossible for them to complete this ceremony.

"Come down, great lady of the lost! Your humble worshiper beseeches your gaze! Grant me your favor!" Shar's priests all raised their hands and shouted in unison.

The sound of fanaticism echoed in the spacious banquet hall.

However, an incredible scene happened.

During the seemingly long but short wait of countless people, nothing happened.
The expression of Shar's priestess changed.

Obviously, they didn't know why the teleportation spell to summon reinforcements had no effect at all.

They each looked at each other, nodded slightly, and repeated their frantic shouts again.

The long and short chants ended, just when everyone thought nothing would happen.

"Woof! Woah! Woah!."

In the quiet hall, there was a sudden bark, and the guests all looked sideways.

The two dogs fought over a piece of meat, rolling, biting and attacking on the floor, and the people who watched could not help howling and cheering.

The faces of the priestesses of Shar suddenly became extremely ugly.

Someone arranged a magic circle to block the teleportation spell, and Natasha immediately realized the cause of the problem.

"Hahaha, hurry up and give up. Shar, Bichi, must be busy writing poems right now, crying and saying why people like her sister but not me. How can I take care of you?"

A drunk orc laughed loudly in a vulgar voice.

The priestess of Shar raised her hand angrily, and a beam of amber light shot out from her palm, hitting the half-orc's chest, and there was a blood hole in the latter's upper body in the blink of an eye.

He bent his upper body in excruciating pain, but he was helpless against the rapid disappearance of his body.

In an instant, the half-orc turned into a pile of minced meat.

Seeing this scene, the banquet hall suddenly exploded.

"what!!!"

A woman screamed hysterically, and the guests immediately reacted and began to crawl towards the exit.

Tables were overturned one after another, and countless wine glasses fell to the ground.

"The situation has changed, take action immediately!"

Natasha, the priestess of Shar, didn't have time to think about the reason for this problem. She immediately gave orders to the dark knight and priest.

The voice just fell.

"boom!!!"

Two vertical pillars of sacred light, accompanied by deafening roars, descended from the sky, accurately covering Natasha's slender figure.

"boom!"

At this moment, the door crashed open.

The soldiers headed by Zander stepped in, holding swords and axes, rushed to the chaotic crowd, and went straight to the Dark Knight with a clear goal.

(End of this chapter)