Chapter 186. Faolan's Confession
Hearing Iveta's scream, Michael and Faolan were pulled out of their daze. For the Necromancer, it was the gruesome sight of mauled corpses that stunned him.
As for the culprit of the massacre, he seemed confused and lost.
[Deidre... help me... ! Where is Deidre!?](Faolan)
With a shout followed by a beastly roar, Faolan turned into a three-meter-tall werewolf.
He stood on his hind legs and howled aggressively at the duo and the minions surrounding it. The fur covering its body was red with the blood of those recently killed, but there was no remorse to be found on its drooling mouth.
[ Faolan (Elite) - Level 52
*Terrifying: Summons one spell circles on the ground. Targets affected by it would fall into 'Terrified' status. Targets inflicted with Terrifying would become 'Vulnerable' for five seconds.
*Poison Enchanted: All attacks create a poison puddle on the ground. Enemies affected by poison are dealt 250 damage per second for a duration of 5 seconds.
*Vampiric: Each successful hit on an enemy heals you for 45% of the damage dealt. ]
Left with no choice, the duo delivered judgment on the werewolf in a swift manner.
Faolan was agile, but the Necromancer targeting him had too many crowd-control skills. Upon its death, two Rare items were dropped, which Michael shared with Iveta.
There was also a bloodstained diary glowing blue, which Iveta picked up. Upon reading it, their faces change color. The Sanctuary identified it as 'Faolan's Confession.'
[ Starving... no matter how many rabbits Deidre brings. I look at her throat, I smell her blood, and -- all I see is red... Stop, stop, STOP! I have to fight it! Spirits of old, ghosts of my kin, give me strength... Don't let me change! ]
More pages detailed his meeting with Deidre and how they slowly fell in love. Faolan was a Druid affected by a Worgen curse, gradually eroding his mental sanity.
Killing small creatures and even monsters in the wilderness, such as goatmen, could sate his thirst for slaughter temporarily, but it never went fully away. Recently, his mental state became more and more terrifying, and he was barely able to control his thoughts.
So, he planned to run away from his soon-to-be wife before he lost himself. Unfortunately, Deidre caught him and helped him by bringing rabbits and weasels she found near the farm to kill, hoping to stabilize him.
The last entry was from yesterday, and the duo had already witnessed today's occurrence.
None of the two said anything, and in the end, Iveta took a bottle of Sacred Fire and threw it in the middle of the corpses. The Smuggler's Den lit up with blue flames, but the temperature didn't change at all.
In seconds, there was nothing behind, not even blood...
[I considered bringing the corpses of the wannabe 'bandits' back to Cerrigar, but they have nobody to bury or grieve for them. It's better to lay them to rest here...](Iveta)
"Mhm..."
More than thirty-five people were cremated in this small cave hidden underground, but nobody except the duo would know about it. And even if they did, they probably wouldn't care or rejoice instead.
The five who barely escaped death had a chance to redeem themselves, but Michael wasn't sure that was possible. Habits become hard to get rid of after a certain age...
'Back on Earth, a massacre of this magnitude would shock the world if reported, drawing global indignation and condemnation for the killer. In the Sanctuary, though, it's just another day...'
Exiting the abandoned Smuggler's Den, the duo continued their search for the Blackhorn, prepared to call it a day after what they witnessed.
Upon reaching the general location, the Quest details changed.
[ Side Quest update - Field of Ruins
Objective 1: Slay Blood Clan Khazra to draw out Blackhorn.
Objective 2: Slay Blackhorn and acquire his head. ]
Then, as if venting the negative emotions away, the duo started a massacre of their own in the Khazra's midst. After more than a hundred goatmen minions and five Elites died, Blackhorn finally appeared.
Unfortunately for it, with the number of Corpses on the ground, Michael didn't give it a moment to show off and instead detonated everything in sight, sending the bastard on its way.
He noticed an Altar of Lilith in the Unhallowed Pit, but with Iveta unable to see it, the Necromancer decided to mark it on the MAP and leave it for later.
They first returned to Brenna and informed her of Faolan's death. The mother was standing in front of a shoddy memorial made from the cart she used to bring her daughter's corpse here.
[ A simple memorial fashioned from the planks of a wagon. A scrap of Deidre's frock has been draped over it, carefully cleansed of blood. ]
The Sanctuary's description of the makeshift headstone pricked the hearts of the two Wanderers. Michael was unable to say anything, so Iveta took the lead.
[We've avenged your daughter, Aunty.](Iveta)
[He died in pain, then...? *Scoff* Would that he suffered still! For you, I have nothing left but her wedding dowry. Take it! I can't bear the sight of it.](Brenna)
Accepting the reward with heavy hearts, the duo watched the middle-aged lady slowly return home. Her desolate back seemed frailer and smaller than before.
[ Side Quest complete - Ever Faithful
Reward 1: 19,703 experience points
Reward 2: 2,400 gold coins
Reward 3: Murmuring Cache. ]
They returned in silence to Phelan and handed over the severed head of Blackhorn.
On the way there, they met with Artair, who inspected the 'destroyed' wardstones placed previously around the farmland. They were stunned initially, worried that another attack must've occurred while they were gone.
However, the Druid waved their worries away and simply said that the protection array was set, and now he could continue his work on the rest of the Down.
"We've brought back the beast's head."
[Well, you don't disappoint, unlike those wardstones. Ha, damned things didn't even last a fortnight. We'll see if mounting this bastard's head works better. Here's your gold, as promised.](Phelan)
Michael accepted a purse filled with gold coins, which he shared with Iveta. Now, the Fields of Ruin was complete.
[ Side Quest complete - Fields of Ruin
Reward 1: 19,703 experience points
Reward 2: 2,400 gold coins
Reward 3: Leather Cache. ]
Smiling at the Battle Priestess who advanced to Level 46, Michael waved away the message informing him of his regional progress in Scosglen.
[ Region Progress rewards earned!
Region: Scosglen
Tier: 2.
Rewards available! Please claim. ]
He would do so later after he returned to Kyovashad. It was already 5:32 p.m., and the sky would considerably darken by the time they returned to Cerrigar.
There was no reason to take extra risks, so he left the search for the Runic Tablets and the Feral Moon Side Quest for the next day.
Returning on horseback to Cerrigar, the Necromancer exchanged 'numbers' with Iveta and separated after promising to visit more often.
Then, under her previous recommendation, he found Ceitis, the local Blacksmith. He quietly opened the four Caches in his inventory and salvaged everything else under Legendary grade.
The results were:
- 20 Murmuring Obols
- 7 Gallowvine
- 2 Reddamine
- 2 Howlermoss
- 1 Blightshade
- 3 Biteberries
- 2 Lifesbane
- 2 Angelbreath
- 18 Rawhides
- 6 Superior Leather
- 6 Veiled Crystals
- 11 Iron Chunks
- 2 Silver Ores
Checking his experience now at 455,383/492,591 at his Level 47, Michael smiled bitterly at how difficult leveling up was becoming.
Still, his purse increased by at least 40,000 gold coins today only, so he was happy overall.
He inspected the two Legendary amulets he got today, curious about their attributes.
[ Undying Necklace
Legendary Amulet
538 Item Power
-----------------
* +9.3% Resistance to All Elements
------------------
* +5.6% Damage
* +10.5% Ultimate Skill Damage
* +9.5% Total Armor
* +1 Rank to All Corpse Skills
Legendary Aspect: When you cast a skill, you heal for 2.6% of your Life Points. Double this bonus while below 50% Life Points. ]
[ Necklace of Retribution
Legendary Amulet
534 Item Power
-----------------
* +9.2% Resistance to All Elements
------------------
* +7.5% Minion Attack Speed
* +11.0% Ultimate Skill Damage
* +7.5% Damage Reduction from Distant Enemies
* +3.6% Damage Reduction while Fortified
Legendary Aspect: Distant enemies have a 10% chance to be Stunned for 2 seconds when they hit you. You deal 26% increased damage to Stunned enemies. ]
The second necklace was trash, and he would sell it to Zivek for materials, but the first one was... much better than what he had on right now or the one he was planning to use as its replacement.
'Helen did say that affixes that provide percentages are the best, and the affix that gives 'Damage' is the holy grail, as it increases all possible damage by that specific amount. That means that by equipping it, not only does my physical and magical damage go up, but so does my Shadow Damage caused by Darkness skills such as Corpse Explosion. Looks like I'll have to buy some materials and upgrade this amulet at Aunt Kratia... *Sigh* There goes my hard-earned money.'
There was also the problem of buying Scattered Prisms - the material needed to create sockets - since only Kratia and Idania had them in Kyovashad.
Michael tried asking Zivek about procuring them, but the man shook his head and bitterly said he would rather face off against a group of demons than provoke those two women.
The main issue was the cost... Each Scattered Prism was worth 100,000 gold coins. A full damned 100,000 gold coins! Even after clearing Dungeons madly for a full day, Michael could barely afford ten pieces.
Prepared to return to Kyovashad, Michael saw the book he collected after killing the goatmen near Phelan's farm and thought it would be best to hand it over before the day ended. He would also make sure the Firebreak Manor received all the help it needed from the Alchemist.
Fortunately, everything looked much better, and the servants were already fixing the broken parts of the walls or cleaning the blood from the ground.
The Steward was also happy to see him, and he thanked Michael profusely for accepting his request and handling it swiftly.
"It was the normal thing to do. I've returned here because I recovered some books of your Lady Braega."
[Oh goodness! You found one of them! Mistress Braega's works... *Sigh* I thought them lost after searching the manor after the attack. She was quite the scholar, you know...](Wilfred)
"I'm glad I could find one, then. From your words, more are missing. I'll try to ask around in case more Wanderers find the rest and return them to you."
[Thank you, kind Wanderer. Little remains of her legacy, but these will surely countenance the good this family has contributed to Scosglen.](Wilfred)
As he teleported to Kyovashad, Michael left the Steward behind and realized it was another collection Quest, similar to the one he got in Margrave about the Light's Watch and that kid's mother.
'The items I found then were dropped by bandits I killed in the mines... that Side Quest is also not fully finished I think, so it would be good to bring it to a close. As for the books of Braega... I can continue killing Blood Clan goatmen and see if they continue dropping or if I need to do something else.'
[ Side Quest complete - Braega's Chronicles
Reward 1: 9,851 experience points
Reward 2: 1,920 gold coins
Reward 3: Salvage Cache. ]
Returning to the Inn, he removed his armor and cleaned it up with some Marbles, after which he used one on himself and changed his clothes to something cleaner.
"*Sigh* I really want to take another bath, but I start feeling bad for going to Helen's place every time for that. It looks like it's time to buy my own place..."
Still, without better alternatives, he went to the Pink Palace. The girls were nowhere to be seen, but the staff taking care of the mansion reported that they returned at least five times each during the day.
Realizing they've been clearing Nightmare Dungeons since he left, the Necromancer smiled and entered the kitchen.
He spent over two hours with the staff, teaching them various tricks and preparing some food for the girls, as they would undoubtedly return hungry from their 'work.'
By the time the girls returned, it was already 9 p.m., and they did so all at once, probably having previously discussed this matter.
The smell of freshly baked bread and recently cooked dishes brought smiles to the sisters' faces, and they enthusiastically greeted Michael.
Choosing Mexican cuisine, he served four dishes and a light dessert, rewarding everyone for their hard work. Even Neyrelle was smiling ear to ear, obviously happy.
'She seems to have integrated well. Tia and Evelyn helped, no doubt, but Neyrelle is also a smart girl and definitely more mature than those two brats. Aylin and Hella dote on her quite a bit, probably due to her knowledge of the Horadrim.'