Chapter 224. Spreading Darkness
With three unopened caches and a half-full inventory, Michael decided to prepare for whatever he'd have to face in Ked Bardu by first selling everything he had to Zivek.
The Blacksmith watched the Necromancer open a Leather Cache and gain 12 Rawhides, 9 Superior Leathers, and a Rare Helm from it, then proceed with a Salvage Cache, which rewarded 3 Veiled Crystals and a Rare Doomblade. For the last Gem Cache, it gave 50 Gem Fragments each and the usual Rare item.
Then, with him salvaging everything, it resulted in an extra 23 Iron Chunks, 5 Silver Ores, 13 Rawhides, 1 Superior Leather, and 7 Veiled Crystals.
It took Michael only a second to decide, but the Legendary ring also endured the same fate, resulting in an Iron Chunk and an Abstruse Sigil.
[What about the amulet? Planning to extract the Aspect?](Zivek)
"Mhm. I'll go visit Demyan now. As always, thank you for the help!"
After paying almost 58,000 gold coins, Demyan successfully extracted the Legendary Aspect.
It annoyed Michael that it couldn't be used on a ring since his rings' Aspects were kind of trash, but he would wait patiently. Something would eventually drop!
[ Utility Aspect of Aduacity
Legendary Aspect
562 Item Power
--------------
When there are at least 5 Close Enemies, Stun them for 2 seconds. This can only occur once every 20 seconds.
Allowed Item Types:
*Boots
*Amulet (Power increased by 50%)
*Gloves
*Chest Armor
*Helm
*Shield ]
Using the Waypoint, he traveled to Under The Fat Goose Inn, where he found two drunkards beating the living daylights out of each other.
Puzzled, Michael found Torben and pointed at the duo, but the innkeeper laughed it off and said that they were doing that each morning. According to them, it's a much-needed exercise to get the blood pumping.
After adding 'on the ground' in his mind, Michael found the stable keeper and retrieved his mount.
Seeing the happy horse, the Necromancer decided to give it 'pay leave' from now on at least every week or so. Then, his face won't be caved in by its annoyed hooves if it decides to protest against its owner treating it like a mule.
Patting the neck of the beautiful beast, he stored it in the contract space. He reminded himself to visit the stable master in Kyovashad and get a permanent contract instead of paying that goddamn Scrooge McDuck 100,000 gold coins monthly.
With all the mess going around lately, it completely slipped his mind. Sighing at the loss of 100,000 gold coins, he stepped inside the Waypoint near the Goose and teleported to Túr Dúlra.
Nodding at Yuein and the other Druids still grouped around the Great Tree as if afraid it would vanish again the next second, he traveled to the southwestern exit and began galloping on his mount through Klettr Scar.
He passed through the Dark Thicket and into the Southern Briars, where he saw the wildlife being more well-behaved than some days ago when they went ape-shit every time a living being moved past them.
It took him two hours on horseback to reach the first human settlement, named Farobru.
Talking to the people he found near the northern gate, Michael realized this was a farming town.
[My uncle always tried to convince me that this place was named after him. He loved this town almost as much as he loved making up stories.](Khair)
One of the middle-aged gossiping ladies took him on a short tour of the town after slipping her 100 gold coins for the 'service.'
There were two things that drew his attention immediately. One was a huge stack of grain sacks.
[ Most of Farobru's wealth comes from its rich harvests and position along the supply route. ]
It also helped Michael realize why this road was the one Celeste and Beatrice chose to rebuild between the Dry Steppes and Scosglen.
As for the second reason, it was the human-sized wasp corpses the guards were getting rid of. As someone with an intense fear of needles, he was seriously against meeting such creatures.
[Did you take that load of grain to the mill, boy?](Yeshi)
[The mill is broken again, sir.](Oktai)
[Well, they better get it fixed! I have a shipment headed south in the morning.](Yeshi)
According to Khair, the mill was old and broke often, much to the town's annoyance.
[Hmm? Ulgan, where are you running to? Don't you have a wedding to attend? As the groom!?](Khair)
[Don't even mention it! My bride-to-be wants her whole damned family to be at our wedding. If she asks, I've got a whole wagon of invites on the way to Ked Bardu.](Ulgan)
Smiling at the nonsense, Michael was brought to the local inn, where he was happy to find that nothing out of the ordinary was happening around the place.
Yes, there were the usual attacks of wasps and other monsters, but the guards were enough to take care of them. The lack of Quests made the Necromancer happy.
His happiness was short-lived, though.
[Bad news all around these days. *Sigh* Better to have an ale and watch the clouds pass over.](Bator)
[The mill breaks down so often, we'd be better off with a damn mortar and pestle.](Erhia)
[I'm not talking about the mill. Lately, the animals have been behaving strangely. The elders say that it's a bad omen. What do you think Khubish?](Bator)
[The goats I have have been acting up badly. I'd take it as an omen, but they were always an ornery sort.](Khubish)
Immediately noticing the red flag, Micael contacted Beatrice and asked her to send a couple of Wanderers over Level 50 to investigate Farobru and its surroundings.
After all, it was better to be safe than sorry.
Leaving the town, he moved through the Arid Heartland, where he encountered plenty of bandits and those damned wasps.
[ Plains Hornet (Minion) - Level 58 ]
From there, all the way to the Wayward Plains, the Necromancer spent another three hours doing his part in taking out the trash.
Even if he stayed on the main road, he found plenty of bandits roaming about. Upon seeing him and realizing that he was a Wanderer, they initially wanted to flee, but once the Sanctuary identified them as 'monsters,' Michael chased them and cleansed the world of their presence.
As for the hornets, he would get rid of them with his minions if they attacked him. Otherwise, he would not approach the damned things. Just seeing their size and imagining getting stung by one of them was nightmare fuel.
By the time he reached Ked Bardu, it was already 1 p.m., and both Michael and his mount were tired from the constant run through the arid plains.
[New face. Wanderer?](?)
"Yes. My name is Michael."
[Qacha. Be alert. Bandits roam the roads around here.](Qacha)
"I know. I saw a couple of them on my way here."
[I hope you got rid of them. With fewer rodents like that, there would be less trouble in the future.](Qacha)
After completing the formalities and registering his details in the ledger by the gates, Michael opened the MAP to find the Waypoint.
Ked Bardu was probably even bigger than Kyovashad and certainly much more prosperous.
To his surprise, leaving aside the Main Quest marker, he saw four different exclamation marks, signifying Side Quests.
[ Side Quest: Corroding Mettle (Level 50+)
Description: Help a merchant and his ambitious sons. ]
[ Side Quest: Crucible of Worth (Level 50+)
Description: Recover the ancestral weapon of the Oxen Tribe. ]
[ Side Quest: Thieves Famine (Level 50+)
Description: The people starve as bandits plunder food from caravans bound for Ked Bardu. ]
[ Side Quest: Malign Devotion (Level 50+)
Description: A tradesman has been recruiting help to rebuild a ruined town. ]
Taking a deep breath, Michael decided to accept all Side Quests after meeting with Lorath.
After all, the Main Quest was his priority. As for the Side Quests, he was especially interested in the Oxen Tribe. Barbarian tribes, with their military prowess, were of utmost importance for future fights against the demons.
Passing by some of the residents, he heard a woman complaining about some 'activity' last night.
[*Groan* Can we never have peace? Shouting and cursing all night...](?)
[They should run him out of town already.](?)
Seeing them look with unfriendly gazes in the direction he was heading, the Necromancer got a bad feeling.
Last night, Beatrice said that she and Lorath found traces of the Pale Man, but something seems to have happened, and the ex-Horadrim disappeared.
And sure enough, the sound of loud snores turned Michael speechless. Especially after seeing two guards looking at a dead drunk man sleeping on the ground.
[Well, he's still breathing...](Daruuk)
[He's lucky to be.](Khelit)
With his mouth open but not knowing what to say, he approached the two guards and kindly patted their shoulders.
After slipping them some gold coins, he finally found out what happened.
[That old man there... he claims to be Horadrim, but he drinks like an ox.](Daruuk)
Hearing Lorath snoring even louder in response, Michael felt like running away.
[He came to town days ago, looking for a servant of the demon Lilith. A 'pale man.' It seems he didn't like what he found.](Khelit)
"*Sigh* I see. I will take it from here."
[And who are you?](Khelit)
"Well... He and I met in the Fractured Peaks. I saw his pale man in a vision, if you can believe it --"
[Enough, he's yours. Just keep away from the bottle, both of you.](Daruuk)
Feeling his reputation took immense damage even if he didn't do anything wrong, Michael wanted to give the drunken fool a couple of kicks to wake him up.
The Sanctuary seemed to agree.
[ Main Quest update - The Spreading Darkness
Objective: Rouse Lorath from his slumber
Description: Lorath learned something upsetting and spent the night getting drunk. You should see if you can get him to speak with you. ]
Looking back at the snoring man, the Necromance was at a loss. Then, the same middle-aged woman he had heard complaining about the Horadrim before approached him and handed over a small vat of water.
After pointedly giving an annoyed glare to the snoring Lorath, she retreated a fair distance and watched with glee.
Annoyed himself, Michael walked up to the sleeping Horadrim and poured the water over his face. With how cold it was, it produced the wanted effect immediately, much to the pleasure of those disturbed from their sleep last night.
Seeing Lorath waking up with a start, he handed the man a towel.
[*Groan* Bloody damn hells. What do you want?](Lorath)
"*Sigh* You told me to meet you here, Lorath. Remember?"
[Of course, I remember. I'm just surprised you're not dead. Hand me that bottle.](Lorath)
Kicking the bottle away, Michael gave the man a nasty glare, waking him up somewhat.
"What happened to you, Lorath?"
[I was attacked, obviously. By vast quantities of alcohol wielded by my own treacherous hand. *Grunt* There may have also been a brawl with a goat over this... patch of mud. I like to think I triumphed.](Lorath)
Speechless but not having time to deal with this nonsense after spending five hours on horseback to get here, he dove straight into the heart of the matter.
"It seems you found what you've been searching for. Who is the Pale Man?"
[*Sigh* The 'Pale Man' is... was... Horadrim.](Lorath)
"...then I guess you must know him."
[*Wince* I thought I did once. His name is Elias. He was my apprentice. He was the one who brought Lilith to Sanctuary. It is possible that I did not take the news very well.](Lorath)
"..."
Taking a deep breath since the plot was all too familiar, Michael looked at the hungover Horadrim and asked with confusion.
"Then what's next? What do you want to do?"
[Find him. Figure out what he has done... And then kill him.](Lorath)
"..."
[Listen, there's a, uh... woman... here someplace. She has some messages we'll need and... I'm of no use to anyone right now. Please find her. Enough time has been wasted.](Lorath)
"Any idea where I could find her?"
[Ugh, check around the inn. Ask if she's heard from the 'Orbei Monastery.'](Lorath)
Seeing the man finally get up and head toward a barrel of water to wash his face properly, Michael shrugged and prepared to complete the request.
Before that, however, he would grab all the Side Quests available in the town.
The Malign Devotion was the closest, so he found Husun, the Questgiver, strapping goods to a large ox.
"Are you in a hurry to leave?"
[Nosey are we? I'm heading south to start training as a mason. My mentor says that we can be of great help to the people there. If you are interested in helping some people, find Lakern in Alzuuda.](Husun)
Watching the man leave without another word, the Necromancer wondered if he was somehow cursed.
His reputation in Ked Bardu kept decreasing by the minute.