Chapter 246. Loose Threads
Taking the glass from the Wanderer with a strange expression on her face, the woman downed it and immediately released a pleased gasp.
While the healing potion the old man gave her helped with the pain, it didn't do much in terms of quenching her thirst. Fortunately, this fruity drink helped tremendously.
Unfortunately, with one problem gone, another arose. Intense pain brought a loud gasp from the depths of her soul, making her jump up from the ground.
[Ahh! What... what happened!? It feels like... fire crawling over my skin! Ugh!](?)
[*Sigh* You were tattooed. A ritual.](Lorath)
[I... Huh!? I hear something. A voice in my head.](?)
Michael immediately raised an eyebrow. Hearing voices is always a bad sign, no matter the world or the circumstances.
Adding the terrified expression on the woman's face, he was already considering mental asylums to bring her to.
Fortunately, or rather, unfortunately, Lorath answered the question for both of them.
[Andariel. A connection was made between you and her. Who are you?](Lorath)
[Taissa. Who are you two?](Taissa)
[He is Michael, a Wanderer. I am Lorath. One of the Horadrim.](Lorath)
"..."
Getting such a brief introduction prompted a shrug from the Necromancer, who continued focusing on his smoothie rather than the conversation between those two.
[Horadrim? So... so is Elias.](Taissa)
Raising a mental thumbs-up at the low blow from Taissa, Michael watched curiously how Lorath would respond to such 'accusations.'
[If he told you that, he was lying. I came to kill him. Thought I had, but he vanished the moment I looked away.](Lorath)
Raising another thumbs-up mentally for the response, the Necromancer frowned after remembering that Elias got away again.
That man was more like a cockroach than most cockroaches he's seen so far.
[If he survived, he would have fled to his refuge.](Taissa)
[Refuge!?](Lorath)
[He has a palace. Somewhere in the deserts of eastern Kehjistan. But that is all I know.](Taissa)
Hearing that, Michael rolled his eyes and planned to directly inform the exotic beauty Mira of the cockroach fleeing to her domain.
Maybe with her help, they could locate the bastard faster.
[ Main Quest update - Loose Threads
Objective: Speak with Lorath
Description: You successfully disrupted Elias's ritual, but he himself escaped. You must make a plan to find him and end the threat. ]
Looking at the pondering ex-Horadrim pretending to still be one, Michael opened his mouth and mentioned something in passing while yawning.
"Brol's dead, by the way."
[Well, there's one bit of good news. With him gone, perhaps the cannibals in Guulrahn will fall in disarray. It would give people a chance to resist.](Lorath)
"Probably even better than that. Beatrice was already planning to attack Guulrahn today, so with Brol gone, she would have an easier time. I'll also let Mira know about the cockro... *Cough* Elias fleeing to Kehjistan and have her look around. It might make finding him easier. The only question is, how do we find this palace of his?"
[We should get to Tarsark. The people there know the deserts of Kehjistan well. Maybe someone has heard of this place.](Lorath)
Pondering for a while and nodding while the Ring of Communication tried to make contact with Beatrice, Michael agreed that asking the locals was the best option.
[Michael?](Beatrice)
"Good news. Brol and a good part of his cohort are dead. Elias has also fled to Kehjistan."
[That's great news! Now it's Mira's problem to deal with. I'll go ahead and give the signal for the attack. With Brol gone, their ranks will crumble much easier.](Beatrice)
Hearing the silence on the other end and realizing that the woman had already cut the connection, the Necromancer shrugged and 'called' Mira next.
[What's wrong?](Mira)
"Elias, the man we were chasing after, has escaped somewhere in Kehjistan. Apparently he has a palace in the desert somewhere."
[Ugh... I'll send scouts around all big cities to look for clues. *Sigh* Seems like it's my turn to suffer from that bastard's nefarious plans. Any clue of where he might be?](Mira)
"All we have is that it's a palace. There can't be too many of those around. We plan to go to Tarsak and ask the locals for more details."
[A good idea. Keep me updated, please.](Mira)
"Will do."
After saying goodbye, he cut the connection and turned to look at Taissa, who was talking with Lorath in a rather demanding tone.
[Let me join you. I don't know how much help I will be in this condition, but... I owe you my life.](Taissa)
[You don't owe us anything, but you are welcome to come. Furthermore, I need to help you suppress the connection you have with Andariel, so I can't let you go too far. After that, you can follow us to find Elias. You deserve vengeance, too.](Lorath)
Looking strangely at the woman and realizing that this whole 'summoning Andariel' shenanigans was probably not over, Michael directly threw it at the back of his mind, deciding to rest for a while before worrying further about potential Lesser Evils invading the Sanctuary.
[ Main Quest complete - Loose Threads
Reward 1: 33,792 experience points
Reward 2: 2,600 gold coins. ]
[ Main Quest issued - Oasis of Memories
Objective: Meet with Lorath and Taissa in Tarsak (25 days, 23 hours, 23 minutes, 48 seconds)
Description: Taissa spoke of a palace Elias holds within the deserts of Kehjistan. Perhaps the locals of Tarska will know its location. Elias cannot be allowed to slip away now. ]
Scratching his head and turning to look at Lorath, Michael immediately asked what was on his mind.
"How much time do we have?"
[Hmm... about a month. When I attacked Elias, I added a type of weakening curse to my strike. It was done almost unconsciously, but it should give us a bit of time—probably around a month or so. I need at least two to three weeks to suppress Taissa's connection to Andariel, so it's a welcomed respite. Meet us in Tarsak later. I'll try to investigate and see what I come up with.](Lorath)
"Got it."
Without hesitation, Michael used quick travel to return to Kyovashad. He didn't want to risk the ex-Horadrim piling up more Quests on his back.
Exiting the portal into the familiar plaza of the city, all the piled-up exhaustion in his body seemed to erupt at the same time, forcing his eyes to close beyond his capability to resist.
Fighting through the tiredness and groggy vision, he returned to the Sleepy Peaks Inn, where he waved at Raskya and directly headed upstairs.
Sitting on the bed, he barely managed to remove his gloves, helm, and chest armor when he directly fainted.
After the hostess came to deliver lunch, thinking that his earlier wave signaled his desire for food, she found the door ajar and Michael snoring louder than a dead-drunk Barbarian.
Turning on the soundproofing array and taking back the food, she had one of the kids roaming around the inn bring a message to Helen that her man returned, and he was fast asleep.
When the tigress arrived fifteen minutes later, she was shocked to see the state he was in. She had seen him sleep before, but it was the first time he was frowning this hard.
Also, he always contacted her upon return, no matter how injured or tired. Now, however, he was fast asleep with only half of his equipment removed.
Feeling heartache at whatever he must've endured, she gently approached the bed and slowly removed the remaining equipment pieces.
Laying them beside the bed, she undressed him, careful not to wake him up, but realized after taking off his shirt that not even some heavy punches might not force him awake.
Using a Cleaning Marble on the man lying on the bed in nothing but his underwear, she also undressed and slipped under the sheets with him, falling asleep soon after.
Waking up with an intense feeling of hunger, the Necromancer groaned and weakly sat up on the bed. Seeing the sleeping tigress next to him helped calm him down, but he was a bit confused after sleeping.
After checking his pocket watch and realizing that it was already 10 a.m., he shrugged and bent over to kiss the pretty lady.
Sensing movement next to her, she opened her eyes and felt a manly hand caressing her hair.
[You're finally awake.](Helen)
"How long was I out?"
[A full day and a half.](Helen)
"As expected. Anything of importance happened?"
[Beatrice and Mira tried contacting you, but seeing that you weren't answering, they changed their target to me. Beatrice successfully retook Guulrahn, and Mira wanted to let you know that she might've found a general area where Elias hid. She said she'll follow up after a more thorough investigation.](Helen)
Sensing curiosity in her tone, he began recounting what he had gone through after arriving at the Hidden Overlook two days ago.
Helen's expression changed multiple times, and she couldn't help but sigh toward the end.
[How are you feeling now? Any aftereffects of the blessings?](Helen)
"Hmm... Nope. I think most of them disappeared after the shock I got while tanking that explosion in my Blood Mist state. My thoughts are no longer chaotic, and everything seems much clearer now. I can form coherent thoughts much faster than before... Probably an aftereffect of the much-needed rest."
After asking about his plans, he directly said he's taking a short vacation until the Sanctuary summons him to do some 'beta testing.'
He refused to hear any news related to Elias's whereabouts or whatever people thought Lilith was doing.
Instead, he simply stayed with Helen and the girls, helping them with the newspaper, the chess and card game development, as well as cooking to take his mind off things.
The local governments had also made impressive progress and had already started planting the Clear-Hearted Oaks on the road to Menestad while Natalia was making preparations for the road between Hawezar and Margrave, with more than 75% of the distance already planted.
If there was one thing falling behind, it was the cement production. But it couldn't be helped since it was a new 'technology' he introduced. While he had the general formula, lots of testing was still needed due to the difference between Earth and Sanctuary.
Hoduin and Martel had already opened six restaurants in different parts of the continent and were already incredibly satisfied with the results. However, after realizing that only the nobles and merchants were customers, while the normal citizens didn't have the coins to spend on such expensive food, they had Aylin extort more 'manageable' recipes from Michael suitable for the common populace.
Pitching the idea of diners, the trio immediately went to work and were already planning to open another six such establishments, curious to see which ones among the lot would attract more customers.
After the Necromancer heard the prices, which were pretty much not incurring any profit, he shrugged and already had an answer in his mind.
Be it Sanctuary or Earth, the 'elites' of society were always outnumbered by the 'plebs.'
Now that good food and affordable drinks were served in these diners, they would quickly become popular among the common folk.
Seeing him lost in thought, Mina cuddled closer to him and shily asked.
[What are you thinking about?](Mina)
"Hmm? Sorry... I've been thinking about what other fun things to implement since the roads, restaurants, and the newspaper are mostly complete. Right... what would you like to do when you have more free time?"
Seeing the pretty Priestess thinking seriously, he couldn't help but squeeze her plushy ass, prompting a frightened squeal from the lady.
Her face immediately reddened, making the Necromancer laugh aloud. After successfully pacifying her, he finally got an answer.
[I would like to have a different place to visit where we can forget about all the madness happening in the world, even for a brief moment. Somewhere we can relax, even for a couple of hours, and enjoy time with our loved ones.](Mina)
Hearing the answer, a lightbulb appeared in his head, and he immediately kissed the pretty woman.
Then, grabbing the half-naked Mina in his arms and rushing to Helen's room, he excitedly explained the idea of an amusement park to the two awkward girls.
Seeing that the atmosphere wasn't matching his excitement levels, he looked inquiringly at them, only to get eye rolls in response.
He realized that these two still only had an unspoken agreement regarding sharing him, but they weren't very comfortable being in the same room and wearing fewer clothes than usual.
Snorting, the evil Necromancer proceeded to teach them the ways of the world after activating the soundproofing array.
Waking up refreshed the next morning, he wanted to explain his idea to all eight girls but had to wait until noon when Mina and Helen joined the group.
He might've exaggerated a bit last night...
To ease the strange atmosphere at the table, he began explaining how amusement parks worked and what they had to offer.
Unsurprisingly, Nyerelle, Tia, and Evelyn were the most hyped up, while the others were also very curious about his proposal.
While some of the 'attractions' he mentioned were better suited for the younger crowd, others like the 'Horror House' or the 'Ferry' sounded appealing to the more mature.
Grinning after realizing the Sanctuary couldn't be bothered with him or was too busy preparing a hellish experience for his upcoming Nightmare Dungeon adventure the next day, Michael shuddered and continued pouring out ideas just in case he couldn't make it back.