Chess Mage of Faerûn

Chapter 186 Survivors

no!
This was the first time Zhang Yuan had clicked the "no" option; he didn't want to gamble on whether his system or the gods of Faerun had the superior methods.

Don't be fooled by the fact that he just killed one of the enemy priests; killing an ordinary priest and stealing his divine power are two completely different things.

If the former doesn't directly involve the target, the other party won't really care much. But what about the latter?

Once the victim discovers this, you can choose to go to the other party's divine kingdom to receive eternal punishment or to paste paper on the wall of the unbelievers.

He shouldn't take chances; he really didn't expect that this thing wasn't just a magical item, but also contained remnants of Mara's divine power.

Zhang Yuan, who resolutely refused, took out the scroll, cast a shrinking spell on the totem, threw it into the magic box, resealed it, and put it into the storage bag, layer upon layer, not daring to be careless in the slightest.

Leading his teammates into the troll cave, the sight of countless remains and bones, coupled with an overwhelming stench, immediately reminded Zhang Yuan of what he had seen in the goblin cave.

He silently put on a mask and joined the others in searching the troll's lair.

This cave, which could accommodate an entire troll tribe, was enormous, with numerous winding passages and caverns. Fortunately, with Kagan, a seasoned veteran of the dungeons, there was no fear of getting lost.

Searching and searching, rummaging and picking, all they found was nothing. These greenskins, who believed in Mara and revered primal wildness and chaos, had no interest in anything inedible, and wouldn't even bother picking it up.

Zhang Yuan, who was hoping to make another fortune, could only sigh and focus all his attention on searching for survivors.

After some time, the Canaan squad finally found the four remaining prisoners in a stinking cave: two older men, one middle-aged man, and one young man.

A group of people covered their noses and went into the cave to untie their bandages.

It stinks!
All the food, drink, excrement, and waste are piled up together; it would be strange if it didn't smell bad.

Seeing the group of ragged, foul-smelling survivors, Zhang Yuan quickly led them out of the cave, took out the Water Elemental Pot outside, washed them clean, changed their clothes, and gave them some dry food and water.

After patiently waiting for the four people opposite to finish their food, Zhang Yuan approached them face-to-face to ask them some questions.

After a brief conversation, Zhang Yuan learned a bit about the merchant guild called Golden Clover. This small merchant guild, which travels between Deepwater City and Baldur's Gate year after year, usually doesn't dare to act alone. They almost always travel together with other small and medium-sized merchant caravans, helping each other and looking out for one another.

This time, however, they went against the norm, hiring an additional mercenary team and traveling alone. It is said that this was orchestrated by their vice president.

“We had our doubts and questions before we left Waterdeep, but the vice president hired a guard out of his own pocket and made many concessions on the profit sharing this time, which is why we were persuaded,” said a tall, thin old man.

"We were almost across the Troll Mountains, not far from Baldur's Gate, but we fell into the hands of those damned bastards and are all dead, gone." The middle-aged man was clearly filled with hatred, his eyes red with tears, and he gritted his teeth.

"Then what was your vice president's motive for doing this?" Nancy asked, puzzled. "Paying out of his own pocket and then handing over the profits to someone else?"

"I heard it's to open up a new trade route and expand our chamber of commerce," the young man interjected.

The reliability of this answer is self-evident from the bitter smiles and head-shaking of the other three, as well as Nancy's cold laugh.

The young man, who was about to argue, was grabbed by the wrist by the older man who had remained silent. The older man stared at the young man for a moment, his eyes, deep-set with wrinkles and bruises, before the young man fell silent. "What about the vice-president? Where was he before you were attacked by the trolls?" Zhang Yuan needed more information; as far as he knew, the vice-president's role was clearly not so simple.

"do not know."

"I didn't see him. We're not in the same carriage as him."

"We were ambushed at the time, and there was chaos. He probably died in that attack."

The group looked at each other, but couldn't give a definite answer.

“I think I vaguely remember him.” It was that young man. “The vice president seemed to have left the convoy before we were attacked.”

!!!

The survivors all suddenly looked at him, staring intently, which startled him so much that he was stunned.

"Don't be nervous, speak slowly." Zhang Yuan patted the young man on the shoulder, then looked at the others, causing them to awkwardly look away and sit down obediently.

"Oh, oh, well, I was sitting next to him the day of the attack. In the morning he said he was going to check on the supply wagon at the back of the convoy, but he never came back. Then the trolls charged over."

"Damn it, I knew Carrick was being so generous this time. Turns out he'd already sold us out." The middle-aged man with a receding hairline was incredibly agitated, spitting as he launched into a tirade of curses.

Ignoring the middle-aged man's hysterical outburst, Zhang Yuan continued to ask:
"Is this Carrick your vice president? Tell me about him."

The three of them took turns talking, exposing Carrick's past in Golden Clover. Towards the end, even the middle-aged man who had been rambling on joined in.

"You saw him carrying a box when he went to the supply truck? Describe the appearance of that box in detail." Zhang Yuan finally heard a key point.

So the young man carefully described it, and the size, color, and shape of the box he described almost perfectly matched the magic box.

We've found the right person!
"Have you seen this box before? Did Carrick mention anything about it?"

Seeing the other party shaking his head repeatedly, Zhang Yuan didn't take it seriously. He figured the vice president must be hiding a lot of things, and he was just asking to try his luck.

What he's thinking about now is whether Carrick is actually the disguised identity of the diary's owner, Liszt Manuel.

But then they rejected that possibility.

If it were that Lister, he would be at most thirty years old today, but the Carrick mentioned in the conversation just now has already entered middle age. Even considering the almost absurd and low-probability events such as disguise and premature aging, there is one thing that simply doesn't make sense.

If Liszt, the author of the diary, was indeed Carrick, why would he have gone to such lengths to seal and preserve his diary for nearly eight years? Wouldn't that be pointless?

Zhang Yuan guessed that this Carrick might just be the custodian of this magic box, and it was even unknown whether he knew its contents.

(End of this chapter)