From Hogwarts to Strixhaven.

Chapter 418: Ninna’s Captivity
These deep gnomes of the Iron Hand clan from Baldur's Gate are unlucky.

Since the Gond believers almost dominated Baldur's Gate in the field of craftsmanship, the Iron Hand dwarves, whose industries were constantly squeezed, had to abandon their strongholds in the city and move to the outer cities for development.

Led by their leader Ulbrunn, they went deep into the Underdark and found the adamantine furnace made by Shirov Yari. Shirov Yari was a Shar follower and also an underground dwarf. He not only designed the adamantine furnace for the Lady of Night Shar, but also mastered the formula of rune gunpowder inherited from the dwarf war god Gerda Ironhand.

The dwarves did find the rune powder and its formula they desired in the adamantium furnace, but unfortunately, they also ran into Nin, who hoped to enter the Temple of Shar from here, and his gray dwarf mercenaries from the Fire Shadow Clan.

The Ironhand dwarves were just a group of craftsmen, not warriors. After suffering heavy casualties, the dwarves were all captured by the gray dwarves. Except for a few who were sent to the Moonrise Tower, most of them stayed here and became hard labor slaves.

However, Nine's recklessness brought him bitter consequences. The collapsed mountain not only blocked his retreat, but also activated the trap in the Temple of Shar.

The arrival of Ivy and his companions gave new hope to the few remaining Iron Hand dwarves.

The gray dwarves of the Fire Shadow Clan split into two camps, and the entire adamantium furnace has fallen into the hands of adventurers. Minsala's drow followers and the gray dwarf mercenaries hired by Ivy will take over this furnace that has been hidden for many years.

In this case, seeking help from a powerful person with good intentions is obviously a reasonable choice.

The Iron Hand dwarves offered information to Ivy and promised him rewards, hoping that he could rescue the two dwarves from behind the rubble and execute Ninne, who had been persecuting them for a long time.

Ivy raised her arm to stop the noise of the Iron Hand dwarves.

He continued, "Xie Nian, please take a dwarf friend who volunteered to go find Phillomin who took the smoke powder. I know you are good at this."

"I don't have many advantages, but finding people is one of them." Xie Nian shrugged and called the Iron Hand Dwarf, "Who has a good relationship with this Phillomin? I just hope that when I see her, she won't get so excited that she lights up the cigarette powder."

A female dwarf with a white ponytail raised her hand: "My name is Larida...I'm Phil's good friend...I can show you the way."

"You don't want to lose any property? I can understand that." Elder Blisval kicked the body of Sergeant Major Slin into the lava river and wiped the sweat off his face. "But if I were you, I wouldn't let those dwarf slaves get too close to the smoke powder. Nine's fate is a lesson for us. I think it's better to let that bitch choke to death by the poison gas."

"Instead of risking our lives in the poisonous fog to search for gold, why not let the gold walk out on its own? What do you think, elder?" Ivy glanced at Blisval and said slowly, "There's no need to use smoke powder. Magic can handle these falling rocks. If the gray dwarves have no intention of collecting the bodies of their people, then leave me some space to cast the spell."

Although magic is not uncommon in the world of Toril, the population that can cast spells still accounts for only a very small proportion of the total population. After hearing that Ivy was going to use magic to deal with the falling rocks, the gray dwarves who were stripping equipment from the corpses immediately sped up.

Because in their opinion, there is no other quick way to clear the fallen rocks except for powerful blasting. Since the boss is going to use magic instead of smoke powder, it must be magic that can cause a violent explosion. And all the gray dwarves don't want to be affected by magic that can cause a violent explosion.

The gray dwarves quickly finished their actions and threw the bodies of their former companions into the lava river one by one. Even in a molten state, the main component of magma is still rock, which means that its density is much greater than that of organic creatures. Therefore, even dwarves, who are often compared to stones, will not sink to the bottom of the lava river, but will slowly float down with the flow of lava like a wooden board floating on the water.

The high temperature of the magma quickly ignited the gray dwarves' clothes, followed by their skin, muscles, fat, and bones. A persistent stench soon filled the entire hall.

"Bah!" Elder Bliswal spat at Sergeant Major Slin, who had already turned into a piece of charcoal. "You should be thrown into the water! You are still harming people even after you are dead!"

Ivy shook his head and untied his lute from behind.

As his fingers plucked the strings flexibly, everyone who saw the magic notes flying in the air could understand that some powerful magic was brewing. The gray dwarves and gnomes couldn't help but step back, even the teammates who had been adventuring with Ivy for quite a while.

But as the magic musical note hovered in the air and merged into the pile of fallen rocks, something happened that no one had expected.

The stones that were obstructing each other seemed to have suddenly reached a consensus and decided to dance a waltz to relieve their mood. Under the influence of magic, they flew into the air, circled and flew above the lava river, and like a puzzle, they were pieced together in the air one by one.

At first, the onlookers didn't understand what Ivy's magic was doing, but as more and more stones were put together, the general shape became easy to see.

"Is it actually a bridge?" Keith, an architect and stonemason who is not a fighter among the gray dwarves, expressed everyone's thoughts.

The spell Ivy cast was a fourth-level transformation spell, Uncanny Craftsmanship. This magical spell could directly transform any unprocessed material into a craft made of the same material.

It can turn towering trees directly into wooden bridges, turn unharvested flax directly into pure white linen, or even into ready-made clothing that fits the body.

It is a very simple matter to use fallen rocks to make a stone bridge that can cross the lava river.

The fallen rocks blocking the tunnel were quickly cleared, but the stone bridge leading to the forging area at the back had not yet been completed. The raw materials for making the bridge were plentiful in the hall, which was full of broken stone statues lying on the ground and columns that had been overturned and broken due to changes in the geological structure. It was not a problem to use local materials.

However, as all the stones blocking the tunnel were removed, Nine, who had been stuck behind, was finally able to see the light of day.

The green poisonous fog poured out from behind the broken wooden door, and two short figures ran out in panic. They were the Iron Hand dwarfs, Bedron and Mina, who were trapped inside with Nin. "Finally..." In the light of the lava and the shadow of the poisonous fog, the figure of the drow elf Nin gradually became clear.

He combed his white hair meticulously, and held himself to the standards of a drow noble in Menzoberranzan. From the appearance alone, a tall and handsome male drow can indeed win people's favor, but when one thinks of the drow's brutal and evil nature, it is hard not to feel disgusted.

Although Nin had tried his best to show his noble demeanor and wisdom as a wizard, the high temperature brought by the magma and the bad environment in the passage destroyed his hard work. His exquisite light purple robe had almost become a table rag, and his fluffy shawl was covered with dust and gravel. Even his handsome face, which he was always proud of, was covered with dust and repeatedly dried sweat.

After escaping from the desperate situation, Nine's despair quickly turned into anger. He stared at the dwarf slave who escaped first with his eyes filled with anger, and shouted: "It was you, a bunch of useless slaves, who almost murdered me with your incompetence, General Som's mage advisor, the great true soul of the Supreme God, the noble Nine!"

“But I’m still standing here…” A deep purple light flashed in Nine’s hand, which was a sign of magic being activated. “Great Nine! Absolutely! Will! Not! Fail!”

"Enough! You jaluk (Elf language: bastard)!" Minsara's voice seemed to ring from the bottom of his heart. Nine, who was caught off guard, felt the nerves in his brain twitching. The spell model, which required a lot of energy to maintain, also turned into a mess. His magic was interrupted.

"Uh..." The sharp pain in his head came and went quickly. Nin quickly shifted his attention from the dwarf slave to Minsara. He frowned in confusion, "...Minsara?"

Minsara's name triggered one of the few instinctive reactions in Ninne's mind, and the corners of his mouth involuntarily curled up into a flattering smile: "What a surprise! It's... you."

"Who gave you the courage to speak so arrogantly in front of me?" Minsara pointed at her feet. "Kneel down and lick the dust off my boots. Otherwise, I will turn your tongue into a useless decoration."

Ninner was somewhat ashamed of his instinctive reaction, but he would never make it public. He would only respond to Minsara's threats with more exaggerated ridicule to prove that he was no longer the jaluk (Elf language: bastard) who was lying at the feet of the eldest daughter of Baenre.

"This is not Menzoberranzan! Minsara!" Ninne showed a fanatical look on his face, "We are bathed in the glory of the Supreme God, and you can't do whatever you want over my head! In front of the Supreme God, we are equal. Oh no, I forgot. General Som did not recognize your ability, but only asked you to take care of a group of dirty and smelly goblins, and assigned a more important task to me, the loyal servant of the Supreme God, the great Ninne!"

"You've said too much nonsense! You're a soul-destroying bastard who was dragged down by the Mind Flayer! Go to hell with your damn true God!" Elder Blisval swung his war pickaxe and hit Nine's knee hard.

A blurry light and shadow burst out from Ninne, and several identical mirror images of him appeared in the hall. The gray dwarf elder's attack was sure to win, but it only shattered a light and shadow made entirely of magic.

“What…” Elder Blisval didn’t survive in the Underdark for so many years by being dazed and exclaiming. When he failed to succeed, he immediately shouted for reinforcements, “The damned soul has escaped. Let’s kill him together!”

The attack from the gray dwarves made Ninner's face confused. He looked around. In addition to his gray dwarf mercenaries and their dwarf slaves, the hall was also filled with true souls he didn't know, and a bard who was casting a spell with a lute. The ground was splattered with smelly blood, and the air was filled with a foul smell.

"This is a betrayal!" Nine's face twisted in anger. He glanced at the strange adventurers and said, "True Souls! You have a chance to regain Nine's favor! Kill these scum!"

"Ah..." Kalak weighed the giant axe in his hand, "How many more idiots who can't recognize the current situation do we have to kill?"

"Based on my experience, you will never be able to escape from being surrounded by fools in your lifetime." Laizer's sword rekindled its flames. "But fortunately, we can cut off their heads to prevent their tongues from saying more stupid things."

"Traitor! Traitor!" Nina drew the scimitar behind him, "You all betrayed the Supreme God! But the eyes of the Supreme God are always with me! I will use this power to destroy you and glorify the Supreme God!"

"Too much nonsense!" Minsara, who had already had the intention to kill, raised Iristrae's magic sword high in the air. The pure golden light from the oath of revenge and the scream of the magic sword wrapped around it, leaving a dazzling fan in the air before falling heavily.

Nine raised the scimitar in his hand in a slightly embarrassed manner, and a bright blue shield emerged from his body, which turned into broken sparks under Minsara's Holy Slash.

"Can't you just snap your fingers like Ivy did to counter his spell, Gail?" Yingxin raised his hand, and the dazzling holy fire fell from Nine's head, but unfortunately it only destroyed a shadow.

"Mystra! What he used wasn't even magic!" Gale complained loudly as he threw a ball of fire. "It was some kind of power similar to the mind flayers. Maybe psionic energy?"

When a person's reaction time is limited, the advantage in numbers is an absolute advantage. The adventurers' attacks fell like a torrential rain, and Ninne was soon overwhelmed and rolled on the ground in embarrassment.

Unfortunately, the hall was full of Ivy's teammates, and no matter which direction Nine moved, he would immediately fall into the attack range of others.

With a deafening roar, the huge bear paw hit Nine's chest like a battering ram. All his psychic phantoms had been used up, and his magic shield was broken by Minsara's sword. The arrogant true soul master was just flesh and blood after all. After a crisp sound like frying beans, the drow mage's body stopped twitching and he completely lost his voice.

Kalak carrying a giant axe and Laizer holding a giant sword had just arrived at the battlefield when the battle was completely over.

"Okay." Kalak turned the axe handle, "It seems that I am more suitable for the job of chopping off his head. The Myconid King wants that, right?"

As for Ivy, the ten-minute casting time of the magic skill has not yet ended, and the stone bridge leading to the adamantium furnace has not yet been built.

(End of this chapter)