From Hogwarts to Strixhaven.

Chapter 479 Astral Portal
Flame Fist and Harpist gathered materials at an unexpectedly fast pace.

Led by Jahira, they traversed the mountain path, felled several towering fir trees on the trail where the Rose of Dawn Monastery was located, and then worked together to transport them back to the abandoned port next to the ruins of the Tower of the Moonrise.

Once the wrecked boats in the river are repaired by Ivy's magic, this place filled with construction debris will disappear from the world completely.

The hydrological conditions of Old Reisven are not ideal. Although there is a dense network of canals, there is a lack of deep-water harbors capable of accommodating large ships. The water is too shallow near the shore, while the current is too strong in deeper areas, making it unsuitable for any type of vessel to stay. At most, it allows some fishing boats and sampans to travel on the tributaries of the Chongza River to supplement the catch for the nearby residents.

However, what mages like Ivy excel at is changing the world single-handedly.

In the state of [Earth Elemental Summoning], Ivy is very adept at casting various spells that shape the earth. In addition, with the mithril staff Heart of the Mountains in her hand, she can easily widen the river channel, turning the silted sand into hard rock, thus creating a good harbor.

Baldur's Gate and Dawnstar are both north of the Chongza River. If you want to reach them by land, the only option is the trade route starting from Black Dragon Gate north of Baldur's Gate and extending further north to Waterdeep. (This is also a confusing part of the game; supposedly, Wyvern Pass is the route north from the Bay Coast Highway to Baldur's Gate, but the protagonist's party, starting from Reeseing on the north bank of the Chongza River, inexplicably appears on the south bank. The Chongza River is exceptionally wide; when we first fell off the hull ship, we thought we were at the sea, only to later realize it was the riverbank, and there's no description of the protagonist's party crossing the river.)
In order to bypass the Troll Mountains, which rise almost perpendicularly to the Sword Coast coastline, the trade route had to make a sharp eastward turn after leaving Black Dragon Gate, passing through the gap between the Troll Mountains and the Troll Claws.

Dawnstar City is located in the Cursed Lands of Shadows, which happens to be at a bend in the trade route.

Originally, another trade route extended from here, leading directly to the Path of Ascension in Eltoril, the capital of the theocratic nation of Eltorgard. However, due to Shar's Shadow Curse and the undead creatures in the Dead Lands, the western half of the Path of Ascension was cut off. Those who wanted to travel to Eltoril via the Path of Ascension had to detour through the trade route, passing by the Bariskel Bridge over the winding river.

Now that the Shadow Curse has been dispelled and the number of undead emerging from the Deadlands has greatly decreased, as soon as the name of Dawnstar becomes known, it will immediately become another hub for land trade south to Baldur's Gate.

Merchant ships using the Chongza River now have another port to dock in. Unlike the Grey Harbor at Baldur's Gate, which is chained up after sunset, leaving late-arriving ships adrift on the water, this place is certainly not a place where, if Queen Ambori is displeased, she could easily create a giant wave that capsizes the ship.

After all, this nature deity attracts offerings from those who are fearful in this way.

The timber transport team, consisting of Flame Fist and Harpist, returned in the afternoon. Ivy had almost completed her further planning of the port, and as soon as the nearby wooden buildings were in place, she could immediately begin welcoming merchant ships passing through.

When half the sun had set below the horizon, the Zantalin merchant ship, which Ivy had magically repaired, had finally finished clearing away the silt and weeds. It only needed to dry slightly before it could set sail again.

However, it was already late, and the speed of travel by water was almost five times that of land travel. Traveling day and night, the merchant ships departing from the port of Dawnstar City would only need one day and one night to reach the Grey Harbor of Baldur's Gate.

In order to avoid being blocked from entering the city due to darkness at the Grey Harbor, Advisor Floric and High Harpist Jasira both agreed to board the ship and depart the next morning.

So this will be the adventurers' last night before setting off for Baldur's Gate.

In the main hall of Morningstar Keep, adventurers chatted around the fireplace, reflecting on or sharing their experiences and feelings from the past few days.

"So... Shadow Destroyer, how do you view your own free will, or rather, do you believe you have true free will?" Gale took a bite of the apple in his hand. In recent days, he had become very interested in philosophical discussions with the intelligent constructs.

“I think the same question can be asked of you, Gale.” The Shadowbreaker’s calm, synthesized voice echoed in the hall filled with the glow of the fireplace.

“You believe I do exhibit intelligence typically reserved for humans, yet I must adhere to the underlying rules established by my creator, Ivy Doom. This contradiction seems to reveal the core paradox of my free will.” Accompanied by the flashing sensors above his head, the synthesized voice continued answering Gale’s question, “But I must tell you, your so-called free will is also a paradox, or an illusion. Even without the fate imposed upon you by the goddess of magic, Mystra, the choices you make are still subject to your biological instincts and social discipline, just as you would eat your fill before saving the world.”

“Everything that exists must follow some kind of law, just as water flows downhill, and the sun, moon and stars rise and fall. I enjoy the wisdom bestowed by the Creator, but I am also subject to the rules set by the Creator and the ideal of justice brought by the divine spark of Losanda, and I am no different from any other living or non-living thing in the world.”

"Perhaps you think I'm merely a tool created to achieve some purpose, and I won't refute that. Because for my creator, Ivy Doom, my purpose in creating me was as a war machine. I am a tool used to fulfill the creator's will, and this tool will also follow the teachings of Losanda." The Shadow Destroyer's long-winded discourse did not provoke any resentment from the adventurers. Watching a golem capable of inflicting horrific damage on enemies speak like a reclusive philosopher was a truly novel experience. "Just like you, Gale, a former chosen one of Mystra. You too are a tool used by Mystra to achieve its own will."

“I heard that when you faced the Mind Flayer's mastermind, you didn't choose to detonate the Destruction Orb within you. Why did you do that? Returning to your first question, you weren't asking a newly acquired construct, but rather yourself. Because you chose self-preservation over achieving your goal. Because your free will told you there were other methods available, methods that could satisfy Mystra's objectives while allowing you to preserve yourself.” The Shadow Destroyer calmly concluded, “My answer is similar. My free will doesn't conflict with the rules set by my creator, Ivy Doom; I can also find a solution that achieves both.”

“Mystra’s hair…” Gale glanced at the oxidized, yellowed apple in her hand, losing all desire to take a second bite. “You’re practically a saint…”

“Thank you for your praise, Gael de Carrios, the genius of Waterdeep.” Amidst the creaking of gears and linkages, the towering adamantine golem leaned forward slightly, as if in a bow.

Gail shrugged, turned the apple in her hand halfway so that the still-intact side was facing her: "Do you think I can find a way to have the best of both worlds? Regarding the mission to Mystra."

The visual sensors atop the Shadow Destroyer's head flashed rapidly, as if in thought: "I am merely a war machine, not a prophet or a grand arcane mage. Therefore, I believe what you need right now is comfort, Gale. You have a group of companions who share the same goal and work together wholeheartedly. You will surely overcome the hardships and obstacles along the way and write your own legend on the continent of Faerûn. Even if you do give your life in battle, you will still be remembered as a hero for all time."

"Thanks." Gale swallowed the bland apple in his mouth, shook his head with a wry smile, and said, "Actually, it would have been more comforting for me if you hadn't added that last sentence, buddy."

"Would you feel better if I apologized, Gale?" The synthesized voice, though flat and monotone, carried a mocking tone in Gale's ears.

Seeing the archmage of Waterdeep's bitter face, the other adventurers in the hall burst into laughter. "Wait..." another person asked the Shadowbreaker, it was Shadowheart, who had been nourished by love, "You just said 'you' would overcome all difficulties, aren't you coming with us to Baldur's Gate?"

“To be precise, he won’t be traveling with us,” Ivy answered Shadowheart’s question from behind. He had just gone to discuss town planning with Sefro, a tricky issue for these largely illiterate refugees.

Yingxin wrapped her arm around Aiwei's shoulder and gently kissed it: "It's so nice, I've only just started to miss your voice."

Ivy lightly traced Shadowheart's lips with her thumb, her expression remaining impassive: "The Shadow Destroyer is too conspicuous. If we want to enter Baldur's Gate unnoticed, we must eliminate this disadvantage. So I will teleport him to another plane and bring him into the battle when necessary."

Isn't that how interdimensional portals are used? To airdrop extra combat power into the battlefield, causing the opponent to misjudge the war situation.

As soon as Ivy mentioned the interdimensional gate, the Astral Prism, which had been quiet for a long time, emitted an orange-yellow light, suddenly flew out from the evil thought's arms, and quickly unfolded a portal surrounded by a white halo in the hall.

Three highly exposed Geese jumped out of the portal, unarmed, and assumed the starting stance of a monk fighting with his fists.

After the Geese followed Geese, whom they revered as their mother, to overthrow the Mind Flayer Empire, they split into two opposing factions.

Besides the Gisyanki who favor silver armor and swords, there is another group of Giszerai who place greater emphasis on training themselves.

The three monks who jumped out of the portal were clearly the latter.

At the same moment the adventurers drew their weapons, the voice of the dream visitor from the Astral Prism resounded from the depths of their hearts: "We're under attack! Come help me through the portal!"

Three deep red rays shot out from Ivy's left eye, instantly piercing through the three Giszelai monks who had just taken their stance.

Before they could even utter any threats, these astral visitors had already become still-warm corpses.

“Interesting.” Ivy approached the portal with a smile. “It seems our dream friend is in trouble. Let’s go in and take a look. Shadow Destroyer, you come along too.”

The moment Ivy saw the portal belonging to the Astral Prism, she decided against using the interdimensional gate to send the Shadow Destroyer to her demiplane.

The Astral Prism, which has always been burdened by evil thoughts, is obviously a good place to be. If the Mind Flayer, who is hiding his true nature, can stay there, why can't Ivy's intelligent golem stay there?

When Ivy was playing the game, she didn't like the Mind Flayer who suddenly appeared. It wasn't because she was angry and embarrassed to find that the dream lover she had spent so much time creating was a tentacle monster.

It was because someone as wise as Ivy had long ago discovered that this guy, who called himself a dream visitor, was inconsistent in his words, full of mysteries and contradictions, and that he always tried to persuade normal people to put worms in their brains.

The portal opened by the Astral Prism is naturally located within the Astral Plane, a vast and boundless pale silver space where swirling nebulae and celestial bodies emitting strange light can be seen everywhere.

The adventurers landed on a floating rock, and opposite them was an enormous skull of exaggerated size, topped with a faded crown, making one wonder if it belonged to some fallen deity.

The giant fossil skull is surrounded by a barrier of constantly rising fragments, and judging from the speed at which it is reassembling, it may be about to collapse.

A large group of Giszerai monks leaped across the rocks floating around the giant's skull, attacking the barrier in front of them with fists infused with psionic energy and qi. Ivy had just used the rays stored in her eyes to kill two people when a huge, irreparable crack appeared in the seemingly critical barrier.

With a thunderous roar and the shattering sound of glass breaking, the barrier surrounding the giant's skull exploded into many prism-like fragments, which then disappeared into the boundless silver light of the astral plane.

"I'm here—help me! I've been attacked!" The voice of the person in the dream rang out again, each time more anxious than the last.

Even Ivy, who didn't have the Mind Flayer tadpole in her brain, heard the anxious male voice coming from the space below.

"Looks like our friend's in pretty bad trouble." Ivy chuckled with a mischievous grin, slowly rising from the rock he was standing on. "I'll go first, you guys follow."

The astral plane does not have gravity in the conventional sense. As long as you master the tricks of traveling here, even a tortoise can fly.

Ivy skillfully dodged the attacks of several Giszelai monks, then used her magic to blast them into pieces one by one, flying towards the red-glowing platform beneath the giant's skull.

(End of this chapter)