From Hogwarts to Strixhaven.

Chapter 553 The All-Seeing Pearl Sisterhood

Now that Ivy has led the adventurers to the battlefield, the fish-headed monster that Jahira blocked at the other end of the corridor with her wall spell is no longer a problem.

In fact, Jahira, now rejuvenated, possessed several wide-area damaging spells capable of clearing the field. However, the harpists' main problem at the time was having too many wounded, and no one knew what new abilities these monsters bred by the witch might have. Therefore, bringing the exhausted troops back to base and replacing them with more coordinated and powerful adventurers was the right thing to do.

"Where did the evil thoughts go?" Jahira didn't see the former Baal's son, who was related to her by blood, in the crowd. "Why don't I see her?"

“She has other tasks.” Ivy finished clearing the fish-headed monsters with a lightning bolt that dealt force field damage, and casually said, “Let’s get the granularity aligned, Jahira.”

“Align... what?” Jashira naturally didn’t understand the slang used by Ivy. “I’ll just take it as you asking the witch for information.”

“Besides the former Sea Witch, the Mother of Waves, who betrayed Ambori, these witches seem to have cast some kind of evil spell on the other priests in the Water Queen’s palace. Those fish-headed monsters were born from their bodies.” Jahira led the adventurers forward. “Furthermore, we are clearly in the Water Queen’s palace, but the Sea Witch said that Ambori has no power here. Considering those fish-headed monsters born from the bodies of the Wave Priests, I suspect this is yet another conspiracy to seize the power of the gods.”

“That’s not surprising at all.” Ivy used the Scholar’s ​​Touch to read many books such as the timeline of major events in the world of Toril. “In many events that have influenced the course of history in Forgotten Realms, the word ‘god’ appears with a frequency second only to ‘hero’ and ‘ambitious man’. People who attempt to become gods and try to usurp the power of the gods are as numerous as carp crossing a river.”

"You did the statistics?" Gale asked suspiciously. "I remember when I first met you in the woods, I didn't even know the name or the century of the current god of the dead, Kranvor."

“It’s no big deal.” The large gem at the top of Ivy’s mithril staff lit up several orbs of light, extending in all directions into the damp passage. “I have a spell that can quickly read non-magical books. If you use it to read a few dozen books, you will have a general understanding of the major historical events that have occurred on the continent of Faerûn.”

“Magic again. Makes perfect sense.” Gale scratched his chin. “I’m a little curious, is ‘deity’ the most frequently occurring identity pronoun in your statistics?”

“No,” Ivy raised a hand, signaling her teammates to stop, “the ones who appear most frequently are ‘adventurers,’ and they are highly involved in all kinds of events, just like us.”

The adventurers chuckled softly, their laughter dispelling the damp and oppressive atmosphere.

“We were originally just a group of mortals struggling to survive, trying to clear the mind-stealing tadpoles from our brains, but fate brought us together to fight against the darkness that could devour Baldur's Gate, and even the Sword Coast and Faerûn,” Karak sighed. “How many of those heroic names constantly sung by bards were also born out of necessity, just like us?”

“Oh—” Yingxin exclaimed softly, “What poetic words! What’s even more precious is that they came from Karak. I’m going to write them down and put them in my collection cabinet later.”

"Hmm." Karak smiled smugly, "Then you'd better prepare the largest size especially for me, otherwise it definitely won't fit."

"Any discoveries, Ivy?" Jashira asked sharply, glancing at Ivy, who was staring intently at a wall.

“Whether it was the witch who usurped the throne or she poured a lot of effort into turning this island on the edge of Grey Harbor into an underground labyrinth,” Ivy said, waving her staff and leaving a series of shimmering runes in the air. “It just suddenly occurred to me that since we already know the witch is the master of this underground labyrinth, why not just go straight there after we’ve located her?”

"You want to use bio-location magic to determine the direction of the hag, and then dig a tunnel out of the maze?" Even the academic Gale understood Ivy's idea. "The method is ingenious, but I really can't think of any other mage besides you who can apply this strategy."

"Not even the archmage of Waterdeep?" Will joked.

“Even I can’t do it. My magic isn’t limitless. If I used it all to open a tunnel, I’d probably pass out before I even reached a quarter of the way.” Gale was already used to the difference between the two of them as archmages.

Ivy's [Earth Elemental Summoning] granted him a normal underground tunneling speed, leaving a tunnel behind him for other creatures no larger than him to use. The adventurers were all dressed in standard medium-sized clothing, and although a few of his teammates were taller and wider than Ivy, they could still squeeze in with difficulty.

"The witch is still below, so be careful to keep your distance and don't slip and crush the person in front of you." After explaining the precautions, Ivy took the lead and started digging a hole in the damp rock wall.

Although the interior of the Tide Cave beneath the Water Queen's Palace was unusually damp, there wasn't a large volume of water; otherwise, the bio-location technique wouldn't have been able to locate the Hag. Therefore, despite the constant risk of flooding while tunneling downwards, Ivy resolutely embarked on her tunneling mission.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

“Ethel, tell me more about those wicked adventurers,” asked a hag with a pointed nose, pointed ears, a pointed chin, and a pointed head.

This is the deepest part of the tide cave below the Water Queen's Palace, a spacious and comfortable space filled with furniture and decorations made of pearls and shells, looking like a palace belonging to a mermaid.

However, the owners here are three ugly hags who exude a foul odor.

Besides Aunt Ethel, the green widow who had been killed twice by adventurers, and Alandra, the sea widow who had been the Mother of the Waves of Ambori for many years, the third widow in the Pearl Palace was much larger than the former two.

Her body appeared unusually large, and even the tumors on her pockmarked skin were much larger than those of her kind.

Even so, it doesn't stop her from having a face that looks pointed in every way.

Blackmaven is a great witch who has lived for many years. She is a legendary creature among witches. Witches of the same type are often honored guests in Hell. There is even a legendary night witch who obtained the position of Grand Duke of the Devil from Asmodeus, the King of the Nine Hells.

However, her ambition, which was inconsistent with her abilities, quickly led to countless arrogant thoughts after she ascended to the throne of the Demon Grand Duchess. She even dreamed of becoming a god, but was easily burst like a balloon due to the immense power brought by the magical ritual. Blackmaven absorbed the experience of her predecessor's failure and began her own path to godhood in Baldur's Gate, a place blessed with outstanding people and resources.

She recruited two other witches living around Baldur's Gate to assist her in handling sensitive events that might alarm powerful beings, ensuring the smooth progress of her research.

Even if her two witch assistants are targeted, Black Mawen can easily throw them out as shields to protect her research results.

However, as the jewel of the Sword Coast, Baldur's Gate has attracted the attention of too many schemers and evil gods.

While the Supreme God's plan of the Three Death Gods gave Black Maven a lot of inspiration, it also caused her witch gatherings to run into some very difficult opponents.

“…That sorcerer is very cautious; my prophetic magic had no effect on him.” Black Maven poked a pustule on the green hag Ethel’s nose with her sharp fingernail, and asked with a malicious smile, “Even the crystal ball and the witch’s cauldron couldn’t figure out his true nature. They always showed some ambiguous, but meaningless, visions. Come, my sister, tell me everything you know!”

Although Ethel calls Black Maven her sister, she doesn't take it seriously because the difference in their strength is too great.

Before the legendary creature, the Great Witch, Ethel, cruel and adept at tormenting mortals in every way, is as harmless as a stray dog ​​on the street.

So even with the pustules on her big nose popped and green pus dripping down, Ethel still wore a fawning smile and answered her sister's question in the sweetest voice: "Those adventurers were very strong, especially the mage among them. At first, he was just a clumsy fellow trapped in a mind flayer tadpole in his brain, but when I saw him the second time, he suddenly mastered a high-level spell like the Illusion Dragon! I didn't even have time to threaten them before I was sent back to you."

"A powerful magician skilled in illusions? In this remote and impoverished place?" The old hag Heimawen sensed something was amiss, but couldn't quite put her finger on it. "Aren't there any other spellcasters among those adventurers?"

Ethel the Green Ghost's eyes darted around before she finally managed to reply, "And a druid and a bard? That bard is incredibly handsome, definitely your type!"

"Alandra!" The old hag Black Mawen suddenly turned her head and tapped a clam shell in the corner with her fingernail. "When are you going to stop sleeping?!"

With a creak, the clam shell, so out of place in the Pearl Palace, with its disgusting grayish-green color and covered with various barnacles and algae, opened, and a series of murky bubbles emerged.

When all the foam burst, a pale, floating corpse, seemingly bloated from being submerged in seawater, stood up. It was none other than Alandra, the sea monster whose head had been crushed by Minsk earlier.

"You're looking for me? Respected Black Mawen sister?" The sea ghost Alandra's manners were far better than those of the green ghost Ethel, but considering that she had served Ambori as the Mother of the Waves for so many years, it wasn't surprising.

"The Ethel sisters told me there's a handsome bard among the adventurers, have you seen him?" the big, pointy-headed hag asked in a high-pitched voice.

“No, I only saw the local heroes of Baldur’s Gate, Jahira and Minsk.” The sea nymph Alandra bowed her head respectfully. “As for the bard, he was probably traveling with the harpists.”

"Forget it, forget it." The old hag waved her paws listlessly. "Once I usurp the goddess of bitches' divinity, what kind of handsome poet can't I find? If you're not feeling unwell, get up and get to work. My followers still need your guidance, Alandra."

The sea ghost woman, whose body was hunched over like a floating corpse, answered "yes" and respectfully withdrew.

“As for you… my sister.” The old hag looked at the green hag Ethel with a sinister smile. “Why don’t you hurry up and check the crystal ball to find out where those harpists are? If the two heroes of Baldur’s Gate die here, perhaps those adventurers won’t dare to disturb my plans for a while?”

“Those adventurers are so ungrateful!” Ethel bowed and quickly continued, “Gotash and the Mind Flayer mastermind he’s hiding underground are the adventurers’ biggest threat. Who knew they would ignore our enticements and show no intention of going underwater to find the prisoners! If we don’t teach them a lesson, how will those fools understand your good intentions?”

Witches are never creatures that can get along peacefully, not even the three witches who formed a witch council.

Witches who gather because of shared interests secretly despise each other and unite to exclude others. Only a stable triangular relationship can sustain the long-term existence of a witch gathering, so witch gatherings usually appear as groups of three witches.

However, within the All-Seeing Pearl Sisterhood, the vast difference in individual strength creates a very clear hierarchy within this gathering of witches.

Both the sea witch Alandra and the green witch Ethel serve the great witch Blackmaven. Rather than a sisterhood, they are more like a master-servant trio.

"You damned Queen of the Catherine!" Ethel, the green-haired hag who had gone to check the crystal ball in the labyrinth to control the harp's movements, suddenly cried out.

The old hag, who had just sat on the pearl bed and enjoyed a sip of flower tea, immediately flew into a rage, flashed in front of the green hag, and slapped her hard across the face.

"Why are you making such a fuss!" Blackie's vicious triangular eyes almost bulged out.

Thrown to the ground, Ethel dared not utter a word of protest, not even a hint of venom in her eyes. Pointing at the crystal ball on the table, she cried out, "They're all gone! They're nowhere to be found in the labyrinth! Even the merfolk transformed by the Wave Priests are all dead!"

Black Maven knew Ethel wasn't lying after just one glance. She grabbed the few remaining hairs on the Green Hag's head and pulled Ethel up from the ground: "Then why don't you hurry up and send your little petals to search! If they get away, or if they bring reinforcements, I'll pluck out every single hair on your body and then stick them upside down into your pores!"

(End of this chapter)