More than a dozen knights surrounded Zahir, their eyes fixed on the... drow elves behind Anser.
The two sides faced each other from several hundred meters apart. The atmosphere was tense.
Anser swept his gaze across the knights, his eyes flickering.
In just a few days, Zahir had gathered a group of elite followers who looked to him as their leader. Every one of them was a classed professional, and among them was even a high-level Fighter.
This was probably not all of them, either. Tyr's faithful had always been of exceptionally high quality.
If news of Zahir's existence spread, it would quickly attract many powerful believers. Even legendary figures might come.
"She's a Chosen of Eilistraee. The one we fought earlier was a Chosen of Lolth." Anser stepped aside and pointed toward Valera.
"Eilistraee..." Zahir murmured the name a few times before waving for everyone to lower their weapons.
There was no conflict between Tyr and Eilistraee. Their circles of allies overlapped heavily, and it was said that both deities maintained close ties with Mystra.
Their followers often fought side by side.
"We'll help too." Knowing this was no time for reminiscing, Zahir led his people forward to assist.
Cleaning up a battlefield was troublesome work—rescuing survivors, delivering finishing blows, clearing corpses, gathering loot...
Fortunately, the Magic Research Society's constructs were available. The heavy labor could be left to them.
After everything was finished, Mason recalled his constructs. After exchanging a few words with Anser, he opened a portal and returned alone to the Magic Research Society headquarters.
His spirits were low, and he seemed distracted—completely different from the calm confidence he had displayed when he first arrived.
"He needed a setback. Might help curb that pride of his. The man offends people every day," Jiandar said as he packed away the spoils of war and watched Mason leave.
"I think Mr. Mason is pretty easy to get along with," Anser replied with a grin.
"That's because it's you. You have no idea how..." Jiandar glanced at the others and stopped himself.
Family scandals shouldn't be aired in public. There was no way he would criticize one of their own in front of so many people.
Anser understood immediately.
As one of the few members of the Magic Research Society who still possessed his full spellcasting ability, Mason had become highly sought after. His status had naturally risen along with it.
Psionicists typically thought very highly of themselves, believing their abilities to be purer and more advanced.
Yet Wizards, who sat at the very top of the spellcaster hierarchy, had never truly regarded psionicists as equals. They often dismissed them as practitioners of a side path, sometimes excluding them from the spellcasting community altogether.
And in truth, that wasn't entirely wrong. Psionic manifestation merely resembled spellcasting on the surface. The underlying principles were completely different.
Living in that kind of environment, Mason's mindset was bound to be both proud and complicated.
"Let's head to Dawn Town for a while. And you as well, Wizard," Rand said, extending an invitation.
There was far too much he wanted to discuss with Anser, and he also hoped to learn more about the situation beyond their isolated refuge.
In truth, everyone felt the same way, so they all set out together for the town called Dawn.
As someone familiar with all three groups, Anser willingly took on the role of mediator, helping bring together the followers of Eilistraee, Mystra, and Tyr.
Too bad Azuth's Chosen wasn't here. It felt like something was missing.
All of the drow elves put on black robes to avoid causing a disturbance. After all, drow were widely recognized as enemies of humanity, and countless refugees bore deep hatred toward them.
Delira had awakened. She had been afflicted by a curse, and although it had already been removed, she was still in poor condition.
Anser originally wanted Nornoth to carry her, but Nornoth refused.
As they traveled, they chatted and exchanged stories about everything that had happened recently.
Rand and the others had certainly faced danger, but there wasn't much to tell. They had spent the entire time fleeing—leading civilians eastward as they ran for their lives...
They kept moving east until they finally reached Dawn Town, where they were able to settle down.
In the end, more than half of the clergy from the Chapel of Final Hope had died, including the old priest Berg.
Anser sighed with regret, but there was nothing he could do.
He didn't know True Resurrection.
If one day he mastered that spell, he would undoubtedly bring back the dead who still lived in the depths of his memories.
He had Subtle Spell enhanced, meaning he wouldn't need to consume diamonds worth tens of thousands of gold as spell components. The cost would be much lower.
Before long, the group arrived at the overcrowded town of Dawn.
According to local accounts, the settlement had been founded by survivors from Fort Morninglord. Its history stretched back many years, and a ferry crossing sat by the river, allowing travelers to cross or journey downstream.
Anser quickly noticed that the local economy was on the verge of collapse. Food and clothing were scarce, and public order was shaky.
Without the churches and the Paladins, things would probably have been even worse.
Rand and the others were staying at a temple of Tyr. Right next door stood a temple of Lathander, and the followers of the two faiths got along fairly well.
"Are there any other Chosen in Dawn?" Anser asked as he stood by a second-floor window, looking out at the noisy crowd below.
"No." Zahir rubbed his smooth forehead. The holy symbol had been concealed, but the connection between Chosen still remained.
Unfortunately, that method was useless when dealing with the Chosen of evil gods.
"That's not surprising." Anser turned back toward the room.
Rand, Zahir, Jiandar, Delira, and Valera sat around a long table, drinking unboiled water. There wasn't even a piece of fruit on the table. The scene was rather shabby.
"This place... isn't very stable, and it's directly exposed to the threat of Underdark creatures. Have you ever considered relocating?" There was a deeper meaning behind his words.
Zahir and Rand exchanged a glance and rejected the idea simultaneously.
"We can't leave." Zahir's expression was resolute. "I'm planning to publicly reveal my identity as a Chosen. Hopefully that'll draw more attention and bring aid to the people here."
He also intended to establish a temple here, planting it directly on the front line against the Underdark invasion.
It was dangerous, but he felt he had no choice.
"Have you heard of Durlag?" Anser had already told everyone his real name, but none of them knew his true status.
"The City of Adventurers?" Jiandar stroked his beard and looked at him.
"That's right. Follow the edge of the Wood of Sharp Teeth south, and you'll reach it."
"I'm the President of the Durlag Union. Things there are relatively stable. You can send the refugees south and establish trade routes between the two regions. That should ease the situation..."
The two places had always maintained some level of contact. The routes were simply dangerous, used mostly by adventurers and traveling merchants.
Durlag's expansion plan had only recently been approved. Craftsmen were being recruited, infrastructure projects were underway, and accommodating several thousand more people would be no problem at all.
As long as goods and people could start moving between the two regions, more than half of Dawn's crisis would be resolved.
Rand and the others stared at him in astonishment. None of them had expected Anser to possess such a status.
Most people lost everything while fleeing disaster.
Yet somehow, this man had become wealthier the farther he ran, transforming from an ordinary commoner into a noble wielding real authority.
A long-forgotten smile appeared on Zahir's face.
"This news couldn't have come at a better time. I'll notify everyone immediately."
"So you actually became President." Rand looked dazed. It was difficult to see any trace of the boy he once knew in Anser now.
Jiandar wasn't particularly surprised, but he did have a question.
"Stoll... is dead?"
"Yeah. Died once, then came back." Anser raised an eyebrow. "Had a fight with an adult green dragon."
"Haha... that must've been one hell of a time." Zahir's eyes lit up instantly.
Nearby, Valera and Delira leaned against one another, resting their chins on their hands as they watched Anser. They rarely joined the conversation.
When Anser caught sight of the sisters' identical expressions and mirrored movements, something stirred in his mind.
In just a few days, he had encountered six Chosen, including two who served evil gods.
If he could gather the four Chosen aligned with the good factions and unite them against the Chosen of evil gods, their chances of success should be much higher.
'Not a good idea.'
He immediately dismissed the thought.
All four Chosen of the good gods were a step behind in strength. Their ability to keep an enemy from escaping was lacking. Besides, relying on others was never as reliable as relying on himself. Leveling up as quickly as possible was far more important.
'But I can still use their influence. Build connections early, form an alliance, invest in the future... and at the same time keep myself hidden, so I don't end up attracting the direct attention of the evil gods.'
Quietly, he began making plans.