"If you need anything, come to me. I'll do my best to help," Zahir promised solemnly.
Valera and Delira exchanged a glance and thanked him at the same time.
But they also knew that this paladin was quite poor himself. The church's coffers had long since been emptied, and it survived entirely on donations from generous believers.
The kind of support they truly needed... he simply couldn't provide.
Valera looked toward Anser, only to find him sitting there with his eyes closed in thought, showing no reaction whatsoever. A trace of disappointment crept into her expression.
Anser wasn't ignoring them on purpose. He was genuinely thinking about Dawn Town's role and its relationship with the Durlag Union.
After reporting the situation here to the other members of his Adventuring Party as a piece of major intelligence the previous night, the response had been significant.
Kaleno in particular had immediately left a message saying he wanted to come investigate, hoping to find traces of his sister and the members of Moonshadow Quelin.
Naturally, Anser had no intention of refusing. However, the two locations were over two hundred kilometers apart, and Dawn Town lacked a Teleportation Circle. The best option would be to use the dragonfly ship for transportation.
If only I had Teleport. But nothing in this world comes without trade-offs.
He felt a little regretful.
Jiandar stroked his beard and smiled. This outcome was better than he had expected.
"Delira, once you've chosen a settlement, send people to maintain a permanent presence in Dawn Town. That way we can stay in contact more easily," he suggested.
"Understood," Delira replied.
Jiandar took out a Bag of Holding and placed it on the table.
"These are some supplies prepared by the Magic Research Society, along with part of the spoils. You should find them useful..."
He didn't elaborate.
The drow sisters were intelligent enough to understand the Society's intentions.
Judging from how they had previously diverted trouble onto others, they clearly possessed flexible moral boundaries. To fulfill Eilistraee's divine mission, they had been willing to drag humans into the conflict by force.
So there was little point in saying more. A tacit understanding was enough.
"Thank you to you, Mr. Anser, and the Magic Research Society for your generosity," Delira said politely, slipping the Bag of Holding away without changing expression.
...
After breakfast, Jiandar returned to the Magic Research Society.
The drow sisters cast several resentful glances at Anser before quietly leaving Dawn Town with Eilistraee's followers.
Anser watched them depart.
He barely exchanged a few words with them and showed no intention whatsoever of recruiting them or pursuing cooperation.
Drow were not good partners.
Not even Eilistraee's followers.
As a whole, they were good-aligned, but their actions were unpredictable. The concept of "rules" barely existed in their minds.
At the end of the day, the differences between drow and humans went far beyond race.
Their environments, civilizations, systems of knowledge, ways of thinking...
Everything was different.
The two races could perhaps engage in a little physical intimacy.
Beyond that...
There were barriers everywhere.
After saying farewell to Rand, Anser took a walk around Dawn Town but found no familiar faces.
With a sigh, he spread his dragon wings, rose into the sky, and began flying back toward the Durlag Union.
When he had come here, he had traveled directly from the Magic Research Society headquarters.
Getting back required the slow method.
Fortunately, the two locations were not far apart. The straight-line distance was only a little over two hundred kilometers. At his current speed, the trip would take just over three hours.
He deliberately flew at a much higher altitude, planning to check on the situation in Moonscar Basin along the way.
I wonder if those adventurers have been causing trouble. And Brunhilde... has she gone back yet?
Lost in thought, he arrived above the Wood of Sharp Teeth.
The sun was warm, the breeze cool, and the sky clear.
Then, without warning, a long-haired figure appeared ahead of him.
The wind pressed her thin clothing against her body, accentuating her mature and captivating curves.
Anser came to an abrupt stop.
The moment his gaze landed on her face, his heart jolted.
Focusing more carefully, he noticed that her body was semi-transparent, giving her an unreal, dreamlike appearance.
A projection?
A possibility immediately came to mind.
"Anser, I don't think we're enemies." The woman's voice was low and magnetic. A faint smile played at her lips, and the slight upward curve of her eyes gave her a seductive air.
"If I remember correctly, we were trying to kill each other yesterday," Anser replied, remaining on guard.
This woman was clearly the drow matron he had encountered the day before.
She must have learned of his movements in advance and hidden in the sky long before his arrival.
That meant she knew at least something about him.
"You may call me Moranthis, a Chosen of the Spider Queen." The corners of her lips curled upward, a trace of emerald reflected in her eyes. "Anser Holrewen, I've known about you for a long time."
"In Rivington, in Silver Scale Bay, in Bluewater City, and... in the Durlag Union."
"Whatever you want, just say it. Your real body is nearby, isn't it?" Anser said expressionlessly.
When a Chosen of an evil deity came looking for you, what good could possibly come of it?
Moranthis paid no attention to his attitude. Her gaze drifted into the distance as she continued speaking.
"Your parents told me that you were obsessed with the arcane arts. After entering Fabian Wizard Tower, you studied diligently. Other than asking for money every month, you rarely returned home..."
Anser's mind exploded.
He clenched his teeth as turbulent emotions surged through him.
She resurrected the original owner's parents?!
He had no doubt a drow matron possessed such power.
She was an 18th-level cleric. Knowing the 9th-level spell True Resurrection would be perfectly normal.
The real question was what she wanted.
Not only had she investigated his background, she had also paid an enormous price to resurrect his parents. She clearly had an agenda.
Blackmail? Intimidation? Maybe not. She could just be bluffing.
One thought after another surfaced in his mind, leaving him slightly unsettled.
Moranthis spoke at length, revealing quite a few personal details that outsiders would have had difficulty uncovering.
Anser remained silent.
He wanted to see what she was really after.
"Anser, for generations your family produced no spellcasters. You performed only average at the wizard tower. Can you tell me how you managed to grow so powerful in such a short time—and even become a Paladin?" Moranthis idly rubbed her holy symbol with her fingertips, her eyes full of curiosity.
"You tell me." Anser folded his arms across his chest, his tone calm.
"My guess?" Moranthis let out a soft, musical laugh. "We're the same."
"Maybe," Anser replied ambiguously.
"Which means you chose the wrong side. Don't place your faith in those so-called good gods, otherwise..."
"Otherwise what?"
"Good and evil are concepts for mortals. For beings like us, there is only conviction. Alignment is not immutable. When divine portfolios are stolen or divided, who still cares about good and evil in the face of true power?"
Anser pressed his lips together.
He understood.
The Nine Alignments themselves represented power. Even mortal alignments could shift over time, let alone those of deities.
For gods, changes in alignment were often tied to their divine portfolios. If a deity actively sought to seize another portfolio, they might fall from a good alignment into an evil one.
The reverse could happen as well.
Such cases were far from rare.
That said, a deity's inherent nature also played a decisive role.
When Kelemvor inherited the portfolio of death and became the God of the Dead, his alignment remained Lawful Neutral.
Completely different from Myrkul.
"I received a divine revelation from the Spider Queen. The situation is far more complicated than you imagine. Don't rush your decision. Think carefully." Moranthis raised her right hand and lightly tapped her temple with a fingertip.
"You came all this way just to tell me that?"
Anser knew there was definitely some misunderstanding involved, but he had no way to explain it.
Nor could he possibly trust a Chosen of the Spider Queen.
Lolth was a master of deception, betrayal, and murder.
"No. I came to warn you." Moranthis chuckled softly. "When you kill, choose your targets carefully. Otherwise, you might expose yourself."
"And while I was at it, I thought I'd pass along a message from your parents to let you know they're safe."
Anser's expression remained cold and unreadable.
So the people he killed could not be brought back with True Resurrection.
Moranthis clearly didn't know his true secret. Right now, she was simply trying to use that secret—and his parents—as leverage to pressure him.
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