Talona's existence was ancient, but she was not a powerful deity. For most of her history, she had remained a lesser power.
Though she held dominion over death and disease, she detested violence and preferred to manipulate things from the shadows.
It was said that she had once been a servant of Bhaal, the God of Murder, and had cooperated with Bane, the God of Tyranny, but those matters were already impossible to verify.
With a war of such scale erupting in Baldur's Gate, casualties numbering in the hundreds of thousands, and disease running rampant, the place held a fatal attraction for Talona's Chosen.
For that person to come here and spread her influence, there was almost nothing standing in her way.
"Bane's Chosen appeared in the Rock of Bral, and now several Chosen have appeared in Baldur's Gate as well…"
Anser told Soradin about the Chosen, especially the movements of evil gods' Chosen. This was something he had intended to spread widely in the first place.
Soradin came from the Iron Mountain Clan, and even in such a miserable state, he still had a large group of mountain dwarves following him. That alone showed the Iron Mountain Clan's influence.
Telling him might bring an unexpected gain.
"That doesn't add up. Talona's Chosen could have hidden her identity completely. Exposing herself is way too dangerous." Soradin scratched his beard irritably. The drastic changes in the world made him feel awful.
"How would she build a cult without exposing herself?" Anser gave a soft laugh. "Talona's influence is too weak, and she has almost no temples. Her Chosen can't possibly work alone."
Talona could bring fatal disease, but she could also grant redemptive healing when a creature was on the verge of death. For her Chosen, displaying miracles was an extremely easy thing.
"Fine." Soradin took a gulp of ale and recalled, "The day before yesterday, right after we got here, we ran into a group of refugees. There was an old woman among them with a face covered in scars and tattoos. She called herself a witch doctor, but she really did have some skill. She saved a lot of people…"
"Her followers would always trail behind her and quietly spread the word that she was a Chosen. Believers could receive salvation, while unbelievers and the disrespectful all fell ill…"
"Including you?"
"I… was just a little weak after being injured."
Anser smiled without saying anything. When he had first arrived, he had already noticed that Soradin's complexion was off, and the healing just now had confirmed it.
It was not fatal, but he would definitely have suffered for it.
He rubbed his chin, a thoughtful look in his eyes.
This Chosen might not be that strong. This kind of nonfatal infection was probably not because she was merciful. More likely, it was because she could not do anything more.
Unless she acted openly, but that would damage her mysterious image.
"Where did that person go? Does anyone know?" Anser asked.
"She was heading toward Baldur's Gate at the time. No idea now. Nobody's got the energy to pay attention to that stuff." Soradin shook the empty bottle and gave a helpless smile.
Just then, a dwarf came in carrying a wooden tray. On it were freshly roasted steaks. Aside from salt, there were no extra seasonings, but at least the meat was fresh.
Soradin did not even wash his hands. He grabbed a steak and started gnawing at it. The three pieces of bread and two bottles of ale from earlier had been nowhere near enough to ease his hunger.
"There's a Dawn Town a few dozen kilometers east of here. Rand and the others are over there. Want me to take you there?" Anser suggested with a smile.
Without even thinking, Soradin waved his hand, his words muffled by the food in his mouth. "They didn't abandon me during the days I was badly wounded, so I can't leave on my own either."
"Mm." Anser took twenty sacks of rice from the Party Storage and piled them in one corner of the tent. "This should be enough to get by until you reach Dawn Town."
It was not that he did not want to give more. Any more than this would become a burden. These, plus the carcasses of those wild beasts, would be enough for the hundred-plus people here to make it to Dawn Town.
Besides, this camp had no shortage of professionals. Even without this food, they would not starve to death.
"The Iron Mountain Clan won't forget this day." Soradin thumped his chest hard enough to make it boom.
However, with his cheeks stuffed full, his mouth smeared with grease, and his beard in disarray, he looked somewhat lacking in authority.
"I'll remember that."
Anser glanced at his severed arm, then rose and left the tent. He spread his dragon wings and vanished into the endless night.
Soradin followed him out and stared at the night sky, the full moon reflected in his eyes, its light flickering uncertainly.
...
When the first ray of morning light leapt over the horizon, Anser had already appeared at the entrance of Tyr's church in Dawn Town.
Although he had only rested for three or four hours, he was full of energy, his Magic Power brimming.
Rand hurried out to meet him and said in surprise, "I thought the young cleric had mistaken you for someone else. Why are you back again?"
"I got blocked by Lolth's Chosen."
"Huh?"
Anser told him the general situation, but concealed his speculation about the Chosen of Murder.
He himself looked completely unconcerned, while Rand, on the contrary, became weighed down with worry, his expression grave.
Rand thought he was pretending, but in truth, Anser really did not care that much.
If there was a chance, he was willing to pay a steep price to resurrect the original owner's parents and give them the best living conditions so they could enjoy their later years in peace.
But if circumstances changed, he would absolutely not let himself be shackled by it.
The purpose of telling Rand was to give him some mental preparation, so he would not believe the "rumors" spread by Lolth's Chosen.
"I came here this time for another thing. No, two things…" Anser quickly told him about Bane's Chosen's actions and Soradin's situation.
If Dawn Town had a member of the Adventuring Party, then he would not have had to make this trip himself.
In his plan, every important city or force needed to have members of the Adventuring Party inside it, such as the Magic Research Society and Waterdeep.
When the time came, a single word from him would be enough to get something done or influence the direction of events. That was something going it alone could never achieve.
"I'll spread the news immediately, then personally lead people to pick up Soradin while investigating the traces of Talona's Chosen." Rand pressed his lips together, feeling as if a mountain had been laid across his back, so heavy he could hardly breathe.
"You… when something happens, everyone should shoulder it together. Don't take risks by yourself." Anser felt a little regretful.
Paladins had an especially strong sense of responsibility. They could not stand seeing rotten things like this, and even when they were powerless, they would still take the matter onto their own shoulders, unwilling even to find excuses for themselves.
"Don't worry. You know me, don't you?" Rand grinned, looking the same as usual.
"I know you way too well." Anser curled his lip. Knowing it would be useless to say more, he simply shut up.
After finishing his instructions, he left Rand ten tons of wheat.
Paladins ought to be handling major affairs. Having them worry about food every day was too much of a waste of resources. Besides, he had more than four hundred tons of grain stored away, so taking a little out to do someone a favor was not a bad deal.
He left Dawn Town, came to the uninhabited wilderness, and cast Teleportation Circle to enter the Magic Research Society's headquarters.
This time, he appeared directly in Otto's Wizard Tower, saving himself the travel time.
The Wizard Tower was very quiet in the early morning. There was almost no one to be seen, and since he did not know where Jiandar lived, he could only feel his way around on his own.
'I'll go look for the rune sequences of the permanent Teleportation Circles in the major cities first.'
Following Jiandar's earlier introduction and using his identity plaque, he successfully passed through the underground Teleportation Circle and arrived at the entrance of the Great Library.
The library looked like an open book. It was built entirely from white stone and had nine floors, each more than ten meters high.
Passing through the hall and entering the stacks, he found himself surrounded on all sides by towering, enormous bookshelves. It was like stepping into a forest of books. The atmosphere was solemn, oppressive, and filled with weight.
'Knowledge really is power. And I just walked right in?' Anser secretly clicked his tongue.
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