"No problem! It's my pleasure."

The old woman who called herself Yvette slowly stood up and pointed at a house not far away and made an inviting gesture.

Soon, the two of them walked in and closed the door one after another.

With a bang, the scene suddenly went into an uproar as if the mute button had been pressed.

As a priest and believer of Talona, ​​I witnessed Zuo Si, the chosen one who destroyed a world with plague in the legend, and I was naturally overjoyed, as if I had a backer.

The priests of the kind gods had solemn expressions, looking as if the end of the world was about to come.

A paladin wearing full plate armor took a deep breath and couldn't help complaining to his companions: "Damn it! Sir Kaidong, what on earth do you think is wrong with this world?

Why does even Talona, ​​the goddess of poison and disease, have a powerful electorate of her own?

You can even openly build a temple in Ascaltra and recruit believers.

As evil forces continue to expand like this, what’s the point of us trying our best to maintain order and justice every day?”

"Calm down, Sir Cassius. Things may not be as bad as you think. Because I heard from the priest of the Ilmat Church that the incarnation of the God of Suffering also came that night and drove away Talona.

The incarnation of. According to the information they gave, this young elector doesn’t seem to approve of Lady Poison’s teachings.”

The middle-aged and elderly paladin known as Kaidong patted his friend's shoulder and comforted him.

"The voters don't agree with the god who gave them strength?" Sir Cassius's eyes widened in surprise.

Because he is extremely devout and firm in his faith, he cannot imagine or understand this weird situation.

Kaidong smiled and shrugged his shoulders and said: "Yeah! It's amazing, isn't it? As far as I know, this elector has been coming to Ascatra for a while, but he has never had contact with the local church.

.I estimate that when he came today, he must have reached some agreement with the six-person council, so he came to restrain the behavior of Talona Church."

Sir Cassius nodded thoughtfully: "I see. If so, it may be a good thing for Askatra. At least we don't have to worry too much about large-scale outbreaks of plague, diseases and the like.

Crisis."

"Let's go, we have to rush to the Giant Plains to perform a mission. According to the information provided by Duke Telga, the situation there seems to be very critical."

"That's right. Let's go to the city gate to meet the other brothers and sisters of the Knights."

As they spoke, the two paladins quickly mounted their horses, turned around and walked towards the east.

Not long after they left, Zuo Si walked out of the house and walked away under the gaze of countless pairs of eyes, leaving only Yvette with an unsightly face.

You don't need to ask to know that the conversation between the two just now was definitely not pleasant.

To be precise, the former used his identity as a voter to force the latter to accept the six-person council's request not to attack nobles and wealthy merchants, let alone spread plague in Amn.

"Master officiant, what did the elect tell you?" A younger priest came closer and cautiously asked.

Yvette replied bitterly: "He has set some rules for us. Some of the previous methods can no longer be used in the future. It seems that this elect has no good impression of the church or the goddess. I really don't understand why the great mother of plagues

Will choose such a person to be a voter."

"Don't have any good feelings? This...how is this possible!"

The young pastor opened his mouth wide and couldn't believe what his ears were hearing.

But Yvette ignored him and just sighed in a low voice: "The thoughts of God are indeed beyond the understanding of us mortals. Maybe this elect has some qualities that we can't see, so he got the goddess.

Unreserved favor. In short, tell everyone in the church not to try to violate these taboos, otherwise he will kill us mercilessly."

"What about Talona? Does our goddess just let him kill her believers and followers?" the young priest asked excitedly.

"That's right! In the eyes of the goddess, the status and importance of the electorate are far above you and me.

Also, never try to figure out the thoughts of gods from a mortal perspective.

This is the first warning and also the last.

Don’t forget, since this elect appeared, our church has grown exponentially in both its influence and the number of believers.

This alone is enough to prove that the great goddess’s judgment is correct.”

After saying this, Yvette ignored the lost young man, walked straight to other pastors and believers, and began to announce the church's new rules to everyone present.

These "new rules" not only made "our own people" feel unbelievable, but even the kind-hearted members of the Church of God who came to cause trouble were shocked and speechless.

Because this is really not in line with the style of Talona, ​​the goddess of poison and plague. On the contrary, it is a bit evil, lawful or neutral.

While everyone was talking about it, a woman hiding in a dark corner pursed her lips and revealed a playful smile, muttering to herself in a voice that only she could hear: "I have no respect for the God who gave me strength.

?Soth, you are indeed an interesting little guy, no wonder you are targeted by those talisman masters."

As she blurted out the last word, she took off her hood to reveal her thin and delicate elf face. It was none other than Zenora who had just negotiated with Zuo Si on behalf of the six-person council and the masked mage.

It's just that it's different from the previous moon elf who exuded elegance and beauty.

At this moment, Zenora looks like a cold and cruel necromancer, with a strong negative energy exuding from her body.

Both eyes also glowed with a chilling red light.

However, she did not stay here for too long, and soon disappeared into the darkness.

……

At the same time, Shangla, the Lord of Talisman, also came to the secret stronghold in Askatra alone.

After reading the information collected recently, the lich immediately asked with great interest: "After Soth arrived in Ascatla, he has not been in contact with the church of Talona, ​​the goddess of poison and plague?"

"Yes, Master. According to the information we have, Soth seems to have never prayed or publicly worn the Holy Emblem. He does not look like a chosen one. Quite the contrary. Every move of this person is more like a person with weak faith, even

A mage without faith."

A man wearing leather armor knelt on the ground and gave a positive answer.

Just like how it operates in Calimshan, the Entangled Talisman in Askatra relies on infiltration, threats, and bribes to indirectly control several chambers of commerce and the families behind them.

Then use the tentacles extended by these people to explore various secrets.

So they are very aware of the secret agreement reached by the six-person council, the masked mage and Zuo Si.

"Oh? Then why do such people become voters?" Shangela touched her chin and continued to ask.

The man hurriedly explained: "According to our analysis and the recent propaganda of Talona Church, Soth seems to come from another world and completely destroy that world with a terrible plague. I think it may be because of this

, so he is favored by the Mother of Plagues. In addition, he himself is also very good at using poison."

"Coming from another world? No wonder! Then the special abilities he uses in making magic items, as well as those completely different design ideas, are most likely the magic skills of another world..."

Shangla instantly thought of many things.

Because the powerful magic item created by Zuo Si - [Blue Dragon Nemesis] has been studied repeatedly by them.

Whether it is the dense sorting of runes that most spellcasters cannot achieve, or the diamond dust evenly distributed in every corner of the crystal, they are by no means any known magic item manufacturing technology in Faerûn.

What's more, Zuo Si's spellcasting level is not high, which is the consensus of all talisman masters.

But the magic items he created far exceeded his own spellcasting level.

But if these skills come from another world, then everything can be explained.

"Master, what should we do next?" the man asked in an uncertain tone.

"You don't need to do anything, just continue to collect information about Soth. In addition, if it is convenient, you can consider establishing some business contacts with him. I would like to see what he, an alternative voter, will do next.

What."

Without any hesitation, Shangla immediately gave orders to his cronies.

According to the rules set by the organization, no talisman master is allowed to have contact with the chosen ones or priests of the gods.

So no matter how much he wants to communicate with Zuo Si now, he must endure it now.

At least we can’t take any risks until we get Lagon’s approval.

"I understand. Please rest assured that I will send back the compiled information every once in a while." The man promised confidently.

……

As Zuo Si settled the Talona Church in the city in accordance with the agreement, the six-member Council and the Masked Mage quickly sent over a land deed with a mage construction permit, as well as a suitable suit for senior members of the Masked Mage Guild.

As promised by the other party, this land is in the middle of the cemetery area, slum area, bridge area and city gate area.

There used to be a small square there that didn't cover a large area, but now it's all assigned to the Mage Tower.

As for the surrounding security situation...

It’s basically a state of chaos.

After all, it is so close to the slums and the Bridge District, and with the activities of a large number of Shadow Thieves Guild members, it is surprising that it can be better.

According to civilians living in this area, almost every night at night, you can see a lot of mysterious people sneaking into the cemetery area. You know without asking that they must be stealing grave goods.

Fortunately!

The Mage Tower is not a place where just any thief can sneak in and steal things.

So no matter how bad the public security situation was, Zuo Si felt it didn't matter.

Because after the mage tower is built, he will be the most dangerous existence in this area.

If there is a blind guy who dares to sneak in and steal something, then he will be treated as a "guinea pig" for experiments.
To be continued...