Chapter 573 Neverwinter Suburbs (7K)

Even though they were still in danger, everyone finally became active after breaking away from their status as slaves.

During the chat, Tang Sen also got a general idea of ​​these people.

Except for the halflings and dwarves, the other two are all humans. Almost all of them are residents living near Silvermoon City, adjacent to the High Forest. Only experienced adventurers know that Menzoberranzan is in the Underdark. The location of the target surface is close to the Supreme Forest.

The Halfling is a scholar from Silvermoon City with a relatively happy family. He was attacked by goblins on the way to Fort Orostien and captured in the goblin lair. This goblin lair is connected to the Dark Territory, and the halfling is escaping. Three months have passed since he strayed into the Underdark when he was young, was caught by the gray dwarves, and sold to Menzoberranzan.

This shows that halflings are indeed not very popular in the eyes of drow. Not a single slave has been sold for three months. No wonder the slave merchants are already planning to package them up.

The two humans were farmers near the High Forest and were accidentally caught in the Underdark.

Only the dwarf is an adventurer. His teammates were wiped out by the drow attack, leaving him as a slave.

In other words, among the five people in this line, including Tang Sen, only the dwarves are professionals, and their level is only level seven. According to common sense, such a team configuration will not be able to escape from Menzoberranzan. , even in the Underdark, or even in the wilderness on the surface, they cannot survive for long.

"I have written down the route from the surface all the way to Menzoberranzan City." Halfling O'Neill said: "Of course, the premise is that you can leave Menzoberranzan City."

"It seems like there hasn't been any movement up there for a long time?" Dwarf Werther put his ear against the wall and whispered.

"After all, most of the night has passed. If the efficiency of those drow elves is high enough, they should have searched the entire city." Tang Sen said.

Under the influence of the oracle, even the efficiency of the drow must be at full capacity.

"It's time to leave here." Tang Sen squinted his eyes: "At this time, Menzoberranzan's blockade is the loosest. After all, their superiors are still thinking about what to do next."

The oracle may be an opportunity for believers of many gods, but this is obviously not the case for believers of Rose.

After all, Lolth is a chaotic and evil god. Believers may not be rewarded for completing the oracle, but if they fail to complete the oracle, they will definitely face terrible punishment.

The pressure on the Drow High Priest is probably very high at this time.

Just as Tang Sen had expected, when everyone sneaked out of the cave, there was silence.

The fire has been extinguished long ago, but looking at the traces of the fire, no drow have tried to enter here at all.

There was a huge noise in the distance, and it seemed that there was some commotion near the temple, but it had nothing to do with Tang Sen and the others. Tang Sen took the lead and skillfully shuttled through various hidden corners, and soon he was close to the magic rope. The edge of Bly City.

But when we got here, we inevitably ran into trouble.

What can be seen with the naked eye is that drow are patrolling all the passages that can leave the city. A few people are hiding in the shadows, and the discussion of the drow can even be clearly heard.

"Who is the person that the high priest asked us to arrest? To be honest, I have lived in Menzoberranzan for so long and I have never seen the person in the image." A drow carrying a bow and arrow said.

"It looks like a spell caster, but in any case, he must be a traitor who betrayed the mistress."

"A traitor actually made such a big fuss. Hey, I had just taken off my pants halfway and had to put them back on."

"You are much better than me. I was excited at the time. My partner and the newly purchased orc slave were-"

The conversation was blurred as the drow moved away.

"So they are arresting a traitor to the drow?" the dwarf Witte spat: "Damn it."

"At least this is good news." The halfling said, "We still haven't attracted the attention of the drow elves."

"The next step is to find a way to escape from the blockade." Tang Sen looked around vaguely. Even without the sense of the surgical fruits, he could still find many hidden whistles.

If you rush out directly, there is almost no possibility of not being discovered.

"What should we do? Do we want to make some noise to attract their attention?" The halfling tried to use Tang Sen's way of thinking and said: "For example, set a fire or something, so that we can take the opportunity to escape."

"No." Tang Sen shook his head: "With this method, even if you escape, you won't be able to escape far."

He held out a finger: "We need to be clear that we are not the focus of what the drow are looking for. In fact, they are not interested in the life and death of some slaves."

"So, we can leave here openly."

"How generous?" The halfling was stunned for a moment: "Even if they don't care, they wouldn't let the slaves leave here."

"Of course not a living slave."

"But that's not necessarily the case for dead slaves." Tang Sen just pointed not far away: "That's why we are here."

"That's the mass grave there."

The drow really don't care at all about dead slaves.

In this underground city, many slaves are tortured to death every day. The drow are always willing to explore the limits of desire on the bed or in various other places, and their methods for slaves are also all kinds of strange. Naturally there will be losses in this process.

How to deal with the slave's body is a very simple problem for the drow - just find a pit and throw it away, you don't even need to bury it. There are countless creatures in the Underdark who are willing to help.

Of course, this pit cannot be inside the city. The nobles do not want to see dangerous creatures entering their territory.

Things progressed more smoothly than Tang Sen imagined. He originally thought that his plan would have some twists and turns due to tonight's oracle, but until a few people got into the corpse truck and arrived at the mass grave, they were dumped. Among the piles of corpses, no drow carefully inspected them at all. They only glanced casually to confirm that there were no drow corpses.

These guys seem to be as loose in the way they do things as they are in the way they live.

Of course, part of the reason for this is that the drow really don't care much about slaves.

After waiting in the corpse pit for a long time, until the surroundings became completely silent, everyone finally started to move.

"Bah!" The dwarf pushed away a corpse that was pressing him, spit out the smelly blood in his mouth, and finally got up.

He first grabbed the halfling's leg, pulled the other person out, and then began to look for other people.

Tang Sen was already lying on the edge of the pit, looking at the situation inside Menzoberranzan. After struggling hard, the two humans finally climbed out.

Everyone was in a mess.

"Finally. Escaped!" The halfling just stood for a while, then sat down on the ground: "Before today, I didn't dare to think that I would be able to leave that damn city one day."

"I will never come to the Underdark again in this life!" The dwarf pulled his hair hard.

The two humans were crying uncontrollably. They were just ordinary farmers. This was the only way they could vent their emotions now.

Only Tang Sen still looked calm and said:

"The danger is not completely gone yet."

"If you want to celebrate, wait until you see the sun or the starry sky. Now, we have to continue on our way."

Such words made everyone's emotions that were about to explode cool down again.

Yes, now is not the time to celebrate.

They all looked at Tang Sen. The man in front of them had single-handedly led everyone to escape, but he did not take credit at all. He remained calm and calm, which was in sharp contrast to themselves.

"O'Neal, you said you remembered the way before, so please lead the way."

The group set off again.

Leaving the territory of Menzoberranzan and leaving the area where Rose's perception is strongest, Tang Sen finally no longer needs to be so restrained. Although he still occupies Arthur's body through mind conversion, Xue Xue can already leave the demiplane. Secretly helping everyone.

This made the journey go very smoothly. Everyone who was originally frightened and afraid that they would fall on the last stretch of the way home unexpectedly discovered that the monsters everywhere in the Underdark did not appear at all.

Until the moment when everyone stood under the sun, everyone felt as if they were in a dream.

"You just escaped like this?"

"It's sunshine. I have forgotten what it felt like last time I was bathed in sunshine."

Everyone showed their truest attitude, crying and laughing.

Tang Sen just stood aside and watched this scene, stretching.

It's not a challenging experience, but it's a fun little experience that I haven't seen in a long time, and my journey is not over yet.

After everyone calmed down, he asked: "O'Neal, do you know where this exit is?"

"Of course I know, Arthur." O'Neill clapped his face with both hands to get himself out of those intense emotions, "I was caught into the Underdark through this hole."

"This is between Silvermoon City and Olosteen Castle."

"Silver Moon City?" Tang Sen showed a thoughtful expression.

"Please forgive me for being rude." O'Neill said: "Arthur, I don't know where you are from yet. If it is too far away, why not come with me to Silvermoon City? I will do my best to entertain you in return. You gave me a second life."

"Me too!" the dwarf roared: "I am fairly well-known in Silvermoon City, and I know where to drink the strongest wine! Arthur, you must drink with me for three days and three nights! Let me! All my friends know your name!”

The two humans were a little embarrassed, but they still said seriously: "We also invite you to come to our village. Although we may not have such rich material resources, the girls in our village are very beautiful! They will definitely be happy to see you. "

Facing everyone's invitation, Tang Sen just smiled and shook his head.

"I'm afraid we have to part ways, my friends," he said. "I'm as eager to get home as you are, and I don't want to waste another minute."

"Where are you going?" O'Neill couldn't help but ask.

"Dragon Coast." Tang Sen smiled and said, "That's my hometown. If you have the chance, you are welcome to come to Ximen City."

"So far away?" Witte opened his mouth wide: "Perhaps you can go to Silvermoon City and take a ride on the floating ship. Speaking of which, Silvermoon City's Emerald is famous. Our dwarf hero Barn was riding on this ship. A floating ship encountered a demonic invasion on the way, and then created a legendary story.”

"I have other methods." Tang Sen nodded: "But if there is a chance, I will consider it. After all, I also like the story of the dwarf Barn."

Tang Sen didn't stay too long. After saying goodbye one by one, he got into the jungle amidst the complicated looks in everyone's eyes.

"Aren't we going to Neverwinter City?" A voice sounded nearby, and Xue Xue's figure emerged.

"Well, yes." Tang Sen nodded calmly.

"Okay." Xue Xue had no more questions.

She just said: "In the Underdark, I felt watched more than once."

"Rose's gaze?"

"No, it's more hidden." Xue Xue said seriously: "I can feel that those gazes are just fleeting, and they don't pay special attention to me. It's like..."

She struggled to think of an adjective.

"It's like something is scanning you, right?" Tang Sen said.

"That's right." Xue Xue nodded.

"I know." Tang Sen didn't show any surprise.

It would be weird not to be watched.

As he had guessed before, the Dark Territory was within the scope of the goddess's priesthood. If he hadn't blended into the team of escaped slaves and used his mind to transform his body, as well as the divinity contained in it, he would have completely lost it. If he hid in a demiplane, he might have been discovered.

This is also the reason why Tang Sen separated from several slaves after leaving the Underdark Region.

On the surface, there is no need for such trouble. If we continue to travel together, it will slow down our speed.

A door appeared in the void, and Tang Sen's body walked out of the demiplane. He casually activated the power of the surgical fruit.

The blond man's expression suddenly changed from calm and deep to confused.

"Wasn't I in prison just now? Is it here?"

He looked around, opened his mouth, and fell to his knees as his legs gave out.

But Tang Sen had no intention of explaining. The magic power flowed in his body and hit the man directly.

False memories were injected into his mind.

So he suddenly stood up and murmured: "Arthur. My name is Arthur."

Tang Sen raised his hand and reached into the demiplane, and an object turned into brilliance and entered Arthur's body. Arthur didn't know it and just walked away into the distance.

"I'm going to the Dragon Coast"

Xue Xue watched this scene with great interest and said, "That one just now seems to be the artifact you bought in Sigil City before, right?"

"That's right." Tang Sen nodded and said, "We can't let this guy die on the road."

"Otherwise, it will be difficult for me to find such a suitable skin."

"As for now—"

"It's time to return to Neverwinter."

"I once explored the tomb left by a necromancer with the dwarf Baan."

This is a wooden house built in a very rough style. The dim light, noisy sounds and the fascinating smell of alcohol are enough to make any adventurer feel familiar in an instant.

The speaker was sitting in front of the bar. He was a middle-aged man, or older than middle-aged. After all, his beard had begun to gray and there were some wrinkles at the corners of his eyes.

Of course, no one would underestimate him because of his age. After all, his naked upper body and countless muscle outlines clearly told everyone that he was a powerful adventurer.

"Carmelo, you have told this story many times." The bartender standing behind the bar wiped his glass and said: "To be honest, I really want to believe everything you said, but if you have really been with Having fought alongside Baan, you shouldn’t be here—”

He pointed around and said: "Only people who have just arrived here will think that this is Neverwinter City. A veteran like you should know that we are just outside Neverwinter City. A group of people who cannot live here at all." It’s just a gathering place established by the poor people who built houses in Neverwinter.”

"Isn't your old friend Barn even willing to provide you with a small room big enough for you to sleep?"

The man named Carmelo was not angry because of the slight ridicule in the bartender's words. He just took a sip of wine and said: "I haven't seen Barn for more than ten years. Maybe he has forgotten me. maybe."

"I mention this not to show off - although knowing the dwarf Baan is indeed something worth showing off. After all, in the entire Faerûn, and even in the entire world of Toril, who doesn't know Baan's name? The legendary dwarf who stopped the demonic invasion, the greatest city, the Lord of Neverwinter, the honor that everyone in the entire continent hopes to receive, and the creator of the Legend Award."

"But, I'm not doing it to show off."

The man emphasized: "I just don't understand."

"If you don't say such a long list of descriptions about how powerful Barn is, I will believe that you are not doing it to show off, my friend." The bartender reluctantly gave the man another glass of wine and said: " Okay, please continue, what is your confusion?"

The man poured another drink down his throat, then slammed the cup on the bar and said, "I always feel like there's something wrong with my memory."

"Obviously, for a person like me, I will never forget it, especially for important things——"

"I know, you are a warrior monk." The bartender shrugged: "Don't you have to meditate like a spell caster every day?"

"Our meditation is different from that of spell casters. We do not accumulate magic power, but Qi. In other words, it is more about exploring our inner world. No, in short, as a monk, it is difficult for me to forget some things, so That’s why I felt something was so wrong.”

The man raised his hand, interrupted the bartender's possible witticism, and said seriously: "For example, the adventure that Barn and I took was because Barn found a document about the tomb of the Necromancer in Candlekeep. message, and then invited me, we met a half-elf mage lady in the tavern. This is very clear, and I confirm that my memory in this regard is correct."

"Yes, yes." The bartender started to get a little impatient, but still said in a very professional manner: "Then what?"

"Then we successfully found the tomb of the necromancer, but we got lost in the maze in the tomb." The man frowned.

"This is more normal." The bartender spread his hands and said: "For an experienced adventurer like you, I'm afraid you have been trapped in a maze in a tomb or ruins more than once or twice."

"Yes." The man frowned even more tightly: "I remember, because of the pathfinding tricks of the half-elf mage lady and an extremely powerful cutting spell, we successfully escaped from the maze and entered the dark area. He even saved a halfling from the gray dwarves in the Underdark."

"Wonderful adventure!" The bartender became slightly more interested: "That must be a powerful mage lady, wait a minute. You are not talking about Cui Xi from Neverwinter City, are you? She is the president of the Legend Award Award Committee! "

"It's indeed her." The man nodded.

"Is she as beautiful as the rumors say? I heard that only the most powerful adventurers have the chance to be received by her. She is the most beautiful and wisest person in Neverwinter City. Her rich adventure experience allows her to Select the most suitable candidate to win the award among countless people——"

"Well, I don't know what Miss Cuixi looks like now." The man said with some embarrassment: "But you may not believe it. In my impression, Miss Cuixi seems to be a person who is fanatical and obsessed with attack spells." Newcomer.”

"Didn't you just say that Miss Cuixi led you to escape from the maze? Pathfinding tricks, cutting spells, etc."

"Yes." The man nodded: "This is what I feel is very wrong. Why do these two impressions of Miss Cuixi exist in my mind at the same time? Sometimes I even feel that I remember Wrong, in fact, there is another person in that maze besides me, Barn and Trish."

"Hey, Carmelo, you might have had a little too much to drink." The bartender leaned out and patted him on the shoulder.

"Maybe." The man sighed and said politely: "But please listen to me. If it was just like this, I wouldn't still be worried after so many years. Maybe it's because I am a warrior monk. These doubts really prevent me from seeing my true intentions clearly.”

"Okay, please continue." The bar refilled the man's glass of wine.

"I mentioned the halfling just now. I remember that he was a very nagging gentleman. His fate was very tragic. He was obviously rescued, but because he was too happy, he was killed by himself after the Moonstone Mask's banquet. Choked to death on his vomit."

"Pfft." The bartender couldn't help laughing. Then he realized that he was rude and quickly made up for it: "It's really tragic."

Fortunately, the man had a good temper and did not mind this offense. He just said: "In my memory, Trish seemed to want to ask Barn about something, so she tried to find a priest who could talk with the dead. Of course, I did too. At this time I say goodbye to Barn and Trish, I have my own things to do."

"It's just strange that I remember that Cui Xi and I were in the room at that time, and I clearly remember that Cui Xi was only sad about the death of Mr. Halfling, and didn't mention the conversation with the dead technique at all—"

"Wait!" The bartender was a little confused, "What you said is very contradictory."

"Indeed." The man sighed again: "It's too contradictory. In my memory, it's like there are two Cuixi. In other words, I remember what a certain person did. To Cui Xi? But how is this possible? If that person did those things, there is no way I would not remember him."

"Perhaps there is a spell caster who erased your memory." The bartender followed his words and said: "For example, Cui Xi herself? She must be a powerful spell caster."

"I have thought about this possibility and even asked a legendary spell caster to check it for me. Unfortunately, my memory has no traces of being tampered with by magic." The man suddenly smiled: "Forget it, anyway, thank you very much for listening. My confusion.”

"I'm more interested in why you said goodbye to Barn and Trish at that time." The bartender smiled: "If what you said is true, I can't help but guess if you would have appeared if you didn't leave at that time. In the legend of Baan, has he even become a big shot in Neverwinter?"

He showed an exaggerated expression: "You must know that because of the special characteristics of Neverwinter City, countless people across the continent yearn to live in Neverwinter City. The cost of living there has become sky-high. This leads to the fact that there are no rules outside the city. Hundreds of thousands of people still gathered in this place, forming a huge gathering place jokingly called the Neverwinter Suburbs.”

"Of course, it also forms the most chaotic place in Faerûn."

There was a trace of sarcasm on his face: "How interesting, the safest place and the most chaotic place are actually right next to each other."

"After all, if many people in the city really want to solve some problems, they will also consider coming to the suburbs of Neverwinter to fight with real swords and guns, instead of judging the superiority through words in the city." The man said: " Moreover, doesn’t the more important source of chaos come from the priests of the evil god?”

"You make sense." The bartender said: "I can guarantee that almost all gods have priests hidden in the suburbs of Neverwinter, especially the evil ones, who are brewing some conspiracies every day."

"For example, the priests of Shar?" The man's voice lowered a little: "They are almost walking openly in the sun. It is incredible. Are all the priests of Shar in Faerun gathered in the suburbs of Neverwinter?"

"This is not something we should consider." The bartender showed little interest in this topic: "The matter of gods is too far away. I am more curious about who will win the Legend Award in the Legend Award Ceremony to be held next—— It would be better if I could go into the city to watch, but unfortunately, I can still afford the entry fee on a normal day, but on the day of the ceremony, according to the management in previous years, the entry fee will be an astronomical sum."

"Entry fee?" At this time, a curious voice came from the side.

The two of them turned around and saw an impressive black-haired man.

The other party smiled and said: "I'm sorry to jump into the conversation, but I am really interested in Neverwinter City."

"Of course, there is also the story that Mr. Monk mentioned just now——"

His narrow eyes narrowed slightly: "Who is that forgotten person?"