Book 11: Chapter 52: Laini and Miryrm

“Where does this Teleportation Array lead?” Qin Lun asked as he looked at the large Hexagram Array in front of him.

The Underground Labyrinth of Candlekeep had several long-distance Teleportation Arrays. Candlekeep built these arrays mainly to explore large Ruins.

The history of the Sapient Races on Faerûn was long and deep. Even if you didn’t count the ancient Lizardfolk civilizations from before recorded history, and started counting from when the Elves migrated to Faerûn, the entire time span was nearly thirty thousand years.

Throughout this thirty-thousand-year river of history, countless glorious and brilliant racial civilizations rose on Faerûn. From the first flourishing period, which saw the blossoming of Elf civilizations like Aryvandaar, Ilfaron, Ilisrui, Kaeldomo, Maiyelita, and Santa Osriel, to the fall of the first Elf Empire, Vyshaantar, destroyed by the Crown Wars.

From the second Elf Empire, Yeerlan, after the war, to the Dwarf Empire, Sunata, dominating the underground world, to the rise of the Drow Elves. From the third Elf Empire, Lisar, to the Air Genie Kingdom of Kalim, and the Fire Genie Kingdom of Mainona.

The second flourishing period saw the establishment of the human magic empire, Netheril, the Dwarf Kingdoms of Amlinda, Lorlin, Dalais, and Ograng, the human kingdoms of Qundas, Calimshan, and the Kingdom of Xia Ya, even the short-lived Goblin Kingdom, Cantas, and the Orc empires that rose sporadically in the northern mountains…

Countless cities and kingdoms rose and fell in the long river of history, each condensing into a brilliant pearl of civilization.

To this day, these former pearls of wisdom have become historical Ruins of various sizes across the continent. However, after being looted by many Rogue bands and mercenary groups in recent times, these Ruins often only had a few barely visible broken walls and debris left, or sometimes nothing at all.

Since its founding, Candlekeep had always been dedicated to protecting and rescuing ancient artifacts and historical documents from these Ruins. Whenever a large Ruin was discovered on the continent, Candlekeep’s scholars would rush there immediately to protect these remaining pearls of civilization from being looted by anyone.

Similar to archaeology on Earth, rescuing artifacts was not a job that could be done by just a few people. It required thorough preparation, and both manpower and material equipment were essential.

To protect the Ruins to the greatest extent and to safely transport the ancient artifacts and historical documents, the enormously expensive long-distance Teleportation Arrays became the greatest reliance and support for Candlekeep’s scholars.

These large arrays were not fixed at one Ruin. First, a permanent Magical Array was set up in Candlekeep. Then, when a Ruin was discovered, Candlekeep’s archmages would immediately ride flying mounts to the site and set up various small Teleportation Arrays near the Ruin.

If the Ruin, apart from the artifacts, had buildings that didn’t need protection, these small Teleportation Arrays would be destroyed afterwards. If the Ruin itself was worth protecting, then Candlekeep would keep these small arrays and also notify the nearest kingdom and city, revealing the Ruin’s location to them.

“According to your requirements, the nearest teleportation point to the Silver Marches is in Nismai, on the edge of the Evermoors. There is an ancient Ruin there left from the time of the fifth Crown War.”

The young monk pointed at the Hexagram Array glowing with faint magical light and explained, “That place is already very close to the capital of the Silver Marches. You can follow the Surbrin River downstream and reach Silverymoon in about two days.”

“Alright, let’s get started then!” Qin Lun let out a breath. After so many days, he was finally about to encounter the first Epic Plot.

“Wait, wait!” Just as everyone was about to enter the Teleportation Array, an urgent voice came from a corridor in the distance of the hall.

Everyone turned to look and saw a female Mage holding up the hem of her robe, hurriedly running out of the passageway. Because she didn’t usually exercise much, her steps seemed a bit unsteady.

“Lady Laini?!” Linda looked at the female Mage in surprise and asked, “What are you doing here?”

“I’m going with you to the Silver Marches.” This Seer and Great Sage pushed up her monocle, which was as thick as the bottom of a bottle, twirled once while holding her robe, and said as if it were obvious, “Look, I even cleaned up before going out. I absolutely, absolutely will not embarrass you.”

“Oh… wait, that’s not the main issue!” Linda covered her face and asked in distress, “Why do you want to come with us to the Silver Marches? We aren’t going there to buy books!”

“I’ve wanted to travel to the Northlands for a long time. It just so happens we’re going the same way!” The female Mage blinked her big eyes, looking innocent.

“But… what we’re going to do is very dangerous!” Linda frowned and scratched her head.

“You’re worried I’ll be a burden?” Laini pursed her lips, pointed seriously at Linda, and said, “Linda Astilara, you are questioning my magical power. I want to have a…”

“You win!” Before the female Mage could even say the word “duel,” Linda had already raised her hands in surrender, muttering discontentedly, “Always bullying others. Everyone knows you’re a Legendary archmage.”

Watching these two, one old and one young, acting cute over there, everyone else couldn’t help but twitch their faces slightly. The mission hadn’t even started yet, but they already faintly sensed an ominous premonition.

“This is definitely my teacher’s idea. No wonder he let me off so easily this time. He planned to punish me with Lady Laini all along!” Linda kept muttering incessantly to Qin Lun, “Reject her, reject her…”

“Her legs are her own, and the Teleportation Array belongs to Candlekeep. How do you expect us to refuse?” Qin Lun rolled his eyes helplessly. He didn’t mind having another Legendary fighter in the team at all.

“Stop fooling around, can we go now!” Mastashia sighed and stepped first towards the array.

Just as she was about to step into the array, suddenly a enormous pressure appeared out of nowhere, as if two heavy quilts had suddenly fallen from the sky, pressing down heavily on everyone. The Highland Elf missed her step and nearly fell flat on her face. The others also found it difficult to move, their bodies feeling as if they were in the deep sea under great pressure.

“What now?” Qin Lun didn’t even feel like joking anymore.

“Miryrm, is that you?” Among everyone, perhaps only Laini, who had reached the Legendary Rank, felt no pressure at all. The female Mage tilted her head and called out towards the empty space in front of her.

“Hehehe…” A playful, childlike laugh echoed in the empty space. The space in front rippled, and a translucent dragon figure slowly emerged.

This translucent dragon figure was small and cute, floating in front of everyone like a big ball, emitting a faint dragon’s aura. Although its body was covered in bright silver spikes, its small size made it seem not fierce or abrupt at all.

“Hohoho, it’s been so long since visitors came to the catacombs. How could I not come out to greet you!” The Silver Dragon’s ghost did a somersault in the air and asked with a beaming smile, “Are you here to chat with me?”

“Lord Miryrm, we are here to use the Teleportation Array. We are leaving soon!” Linda said cautiously, then suddenly pointed at the young monk beside her, betraying him without any loyalty, “If you want someone to chat with, Mula is a good listener!”

The young monk’s face darkened. “I… I still have several books to copy.”

“No, Mula is the most boring, like a wooden puppet.” The Silver Dragon rested its chin on a small claw, swished its tail, and refused.

“Miryrm, these visitors have already paid the full fee. You cannot force them to stay.” Laini’s support made everyone secretly grateful. They suddenly felt that keeping this careless Great Sage around might have its benefits.

“Tch!” Miryrm spat in a very human-like manner, making everyone break out in a cold sweat.

The Silver Dragon’s big eyes rolled around. A small claw suddenly extended a sharp nail. “No, I smell the scent of Abyssal Demons and Illithids on them. I must check them properly to make sure they don’t cause damage to Candlekeep.”

“They are teleporting away immediately. How could they possibly damage Candlekeep? You just want someone to talk to, don’t you?” Linda, Mastashia, and other Plot Characters screamed internally, but the three Apostles in the group changed their expressions slightly and exchanged glances.

Qin Lun did indeed have a Demon Bloodline, and Hill had an Illithid Bloodline. But actually, such Apostle Bloodlines were concealed by the Star Void’s laws. In the eyes of Plot Characters, they just appeared as Elves and humans.

However, the Star Void’s concealment of Apostle Bloodlines had its limits. If it were a deity who directly controlled the World Law, then there was a certain probability they could detect the fluctuations of the Star Void’s laws. Except for the memories hidden deep within the Apostle Soul Mark, equipment, items, and true Bloodlines were difficult to hide successfully in front of a deity.

This was also the reason why Qin Lun didn’t dare to take too many of the sacrificial offerings when he was in Umberlee’s Church’s underground base; he was afraid of attracting the attention of the goddess Umberlee.

The fact that Miryrm could detect the Apostle Bloodlines on Qin Lun and Hill clearly showed that its power had surpassed the Legendary Rank and possibly reached the level of a Demigod, touching upon a strand of the World Law.

The Silver Dragon flew down from the air and came close to the outsiders, sniffing carefully. Its large nostrils kept twitching, making Qin Lun and the others feel quite anxious. If this Silver Dragon ghost identified their Apostle Bloodlines, it would probably be very difficult to gain the trust of Mastashia and the others afterwards.

Whether it was the scholars of Candlekeep or the Harper Masters, they would not cooperate with an Elf bearing a Demon Bloodline, because that meant the Elf had completely fallen.

“Huh, it seems I can’t smell it anymore.” A trace of surprise appeared on Miryrm’s face, making Qin Lun and Hill secretly sigh with relief.

“Hmph, so it really was Lord Miryrm’s unreasonable behavior?” Linda put her hands on her hips and looked at the Silver Dragon angrily.

“Alright, alright!” The Silver Dragon ghost was powerful, but its temperament was very much like a child’s. Seeing everyone looking at it angrily, it immediately raised a small claw and scratched its chin sheepishly. “How about this: I’ll pose a riddle to these visitors. If anyone guesses it, I’ll give them a prize to make up for my rudeness just now…”

“Agree to it!” The Great Sage Laini poked Qin Lun from behind. She could tell that Qin Lun was subtly the leader of this group. “Miryrm has extorted things from many visitors. Its private collection is famously rich in Candlekeep, but it’s also very stingy. It’s a rare chance to make it give something up.”

“Ahem, listen carefully everyone!” After getting everyone’s agreement, Miryrm shook its head smugly. “There is one thing in the world. It is the longest yet the shortest, the broadest yet the most divided, the greatest yet the smallest, the most precious yet the most neglected. What is it?”