When was the last time someone looked down upon him? Elminster obviously couldn't remember clearly.

Because when he was young, he worked as a shepherd, a robber, and a thief, until he witnessed a dragon destroying his hometown, and then he was guided onto the path of a wizard.

During this time, he developed good swordsmanship, pickpocketing and stealth skills.

These skills also provided him with great help in his future adventures.

Even during the years he went to Myth Drannor to study, facing the extremely arrogant and conceited elven high wizards, Elminster had never suffered such naked and undisguised contempt as he did today.

After all, he had been transformed by magic into the image of an elf, a beautiful, elegant, and pretty woman, and had done some indescribable things at close range with the second-generation magic goddess.

As for the time after the fall of Myth Drannor, he had already mastered enough magical power, and with the blessing of his status as the Chosen One of the Goddess of Magic, everyone would be courteous to him.

Even the most powerful enemies are more wary and terrified of him.

In the turbulent years, Elminster even relied on the power and divinity sealed in his body by the goddess to personally fight against the saint of Bane, the god of tyranny.

With this power, he summoned the fallen second-generation magic goddess as the elemental spirit of the magic network essence, and successfully crushed the dark lord's plan.

It is precisely because of this incident that many people mistakenly believe that he is the one closest to a god among all the active legendary wizards in the continent of Faerun today.

Although Elminster was very clear that there was an insurmountable gap between him and the real gods.

But this did not prevent him from enjoying the various benefits brought by such great fame, especially the awe of enemies like Manshoon and Sazastan who also possessed powerful magical powers.

But now, what the great sage of Shadow Valley could not accept the most was that he was actually regarded as a foolish, stupid and ignorant stubborn old man by his juniors who might not even be a fraction of his age.

Especially the pity revealed in his eyes, like an extremely sharp needle, deeply hurting his self-esteem and his pride and arrogance.

The intense anger burned like burning hay and could not be suppressed.

To sum it up simply, it broke the defense.

Zuo Si undoubtedly noticed this and immediately laughed and teased, "Hahahaha! Are you angry?

It's okay to be angry! Do you know what the most annoying thing about you is?

It is this kind of condescending attitude that always teaches others a lesson as a sage, a senior, or a veteran.

You always stand from an empiricist perspective, mistakenly believing that the primitiveness, barbarism, chaos and highly decentralized power of the continent of Faerun in the past few hundred years were a normal state.

They believe that maintaining the existing city-states and ensuring that each territory and village is independent of each other can reflect the so-called free will.

Little do people know that it is only a tiny and insignificant part of the tens of thousands of years of history of this land, and it does not represent the future development trend.

To be precise, you have no idea what politics is, what the laws of economic development are, and what the majority of people living at the bottom of society in the world really need.

Of course, it's not your fault.

Because many times even they themselves don't know what they desire in their hearts.

After all, before this, there had never been a huge country with a high degree of political and economic unity on the continent of Faerun, nor had there ever been a stable regime that had not experienced turmoil for more than a decade or even decades.

What I want to do is to show this possibility.

Perhaps the kingdom I founded will one day collapse and perish like Netheril and Imaskar after hundreds or even thousands of years.

But this can plant a seed in the hearts of all the people living on this land! This seed will be like a candlelight in the dark, illuminating the way forward for the people who fell into war, famine and suffering after the collapse of the empire.

All future leaders and rulers will regard the restoration of the empire I founded with my own hands as the highest goal of their life.

Do you think what I am doing is to satisfy my desire for power and domination? No! What I really want to do is to raise the expectations of the lowest class of people in this world for a better life! Let them understand what life is, instead of trying their best to just barely maintain the most basic survival like now.

That is why I do not care about your hostility towards the Harpers.

After all, this time, the role you play is that of a destroyer of order, standing against the interests of the majority of people.

I am on the side of the majority.”

"Humph! Then let's wait and see!"

Elminster extinguished the embers in his pipe, showing the extreme stubbornness of his character.

Perhaps because he had seen too many people being corrupted by power, he opposed from the bottom of his heart the establishment of too large a country. He believed that doing so would ultimately only lead to the concentration of power in the hands of a few powerful people, leading to terrible corruption, oppression and slavery.

Of course, to a large extent, his idea is not wrong.

The larger the land area and the more populous a country is, the more it needs to build a complex and rigorous ruling system.

Once this system is completed, power and wealth will inevitably begin to flow into the hands of the privileged class.

No matter whether this class is bureaucrats, aristocrats, or businessmen who dominate capital; no matter what system the country adopts.

Ultimately, when the vested interest groups form a monopoly, the country will completely become a tool for them to exploit and enslave ordinary people.

At this moment, the stronger the power of the state apparatus is, the more serious the harm it causes to the grassroots people.

As for the corruption caused by money-for-power transactions, it is an almost unsolvable problem.

So far, no political system can eliminate internal corruption.

Whether it is the Silvermoon Alliance led by Alustriel, the Neverwinter City dominated by the Church of Tyr, the god of justice, or the Waterdeep City which is considered to have a relatively clean judicial system, the corruption problem among its internal bureaucrats is quite serious.

After all, most people are selfish and greedy by nature.

Especially in the absence of effective regulatory measures, many bureaucrats who hold real power can exploit loopholes in the law to benefit themselves at will.

As a person from modern society, Zuo Si knew very well that it would never be possible to eliminate corruption relying solely on the judicial system.

No matter how independent, clean and fair the judicial system is, it would be quite good if it could effectively curb the spread of corruption.

If we count the modern countries on earth, there is not a single one that relies on legal means to clean up large-scale systemic internal corruption. Usually, political means are used.

So he chose to let the undead liches outside the power system be responsible for supervision and draw a red line that cannot be crossed.

Once the powerful cross this red line, what awaits them is no longer a judicial trial, but the disappearance of their entire family.

Although Zuo Si was not quite sure how long his supervision system based on deterrence could last, it was still very useful at least at this stage.

Perhaps in the future we can consider adding Shuoyou mobile terminals as a supplement to monitoring.

As Elminster became angry, the two of them soon fell into silence that lasted for more than ten minutes.

If it had been in the past when there were fewer guests in the inn, the strangeness between them might have been quickly noticed by Jasira and Khalid who were sitting more than ten meters away.

However, due to the recent rampage of bandits under Sarevok, the Friendly Arm Inn is crowded with merchants and caravans who are too frightened to go out for the time being.

At first glance, the whole hall was in a mess.

Some of the more unlucky ones have been trapped here for many days. Their mood can be said to be extremely bad. The slightest bump will immediately lead to conflicts and verbal abuse, and in serious cases, fights will even break out.

Fortunately, Bantli Mirrorshadow is a powerful dwarf wizard who can often stop the situation before it becomes irreversible.

Otherwise, if it were an ordinary hotel owner, he would probably just have to watch the guests in the lobby physically fighting each other.

Taking advantage of this moment, Zuo Si looked with interest at Jasira, with whom he had once worked together, not far away, and found that this half-elf druid had become more mature and feminine than a few years ago.

Especially that kind of beauty with a slightly strong and wild temperament, which can easily make men with high hormone secretion have a desire to conquer.

Plus, the fact that she is a married woman is a plus point in the eyes of many old perverts...

No wonder Aberdare, son of Baal, had feelings for her when they first met.

In just a few minutes, Khalid had to send away several guys who came to chat up and harass his wife because of her beauty.

"Aren't you going to go say hello to them?"

Elminster had obviously calmed down and broke the silence by speaking again.

Zuo Si chuckled and shook his head: "Forget it.

The last time I parted with Jasira and Khalid, it wasn't a pleasant one.

I believe they would not want to see me at this time.

What's more, do you know how much uncertainty will be brought to the already complicated situation once the news of my appearance in the Friendly Arm gets out?

At the very least, the dukes of Baldur's Gate will be extremely nervous, and those forces lurking in the dark waiting for an opportunity will also change their original plans.

This is just like how you deliberately concealed your identity to pick up Ge Liyan’s adopted son two days ago. The principle is actually the same.

We are all not suited to play this game ourselves.”

"How do you know that I went to contact Gorion's adopted son? Could it be that... you arranged the two Zhentarim spies in the team?" Elminster asked with a little surprise.

"No, no, no, don't think I'm that boring.

In fact, that is just the normal way of operation of the Zhentarim's dark intelligence network. It has nothing to do with me, and I do not rely on the intelligence they pass on.

For neither Aberdare nor Imoen holds any secret from me.

I knew from the beginning the cruel, dark and bloody fate that was to befall them, and I knew what was to happen next.

Believe me, no matter what influence you seek to exert on the Son of Bhaal, the end result will inevitably be failure.

The divinity and power of the God of Murder determined that they had no other choice.

All the sons of Bhaal must take part in this feast of slaughter and death.

And once they die, their souls will be absorbed into the Throne of Blood, and there is no way to resurrect them by any other means.

They are even unable to enter the hazy realm and go to the country where their gods live to become petitioners.

The only way to escape this tragic fate is to kill all the other brothers and sisters and become the ultimate winner."

While saying this, Zuo Si kept staring into the other person's eyes, trying to determine how much the chosen one of the Magic Goddess knew about the truth about the Blood Throne.

Just as he just described, the saddest thing about the Sons of Bhaal is that they have no choice, and they can't live a peaceful life like ordinary people.

Just as Elminster opened his mouth to say something, a loud noise suddenly came from the door of the inn.

Soon after, several people ran in from outside and shouted, "No... It's bad! There's a fight outside! An unknown wizard is casting a spell! He has killed two guards!"

"What? Who! Who dares to kill someone on my territory! And the person he killed was a guard?"

The innkeeper, Bantli Mirrorshadow, who was sitting at the bar and selling homemade low-level magic items to a traveler, suddenly jumped up, his face full of shock and anger.

"I know that wizard! He calls himself Tanesin! He's a bounty hunter! He seems to be tracking down someone who has a bounty on his head!"

Another drunken mercenary suddenly interrupted.

"Damn it! You can't do that in Friendly Arms! This is my territory! Everyone must abide by the rules I set!"

Bantli banged the table angrily, then crawled under the bar to take out the spell material bag and some magic items, intending to arm himself and then go out to teach this ignorant wizard a lesson.

But while he was tinkering, on the narrow street outside the inn, Aberdare was experiencing the most critical moment of his life.

Because unlike the last time he was attacked and had his adoptive father Gorion to protect him, this time he had to face the terrible magical threat on his own.

The enemy simply released an unknown magic, and the human mage Thrall, who had just joined the team, instantly fell to the ground and fell into a deep coma and lost consciousness.

Another halfling thief, Montaro, was obviously bewitched and was chasing Imoen and attacking him frantically, leaving him no time to draw his bow and shoot an arrow.

As for Aberdare himself, he was hit hard in the chest by the magic missile. Not only was a large piece of his armor dented, but two of his ribs seemed to be broken. He was enduring the severe pain and wanted to rush up and kill the other party.

Unfortunately, when he got closer, he suddenly felt his eyes blurred and several identical enemies appeared.

【Mirror Image】? Having been raised by a mage, the Son of Bhaal instantly recognized this illusion magic that arcane spellcasters often used when they were attacked in melee combat.

He didn't have time to think, he swung the sword and slashed at the nearest person.

Unfortunately, it turned out that this was not a physical entity but an illusion created by magic.

The sharp sword passed through the illusion without any hindrance, and the illusion disappeared at the same time.

There are two more!

Aberdare immediately changed direction and swung back with another powerful blow.

Unfortunately, his luck didn't seem to be very good, and the 50% probability was missed, and the sword passed through the illusion again.

The consequences of two consecutive attack failures were obviously very serious.

Tanisin, the bounty hunter, completed his spell, raised his hand and pointed lightly at the Son of Bhaal.

moment!

An indescribable fear flooded into Aberdare's brain and consciousness.

At this moment, there was only one thought left in his mind.

That is to escape! Tanisin easily used a second-level magic [Intimidation] to play with the Son of God.

Now, he could calmly chant a spell to summon a small infernal snake, give the kiss of death to each of his prey, and then cut off the target's head to collect the bounty.

But at this critical moment, an imperceptible dark red light suddenly flashed on Aberdare's body, who was originally in fear, and then the uncontrollable bloodthirsty desire replaced the previous fear.

Before Tanisin could react to what was happening, he saw a blinding cold light flash before him.

What followed was intense pain and gushing blood, followed by an uncontrollable fall on his back to the ground.

At the last moment before he lost consciousness, the mage finally realized that his collarbone had been split by the giant sword along the side of his neck, exposing half of his body and a large amount of internal organs.

But until his death he never understood why this young man who was wanted for a reward could suddenly get rid of the influence of magic.

Under normal circumstances, it is impossible to regain consciousness in a short period of time after being infected.

Unfortunately, Tanisin will never know the answer.

Aberdare, who successfully killed the powerful enemy, looked at the internal organs flowing out of the split corpse and the sticky blood plasma that gathered together to form a pool. He fell into a very strange state.

He could feel that something seemed to be awakening inside him.

Moreover, after killing someone, instead of feeling nauseous or uncomfortable, one feels an inexplicable sense of pleasure and enjoyment, as if killing can bring unprecedented joy.

fortunately!

This state did not last long, as Aberdare was awakened by Imoen's cry for help.

Since Montaro is a spy of the Zhentarim, his combat experience is obviously much richer than that of the girl.

The latter was in danger under his fierce attack, and even the bowstring of the short bow was cut by the dagger.

"Get away! Stay away from Imoen!"

Seeing that his little sister, who grew up with him, was almost killed, Aberdare immediately became extremely angry and violent. He rushed forward and knocked the other party away using his strength and size advantage.

However, because he was under the spell of magic, Montaro did not choose to escape or stop attacking just because the situation was unfavorable to him.

Just the opposite!

He instantly took out a bottle of invisibility potion and drank it, then disappeared from the sight of the other two.

About two or three seconds later, the sinister little man jumped out of the shadows, brandished a dagger and stabbed Aberdare in the back of the neck.

"careful!"

Imoen, who was also a thief, was the first to notice this and suddenly threw the dagger in his hand, disrupting Montaro's backstab.

Aberdare, whose life was threatened, did not hesitate and beheaded the temporary teammate who had just joined the team with a single blow of his sword.

Puff!!! Dazzling blood gushed out from the carotid artery, bathing the two sons of Baal in a rain of blood.

Especially the thirteen or fourteen-year-old girl who saw such a shocking scene for the first time, she collapsed to the ground like a fool, shaking uncontrollably all over.

"Oh my God! What happened here? Why did it become like a slaughterhouse?"

Bantli Mirror Shadow, who had just rushed out of the inn, was stunned and asked loudly.

What's more, not far away were two guards whose bodies were burned beyond recognition by fire magic.

"I... We are victims! It was that wizard who attacked us first."

从强烈刺激中回过神来的爱蒙率先爬起，惊魂未定的向旅店老板解释战斗发生原因。

她可不希望自己等人被当做杀人犯关起来，亦或是遭到强制驱逐。

“没错！我可以为这个女孩作证！就是那个身体被劈开的家伙，先动手发起攻击还杀了两名前来阻拦的守卫。”

一名商人打扮的胖子小心翼翼从马车下面钻了出来，眼神中充满了劫后余生的庆幸。

要知道凡是有法师参与的战斗，往往最容易波及到周围无辜的人。

尤其是火球术、燃烧之手这种范围伤害，而且还会引发火灾的塑能系法术，没有职业等级的普通人挨上一下几乎必死无疑。

“呸！狗日的混球！便宜你了！居然敢在友善之臂闹事？要是落在我的手里，非要让你尝尝什么叫做生不如死的滋味。”

暴躁的侏儒老板冲尸体恶狠狠啐了一口唾沫，紧跟着开始招呼其他守卫来帮忙清理尸体，同时对身上沾满血迹的两个巴尔之子说道：“干得不错，年轻人。作为对受到惊吓的补偿，我会为你们提供一间免费的客房和食物、酒水。哦，对了，还有这个该死法师身上的东西也是你们的战利品。”

“谢谢。”

阿伯戴尔显然还沉浸在那种奇妙的感觉中，不管是眼神还是反应都显得有些呆滞。

但包括班特力·镜影在内的大多数人都以为这是战斗和杀戮带来的后遗症，并没有太过在意，仅仅是拍了下肩膀安慰了两句。

有个冒险者打扮的男人，甚至还递上了半杯没喝完的酒，示意他喝两口放松一下绷紧的神经。

爱蒙则趁机从塔尼辛的尸体上找到了一本法术书、匕首、药剂和几张卷轴，同时还站在蒙塔罗无头的尸体前默哀了几秒钟。

她很清楚阿伯戴尔杀死这位被控制的临时队友是无奈之举，但心理还是感觉有些难过。

至于复活……

先不说友善之臂那个小小神殿的牧师，是否有能力施展五环的复活神术。

光是复活所需要支付的昂贵价格，以队伍现在所拥有的财力也远远不够。

所以入土为安也就成了唯一的选择。

毕竟现实世界可不是游戏，随便找个神殿都能购买到复活等一系列神术服务。

除了大城市的主要神殿之外，一般像这种主持小神殿或者神龛的牧师，通常情况下不会超过LV5，充其量也就用一下二环到三环神术。

不过好在旅店老板在得知具体情况后，非常贴心允许将这个可怜的受害者安葬在围墙内的墓地里。

起码不用担心尸体会被野兽挖出来啃食，亦或是被路过的死灵法师唤醒制作成僵尸。

等一切平静下来，中了睡眠法术的萨尔也被两个大逼兜子叫醒，一行三人这才走进旅店内先洗了个热水澡。

不洗也不行。

因为在野外奔波了那么多天，身上本身就散发着一股浓郁的酸臭味。

再加上刺鼻的血腥味，估计走进大厅能让一半正在吃饭的客人都吐出来。

等洗完澡之后，他们才换上一身干净的衣服，一屁股坐在靠近吧台的桌子上，像饿狼一样玩命往嘴里塞热气腾腾的食物。

即便是身为美少女的小爱蒙，这会儿也顾不上什么形象，手指和嘴巴上全都沾染上反光的油渍。

事实证明，什么修养、风度、美丽、仪态，在真正的饥饿面前统统不值一提。

等填饱肚子之后，女孩这才长长的出了一口气，用略带感慨的声音说道：“我终于感觉自己又活过来了。这才是人类该吃的食物，而不是那些既没有味道又半生不熟的鱼和烤肉。”

“是啊！我以前从来都不知道，原来一锅炖鸡居然可以如此美味。”

阿伯戴尔同样也摸着高高鼓起的胃口，意犹未尽盯着已经被吃剩到只剩下一点底汤的空锅。

虽然他还想要再吃一点，可肚子已经达到极限真的装不下去了。

“对了！你不是说葛立安在临死前让你来友善之臂找人吗？我们现在要从何处入手呢？这里的人未免也太多了一点。”

爱蒙扫了一眼旅店大厅内热闹无比的景象，眼神中闪烁着兴奋的光芒，十根手指正在不受控制的抽动。

不用问也知道，这就是她从小一直向往的冒险。

尤其是客人们固定在腰带上的钱包，让这位初出茅庐的小贼忍不住产生了想要发一笔横财的邪恶念头。

“呃……其实我也不太清楚要从何开始。也许我们坐在这里等上一会儿，对方自己就会找上门来？”

阿伯戴尔语气中带着强烈的不确定。

毕竟像这种需要动脑子的事情，原本就不是他擅长的。

以前在葛立安活着的时候，这位尽职尽责的养父会把一切都安排妥当，他唯一需要做的就是照着吩咐乖乖去做。

“听我的，别去找那两个人了。

咱们在这里稍作休息，然后直接北上去博德之门，亦或是南下去贝尔苟斯特。

听说西哈特兰德地区正在遭受散提尔堡大军的入侵，很多城镇都愿意开出高价招募有能力的佣兵。

以你的身手，可能能狠狠地从中大赚一笔。”

始终一言不发的法师萨尔突然开口提议道。

“战争？”

也不知道为何，听到这两个字阿伯戴尔顿时感觉到内心之中产生了强烈的躁动。

由于之前一直都在深山老林里穿行，因此他对于外界最近发生了什么几乎一无所知。

萨尔认真的点了点头：“没错。

我刚才已经跟路过的商人打听过了，散提尔堡的军队正在向东行市挺近。

不出意外的话，最多两三天的功夫便能将其攻陷，然后继续沿大路向西边征服沿途所有的城镇。

当他们跨过冲萨河的支流后，博德之门方面肯定要做出反应。

这也就意味着，一场决定这片土地归属权的大战即将开始，正是我们这种想要扬名立万冒险者最理想的舞台。

想象一下，如果我们能力挽狂澜击败散提尔堡的大军，亦或是帮助散提尔堡攻陷博德之门，可以从中获得多么巨大的名声，还有难以想象的回报？”

“听上去似乎不错……”

阿伯戴尔无疑心动了，端起杯子猛地灌了一口廉价的黑啤酒，伸出舌头舔了舔嘴唇。

正当他想要追问一下细节的时候，突然看到两个用斗篷遮住自己面容的身影从远处走过来。

其中个子稍矮小一些的女性直截了当开口说道：“别去！那可不是你应该参合的，阿伯戴尔·阿德里安。”

“你们是谁？为什么知道我的名字？还有，阿德里安这个姓氏又是怎么回事？我怎么从来都不知道自己还有个姓？”阿伯戴尔皱起眉头反问道。

“我们就是葛立安的朋友。我叫做贾西拉，这位是我的丈夫卡立德。我们已经在这里等了你好几天了。”

说着，贾西拉摘下兜帽露出一头金色的长发，以及那张半精灵特有的美丽面容。

瞬间！

阿伯戴尔的两只眼睛开始放光，感觉自己的心跳正在不受控制的加速，并且下意识做出了吞咽口水的动作，脑海中更是浮现出一些男人都会有的幻想。

幸好他并没有将内心之中的龌龊念头表现出来，反而装出一副十分谨慎的样子质疑道：“我要怎么相信你们不是为了赏金而来的猎人？要知道刚才就在旅店门口，我们才刚刚经历了一场恶战。”

“很简单，我这有一封葛立安前不久写的信。相信对于他的笔记和语气，你应该最熟悉不过了。”

贾西拉非常干脆出示了能够证明自己身份的东西。

阿伯戴尔接过来大概扫了一眼，立马就确定这封信就是养父写的，抬起头询问道：“葛立安早就知道会有危险，所以提前让你们赶过来？”

贾西拉微微点了点头：“是的。他是个很谨慎的法师，在察觉到危险到来的时候便在第一时间联系了我们。

只可惜，我们当时距离烛堡太远了。

等赶到这里的时候，便得知你们遭遇伏击的消息。

对不起，请原谅我来晚了。”

“不，这不是你的错。”

阿伯戴尔赶忙握住贾西拉递过来的右手。

此时此刻，这家伙满脑子都已经被美色所填满，早就把葛立安死亡带来的悲痛、愤怒与仇恨抛之脑后了。

他的所作所为再一次证明，支配人类行为的本能其实与大部分动物并没有什么区别。

当食欲得到满足之后，接下来想的就是如何与美丽的异性繁衍交配，好让自己的基因可以延续下去。

作为青梅竹马从小一起长大的玩伴，爱蒙显然非常了解阿伯戴尔眼下在想些什么，暗中撇了撇嘴表达了自己的鄙视，紧跟着把目光投向旅店大厅的其他地方，想要给自己找点乐子。

突然！

她在墙角的桌子附近看到了一个似曾相识的东西。

确切地说，是一枚佩戴在手指上的宝石戒指。

The girl vaguely remembered that in the last few days before leaving Candle Castle, Zuo Si was wearing an identical one on his hand.

But what confused her was that the person who was wearing the ring was too tall, and for unknown reasons, she couldn't see the other person's appearance clearly.

However, out of strong curiosity, Imoen chose to sneak away when no one else's attention was on him, and followed the target to a guest room on the second floor.

When she carefully and skillfully pried open the door, she suddenly heard a familiar voice behind her.

"Hey! Little thief! Are you planning to steal something from me again?"

"So...Sos!! Why are you here? And so tall?"

The girl turned around suddenly, her face full of excitement and joy, then jumped high and gave me a warm hug.

But just when she wanted to express her excitement with a more intimate kiss on the cheek, she was gently pushed away by a finger poking her forehead.

"Don't rub the oil from your lips on my face. And you just ate a lot of garlic and onions, didn't you? The taste is indescribable."

Zuo Si wrinkled his nose and looked disgusted.

"Hahahaha! Not only did I eat garlic and onions just now, I also ate some pickled smoked fish. How about I give you a hot kiss and share the taste of these things?"

Imoen laughed and pouted his lips intentionally, showing his naughty and quirky personality.

Zuo Si raised his hand and tapped the girl's forehead, teasing, "Passionate kiss? Forget it! With your current skinny figure with no butt and no breasts, I'm not interested."

"Who are you calling skinny? I am the most beautiful young lady in Candle Castle!"

Imoen tugged at her clothes and at the same time pushed her chest out as much as possible to make herself look more attractive.

But unfortunately, all these efforts were in vain.

I don’t know if it’s because he’s too young, or because he doesn’t consume enough meat, eggs and milk, or because of the influence of Baal’s power and divinity.

Although she cannot be completely called a "steel plate" or a "flat", she is just slightly up and down.

"Yes, yes, yes! In the entire Candle Castle, besides you, is there another woman who can be called a girl? As far as I know, even the youngest female librarian is over 40 years old." Zuo Si stared at the girl's chest and made a joke.

Since the two of them had already become very familiar with each other when they stayed at the Candlekeep Inn a few years ago, he did not have so many reservations when speaking, and his tone was particularly casual.

"Humph! I'm still young, and I'll definitely grow up in a few years. If you don't act now, it will be too late when I become beautiful and sexy, and have a large number of suitors behind me."

Imoen raised her chin slightly and put on the arrogant attitude of a noble lady.

But within half a minute, she couldn't help giggling.

In order not to affect other guests and also to avoid exposing his whereabouts, Zuo Si quickly invited the girl into the room he had booked.

After closing the door, Ai Meng asked again: "Why are you here? Are you waiting for me?"

"Although I really want to answer yes, unfortunately, I am actually waiting for another person, and I just met with him to discuss some things." Zuo Si shrugged and replied.

"Someone else?"

There was a strong curiosity in Aimon's eyes.

"Don't ask, I won't tell you who he is. Also, remember not to tell anyone that you have seen me here." Zuo Si warned very seriously.

Because he hadn't expected that the girl would be able to recognize him by one of the magic rings on her finger.

"Hey! I can keep it a secret, but you have to give me some hush money, right?"

Imoen rubbed his hands like a fly, and a malicious and cunning smile appeared on his face.

Zuo Si was immediately amused by her funny look. He took off the ram ring that had accompanied him for many years and handed it to her, saying unhappily, "Here! I think this should be able to shut your mouth."

"Is this... a magic ring?"

The girl took it in her hand and examined it carefully with great interest.

"Yes. It can summon a sheep's head made of force field to hit the target and cause huge damage. It can also be used to destroy city gates and walls. But be careful when using it, the damage it can cause is much greater than you think." Zuo Si explained patiently.

"Ha! Good! I swear I will never tell anyone that I have seen you here."

Ai Meng quickly put the ring on the index finger of her left hand, feeling the magical power contained in it.

But soon, she remembered the spell book she had found on the enemy's body before, and quickly took it out and asked in an uncertain tone: "Sos, do you think I have the potential to become a wizard?"

"Of course! Most people with no intellectual disabilities can become mages through learning.

Especially since she's such a smart and beautiful girl like you.

But I advise you not to just pick up a spell book and try it yourself.

That's really too dangerous.

If you really want to learn, I recommend you go to Baldur's Gate or other big cities' wizard towers or places that sell magic items, buy a book called "Principles and Introduction to Magic" and start learning from the beginning.

Don't worry, this book is not expensive, only about a few dozen gold coins."

After a little thought, Zuo Si gave an affirmative answer.

He vaguely remembered that the reason why Imoen changed his profession from a thief to a wizard was because he got Tanisin's spell book and then he was alone and had nothing to do but figure it out.

I have to say, this girl didn't end up blowing herself and her teammates up, or creating a terrible magical catastrophe. She was simply blessed by the goddess of luck.

"'Magic Principles and Introduction'? Okay, I remember the name of this book."

Imoen nodded thoughtfully.

In the following time, she continued to ask some questions about the recent situation in Baldur's Gate, as well as the murder of Gorion and Aberdare being hunted by bounty hunters.

But Zuo Si did not tell the girl the truth. Instead, he acted as an evil "riddler" and deliberately revealed some vague information that seemed to be true.

Before leaving, he left behind a magic item that can be used to resurrect the dead.

As a result, Imoen didn't even hesitate and resurrected the dead halfling thief Montaro that night, which scared the other people in the team.

Fortunately, she was smart and ran away immediately after using the props without being seen by anyone.

Montaro, who had come back from the dead, was even more confused and had no idea what was going on.

Jasira firmly believed that there must be some unknown conspiracy behind this, and strongly suggested that Aberdare expel the two suspicious Zhentarim spies from the team.

Anyway, with the help of Zuo Si, this hastily assembled adventure team finally set out on their journey.

Unlike the original plot where they went south to Nashikai to investigate the iron mine and encountered pollution, this time they will face a more complicated situation, and there is also Erinikas hiding in the dark and watching...

(End of this chapter)