After dealing with two potential "hidden dangers" in one go, Zuo Si returned to his room, made a few more magic cards, and then began planning the ceremony for tomorrow night.
He knew very well that given the dangerousness of the west coast of Faerun, if the journey was not adequately prepared, the entire caravan might suffer heavy losses before even reaching the Vortex Mountains.
No bandit gang or monster tribe would easily let go of such a large caravan, as it might even attract a greedy and evil dragon.
If it weren't for the support of the Planeswalker card system, Zuo Si would definitely not choose to take a gamble with his current LV9 [Creator] and LV4 [Mage].
The reason is that the risk factor is too high and the success rate is too low.
But now we have the follower card [Alena of Flame], the "tank" and "tough" [Large Stone Elemental], and the [Scorpion Tail] that can carry people and fly. Even if we encounter an enemy that we can't deal with, escaping will never be a problem.
With the addition of those magic wands, even if he was attacked by a dragon, Zuo Si was confident that he could kill it or repel it.
After all, living in the floating city tower for nearly two years has successfully and permanently changed his way of thinking.
According to the Grand Necromancer Asta, if a wizard feels that he cannot defeat the enemy in front of him, then there must be something wrong with his thinking and strategy.
Because a truly prepared wizard is omnipotent! Although these words may sound boastful and arrogant, they also reflect the power of magic and the many means that spellcasters have.
What Zuo Si needs to do is to prepare as many emergency plans as possible before setting off to deal with emergencies that may be encountered during the long journey.
This includes when passing through the Kingdom of Tethyr, which is in a period of civil unrest, and you may encounter wars between lords;
the bandits you might encounter while crossing the Great Karin Desert;
There are numerous monsters and beasts near the Vortex Mountains and the Broken Tooth Mountains.
In short, although this road may seem about the same distance as the distance from Baldur's Gate to Waterdeep on the map, the risks involved are completely different.
And it is rare to see large-scale caravans along the way.
Most of them are small vendors whose activities are limited to a certain range.
This is why the big merchants from Waterdeep, Baldur's Gate, and Amn, even though they know there are many pirates passing through the Nelanther Islands, still prefer to take the sea route.
However, Zuo Si didn't know that while he was busy, another group of idle "old perverts" were gathering together to discuss how to increase the difficulty and fun of his journey by a little bit.
…
"Rakesk! Is your portal ready?"
[Tangled Symbols] In a secret lair deep underground, Ragon asked another "Symbol Master" who was also a lich.
The latter nodded without hesitation: "Of course! After receiving your notice, I immediately went to the Kalin Desert to build two portals. But are you sure it is a good idea to hand over the Book of the Dead to him in this way now?"
Ragon replied meaningfully: "Are you doubting my judgment? Although the Book of the Dead records a lot of powerful and dangerous necromancy knowledge.
But it's certainly not a big problem for a talent like him.
Quite the opposite!
We can cultivate his interest in necromancy through the Book of the Dead.
Make it obsessed with creating those powerful undead creatures, and eventually become one of us."
"The Book of the Dead... It sounds really nostalgic. It was only after I got this book that I came to where I am today. Maybe I should arrange for a few descendants to go to that ancient tomb to add some fun to this treasure hunt."
Another woman, who looked pale but extremely beautiful, licked her tempting red lips with her tongue, revealing two sharp fangs in her mouth.
Needless to say, she, like the lich, is another powerful undead creature - a vampire.
"I think there's no problem. But dear Xie Lisha, you have to understand that participating in this kind of game is not just about placing a few descendants or monsters, but also about providing corresponding prizes. I wonder what you have prepared for this young man named Soth?" Another lich, the "Lord of Symbols", asked in a playful tone.
The female vampire named Sheleisa slowly took out a long sword that exuded an evil aura from her pocket and threw it on the table: "I think this vampire sword should be enough. What do you think, dear Shangela?"
"Let me see. +2 magic longsword, each hit absorbs the life force of the holder, immune to immobilization, charm, paralysis and negative energy damage, and increases the strength attribute by two points. Hmm! It is indeed enough. In this case, send two descendants into the tomb."
The lich named Shangela picked up the weapon, identified it, and immediately made corresponding arrangements.
He just waved his hand, and suddenly two vampires appeared in a room in the ancient tomb model on the table that was filled with all kinds of mechanisms, traps and monsters.
With the addition of Xie Lisha, all the Lords of Symbols present began to discuss how to make adjustments, delete or add monsters and treasures to make this tomb exploration more challenging.
Just as they were arguing, a giant dragon suddenly teleported over from nowhere and threw a leather glove emitting a blue glow onto the stone table.
The originally lively atmosphere suddenly became quiet.
As the leader of the [Tangled Talisman], Lagun was the first to step forward and pick up the gloves. He asked in an uncertain tone, "You finished it so quickly?"
"That's right! According to your request, I sealed the injured old blue dragon in this glove through the most horrific magic ritual.
On the surface, it can bring many powerful and convenient capabilities to the wearer.
But in fact it is a cursed item, and every time it is used, it has to fight against the old dragon's strong will to survive.
If it fails, the wearer will suffer permanent damage to his health.
Until his physical condition became worse and worse, he was finally forced to transform himself into a lich to prolong his life.
Of course, if the wearer is lucky enough to always win this resistance of will, then the wearer will gradually take away the old dragon's vitality, magic and everything he has.
And I hid the part about the curse, so no detection magic or identification magic can discover it.
Well, it meets your requirements perfectly, doesn't it? "
Sapherakta got straight to the point about the real purpose of these gloves.
Moreover, in this meeting attended only by the "Lord of Symbols", he no longer concealed his identity and openly displayed his true identity as the "Dragon Lich".
It was a huge undead creature made up of the remains of a giant dragon. Red light flickered in its eye sockets, and the negative energy gathered in its abdominal cavity was enough to kill all living things in the town in an instant.
"Perfect! This is exactly what I wanted."
Ragon nodded in satisfaction.
"Tomorrow I will have my men personally deliver this gift to Soth to express his gratitude for making the [Blue Dragon Slayer] for us. I just don't know whether he will take everything from this old dragon in the end, or be sucked dry by the old dragon and forced to transform himself into a lich."
Shangela agreed deeply: "It is precisely because of this uncertainty that the game will appear more real and interesting. Whether you become the master of your own destiny or are played by the cruel fate, let us wait and see."
"For young Soth! To celebrate that we have found another person who has the potential to become the Master of the Symbol! For the future of the [Tangled Symbol]! I suggest that we hold a small event to celebrate."
"Oh? What kind of activities?"
"Isn't the Guild War in Calimport about to begin? Why don't we make it more lively?"
"That sounds like a good idea."
"I think we can raid the Harper Alliance base in the dock area."
"We might as well eradicate the influence of the Harpers and Zhentarim in Calimport. Their recent frequent activities annoy me."
…
As the "Lords of the Symbols" discussed in great detail, a terrifying plan was born that would plunge the entire Port of Calim into turmoil.
Since each of them is an extremely powerful undead creature and a legendary spellcaster, they don't care about the life and death of ordinary people.
He even regarded every living person in the Calishite region, from the emperor to the slaves, as chess pieces that could be manipulated and played with by him at will.
This is also what the [Entanglement Talisman] has been doing for hundreds of years.
They used a huge intelligence network to control almost half of Kalinshan's power, deliberately leaving the other half out of control, and then enjoyed this game in a complex environment.
Sometimes, they would encourage paladins, adventurers, and temples of good gods to fight against the nobles, wealthy businessmen, and thieves' guilds under their control.
For those who perform well, the "Lords of Symbols" will also provide corresponding rewards.
Because these "little guys" who know nothing about the truth add a little fun to their long and almost eternal lives.
Of course, if someone really discovered or touched the true secret of the [Entangled Symbol].
Then the "Lords of Symbols" will immediately put on another face, gather their strength and destroy it mercilessly.
In the continent of Faerun, there are not many people or organizations that can withstand the joint attack of several legendary spellcasters.
(End of this chapter)