According to Sergei, while hunting deep in the Wood of Sharp Teeth, he had run into adventurers fleeing from within. After learning what had happened, he immediately led his hunting team toward Moonscar Basin.
When he arrived, he saw from afar werewolf zombies digging until the ground collapsed, opening a huge pit in the basin, with multicolored light shooting out from inside.
Then, black-robed spellcasters led large numbers of undead into the pit, leaving only a small number of zombies guarding the entrance.
This situation had long since been scouted by the wyvern guard that had recently been circling over the Wood of Sharp Teeth and Durlag. They sent people down to investigate, and today, seemingly after receiving precise orders, they also sent people in.
After the adventurers arrived, the undead did not launch an attack. Instead, the half-dragons acted with extreme arrogance and tried to drive them away, only to be repelled in the end by Sergei and another high-level professional.
That was how the three-way standoff formed.
But no adventurer could resist the temptation of treasure, so adventurers kept entering the mushroom forest despite the danger. Even that high-level professional from the Adventurers' Association went in.
"You're saying there was a black dragon zombie among them?" Anser waited until he finished before asking.
"Yes. It was huge. Its scales and flesh were rotting, but it couldn't fly." Sergei pointed at a large swath of crushed mushroom forest inside the pit.
Anser sighed inwardly. Sure enough, this was Sosk's doing. That Deck of Many Things was the bait.
He just did not know whether the other party had acted on a whim or had planned this long ago.
But it did not matter. A zombie black dragon was still a zombie. They just had to kill it again.
"How many adventurers went in? Has anyone come out?" Anser continued asking.
"No. At least twenty-some adventurers went in today, and all of them were fairly strong, but not a single one has returned." Sergei looked deeply worried.
Ordinary adventurers could only operate around the forest's outskirts. Those who could reach this place were all professional teams, and there was no shortage of elite professionals among them. If they all died here, the loss and impact would be far too great.
Anser walked to the edge of the pit and leaned forward to look down. Below was a mushroom forest that stretched beyond sight, uneven in height, growing deeper the farther it went.
About a hundred meters directly below the pit was a gentle slope, making it the best landing spot. Mushrooms also grew along the surrounding pit walls and could be used as footholds. Professionals skilled at climbing could also descend if they were careful.
"Are those mushrooms poisonous?" Seeing those brightly colored mushrooms, his first reaction was that they had to be poisonous.
Sergei shook his head slightly. "I don't know. These mushrooms are very large. Once people enter, the caps block the view, so I can't see the situation clearly."
After thinking for a moment, he added, "Even if they're poisonous, they probably don't take effect immediately. I saw them run quite far inside, and they even cut down quite a few mushrooms."
Iris sat on the flying carpet, hovering over the pit as she quietly looked down at the mushroom forest below, her expression shifting slightly.
"This ruin... might connect to the Underdark." She had never been to the Underdark, but she had read a storybook about adventures in the Underdark, and one of the illustrations in it looked somewhat similar to the scene before them.
"Mm." Anser responded. He had already guessed as much, but he had not dared to be certain.
The Underdark itself was connected to the surface world. There were countless passages, some appearing because of activity on the surface, while others collapsed and vanished.
He waved toward the sky, signaling the air elemental to go in and take a look.
The air elemental had never seen such a scene either, so it moved very carefully. After entering, it slowly descended, floated above the mushroom forest, and moved inward. After wandering aimlessly for several hundred meters, it cut down a few mushrooms and brought them back up.
It threw the mushrooms, each two or three meters tall, in front of Anser and quietly waited for its next instruction.
Anser took a breath, hurriedly held it, and signaled everyone to step back.
[You are affected by the hallucinogenic spores of the hallucinogenic mushroom. Constitution saving throw successful. You are not poisoned. No toxin accumulation...]
He flipped through the battle records and quickly learned the general information about this kind of mushroom.
"It's called a hallucinogenic mushroom. It releases extremely tiny hallucinogenic spores that mix into the air and are difficult to detect."
"If inhaled over a long period of time, once the toxins accumulate to a certain level, living creatures will unknowingly enter a delirious state and experience all kinds of indescribable hallucinations. They may attack their companions, fall asleep, or simply go mad..."
The others could not help sucking in cold breaths when they heard this and hurriedly distanced themselves from the mushrooms.
"Don't panic. Covering your mouth and nose with a wet towel can block most of the hallucinogenic spores. As long as you leave in time, it won't be fatal," Anser added.
The dice did more than just detect things. Sometimes, it also provided solutions.
Sergei frowned slightly, his dark face unusually grim. "In other words, if nobody rescues them, those adventurers can only starve to death and become fertilizer for the mushrooms?"
"In theory, yes." Anser nodded slightly.
"I... we..." Sergei opened his mouth, yet did not know how to continue.
They did belong to the same side, but they were not truly companions. Even if Anser was a Paladin, he had no obligation to save them.
Anser paid him no attention and instead shifted his gaze toward the group of undead on the opposite side of the pit.
He also wanted to go in and take a look, but with a mass of undead blocking the entrance, who could feel at ease?
The entrance was only forty to fifty meters wide. If it were blocked off and sealed with bows and javelins, getting back out really would be troublesome. Aside from using Dimension Door, he could not think of any particularly good solution.
But Dimension Door could only bring one person.
After mentally locking on for a long time, the dice finally displayed information about the werewolf zombies and the two black-robed figures:
[Werewolf Zombie, Medium Undead, Challenge Rating 3]
[Devout Follower of Myrkul, Human, Level 11 Cleric (Death Domain)]
[Devout Follower of Myrkul, Human, Level 4 Cleric (Death Domain)]
'Followers of Myrkul?' Anser was secretly shocked.
He had once assumed these people might have come from Thay, but he had not expected them to be priests of the Church of Myrkul.
Legend said that Jergal had grown weary of the responsibilities of godhood and divided his divinity among three mortals. Bane seized the portfolios of strife, hatred, and tyranny, Myrkul took dominion over death, while Bhaal obtained the portfolio of murder.
Myrkul was an ancient god with a Neutral Evil alignment. His portfolios included death, decay, aging, exhaustion, dusk, and autumn.
He had died and returned to life many times before, because "death itself cannot truly die again."
'No wonder their control over undead is so strong.'
Anser's gaze turned cold. He still remembered being pursued by Myrkul's undead army back then. Although he had not suffered any losses, undead and the living were destined to be unable to coexist.
He looked up at the black-robed figure and shouted loudly, "Followers of Myrkul, what are you doing here?"
The two black-robed figures hidden among the undead trembled slightly and looked up at Anser, their gazes lingering on his face and dragon wings for a long time.
"We all know why we're here. We do not wish to make enemies of anyone. The ruins are large enough. Everyone can rely on their own abilities." A low, hoarse voice rang out from among the undead.
Anser remained silent. He did not believe such nonsense for a second.
The followers of Myrkul understood that forcibly blocking people was unrealistic. Facing two major threats—the adventurers and the wyvern guard—even if they won, they would suffer heavy losses and be unable to deal with whatever dangers might appear later.
If treasure were found, they would inevitably turn hostile.
Anser was simply curious. These people had come to stir up trouble on his territory, yet they did not even recognize him. He was a Paladin, after all.
"People from the Church of Myrkul can't be trusted!" Sergei whispered in warning.
Anser nodded slightly, pulled the Dragon Gold Slashing Swords from the dragonhide pouch, and pointed its tip toward the undead horde. A dazzling platinum radiance bloomed across the blade: "What a ridiculous thing to say. Why don't you take a look at what's standing beside you!"
"Paladin!" The black-robed man's expression changed slightly.
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