Once the wizard group had settled in, most of the watchful eyes surrounding the stone tower disappeared, and even the atmosphere seemed noticeably more relaxed.
In truth, not everyone nearby had ill intentions.
Some disliked what Anser and his companions were doing and had even considered destroying the Teleportation Circle. But many others, motivated by their own interests, had chosen to stand on his side instead.
The churches, the Harpers, and countless adventurers were among them. Most had never dealt directly with Osborn, yet they had silently worked together to protect the stone tower.
The reason was obvious. Without that Teleportation Circle, returning to Faerûn would become far more difficult.
That also made Osborn's job much easier.
Now that powerful reinforcements had arrived, he finally relaxed. Leaving the stone tower in Anser's hands, he took Nefis's letter and headed for the Temples District in the Upper City to speak with Priest Evan.
Nefis had instructed everyone to avoid going out alone whenever possible—especially Anser.
In her opinion, he was now the one in the greatest danger. His movements hadn't exactly been subtle, and there was no way the major factions hadn't noticed. The Chosen of Bane undoubtedly hated him by now.
On top of that, the Artifact incident had only just begun to spread. Who knew how many people with ill intentions were secretly watching him?
Anser had no intention of wandering around recklessly. For the time being, he moved into the third floor of the stone tower, informed the other members of his Adventuring Party about the situation, and had Iris keep Brunhilde calm and, if possible, convince her not to come.
As one of the Chosen, her identity was simply too sensitive. Since it couldn't be concealed, this wasn't the right time for her to appear at the center of the storm that was Rock of Bral.
He had already discussed it with Brunhilde. Today, he intended to reveal her existence to the Magic Research Society and gauge their reaction.
If the Society welcomed her, she could cooperate with them for the time being and complete Azuth's divine mission.
The City of a Thousand Spells offered a far better educational environment than the Union, which would also keep her from getting bored and causing trouble everywhere.
'Backing Azuth isn't a bad investment either. The Magic Research Society probably won't pass up the opportunity. I'm just worried Brunhilde won't be able to handle all those old foxes...'
'In the end, everyone has to take responsibility for their own choices.'
Anser shook his head slightly, putting the matter out of his mind. He pulled out the handwritten booklet Tower Master Quide had given him.
Inside were records of seven or eight magic items. Aside from the Artifact Dragonlance, all of them were Legendary items, each accompanied by a brief description and a simple sketch.
The Dragonlance was a heavy lance over three and a half meters long. Fortunately, it could extend and retract, but anyone with less than 20 Strength would struggle to wield it effectively. Their movements would be restricted, and any Attack Rolls made with it would be at disadvantage.
This Artifact was tied to Bahamut and was specifically designed to counter dragons, especially true dragons.
It sounded a little odd at first, but it actually made perfect sense. After all, Bahamut, the Platinum Dragon God, was a professional dragon slayer.
'Too bad I'm not very good with lances.' Anser hesitated.
Trading blows with a dragon at close range was hardly a wise idea. Besides, the Dragonlance could be borrowed and returned afterward. At worst, he'd only have to pay a rental fee.
As for the other Legendary items, they covered all sorts of categories, though most were Wondrous Items.
Unfortunately, most of them weren't particularly suited to him. They'd be nice to have, but nothing more than icing on the cake. Trading one of his Artifacts for them, however, was completely out of the question.
'If nothing else, I'll just take the Dragonlance.' he thought to himself.
His available Attunement slots were already stretched to the limit. Even if he obtained another powerful item, he'd have to replace one of the pieces of equipment he was already using.
The thought left him restless.
Causing trouble in Rock of Bral right now, however, would only set everyone's nerves on edge and likely trigger a massive free-for-all.
'Baldur's Gate, then!'
Earlier, he'd stirred up conflict between the duergar and the drow deep inside the underground labyrinth. After nightfall, the two sides had fought fiercely. He wondered how things had turned out by now.
It was still morning, and there was plenty of time.
After informing Nefis and General Smokefire, he cast Teleport. In the blink of an eye, he vanished and reappeared in Baldur's Gate, countless miles away.
Teleportation was certainly convenient, but it was still a 7th-level spell. Ordinary spellcasters couldn't afford to throw it around so casually.
The wilderness outside Baldur's Gate remained just as chaotic as ever. Every so often, Anser came across piles of bones—human, beast, and Underdark creatures alike.
He entered the Ethereal Plane and quietly made his way beneath the city.
After only a few days, Baldur's Gate's underground labyrinth had grown even larger. The deep gnomes worked with the diligence of ants, digging tirelessly day after day, and the results were honestly astonishing.
'Grand Duke Ravengard is going to have a hard time reclaiming all of Baldur's Gate.'
If it were him, he'd choose to cooperate with the deep gnomes instead. Humans would govern the surface while the deep gnomes controlled the underground. Together, they could drive out the other Underdark creatures and rebuild Baldur's Gate's ecosystem.
Those kind-hearted dark-skinned gnomes could also suppress underground smuggling, blood feuds, and other criminal activities while preventing creatures from the Underdark from spilling onto the surface. It was a win-win all around.
A thought suddenly crossed his mind.
'A mutually beneficial partnership... I could join in too. I'll be killing things either way. With my strength and bargaining chips, becoming a grand duke myself wouldn't be asking too much, would it?'
It was still too early for that.
Still, he figured he should find time to visit Paros.
Doing good deeds in silence wasn't enough. Those duergar, goblins, and drow all carried bounties. Letting them go to waste would be a shame.
Before he knew it, he had reached the border between duergar and drow territory.
Same strategy as before.
First, scout with Arcane Eye. Then disguise himself, stage a chance encounter, fight, clean up the battlefield...
Then move somewhere else and repeat the process.
Drow, duergar, goblins, orcs, kobolds...
Whatever he ran into, he killed.
More than two hours passed.
Outside, the sun stood high overhead. Underground, darkness and oppression reigned as unseen battles unfolded in silence.
Disguise Self was only a 1st-level illusion spell, but with Anser's spell save DC, even high-level spellcasters would struggle to see through it.
Besides, his sword and Mind Sliver never gave them the chance.
The experience in his pool steadily climbed.
Without realizing it, he had earned over two thousand experience points—enough to raise his Wizard level—but advancing his Sorcerer level would still require another ten thousand.
His Avaricious Dragonhide Pouch was now packed with spoils: money, weapons, armor, and even an entire wooden crate filled with the ears of Underdark creatures.
'Fighting really is exhausting work.' he sighed inwardly as he quietly withdrew from Baldur's Gate.
There weren't many Underdark creatures active during the day to begin with. Even though he'd spread out his attacks, both factions had already become wary. If he stayed any longer, their higher-ups might start paying attention.
'Slow and steady. I'll come back this afternoon.'
After entering the wilderness, he found a secluded patch of forest and stepped into the Black Tower's Celestial Ritual Array.
'Level up!'
He opened his Wizard Character Sheet, selected his class, and watched as the experience in his pool drained away like running water until only a little over seven hundred points remained.
[Level Up: Wizard Lv. 6!]
[You have gained the Chronurgy Magic feature: Momentary Stasis.]
[You have mastered a new feat. You may learn two new spells, as well as one Evocation spell.]
At 6th level, a Chronurgy Wizard gained a pivotal class feature that significantly improved their combat ability.
...
Momentary Stasis: Manipulate the flow of time around a target creature, forcing it to make a Constitution Saving Throw. On a failed save, the creature is trapped inside a magical force field for several seconds.
Attacking the target may disrupt the temporal structure of the spell, causing the effect to end early.
While restrained in this way, the target's speed becomes 0 and it is Incapacitated.
You may use this feature a number of times equal to your Intelligence modifier. Current uses remaining: [7].
...
It was an exceptionally powerful time-based crowd-control ability.
Although it targeted Constitution, resisting it was anything but easy.
Combined with Chronal Shift and Temporal Shunt, his enemies were like toys, constantly dragged back and forth through the flow of time and manipulated at his whim.
Other than trying to endure it head-on...
...there was nothing they could do.
Perhaps this was what the art of a Chronurgy Wizard was meant to look like—calm, elegant, and utterly in control.
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