Mithril Throne of Forgotten Realms

The gnome hideout is more of a town than a camp.

A small town built underground.

As soon as the three old demons stepped out of this disturbing and stuffy narrow passage, they felt relieved, and even the dwarf warrior with the lowest perception immediately sensed the flow of fresh air, and immediately exhaled a long breath of stale air .

What appeared in front of him was a cave with an irregular shape, and the torches inserted around it were burning vigorously.Qinggang could vaguely see a rather large underground lake in the front left, and the sound of gurgling water came from a dark corner. It seemed that this piece of running water was the reason why the dwarves chose this place as their camp.

And the main body of the camp is right in front. There are many people on this gentle slope about ten feet above the lake, and many pocket tents have been set up—at least for ordinary humans, these tents can barely be regarded as a qualified single person. Rest.

"Who is there!?"

When Laomo and Qinggang were still slightly relieved to finally see the light, three small figures rushed out from the dark corner, the spear in their hands was shining brightly in the dim firelight, and they were far away. A few people were drunk.

"It's us! Rhonda and Zucker!"

Rhonda took off the mining hoe on his back, and shouted loudly while waving it, his tone full of excitement. [

"This is our camp,"

After seeing the cave, the moods of the two subterranean gnomes were obviously relieved, and the sadness on their little faces dissipated a lot. Rhonda waved to the three adventurers behind him, "Hurry up, you'll be safe in the camp." !"

"How many of you have come out to explore the mines?"

Several people walked into the camp quickly. Wildhammer glanced around the surrounding terrain, and asked Rhonda, "Is it always this large-scale when prospecting?"

The old dwarf, who was greeting his companions around him, looked gloomy after hearing the dwarf's question. "Originally there were 120 three people, but now... there are only 62 left."

The three of them were a little silent when they heard this, and they could imagine where the others had gone.

The surrounding dwarves all cast strange glances at the three strange adventurers. Although Rhonda said that he could occasionally see surface residents here, presumably not every underground dwarf had the opportunity to see white-skinned humans. .What's more, the three old devils have some rare equipment on their bodies. The subterranean gnomes who regard forging weapons and armor as their life's work are even more curious and appreciative.

Several people quickly came to the center of the camp.Sitting around the campfire.Although the subterranean gnomes have dark vision, unlike the drow elves, they do not resist fire and temperature.

The old devil tightened his thin robe, and after walking in this cold underground world for a long time, he finally felt warm for the first time.But right now the task is urgent, and Fang Yi has not disappeared, so the old devil didn't make any more polite remarks to the other party, and directly got to the point.

"Mr. Rhonda, what did you say about people hunting mind flayers?"

"I know, I know!" Little Zhuke has been looking at the equipment of the three adventurers in front of him curiously.Hearing this mysterious mage speak at this time, he immediately rushed to say, "Someone is hunting the mind flayer!"

"It was indeed Zhu Ke who discovered it first, let him tell you about it," Rhonda nodded and explained to the three of them.And listened to Little Zhu Ke's description.Only then did the old devil have a preliminary understanding of the current situation.

It turned out that the dwarf team that Rhonda was in came from a small town in the Underdark Region, and this prospecting trip was organized by their leader.Almost all the living forces in the city were assembled.

Originally, the subterranean gnomes had a lot of objections to this operation, not only because of the empty guards in the city, but also because the distance the gnomes explored was too far this time, so far that even the most experienced old man in the team had never reached the point.

But the authority of the leader is unquestionable. After two months of trekking, the group of dwarfs finally arrived at the place where everyone is now, and then, a nightmare began. [

The gnomes began to disappear one after another. At first, only a few gnomes who went out alone disappeared, but later even the three-person prospecting team disappeared.Subterranean gnomes are good at moving in underground caves.Although occasionally disorientated, as long as the distance is not too far, gnomes can use simple telepathic contact with each other.Therefore, it is very rare for subterranean gnomes to get lost.

In addition, after more than two months of exploration, there were no results, and disagreements appeared within the prospecting team. Finally, an older dwarf with more than 30 people left the camp and embarked on a journey home alone.

Rhonda and Zucker are among them.

"But we met... the mind flayer when we walked halfway," Zhu Ke stared straight at the flames jumping on the red coals, obviously this memory was not so friendly to the little dwarf, "they...they There were two people, everyone fell in pieces, and they had no ability to resist at all, our soldiers fell down without a chance to get close..."

"Two mind flayers..." the old devil muttered to himself, looked up at his two teammates, and suddenly had a very pessimistic guess—could there be a city of mind flayers nearby! ?

Little Zhuke didn't know that the three adventurers in front of him had also been in contact with mind flayers, and they were still adult models of level 24, so he just continued his statement in a low voice, "We are all terrified, the elders will come down soon. The order told us to give up resistance and run away. Grandpa and I ran away and accidentally fell into a hole."

"Then...then I saw that person appear..." Zhu Ke suddenly raised his head to look at the mage, and the old devil was stunned for a moment with his straight eyes, "that person suddenly... somehow appeared, He just pointed at the two monsters with his fingers, and they fell limply, just click!"

"Then do you still remember what that man looked like?" After hearing the little dwarf's narration, the old devil's eyes lit up and he asked.

"...I was terrified at the time, and didn't dare to look carefully..."

Zhu Ke's two short and sharp brows were tangled together, as if he was trying to remember something, he hesitated and said, "But...that's not a monster, it should be a person, tall and thin. Wearing... ...wearing what appears to be a dusty robe."

"That's right! The magic staff in his hand is very beautiful, with white light!" Zhu Ke suddenly slapped his forehead, startling the old devil who was frowning and thinking, "I think there should be crystals on it! "

"Zhu Ke should be right. He is very talented in distinguishing minerals." Seeing his grandson's agitation, Old Rhonda reached out and patted his grandson on the back.He took over the conversation, "Later, I determined Zhu Ke's location through spiritual messages, went back to find him, and then came back here."

The old devil pursed his lips, and squeezed his own fingers subconsciously: Hearing Zhu Ke say the mysterious man who "pointed with a finger" and the mind flayer fell down, the first thing that the old devil thought of was the massacre The Fire Snake, and then collided with the human mage in the mysterious stone house with the mithril shell team.

If it was him, these things could be explained.Because that person obviously knows a lot about the floating city, it is not impossible to follow the mind flayers in the floating city to find the Underdark.

But... a tall, thin man with a crystal staff?

The old devil shook his head secretly: The mind flayer relies on telepathy to confirm the identity of its prey. There is no need for a mage to change his face. Besides, with that strength, is he afraid of the mind flayer's revenge?So now the old devil is not very sure, who is that mysterious person.

At this time, many cute subterranean gnomes had already surrounded the campfire.It's just that the current situation of these people is not optimistic, and they all look sad. After hearing Zhu Ke's description, some people have horrible memories.The sound of sighing is endless.

"Then what about your leader?" Qinggang looked up, and soon found a problem.The three strangers have been here for so long, why haven't I seen the leader who insisted on going his own way?

"He's missing." Speaking of this, Rhonda's expression became a little strange, and he looked up at the three adventurers. "After we were attacked, everyone found that the leader had disappeared at some point."

Qinggang was taken aback for a moment, and immediately turned to look at the mage sitting beside him.The old devil obviously thought of something, although he felt that it was a bit inappropriate for him, an outsider, to say it.But for the sake of the task, he didn't care about so many taboos.

"Ronda, from the time you left your hometown to the present. Have you seriously thought about the whole thing?" The old devil adjusted his words and said cautiously, "From the time your leader insisted on coming here to explore the mines, to the time when you met Duo Xin Demon, and then he disappeared inexplicably..."

"You mean that our leader deliberately brought us to die!?" Before the old devil finished speaking, someone in the crowd suddenly shouted, and the tone was obviously extremely angry, "Where did you come from to dare to do this..."

"To shut up."

Rhonda's white eyebrows raised slightly, and he said two words calmly, the buzzing discussion in the crowd stopped abruptly, and the subterranean dwarf who was yelling at the old devil shrank his head and hid behind the crowd Son.

"I know what you mean." Rhonda lowered his eyelids, and his downcast eyes didn't know whether he was still looking at the burning charcoal fire or the brown leather boots on his feet. "Actually, I also had this suspicion."

"I have had this suspicion since the leader led the team to leave his hometown. Because I have never heard of this place, and I don't know how the leader knows that there are precious ore veins here. Don't you think so?" Speaking of this, The old dwarf suddenly stood up, turned his eyes to the surrounding clansmen, and asked loudly.

According to the game data, the subterranean gnomes are also proficient in dwarf language in addition to their own language. The place where the group of gnomes live in front of them should have frequent trade with the surface, and they can speak the common language well.Therefore, the whispering voices in the crowd clearly reached the old devil's ears.

"Yeah, it sounds like..."

"But how could the leader betray us!? He watched me grow up?"

……

Rhonda saw everyone's expressions, and turned to face the human mage, "Mr. mage, you must have thought of it too, didn't you?"

The old devil grinned, and he could tell that this Rhonda was an individual. No, it should be said that he was a "dwarf". After talking for a long time, he was actually hinting to everyone that there was something wrong with the leader.

A leader of a dwarf group who has been in power for hundreds of years is of course unlikely to kill his own people-but what if that leader is no longer the original him?

Mind flayers are best at mind control, and they roam the underworld hunting, sucking the brains of sentient beings for food.Low-level mind flayers use their special psionic powers for combat, while high-level mind flayers use mind control, and ordinary intelligent creatures cannot survive.

What's more, this so-called leader is a dwarf who doesn't even know his battle level~

After a while.

A group of five people had avoided the crowd in the camp and came to the side of the high ground.Wildhammer looked at the waters of the vast subterranean lake not far away.The idea of ​​fishing came up again - no one has ever tried fishing in an underground lake. If I caught another quest item here, wouldn't it be a big deal?

However, after hearing Wildhammer's plan, the priestess immediately gave the dwarf a basin of cold water, and the dwarf was so frightened that he immediately gave up the idea of ​​fishing here:

"Do you think the Underdark is the same as the surface world? After a while, a demon fish popped out and charmed you as its younger brother. That kind of thing is disgusting..."

Seeing Wildhammer's look of concern, Qing Gang laughed heartily.In fact, aboleths live in the deepest part of the Underdark, and it is impossible to meet them here.But in this special period, the priestess must ensure that her team will not get into any trouble.

Thinking of this, Qinggang looked back at the mages and dwarves on the other side, knowing that the hope of going back might be on these little guys.

"So, Mr. Rhonda, what can we do for you?" The old devil said while rubbing the smooth handle of the staff, looking down at the solemn old dwarf.

"I went to see it after that, and there are still traces of mind flayer activities there." The old dwarf said word by word, "The gray dwarves and drows who were sucked out of their brains, I think we were taken away by mind flayers on the way home." The magic is dead..."

"You mean to let us kill the mind flayer?" The old devil raised his eyebrows. This task is not unexpected, but everyone knows how difficult it is~

"Mr. Mage, you and your companions have saved the lives of me and my grandson. I shouldn't have bothered you anymore," Rhonda looked up at the human mage, his tone full of sincerity. "But this is the only hope for our clan! Our family members, those old and weak women and children are still waiting for their families! Although I can't bring them all back, I can't let the rest of the clan sacrifice again !"

When Rhonda spoke excitedly, the big eyes under the white eyebrows were already filled with tears.Old Mo Nai scratched his head, and sighed in embarrassment, "But we have something urgent to go to the surface..."

"That's not a problem!"

As soon as the old devil opened his mouth, the old dwarf slapped his chest firmly, "I'll send someone to find a passage to the surface right now. Our dwarf clan has limited combat power, but our ability in this area will never let you down!"

"We can find the way by ourselves, Mr. Rhonda." The old devil still shook his head, but this time he was speaking the truth, "Although we have urgent matters on the surface, we still have to go up, right? I'm not trying to embarrass you , but what do you think the odds are if we run into two or more mind flayers?"

The old dwarf choked, but had no reason to refute the mage's words.Yes, who can say that there is absolutely a chance of winning against a mind flayer?

Lao Mo brought his teammates over here, also wanting to see if he could find a way to return to the surface.It would be great to ask the dwarves to help find the way, but if the condition is to face the mind flayer head-on, the old devil weighed it up and felt that it was too risky.Fighting against mind flayers in this kind of terrain is definitely a situation where the enemy is dark and we are clear.

Maybe give it a try if the cubes are here?

Old Mo Nai shook his head and put aside this ridiculous idea.

Rhonda's expression changed several times, maybe he also felt that he was a bit overpowering, so he didn't continue to speak.On the other hand, Zhu Ke gritted his teeth, took out a cloth bag from his bulging backpack, and handed it to the mage with great reluctance.

"Mr. Mage, I picked this up from the mind flayer whose head was blown apart." Zhu Ke bit his lip, his big clear eyes were full of determination, "I don't know how much it's worth... But I beg you, take my friends out of here, okay?"

If the whereabouts of the cubes were not unknown, and the treasures of the Floating Void City were close at hand, the old devil would definitely take over this task according to his character, but now... the old devil took the things from the little dwarf indifferently, thinking that it might be the mind flayer What can be good about the things on my body...Damn it!

The old devil opened the cloth bag, his eyes glanced at the attributes of the strange thing in his hand, and his eyes kept on.

"Leave it to me!" The old devil rubbed the gadget in his hand with his thumb, and immediately said, "Let the mind flayer see you!"

***

There were only faint footsteps in the dark underground passage, and the dwarf who was leading the way turned and left. The old devil immediately waved to his companions and hid in a corner.

"What is it?" The dwarf warrior stared at the old devil and asked impatiently, "What is it, is it a secret weapon against mind flayers?"

Qinggang is also full of anticipation.To make the always cautious mage limit his determination to take on this task, the things provided by the little dwarf are definitely not ordinary items.

The old devil chuckled, and took out a gadget from his backpack, making the curious Qinggang and Quacking Wildhammer's eyes wide open, and immediately understood the source of it.

With the light provided by the spell, it can be seen that this thing is about the size of a fist, and it looks like the fruit of some kind of plant. The emerald green branches meander along the truncated thumb-thick branches, turning the branches into sky blue The fruit is half covered.The round fruit is crystal clear, and it feels more translucent than the real top-grade jadeite.

But what really excited a few people was the name of this little thing—the Heart of Sarkos.

Purple name.