Late at night, Ascaltra is still as lively as during the day.
Especially the Woking Mall, which is the largest market on the entire west coast of Ferenc, is open 24 hours a day almost all year round, with no so-called "rest" at all.
Its oval-shaped wall is fifteen meters high, covering an area more than twice the size of Waterdeep City Market. It is still brightly lit even at night.
There is a constant flow of guests from all over the world or from other dimensions, and the flow of people shows no signs of decreasing at all.
Quite the opposite!
Because many businesses secretly sell contraband at night in order to pursue profits, there are more customers than during the day.
In those unknown corners, there are many shop stalls selling magic scrolls, staffs, wands, books and various spell-casting materials.
The merchants of Amn fully embody the saying "money talks".
As long as the profit is sufficient, there is nothing they dare not buy or sell.
You must know that the sale of these things is strictly prohibited by law.
Once you are caught by the masked mage, you will have to pay several times the fine, or you will be put in jail for a period of time.
In addition to serious merchants, various black market merchants also suddenly appear in the streets or hidden alleys as night falls, selling stolen goods they have obtained through various channels.
However, unlike Calimport, all criminal forces in Amn are managed by the Shadow Thieves Guild.
Therefore, fierce conflicts and vendettas will not break out between large and small gangs. Even if there are conflicts between them, certain rules must be followed.
Therefore, in the capital of gold coins, even if you go out in the middle of the night, as long as you are careful to avoid a few of the most dangerous areas, it is still very safe in theory.
At least Zuo Si didn't encounter any trouble on his way to the Bent-necked Crane in Chengmen District.
Even if I occasionally see adventurers passing by, they are not as aggressive as their counterparts in Calimport. They will either nod or turn a blind eye and walk away.
This overly friendly attitude made the half-orc Rhett, who was used to sinister people, a little uncomfortable. He asked in an uncertain tone in a low voice: "Are all the adventurers in Northern Amn so friendly?"
"Friendly? What gave you this illusion?" Zuo Si raised his eyebrows and asked.
"But those people who passed by just now obviously didn't show any aggression. This is almost impossible to happen in Calimshan." Rhett gave his own reason.
After all, in Calimport, it is common to wake up every morning and find blood stains and corpses on the streets.
It would be amazing if there was no murder or violent conflict for an entire night.
Zuo Si smiled and shook his head and explained: "No, you misunderstood.
It's not that Amn's adventurers are friendlier, it's just that they don't want to do anything inside the city.
After all, in this city, there are not only guards who maintain order on the surface, but also shadow thieves who secretly maintain order in the underground world, and masked mages who specialize in managing arcane casters.
It is not as chaotic and disorderly as Port Calim. Once it is on the wanted list, it will mean that it will not be able to step into Ascaltra, let alone accept those high-paying commissions.
Most adventure teams are not willing to bear such serious consequences."
"That's it. Damn it! I thought I met a good person."
Rhett couldn't help but complain in a low voice.
Although in Faerûn, the "unknown adventurer" has solved huge crises more than once.
But in fact, more than 90% of adventurers are driven by profit. Their basic behavior patterns are very similar to those of players in the game. They have no stance or morals at all. They work for whoever gives them more money.
Many times, I don’t even mind appearing as a bandit, robbing merchants and my colleagues.
Occasionally, it happens that employers are killed because they are not satisfied with the pay.
After all, adventure is the industry with the lowest threshold for acquiring wealth, power, knowledge and status in the magical world, and there are all kinds of people.
Even the "Witch Queen" Igvir once joined a quite famous team and went on adventures.
While the two of them were talking, the team had arrived at the gate of the Crane Hotel.
This is a slightly dilapidated two-story masonry building. There is a shed used to park carriages and livestock next to the main entrance. There are several guest room windows on the second floor, and a balcony that is so simple that it looks shabby.
You can tell from the appearance alone that the previous feature of this place should be that it was cheap and cheap.
Not far in front of the hotel, there are huge city gates and tall and solid walls.
Since a sign saying it was closed for business had been put up, the entire hotel was deserted inside and outside, with not even a soul in sight.
Zuo Si took out the key and opened the locked door, and took the lead and walked in first.
With the creaking sound of feet stepping on the rotten floor, everyone finally arrived at the lobby on the first floor of the hotel.
As a heavy drinker, Alena rushed to the bar without saying a word, picked up a bottle filled with amber liquid, unscrewed it and poured it into her mouth.
In just one second, she squirted out all the wine she drank, and while squirting back, she cursed: "Shit! What the hell is this? Is it really alcohol? It tastes so bad."
!"
Zuo Si suppressed his smile and pretended to be kind and reminded: "None of the wines in this store cost more than two silver coins. And the boss Grokana will also add water to them. Except for those who only have
Poor people with a few copper coins, otherwise people with normal taste will not pour those messy bad wines into their mouths."
"Huh? Then you didn't remind me earlier!"
Alena threw away the wine in her hand angrily and rolled her eyes.
"This is to give you a longer memory, so that you don't have to pour it into your mouth every time you see a liquid that looks like wine. Look at Rhett, he also likes to drink, but he never loses his mind because of it."<
/p>
After saying this, Zuo Si quickly chanted a spell and released a [Secret Detection Door].
Instantly!
A piece of floor next to the wall shows an unusual color.
You know without asking that this is the entrance to the Lich's secret chamber.
Without any hesitation, he added another [Knocking Technique] and directly opened the secret door sealed by magic.
Davian used his shield to smash open the rotten floor and pulled the heavy stone door hidden underneath, finally revealing a staircase leading deep underground.
Maybe it's because no one has been here for a long time, so the wind blowing out of it exudes a strong stench and decay.
The astonishing negative energy doesn't even need to be detected, you can feel it clearly with your body alone.
"It's unbelievable! There are actually lichs making their home in a place with such a large flow of people in the Ascaltra City Gate area."
Vanessa opened her mouth in shock and said she couldn't understand.
As a necromancer, he is very aware of the attitude of people in most countries and cities towards undead creatures.
So since becoming a lich, Vanessa has been extra cautious even when summoning her apprentices. She hides in the mage tower all day long and never goes out unless necessary, for fear of being noticed by those around her.
But this "senior" is better off, settling directly underground in the downtown area, and doesn't seem to worry about the consequences of being exposed at all.
You must know that apart from being hidden and sealed by magic, the secret door did not have any protective features at all.
There are not even the most basic traps to ward off intruders and sound the alarm.
"Perhaps when he settled here, Ascatra was not as prosperous as it is now, and it is not even certain whether there is this city. Let's go, let's finish this matter quickly and go back to sleep."p>
After that, Zuo Si took out four [Fireball Technique], four [Advanced Combat Undead], four [Scorching Glory], one [Silence Technique], and one [Eliminate Invisibility].
You don't need to ask to know that this is definitely a plan to give the lich a "harsh job".
Immediately afterwards, he began to chant incantations again, quickly blessing the combatants present with various protective and beneficial spells, and at the same time distributed the holy water he made to the warriors to apply on their armor and weapons.
It didn't take long before everyone began to shine with amazing magical auras.
Since gaining five priest levels, the protection and buffing magics blessed by Zuo Sineng are no longer pure arcane magics, but also include a large number of divine magics.
Especially the first-level [Blessing Technique] is not only very effective, but also effective within a group.
A shot before the battle begins will directly boost the morale of the team. Whether it is attacking or resisting the Lich's [Fear Aura], it can have a very good effect.
After all the preparations were completed, everyone walked down the steps in a mighty manner.
In about a few minutes, a basement of at least two hundred square meters below the city gate area appeared in front of them.
With the illumination provided by [Lighting Technique], one can vaguely see a Calishan-style sarcophagus placed in the center of the basement.
There are more than twenty human-shaped coffins erected on the four walls.
Due to its age, part of the wood has decayed, revealing dry mummies one after another inside.
The four stone pillars that serve as supporting structures are densely carved with exquisite reliefs.
Two huge statues stand next to the sarcophagus, motionless like guards.
There is no doubt that this is a typical tomb from the Shaon Dynasty of Calimshan.
To be continued...