Lantan Island is located on the edge of the Traceless Sea, south of the Sea of ​​Swords and north of Chult Jungle.
If you take a boat and take the sea route, it is only about five days' journey from the Neransel Islands.
However, due to the influence of ocean currents and wind directions, as well as the terrifying giant beasts and monsters in the deep sea area that ordinary people cannot imagine, it is always in a state of near isolation from the world.
People on Faerûn have heard the most rumors about Lantan Island, which is that the residents there worship Gond, the god of craftsmen, but despise and even hate magic.
The dwarfs and human inventors here use their knowledge and skills to build countless things that are shocking and incomprehensible to ordinary people in this world.
Including complex vehicles with suspension, shock absorption and replaceable parts that are rare to see anywhere else;
Agricultural machinery that runs on steam by burning coal or wood;
An alarm device that is triggered by current and can make loud noises;
Large and small mechanical self-ringing clocks are composed of a large number of gears and hinges;
With the help of water-driven forging hammers and automatic spinning machines;
A high-magnification telescope that can be used to observe other celestial bodies within the entire crystal wall system;
There are also what can be called the most sophisticated adult surgical tools in the world of Toril;
It is said that even the expensive alchemical muskets and artillery were originally invented here.
Because of the turbulent years, Gond once came to Lantan Island in the form of a dwarf saint.
As a thank you to the locals for protecting him, he secretly taught them a unique gunpowder formula.
Therefore, this island has a terrifying firepower network that will make any intruder feel numb.
There was once a group of desperate pirates who formed a huge fleet and wanted to plunder the town and steal property. As a result, before they even got close to the beach on the coast, they were bombarded with projectiles and barrels of explosives and were sent to the bottom of the sea to feed the fish.
When hot weapons fight cold weapons, unless you have the help of a high-level spellcaster, you will basically die as many as you come.
If you walk through the three most important cities on Lantan Island, Sandra, Black Deer City and Ankrel, you will even feel like you were living in the 18th to 19th centuries on earth.
As the ruler of the island, the Gond Church always encourages people to create and invent, and gives various rewards from honors to money to the most talented inventors.
In particular, the self-ringing bell, a specialty of the church, can almost be said to be the most exquisite and accurate timekeeping tool besides magic items. It is deeply loved by nobles, wealthy businessmen and scholars.
Even the mages will not hesitate to spend a lot of gold coins to buy two or three.
As a subordinate of Ogma, the god of knowledge, Gond and his church have always maintained a very good cooperative relationship with Zuo Si.
The technology and craftsmanship brought back by the latter from other worlds can be said to have benefited the craftsman and the god of craftsmanship a lot.
The number of believers has also expanded in places such as Luskan, Nelanthal Islands, and Amn.
The only thing Gond regrets is that he has never been able to find an opportunity to talk to the young planeswalker alone and exchange in-depth views and opinions in related fields.
According to the original plan, when Zuo Si left Candlekeep and headed north to Baldur's Gate a few years ago, he planned to descend into the "Hall of Mysteries" where various inventions were displayed.
But who knew that those dukes had no idea what was going on in their heads and directly expelled all the priests of Talona, ​​the goddess of poison and disease, and also banned Zuo Si from entering the city, causing the entire arrangement to go bankrupt instantly.
If Gond's camp were not absolutely neutral and had a good temper, it would definitely make these mortals who sabotage their plans miserable.
But even so, he also issued an order to the church operating in the Baldur's Gate area, prohibiting it from cooperating with any duke and his affiliated forces.
This directly resulted in the four dukes being unable to receive any help from the Church of the God of Craftsmen in the next few years. Even the previously most prosperous shipbuilding industry was shrinking due to the loss of craftsmen.
As Zuo Si reached a cooperation agreement with Wojin, the goddess of wealth, the entire west coast of Faerûn experienced great changes in an instant.
The originally closed Lantan Island became the first founding member of the Trade Alliance under Gond's instruction, and also ushered in the first fixed route directly to land in history.
When the huge airship landed in the open space and continuously transported various resources that the island most urgently needed, both the dwarf inventors and the human inventors were excited.
They rushed forward and asked the staff of the Goddess of Wealth Church in charge of the operation about the working principle of this giant aircraft and the various technologies used.
If the Gond Church hadn't stopped them, these people probably wouldn't have been able to rush up and dismantle the airship.
One crazy guy even wanted to stick his head into the huge oil engine to find out what was going on, and was almost smashed into pieces.
Thanks to Shuoyou's transformation, the airship had already gained consciousness and intelligence, and stopped the rotation of the engine in time to avoid a tragedy.
Looking at the surrounding eyes with green light and strong curiosity, Waking's pastor took out his handkerchief and wiped the sweat on his forehead, and said with a wry smile: "You people here are really too enthusiastic.
."
"Hahahaha! They are all inventors, with more curiosity than ordinary people, and they are also the most precious wealth on Lantan Island. But don't worry, I have warned everyone not to mess around."
The representative sent by the Gond Church couldn't help laughing loudly.
It was easy to see from the familiarity of the conversation that the two of them had obviously known each other for a long time.
In other words, because Woking, the goddess of wealth, and Gond, the god of craftsmen, have always been close allies, there is often cooperation between the two churches.
After all, believers in Gond are good at inventing and creating, while believers in Woking are good at turning these created things into wealth. The relationship between the two parties is mutually beneficial.
Also closely related to the two gods is Sandakol, the god of travel and exploration.
The emergence of airships has greatly accelerated the flow of population, allowing civilians to travel to countries and cities hundreds or even thousands of kilometers away to appreciate the local scenery, customs, and culture.
This has expanded the influence of the god of travel and exploration to a certain extent.
Since this is the first time the route has been opened, residents of the isolated Lantan Island are very interested in specialties from distant continents.
In less than two or three days, all the airship's cargo was sold.
The merchants of Amn used the profits and capital they earned to purchase various machinery like crazy.
Especially large and small clocks that sell for high prices, as well as those complicated locks, gears, winches, water pumps, automatic fans, and the ejection hooks that adventurers and Amn shadow thieves love most.
When they were taking off, a high-ranking priest from Gond followed him on the journey to Ascatla, holding a delicate box the size of his palm.
"What's in here?"
Pastor Wealth Goddess asked with great interest.
"A gift. A gift of thanks from the great god of craftsmen to Lord Soth, a special tool made by his own hands."
The priest of Gond replied proudly.
"That's it!"
Waking's pastor nodded thoughtfully and did not continue to ask.
Because he knows that things like this involving gods are not something he should inquire about.
The two of them spent a few days happily together in the luxurious cabin on the upper deck of the airship.
After arriving at Askatla, the capital of Amn, the priest of Gond didn't even stay for a second, and went straight to the Mage Tower to visit.
Since Zuo Si himself had been staying in the mage tower in the past two days to pay attention to the development of the situation, he appeared in the living room to meet the other party in a few minutes.
"It's an honor to meet you, Lord Soth."
The priest of Gond took the lead in putting one hand on his chest and bowing slightly.
Zuo Si returned the gift with a smile: "I am also very happy to see you, servant of the God of Craftsmen. I wonder if you have something important to do all the way from Lantan Island?"
"The great Gond sent an oracle and ordered me to give you a gift."
As he said that, the pastor picked up the beautiful box and placed it on the table.
It is easy to tell from the sound it makes when it collides that this thing is made of wood.
By visual inspection, it is almost the size of an adult male's hand, square and weighs at least half a kilogram.
"Gift? Give it to me?"
Zuo Si stared at the box with a surprised expression.
The pastor nodded slightly: "Yes.
The great Gond also asked me to convey that he looks forward to meeting you in the mysterious hall of Baldur's Gate in the near future.
Oh, by the way, here is a letter from the Lantana Island Inventors Association.
Many people are impressed by the airship you built, so they want to invite you to the academy in Sandra City for academic and technical exchanges."
Looking at the two things placed on the table, Zuo Si couldn't help but smile and shook his head: "Okay, I think I understand what's going on.
First of all, I would like to thank the great god of craftsmen for his generous gift, so I accepted this gift.
But regarding academic exchanges, I’m afraid I won’t be able to spare much time for a while.
Moreover, super-large vehicles such as airships are not purely technological products, but incorporate a lot of magical power that is difficult to explain.
To be continued...