20demayo Chapter 28 Evil Thoughts
Chapter 28 Evil Thoughts
Just as the vines tightly bound Ethan Thorne, the druid, who was preparing to cast [Immobilize Humanoid], finished chanting the incantation and then released another spell that struck Ethan Thorne.
The spell was weaker than Ronan's [Immobilize] spell, and soon, "Ethan Thorne" began to struggle again.
Ronan knew that spells would eventually fail, and the Druid's Entanglement spell couldn't last forever either.
So he used his magic to summon the steel greatsword on his back and, according to the description of the human body structure in the "Heavenly Book," severed the tendons in Ethan Thorne's hands and feet.
Ethan Thorne's limbs immediately went limp, and he stopped struggling.
The druids manipulated the vines, completely enveloping "Ethan Thorne" like a silkworm cocoon.
A druid approaches Ethan Thorne and casts [Detect Good and Evil] on him.
As the incantation was chanted, a yellowish-white light shone on the druid.
After a few breaths, the druid's gaze toward Ethan Thorne turned even more ruthless: "He is a monster."
The other druids' faces also darkened.
Then, Kieran called to the other druids, and together they carried "Ethan Thorne" out.
……
It was already dark, and some of the plants in the camp were emitting a faint green glow.
Ethan Thorne, bound and gagged, was placed in the middle of the woods.
A dozen or so druids, some making spellcasting gestures and others holding weapons, surrounded the shapeshifter.
Elder Reynolds, holding a wooden staff entwined with vines, stood on the periphery, looking through the crowd at the shapeshifter that had transformed into his prized student.
Also present were other combat-capable druids from the camp, as well as Ronan's four-person adventure team.
"Who sent you?" Elder Reynolds looked at "Ethan Thorne" with a serious expression, completely devoid of the benevolence he displayed during the day.
The fact that the shapeshifter transformed into Ethan Thorne suggests that Ethan has disappeared, and may even have been killed by the shapeshifter.
The shapeshifter didn't say anything.
"Where is Ethan Thorne?" Elder Reynolds asked again.
The shapeshifter remained silent.
"Kill it, then use Conversation of the Dead," Elder Reynolds said.
Upon hearing this, Ethan Thorne looked terrified and hurriedly said, "Don't kill me, I'll tell you what I know."
Elder Reynolds ignored him, because he didn't believe the shapeshifter would tell the truth under these circumstances, and continued to signal Kieran to take action.
Suddenly, Ronan stepped forward and said, "Elder Reynolds, how about I handle this?"
Ronan didn't want to miss the chance to kill this level 6 shapeshifter, as killing it would yield a lot of experience.
Faced with a sea of questioning faces, Ronan explained, "I hate the followers of Baal. Please let me do it."
Everyone knew that Ronan came from Baldur's Gate, but they didn't know about his past. Hearing Ronan say this, they assumed that he had really been harmed by the followers of Baal in the past.
Kieran gave Elder Reynolds a questioning look, and Elder Reynolds then said to Ronan, "Mr. Jonas, let's begin."
Ronan immediately drew his steel greatsword and cast the [Demon Slayer] spell on it.
Then, aiming at Ethan Thorne's heart, he stabbed him.
With the blessing of the [Demon Slayer] technique, the steel greatsword pierced Ethan Thorne's chest with ease, as easily as a hot knife sinking into butter.
With a look of terror on Ethan Thorne's face and a scream, as Ronan drew his steel greatsword, Ethan Thorne transformed into a hairless, smooth-skinned humanoid monster.
[You have killed a level 6 shapeshifter, assassin, or Baal follower, gaining 3000 XP.]
[You have advanced to Level 4 Cultivator, Experience: 4035 XP/6500 XP]
Ronan hadn't expected that a level 6 shapeshifter could give him so much experience.
According to the knowledge imparted to him by the "Heavenly Book," killing a monster with an average challenge level of 6 would only yield 2700 XP.
"Is it because it's a level 6 professional, or because it's a follower of Baal?"
Ronan drew his steel greatsword, borrowed a coarse cloth from the druid, wiped the blood off the sword, and sheathed it.
Just as Ronan killed the shapeshifter, Kieran left, and then brought out a staff wrapped in black vines and handed it to Elder Reynolds.
Elder Reynolds pointed the tip of his staff at the shapeshifter lying on the ground and chanted a spell.
Before long, the shapeshifter floated up, its eyes and mouth emitting a bright green light.
Ronan immediately realized that Elder Reynolds had cast [Talk to the Dead] on the shapeshifter.
[Talk to the Dead] is a third-circle spell and is not on the Druid spellbook. Elder Reynolds is only a Druid and does not concurrently serve as a mage, bard, or priest, so naturally he does not know the [Talk to the Dead] spell.
However, the staff he held contained the ability to "talk to the dead".
He can cast spells using his staff.
The "Conversation with the Deceased" lasts for 10 minutes, during which the deceased can answer five questions.
Knowledge of the corpse and the language it speaks are limited to what it knew during its lifetime, and the answers are usually brief, vague, or repetitive.
If the caster is hostile to the corpse, or the corpse considers the caster an enemy, the corpse may not give the caster the correct answer.
This spell does not return the creature's soul to its body, but merely revitalizes its spirit.
Therefore, the corpse cannot perceive new information, cannot understand anything that happened after its death, and cannot speculate about future events.
Elder Reynolds immediately asked the shapeshifting corpse, "Where is Ethan Thorne?"
The corpse uttered broken words: "The... sewers of Baldur's Gate..."
Elder Reynolds and the other druids breathed a slight sigh of relief upon hearing this.
If this fanatical Baal follower did not sacrifice Ethan Thorne to Baal, then Ethan Thorne can still be saved.
Elder Reynolds then asked his second question: "Does your Baal Order have any dealings with the Mind Flayers?"
Elder Reynolds, of course, wanted to know all the details of the cooperation between the Baal Order and the Mind Flayers.
However, the remaining spirit within the corpse could not provide a long and complex answer.
Therefore, he could only get a general direction from the clues, and then he could hand them over to more skilled professionals for investigation.
"Yes..." the corpse replied.
Elder Reynolds then asked a third question: "Who is the leader of the Baal Order?"
"Evil thoughts..." the shapeshifting corpse replied.
The name was quite strange. Elder Reynolds and the group of druids thought for a while and then realized that they had never heard of such a person before.
"What does evil thought look like?" Elder Reynolds asked the fourth question.
"White...Dragonborn..." the shapeshifting corpse replied.
Elder Reynolds' spirits lifted. Dragonborns are few in number, and if they have such obvious characteristics, they will be easier to find.