Chapter 379 A Variable Has Appeared [Part 1]
Chapter 379 A Variable Has Appeared [Part 1]
"As an individual, I would like to help you kidnap the Baron's second son. Unfortunately, I can't do that," Boss stated. "I am a Guildmaster of the Adventurer's Guild, and I can't ruin my organization's reputation because of my personal desires. But, that doesn't mean that I can't help you in other ways."
The Bearkin knew how serious the situation was, so he had already thought of a way to help Lux without jeopardizing the organization he belonged to.
"I promise that I and the other adventurers remaining in this city will not get in your way," Boss said. "Also, if the Baron ever asks us to pursue you, we will accept his orders on the surface, but we will not act on it."
Lux nodded. "That's fine. As long as the Adventurer's Guild doesn't get in our way, then that is already a big help to make it easier for us to reach our goal."
The Bearkin rubbed his chin as he looked at the Half-Elf. Now that they had both exchanged information, all that was left to do was to decide on what both of them would be doing next.
"All we need to do is keep the Baron's second son here in the Wolpine Barony for three days, right?" Boss inquired.
"Yes," Lux replied. "It is my guess that if he leaves Wolfpine Village during those three days, the Creature of Ruin would chase him, and in turn, it would pass through villages, towns, and even cities, leaving a trail of destruction behind. We must not allow such a thing to happen."
Boss sighed as he nodded his head in agreement. The Kingdom of Gweliven only had two Saints at the moment.
These two Saints had lived their lives away from politics, and didn't meddle with the affairs of the Kingdom of Gweliven, but during times of need they would appear to lend their hand.
However, even if they worked together, just the two of them would not be enough to stop the Creature of Ruin that had only been sealed by the combined might of all the Kingdoms within the Arondight Territory.
"I will also inform the Main Headquarters of the Adventurer's Guild in the capital city," Boss stated. "They will be the one to relay this information to the King's ears, allowing him to act accordingly. But, I just want to confirm one thing. Are you sure that the Creature of Ruin has broken the seals that bound him?"
"I'll be perfectly honest, I'm not really sure," Lux replied. "But I assume that it is so."
He only assumed that the Creature of Ruin had broken free due to the information about the quest that was available to him.
Boss frowned as he contemplated whether he should send word to the capital or not. He had only met Lux lately, and he didn't know if he could be trusted. Nevertheless, this news was simply too big to ignore, so he decided to only send a message to the capital after he personally checked if the seals were really broken or not.
"Okay, I will take my men to check the seals in the Dark Plains," Boss said. "This will also be a good excuse so that the Baron won't be able to contact me."
"Sounds like a plan. We will be staying at the White House Inn," Lux commented. "If the seals are broken, make sure to inform us as soon as possible."
"Okay. That sounds reasonable."
"Thank you."
After reaching an agreement, Lux and his friends went to the White House Inn to book three rooms.
Since they needed to stay for three days in the Wolfpine Barony, that also meant that they had plenty of time to investigate and snoop around the Baron's Residence to look for the whereabouts of the Baron's second son.
When Lux was in the privacy of his own room, he summoned Ishtar to give her an order.
"Ishtar, scout the Baron's Residence and check how many guards they have," Lux ordered. "Make sure to include detailed information about how strong they are. Look for possible escape routes while you're at it. We will need this information if we are to sneak in inside their residence and kidnap the Baron's second son."
"Understood, Master," Ishtar replied before opening the window of the room.
A moment later, she turned into a black mist and disappeared completely.
This was the first time that Lux and his friends had been to Dunspear City, so after two hours of rest, they went out to explore the city to get a better understanding of the current situation of the people that lived there.
"As a Nomadic Tribe, we've seen many places," Cai said as it walked beside Lux. "But, I've never seen something as tragic as this."
Lux agreed with Cai's statement because everyone in the city was currently living pitiful lives. No matter where they went, they could only see the exhausted faces of the people that lived in the city.
No smiles could be seen and no laughter could be heard anywhere.
Simply put, the Wolfpine Barony was simply surviving due to the support of the Royal Family.
There were food supplies that were transported to the Barony from the nearby territories, but it was not enough to allow the people living here to eat properly.
Even the Tavern where they stayed didn't give out nor sold any food. The only way to eat was to hunt, but hunting was also extremely hard due to the current circumstances.
After strolling for a few hours, the three returned to their tavern to rest. They brought plenty of supplies with them, so they weren't worried about food and water.
Just as they entered the Tavern of the Inn, they heard people chatting with each other while eating peanuts.
"Have you heard? A Royal seems to have arrived in the city today."
"Really? Do they have that much free time to visit this desolate place?"
"It's true. I saw their carriages earlier and they were headed to the Baron's Residence."
"Weird. I don't see any good reason why a member of the Royal Family would visit that bastard Baron who raised a scummy son."
"Hush... you already know what happened to the people that opposed the Baron's son. If you don't want to disappear mysteriously, you will keep your opinion inside your head and deal with it accordingly."
Lux frowned after his ears picked up the gist of the conversation.
'A variable has appeared,' Lux thought as he made a gesture for Cai and Keane to sit at a table near the Dwarves, who were happily chatting about the new arrivals in their city. 'This is bad. If a member of the Royal Family had arrived, that meant that they brought Elite Guards with them.'
Lux had to consider this matter carefully because the appearance of a member of the Royal Family could ruin the plan he had in mind.
As if proving that his thoughts were right, the connection he had with Ishtar suddenly broke, making the Half-Elf's face turn pale.
Before his Nightstalker died, Ishtar was still able to say a few words to him, and those words made Lux curse internally.
"Master, be careful. A Ranker is here!"
Those were the last words that Ishtar said to him before their connection was cut. Clearly, it spelt bad news to the Half-Elf, who didn't expect that someone that powerful would suddenly arrive in the city, before he could think of a way to kidnap the Baron's second son.
'Great, how else could this possibly get worse?' Lux sighed in his heart.
It was at that moment when the door of the Tavern suddenly opened. A Dwarf with green hair and red eyes, who could be considered a mature beauty, walked up to Lux's table and pressed a hand on his shoulder.
"I just killed an Undead earlier, and I followed the faint connection it had with its Master," the green-haired Dwarf said as the grip she had on Lux's shoulder tightened, holding him in a vice grip.
She then lowered her head and whispered in a voice that only Lux could hear.
"Give me one good reason why I shouldn't tell the Baron that a Necromancer is snooping around his residence," the green-haired Dwarf said. "If I don't like your answer, I will break your limbs and drag you to Baron, so he can personally punish you for trespassing on his private property."