Surviving The Fourth Calamity

This was a caravan set out from Neverwinter heading towards Deepwater City.

Winter was approaching, and they needed to sell some of Neverwinter's handicrafts and the alcohol and furs purchased from Luskan to get winter supplies and some magic materials.

Generally, caravans like theirs were ragtag groups of small trade associations that couldn't afford the big ships from Neverwinter that bypass the Undead Swamp.

Although the straight-line distance wasn't very far, small boats simply couldn't navigate the Sea of the Undead.

The elected leader due to his strength, the level-10 warrior Saha, took a deep breath; the most troublesome part was near.

They had to pass this part of the Undead Swamp before dusk.

This part was the most awkward; if they wanted to reach the entrance by dawn, they had to walk day and night without stopping for a full day and night.

Even though they could only camp in the wilderness when resting after leaving Neverwinter, continuous trekking, even for a caravan of robust adults and even professionals, was exhausting.

And they had to trek for another whole day without stopping. It's no wonder that anything arriving in Neverwinter was far more expensive.

Sala sighed; this place was actually quite good. The harm from the undead and beasts wasn't that severe.

But the cold wind was the most terrifying; many people had to lie down for seven or eight days after making just one round trip.

Sala glanced at the copper pocket watch in his hand, felt they had enough time, and allowed the exhausted caravan to rest for an hour.

He kept urging those slumped on the ground to make sure to bask in the sun.

"Sala!" A small leader who had gone scouting suddenly yelled out, "Come quickly! Someone's living in the Undead Swamp!"

Saha, with a pipe in his mouth, almost dropped his beloved hai wood inlaid silver pipe out of fright. He scrambled to catch the cherished item before it fell from his mouth and glared angrily at his deputy: "Someone? Did you wander into the gray mist? Hurry up and get some sun, Willy!"

"I'm still far from the swamp! I can't be wrong; it must be an archmage! His house is floating in mid-air!" The little mustached, brown-haired ranger replied unhappily, "Why don't you check it out yourself? Saha."

Saha calmly knocked his pipe, hesitantly looking up. Here was a corner, conveniently blocking the cold wind from the Undead Swamp. When he looked up, he saw the tall mountains.

Saha had cooperated with Willy for many years, knowing he wouldn't fool around in such a situation. He decided to gather a few of the higher-level professionals from the caravan to go check it out.

They walked about five hundred meters and turned a corner around the mountain, where everyone saw the white palace floating among the clouds.

And the swirling white mist stretching from the ground into the clouds, reaching another world.

But unlike the previous gray mist, this mist didn't evoke horror and despair, urging one to flee.

Furthermore, the main road was completely free of the white mist.

The Undead Swamp and their location were about three kilometers apart, a safe distance measured by caravans over the years, ensuring that gray mist with undead breath wouldn't reach here.

"A white palace, it's not a necromancer, right?" Someone murmured.

"No!" Saha suddenly felt invigorated, "I thought they were joking, but it's true!"

He looked at his companions staring at him intensely and smiled proudly: "Didn't I supply fresh flowers to the Moonstone Mask? While I was delivering last time, I overheard some nobles and archmages talking about this.

A nature archmage bought the land of the Undead Swamp, two pieces together, and got the lord's permission.

They said that in a few years, a magic tower might be built here to help purify the land. It's normal for a nature mage to choose such a place to save nature.

Unexpectedly, it came so quickly!

"How strong is this nature archmage? The two pieces of land must be worth tens of thousands, right? Is he that rich?" Willy interjected.

Saha turned to look at the ranger, who he always suspected of also being a thief, and replied seriously: "He dared to openly curse the Goddess of Wealth; no thief in Silvermoon City dared to provoke him!

Those thieves even killed the followers of the Goddess of Wealth, but in front of him, they didn't dare utter a word.

It's said his mansion in Silvermoon City is filled with treasures, yet no thief ever ogled it.

Silvermoon City has worshippers of Mask, and that's no secret.

Recently, I heard that Cyric's followers had made their move while people were murdering the worshippers of Valkin.

Even in such chaos, this nature mage wasn't disturbed in Silvermoon City. He's supposedly a half-elf with a powerful force behind him; no one dares provoke him."

He surveyed the incredulous faces, saying very seriously: "I hadn't believed it before because it sounded too unbelievable.

But now, the floating castle is before our eyes.

Regardless of anything else, this person is at the pinnacle in terms of both wealth and power. Do not cause any trouble, no matter how small.

Fair warning, if anyone causes trouble, I will abandon this ally."

Willy glanced at Saha, who was glaring at him, and gave an awkward smile: "Nature mages are nemeses of shadow walkers. Unless someone follows Mask's mad book, no thief would mess with them."

Saha didn't understand what Willy meant by nemesis, but at least the guy seemed to promise trouble-free.

He turned and called the rested caravan members to set off quickly.

The part of the Undead Swamp they entered was still cold and gloomy, but after two kilometers, the air temperature suddenly returned to normal.

However, everyone ignored the white mist rolling on either side of the road, fixated on the white temple.

Though they couldn't tell what gemstone caused the water-blue light sparkling on the white marble, everyone knew it must be costly.

And a gemstone worthy of a great noble's vault was embedded in a roadside temple.

Even though the temple looked sacred and elegant, the merchants were focused more on the gemstones' value.

"Which deity's temple is this?" Willy's muttering broke everyone's trance. Although everyone sensed the temple belonged to the good alignment, no one recognized it.

"Let's go, have a look." Saha spoke up, "Neighbors of a nature mage shouldn't be troublesome. It's just faith! Most of us here worship anyone!"

Even with a claimed main god, it didn't stop them from worshiping other deities.

Hill stood in his study, watching the caravan members near the temple with Agleya. They observed the caravan quickly discovering the purified water pool.

They almost rushed into the temple without hesitation, worshipped the goddess with the purifying bottle, and then began filling their bottles with water.

Agleya kept an eye on the situation below.

At this time, she preferred to stay out of the temple to avoid the prayer light bypassing the statue and flying to her.

Agleya wanted to see if her restrictions worked.

Indeed, someone wasn't satisfied with one bottle of water and brought out a bucket. Even a guy with a little mustache tried to climb under the statue to get the purest holy water dripping down.

All these people were thrown out of the temple.

Hill could already hear their leader cursing fiercely.

However, someone had discovered the inn, and they were already discussing whether to stay.

In fact, traveling through the night wouldn't be a problem. Hill wasn't trying to attract guests.

But these weary-looking guys soon decided to stay.

Even seeing stiff puppets welcoming them didn't cause much alarm.

Hill guessed these people knew this land belonged to an archmage.

"Hill's Dad!" Agleya asked thoughtfully, "Were they exaggerating to test my boundaries? To see if I would tolerate their behavior to gain faith."

"Precisely." Hill praised, "Agleya thought it through. They probably thought you were a newbie with the temple and might not handle everything well. So they tested if they could gain more benefits.

Especially the pure holy water, worth 500 gold per bottle. If they found something cheap, they would dig three feet."

Agleya nodded, then said softly: "With the Undead Tribe ahead, every deity in Teraxil knows to be cautious.

Otherwise, even temples could be torn down."

Hill looked at Agleya's indifferent face and thought she had gone through a lot with the Earth Bear.

The temple indeed did a thorough job, even using fountains to separate beast and human activity areas.

List appeared behind them: "Marsha said customers had begun arriving at the tavern. The puppet music isn't to their liking, and they're buying the cheapest ale.

Terry is a bit bored, chatting with the leader."

"With such a tender face, what would they chat about?" Agleya snickered.

"Marsha thinks the leader suspects Terry is the master's child and is subtly asking about parents." List chuckled.

Agleya's face darkened quickly: "Damn! What does a kid need with alcohol! His father is so thoughtless."

Hill couldn't help but stroke her hair: "Terry will soon reveal himself; not many will think he has anything to do with me."

After all, dragons do all sorts of things; someone like Terry is quite normal, especially with those who sew dresses and sell flowers!

People from Neverwinter and Deepwater should be used to it.

Especially this year.