The Divine Capital city of Kanba shone warmly with rays of the sun as its residents went about their daily lives. Shopkeeps were out sweeping the front of their shops and opening their doors for the day. People could be seen leaving their homes and heading to the fields outside of the town. The large walls of the city had been built long ago in the past when the kingdom was warring with the Kanegar tribes. Although they didn't serve as much of a purpose now, many people preferred to live inside the walls as opposed to outside of them.

Amongst the hustle and bustle of the city was a robed figure that weaved their way through the morning foot traffic of the city. As this city was one of the oldest on the continent, it was not built with any city planning in mind and had expanded organically through the years as more space was needed. As a result of this kind of growth, its roads and alleyways were notoriously difficult to navigate especially for people that were just visiting the city. This robed figure navigated them with ease however and eventaully they seemed to reach their destination.

Gii stood outside of a shop and looked up at the shop sign that depicted a unicorn. After a slight hesitation, he opened the door and made his way inside. He was immediately met with a greeting from the shop owner, a bulky tan skinned human was standing behind the counter opposite the entrance.

"Good Morning, My name is Mara and I'm the shop owner here, What can I help you with today?"

Gii removed his hood and responded to the NPC, although he inwardly frowned after seeing her information.

[Shop Owner Mara: Level 71]

"Morning, I'd like to have a look at what you offer here. Is that possible?"

"Sure, you can look at what I have on display but if you want to try a sample I will have to charge you."

"That's fine."

As Gii made his way over to the shelves that displayed her items, she seemed content to go back to preparing ingredients like she was doing before he had walked in. Taking a look around the layout of the shop, the main entrance was directly opposite the workstation and counter that Mara was behind. There was a large side area to his left that had shelves lining the walls and on those shelves were numerous herbs and plants, all of which had a small slip of paper describing their information and price.

On his right side was a mirrored layout except that side showcased prepared items like powders and salves. He could see that behind the counter there was a back room and a set of stairs that seemed to lead both up to a second floor and down to some sort of basement or cellar. Gii took stock of the room space as he walked around and pretended to look at the different wares. Eventually he began acting flustered that he couldn't find what he was looking for and approached the counter.

"Excuse me, I'd heard that this place sells potions but I don't seem to see any here..."

Mara, who was engrossed in what she was doing, took a moment before she looked up at him.

"Oh I'm sorry, I don't keep those out in the open. What kind are you looking for? Just tell me and I can go get some if I have any."

"Oh I'm not sure to be honest, I actually just wanted to check their prices because I dont know if I could afford them and need to know how much I should save up."

Mara seemed to be a good sport about his honesty and laughed.

"Ahaha, yes I've been there myself my friend. Here is a list of what I have on hand and their prices."

Gii took a look at the list of items that she handed him and confirmed what he had expected, the potion he was tasked to obtain was not listed as an option.

"Darn, I guess I dont have enough to get what I need right now. Are you open every day? Or should I come back on a certain day if I want to buy something?"

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"I'm usually open every day, unless I get a special commision or something that requires my focus."

"I see, well thank you then. I will be back when I can actually purchase something."

"You're welcome anytime, I'll be here!"

Gii made his way out of the shop and back to one of the main pubs for the travelers coming into the city. He sat down and began to put together the information he had gathered so far. First and foremost, the shopkeeper herself was level 71. This was actually much higher than he expected and was fairly uncommon for an NPC. This usually meant she had some hidden backstory that a player could uncover.

I wonder if there is an opposite or alternative quest related to the one I have?

Unfortunately with his strength being much less than hers, it ruled out the possibility of using brute force to obtain what he wanted. Secondly, she kept her potions stored away in one of the other areas of the building. Gii knew from experience that most shops reserved the upper floor for a residence so that was most likely where she lived.

I can't rule out the possibility that she would keep her most valuable items there either...

Gii rubbed his head in frustration the more he thought about it. In his past life he remembered that this quest was supposed to be a pretty easy one and it was just tricky to trigger it because you had to locate the Tyrule Fair first. Obviously it would be easier however, because at that time the game was much more well established so dealing with a low level tier 2 NPC like Mara would have been fairly easy for any mid level player. However for the current Gii, this was a huge hurdle that he would have to think of some way to get around.

For now, lets take stock of the situation for the altar and then I can try to form a plan...

Gii left the tavern he was in and began heading to the northeast area of the city. Since this city was so large, this was not that short of a trip, but it didn't take too long either. After about 15-20 minutes of travel, Gii reached the Smith's district and the smell of sulfur and iron filled the air. He could hear hammers being smashed on anvils and many of the soldiers that were patrolling the walls could be seen walking amongst the different shops that were located here.

This district was also the location to one of the exits of the city and Gii pulled up his hood and began to make his way toward this exit as discreetly as he could. Since this was not one of the main entrances, it was not as well traveled as the main gate so it was easier to keep track of people entering and leaving. Fortunately for him, there was really no reason why he should be considered suspicious at the moment so he was able to leave the city without incedent.

The reason he had to leave the city was because his current destination was the "Graveyard of Heroes" which was located just to the northeast outside the walls. Although this city was referred to as the "Divine" capital, there was actually not too many churches inside the city walls. There were a couple of major ones, but considering the level of NPC's there and the amount of people that went in and out of those churches every day, it would be incredibly dumb of Gii to try and perform his sacrifice in one of those churches. Even though he was likely to gain exponentially more negative karma from defiling one of those altars, it really was not something he was capable of at his current level.

Fortunately, that was not the only location that housed an altar of Crassius. The "Graveyard of Heroes" was just that, a graveyard reserved for those holy warriors who died in battle or who sacrificed themselves in the name of their god. Although there had not been a major war in Listonia for hundreds of years, there were still smaller conflicts that had arisen and this place would always be where great warriors would go to be entombed. All of the major chuches maintained small temples in this area and the priests stationed there would be responsible for the caretaking of their followers graves.

It didn't take long before the graveyard came in to view and unfortunately for Gii, there was hardly any cover around that would allow him to make a stealthy approach easily. There were some large boulder outcroppings that were scattered around the area, which was pretty normal for the plains this far north. As stealthily as he could, Gii slowly approached using these boulders as cover. Due to the experience he had at the Sanctorium Archive, he decided to use as much caution as possible this time to avoid attracting the attention of the devout priests.

Gii could see a number of different priests that were walking around the graves and cleaning them off or sweeping the walkways. As he entered the grounds of the graveyard, there were more elaborate structures and statues that were used for headstones. Some even had an entire mausoleum that could be entered and would most likely lead to a series of catacombs. Skillfully ducking around the headstones to avoid the sight of the priests, he eventually spotted the building he was looking for.

Amongst the many headstones and walkways of the graveyard stood a lonely brick building that had the holy symbol of Crassisus hanging above its doorway. This small temple was almost identical to the one he came across in the forest when he defiled the first altar. Since it was around noon it was impossible to approach closely, but after looking around he noticed a cluster of larger headstones that seemed easier to hide amongst and also had a good view of the temple. Gii setup and began staking out the temple.

He stayed put there for many hours until eventually the sun began to set and darkness started covering the graveyard. Throughout his stakeout there was a couple of close calls where he had to move to another location to avoid being seen, but as the darkness closed in it became much easier for him to avoid being seen.

It seems there are 3 priests stationed here.

Gii had noted that there were currently 3 priests that were stationed at this temple and they seemed to rotate in shifts where 2 of them would be out and walking the graveyard while the third one woiuld be back resting in the temple. The three priests were level 50 which was way too strong for Gii to handle, but he also noticed something peculiar while observing the temple for most of the day. As the sun had dropped and it became time for dinner, the temple had some visitors in the form of a pair of pallbearers. These 2 NPC's were only level 5 and were definitely someone Gii could take care of on his own assuming he was able to get a surprise attack off on them.

The key to achieving what he wanted would depend on if he could create a scenario where all of the priests would be out of the temple and he could get one of the pallbearers alone somewhere around the temple.

Hmm...if only there was a "hero" of Crassius that would die, they would definitely all have to leave the temple to perform the burial rite...

Suddenly Gii perked up as he remembered a piece of information that was buried deep in his head.

Wait...I do know one, don't I!? This is perfect!

Gii rushed out of the graveyard as quickly as he could, he had finally formed some semblance of a plan.