Learning about Ioriel's safe arrival in Sherthyr relieved Liam. While his friends told him the same thing, a nagging feeling persisted, casting doubts over their words. The elf's words allayed his fears.

Examining the vials, Liam chuckled. Ioriel would never send him something without giving an indication it was from her. Mana vision identified the message she painstakingly created.

After storing the vials, Liam shifted his attention to his shoulder.

The injury was a mess. Unlike sharp weapons, the bone was blunt and managed to pierce through by virtue of its force. It ripped through his bone and muscle, creating a lot of damage. There wasn't a lot of blood, but he wouldn't be able to use the arm without getting the injury treated.

Tearing a part of his shirt, he wrapped it around his wound as an emergency measure. The injury would hinder him, but it wouldn't impact his ability to use the sword. Liam taught himself to use a weapon with both hands equally skillfully.

He crossed the destroyed part of the forest, making his way back towards his friends.

Jade was waiting for him with crossed arms and a scowl on her face. "What took you so long?"

Apart from being a little tired, she was unharmed.

Ignoring her question, he examined Dunn. "How's your arm?"

"It wasn't broken, only dislocated. Jade fixed it and wrapped the cut." He stiffly lifted his arm where a piece of his shirt bound the wound.

"Hey! Don't disregard my question!" She slapped Liam's back, making him stagger.

He glared at her only to see her staring back at him, unfazed.

Figuring it was useless to argue with her, Liam shifted the topic. "What about the remaining two?"

"Dead. Now answer my damn question."

In response, Liam threw a vial towards each of them.

"What is this?"

"Ioriel's gift."

They looked up in surprise. "She's here?"

"No. I will explain what happened later. Right now, we have more important things to do."

With narrowed eyes, Jade was about to complain when Dunn interrupted her. "Fine."

She threw a nasty look at him but didn't retort.

The clearing did not have any temporary or permanent structures. Anyone else might have written it off as a brief resting place, but mana vision picked up a magic reaction underground.

Walking over to the place, Liam carefully examined the surroundings, trying to find an entry point. Not having his patience, Jade smashed the ground with her ax.

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Dunn sneered, about to retort when the ground sunk in, like a trapdoor opening inwards. His jaw hit the floor in surprise.

Jade gazed at him with a triumphant expression on her face. For some reason, her expression annoyed Liam.

The underground structure was man-made and did not have any fancy decorations. It was 500 square feet (46 square meters) with a height enough for Ulgok to stand straight.

The magic reaction was coming from a strange altar placed in the center. Many interlocking bones of varying sizes made up the bottom of the altar. Black symbols written in the language of the orcs covered their pristine white surface. Distant sounds of pain and fear echoed from the bones.

Four iron rods stood straight at the corners of the altar. A skull was placed on top of each of them, tilted as if they were staring at the altar. Periodically, green smoke appeared in the eye sockets.

Different from the bones, the rods and skulls had a combination of runes and orcish language symbols.

Every few seconds, wisps of black smoke curled around the altar, disappearing into the skulls.

Liam's expression turned ugly when he noticed the shaman's altar.

"What is that?" Jade was confused as she never saw anything like that. Dunn also had a look of incomprehension on his face.

Liam didn't fault them. Among the orcs, shamans were the rarest. Liam once met a corrupted shaman, and it was one of the worst experiences of his life. Their magic and the way they manipulated mana made no sense.

Jade's voice grabbed the skull's attention. With jerking movements, they turned towards her.

Green smoke coalesced into eyeballs, studying them. More smoke appeared, forming a body around the skull.

Anyone else might have found the situation eerie, but not Jade. She threw her ax at one of the skulls directly shattering it. The others immediately collapsed to the ground.

"Huh?" Jade wasn't expecting her attack to be successful. "Was the green smoke a buildup to scare us?"

Liam rolled his eyes. The serious atmosphere was broken. Leave it to Jade to do something like that. "You were lucky the altar doesn't have the core. Shamans are some of the most terrifying opponents you can ever face. Never underestimate one of them."

There was an empty space in the center of the altar where the core generally rested.

"What does it do?" Dunn questioned.

"I don't know." It was the truth. Just like the method for crafting elven artifacts, the orcs closely guarded the secrets of their shamans.

"You don't?" Jade had an unbelieving expression on her face. It wasn't the first time Liam hid something. She assumed he was doing the same thing again.

Her question annoyed him.

"I can tell you one thing though. Altars like these require many sacrifices. They are used to construct something which is stored in the core. It is then embedded into a person, giving them access to a powerful spell. They are then called the Sharn warriors, but the power has a price. They are not much better than the corrupted, craving death and destruction.

"By themselves, the shamans are weak as their spells take time and preparations to cast. The Sharn act as the shaman's champions."

Silence filled the underground cave making Liam look back. Jade was staring at him with a raised eyebrow. "How can you call that information nothing?"

Liam focused his attention back on the altar. "The nerve of those traitors. They are planning on using the soldiers as sacrifices to create Sharn warriors."

"How do you know it's the soldiers?"

"Successful creating of the item depends on the user's state of mind. Sacrificing villagers or refugees will lead to a chaotic end product while soldiers will produce a stable one."

"Are they planning on selling them to the orcs?" Dunn asked.

Liam shook his head. "You are mistaking something. The Sharn stones can be used by anyone, not just the orcs, and using the core doesn't leave any visible marks, making it easy to hide. While it doesn't give them any extra stats, the powerful spell is an added advantage in battle, enough to tip the scales. I have always wanted one of those."

"You want to use it?" Dunn was shocked. Liam wasn't the kind of person who searched for easy ways out. If the core had disadvantages, there was no reason to use it.

"I wanted to try crafting an artifact using it," Liam explained.

"Is that possible?"

"Maybe," he said. "I have never heard about it, but it is worth a try."

"Since the core is missing, do you think someone used it?" Jade did not want any surprises in battle.

"Not necessarily," Liam slowly said. "Wait here. I think I know where the core is."