Hearing two people talk above him, Michael saw a flight of stairs ascending to the next floor, where he assumed Donan and his son were.
Due to his enhanced senses, he couldn't help but eavesdrop on their conversation.
[Dad, I need to be out in the field with the other Knights...](?)
[Yoornin, why the rush, my boy? You know, I-I found some of my old Horadric tomes. Stay here, and we can go through them together.](Donan)
Hearing Donan's weak excuse and reluctant tone, it was clear that he didn't want his son to join the other Knights.
They were probably leaving for a mission, and the old man didn't want his son to accompany them because it might be dangerous.
Yorin seemed to be thinking the same as he chuckled.
[I can take some with me, father. We have a visitor.](Yorin)
Ponting at the Necromancer that was now ascending the stairs, Yorin tried to escape his father's clutches.
[*Sigh* This discussion is not over. Is there something you need?](Donan)
"My apologies for interrupting. I think Celeste should've sent a letter of introduction for me?"
[Hmm? Oh, yeah. You're Michael, right? The Necromancer from Kyovashad?](Donan)
"Yes, Sir. I came here with a message from Lorath."
[Lorath!? Well, there's a name from another life. Hm, has the old man finally come down from the mountain?](Donan)
"Forced to, I'm afraid. And once he did, he brought down a warning with him: an ancient evil walks the land. The demon, Lilith."
[Huh? And you know this... how? Did you and Lorath discover something of interest?](Donan)
The Horadrim seemed to hide something, but his son quickly gave it away, leaving behind a speechless Donan.
[Perhaps this is all connected to what you saw, father.](Yorin)
[*Clears throat* Yes, I was just getting to that. There was an incident at my estate. Hmm... probably best if we discuss it there. Go and have a look around for yourself. I'll meet you shortly, and then we can talk more.](Donan)
Then, he turned to his son.
[As for your request... *Sigh* Go to Braestaig. And be careful. Stay close to the other Knight Penitent.](Donan)
[I will. Don't worry.](Yorin)
Yorin's assurance didn't put his father's worry to rest. On the contrary, the man looked even more worried now. However, the boy left quickly before he could change his mind.
Sighing, Donan turned to Michael, who stood in the same place as before, even after being told to leave. It might've been rude, but he couldn't do that without first prying some information from this guy's mouth.
[ Main Quest complete - An Unforeseen Visit
Reward 1: 19,703 experience points.
Reward 2: 2,400 gold coins. ]
[ Main Quest issued - Dark Omen
Objective: Investigate the disturbance at Firebreak Manor. ]
The new Quest was issued, and its description once again confirmed that something odd occurred at the Firebreak Manor, which was also Donan's home.
[Out with it then! You're just as insistent as that old coot...](Donan)
"If you don't mind me asking, what's your relationship with Lorath?"
[Me and Lorath? We haven't spoken much in recent years, but the two of us have a history. We are brothers of the Horadrim. I'm probably the closest thing to a friend he has nowadays. Forging bonds is not exactly his strength, as I'm sure you've noticed.](Donan)
'The old man didn't even pay to get his pawned weapon out; instead, he let me bear the cost. Of course, he's a Hermit! But not by choice!'
"Ahem! What about this incident you mentioned? Can you tell me more?"
[*Sigh* It occurred just the other day, in the dead of night. I thought it was a nightmare at first... but unfortunately, that is not the case. I have some things to finish up here, and then we will talk more at the estate. Meet me there in a couple of hours.](Donan)
Thanking the man after realizing that the questioning section was over, Michael walked out of the Great Hall and searched for a way to kill time.
He ended up finding the local blacksmith to get rid of some of the items in his inventory, as well as inspect the Legendary amulet he got after clearing Kor Dragan the other day.
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'There are also these two caches I forgot about. A gem and a salvage one. Let's start with these two.'
The Gem Cache gave him 120 Fragments for each type of gem, as well as a Rare but useless item.
The Salvage Cache was stingier with only 2 Veiled Crystals, 1 Coiling Ward, 1 Abstruse Sigil, and 1 Baleful Fragment. The Rare broadsword was directly ignored and thrown to the Blacksmith, who paid him back 10 Iron Chunks, 2 Silver Ores, 7 Rawhides, 2 Superior Leathers, and 5 Veiled Crystals.
Then, he compared the two amulets in his possession before reaching a decision. First, was the one he currently had equipped.
[ Protecting Necklace
Legendary Amulet
436 Item Power
-----------------
* +7.5% Resistance to All Elements
------------------
* +5.0% Bone Skill Damage
* +1.8% Damage Reduction
* +6.5% Slow Reduction
* +2.0% Cooldown Reduction
Legendary Aspect: When hit while not Healthy, a magical bubble is summoned around you for 5.3 seconds. While standing in the bubble, you are Immune to all types of damage. It can only trigger once every 90 seconds. ]
Since he got it, this bubble Aspect has saved his life more times than he can count. If the Aspect couldn't be extracted and imprinted on something else, then Michael would rather not swap it.
Still, the new amulet was decisively better.
[ Accelerating Chain
Legendary Amulet
572 Item Power
-----------------
* +9.9% Resistance to All Elements
------------------
* +7.5% Bone Skill Damage
* +2.6% Damage Reduction
* +2.6% Intelligence
* +116 Thorns
Legendary Aspect: Critical Strikes with your Core Skills increase your Attack Speed by 36% for five seconds.
Empty Socket ]
Looking at the time, over an hour and some passed, so he didn't have time to travel back to Kyovashad and get Deyman's help.
He could only leave for the Firebreak Manor. Michael barely left the gates of Eldhaime Keep when a beggar by the side of the road hollered at him.
[Spare some kindness for an old soldier, Wanderer?](?)
Taking a look at the person, it was a middle-aged man, probably in his 40's. His hands were wrapped in thin gauze, a look of pain constant on his face.
Curious, Michael handed him 100 gold coins.
"For a soldier, you surely look battered. Here you go."
[Thank you, Wanderer. My name is Halwerth.](Halwerth)
"What's your story, Halwerth?"
[I was wounded in the Days of Ash. I touched the demon's flame. Thought I was being brave at the time... I can still feel the fire dancing across my hands... burning the skin away... Everything hurts to touch - except coin.](Halwerth)
Watching the man laugh as he put away the gold coins, Michael wondered speechlessly if he had just been hustled.
Shaking his head and departing for the Firebreak Manor, he was once again stopped ten minutes later by a person standing in front of a stone slab carved with strange symbols.
The stone slab was heavily damaged.
[*Sigh* What a waste of knowledge...](?)
Seeing the Side Quest marker appear above the man's head, Michael was stumped. Unfortunately, the man also turned around and saw the Wanderer, and immediately, his face brightened.
Unable to just walk away, the Necromancer dismounted and approached the person. From the energy he was giving off, he was dealing with a Druid.
"The name is Michael."
[I am Moreg. Greetings, friend.](Moreg)
"You seem troubled."
[Look at this: these stone tablets contain some of the earliest written works of my druidic ancestors. All destroyed... The wildlife in Gaothmar Grasslands has been stirred into a frenzy recently. They've taken to smashing or even eating our runic tablets. I don't blame the creatures, but we must preserve our history. Surely, you can see the value in that. Please help me retrieve whatever you can!](Moreg)
[ Side Quest issued - Chronicling the Old Ways
Objective: Collect Runic Tablets from wildlife (0/3). ]
Seeing this Quest, he was suddenly reminded of the kid in Margrave, who was still waiting for more items belonging to his mother to be brought over.
Scratching his head as the Quest was already accepted, he could only interrogate the man for more details.
"You are an interesting Druid. You clearly care about preserving your history. Is there a reason behind that?"
[I once schooled the boy Yorin in the old ways. His mother Braega too, as she wrote her chronicles. Both of them had a deep respect for our culture. Braega inspired me to catalog some of our more ancient artifacts. In doing so, she reminded me of how easily the past can be forgotten.](Moreg)
"I see. What about the other Druids in this area?"
[Fewer than before, but we remain. So long as the forest speaks, there will be those who listen.](Moreg)
Hearing the words that referred to the forest as a sentient being, Michael was reminded of the 'offerings' mentioned previously in the Keep.
'Probably, the Druids and the other natives of Scosglen had a fallout during these Days of Ash, which prevented them from interfering. Also, ash implies a burning fire, and that soldier I met before was also harmed by the flames. Maybe the forest was also damaged by the fire. There's much to uncover here in terms of history. This Side Quest isn't bad, as I can gain the trust of the Druids. Through them, I can learn more.'
Luckily, no other events cropped up on his way to Donan's residence. Once he reached the Firebreak Manor, the Knight guards stopped him and allowed him entry only after stating his name and informing the Horadrim.
While he waited to be cleared, he saw plenty of servants working the fields around the manor. None looked particularly happy, but none looked dissatisfied either.
A man called Wilfred joined and introduced himself as the Steward of Firebreak Manor.
[Welcome to Firebreak Manor, traveler.](Wilfred)
"Hello. I am here about the incident. Did Donan return yet?"
[No, I am afraid he didn't.](Wilfred)
"I see. Donan gave me permission to look around until he returned. Can you guide me there?"
[Incident?](Wilfred)
"That's all that he said. And that it happened recently, in the middle of the night."
[Oh! He must be referring to his study. Something... unsettling transpired there.](Wilfred)
The Necromancer was led to the large mansion and permitted entry. Wilfriend didn't join, as he claimed to have 'business' somewhere else, but Michael could detect fear and discomfort after he was given directions to the study.
Upon entering, Michael didn't head straight for the study and instead inspected the nearby rooms. The first one he saw was a small bedroom to the side. Judging by the armor and sword near the bed, Michael realized that it should be Yorin's room.
With a quick look, he found two books of interest.
[ The First Forest: A Guide to Scosglen and the Caoi Dulra, written by Braega. ]
[ Journey Beneath the Twin Seas ]
If the first book was placed on the study table as if to show respect to his mother's work, the second was on the bed.
The pages were filled with illustrations featuring a group of adventurers exploring ruins and fighting off monsters.
'No wonder Yorin was pestering his father to go with the Knight Penitent. His head must be filled with 'adventure.' *Sigh* For an old Horadrim who fought a devil as strong as Astaroth, Donan should know that there is no romance in 'adventuring.' There's only survival and death. But how could a young man seduced by the tales of books understand that...'
Leaving Yorin's room, Michael entered the one next to it, upon another glance, he saw a table cluttered with alchemical instruments. A piece of parchment listed ingredients, and the name of the product was an elixir that could cure insomnia.
On the bed, he found a hefty tome entitled 'A Guide to the Weights and Measures of Ancient Kehjan: Volume II.'
'The pages of the book are well worn and are riddled with handwritten notes. It should be either Donan or his wife. Hmm? A letter... Ugh... it's a bit uncouth, but I need to make sure I don't get pulled into another trap.'
He approached the letter but didn't touch it. The content of it, however, made the Necromancer flinch.
[ Donan,
I know losing your wife has been hard, but do not let that grief blunt Yorin's potential. You cannot shelter him forever. He must be free to find his own way in the world. His faith in the Light will shield him from danger.
Reverend Mother Prava ]
The realization that Braega must have somehow died made Michael feel very guilty for snooping around. Just when he turned around to leave, he saw a slightly open wardrobe.
It was filled with a woman's garments, seemingly untouched for years. A dust-covered note atop the clothing drew his attention.
[ Crafted by Caldeum's own royal tailor. They call it silk woven of sunlight. Who better to wear it than you, my love? ]