[ Side Quest issued - Blistered Heart

Objective: Slay spiders to draw out the broodmother

Description: A grieving mother seeks revenge for her son. He was mutilated by spiders in the Blistered Barrens. You've been hired to exterminate the vermin to draw out the Spider Queen. ]

Seeing the Sanctuary take liberties with 'hiring' purposes, Michael shook his head and asked around for the inn.

It didn't take long for him to find it and hear more interesting conversations and rumors.

[Would it be so bad if they found out?](?)

[I'm the son of a merchant, promised to wed some useful daughter of the Steppes.](?)

[*Sigh* My poor, rich northern boy...](?)

Coughing awkwardly after catching wind of a scandalous affair, he entered the inn, where he heard more sounds of weeping.

[*Sob* Bastard eaters... carved my brother like a side of pork!](?)

[Light a candle for him and go to rest, Cato.](?)

As if the spiders weren't enough, people were also dying horribly to the cannibals. Life in Sanctuary sure was grim...

[Sir, could you please...](?)

[No! If you have a rash, treat it yourself! I don't want to see another one today.](?)

Walking to the innkeeper, he saw a young woman begging a man who seemed to be the local doctor.

Ucuna, the pub owner, smiled and gestured to the young woman's lower half, signaling to Michael what sort of ailment she was dealing with.

Shrugging, he ordered a cup of ale and questioned her about the general stuff happening around Jirandai.

"What can you tell me about this city?"

[It's the safest town this side of the Steppes. Good bones... built on the shoulders of the Old Empire. You and your coin are most welcome here.](Ucuna)

"Really? What about the cannibals at the gates? I saw more than twenty corpses strung on the walls."

[Ah... the brutes make a little noise, but our mercenaries are the best in the business. They'll have it sorted out very soon.](Ucuna)

"I see..."

Finishing his drink, he got up and prepared to leave for his next Quest location.

The area marked on the MAP was directly north of Jirandai, and it was where he would find the younger child of the jar seller, Khada, and his caravan.

A couple of meters away from the city walls, tens of bodies of the cannibals were impaled on some makeshift barricades used to block mounted cavalry.

Seeing the large numbers, he decided to get rid of any cannibals he found out there, hoping to make these people's lives a little easier if he could.

Moving on foot through the Galtmaa Bushlands, the Necromancer was surrounded by his minion posse, dealing with anything stupid enough to come his way.

He was able to find three different Dungeons thanks to this trek.

[ Champion's Demise

Once beautiful homelands are now overrun with demons. ]

[ Sealed Archives

An ancient Mage Hall. Once a refuge, now a graveyard. ]

[ Charnel House

Bodies are stored here; some are still alive. Food for the demons. ]

Curious after reading the description of these places, Michael immediately checked the location of the Dungeons in Fractured Peaks, which he had already cleared, wanting to see if anything of particular interest showed up.

Among the 23 of them, only one was slightly interesting.

[ Sanguine Chapel

A snowed-in abandoned Zakarum church, invaded by Vampires. ]

A strange look appeared on his face as he read that, incapable of understanding what Inarius was thinking.

With his strength, was there any reason for him to stay that close to a Dungeon infested with Vampires and treat it as his 'home,' even if temporary?

It would only get people to mock him when they find that out.

Reaching the Fields of Broken Spears, he was finally approaching the Quest area after almost an hour of walking. Fortunately, there weren't many monsters he had to deal with, except for some oversized wasps.

Unfortunately, the good news stopped there.

The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

"Well, shit... The caravan is abandoned and covered in blood. This looks like a worst-case scenario."

And, unfortunately, it was so. After dealing with a large group of around twenty cannibals, Michael found a pile of five bodies.

Among them, one was highlighted by the system.

[ The body is dressed in robes identical to Ordun's. Large chunks of flesh have been brutally torn off, but the contents of his bags remain untouched. ]

Sighing and placing the five badly mangled bodies in his inventory, Michael returned to the caravan and also stored the fifteen bags on the cart.

He then returned to Jirandai and found Ordun.

[Did you find him? Why are you back? Aren't you supposed to go back to Ked Bardu and report to my father? What's wrong?](Ordun)

The man's sneering words turned serious after seeing Michael's expression, feeling something was wrong.

"I'm sorry. I found Khada, but he, alongside the guards, is dead, slain by cannibals. I've recovered their bodies and the goods on the cart for you."

Seeing the five coffins placed in front of him and the small mountain of bags containing fruits left untouched, Ordun paled and staggered.

[Oh gods... Khada... No...](Ordun)

Opening the casket of his younger brother and seeing the badly mangled state of his body, Ordun collapsed next to it.

Silent sobs could be heard, and the surrounding people looked at him with sympathy.

[*Sniff* He didn't even want to come out here, you know. He wanted to stay home with father in Ked Bardu, but I pressured him... told him I'd protect him. Now, I'll have to tell father... how can I possibly break his heart twice?](Ordun)

Patting the man's shoulder, Michael left him to grieve.

[ Side Quest completed - Corroding Mettle

Reward 1: 33,792 experience points

Reward 2: 2,060 gold coins

Reward 3: Ore Cache. ]

Stepping through the Waypoint, he returned to Ked Bardu since his appointment with Lorath was coming up.

Hopefully, the man wouldn't postpone him any longer. After all, he had just about enough of venturing out for today. He's seen too much crap...

Inside the same hut he saw a different demon yesterday, Lorath crucified and dissected another under the company of two familiar guards.

"I'm back. How is it looking?"

[I finally have some results. Come. Elias's pet demon is inside, ready for the inspection.](Lorath)

"Could Elias know we survived his attack?"

[Oh, he knows. And that means we are running out of time. Come. Let's see if this demon ate something useful.](Lorath)

"A more personal question I've been pondering on. What exactly happened between yourself and Elias?"

[He asked me endless, prying questions. Frankly, I should be more concerned about your past. Trusting one so connected to Lilith is quite a risk on my part. One I do not take lightly.](Lorath)

"Fair enough."

Hearing the intentionally poorly veiled warning to stop prying into the ex-Horadrim's personal matters, Michael followed him inside the hut.

[Let's begin.](Lorath)

[This demon. Was it protecting that fool... Genbar?](Khelit)

[Yes. This is Elias's work. As for where he is... the answer lies in the stomach.](Lorath)

A gruesome scene unfolded, with Lorath splitting open the demon's belly and pulling out a severed and gnawed-upon hand.

Even the two guards couldn't help but wince.

[*Grunt* This is delicate. A soft noble's hand...](Lorath)

Then, under the eyes of the three severely disgusted spectators, took out a mostly intact foot, with the meat and bone all the way up to the knee. Even its shoe was still on, prompting Khelit to retch.

More bloody contents kept spilling out of the demon's stomach, prompting even Michael to become pale-faced.

[Elias would have to feed this thing... with more than fancy boots.](Lorath)

[Goddamn it, old man! Can't you be more respectful? That could be someone's son!](Khelit)

[Or daughter.](Lorath)

[We should burn demons! Not string them up like this!](Khelit)

[This is wrong in so many ways...](Daruuk)

Lorath paid them no heed and continued fishing barehanded into the demon's opened belly. Michael silently wondered if there were any demonic plagues the ex-Horadrim might catch after doing that.

Finally, he pulled out a metallic object and studied it curiously. Then, he smiled victoriously as if he had figured something out.

[This is a medallion. One bearing the crest of the ruler of the royal house of Guulrahn.](Lorath)

[Former ruler.](Daruuk)

[Obviously.](Lorath)

Inspecting it thoroughly and giving brief replies to the two guards, their patience was finally run thin.

[That's enough, old man! The dead deserve respect.](Khelit)

[The dead deserve nothing when the living are in danger. Now, Guulrahn has a new ruler, and we have Elias to thank for it.](Lorath)

Hearing the words, Michael finally connected the dots. The man entering Guulrahn and requesting the crown jewel city be handed over to him, only to be imprisoned, escape, and dethrone the royal family after freeing a cannibal leader—all of that was done by Elias.

The guards weren't very interested in this matter, though, as they had more immediate worries at hand.

[The dead may be worthless to you, but that medalion could bring peace to those still mourning.](Daruuk)

[*Sigh* Fine. If we are to find Elias, then we must travel to Guulrahn. Meet me there tomorrow at noon. And be swift about it! Oh! And avoid the city gates. Too many cannibals. Go to the cliffs, we'll find help there.](Lorath)

The trio watched speechlessly as the man stepped inside a blue portal and disappeared from the hut after placing the bloody talisman in Daruuk's hands.

Michael's Main Quest, A Moment to Collect, was completed, and his rewards were granted.

Immediately after, a new one was issued, forcing the Necromancer to make preparations for the following day.

[ Main Quest issued - Brought Low

Objective: Meet Lorath at Guulrahn (18 hours, 59 minutes, 43 seconds)

Description: Your investigation into Elias points toward the fallen city of Guulrahn. Lorath has asked you to meet him in an unusual place: a cave overlooking the city. ]

Waving goodbye to the two pissed-off guards, Michael found the Waypoint and returned to Kyovashad.

He still had at least two, maybe three hours of daylight, but he was mentally spent after today. Returning to the Pink Palace, he found the girls happily conversing about the first Kyovashad's Herald issue and how well it was received.

Smiling, Michael used a Cleaning Marble on himself and took a spot next to Helen after taking off his helm, gloves, and chest armor.

After carefully inspecting him once, the tigress smiled and kissed him.

[You look tired.](Helen)

"I am... today has been pretty bad."

[Problems with the Quests?](Mia)

"Pretty much. That and lots of cannibals terrorizing the Dry Steppes."

[Ugh... yeah, those. We successfully cleaned them about half a year ago, and the remaining ones went into hiding. It's not like we can tell which one of them is a cannibal and which one is not. In the end, we heard that most of them fled to Kehjistan.](Mia)

"Well... bad news on that front. It seems that they were captured and imprisoned in Guulrahn. Then, Elias came over and freed them, which resulted in the city being sacked and the royal family massacred."

[...](Mia)

Seeing everyone turn silent so suddenly, Michael realized he might've been too blunt.

"Sorry... I've been dealing with these bastards the entire day today. Not only are they terrorizing the residents of all cities by killing and plundering the caravans transporting goods, but they literally killed a merchant moving fruits, and they didn't even touch the goods. It's a bit disgusting..."

[I'll talk with Beatrice. We'll organize another purge. Left alone, they will continue to deal immense damage to Dry Steppes's economy and population.](Aylin)

"Please. I wanted to do that myself, but I can't seem to find the energy to give her more bad news..."

[What about the Fields of Hatred that you mentioned? What's that about?](Helen)

"Huh!?"

Turning to look at a curious tigress and seeing the blank looks on everyone else's faces, Michael realized that they didn't seem to know about this place.

Briefly explaining the situation and then telling them about the Seeds of Hatred, which vanished from his inventory after leaving the area, the girls frowned.

[I'll get Mira to join us tomorrow. If that's true, we need one more person to act as a tank. Beatrice should also join.](Aylin)

[I'll also talk with Natalia and see if she wants to come investigate. We could use Celeste's long-range attacks, but she's busy with something else, apparently. But the five of us should be sufficient to deal with the situation.](Helen)

[Mhm. We need to properly check the place. If someone becomes influenced by demonic energy simply by being there, we cannot allow people to pass through it. It would create unnecessary bloodshed, and we need every Wanderer available to clear the Dungeons.](Aylin)

The girls continued explaining to the Necromancer how all Dungeons were suddenly swarming with more monsters than before and were in dire need of clearing before whatever was inside could come out and create more chaos.