Opening his MAP, the Necromancer realized that the symbols of the amenities offered by each city/camp were grayed out in cities like Kyovashad or Ked Bardu but were still active in the freshly reconquered Onyx Watchtower.
Curiously opening a portal to the outside, he was met with the stunned guards.
Explaining his situation to them, they offered to bring him to the local blacksmith, who was now also responsible for the buying and selling of items after his friend, unfortunately, passed away in the bandit attack.
There, he salvaged the five Legendary items he had and only got back in return 2 Coiling Wards, 1 Baleful Fragment, and 3 Abstruse Sigils since the camp was seriously lacking in terms of basic materials.
Fortunately, they still had plenty of coins, which they recovered from the hands of the bandits, boosting Michael's finances by 260,809.
After dropping another 15,000 coins to purchase a new Amethyst from one of the guards and having the blacksmith slot it into his new Legendary focus, he could return to the Dungeon without further worries.
[ Dungeon Quest update - Onyx Hold
Objective: Slay the Languishing Corpses (0/3). ]
Moving through the Bastille of the Dead, the Necromancer happily watched his experience bar reach 1,690,894/1,863,000, placing him extremely close to Level 54.
Another addition to his inventory was a two-handed Legendary sword that dropped after killing one of the Languishing Corpses.
[ Spinal of Grasping Veins
Legendary Two-Handed Sword
582 Item Power
-----------------
997 Damage per Second
* [798 - 1,196] Damage per Hit
* 1.00 Attacks per Second
* +18.0% Critical Strike Chance
------------------
* +149 Maximum Life
* +2 Essence on Kill
* 3.0% Resource Cost Reduction
Legendary Aspect: Gain 26% increased Critical Strike Chance for 6 seconds when you cast Corpse Tendrils. You deal 52% bonus Critical Strike damage to enemies damaged by Corpse Tendrils. (Necromancer Only).
Empty Socket
Empty Socket ]
There was obviously no need to debate over equipping this sword, but he still had to decide whether to sell or salvage it.
Anyway, after clearing the other two Elites, the Dungeon was cleared, and he returned to the slightly more peaceful outside world, where the guards were busy cleaning the blood and bodies of the bandits strewn across the camp.
Shrugging, he checked his experience bar and saw it stop at 1,811,366/1,863,000, prompting him to head straight for the Crags, where the undead for his Kith and Kin Quest were.
The location called Wayfarer's Folly was swarming with undead, allowing Michael to quickly gather the Quest Items he needed.
[ Personal Effects (18)
Quest Item: Kith and Kin
----------------
Description: Personal effects taken from the undead. These include armbands, talismans, holy symbols, rings, and jewelry, as well as a few written notes and other various trinkets. ]
A Boss icon appeared as he kept killing mobs, hoping to level up faster, and he gladly went to greet the bastard.
It was a demon-type melee Boss, standing about three meters tall, with a ridiculous-sized axe swinging at every mob that stood in his path.
Wondering if he should leave him be as they both cleared the plains of the undead threat, Michael saw the ugly bastard vanish and sensed something appear behind him.
Lunging forward with Evade, the Necromancer looked behind him in horror as the two-meter-long blade of the axe dug deep into the ground.
[ Bhotak the Inevitable (Elite) - Level 53
*Teleporter: Teleport anywhere in a 100-meter radius range.
*Waller: Manipulates the earth to create a wall around the target. ]
Wondering where he got his courage from, Quarterback body-slammed the Elite and then used his taunt to get the aggro as the rest of the minions and Michael piled up the damage.
The big but disappointingly weak Unique Elite fell within two minutes after suffering the savagery of a Necromancer's army, making the one responsible for the act that much more excited for his reskill.
With almost 50 Personal Effects collected, the Necromancer considered his job done and prepared to head for the bandit camp.
He could wait until morning, but he would waste too much time.
[ Side Quest update - Kith and Kin
Objective: Return to Chabi
Objective: You have collected various mementos from the living dead in the Khargai Crags. You should return them to Chabi at the Onyx Watchtower. ]
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Setting the course for further southwest, he cleared eighteen more undead until he finally leveled up.
With his experience bar showing 2,159/1,964,430, he smiled happily since he was one level away from his target.
Not only that, but his gold reserves were at 1,749,806.
'If I keep this up, I should afford buying a decent house within a week. I should ask Mayor Collin for some help since I'd like something close to the girls.'
Suffice it to say that when he reached the trashy camp, the two 'sentries' were dead drunk, and the remaining ten to twelve people were sleeping near a campfire, probably similarly drunk.
Accepting the 'alms' offered, Michael's minions strolled in melee range unimpeded and began slaughtering the cretins.
The key dropped from an Elite that tried to put up a struggle, only to find himself punched into the ground by the Golem twice his size.
[ Side Quest update - A Pound of Flesh
Objective: Release Nizaar from the gibbet
Description: You were able to find the key to Nizaar's gibbet. You should return to the Onyx Watchtower and free him. ]
Since it would've been highly inefficient to return to the Watchtower and then come back for the idiotic cultists, Michael reopened his Quest interface to check the details.
With it asking him to stop the cultists from their recruitment efforts, he walked almost two kilometers north to another bandit camp, where he saw a dead body glowing with a blue light on the side of the road.
[ Side Quest issued - No Deed Unpunished
Objective: Examine the corpses
Description: You found the cultists dead in the bandit camp. You should check the bodies to see what happened. ]
The first body was pointing to a nearby bush where four more were stacked together, prompting a groan from the Necromancer.
Not only was the smell terrible, but the condition of the corpses was pretty horrendous as well.
[ Cultist Remains - The mutilated remains of several Triune
The corpses of the Triune cultists sent to bring the Word of Lilith to these bandits.
All valuables have been stripped from the bodies. A trail of blood leads elsewhere. Perhaps there's a survivor. ]
The Quest description also changed immediately, asking the Wanderer to keep playing detective.
[ Side Quest update - No Deed Unpunished
Objective: Look for survivors
Description: The bodies indicate they were killed by the bandits they tried to convert. A blood trail leading away may indicate a survivor. ]
Feeling schadenfreude at everything happening exactly as he predicted when he first accepted the Quest, Michael followed the trail as it was asked of him.
Some undead and a couple of dead bandits later, he found himself in the third bandit camp of the night, where the survivor excitedly yelled at his possible savior.
[You there! Let me out of this thing!](?)
Seeing the wounded man, he once again shook his head at the ridiculous way human anatomy worked in the Sanctuary.
This Triune member left a trail of blood over two kilometers long, yet he only looked a bit pale and out of breath.
It made little to no sense.
Approaching the steel cage the man was locked in, the Necromancer waited for the system to prompt him on what to do next.
[ Side Quest update - No Deed Unpunished
Objective: Free the Caged Cultist. ]
Raising an eyebrow since he was sent here to kill the cultist, not to free them, Michael decided to humor the Sanctuary's request nevertheless.
The wounded woman got out of the unlocked cage and began grumbling louder and louder about the 'injustice' she suffered.
[Those ungrateful bastards! We bring the word of the Mother to them, and they reject it. Heretics! HERETICS! I'll kill you all!](?)
Seeing her lunge at him, Michael calmly showed her the exact size of his boots and how they compare to her face, sending her sprawling on the ground.
Without waiting for another system prompt, he moved forward and beheaded the cultist before she could spew more garbage and pollute the night air.
[ Side Quest complete - No Deed Unpunished
Reward 1: 17,424 experience points
Reward 2: 2,200 gold coins
Reward 3: Herb Cache. ]
Wondering just what the purpose of getting the woman out of the cage was, Michael opened his MAP to return to the Watchtower since it was already close to 4 a.m., only to notice yet another blue exclamation mark less than a kilometer away.
Rubbing his eyebrows, he saw his Renownr reaching 1,785 for the Steppes already, so he decided to just see what this new problem was all about.
[ Side Quest: Scorched Debts (Level 50+)
Description: A strange smoldering book lies abandoned. ]
With the description pointing to another cursed, possibly demonic object, the Necromancer sighed and ventured west toward the Quest Marker.
After clearing some undead and the goatmen hunting them, he found his fourth bandit camp filled with burned corpses.
Not crispy cooked, but thoroughly charred.
[ Scorched Debt Ledger - A smoldering book wrapped in leather ]
It was obviously the Quest Item, so Michael had his Pathfinder pick it up first and see if it was anything dangerous to the touch, considering the dark-skinned bandits 'sleeping' on the ground.
Fortunately, it didn't seem to be that type of trap, which only made matters worse.
Grabbing it from the hands of his minion, the Necromancer read through a couple of entries, stopping at a strange one.
[ I, Andrea of Larken's Overlook, offer a debt in exchange for my deepest desires. May this ledger be bound until my wishes are granted or upon my death, whichever comes first.
- Signed, Andrea of Larken's Overlook ]
"Great... now I have to deal with people that made deals with the devil. Whichever one of those might be, as there are plenty of them in the Burning Hells, apparently. Fucking hell... are demons so bored that they decide to use these sorts of methods as entertainment?"
[What is your deepest desire? Write your name within these pages, and you will have it!](?)
Hearing the sudden whispering voice in the middle of the night at almost 5 a.m. shouldn't have been funny, but the Necromancer laughed all the same.
"Brother, I've heard that line pitched MUCH better before. If you'd add a proper American or Britsh accent, you'd have a higher success rate."
Playing with the ledger and further inspecting it while singing the lyrics for 'No Rest for the Wicked,' Michael eventually gave up since most of the entries were exactly the same, with the only thing different being the names, most of which were already crossed out.
"A bit strange. The only lead I have should be the name that's still not removed from the ledger. Andrea of Larken's Overlook. Perhaps she knows more."
[ Side Quest issued - Scorched Debts
Objective: Travel to Larken's Overlook
Description: You've found an unsettling ledger of names that spoke to you when you picked it up. Who does this belong to?
The most recent entry is 'Andrea of Larken's Overlook.' You should find her and see what she knows of this book. ]
Opening the MAP and seeing the location just slightly north of the other three bandit camps he found, Michael had a slight suspicion that this Andrea might not be the clean type of citizen.
"But before that... hello, my dear!"
Behind one of the large tents in the demolished camp stood a Silent Chest, glowing dimly after being illuminated by the moon.
Or maybe it was due to the magic infused in the chains locking it to the ground.
Unfortunately, the results were not very satisfactory, as he got two Rare items and another Legendary focus with the exact same Affixes as his currently equipped one, just shittier.
The Legendary Aspect was also based around Blood Lance, a skill he had never used before.
Adding the item to the pile of items to be sold at a later date, the Wanderer summoned his mount and slowly made his way toward the Quest area.
Once he approached the camp, he was shocked to see five active sentries yelling at him to stop in his tracks. The others immediately stood up, weapons in hand.
'How professional of them!'
[ Side Quest update - Scorched Debts
Objective: Question Andrea about the scorched ledger. ]
The only Elite among the group was a woman, so Michael had no problems recognizing the person of interest.
"Are you Andrea?"
[What is it to you?](?)
"It looks like it. I found this odd ledger. Can you tell me why does it have your name in it?"
The woman's pupils violently dilated to the point where even if he didn't have night vision, Michael could clearly see the change and recognize the intense fear the woman was feeling.
[No! I never should have swiped that bloody thing from Ked Bardu! I won't let it take me!](Andrea)
Probably misunderstanding the situation as a bounty hunter or a Wanderer sent on a mission to capture their boss, the other bandits surrounded Michael, who calmly dismounted and summoned his minions.
Since there was no need to continue the conversation and the other party wasn't willing to offer more intel, he would first get rid of the red-named people in front of him before deciding what to do next.