Finishing his sandwich while walking through the freshly awoken citizens of Ked Bardu, Michael rechecked the Quest interface and confirmed that the marker was indeed set for the local inn.

'From what I remember, the owner's name was Urgol or something. Hmm... maybe I get lucky and find Teckrin having breakfast. I could siphon some extra intel from her.'

Hoping to find his informant, he stepped inside the inn and saw a surprisingly large amount of people eating and drinking.

Scratching his head, he ignored everyone else and headed for the owner. Fortunately, the system helped him identify the man's name as Urgem before he messed up and called him Urgol.

"Good morning, Urgem. Business seems to be flourishing."

[*Sigh* I can't tell if it's a good or bad thing, Wanderer. More than three-quarters of these people are mercenaries.](Urgol)

"Hoh? Mercenaries? Why are they here in such great numbers?"

[Since bandits blocked the pass in the south, babbling merchants have been haunting my inn, trying to find people to hire. Word got around, and they are now using my place as a meeting ground.](Urgol)

"That's not bad for you at all. So? Are the mercenaries helpful?"

[Well... they are decent with a blade, but those greedy canyon adders are constantly raising their prices. *Snort* Nobody should have to pay for safety.](Urgol)

Checking his MAP and realizing the blocked pass was on the actual road to Alzuuda instead of the detour he took, the Necromancer scratched his head.

"Southern pass blocked by the bandits, and the eastern one should be swarming with monsters and cannibals, right?"

[Indeed. *Sigh* Word has it, Lady Beatrice is already working with the other Wanderers to get rid of the swarming cannibals since they are the greatest threat. That's why the merchants took it upon themselves to hire mercenaries and clear the southern pass. The more their goods stay in one spot, the less profit they make.](Urgol)

"I see. Things should get better soon in that case. Any other news of Ked Bardu you have for me?"

[Only some advice. Try making your stay in Ked Bardu a short one. All these new faces tend to bring new problems.](Urgol)

Nodding in thanks, he handed the man 100 gold coins for the intel and finally asked the question he was here for.

Taking out the demonic ledger, he showed it to the man.

"Have you heard anyone speaking of this book? I'm trying to find someone that knows about it."

[Hmm... Try Svea, down in the Barbarian quarter. I think I saw her reading one time... didn't even see her lips moving.](Urgol)

Rolling his eyes at the uneducated man, the Necromancer left after his Quest updated and asked him to find this Svea, the chosen one with the gift of reading books without moving her lips.

Two women chattering in a corner drew his attention. They were obviously displeased that the mercenaries had ruined their appetites.

[All the crying and worry of Guulrahn survivors is scaring off buyers.](?)

'Eh... looks like I was wrong. It's the refugees they're unhappy with.'

[Bareen, let's have some compassion.](?)

[*Scoff* I would rather have coin, Terbi.](Bareen)

Realizing the time was right, he infused some Essence into his Ring of Communication and contacted Beatrice.

A sleepy voice answered from the other end.

[Who died?](Beatrice)

"...nobody, I think. At least nobody that I know off."

[Oh. That's good.](Beatrice)

Sensing that the woman wanted to hang up, he immediately explained why he called.

First, he told her of Ked Bardu's situation, but she was already aware of it. Then, he vaguely explained the situation with the Onyx Watchtower and how he reclaimed it from the bandits last night.

[What!? We didn't even hear about it getting captured!](Beatrice)

"Well... since it happened yesterday, they probably controlled all ways through which information might escape. They were pretty sly. Besides that, I found two interesting pieces of paper, both relating to Guulrahn."

A sigh could be heard from the other end of the line, and Michael was starting to feel bad for these women handling the Sanctuary's biggest social issues.

[With that, a lot of things suddenly make sense. About two weeks or so ago, Batai and more than half of the guards from the Onyx Watch disappeared at night. Now we know why. *Sigh* I'm starting to think they might have something to do with the southern pass blocked by bandits.](Beatrice)

The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

After exchanging more pleasantries and promising two new desserts to appease the Tier 4 Spirit Caller, Michael hung up and continued his search for Svea.

He was surprised when he found her, as he vaguely recalled meeting her before.

'Was it when I came here to find Lorath?'

Trying hard to remember, he recalled the 'conversation' - if it could be called that - he had with Svea at that point.

'I asked her what she was doing, and she chased me away, saying she had 'work.' A strange person, but nothing to point toward the demonic. It might be a false lead.'

"Excuse me, Miss Svea?"

[Huh? What do you want?](Svea)

"Could you please tell me if you have seen this book before?"

Taking out the ledger from his inventory and showing it to the woman, the Necromancer was pleased that he wasn't dismissed with a few words again.

Svea inspected the strange ledger and even opened it to check the pages.

Then, she threw it back to him.

[No chance. Looks like it's a boring read anyway. Just a list of names.](Svea)

"Any clue who might know more about it?"

[*Sigh* Try Setsgi, the healer. She's got stacks of books that are just lists of things.](Svea)

Speechless at the weird leap of logic this woman was making, Michael thanked her and prepared to leave.

Just then, the Sanctuary updated the Quest, pointing him to the healer next.

Giving up on trying to understand what was happening, he decided to just follow the trail and let things run their course.

He found Setsgi, and after introducing himself, he got straight into it.

"Have you seen this book before?"

[Sprits save me, it can't be!](Setsgi)

"...I'll take that as a 'yes.'"

[My brother, Lyruk, he's an archeologist. He found that cursed thing on a dig. He said that it whispered to him... told him it would grant him any wish.](Setsgi)

"I can see from your face that you weren't very pleased with the idea."

[Of course not! I begged Lyruk to destroy it, but he refused to listen. If anyone knows more about that... thing... it's him. He's camping out in the Crown of Fiends at a new dig site.](Setsgi)

Thanking the woman, he headed to the Waypoint while checking the MAP.

[ Side Quest update - Scorched Debts

Objective: Find Lyruk in the Crown of Fiends

Description: Apparently, a man named Lyruk found this ledger while on an archeological dig. Worryingly, his name is also the next entry in the book. You should find him and see what he knows. ]

Reading the description, Michael did a double-take and immediately took out the ledger to check.

From what he remembered, only Andrea's entry was untouched until the Necromancer found and killed her.

After that, her name was also crossed out, and no other entry could be found.

Unfortunately, after opening the demonic book to its last page, Lyruk's name appeared on it.

'Well... that's bad. Let's see. The Crown of Fiends is close to Fate's Retreat. Let's teleport there and quickly find this unlucky archeologist.'

When he exited the portal at Fate's Retreat, he couldn't see the Curio Collector in the camp. However, the runes protecting this place were still in place, keeping any monsters and demons away.

Without much time to lose, he summoned his mount and directly traveled through the pass leading into the Crown of Fiends, allowing the system to scan the area for him.

Fortunately, he didn't have to look very far, as he found the man reinforcing some barrier of sorts using runestones similar to what he saw a certain Druid in Scosglen use.

Approaching the man, Michael got straight to the point.

"Are you Lyruk?"

[Huh? A Wanderer? Yes, I am. How can I help you?](Lyruk)

"*Sigh* It's not as much as how you can help me, but hopefully, we could find a way through which I can help you. What do you know of this ledger?"

Lyruk's pupils shrank visibly, and his face paled considerably. Then, with a resigned sigh, he stopped the corrections he was applying to the runestone barrier and tiredly stood on the ground, looking at the sky above.

[I knew it would find its way back to me somehow... I found it when I was cataloging an old tomb. It said my family would never be hungry again.](Lyruk)

"..."

[But I... now I owe it my soul. So I hid it and tried to forget about it. Looks like it found itself another willing debtor after me.](Lyruk)

Opening it and seeing the newly crossed entries, the man sighed again with a defeated air about him.

"What now? You can't just give up without trying anything."

[Right. Do what I should have done from the start... toss it in the fire and turn it into ash.](Lyruk)

"That seems a bit simple... are you sure it would work?"

[We can only try. Can you please help me? While inside this circle, I am at least protected by its influence. There's a campfire half a kilometer away from here, west. I beg of you.](Lyruk)

Nodding in acquiescence, Michael checked the location on the MAP and saw a new Quest Marker appear while the Quest itself got updated.

[ Side Quest update - Scorched Debts

Objective: Burn the ledger

Description: Lyruk has begged you to burn the book in his campfire. It must be destroyed before it can cause more chaos. ]

Rolling his eyes at the 'not-my-problem' description, the Necromancer set off and found the campfire about five minutes away on foot.

There were some demons he had to get rid of, making Michael understand why Lyruk had changed camps.

Seeing the smoldering campfire, he threw in a couple more logs and blew into the charcoal, reigniting the fire.

Then, he simply tossed the ledger in it and took five steps back. Michael expected the demon responsible for this mess to come up for a cup of coffee.

"What the!?"

Unfortunately, things didn't go as planned - as they rarely do - and instead, the book lit up with the same hellfire as before, burning the actual fire it was in.

It was so unscientific that the Necromancer couldn't find the proper words to articulate what he was seeing.

Strange laughter echoed through the plains, and Michael could hear a large number of demons stampeding to his location.

Ordering his minions to take point, he turned to look at the ledger.

[Pathetic.](?)

"Tsk! How about you come up here and say that to my face, big guy?"

[...](?)

Seeing the demonic voice remain silent, a sneer appeared on his face. It was probably just a demon weakling bullying human weaklings.

The issue was that he couldn't destroy the ledger using fire. He tried hacking it with his scythe and even threw it in the miasma caused by Corpse Explosion once the incoming demons decided to make a buffet out of him.

No matter what he tried, a thin barrier of hellfire would cover the ledger, protecting it from harm.

[ Side Quest update - Scorched Debts

Objective: Speak with Lyruk again

Description: The ledger refused the flames and instead exploded in demonic magic! Perhaps Lyruk has another idea to destroy this cursed book. ]

Shrugging and returning to the open-air, magically enclosed area the archeologist was digging in, he shook his head upon seeing the man's hopeful eyes, shattering whatever ideas he had of an easy way out.

"What else can we do to get rid of this thing?"

[I... I suppose we could summon the demon who owns the ledger. You'll have to slay him before he can... collect...](Lyruk)

"I see. I can't promise I'll be able to protect you, but I'll do all I can."

[I guess that's more than I could hope for, given my current situation. Follow me. There's a blessed site south of here. Maybe we can use it to weaken the demon.](Lyruk)

Following the man while having his minions clear the demons blocking their path, the duo made their way to the new location.

The Necromancer couldn't understand why this place was 'blessed' since it wasn't any different than the rest of the plains but knew better than to ask, given the current circumstances.

[This place will do. Give me the book.](Lyruk)

Seeing how antsy the man was, Michael couldn't really blame him. Handing over the ledger while patting the man on the shoulder, he tried to reassure him as much as possible.

"Summon the demon. I am ready."

[*Sigh* All right. I know that I... I would like to see my family again. Spirits forgive me.](Lyruk)

The Necromancer visibly winced at the death flag the archeologist just planted and immediately spread his minions to protect him.

Quarterback was the closest to the man, set there to taunt and tank the demon as soon as it popped up.