With the five angry neighbors mercilessly attacking them, Michael was at a loss.
Even in their 'ethereal' form, they had no weapons and used their fists and kicks to send the 'Zakarum' away from their lands.
The system wasn't helpful either, as it only suggested killing these poor folk rather than offering a proper method of escape.
Seeing the initially friendly neighbor bypassing his minions and jumping the foolish Nurbolat, the Necromancer watched the rain of slaps and kicks falling on him and wondered if he should get involved.
Sighing, he ordered his minions to stop holding back, and the five ghostly neighbors were quickly killed.
Shaking his head, he turned to the Scholar, who appeared more excited than before, prompting Michael to wonder if the ghost's beatings somehow awakened the masochistic part of the man.
"Are you okay? What are we supposed to do now?"
[Hah, they attacked! How... invigorating, heh! That man, Batzorig... he was headed to that cellar to hide. We should follow him. I'll meet you there, hurry!](Nurbolat)
Watching the Scholar perform some sort of tracking spell, after which a blue portal formed, and he jumped in it without a second thought; Michael felt like cursing.
'This guy is either truly naive or simply stupid. The truth is already out there to see if he stopped for a moment to ponder. The Hand of the Zakarum followed Batzorig from the market to his friend's house, and his friends attacked. Then, they turned into ghosts. Not only that but Batzoring himself also appeared as a ghost as his friend cautioned him to escape with the children. So the end result was obvious.'
While opening his MAP to see where this cellar was, the Sanctuary took this opportunity to update the Quest details.
[ Side Quest update - Firsthand Knowledge
Objective: Enter the Family Cellar
Description: You and the Scholar have traced the steps of a non-believer named Batzorig, sought by the Hand of Zakarum, to a cellar where he attempted to hide from persecution. Now it is the time to see what happened inside. ]
The cellar's position was slightly north of his current location, about five minutes on horseback.
Without wasting more time since it was already late, Michael headed there directly.
What surprised him was another statue covered in magic fog sitting closely by the cellar.
No matter how much he tried, he couldn't figure out if it was a man or a woman, but the crown on their head made it obvious that it was a person of significance.
Turning his eyes to the faded plaque, he inspected the writings.
[ Most of the inscription has been lost to time.
A few barely legible words read: ...GRATITUDE... rewards... virtuous... ]
Raising an eyebrow as the violet spiral at the statue's feet didn't change color, Michael shook his head and looked at the cellar's entrance.
It was the only part of the house still standing; the rest of the walls were rubble.
It had already transformed into a Temporary Dungeon, so the Necromancer stepped in without wasting more time.
Stepping inside the cellar, he was surprised at how clean it was, but instead walked into the adjacent room and found Nurbolat.
The man was pacing back and forth, showing traces of impatience.
"Did you find anything?"
[Good! You're finally here. Yes! I could have sworn I saw someone go in here...](Nurbolat)
Before the Scholar could continue further, three ghosts - one of Batzorig and two smaller ones - entered the cellar and passed by them.
[Hurry, children. Try to keep quiet. It'll be alright.](Batzorig)
Batzorig's words of comfort didn't seem to work very much, as the young children were crying and trembling in fear.
Nurbolat's eyebrows were almost linked into a frown, but he didn't get the chance to intervene this time around.
[We know you're in here, Batzorig. How does it feel, knowing your brethren suffered to hide you in sin?](Hand of Zakarum)
[If this is what the Zakarum stands for, we want no part in it!](Batzorig)
As the situation was slowly degenerating, the Scholar's face was slowly losing blood.
His pale visage reeked of shattered dreams.
It looked like his 'idols' were just as impressive as he thought at keeping people in line. Just their methods were a bit... rough.
[Wait... stop! This can't be right...](Nurbolat)
[For turning away from the Zakarum, you've sentenced your entire family.](Hand of Zakarum)
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[You leave me no choice then. I won't let you hurt them!](Batzorig)
The phantom of the father trying to protect his children hovered above the Scholar, slowly taking possession of his body.
Michael didn't intervene, curious to see how things would progress.
[This feeling... what's happening? Ngh -- ah!](Nurbolat)
Seeing Nurbolat gain a red bar showing his Life Points, the Wanderer immediately understood the situation.
It would be another reenactment, where he would be the Hand of Zakarum, while the Scholar would be Batzorig.
Judging by their power difference, Michael concluded that in the past, things had gone just about as he expected them to.
[ Side Quest update - Firsthand Knowledge
Objective: Defeat Nurbolat the Possessed
Description: You and the Scholar have traced the steps of a non-believer named Batzorig, sought by the Hand of Zakarum, to a cellar where he attempted to hide from persecution. Now it is the time to see what happened inside. ]
Rolling his eyes at the Sanctuary, treating this like a game, Michael walked forward and began punching Nurbolat in the face and stomach a couple of times.
While he held back considerably, the Life Points above the man diminished at a fast pace, quickly dropping under 50%.
Just when he was wondering if he had to beat the Scholar to death, the man's voice finally echoed through the cellar.
[Stop! Please, I-I understand now.](Nurbolat)
Reluctantly retracting his fists, the Necromancer watched as the spirit of Batzorig separated from Nurbolat, leaving behind a panting man lying on the ground.
The pain was searing his face and guts, but he was mostly affected by other feelings, such as disillusionment.
Pretending not to notice what happened, Michael quickly walked in front of the Scholar and handed him a Healing Potion to nurse his 'sudden' injuries.
"Where you possessed? Are you alright?"
[Ugh, I think so... but more importantly, I now have the knowledge I sought. Thank you, spirit, for showing us the truth. I've seen your suffering at the hands of the Zakarum - the intolerance, the violence. I'm sorry your family couldn't be saved. But maybe others still can.](Nurbolat)
The spirit of Batzorig nodded imperceptibly, and Michael raised an eyebrow.
It was possible that Batzorig heard the Scholar searching for clues, leading him to this place to discover the whole story.
Irrelevant of how things happened, the Quest was finally over.
[Thank you both. I will take what I've learned here to the Cathedral of Light. I hope I'm not too late.](Nurbolat)
Hearing the man's words as he left through a blue portal, Michael was a bit worried.
That was too much of a red flag!
Batzorig's ghost had also vanished, and the system considered the Quest done.
[ Side Quest complete - Firsthand Knowledge
Reward 1: 35,200 experience points
Reward 2: 2,800 gold coins
Reward 3: Murmuring Cache. ]
Exiting the cellar, the Necromancer set the marker on the closest Dungeon, the Carrion Fields.
Rushing through the Brackish Pans, then moved through the Forlorn Tread, and finally reaching the Path of the Ill-Fated once more, Michael found himself staring at a very interesting Dungeon entrance.
It was situated between two walls made out of stone, with a large, withered tree standing in front of it.
Even stranger, the entrance itself seemed to lead into a canyon rather than the fields of a Dungeon.
Grinning, he uncorked one of the last two batches of Iron Barbs and Antivenin Elixirs he had and drank them.
Stepping inside, he found himself staring at a vast expanse of fields without many trees in sight.
[ Dungeon Quest issued - Carrion Fields
Objective: Return the Ancient Statue to the Pedestal (0/2). ]
Before he could continue marveling at the beauty of the scenery, a person came crashing down, landing close to his feet.
The man was obviously injured, and from what Michael remembered, this was one of the usual Dungeon Events.
[We got separated... M-my friends were cut down, I won't last on my own!](?)
Watching the phantom's performance, the Necromancer remembered this Event was called.
[ Dungeon Event joined - Sole Survivor
Objective: Protect the survivor against the incoming waves of enemies (0/5)
*Mastery: Defeat five waves of enemies in less than fifteen minutes. ]
Sending his minions forward to intercept the undead marching toward the poor man, Michael raised an eyebrow as over twenty summoning circles popped out of nowhere, raising a bunch of cannibals into being.
As they were about to pounce on the survivor, without taking the Necromancer into consideration, Michael used the Golem's taunt to distract their attention.
Then, using a rotation of his usual skill, the first wave was quickly defeated.
Using the Corpses left behind as a foundation, he dragged the survivor into the middle of them and then activated Corpse Explosion, dealing with eight waves until the fifteen minutes ran out.
With the enemies defeated, the survivor surviving, and the Event closed, the rewards were also offered.
[Thank you, Wanderer! Without you, I'd be dead. I think I can manage from here. Please, take this.](?)
61,600 experience points and 2,240 gold coins were offered on top of the beautifully shining Greater Radiant Chest, waiting to be opened.
Another two Rare item boxes, 5 Angelbreaths, 7 Bundled Herbs, Iron Chunks, and Rawhides each, as well as 6 Gem Fragments and 18 Murmuring Obols, were successfully collected.
In the next half an hour, Michael explored the plains and found himself facing a huge statue bound by chains, obviously the Boss.
On its sides were two altars on which the Ancient Statues should be placed.
As for the enemies faced so far, there were only zombie-like creatures and Skeletons.
So, without much consideration, he took the left road leading west and started massacring all the monsters in his path while searching for the first statue.
Much to his surprise, the road led him to a small cave with bifurcated tunnels filled to the brim with cannibals.
Once he cleared all of them, he found the statue hidden at the bottom of the cave. So he grabbed it and returned to the Silent Monolith area, where he placed it on one of the altars.
Seeing the chains rattle and snap, leaving only the right side of the statue locked, the Necromancer continued exploring the eastern road, where he found himself clearing another cave called the Webbed Den.
Made obvious from its name, the monsters residing in the cave were spiders of all forms and shapes, with one of the Elite Corpse Carriers having four different modifiers, including Mortar and Frozen, for some reason.
Leaving the Elites aside, one of the monsters dropped a journal, prompting a large grin on Michael's face.
[ Mystic Journal
This foreigner dares bring his army to this ancient, sacred place! Long have we endured their ignorance and faith, meddling with powers beyond their understanding.
Now, they will bear the weight of that folly for eternity! ]
Realizing that the fate of the invaders was pretty bleak, considering the hundreds of undead he had killed so far, Michael shook his head and opened a portal leading to Ked Bardu.
His inventory was full again and needed some clearing.
Except for the two Legendary Chest Armors, the pair of pants, the Two-Handed Scythe, and the Legendary sword he found, everything else was sold, netting him 240,800 gold coins.
Next, he got rid of everything except the two Chest Armors, earning 4 Iron Chunks, 2 Rawhides, 4 Veiled Crystals, 3 Baleful Fragments, and 1 Coiling Ward.
Returning to the Dungeon, he placed the second Ancient Statue on the altar and released the Tomb Lord hidden within.
Using his newly discovered method of adding the Vulnerable debuff and then stack damage, the Boss died in less than five minutes, dropping another Legendary Two-Handed sword and two Rare item boxes.
The sword had good Affixes, but they still couldn't compare to the combined Affixes of two separate items, meaning it would end up salvaged soon.
With the situation at this Dungeon sorted out, the next objective was the Komdor Temple.
[ Dungeon: Komdor Temple (Level 50+)
Description: A Triune sect cursed to forever walk Sanctuary as goatmen. ]
The distance was pretty far, with at least an hour on horseback to reach it, prompting disgruntled grumbles from the Necromancer.
Adding the two hours spent clearing the Carrion Fields, his large investment into Elixirs would end up vanishing after this next Dungeon was cleared.
Sighing, he traveled to his destination and remembered he had been here previously.
It was when he traveled to Alazuuda, but his current path should take him to the Triune spot where Gerti sent him to recover the ancient weapon of her tribe.
And indeed, once he closed in on the area marked on the MAP, lots of Triune members and goatmen attacked him.
The spiraling stairs leading to the temple's entrance, as well as the adjacent hill on which he had previously found the damaged weapon, were all there!
Looking at the small clear pond at the bottom of the stairs, Michael ignored the Triune members dying from the thick miasma cloud and descended to inspect it closely.