Whispering Poems

Chapter 3206 All Souls' Day and Mr. Mortis

The information provided by the black market still sounded vague, but Shade felt that he still needed to investigate:

"That famous middle-ring warlock is..."

The man behind the counter nodded:

"I can help you contact someone who knows the inside story. The information must be true, but you need to judge for yourself how true it is. We are just brokers."

"No problem. So what's the third big and influential thing that happened recently?"

"This matter is not dangerous. Although the Wheel of Time City is the largest city on Fatumonster Island, it is not the only settlement on the island. There are scattered fishing villages and towns along the coast of the island, and at the foot of the snow-capped mountains, there live the true natives of this island."

This Shade knows:

"Those tribal people whose lifestyles are relatively primitive?"

"Yes, although they are gradually coming into contact with the lifestyle of the steam age, they still retain relatively traditional villages and customs. Just after the end of the year, it is the 'All Souls' Day' of the tribesmen at the foot of the snow-capped mountains. Of course, it can also be called the 'All Souls Festival'."

Xia De had never heard of this festival:

"Tell me specifically, what is this festival about?"

“The local indigenous people are called ‘Fatumongst’, or ‘Fatu’ for short. The traditional Fatu tribe believes that the Fatuongst Snow Mountain is sacred and that everything on the snow mountain has spirituality.

Therefore, every year during the All Souls Festival in the 'New Moon', they would offer sacrifices to the snow mountain. The process was to light a fire at the foot of the snow mountain for a grand celebration, and finally arrange for young people to send the fire to the top of the mountain. In recent decades, this has developed into a fairly famous local tourist attraction. The nobles of the principality like this primitive and peculiar thing very much. "

The man introduced in a bored tone that a big customer like Shade who spent hundreds of kronor at a time was worth his time and effort:
"Every ring warlock who comes here for the first time will listen to our story, and I even feel like I have become a tour guide.

In short, perhaps because the ritual itself is an unknown ritual passed down from ancient times, during the days of the "Celebration of All Souls", the elemental tides on this island will become quite strange.

Although it won’t have a big impact on the effect of the spell, it will definitely scare outsiders.”

Xia De was a little puzzled:

“No matter how tolerant the local church is towards the ring sorcerers, this primitive sacrificial ritual that can affect an entire area should not be allowed to continue by the Orthodox Church, right?

If this was in a primitive forest or a remote island far from civilization, the church would probably not care, but this is the Principality of Lagersen. Even if the traditional rituals of the tribesmen are not banned, the church should take the initiative to limit the scale of their impact. "

The locals are aware of this:

"Because the ritual itself can really help Fatumonster Island have good weather and reduce natural disasters such as tsunamis, storms, and earthquakes. The Fatu tribesmen at the foot of the snow-capped mountains are the real original owners of this place. Since the ritual is good for the island and has lasted for thousands of years without interruption, the church will not take unknown risks to interrupt it."

The process of the All Souls' Day itself sounds simple, but it is actually very complicated. For non-tribal people such as outsiders, they can only participate in the celebrations a few nights before the festival. After that, only the Fatu people themselves can participate in the activities on the snowy mountains.

The date of the "All Souls' Day" is not fixed every year, but it is definitely held before the end of the first month. The specific date is discussed and decided by the "priests" of each tribe. Most of those old priests have certain extraordinary abilities. Although they are also ring sorcerers, their casting methods are quite primitive.

As for the secrets of the Fatu priests, that is not something the people in the city know.

Although the city of Fatumonster is not far from the foot of the snowy mountain, local middle-ring sorcerers rarely go near the snowy mountain. Before helping Shade find someone who might know about the middle-ring sorcerers who have come into contact with the magic sword, the man behind the counter warned him seriously:

"The Fatumonster Snow Mountain is the sacred mountain of this island. Do not climb it unless necessary. Although there is no obvious danger on the mountain, almost everyone who desecrates it will suffer misfortune."

"If that's the case, the local Prophet Association is planning to hold the Grand City Players Finals on the top of the mountain?"

"Of course the prophets have their own ways, and the association has spent a lot of money to dredge the channels with the tribesmen. If the local area can really obtain the right to host the event, the tribesmen will be responsible for arranging a suitable mountaineering route."

Whether the danger of the snowy mountains is a local superstition or something else, even the ring warlocks living here don't know.

The locals had heard such legends since childhood and were in awe of them. Outsiders would not rashly violate taboos in unfamiliar areas. In addition, the vast snowy mountain was not worth exploring, and the Five Gods Church also had a vague intention to protect the mountain. Therefore, over the years, even if major events occurred locally, they almost never affected the mountain.

Xia De then became curious:
"If the snow mountain is really so special, then why are the great witches of the past spaces who settled down on the snow mountain, built towers, and even divided out independent spaces okay?"

It would take some time for the information provider to arrive, so Shade temporarily sat down at the table in the center of the area.

Although Sylvia's teacher died unexpectedly due to the experiment, the witches before her did not suffer the same fate. Shade speculated that either the witches inherited the power from the ancient gods to resist the so-called "curse" of the snow mountain, or the snow mountain was not as magical as the local legend said.

【Is there another possibility? 】

she asked with a smile.

"There is another possibility. The witch who moved this tower from other places to the snowy mountain had already found a way to protect herself and her successors from the influence of the snowy mountain. Let's ask Sylvia later."

The next person who provided the information was a three-ring warlock wearing a clown mask and calling himself "Mr. Mortis". After negotiating the price with Shade, he shared the information worth 3 crowns:
"Let me remind you first, I have sold many copies of this news. I even suspect that the church has sent people to get access to my information, but up to now, no one knows what the so-called 'demon sword' is."

After making sure that Xia De would not regret it, he continued:

"Although there are more ring sorcerers here than in other places, there are not many who are proficient in potions, like the middle ring sorcerer I mentioned. After all, ring sorcerers who are accomplished in potions and alchemy are either extremely talented or have the support of powerful forces, and most of the former are the latter.

The gentleman who had come into contact with the 'Magic Sword' came to the local area alone more than 20 years ago, and no one knew his original identity and background. He ran a business selling magic potions and marine materials on the dock. The magic potions were made by himself, and the materials were mostly sold as a broker for people who didn't like to show up.

The gentleman was seriously injured in an attack before the end of the year, and now his black market is temporarily closed. While he was recovering from his injuries, he was annoyed by people who wanted to find out what was going on, so he didn't show up again after the holiday. "

Xia De knocked on the table:
"I think there should be a follow-up to the information worth 3 crowns, right?"

Mr. Mortis, who was wearing a clown mask, nodded immediately:
"Of course, I know where that gentleman usually moves around. You can try your luck there. Of course, I also know the location where he was attacked. Many people know this information, so I'm giving it to you for free."

"You are so familiar with him, are you his friend?"

"Well, you can say that, but you can also say that they are close acquaintances."

"Since they have such a good relationship, why are you still selling his information here?"

A laugh came from behind the clown mask:

"I didn't betray him. I just told you where he might be. Besides, he hasn't appeared since the end of the year. He may be hiding, but he may have met with an accident. If someone can find him, whether it is harming him or helping him, no one can tell.

Fate has two sides like a coin, and no one knows the outcome before it hits the ground."

Xia De nodded, suspecting that the other party was selling this information just to get help in finding his missing friend.

He was about to ask for more specific details, "Mr. Mortis" asked again;

"Excuse me, are you a high-level sorcerer?"

"I guess so, but I'm not a very powerful guy. How can your perception determine my strength?"

The head behind the clown mask shook, denying Shade's guess:

"Of course not. However, this matter involves a dangerous relic, and now there is a Middle Ring warlock who was injured by the relic and has not recovered from his injuries even though he is proficient in potions. And you, a foreigner who speaks Carsenric with a standard Willendel accent, did not ask me about the possible danger of the relic first, but continued to ask for clues and wanted to continue the investigation.

After talking to you for a few minutes, I can conclude that you are not the kind of fool who would rashly rush into dangerous things because of curiosity.

So either you are very confident in your own strength and think that the trouble level of this matter is still within your ability to handle; or you came to this island just for the magic sword, and you must continue investigating no matter how dangerous this matter is. "

This "Mr. Mortis" is obviously a smart man, and Shade doesn't mind dealing with smart people:

"Then if I admit that I am a high-level warlock from another place and I just want to know what the magic sword is out of curiosity, what do you want to do? Will you ask me to investigate the whereabouts of your missing friend while investigating the magic sword?"

PS: In March, I will update more at the beginning of the month, please vote!