Witch, Fireball and Steam Evil God

Chapter 9: Poison in the Water
Why did you hit me?
Captain Hagrid did it too!
And the golden hair on your head is pointing at you!
Ethan grumbled in his heart at Ivy's verbal threat.

This burly man was named Hagrid. His dream when he was young was to become a glorious knight, join the Kingdom Army, and contribute his strength to the empire. But later he didn't even make it to the interview stage. He could only carry a sword and returned to Ximu Town to work as a security guard while he was strong.

These were all said by Captain Hagrid when he was drunk.

The dozen-man guards he led formed the town's defenses and also served as Baron Gladin's private armed force.

Not long after Ethan arrived in Creekwood, he established a good relationship with this "local boss". In the process of getting along, he learned that Hagrid was a straightforward person who spoke and acted directly without any bad intentions. As long as he asked Hagrid out for a few drinks during the holidays, he would be regarded as a close friend.

Ivy pulled Hegra aside and gestured with her hands, "The Dead Scroll is a simple psychic magic. The high-level psychics in the imperial capital wrote their magic into the scroll. As long as the corresponding steps are met, ordinary people can also perform the effects of the magic."

Seeing that Hagrid seemed to understand, she began to explain the production process of the scroll in detail, which successfully made Hagrid's expression more confused.

Hagrid was on pins and needles at the moment. Ivy's serious explanation made him unable to admit that he didn't understand a word. He could only look at Ethan for help.

"In short, Sheriff Ivy and I were just investigating this man's death."

Ethan found a moment to summarize Ivy's lengthy academic lecture.

In fact, this academic explanation also reveals a lot of implicit information.

Ivy's family background was definitely not ordinary. Scroll crafting was not popular in the empire. He had heard hunters in the guild talk about how a functional magic scroll could be sold for a high price of 2 golden lions, which was almost equivalent to the hunters' wages for several months of hard work.

Ivy didn't even blink when she slapped the scroll on the man's forehead just now.

Rich man!
Hagrid understood now, and asked, "Did the investigation yield any results?"

Ivy said, "He was from Riverside Town, and was cursed by witchcraft. The curse is suspected to come from the water source of Riverside Town. All his internal organs melted. This is the cause of death."

"Riverside Town!"

Hearing these three words, Hagrid's face suddenly changed. He gritted his teeth and said, "The Baron wants to ask Ms. Ivy to go back."

"Since the Baron is looking for you, then I will--"

"You come too."

Ivy clamped Ethan's shoulders and said, "You are the town's expert on mysticism. We need your opinion."

Ethan sighed resignedly and could only signal Miss Chloe, who had half of her head sticking out from behind the cabinet, to wait here.

……

Baron Gladin had a manor located in the north of Creekwood Town. There were many maids in the manor, wearing black and white uniforms. When Ethan passed by, they bowed to him respectfully.

Two years after coming into this world, Ethan experienced for the first time the feeling of being surrounded by maids.

Baron Gladin had been waiting in the main hall, wearing a well-fitting tuxedo as usual, no different from when he gave a speech in the town square. He looked a little thin and had a mustache, which fits Ethan's stereotype of aristocrats very well. Seeing the group of people come in, the baron who was pacing back and forth finally breathed a sigh of relief, but then looked at Ethan at the end of the team in confusion.

"Who is this?"

Before Ivy could speak, Hagrid stepped forward and said, "This is the guild's secretary, Ethan. He's very knowledgeable about the occult. He's a good friend of mine and should be able to help."

The baron nodded and said, "This is the traveling merchant who returned to town this morning. He brought back some news about Riverside Town." Ethan then noticed that there was another person in the room besides the baron. The traveling merchant's position was really tricky. He curled up into a ball, holding his head with both hands, hiding himself behind the sofa. He looked extremely frightened and his body kept shaking.

Ethan could see that the traveling merchant was trying to transform himself into an inconspicuous mushroom.

"Dead, all dead, all dead!"

As you get closer, you can still hear the merchants mumbling.

The baron frowned and explained for the merchant, "When the merchant went to Riverside Town to purchase goods, he found that everyone in the town was dead."

Ethan's heart sank.

When Ivy used the Dead Scroll, the corpse also said intermittently "They are all dead", but Ethan subconsciously thought that it was referring to the man's companions. The caravan was attacked halfway and all the members died. This kind of thing is not uncommon in a border town, but the entire town was wiped out...

It really scared him to death.

He thought of the red moon that night. It turned out that someone was just holding a large-scale sacrificial ceremony in the next town. He thought that he had incurred the wrath of God and the resentment of the people because he kept setting off fireballs on the mountain!
"When was the last time you went to Riverside?"

Ivy's expression didn't change, and her tone remained calm.

"Two, two days ago."

She seemed to be thinking about something, and put her hand on the traveling merchant's shoulder. "Someone killed everyone in Riverside Town in two days. The bodies you saw had no external injuries, but there was a lot of blood, and it was all over the place."

The businessman finally looked up and stared at her in disbelief, "H-how did you know?"

Ivy gave the presumed conclusion, "They died from a curse. There was something wrong with the town's water source, and everyone who drank the water was cursed. This explains why everyone died within two days."

It was a very vicious spell, with the purpose of killing everyone from the beginning. "Captain Hagrid, go investigate the water source of this town immediately."

"But how do we judge?"

Hagrid was as anxious as an ant on a hot pan. He knew he should do something, but he didn't know where to start.

How on earth was he going to know if the water source in Riverwood was also cursed?

Could it be that if he tasted it himself and died suddenly like the residents of Riverside Town, it would mean that the water source was cursed?

"Take this with you."

Ivy threw a palm-sized diamond-shaped crystal to him and said, "If the crystal glows, it means there is something wrong with the water source."

"You must do what Ms. Ivy says immediately!"

The baron immediately gave the order. After the guards left the manor in a mighty procession, the pale-faced baron retreated to the sofa and collapsed on it. He adjusted his breathing and tried his best to make himself look decent. A few minutes later, he asked, "The curse you mentioned, is it similar to witchcraft?"

"I didn't mean witches specifically."

Ivy looked at Baron Gladin with sharp eyes, and saw the clue from his abnormal state. "But you seem to believe that it was done by a witch. Can you tell me why?"

(End of this chapter)