From Hogwarts to Strixhaven.

Chapter 379 Green Woodland
Xie Nian stretched out the fingers of his prosthetic hand. Although time was tight, this prosthetic limb, which was simply made of scraps of armor and weapons, was still flexible and as exquisite as other magic props made by Ivy.

"You have a pair of skillful hands! Ivy! The function of this thing is much more powerful than I expected! I thought it could only help me grab weapons, but now it seems that it may also help me unlock locks!" Xie Nian looked very satisfied. She fiddled with a dagger with the metal fingers of her prosthetic hand, letting it dance on her fingertips. After turning a few graceful circles, Xie Nian accidentally dropped it on the ground, but she did not look frustrated at all.

"If I have enough time and materials, I can even make the prosthetic hand into a magic item. It shouldn't be difficult to integrate some functions like lock picking." Ivy believes that he has the potential to be an NPC, such as a grocer or a craftsman who can help repair weapons.

Except for the evil thoughts that were getting familiar with the prosthetic hand, the adventurers surrounding the gravekeeper had dispersed, because talking to the gravekeeper was as dry and boring as his skin.

The adventurers have basically finished assembling their tents and are doing something to kill time.

Yingxin was pretending to read a book, but in fact she was listening very attentively to the conversation of other people in the camp.

Laetzel made a dummy out of wood and straw and was practicing sword swinging. She also dyed a twisted tree root with purple cabbage from the grave robbers to pretend that the wooden dummy was a mind flayer. As for the real mind flayer head, she hung it on the other side of the tent as a trophy. Perhaps the Githyanki had some special way to deal with the trophies. At least Ivy hadn't smelled the stench of the mind flayer's head yet.

Asdeln's tent was right next to Leizel's. He was holding a goblet and looking at the other people in the camp with a dazed look. He hid some blood bottles in his tent, and Ivy really didn't want to guess which body the liquid in those bottles came from.

Gail was looking into his own vision, as if he were looking into a three-dimensional mirror.

When Ivy's eyes swept over him, Gale took the initiative to end his spell, walked over and took the initiative to initiate a conversation: "I have good news and bad news, which one do you want to hear first?"

"A standard bard's opening line. Do you want me to pour you a glass of red wine to moisten your throat? Although the tomb robber's drink is very sour, it is at least drinkable." Ivy manipulated the wizard's hand to bring himself a glass of cheap red wine, which was probably from the watered-down wine cellar of a country tavern.

"No, thank you. A mage needs to keep his mind clear to maintain his concentration." Gale shook his head, pretending not to notice the evil thoughts in his ears. "It seems that our progress in becoming a mind flayer is not that fast. We should have had a fever or lost our memories."

Xie Nian's expression changed, because she was the only one among these people who had lost her memory, which might mean that she was the furthest along in becoming a mind flayer.

"For now, this is good news." Ivy took a sip of wine and smacked his lips because of the sour taste.

"But the pragmatic part of me tells me that everything in front of me is just the calm before the storm. Perhaps in the next few days, this change will become more rapid." Gail, who originally wanted to have a drink because of the good news, wisely chose to give up after seeing the expression on Ivy's face.

"This is not bad news. If you hadn't received treatment in time, you would have turned into mind flayers." Ivy commented.

"That's right." Gale nodded, "The real bad news is that I need a powerful magic item and absorb the magic web inside."

"Otherwise you will explode on the spot and endanger all lives within a few kilometers." Ivy noticed that Gale was looking at the Beast Bite Sword on his waist. "The Beast Bite Sword won't work. It wasn't forged in Faerun, and the magical power contained in the sword doesn't come from the magic network."

"Oh! I forgot that you are a bard from the astral plane. And you have resurrected me once, so you should be immune to this kind of thing... These are all mistakes I made when I was young, otherwise I would still be hiding in the wizard tower in Waterdeep City... In short, this matter is a matter of life and death, and it must not be taken lightly."

"I thought that because of our life-long friendship, you would reveal all your hidden dangers. Anyway, the little bug in your brain has known about it for a long time." Ivy tried to persuade Gail to give up keeping the secret.

"You're right... keeping secrets won't help me solve the problem." Gale took a deep breath. "Do you know Netheril? The lost ancient magic empire that built many floating cities?"

"Aren't you going to share it with other companions in the camp? If the Mind Flayer Tadpoles can connect your thoughts, it proves that it is difficult for you to have real secrets. So you are the comrades who should really trust each other, otherwise you should kill each other quickly." Ivy continued to lobby, "A group of enemies who know what's in your brain is chilling to think about."

"What you said... makes damn sense!" The usually gentle and polite Archmage of Waterdeep City actually swore for the first time.

So the confession meeting between the two people became a place for the team to communicate and talk.

"Can you describe in detail what it's like to sleep with a goddess?" Arsdalen's question was very presumptuous, especially after Gale shared his own experience as the chosen and lover of the magic goddess Mystra.

"This is undoubtedly a blasphemy, and you should be thankful that you don't have much longer to live." Gale took a big sip of the grave robber's cheap red wine.

"The destructive sphere in your body may explode at any time?" Ying Xin shook his head, his facial features twisted together, as if he had eaten some particularly sour fruit. "I have always been very tolerant of other people's secrets, but this kind of thing should have been known to us earlier..."

"Isn't it early enough? We've only known each other for a day!" Gale picked up a piece of cheese with his fork. "Waterdeep cheese. I never thought I could taste the taste of my hometown here!"

"So you're going to keep consuming our few magic items? You're such a greedy guy - well, a wizard can always come in handy, I hope your magic is as effective as your nagging." Laetzel didn't care about Gale's affair with the goddess of magic, nor did she care about the orb of destruction on his body that could explode at any time. Her past training made her pay more attention to the magical power of the archmage. "Remember one thing, don't touch the silver sword of the Githyanki. um, put your mouth on it."

"Why do the Githyanki value silver swords so much?" the evil thought asked, confused. "I thought a set of silver armor was enough for you."

"The silver sword is a symbol of resistance and freedom, and it also means an end to the horrific tyranny of the mind flayers." Laizer replied, "Only a true knight is worthy of holding a silver sword, and the silver sword is also the best reward for a knight to hone himself."

"Actually, there is another reason," Ivy was still plucking the strings of the lute. "The Githyanki are a race that roams the Astral Plane. In addition to them, there are many powerful wizards in the Astral Plane. They let their astral bodies travel everywhere on their behalf, and at the same time are free from the intrusion of the passage of time on the main material plane. They use this method to achieve immortality. The Astral Silver Sword can sever the connection between the astral bodies and the material bodies of these wizards, thereby killing them once and for all. Therefore, the silver sword is not only a symbol of status, but also a weapon against archmages."

"As expected of a bard from the astral plane! Your answer couldn't be more correct! I thought all bards would just exaggerate the facts for a sip of beer to moisten their throats!" Gale raised his glass, "Let's toast to the bards! Cheers to the lute!" "Cheers to the lucky fool who got to sleep with the goddess!" Asdaelon said with a mischievous smile.

"To the orb of destruction that can blow us all into pieces!" Xie Nian's words made everyone stop eating and drinking, and stare at her.

"What?" Xie Nian smiled brightly without any self-awareness. "At least we don't have to worry about endangering world peace after becoming a mind flayer. Besides, compared to being killed by poison and daggers from our companions, perhaps the explosion of the orb of destruction is more gorgeous. If we can't get rid of the mind flayer tadpoles in our brains, turning into a huge firework is also a romantic way to die!"

"I am sure that you will all become legends, legends of the Sword Coast, Faerun, and even the entire world of Toril! However, the dead cannot become legends. Everything is meaningful only when we are alive. Every day of struggling to survive is proof that we have existed. We must not only get rid of the mind flayer tadpoles in your brains, but also find out the mastermind behind all this and make him regret coming to this world!" Ivy quickly comforted him. No matter what, he had reasons not to let the Sphere of Destruction explode. He still clearly remembered that when playing the second chapter of the game, Gale could directly detonate the Sphere of Destruction in the Mind Flayer Colony of Moonrise Tower and achieve an ending that was not considered an ending.

If the Archmage of Waterdeep really intends to play the "Art is Explosion" game out of evil thoughts, then he may have to restore his identity as a legendary spellcaster to interfere with Gale's decision.

After all, if the Sphere of Destruction and the Crown of Karthus were really destroyed, how could Ivy study the essence of the living gods?
The magic goddess Mystra has made it very clear that the Sphere of Destruction and the Crown of Netheril are both symbols of Karsus' successful ascension to the godhood, and Ivy also hopes to rely on them to figure out the true secrets of the gods.

So he must not let Gail have any idea of self-destruction.

"You're right!" Xie Nian nodded, his red hair dancing in the wind. "Even if I really die one day, I will cut the culprit who made me look like this into pieces!"

The banquet soon ended because the tomb robbers ran out of supplies. Xie Nian had an amazing appetite, like a hungry dragon in human form. No matter how delicious the food was, she could stuff it into her stomach and give a fair evaluation.

Fortunately, the gravekeeper did not need to sleep and did not plan to leave the team's camp, so the entire team did not need to arrange a night watch, and only needed to stay in their own tents and sleep peacefully.

The next morning, the adventurers who still had another visitor in their minds checked each other's physical and mental conditions and confirmed that no member except the evil thought showed any symptoms of memory loss.

This was a relief for them, but also left the entire team troubled. No one knew why the mind flayer tadpole in their brain was still dormant.

Regardless, the team decided to head towards the Tiefling camp to find the guy named Sulo that Laezel mentioned, so as to learn the approximate location of the Githyanki breeding room.

It was not difficult to track the two tieflings, and soon the team advanced to a valley surrounded by huge rocks. Listening to the noisy quarrel ahead, the team members unanimously agreed that they had found the right place.

The noisy sound came from an army, an army of goblins with no discipline at all.

They were accompanied by wargs and archers, and were closing in on the three humans who were blocked in front of the giant wooden gate.

The man standing above the gate and blowing the horn was undoubtedly a tiefling. He had the most standard red skin of a tiefling, goat-like curved horns, and a pair of orange-red eyes. He looked exactly like the devil in Baator Hell.

"They look like they need help!" Gail was the first to comment. "We can't just stand by and watch!"

"We need to make sure that the tiefling named Sulo is alive. The others don't matter!" Laizer has already drawn the flaming giant sword, which was their spoils on the conch shell ship. "But the goblins will not care about Sulo's life or death."

"Well, let's do it now..."

When Xie Nian was about to order support for the tieflings, Ivy stood up and said, "Okay, friends. Please trust me, leave this situation to me alone. I can handle it."

"That's an army of goblins! There are at least two dozen of them! Are you going to put them all to sleep with your lute?" Gale asked disapprovingly.

Ivy pulled out the Beast Bite Sword from his waist and showed it to the other members of the team, the blue light it had lit up because of the approach of the goblins. "The Beast Bite Sword, also known as the Goblin Cleaver, is the nemesis of all goblins, orcs, and orcs. It has been a long time since it has been able to drink the blood of greenskins."

The goblin archers began to shoot arrows, and a nimble figure appeared above the gate, ready to jump into the goblin formation and tear a hole in it.

"It seems that there are always guys who want to steal heads." Ivy smiled slightly, drew out the beast bite sword and disappeared on the spot.

At the same moment, the five archers behind the goblin formation fell to their knees because they had lost their heads.

Ivy jumped high into the air and turned gracefully in the air, piercing the elven curved blade in his hand straight into the wolf's head.

Compared to Ivy's high-profile appearance, the appearance of the one-eyed warlock, who released a blast of magic energy to repel a goblin, then disarmed and killed another goblin, was far inferior.

"Despicable cockroach. If you dare to provoke Bianren, you will suffer the consequences..." No one even cared about his opening lines.

(End of this chapter)