From Hogwarts to Strixhaven.

Chapter 404 Zhuoer
When Ivy woke up, the atmosphere in the camp was a little solemn.

The paladin who had sworn to kill all disrespectful people for Rose stood beside his tent, far away from the campfire, wearing thin and soft clothes, revealing large areas of violet skin.

The customs and habits of the drow are different from those of all intelligent races on earth. They don't mind exposing their bodies. The stronger and more powerful the drow matron is, the more she tends to expose more skin to prove that she is not afraid of swords and poison.

From the previous battle alone, it can be seen that Minsara is a proud and confident person, but this is also her biggest weakness. Ivy and his teammates took advantage of this and kidnapped her from her war room.

Ivy's teammates were far away, and the vigilance on their faces was self-evident.

"It seems that you have found yourself again." Ivy walked over after tidying up his clothes, and reminded him when he was still a certain distance away.

The white-haired Zhuo Er turned around and faced Ivy with her heroic face. Ivy thought more than once that she was born to be a general.

"Although it's not as comfortable as home, your camp is like a palace compared to my previous residence." Minsala's voice was low and hoarse, but Ivy could hear some sincerity in it. "Thank you for allowing me to come here and helping me find myself."

"Every memory I recall is more disturbing than the last. What I did in the name of the Most High... and what they did to me."

"Everyone in this camp is a victim of the Supreme God. Like you, they all have a unique mind flayer tadpole in their heads. Now they are fighting for their freedom against the entire Church of the Supreme God." Ivy extended his hand and invited, "Will you join us?"

"I'm afraid I have no other choice. Once I leave the protection of that artifact, I will become a puppet of the Supreme God again. What's more, destroying the Supreme God is also my goal. I will never have peace unless I completely eliminate the cult!" There was a clear hatred in Mingsala's dark red eyes.

"Very good," Ivy nodded. "Since you have decided to join us, please go to the campfire and introduce yourself again. We just need a guide who is familiar with the Underdark."

When Mingsala followed Ivy back to the campfire, the companions stopped whispering and all looked at the two people standing in the middle.

"This is our new teammate, who has been freed from the shackles of the Supreme God. Now, we need to get to know each other again." Ivy handed the floor to Mingsala and sat back in the crowd.

"I am Minsara. A member of House Baenre of Menzoberranzan. Once destined to become the matron of the most powerful house in Menzoberranzan, but now, like all of you, I am a prisoner trapped within the mind flayer tadpoles, struggling for freedom."

"I know why you didn't kill me, but chose to liberate my will." Mingsala's dark red eyes swept across the people around the campfire. "You think I am a core member of the Supreme True God Cult and can provide you with useful information."

Minsara's words made the adventurers sitting beside the campfire sit up straight, and even the Archdruid Halsin, who had been worried about forest affairs, became interested.

"The Moonrise Tower, and Catheric Thom," Minsara said. "I guess you already know some information about them, but not enough or detailed enough."

"If you really have something to say, please come on!" Asdeln invited exaggeratedly, "Don't keep us in suspense, and don't keep us waiting any longer!"

"Before sharing this information, I need a promise, an oath." Minsala said in a deep voice, "Swear that you will let me walk with you until the haze of the Supreme God is completely dissipated..."

Xie Nian took out the Astral Prism. Ever since the prism emitted light in her hand last night, Ying Xin had given it to her for safekeeping. Laizer felt a lot more comfortable with this decision.

"Are you afraid that once you are away from this artifact, you will become a puppet of the Supreme God again?" Xie Nian scratched the scar on his face, which only had a pink mark left. "Maybe it will really be like this. I had a strange dream last night. In the dream, a beautiful tiefling told me that she was the existence in the artifact. It was she who projected the power from it that helped us avoid the control of the Supreme God..."

Evil Thought's words resonated among the crowd, and all the victims of the Mind Flayer Tadpole had similar dreams.

However, Harsin and Ivy were obviously exceptions, and judging from Minsara's expression, she didn't meet the person of her dreams either.

Ivy remembered that the dreamer in the prism was a mind flayer who called himself a monarch, but he was just an outsider, and the one who was actually imprisoned inside was another Githyanki.

I didn't pay much attention when I played the game, and I only had a general idea after the first play, but if I think about it more carefully, the Gith who went to rescue the prisoners did not use weapons, and they did not have the silver armor of the Githyanki symbol. Instead, they were more like the Githzerai, another race that parted ways with the Githyanki at the fall of the Mind Flayer Empire.

As notorious astral bandits, the names of the Githyanki can be easily found in the library of Maodian Pavilion, while the information about the Githzerai is relatively less. Ivy only knows that they are a race that is good at self-improvement and control of psionic power, and she doesn't even know where the main city of the race is.

Combined with the appearance of Queen Vlaakis in the nursery, Ivy already smelled the scent of political struggle.

"No matter from which perspective, it is not wise to accept the power of the Mind Flayer Tadpole." Ivy interrupted the adventurers' discussion, "I should have told you that the Mind Flayer Tadpole has already sunk its fangs deep into your souls. If you relax a little, it will start to feast on you. I'm not sure if you will rashly open your mind to it... Even if you really want to do it, you have to wait until the last bit of hope is extinguished."

"Maybe that's really another option, but when faced with this kind of thing, it's necessary to maintain a healthy skepticism." Gail agreed with Ivy's words, "At least one thing is certain, we and Prism rely on each other."

"Even accepting the devil's contract is wiser than giving your brain to the mind flayer." Will expressed his thoughts. "Leave the rest of the time to our new ally. I believe you are all willing to agree to her request and form a team to help each other with each other's strength before the Supreme God disappears completely." Ivy said loudly, and the team members nodded one by one.

"You have already got the promise you wanted, Minsara." Ivy nodded to the drow paladin, indicating that she could tell him the information about the Church of the Supreme God.

"A few months ago, a True Soul came to Menzoberranzan, spreading rumors of peaceful coexistence, accompanied by two apprentices." Minsara recalled, "In the hierarchical Menzoberranzan, this was undoubtedly a blasphemy, so I killed them and used necromancy to find out my target - the Moonrise Tower. I swore to avenge all those who disrespected Rose, so I planned a war against the Supreme God and the Moonrise Tower."

"It sounds like they were provoked," Ivy commented. "Based on your subsequent experience, it should be just a means for them to obtain soldiers. The Rose Paladins of House Baenre don't care about your status, they just want to control your power."

"Your acumen surprises me even more than your lyre-playing, bard." Minsara raised her eyebrows unexpectedly, like raising a sharp sword. "May I have the honor of knowing your name?"

"Don't be so polite, Minsala, we will be teammates from now on." Ivy waved his hand, "You can call me Ivy, Ivy Dum."

"Destruction, Doom, I like your name, it's much better than the soft 'Star Song'." Minsara praised, "I hope to personally bring the doom of destruction to the entire Supreme God Cult."

"Like you said, I was expecting a battle at the Moonrise Tower, and to bring the cultist's head and holy relics back to Menzoberranzan as trophies, so that everyone in the city could witness my victory again..." Minsara's cheeks flushed slightly, the color of shame and anger, "...As you know, I failed, and not because of the battle. I failed before I drew my weapon. What greeted me at the Moonrise Tower was a dinner banquet, so sumptuous that no matron in Menzoberranzan could refuse it."

"General Thom—I mean Catheric... Forgive me, I was used to respect. He said he was expecting me, and came out of the tower to greet me, and I soon became addicted to his flattery... I saw in it my greatest weakness—pride."

"It's never easy to admit your flaws and weaknesses," Ivy was a little surprised. He didn't know that this drow elf, who was chopped to the ground and stripped of his clothes in the game, had such a tortuous past. "At least, you still have a second chance, a chance for revenge."

"You're right." Minsara clenched her fists, and the purple skin at the joints turned white. "I will never give up this opportunity easily... Keseric came to me face to face and proposed an alliance between Moonrise Tower and Menzoberranzan... To be honest, even today, this is still a very attractive condition... Not because of the soldiers of the Supreme God, but because of Keseric Thom himself. He is a strong commander and has maintained his rule in Moonrise Tower for centuries."

"Catheric treated me as a distinguished guest and invited me to sit at the table. Although I was very cautious at that time, because I would definitely poison people in such activities...but the object of my vigilance should not be the food. It should be the pale-skinned woman sitting behind the table - Scarlet Olin."

Xie Nian, who was sitting in the crowd, frowned again. Her head ached slightly because of this name. However, no matter how carefully Xie Nian searched her memory, she could not find any fragments related to this name.

"We had just taken the first bite of food when Scarlet Orin started talking. I only heard one word - my name." Minsara's eyes widened, as if the Hongmen Banquet was still vivid in her mind. "In a flash, she jumped onto the table, holding a dagger in each hand, and flew straight towards me, slitting the throats of my followers along the way."

"Catheric stood behind me, holding my shoulders tightly with both hands, even enough to crush my bones... Orin stood in front of me, put a dagger to my eyes, and took out a drop of blood..." Minsara's voice was like a dream, "'I want this', she said. Catheric nodded in agreement, and then I was taken downstairs..."

Minsara paused in her narration and looked around at the adventurers sitting around the campfire to make sure they were all fully engaged in her narration.

Then he said: "...I was taken to a mind flayer colony below the Moonrise Tower."

“Mind flayer colonies!” The first person to jump up was Laetzel. The Githyanki do have an irreconcilable feud with the mind flayers. “Tsk'va! (Githyanki: Damn it!) I tried my best to think of the Supreme God and the mind flayer tadpoles in our heads as worse and more terrifying as possible, but I didn’t expect that I still underestimated them! Since there are mind flayer colonies! That means that there will be a continuous supply of mind flayer tadpoles! If the cult of the Supreme God continues to develop, not only the planet under our feet, but even the stars will be occupied by Ghaik (Githyanki: brain-eating bastards) again!”

"Sit down, Laizer." Ivy said calmly, "We all know how bad things are. Obviously, we still know too little about the Supreme God before. Maybe Minsara has more valuable information."

"That's right." Minsara was very satisfied with the expressions on the adventurers' faces, because this was a reflection of her value in this camp. "I also want to talk about Keseric."

"It is said that he has ruled the land around the Moonrise Tower for a hundred years. Although he failed once and slept in a dark tomb, he eventually returned to his throne and spread his ruling authority like a shadow to the land shrouded in eternal night." Minsara was silent for a moment, as if he was reluctant to face the fear in his heart. "Yes, I want to correct my statement. I don't just respect Keseric, I'm even a little afraid... He once led the army of the Supreme God to fight, and I was among them. Before the war, he was a leader with extraordinary charisma and excellent strategic mind... But once the battle began, he became a scythe sweeping across the wheat stalks... He did not avoid arrows and stones, but faced swords and knives. The blood of the enemy and himself soaked him like a waterfall... But he did not fall down, not even staggering."

"When the battle was won, Keseric's armor had been bent and shattered, but there was no trace left on his body." Minsara's words were full of yearning. "There is no doubt that this is what Keseric wanted to show to the believers of the Supreme True God. His invulnerability was a gift from God."

"Keseric... It sounds like he is indeed the Lord Resven whom I fought against a hundred years ago..." Harsin shook his head, as if he was unwilling to believe Minsara's statement. "Resurrection from the dead can be explained, but how can we face a person who cannot die?"

"I think that's just a blatant cover-up. His immortality is not a gift from God, but the power of arcane and magic." When Minsara no longer belonged to the Supreme God, many of the things that the cult tried to cover up were fully revealed. "The necromancer Balthazar was Keseric's chief advisor. Perhaps it was he who helped the great general keep the secret of his death. He has a room in the Moonrise Tower. We should search it thoroughly."

"We seem to hear the word 'necromancy' quite often these days." Xie Nian looked at Ivy, "What do you say, Master of Necromancer? What do you think is the reason for Catheric Thom's invulnerable body?"

"It sounds like some kind of magic that transfers vitality or damage." Ivy didn't think much about it. "The spell to share life is not very advanced. I think he must have captured a being with very strong vitality, or even an immortal being."

"There are more and more surprises..." Minsala refreshed her cognition again, "When we stand in front of Keseric, are you sure you can remove the magic from him? DOOM...?"

"It's not just about removing the magic, we should release this imprisoned creature. No one would like to be locked up and have their vitality extracted, right?" Ivy raised the corner of his mouth slightly. "Facing the cult of the Supreme God, we need to unite all the forces we can. Our small team alone is not enough to face the army of True Souls, not to mention that it is an entire Mind Flayer colony."

(End of this chapter)