From Hogwarts to Strixhaven.

Chapter 482 Meeting an old friend again
The Chongsa River has a large flow rate, so the river is wide enough for many merchant ships to travel on it.

The arrival of the Supreme God's army at the city's gates not only prompted the residents near Baldur's Gate to consider relying on the city's walls for resistance, but also gave merchants looking to make a fortune an opportunity.

Most of the ships we saw during the voyage were cargo ships. They had a deep draft, and we could imagine that they were filled with war supplies, or at the very least, various grains that could serve as rations.

But would the Death Triad, as the driving force behind the war, really hand over the profits it brings?

Eating everything, skin and bones, is something only Gotash and Orin would do.

“It’s Dusthawk Mountain.” Will, standing at the bow of the ship, pointed to the distant, pointed peak that came into the adventurers’ view just below the horizon. “The walls of Baldur’s Gate are behind Dusthawk Mountain.”

"You sound like you have a lot to say?" Ivy asked, with all the adventurers standing around him, because everyone knew that once they could pass under the Flying Dragon Pass Bridge, they would officially enter the Baldur's Gate area.

The city that meant home to many is now unsafe, teeming with cultists of the Supreme God, followers of Baal, or lackeys of Bane.

As the peak of Dust Eagle Mountain grew larger and larger until it pierced the outline of the red sun, Will sighed and said, "It's a very special place for me. Before this, I absolutely couldn't mention what happened there to anyone, so I avoided mentioning the name Dust Eagle Mountain. But thanks to Gale's brilliant idea, I'll be free in six months."

"So, it's time to bring some old news back to the light of day?" Gale asked with great interest. "You're a decent lad, Will. I really can't imagine what circumstances led you to make a pact with the devil."

“That’s a good question. You’ve hit the nail on the head.” Werner’s prosthetic eye, made from a communication stone, spun around. “So this is the insight of an archmage?”

"Before I formally answer the question, let me ask one first. If your hometown were under siege, what would you be willing to sacrifice to save it?"

“Life. Have you forgotten the Orb of Destruction on my chest? If I can’t handle it properly, the entire Baldur’s Gate will be destroyed with me.” Gale didn’t hesitate much. For Mr. Decarios, his life no longer belonged to him.

Will shook his head with a wry smile: "I don't have the Orb of Destruction in my chest, so in addition to my life, I also need to give up my soul."

"Seven years ago, when I was just seventeen, my father, the well-known High Duke Ravengard, had just been nominated as High Duke and was then summoned to El Toril to help resolve a dispute."

"The Dragon Witch Cult launched its operations at Dust Eagle Mountain around that time."

"Dragon Witch Cult?" Ivy knew about this cult because its founder was named Samaster, the former chosen one of the goddess of magic who was personally killed by Losanda.

During the battle, Samasser's magic grazed Losanda, and the four drops of blood that flowed out were sealed in amber. Later, they were made into a spiked mace called Losanda's Blood, which was eventually used by Ivy as the core of the Shadow Destroyer.

However, the Dragon Witch Cult was later exploited by Tiamat, the great demon and evil dragon, and a large portion of its members became cultists serving her, even though they were originally cultists.

“That’s right. The Dragon Cult’s goal is to summon the Dragon Queen, Tiamat, the five-headed evil dragon, at Baldur’s Gate.” Will’s tone was not light, even though he ultimately won the battle, he did not consider it a glorious thing.

"Ten days after my father left Baldur's Gate, I heard a whisper in my sleep: 'Mount Dusteagle, the Queen of Chaos has awakened. Go alone.'"

“That’s a trick the devil always uses.” Gale shook her head disapprovingly. “Don’t tell me you actually went alone.”

“What else can I say? I was only seventeen!” Will clearly knew he was being foolish. “Anyway, I grabbed a rapier and set off. The sky was overcast that night, but I didn’t see a single star shining.”

Will was lost in memories, and Dust Eagle Mountain became increasingly prominent in the adventurers' sight: "I went through the cliff gate, passed through the tumble zone, and headed towards Dust Eagle Mountain."

Cliff Gate is a gateway from Baldur's Gate to the outer city. Its status is not as high as Black Dragon Gate, which connects the trade routes, nor as high as Petrified Lizard Gate, which connects to the Flying Dragon Pass Bridge. However, near the rolling area outside the gate, there is a statue of Baldur's Gate, the city's founder.

Karak's surname is Yamen, and she is a down-to-earth girl from an ordinary family.

Will's narration continued: "In the shadows of the mountains, five groups of five appeared, each group casting spells around a towering totem pole."

“The tops of those totem poles are all carved with dragon heads, and they are all different colors, corresponding to the five colors of the dragons. The dragon heads also hold huge spheres in their mouths,” Will said. “The spells chanted by the Dragon Shamans start softly, but they quickly turn into shouts towards the starless night sky.”

"Thunder roared, winds howled, and I saw the white head of a dragon appear in the storm—the first of Tiamat's five heads." Even though it was just a memory, Tiamat's overwhelming power as a true god still sent chills down Will's spine. "Even I could sense the magical energy in the air forming a massive vortex. Mizora was right beside me, whispering in her sulfurous voice: 'She will destroy Baldur's Gate. Offer me your soul—and I will grant you the power to save it.'"

"You saw her head? The white dragon's head?" Gale's eyes widened, and he shook his head incredulously. "Once Tiamat's physical form is summoned, no mortal can withstand it... Sorry, Will. I didn't mean to question your reputation... but even the Lords' Alliance and the Harpists combined would have a hard time against Tiamat, let alone you, the Border Blade, especially since you're all alone! Even if you included your Cambion Sovereign Mizora, it wouldn't be enough for Tiamat to swallow whole!"

“Your statement is too strange, Gale. Could it be that you also fought Tiamat?” Evil Thoughts was initially enjoying the conversation—a mortal challenging a god with the help of a demon, what an interesting topic, but this guy who called himself an archmage said it was fake.

“Of course I haven’t fought Tiamat,” Gale waved his hand. “But just three years ago, the Dragon Cult organized another massive summoning ritual. The Lords’ Alliance armies, including those from Waterdeep, Neverwinter, and Baldur’s Gate, along with agents from the Harpists’ Alliance, the Green Court Druids, metal dragons, giants, and even assassins from the Zantariim, all joined the fight against the Dragon Cult and their evil allies. Even so, we barely managed to stop Tiamat. All of this is recorded in the Black Staff Tower’s library, and everyone who visits can see it!”

“Gail is right. Even if ten of me and ten of Mizora were combined, we would still be no match for Tiamat.” Will nodded in agreement with Gaail’s statement. “Saving Baldur’s Gate was not Mizora’s intention, but her mistress’s order. The moment I agreed to the contract, the hellfire of Avernus burned fiercely within me, corruption and malice were my constant companions. I was no longer Will, no longer the seventeen-year-old boy who wanted to be a hero, but a sword held in the hand of Grand Duchess Avernus.”

“It was Zariel who personally stopped Tiamat’s arrival.” Will reached out and tapped the gray communication stone prosthetic eye. “Besides the charred corpses of cultists enveloped in poisonous mist and flames, all I saw were five gray orbs that had lost their power.” “From that moment on, my soul was bound by a contract, and my lips were sealed.”

Will's story ended in a way that surprised everyone. No one expected that the one who stopped Tiamat from descending upon Baldur's Gate would be the ruler of Avernus.

"The only thing that could get a demon grand duke to take action is her own business," Ivy concluded. "It seems that besides the three dead gods and the supreme god, Baldur's Gate also faces the watchful eye of Zariel."

“I think all of this will soon be over. Because I have been freed from Zariel’s control, and the conspiracy of the Three Gods of Death and the Supreme God will surely be crushed by us.” Will smiled and looked up at the Flying Dragon Pass Bridge not far away. In the time it took for everyone to chat, the Flying Dragon Pass Bridge, filled with all sorts of illegal buildings, had already appeared.

The Flying Dragon Crossing consists of two stone bridges built on rocky islands in the river. They connect the two banks of the Chongsa River and link the Bayside Highway with the Bodhi Gate.

Initially, the rocky island across which the dragon crossed was nothing but stones and wood chips. But as time went on, the residents, seeing a business opportunity, spontaneously continued to build houses on the bridge using wooden planks.

Later, city administrators built the Flying Dragon Rock Fortress on the island in the river to check passing merchants and pedestrians.

However, it has now become a formidable barrier to prevent refugees from entering the city.

The high cliffs on the south bank of the Chongsa River were already filled with refugee camps, and smoke was rising from the messy tents. Although the adventurers on the ship could not see the scenery inside the refugee camp, it was not hard to imagine the scene inside—a bustling crowd of people with sallow complexions, roads that had been trampled over by carriages and pedestrians so many times that they were full of mud and stench, and guards standing at various traffic intersections, their faces full of resentment as they tried to maintain order.

“A ship is following us!” Jahira came from the stern to the bow and delivered some bad news to the adventurers. “It’s just two small boats that came out of a cave on the south bank, but they’re very fast and will intercept us soon. If the mages don’t have any helpful spells, we’d better prepare for battle.”

“Let’s see who they are before we make a decision.” Ivy moved from the bow deck to the port side of the ship. “Don’t forget that this ship originally belonged to the Zentalin Society. I don’t think the black market trade would be conducted so openly in the Grey Harbor.”

“Ha! You underestimate the locals of Baldur’s Gate.” Jahira laughed. “As far as I know, at most a quarter of the sailors in Grey Harbor are not involved in various gang activities.”

Ivy raised an eyebrow: "That's quite a lot."

"Because they are all poor people who have just come to Grey Harbor to make a living, in the next three months, half of them will leave for various reasons, and the other half will start to get involved in gang activities, the lowest level kind." The high-ranking harpist crossed his arms and looked at the waves cutting through the two small boats. "Can you tell who they are? Mages?"

“The Zantalin Society,” Ivy said, ending her Eagle Eye spell in response to Jasira’s question, “but the people on the other ship don’t know.”

“You saw their emblem? These Zantalin rats are getting less and less professional.” Jahira cracked her knuckles, ready to engage in battle at any moment.

"No, because there's an acquaintance on the ship." The acquaintance on the Zantalin ship is Rugan, the cargo clerk they met on the Path of Ascension, who had invited the adventurers to the outpost behind the Woking Hibernation Grounds.

However, because Will and Leezel were urging them on, the adventurers went to the western crossroads first.

"Oh! It's you!" As they spoke, the two small boats were already very close to the adventurers. The small boat carrying Rugen, a member of the Zantalin Society, was faster and thus saw the passengers first.

Rugen stood on the ship, waving his hands, his leather armor constantly deforming with his movements: "Don't stop! That's the Stone Lord's ship behind us! Don't stop!"

However, Rugen's warning came too late; several flaming arrows had already flown from the Stone Lord's small ship, aimed directly at the sails of the large ship.

If the power source is destroyed, the small boat can quickly force the large ship to stop.

Without Ivy making any hand movements or reciting any incantations, a sudden gust of wind rose from the canyon, scattering several rockets into the river where they were extinguished with a "whoosh."

Come and don't go indecent.

With a flick of his finger, Ivy sent a pea-sized fireball that swelled in the wind, quickly transforming into a massive fireball half the height of a person, which struck the target head-on.

After a violent rocking motion, the Stone Lord's small boat broke into pieces of varying sizes. The two largest pieces were naturally the bow and stern, which burned silently and drifted slowly with the current. Perhaps soon only some charred driftwood would remain.

"It's so great to see friendly faces!" Rugen, representing the Zantalin Order, had already boarded the adventurers' ship. "I thought our meeting would take place in Elf Song!"

"Hey! What's with the Flame Fist soldiers here!" Rugen, dressed in black leather armor, pointed at the Flame Fist soldiers sitting around on the deck.

“Not only Flame Fist, but also Harpist, you little thief from the Zantalin Society.” Jahira crossed her arms, her smile no longer friendly.

“I thought we were friends!” Rugen began to plead with the evil thought, “If you rescued me from a pack of gnolls just to hand me over to Flame Fist and Harpist, you might as well have left me there!”

"Well, that depends on how much useful information you can give us." Evil Thought shrugged, neither agreeing nor disagreeing with Rugen's request for help.

(End of this chapter)