Book 11: Chapter 33: The Cave

If the Legendary Pirate Balduran truly became a god, the path he took probably involved both aspects. This was a relatively novel path to godhood. Balduran’s foundation for godhood was partly martial prowess, and partly fame and stories spread about him, which were similar to faith.

Faith was the most important meaning for a religion’s existence, but religion was not the same as faith. As long as people believed in the existence and miracles of a certain deity, and spread the word, faith already existed.

This was exactly what the Legendary Pirate Balduran did. Countless people in the Baldur’s Gate region believed in his legendary experiences and passed them down through generations. This essentially constituted faith.

If Balduran had not fallen, he either abandoned his original name and became a deity within the current ocean pantheon, or he temporarily became a saintly spirit, waiting for an opportunity to replace a certain god.

His era was only a few hundred years ago. For saintly spirits and deities, this was a very short period.

Of course, all this was irrelevant to the Assassin. What he truly wanted was the legacy that Balduran might have left behind. Martial skills were secondary; the main focus was the Legendary Pirate’s personal notes and insights on his career path.

Thinking of this, the Assassin hesitated no longer. His figure vanished from the spot as he chased in the direction Qin Lun and the others had gone. No matter what, the group ahead was his only clue now.

…

“Qin Lun, have you noticed? Our quest hasn’t disappeared yet!” Hill communicated with his two companions through the Team Channel.

“Hmm.” Qin Lun nodded. In the Death Notice’s quest log, the “Traces of Balduran” was still there. They had already technically left the Death Lands and entered the territory of Troll Claw. This indicated that the Legendary Pirate might have also come here.

Although the group, including Mastashia, had not found any new clues, their Soul Marks were connected to the Shattered Starry Sky. Perhaps at some point, without realizing it, they had already seen traces left behind by Balduran. Just because the Apostles couldn’t identify them didn’t mean the Star Void couldn’t calculate them.

“In our current situation, we don’t need to actively search for clues about Balduran. The biggest benefit this quest provides us is saving stay time.” The three felt somewhat helpless. After the adventure in the Death Lands, they had realized the dangers here.

If not for the matter with Iristin, given their shrewdness, they would probably have chosen the safest route to withdraw from Troll Claw. In a place like this, their strength was still somewhat insufficient. Being chased by Legendary Creatures at every turn was truly beyond their capabilities.

“Haha, feeling a bit discouraged? No matter how much our strength improves, it always feels like we’re being crushed by the Quest World!” Qin Lun thought for a moment and couldn’t help but laugh.

“Indeed!” Hill and Rand looked at each other with wry smiles. If they hadn’t had the ninth-tier Magic Scroll – Meteor Fall last night, someone among them would definitely have died. Without external aids, whether it was Qin Lun’s Demon Transformation, or Hill and Rand’s own hidden cards, they couldn’t have resisted the Ghostface Squid.

“Prepare yourselves mentally. If we can still find a real Epic Quest next, then this adventure has only just begun.” Qin Lun sighed and cautiously reminded his two companions.

As the three were talking, they saw the Rogue scouting ahead running back towards them.

“There’s no path ahead, but there are two more caves.” Lago’s words seemed contradictory, which made everyone surprised.

But when everyone turned a small corner in the canyon fissure, they immediately understood the Rogue’s meaning. The path ahead was indeed blocked. A steep cliff wall completely blocked the way, as if the fissure’s extension into the mountains ended here.

However, on the left and right sides of the cliff wall, there was a small cave each. Judging from the marks near the caves, they didn’t seem like animal dens, but were artificially carved out, as their shapes were quite regular.

Of course, these two cave entrances appeared extremely dilapidated, covered in spider webs and moss, clearly untouched for a very long time.

“Could this be ruins left by Balduran!” Lago thought of treasure again, his narrow eyes gleaming. It seemed less like greed and more like curiosity.

Seeing the Rogue’s expression, Qin Lun and the other two felt a strange sensation. The three Thornblood Mercenaries they hired were indeed quite interesting. Few people could resist the temptation of treasure, and here they had three right in front of them.

“Let’s rest for a bit. My hunting partner can scout the path for us.” After thinking for a while, Qin Lun suggested the team stop and rest. After all, they had been walking for most of the day, and the sky was getting dark.

The summoned Shadow Gale Panther made Winnie’s eyes sparkle. She really liked this big cat with its beautiful fur. Unfortunately, Venus was unfriendly to strangers. Its snarling face made the female Mage feel apprehensive, not daring to get too close.

After most of the night, Venus finally finished exploring the left cave. There were no traps inside, and it was a dead end.

However, according to the consciousness conveyed by the Shadow Gale Panther, there seemed to be something peculiar inside this cave. Venus didn’t quite understand what those things represented; it only knew they were man-made objects.

“Treasure, treasure!” Before even finishing listening to Qin Lun’s words, the Rogue’s eyes lit up. He flashed into the cave, making everyone smile wryly. After all, it wasn’t even dawn yet.

Mastashia made a torch using some scattered dead branches from the canyon fissure and led everyone inside. Even though Venus had said there were no traps, everyone still proceeded somewhat cautiously. Magical beasts and humans had different body types. Who knew if there were traps specifically designed for humanoid creatures.

Reaching the depths of the cave, everyone finally saw the man-made objects the Shadow Gale Panther mentioned, and they all felt a bit disappointed. There was no treasure here. It resembled a dilapidated altar, and it was a place that had been abandoned.

The altar was tiered. According to Mastashia’s observation, this didn’t seem like an altar set up by humans, but a more ancient and primitive place of worship. It was very likely a place where Trolls held ceremonies for their ancestors.

Everyone searched the cave. There was almost nothing of value here. A few broken pottery jars that had almost turned into fossils, some specially prepared pieces of meat dried into mummies, and two candlesticks said to be carved from Troll shin bones.

At first, everyone was a bit skeptical about those being Troll shin bones. What kind of logic was it to carve utensils from the bones of their own people? Even for non-human creatures, this was too mind-boggling.

However, Mastashia explained that these might not necessarily be the bones of ancestors from that particular worshipping tribe; they could also belong to enemy tribes. Different Troll tribes fought amongst themselves. Making sacrificial items from the bones of enemy warriors wasn’t a rare thing.

“If this cave was a place of worship carved out by Trolls in the past, then the other cave might have a passage leading inside Troll Claw.” Mastashia quickly thought of a possibility.

Without further delay, everyone immediately exited this cave and headed towards the cave on the right side of the cliff wall. Qin Lun recalled Venus. Maintaining the Shadow Gale Panther’s existence for most of the night was quite taxing for him.

“It’s a pity my hunting partner isn’t here.” Mastashia felt a bit regretful. The magic mouth everyone found before entering the Death Lands was her hunting partner. But the environment of the Death Lands wasn’t suitable for the magic mouth, so Mastashia didn’t bring it in.

After entering the other cave, Qin Lun and Mastashia took over the scouting. Even with several torches, in this situation, the two Elves’ eyesight was clearly more useful than the Rogue’s.

This cave was different from the previous one. Although the entrance showed signs of artificial carving, the inside was a large cavern. The space was very big. The cavern was dozens of meters high and over ten meters wide. The ground was somewhat rugged, and they could occasionally see huge stalagmites.

Some stalagmites joined with stalactites hanging from the ceiling, forming stone pillars that were thick at both ends and narrow in the middle. This scene was wonderfully crafted by nature, reminding Hill and Rand of some underground caves in the Earth Federation.

Of course, by now, those places had long become famous tourist attractions.

As they ventured deeper into the cave, everyone relaxed a bit. It seemed there were no man-made traps set up here. Trolls didn’t seem as cautious as other Sapient Races on Faerûn. Perhaps the powerful physiques granted by the Toril World made them neglect using tools and their natural environment.

“Ouch!” Just as everyone was relaxing a bit, Winnie suddenly stumbled and almost fell.

She had kicked something by her foot. That thing flew far away, hit the stone wall of the cave, and made a loud “clang” sound. The echo spread far through the cave.

“What is this?” The female Mage took two steps forward, bent down, and picked up the object she had kicked.

“A Juro beast’s shoulder blade?” Rick said uncertainly.

On Faerûn, Juro beasts were not uncommon. They were animals that looked very similar to mice but were the size of wild boars. They were timid and gentle, omnivorous animals. Many inns used them to make delicious soups and dried meat.

“Quiet! I think I heard something.” The Rogue, who had switched from scouting to guarding the rear, suddenly frowned and tilted his head to listen carefully to faint noises.

Everyone stopped. Since Lago said so, it clearly wasn’t the sound Winnie just made. Qin Lun’s left eye glowed. The image of the cave hundreds of meters ahead turned into black and white, reflected in his eye.

“This is…” Qin Lun raised an eyebrow slightly, turned his head, and said in a low voice, “The area ahead is full of animal bones and remains. This seems to be a rather special dining area. I think we’re in trouble!”

“Dining area? Cavern…” Mastashia’s face changed, and she said warily, “Firal, check the ceiling of the cave. Can you find some fist-sized holes?”

Qin Lun’s gaze flickered for a moment. He lowered his head and said gravely, “You’re right. There are many of the holes you mentioned above, numbering at least several hundred.