Book 11: Chapter 40: Dragonblooded

While filling her stomach, Linda explained to everyone why she had followed the team. Since she had already revealed herself, she did not plan to hide anything anymore. She recounted in detail all the actions she had taken while following behind the group.

“Was it really just a spur-of-the-moment thing?” Facing Linda’s explanation, the Thornblood Trio could only exchange bitter smiles.

They believed Linda meant no harm. After all, at the Mercenary Guild, this young girl in charge of registering tasks had always taken good care of them, often giving them well-paying mercenary jobs.

But the ones who could make the decision were not them. Whether Linda’s explanation was acceptable or not depended on Qin Lun and the others. However, judging by Linda’s fearless attitude, she probably did not care much whether they accepted it or not.

“Mastashia, what do you think?” Qin Lun turned and asked the Highland Elf.

“I feel her words are believable. Actually, I was very puzzled at the time. The Ghostface Squid chasing us was somewhat slow. I didn’t expect someone was secretly helping us.” Mastashia looked at Linda, whose mouth was greasy, a bright light flashing in her eyes as she smiled and spoke.

Qin Lun and Hill exchanged a glance and nodded slightly. In their view, Linda’s explanation was full of holes. At the very least, these two deep-minded Apostles did not believe the young girl simply helped Sif and the Thornblood Mercenary Corps on a whim.

From the situation back then, neither Sif nor the Thornblood Mercenary Corps had planned to go so deep into the Death Lands, let alone enter Troll Claw. If they had just circled the outskirts of the Death Lands like before, then Linda’s so-called help would have been reasonable.

Thus, another question arose. If that was the case, why did Linda bother coming personally to look after them? Sif was not related to her. The Thornblood Trio had some friendship with her, but it was not to the extent of life and death dependence.

Of course, in reality, Linda really did act on a whim. There were not as many conspiracies as these two guys imagined.

Despite having many doubts, Qin Lun and Hill held back. Because there was one thing they believed: Linda probably meant no harm. Otherwise, along the way, the young girl had many opportunities to strike. She did not even need to do it herself; she could have just sabotaged their rescue and escape mission.

“Miss Linda, according to what you said, there was more than just you following our team? There was another Legendary level bounty assassin?” Qin Lun’s heart stirred as he remembered another issue from the young girl’s story.

“Yeah, he followed us all the way to the entrance of Troll Claw.” Linda tilted her head and thought, then suddenly frowned beautifully, pursed her lips and said, “But after I warned him, he seemed to have really given up. At least after passing through the Eight-Eyed Spider’s cave, I couldn’t sense his presence anymore.”

Actually, that bounty assassin did not give up because of Linda’s warning. His attention had later shifted to Balduran’s treasure. Perhaps he obtained other clues, which was why he did not continue following.

“One last question!” Qin Lun raised a finger and cautiously asked, “We sensed a powerful aura from you, which shows your strength was indeed enough to block the Ghostface Squid, but… what exactly are you?”

After Qin Lun asked this question, everyone in the team except Sif and Mason, the two ordinary people, became highly tense and extra cautious.

After Linda landed from the sky, she had not concealed her aura anymore. With Qin Lun and the others’ strength, they easily noticed this aura was somewhat too vast, so vast it did not seem like any human of any bloodline.

Linda seemed unaware of the strange atmosphere around her. Hearing Qin Lun’s question, a troubled expression appeared on her face. She shook her head fiercely, blinked her eyes, and said pitifully, “I am human!”

Everyone was slightly stunned, their expressions varied, but one thing was unified: no one believed the young girl anymore. They all had expressions saying, “You’re lying.”

“I really am human!” Linda sighed in frustration. “It’s just that my ancestors’ bloodlines are somewhat complex. To be more precise, I am a Dragonblooded, a Dragonblooded Magician!”

This time everyone understood, comprehension dawning on their faces.

Most Dragons in Faerûn were beings beyond Legendary. They were born with magical abilities, and with extremely high physical defense, they had almost no natural enemies.

Although their numbers were few, every appearance brought great disaster. Therefore, none of the other Sapient Races on the continent were not afraid of Dragonkind. Warriors who could slay dragons became legends of their era.

The Elf King of Kaeldomo back then, Tethyr, became the protagonist of an epic story of that time precisely because he killed two adult Red Dragons in the mountains.

Even today, legendary figures with the title of Dragonslayer remained very few. Some so-called Dragonslayers praised by bards only gathered crowds to kill some lesser dragon-kin, which was nowhere near comparable to true Dragonslayers.

However, as time passed, Faerûn had changed. The numerous humans became the dominant force on the continent. Many powerful ancient Dragons either went to other planes or fell into slumber, beginning to avoid the world to prevent attracting the attention of other races.

The remaining Dragons were no longer as reckless as in ancient times. Their kind had become fewer and fewer.

If some Dragons woke from slumber, they would use Draconic Magic to change their forms and walk the world again, familiarizing themselves with worldly changes and new magical knowledge during their sleep.

However, dragons were inherently lustful. When these Dragons walked the world using human and Elf forms, most would leave behind some humanoid descendants. This was the original origin of the Dragonblooded.

Most Dragonblooded were Elves and humans, perhaps because the appearances of Elves and humans best fit the aesthetic standards of Dragons. At least, no one had heard of ugly races like Goblins and Gnomes having Dragonblooded.

As Dragonblooded grew, they would awaken some innate abilities from their bloodlines. Whether in Constitution or elemental sensitivity, they were several times stronger than ordinary people. They were natural spellcasters, and their lifespans were comparable to pure-blooded Greater Elves.

The aura everyone sensed from Linda was a faint draconic aura. This also explained why this young girl, though not yet at the Legendary level, still possessed the powerful strength to block the Ghostface Squid and the Legendary assassin.

With their doubts resolved, everyone’s expressions relaxed a lot. However, the three Apostles in the team had flickering gazes and were communicating in the Team Channel.

“This girl must be involved in a major Plot Mission!” Hill said with a smile.

As Qin Lun rescued Iristin, the three Apostles’ enthusiasm for finding Plot Missions was rekindled.

At this time, the “Traces of Balduran” mission they had received was still active, but all three sensitively felt this mission was about to disappear. Perhaps once they left Troll Claw, this mission would directly end. By then, their remaining stay time would be less than ten days.

Originally, the Shaar Knight armor on Rick had given Qin Lun and the others the idea to explore. But this was, after all, the knight’s private matter. Even though they had gone through hardships together, it was not certain he would tell them.

Moreover, the Kingdom of Xia Ya was in the southern part of the continent, and they were currently heading north. Whether they could receive related Plot Missions was hard to say. But as a Dragonblooded, Linda would definitely be involved in many important plots. Putting effort into her would be easier.

As for directly killing Linda the Dragonblooded, the three Apostles did not consider it much. Dragonblooded were not Dragons after all. Compared to the Plot clues they could provide, their value was not great. Besides, facing a Dragonblooded Magician of unknown strength, they might not win.

Furthermore, Linda was now willingly becoming the team’s powerful fighter. Why would the three Apostles look for trouble?

“Mastashia is a Harper Master; maybe we can also probe for related plots!” Rand suggested another idea.

“Let’s discuss this after we are safe!” Qin Lun hesitated, then said, “Perhaps you’ve forgotten Iristin. Actually, why she entered the Death Lands to find me might also be a Plot clue.”

Hill and Rand smiled at each other. Of course, they had not forgotten Iristin. As an Elven Druid who had experienced many Epic Plots with Qin Lun, she was naturally the biggest provider of plotlines.

But they could see Iristin had a close relationship with Qin Lun. Since Qin Lun did not mention it himself, they had to play dumb.

However, once Qin Lun thought of this question, he could not sit still. He went and sat next to the Elven Druid, asking quietly, “Iristin, why did you come to the Death Lands back then?”

“After you… disappeared, we all thought it was the Zhentarim’s doing. Everyone stayed in Baldur’s Gate for a while longer.” Iristin glanced at him and said unhappily, “But you know, both Milleras and the Dwarf Prince Lorlin had important responsibilities and could not stay long in Baldur’s Gate. In the end, only Idria and I remained.”

“Didn’t that kid Milleras try to persuade you?” Qin Lun rubbed his nose awkwardly and asked curiously.

“Milleras was actually very confident in you and kept persuading me to leave first.” Iristin pursed her lips, pretending to be annoyed, and said, “Now it seems he was right. You are alive and kicking, and we were all worrying for nothing!”

Iristin’s eyes looked somewhat dazed, clearly lost in past memories. “I was very worried back then, frantically searching for traces of the Zhentarim. Later, Idria couldn’t stand it anymore and dragged me to join the Mercenary Guild, wanting to earn money doing tasks while continuing to inquire about your news.”

At this point, the Elven Druid’s eyes reddened slightly. “I knew she was trying to make me let go of the burden indirectly, but for a long time, I didn’t appreciate it. Finally, by chance, we learned that several Zhentarim members had entered the Death Lands.”

“Coincidentally, at that time, Sif posted a mission at the Mercenary Guild, recruiting people to enter the Death Lands… You know the rest!”