Surviving The Fourth Calamity

Chapter 765: Chapter 564: Northern Ten Towns in Icewind Valley

Hill, having spent another month in the Ice Mountain, contentedly looked at the pendants hanging in the three corners of the Mithril Chest, and sealed the chest completely, placing it in the dangerous goods warehouse specially arranged by the Oak Spirit at one corner of the pendant.

Although he felt that the Oak Spirit’s sense of crisis was a bit excessive, all the matters regarding the pendant were his responsibility, so Hill followed his request and added another thick layer of the Mithril Wall outside the corner’s warehouse.

Hill glanced at the Little Flower Fairy and Wood Elemental Spirit sitting in mid-air, their chins propped on their hands, waiting for him, and smiled as he shook his head.

Perhaps having built a bond with the Little Flower Fairies, the Wood Elemental Spirits earnestly requested to join them in Hill’s Domain, not wishing to be sent back to the Elemental Realm.

Hill was actually a bit hesitant, as pure Wood Elements were rarely seen in Toril, one could even say they were almost nonexistent.

The appearance of Wood Elements actually represented the weakness of the earth.

There were more Gold Elements, after all, some planets in the universe were completely composed of metal.

However, Hill agreed to their request in the end as he recalled the World Tree attribute of Teraxil.

The place where Wood Elements first appeared was indeed the World Tree.

Hill put on a white robe with a large hood and gestured for the Little Flower Fairy and Wood Elemental Spirit to hide inside it.

The Little Flower Fairy, carrying a small bag and holding a tiny box, happily dashed inside.

The Wood Elements, though puzzled as to why Hill did not let them into the pendant, circled around Hill and at the beckoning of the comfortably settled Little Flower Fairies, decisively jumped in.

Hill scratched his head, feeling that the cup wouldn’t awaken for a few more years.

He took out a Space Series moon acorn and activated it, throwing it into the cup.

This kind of random Dimensional Space instantaneous movement was most likely to land in a dimensional space treasure in the North or over some sea.

With bad luck, it might fall into the Dragon Nest of Bahamut in the Northern Wind Country or the treasury of Talos, the Storm God.

With good luck, it would end up in the treasury of the Frost Maiden or Ambori, with Ambori’s being the best, as ten of her could not outplay this cup.

In a medium scenario, it would directly enter the home of some Ancient Giant Dragon.

Hill didn’t really know what he wanted.

But still, he hoped that the Golden Cup would have incredibly good luck and fall into Ambori’s place.

After all, if fate truly intended for Amanata to resurrect, this cup could escape from any amount of strict surveillance.

Then it would be better to hope it could spend a few more years in an underwater cave filled with rags, mud, bones, and unbearable stench.

Hill, who had just squeezed out of a crevice in the corner of the Ice Mountain, sincerely wished the disappearing Amanata’s Holy Grail good luck.

Hill glanced at the environment outside the ice mountain and sensed the direction of his domain, finally understanding his location.

He was not far from the location of the Northern Ten Towns in Icewind Valley.

It was unfortunate that Hill, accompanied by the Little Flower Fairy, could easily attract trouble; he was a bit hesitant.

A Little Flower Fairy that could adapt to such a cold place was extremely valuable; there would always be those willing to risk their lives for money, as not many would traverse the narrow, dangerous path over the World’s Ridge unless they were aiming to make a fortune.

Nevertheless, Hill decided to take a look. Although Icewind Valley, covered in snow, was filled with half-orcs who crawled out from the World’s Ridge, there were also many adventurers and pioneers; those who survived usually had some valuable finds from the remnants.

Although they might not understand their real value, these objects were very expensive even when priced as antiques.

There were always some fearless merchants in Hill’s Domain who would buy these antiques to sell for a profit, and if lucky, a single item could earn them thousands of times their investment.

Though Hill was not concerned about spending money, there were items that merchants disliked buying, such as books that did not exude any Mana, even if made from skins that would not decay for ten thousand years, styled after Ancient Elves or Ancient Dwarves, that could still be a poetry collection or praise of some type of liquor.

Every inch of space in the merchants’ parcels was precious; they certainly wouldn’t want to leave space for these incomprehensible books.

These were in ancient Elven Script and Dwarven Script, and some even older scripts that many scholars might not understand, let alone adventurers and merchants.

Hill, however, was very interested in these; after arriving in Toril, he even had to learn what the modern Elven script looked like, as his inheritance was considered very ancient by Toril’s standards.

He even learned the old form of Dwarven scholarship; thankfully, simplifying complex knowledge was easier once he discovered the pattern.

However, before entering Icewind Valley, Hill first took out a Magic Book and used two spells on himself: Elminster’s Radiant Orb and Defensive Spells Reinforced Bones.

He instructed the little ones in his hood not to leave at all as he was heading to a very dangerous place and then flew towards that valley.

Here the wind and snow were harsh and chaotic; the wind direction changed almost every few minutes, making it impossible to use it to fly, and although it was not yet winter, the temperature was already around minus 20 degrees Celsius.

If Hill hadn’t been used to the terrifying hurricanes at the edge of the Teraxil World and hadn’t a tough body that was hard to be blown by strong winds, he too wouldn’t be able to fly in such unpredictable wind and snow.

Hill placed his right hand on his forehead to look ahead, and even for him, the visibility wasn’t clear far ahead due to the weather, but he could still recognize the uniquely shaped Mount Cain’s Spire.

After flying for another dozen minutes and circling around the spire, Hill saw three lakes at the foot of the mountain, and the town closest to him at the northernmost edge: Dulin Town.

Flying mid-air, Hill noticed many glares filled with hostility.

But no one made a move against him.

He guessed it was because of the Spell Orb swirling around him, a spell from Elminster that usually only Mages of the Kind Alignment would learn. Neutrals, unless absolutely necessary, wouldn’t use it even if they learned it.

It was too conspicuous, and those from the Evil Faction were inclined to attack upon seeing it.

But it also had a significant advantage, which Hill liked: everyone knew the level of this spell, and those who were incapable of matching it could only glare and hide in the darkness.

The biggest trouble for Mages who dared to use this spell was dealing with many who tried to deceive them for benefits, but Hill wasn’t afraid of that.

Hill’s timing was perfect, coinciding with the start of the fishing season in the Northern Ten Towns.

Crowds of fishing boats set out in groups, competing for the best fishing spots on the lakes, with minor skirmishes constantly breaking out over the prized catches.

Hill watched curiously.

Someone shouted loudly, ”Big fish in Dilun Rune Lake!”

That was met with a chorus of curses from the lake.

These were from fishermen who had been squeezed out of that lake, lashing out in retaliation for their failure.

Soon, several boats that hadn’t yet departed quickly rushed toward the lake.

Hill had moved above that lake and could hear conversations below: these late-departing boats were the strongest fishermen of the Ten Towns, interested only in fish over 20 meters long.

The Ten Towns were known for sculptures made from the hard heads of trout, and Hill had collected some, but he had never come across such large ones.

These items were usually bought at high prices by major merchants in Neverwinter, who then shipped them directly to Kalartu or Zahara, where these fish bone engravings commanded excellent prices in those lands.

In the Northern Continent, the interest in such fish sculptures wasn’t as high; no, more accurately, the prices didn’t go as high. Everyone was after the exotic, after all!

The nobles of Ferun preferred Eastern porcelain and silks, and beautiful colored jade.

Suddenly, Hill felt eyes on him from outside the Ten Towns, not hostile, but distinctly palpable.

He swiftly turned to see on the slopes of Mount Cain’s Spire, a group of tall figures herding reindeer, descendants of Northerners, now barbarians.

They were indeed tall, standing almost three meters high next to the reindeer, making Hill feel not much shorter.

The one staring at Hill was the leading shaman.

Why was a follower of Talos fixating on him? Hill found it odd. However, he felt no danger and simply waved over in that direction.

Several of the tall individuals waved back, only to be smacked on the head by their companions.

It seemed they were indeed discussing Hill.

Hill flew over Dulin Town and seeing no shops of interest, he headed straight for Targos Town, the largest among the Ten Towns.

This place was indeed more bustling, at least there was a shopping street.

There was indeed a bookstore as Hill expected, but it was small and shabby; he browsed it and found it mainly sold maps of the Ten Towns and Icewind Valley, likely targeting new adventurers.

Most were fakes, and just from his aerial observations, Hill could tell how deceptive these maps were; anyone who trusted them might end up falling right into an icy pit – a best-case scenario.

Most spots marked as likely to contain treasures were actually dens inhabited by large wild beasts, or even settlements of half-orcs.

Hill turned and walked into a general store where there were actually some books, clearly items used for bartering, tossed into a broken box, all covered in dust.

The store owner stood tightly behind the counter, not even greeting Hill, his eyes filled with wariness.

It was evident he was a fugitive concerned about his safety.

If a major figure from the Kind Alignment suddenly appeared in the Ten Towns, many were here to capture someone, so Hill didn’t mind their coldness and hostility.

”I was traveling further north and recalled that some merchants mentioned there are always some books here; low in value, but definitely antiques,” Hill spoke slowly, ”I’ll buy them at antique prices.”

The owner’s eyes lit up.