Chapter 22: Flame Pact
The inside of the cavern was dark, so Xander lit a torch with a flint and stuck it in the mud by the altar.
He pushed stones to the side, revealing the abandoned altar’s true form.
It was abandoned because the high elves left this territory during the 2nd Era. It naturally became discarded after a long time.
But its basic functions were still there.
The ancient elven god was a lenient god that allowed the existence of non-believers and was willing to do business with them. Xander was thus quite confident in activating the altar.
If he was going to deal with some evil god, he would be twice as careful; god knows they would effortlessly eat you after gaining benefits.
The runes on the floor were all high elven characters, and even among those ordinary elves remaining in Eudroya, few were proficient in this language.
[You found an ancient elven altar]
[Knowledge – Historical remains +1]
[Knowledge – Historical Remains (Ancient Elven Altar)]: This is an abandoned altar from the ancient times of the elves through which you can have a simple communication with the ancient elven god or his representative.
---
Xander wasn’t familiar with these runes but he knew how to activate the altar.
There was a very small bowl of water made of clay at the center of the altar with drawings of some fierce monsters on it.
It was said that these monsters were all incarnations of the elven old god. They looked ugly and dreadful but were actually incomparably kindhearted.
He took out the lich’s finger and put it inside the bowl of water.
Five breaths later, the braziers surrounding the altar ignited!
Pshhh!
Six god flames, this meant that the altar was activated!
’The divinity in the lich’s severed finger did indeed attract the old god’s attention. Even if he didn’t come himself, he would still send an avatar.’
Xander smiled.
Without the lich’s finger, he would have to use another way to activate the altar, which would use up a large amount of gems.
As for now, there was no cost. After all, this thing is very rare in Eudroya’s world.
In the center of the altar, a ball of fire rose up before gradually turning into an ugly man’s face.
"What do you want, Numan offspring?"
Numan?
Xander was slightly surprised as he had thought he was only an ordinary human. There was a question mark on his race status, probably indicating something hidden in his blood, but he still didn’t expect to be a Numan descendant.
They were known as born casters. They had even established their own country during the Third Era. Later on, all the other races joined hands to banish them to the void because of their overpowered strength.
In other words, Numan are born Sorcerers. They weren’t Eudroya’s natives, but outsiders.
But now wasn’t the time to think about this. He hurriedly made his request to the face of flames.
After listening to Xander’s request, the face of flames was silent for a moment and then slowly said, "This is the severed finger of the lich Airafux, which contains a large amount of power. Your asking price is fair."
"Take three steps back and you’ll get what you wanted."
Xander did as told and retreated three steps to be standing outside the altar.
Flap!
That face in the center of the altar dissipated. The pottery bowl went up in flames and the lich finger inside disappeared among the flames.
This was Xander and the elven old god’s fair trade.
Anyway, that lich’s severed finger wasn’t useful to him for the time being, so he might as well trade it for something which could be useful.
In an instant, two shadows, one tall and one short, appeared within the flames.
And at the same time, two balls of light flew out and went inside Xander’s eyebrows.
Xander didn’t dodge and let those two balls of light enter his body, because the elven old god had a very good reputation.
The first light ball was the elven old god’s blessing.
[Fertile Blessing]: Dexterity +1
Even if it was simple, the effect was still very practical. This attribute point was, after all, very valuable.
Xander’s dexterity reached 19, and it would reach 20 when facing multiple enemies when wielding the title [Chaotic Battlefield Expert].
Reaching 20 points meant reaching the dexterity threshold and he would be rewarded the [Wall Climb] specialty!
[Wall Climb] was a very practical specialty, Xander thought nostalgically. Even if he could activate it now, it was under specific circumstances, but it would also greatly increase his fighting strength.
As for the 2nd light ball, it was a loyalty mark.
[Loyalty Mark]: Your two followers forever loyal to you.
"Master! Kael Amber swears allegiance to you!"
"Master! Sera Agate swears allegiance to you!"
Two elves, a tall one and a short one, walked out from the altar and swore allegiance to Xander.
One Amber, one Agate: the elven old god’s naming sense was very bad. Even if you were fond of gems, to use those names for your own descendants’ family names?
Xander was snickering inwardly as he began to check his two followers’ strength.
Nothing was unexpected, and they fit his requirements. The elven ancient god gave him two powerful 2nd rank Phantom Assassin helpers.
The two followers’ attributes were almost identical. Kael was a man, and had a bit more strength. Sera was a woman, and her charisma was a bit higher. The rest of their attributes were all standard 2nd rank elven Phantom Assassin attributes, with various skills also included.
With two more bodyguards around, Xander immediately felt much safer. They were genuine 2nd rank experts.
Their levels were [Thief lvl 7 – Phantom Assassin lvl 3] and they had the strongest skill among the 2nd rank, [Assassinate]. Their perception was also quite impressive, giving everything Xander needed.
The only thing that was lacking was that those two weren’t real elves. They were only lives created by the elven ancient god. Even if they possessed intelligence, battle wouldn’t upgrade their strength.
But it was enough to deal with the current situation.
’It’s time to let Miller pay the price for killing father and taking over my territory with the gnolls.’
’This debt can only be paid back with blood!’
Xander let Kael take the night watch and had a good sleep inside the warm cavern. The party of three left the Desolation Tusk Hills in the morning.
They reached Tanchapel after three days.
---
Inside a room, Black Horn Eagle Inn.
Elyra worriedly looked at the empty room and let out a sigh.
She had already arrived at Tanchapel yesterday night. Along with her were the twenty young guards.
They dressed as ordinary farmers, entered the city in several groups and lodged in various inns in the surroundings.
Xander had left some money to Elyra and it was enough for her to arrange all this.
There was a letter on the table written by Xander for her. Mostly to reassure her that he would quickly come back and such.
But Elyra wasn’t really reassured.
She had heard of the Bleakhollow Gang’s end, single-handedly exterminated by a guy known as dual wielding mask.
Elyra was no fool; even if she was quite startled by Xander’s newfound strength and courage, she could still accurately guess that that dual wielding mask should be Xander himself.
’It’s so dangerous. Young Master Xander, why did you have to be so impulsive?’
Elyra was somewhat worried. She didn’t know what Xander was planning but her woman’s intuition told her that Xander was certainly doing something dangerous.
She wanted to be of help, but right now she could only sit and wait for some news from Xander.
She felt uneasy for some reason.
"Dong! Dong! Dong!"
There was a rhythmical three knocks pattern on the door.
Probably Andre, this guy was the guard captain, extremely loyal but also quite impulsive.
Elyra sighed and then went to open the door.
Three people were standing outside.
"Young Master Xander?!"
Elyra was startled.
"They are...?"
Her eyes sized up the two strong adventurers behind Xander.
"They are the helpers I invited." Xander smiled, asking, "Andre and them?"
"They are nearby. They were all angry when they heard that you suffered an assassination attempt."
Elyra answered.
"That’s good." Xander nodded, "Go arrange for them to leave in small groups and gather at the east corner of the rich district’s public square after sunset."
"Rich district?" Elyra stared blankly.
"Yeah, tonight we will take care of the real mastermind."
Xander whispered, "But first, I need to take care of some things. You need to be careful to make sure that no one recognizes them as Redoak Vale guards."
Elyra had a lot more questions, but hearing Xander’s unquestionable orders, she could only stay doubtful for the time being.
"Good, I’ll go do that!"
---
Outside the city hall at sunset, a big-bellied official was on a carriage, going home.
But he didn’t know that three rogues hidden in the dark were observing him.
The cart stopped in the rich district and that fatty unhurriedly got down and went toward his study.
He had some secret files that needed to be disposed of.
But he felt something wrong the moment he set foot in the study.
