Time passed second by second. The purification ritual prepared at Krim Fortress was about to begin, but the players' patience had long since run out.
Though they were honored guests, what respectable person would go to a reception in the banquet hall in the middle of a war?
Apart from a few seasoned people like Uncle Qin and Cat-Rabbit, who could just about handle it, the other players got a headache just looking at those high-society gatherings. Since they were all ordinary folks, they figured they might as well find something more down-to-earth to do.
Like treasure hunting.
By the time the players arrived in Transia, Krim Fortress had already been occupied by the Nord people. As a true military fortress, it had never held anything like an "open day," so most of the players had never explored the towering stronghold.
It was like a sealed treasure vault. It didn't take much thought to know there had to be plenty of amazing things inside.
So, while waiting for the purification ritual to begin, the players went to ask Uncle Qin if they could roam freely around the fortress. Uncle Qin had planned to refuse. The two sides were allies now, but rummaging through someone else's belongings wasn't right, and given the players' habit of stripping a place bare, it was hard to say what trouble they might cause in the fortress.
But General Baldwin's old comrade-in-arms, the Lich Baldwin—a non-member of the Loyal Hymn Guild—suggested:
"Making valiant warriors endure such a phony social gathering is a kind of torture. Let them go. Guards are posted at all the important spots in this fortress, so they won't be able to get in. A little reconnaissance wouldn't hurt, either. Once the ritual ends, we'll be going into battle. How can the warriors