As he grew more familiar with the minimap, Ye Wei'an discovered that, beyond basic terrain outlines and friend-or-foe markers, occasional pale golden symbols would appear on the map, each with a brief label beside it.
At first, he paid them little attention. Then, as the party passed a clearing in the forest, a golden label appeared beside the path they were about to take.
It read: [Forgotten Harp].
Since it was so close, they might as well take a look.
Ye Wei'an reined in his horse and looked toward the spot marked on the map. There was only a huge, long-dead oak with a hollow trunk, surrounded by waist-high shrubs.
"Hold on." He swung down from his horse and, amid the puzzled looks of Cain and the others, walked over to the dead tree and pushed aside the shrubs behind its trunk.
"My lord?" Ailian called softly.
Beneath the thorns lay not earth, but a human skeleton nearly indistinguishable from the leaf litter and humus. Its bones had long since dried and turned white, and the scraps of fabric on it had rotted away. Only a cloak, half pinned beneath the body, still showed traces of deep blue, along with an emblem that seemed to be made of strings and stars.
Cain stepped closer and took one look at the distinctive emblem. His expression turned grave. "The Harpers... This was a Harper. Or at least, they once were."
The young maid asked curiously, "What are the Harpers? A musicians' guild that performs for nobles?"
"Nobles wouldn't care for a musicians' guild like that." Cain gave a wry smile and shook his head. "They're idealists who move through the shadows. Most are Bards, mages, or Rangers. They use this emblem and secretly oppose tyrants and evil magic. The common folk see them as embodiments of justice, but in the eyes of the lords, they're a bunch of mavericks who are always stirring things up. Even when their intentions are good, they often act without considering the consequences."
He crouched down and examined the remains carefully. At last, he took a silver brooch shaped like a small harp from the skeleton's curled fingers. He also found three vials of potion in a small leather pouch at its waist.
"Potions of greater healing, and they've been preserved exceptionally well." The knight sighed with feeling. "In a place like this... even the most experienced Ranger would have a hard time finding them. My lord, the god of knowledge, Oghma, must have blessed your keen insight."
Not long afterward, as they skirted a stretch of jagged stone spires, another golden marker appeared at the edge of the map: [Hidden Cache].
Ye Wei'an stopped in front of a granite boulder about half a man's height.
To everyone else, it looked no different from the other rocks around it.
"Renn, move it."
"Me? Move a rock this big?"
The Fighter seriously doubted he could manage it.
But since his lord had ordered him to, he could only step forward.
The boulder was looser than it looked and shifted with only a little effort.
Then they saw a narrow natural crevice behind it, with a leather pouch tucked inside. Its surface had been coated with a thick layer of preservative grease.
Harold reached in and pulled it out. When he opened it, his eyes immediately lit up. "My lord! Money! And... a map!"
The pouch contained about fifty finely minted Cormyr Gold Lion Coins. The map, made of treated leather, showed in detail the ranges and estimated numbers of several bands of brigands in the surrounding area, marked in red and black ink. It even showed symbols for one or two possible camps.
"This is a Zhentarim mark." Cain studied the map with a furrowed brow. "These smugglers... It seems they have their lackeys operating in this area and have left a secret supply cache behind. This will be very useful to us."
Ye Wei'an didn't hesitate. He took ten gold coins from their find and handed them out among the three soldiers, making Renn and Harold grin from ear to ear.
As noble retainers, Renn and Harold earned about six Gold Lions a month. This reward was no small sum to them.
If Ye Wei'an had gotten one of those bargain-bin game systems, he would surely have heard an "affection up, up" notification by now.
What kind of noble young master was this? He was a walking treasure compass!
"My lord is the best!" Once they set out, Ailian settled back into Ye Wei'an's arms, her little face flushed.
She carefully wiped at the nonexistent sweat on Ye Wei'an's brow with her sleeve, chattering away. "Those Goblins, the beasts, and all these hidden treasures aren't secrets at all to you, my lord. You find them in no time! Uncle Cain even said that walking through the forest with you is like taking a stroll at home!"
Ye Wei'an only smiled faintly and habitually rubbed the top of Ailian's silky hair.
He realized he had still underestimated the minimap's usefulness.
With treasure-finding this precise, even without an upgrade panel, he could make a fortune with nothing but this minimap.
Led by Ye Wei'an, the group pressed on.
Before long, the silver moon, Selune, rose, and twilight deepened.
Ye Wei'an studied the map for a moment and chose a sheltered halfway slope backed by a cliff as their campsite for the night.
Once they reached the site, the three experienced warriors split up and got to work without waiting for orders.
Knight Cain took charge of the perimeter watch.
He carefully set nearly invisible tripwires beneath the shrubs and dead branches around the camp, stringing small bells along them. Then he took a handful of specially prepared gray-white powder from his travel pouch and scattered it evenly along the campsite's edge. It was a repellent used to drive away poisonous insects and certain small, sensitive creatures.
Harold focused on the defenses.
He took out an iron shovel, chose a spot, and began digging a shallow drainage ditch in case it rained during the night. At the same time, he rolled several suitably sized rocks over to one side of the campsite and stacked them into a simple low wall that could serve as cover.
Renn took care of the chores.
He leveled the ground, then gathered dry firewood and split it into manageable pieces with his axe. He stacked it where they planned to build the fire, ringed the spot with stones, and prepared the campfire.
Ye Wei'an saw Harold struggling with the ditch, so he went over to help.
"Four Symbols Method: Earth."
The soil that would normally have taken considerable effort to dig seemed to be stirred from within by an invisible hand. It loosened, then began to "flow" along the surface as if alive, moving five feet away and piling into a neat little mound.
In the blink of an eye, the beginnings of a ditch had taken shape, far more efficiently than any human could manage.
"My lord, leave the rough work of setting up camp to us." Cain finished laying the traps, dusted the dirt from his hands, and walked over to Ye Wei'an. "You're a distinguished spellcaster. You should save your precious strength and focus."
Ye Wei'an nodded and accepted the offer.
That was a spellcaster's place in a team.
But he wasn't about to sit idle.
"Then I'll go find us some fresh food for dinner. I don't want to keep chewing on rations."
As he spoke, he naturally took Ailian's hand. "Come with me, Ailian."
"My lord, it's almost dark. In the forest..." Ailian sounded worried.
"What, are you afraid I can't protect you?" Ye Wei'an smiled and led her toward the woods beside the campsite.
To everyone else, venturing into an unfamiliar forest as night fell, with a maid who couldn't fight at all, was simply reckless.
But to Ye Wei'an, it was no different from going to his own storeroom to fetch ingredients.
Apart from the terrain and red dots indicating possible threats, the expanded minimap also showed some yellow dots representing neutral creatures that wouldn't attack: a forest rabbit curled up in the bushes, its long ears twitching slightly; a plump Thunder-Winged Grouse peeking out of a tree hollow nearby; and, farther away in the shadow of a rocky slope, a Tough Rock Sheep watching them warily...
"Rabbit, chicken, or sheep? Which would you like?" Ye Wei'an asked Ailian.
Ailian blinked and said softly, "A bunny... Bunnies are so cute. Why would anyone want to eat one?"
"What about the sheep?"
"That sheep is so big. I wouldn't know how to prepare it."
"Then grouse it is." Ye Wei'an picked his target and lowered his voice. "Watch closely."
He pointed toward the grouse and focused his thoughts.
"Mage Hand!"
A completely transparent hand took shape in midair.
Ye Wei'an controlled the Mage Hand like the most patient hunter, guiding it slowly and silently into the hollow.
The grouse seemed to sense something wrong with the air and let out a startled half-coo.
But it was already too late. The magical hand darted out from the side and pinched it precisely at the base of its not-yet-spread wing.
The grouse kicked uselessly a few times before it was firmly restrained. The whole thing had made almost no sound, and now it was back beside Ye Wei'an.
"My lord... you-you caught it already?" Her voice was full of wonder.
"Magic's convenient, isn't it?" Ye Wei'an handed the grouse to Ailian to hold, then picked a few clumps of edible wild garlic and herbs nearby.
"Let's head back. We're having chicken soup tonight."
Before you continue