You Go Find the Lady Knight

Master Halsin was a wood elf.

Unlike their elegant high elf cousins, wood elves who lived in the wilds and forests possessed stronger bodies.

Halsin's muscles stood out in distinct, solid blocks, making him as burly as a bear.

His face was painted with red war paint, and a prominent claw scar marked it, though it was impossible to tell what animal had left it.

Yet unlike his wild appearance, this druid of the Circle of the Moon gave off a gentle, honest impression when speaking with others.

"You must be Mr. Marvin Rodhart, whom Lady Yinfennar mentioned? Thank you for driving away the devils for us. May Silvanus, the Oak Father, god of the wilds and nature, bless you."

Halsin extended an invitation to Marvin. "Let's go to the dining hall. As it happens, I brought a bag of fine fresh flower green tea from Tethyr. We can talk over tea."

An hour later.

"...That is everything concerning the devils. The Druid Herb Garden in Blue Creek Valley is in a special location. I believe the Emerald Enclave should not abandon this place.

"Also, Friendly Arm is facing a mind flayer threat. If Master Halsin is willing to lend a hand, the townspeople will certainly be deeply grateful."

In the dining hall, filled with the fragrance of flowers and tea, Marvin set down his cup.

The Mage Hand floating in midair immediately drifted over and refilled Marvin's tea.

The [Mage Hand] cantrip was incredibly useful. It could handle all sorts of chores for its caster. Marvin could hardly do without it now.

After a round of tea, leaving aside such "unimportant" details as forcing Miss Cambion to sign a contract and squeezing out her remaining value, Marvin recounted everything he had seen along the way in Blue Creek Valley, as well as all the information he had learned from the devils.

Marvin hoped to earn Halsin's trust and persuade him to follow his suggestion and restore the Druid Herb Garden's operations.

Halsin's massive body remained motionless, like a statue. From time to time, a leaf appeared from nowhere and fluttered around him, as though fey creatures were dancing amid falling leaves.

After a long while, he finally said, "I have just communicated with the spirits of nature, Mr. Rodhart. The information you provided is accurate. Since you have been so candid, I should share some information with you as well.

"Once you have heard it, if you are willing to do me a favor and resolve the grove's current difficulties, I will immediately send people to resume operations here. And if Friendly Arm faces danger afterward, I will come to its aid as well."

Halsin pondered for a moment, seemingly choosing his words.

Only after quite some time did he speak in his deep voice. "Not long ago, a priest of Lathander came to the grove to ask for my help.

"He told me that Lathander had personally issued an oracle. Duchess Sterlman's daughter had ended up somewhere in the vast wetlands between the Chionthar River and the northern foothills of Sharp Tooth Forest. Her condition was not good, and he hoped we would help search for her.

"This wetland covers more than two hundred square miles and contains six villages. Finding one person in such a vast area in a short time would require a great deal of manpower.

"I had heard of Miss Ailei's good reputation, and given the close relationship between the Lord of Dawn and the Oak Father, I sent out several elite ranger patrols.

"However, at that very time, the grove was attacked by Shadow Druids. The situation was urgent, and I had no choice but to recall all the members previously stationed at various outposts to monitor environmental changes.

"Now, although the Shadow Druids have been driven back, the threat has not disappeared. The grove still requires a great deal of manpower for defense.

"Mr. Rodhart, if you are willing to take on the task of finding Miss Ailei, I will be able to free up enough people to restart this outpost."

"I need to think about it." Marvin did not agree immediately.

Deep down, he very much wanted to complete this task and find the lady knight.

That was because, after receiving news from Ahli that the lady knight had escaped the goblin tribe, the quest panel had updated, stirring his ambitions.

Quest [Annihilate the Shattered Tooth Tribe and rescue Lady Knight Ailei] updated to [Annihilate the Shattered Tooth Tribe and thwart the mind flayers' scheme]

Difficulty: High

Scale: City-state level

Base reward: 2 Intelligence.

Current success rate: 95%

[Personal strength]: You have become a level 3 wizard, touched the second layer of the Weave, and taken the advanced spellcasting class [Elemental Artificer], greatly increasing your strength. However, you still find yourself somewhat inadequate when facing mind flayers. (Success rate +20%)

[Weapons and equipment]: You possess two powerful firearms bestowed by Gond and are equipped with a full set of rare-grade equipment. (Success rate +60%)

[Prepared supplies]: Mechanical Mind Potions are extremely important. You should also stock up on more spell scrolls. (Success rate +10%)

[Relevant intelligence]: Your greatest enemy is the mind flayers. Those cunning octopus-heads will not be easy to deal with. You still need to learn the enemy's specific plans and true strength. (Success rate +5%)

[Teammates and servants]: You need teammates—the more numerous and stronger, the better. If you can make Knight Ailei your teammate, victory will be within reach. (Success rate +0%)

[Environmental factors]: None. (Success rate +0%)

As he continuously increased his strength and investigated more intelligence, the success rate of this high-difficulty city-state-level quest had steadily risen. Now, Marvin could finally see hope of completing it.

For the precious 2 points of Intelligence, he felt that he could shift from passive to proactive from now on, rather than focusing solely on staying alive.

Of course, he still had to uphold the principle of proceeding cautiously, never taking risks, and never acting until the success rate had been raised to 300%.

But for now, Marvin still needed to ask exactly how to rescue the lady knight and what difficulties he might encounter along the way.

"Master Halsin, what enemies are there in the swamp, and how strong are they?"

"Most of the enemies you encounter will be common swamp creatures, such as mosquito bats, giant crabs, venomous snakes, and the like. If you are unlucky, you may encounter ogres, yuan-ti, water ghouls, bog blings, frogs...

"For you, these monsters should not be difficult to handle. Even if you face a group of monsters, you should be able to escape with ease."

"However," Master Halsin shifted the subject and named someone who gave Marvin quite a headache, "according to reliable intelligence, a hag lives in the swamp."

Hags were fey monsters originating from the Feywild. They were ugly in appearance and wicked at heart.

These creatures liked to disguise themselves as elderly human women, lurking among human settlements as they wove evil magic and poisoned and twisted all things good and pure.

If he truly had to face a monster that wielded all manner of strange magic, had an extraordinarily long lifespan, and possessed knowledge of countless secrets, then the task of finding the lady knight would indeed be quite troublesome.

Marvin carefully checked the new quest information that had appeared on the quest panel.

Quest: Search the Sunlit Wetlands and find Ailei Tethyr Sterlman

Difficulty: Medium

Scale: Village and town level

Base reward: Treasure Map [Sequence Turntable]

Current success rate: 0% (Open the drop-down menu for details)