Alright, the basics were clear now—butLeoric immediately thought of the crucial question: What was the old man's purpose in bringing him here and explaining so much in detail?

  Was he supposed to pay a toll? That wouldn't require so much talking and detailed explanations.

  As if sensingLeoric's confusion, the old man smiled slightly.

  "We don't take your money," the old man said, "Don't worry."

  Leoric was even more uneasy. If the old man wanted money, even if he set a very high price,Leoric could still consider it; but now that he wasn't asking for money, what did he want?

  The old man coughed lightly and extended a withered hand from his sleeve, stroking the sheepskin map spread out on the table. He said toLeoric, "Leoric, do you know how our Bedai Barbarian tribe always finds the oasis accurately?"

  Leoric naturally didn't know and waited for the old man's answer.

  The old man didn't speak again; his hand slowly stroked the surface of the map. ThenLeoric was surprised to see a faint green glow emanating from his hand. Finally, the old man whispered a word very softly.

  The map came to life, gently undulating like ocean waves before settling flat on the table again. The old man beckonedLeoric closer to look at the map.

  Unlike its original worn and old appearance, the map now seemed brand new and slightly translucent. In the center of the map, a green dot and a red dot overlapped, glowing faintly.

  "This red dot is us," the old man said, "and the green dot means the oasis we're currently in."

  "So that means..."

  Leoric roughly understood. Probably each Bedai Barbarian tribe had this kind of sheepskin map that could accurately locate oasis in the desert, which was why they could always find the way.

  "After our tribe was driven out of Escow and Harlogdas by the Man-Leoric, we encountered a strange creature," the old man said slowly. "According to oral traditions from our ancestors, this creature was extremely large, flying in the air, with a smooth silver-black body that emitted a faint glow. It had three heads, three arms, and each arm had three hands, and on the palm of each hand, there was another eye."

  These creatures were strange and of unknown origin. Instead of attacking the Bedai Barbarians, they gave each tribe a sheepskin map and told them how to use it. With this sheepskin map, the Bedai Barbarians could directly know the location of oasis within a fifty-mile radius, allowing them to survive in the desert.

  So that was it, butLeoric's doubts deepened. The old man had told him such a confidential matter; what was his intention?

  The answer was soon revealed. The old man reached out and tore open his clothes, revealing layers of bandages wrapped around his chest. As the old man unwound the bandages,Leoric was horrified to see a large hole in his right chest area, with surrounding flesh decaying and black blood slowly oozing out, soaking through the thick bandages.

  "I'm dying," the old man whispered.

  The Thaloren Society had launched a massive crackdown, and the Bedai Barbarians along the Dark Road suffered heavy casualties, forcing them to relocate. The old man's tribe had also encountered an attack by the Thaloren Society. Although they managed to break through and escape, the old man was severely injured.

  When the old man uncovered his bandages, revealing the decaying and blackened wound,Leoric immediately recognized it as an injury caused by necromancy. He wasn't sure about the specific spell, as he happened to dislike the Necromancer school, but he guessed it was something that would continuously corrode the body until death. Wizards who specialized in necromancy probably also enjoyed watching others' fear and despair during the long wait for death.

  The old man didn't show much tension or fear, probably already mentally prepared. "The tribe doesn't know yet," he said, "I've been keeping it from them."

  "Why?"Leoric was puzzled. Although news of the chief's impending death would certainly shake morale, it would at least allow for advance arrangements and instructions to the successor. Otherwise, with the old man having only a few days to live, keeping it a secret and suddenly dying on the journey would only cause more confusion.

  "Because besides me, no one in the tribe can use this map."

  Leoric was even more confused. "Why?" he asked. Just moments ago, the old man stroked the map and whispered a word, and the map came to life. He could just pass down that word, and it wasn't some complicated incantation...

  Incantation?

  Leoric suddenly realized with a shock, could this old man be a wizard? Only wizards could use this map, so the old man had brought him here to say all this?

  He looked up at the old man.

  The old man nodded, "You've guessed it," he said in a hoarse voice, "Only a wizard can use this map."

  Leoric looked at the old man, pondering, and then he remembered something—the old man had mentioned Nitheryl several times, but never by its name, only as "the Empire."

  The residents of Spiritshade City considered themselves the descendants of Nitheryl and took the restoration of the Empire as their mission. In Spiritshade City, whenever Nitheryl was mentioned, unless in special circumstances, it was always referred to as "the Empire," a sign of identity and belonging.

  Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

  The old man's habit was exactly the same as the residents of Spiritshade City.

  Considering the old man's status as a wizard and his strange ability to speak the long-lost Nitherylan language,Leoric gradually understood.

  He still asked the old man to confirm his suspicions and received a positive answer.

  "Like you," the old man said, "I, too, am a descendant of the Empire—one could say so."

  The Felurian Magi had destroyed Nitheryl, with all the floating cities crashing down (except for Spiritshade City, which hid in the Shadowfell), and almost all the Archmages perishing, marking the fall of a glorious civilization. But that didn't mean the people of Nitheryl had been wiped out.

  A few descendants of Nitheryl survived the catastrophe. They tried to rebuild their homeland but couldn't fight the Felurian Magi. Soon, the former fertile plains turned into eroded deserts. Unwilling to leave their homeland or relocate, the descendants of Nitheryl evaded the Felurian Magi's pursuit and the expanding desert, struggling to survive until they eventually concentrated in the cities of Escow and Harlogdas in the northern desert.

  Later, suddenly one day, a group of strange people arrived and entered Escow and Harlogdas. They were the Bedai Barbarians. Originally, the Bedai Barbarians weren't native to Faer?n but came from a distant continent—Zekahra, to the west of Faer?n. They were transported here by a mad wizard's uncontrollable magic experiment.

  Fortunately, Zekahra was originally a dry and hot place, full of deserts and gobies, so these Bedai Barbarians quickly adapted to the new environment. They lived alongside the descendants of Nitheryl in Escow and Harlogdas. Over time, they gradually integrated—or rather, the sparsely populated descendants of Nitheryl were absorbed into the Bedai Barbarians.

  However, saying "absorbed" might not be entirely accurate. Nitheryl was a glorious magical empire, not just because it had Archmages who could rival gods but also because magic was highly prevalent in the Empire. Although the first-rate wizards perished in the catastrophe, the surviving descendants were ordinary civilians—but even these civilians knew a bit of magic and could be considered wizards, having received systematic cultural education.

  The Bedai Barbarians were overall quite uncivilized, hence the name "Barbarians." After these descendants of Nitheryl integrated into the Bedai Barbarians, most gradually became high-ranking figures in various tribes. Later, when driven out of the cities by the Man-Leoric and wandering in the desert, only wizards could use the sheepskin map to detect oasis—all of which led to the increasing status of wizards, ultimately establishing the rule that the leaders of Bedai Barbarian tribes must be wizards. If a tribe didn't have a wizard as its leader, it must merge with another tribe.

  Initially, this rule wasn't a big issue because the standard for "wizard" was very low. By Spiritshade City's standards, only those who graduated from wizard schools could be considered wizards, but here, anyone who knew a bit of magic and could use the sheepskin map could be considered a wizard.

  However, as time passed, over a thousand years, the situation became increasingly dire. Magic depended on aptitude and talent, not something that could be learned just by wanting to. Or to put it more bluntly, the Bedai Barbarians from Zekahra had no aptitude for learning magic; as the descendants of Nitheryl's bloodline became diluted, the number of "wizards" in the tribe decreased.

  Up until now, among the dozens of tribes of the Bedai Barbarians, there are roughly only one to two "shamans" on average who can use sheepskin maps to lead their tribesmen to life-saving oases in the vast desert. The tribeLeoric encountered was in an even worse situation: only the old man in front of him, the tribe chief, could be considered a "shaman."

  The old man was severely injured and it was uncertain how many days he had left. If he died, no one else would be able to use the sheepskin map to guide the way, and these dozens of tribesmen would likely perish in the desert.

  This, then, was the reason the old man had summonedLeoric. In a sense,Leoric was like a savior falling from the sky, the current hope for the survival of this small tribe.

  So...

  "I heard you speaking in the Netherese language, and seeing the wizard's robe you wear, which was popular during the Empire period, I guessed roughly where you came from," said the old man.

  "You mean, if you pass away, you want me to use this map and lead your tribesmen to that... Ekos City?"

  "Escos City," corrected the old man. "Not just my tribesmen,Leoric, but also yourself."

  As the old man had previously said, the "Black Road" was blocked, and whether it wasLeoric or the Bedai Barbarians, the only way out of this vast desert was through this path.

  Oh yes, and there were also those three priests and the female knight.

  The old man didn't know much about the three priests and the female knight.

  "They came from the east of the desert," said the old man. "We met them halfway and they also want to cross the desert to the west."

  Exactly where in the west, that was unclear. Taking money to guide people is a service the Bedai Barbarians provide, and they don't have the custom of inquiring about their clients' itineraries or investigating their backgrounds.

  However, the old man was experienced, and after traveling together for a few days, he naturally noticed quite a few things.

  "They should be escorting something," the old man toldLeoric, "in the hands of that red-haired priest."

  Among the three priests, the oldest was a follower of the god of justice, Tyr, while the other two were followers of the god of dawn, Lathander. Upon learning this,Leoric furrowed his brow slightly because the goddess of darkness, Shar, worshipped in Spiritshade City, was exactly the rival of Lathander.

  This was a world with numerous gods and a religious population. Different gods were often hostile to each other, and their followers hated each other as well. Lathander was the god of dawn, also known as the sun god, while Shar was the goddess of darkness—and a malevolent deity. AlthoughLeoric was not a devout follower of Shar, he did come from Spiritshade City, and if those two Lathanderian priests found out, trouble might arise.

  As for the follower of the god of justice, Tyr, he was easier to deal with. According toLeoric's knowledge from his school days, Tyr's followers were mostly serious, rigid, law-abiding, and meticulous. Although they were equally followers of malevolent gods, as long as one didn't do bad things—or, rather, didn't let them know about it—everything would be fine.

  However,Leoric was not most concerned about the three priests... what's there to be concerned about with three old men? What he was truly concerned about was the female knight.

  "She's also a follower of the god of justice," said the old man, "but she doesn't seem like a priest... In my opinion, she should be a paladin."

  Leoric was slightly startled.

  "A paladin?" he said incredulously. "But she's just a young girl."

  "She is a bit too young," the old man admitted uncertainly, "but... I can't really say for sure."

  Alright, let's leave that aside for now.

  Leoric accepted the old man's proposal—in fact, he couldn't think of a reason to refuse. As the old man had said, it was not just for the sake of this Bedai Barbarian tribe, but also forLeoric himself. Without the sheepskin map and the old man's spells,Leoric wouldn't be able to get out of the desert.

  Moreover, the desert was so dangerous that traveling together in a group was always safer, with mutual support. Otherwise, not only would he be hunted by the Thantalin Guild, but even if he encountered another bone worm,Leoric doubted he could handle it alone. Besides, he didn't want to miss the opportunity to travel with that female knight.

  "Alright,"Leoric said, "teach me how to use this map. Oh, by the way," he suddenly remembered and added, "do you speak Common?"