Chương 71: Out of the Frying Pan

Jordan had a hundred days to fend off the nether realm from claiming his soul. To figure out what exactly the system meant by [your soul must settle in one incarnation or another]. Charisma DC 12: success N üwa: "The language is deliberately vague, with precious little in the way of clues or keywords. I very much doubt, lordlet, that this is a riddle you could puzzle out on your own." With the illusions lifted, [Heavenly Gossip] had made a full comeback.

Just in time for Jordan to stress-test Nüwa's advice against their DC. The success was reassuring, but the implication was not. If I can't puzzle it out on my own, that means I'll need help. From who, though?" Jordan," Pewter spoke up then. The two of them had been wandering aimlessly through the woods, concerned mainly with getting as far away from the creepy well as possible.

"Have you tried checking your [Map] again? Maybe that unpleasant episode with the Hearthkeeper was the turning point we'd been looking for." Not a bad shout. And sure enough…" Oh, you're right, it's back!" Jordan exclaimed, eyeing the ink smudge now leaking out of the arrowhead that symbolized his own location on [Rampart's Map].

"Someone roughly… northeast from here might be able to help me with my Affliction. If not, it'll be something to point us to the next cauldron. Either way, it's worth checking out." The Gym Rats picked up the pace, bolstered by a sense of direction, however vague though it might be. For Jordan especially, it was a good excuse to stop thinking about his 'deadline' for a little while. He knew from experience just how fast a hundred days could fly by, but there was no point despairing about it on Day 1.

Or even Day 3, for that matter. For it took two more days of diligent, patient hiking for the ink smudge to fade again. By now, Jordan knew the drill. It was the cue for the Gym Rats to be more deliberate about their hiking, the better to seek that next turning point in their journey." We gotta be more careful than last time," Jordan urged as he and Pewter used their [Daggers] to cut through a particularly dense thicket.

"Can't be walking into illusory traps every time we get lost in a forest."" Agreed. Though I must wonder… what could we find in such a remote location, other than the likes of monsters and trickster spirits? Frankly, I'm surprised that the [Map] has yet to point us toward Leafell City." Pewter had a point there again. So much so that Jordan wondered for the first time if it might be a mistake to so blindly trust [Rampart's Map].

After all, hadn't it kind of led him astray already, straight into a detour that had saddled him with a rather worrisome Affliction?" Hmm," Jordan wondered aloud.

"You know what, now you got me second-guessing myself. Should we stop and really think about—" Glyph triggered: Snare. Jordan cut off mid-sentence as he shot up into the air. It took him a terrifying second to realize that he'd been strung up by the leg. And that he now dangled helplessly from the nearest tree. Despite their best efforts, the Gym Rats had walked into a trap, after all—a physical rather than illusory one!

Jordan tried to fight back against the unseen enemy by retrieving his [Bow], but was unable to reach for it. For the 250-pound Heavenly Cauldron now pulled down on its [Harness], straining against and restricting the movement of his arms." Jordan!" Somewhere, Pewter cried out in alarm.

"Hang on, let me—" The Tetherer too cut out, perhaps mid-casting a spell that could've released his friend. This was followed by a rather inauspicious notification. PEWTER SAPLING Affliction: Sleep." Ah, fuck! What the hell is going on?" Jordan's voice was just as strained as his muscles. He now felt close to passing out himself, with or without a magical sleep aid, as the blood rushed to and pooled in his head. And then… Snap! … Thud! JORDAN YU lost: 12 HP.

The weight of the cauldron proved too much for the assailant's rope. It snapped the tree branch clean off, thus dropping the captive for some painful but manageable fall damage. Instantly, Jordan felt more alert. The fight-or-flight response kicked in in earnest as he sprang to his feet, [Dagger] raised. But that was when… Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions. Poof! A cloud of brownish… dust? No, spores!

One moment, Jordan had been hit in the back by something that felt like a hacky sack. The next, he was covered from head to toe by the Cloudear's sleeping spores… and breathing them in like no one's business. Had the Gym Rats been ambushed by mushroom monsters? Surely not! How would you explain the swift efficiency with which Jordan and Pewter had been subdued? Not to mention the glyph, which would have required a human spellcaster to— JORDAN YU Affliction: Sleep.

Jordan's head was too heavy for him to continue the train of thought. One blink, two blinks, and he was out.

Jordan woke amidst the dank chill of a… relatively nice and comfortable room. The place was spacious and well-furnished, reminiscent of the guest room from that one night he spent at the Sapling estate. The dankness seemed to come from the room being underground and windowless, whereas the chill could be attributed to its being built entirely of stone. Jordan sat up with some difficulty, and found himself on a four-poster bed. Whoever had captured him so unceremoniously was also treating him like an honored guest.

Then again, he'd been kept alone, with no cauldron in sight. Which meant that the captors hadn't trusted him enough to leave him with his Vessel and his companion. Talk about mixed signals… And talk about mixed scents! The mystery captors had also put out a whole spread of hot food, positively mouthwatering in their savory aroma. As a Mountain Man who'd been roughing it for weeks on end, it took Jordan every ounce of willpower to resist the temptation. That was, until…

Dexterity DC 12: success Nezha:"Quit your worrying and eat your fill, human. If there's anything untoward like last time, I'll be the first to let you know. Assuming, of course, that you deem me trustworthy!" That… was just barely on the right side of reassuring. At the very least, [Heavenly Gossip] was working as intended. Whether or not that was a foolproof test against illusory magic was another matter, but right now, Jordan was willing to give his appetite the benefit of the doubt.

As Jordan enjoyed the frankly delicious food, it occurred to him to give the squatter gods more work. Namely by using them as a personal sounding board. Man, what a weird turn of events, huh? Did anyone manage to catch what my captors looked like? Intelligence DC 10: success Fuxi:"We are not your extra eyes and ears, pupil. Our perception is limited to your experience.

As far as any of us can tell, you were hit in the back of the head by a pellet of some description, which then dispersed into a cloud of sleeping spores." Strength DC 14: success Zhurong:"Pah! I've seen this trick before—a contrivance of the cowardly and underhanded. There was a Leafeller regiment during the Unification Wars known to craft throwables from monster loot. They fought under the banner of a local nobleman, though the name of the house escapes me …" Meat-head with the surprisingly insightful lore drop!

Could it be that Jordan had unwittingly wandered into some nobleman's backyard? Would this pre-unification noble house have even survived to this day, through 1, 800 years of unrest and upheaval? In any case, whoever owned this place was clearly a person of some wealth, status, and culture. Assuming they were as reasonable to talk to as they seemed to be generous to their prisoner… maybe, just maybe, Jordan was exactly where he needed to be.

The Mountain Man had been so starved of good food that he housed the whole spread in a matter of minutes. Braised meats, steamed buns, pickled nuts and vegetables. Nothing too fancy, but all of it Stormvaster classics cooked to perfection. Whoever owned this place was also quite discerning in their tastes. Jordan leaned back in his seat and let out a few loud burps, shamelessly glad that no one was around to hear him. Or so he'd thought.

For that was when, as if on cue, footsteps approached from just beyond the door." Apologies for my men's rough treatment of you and your friend." The man began to speak even as the door swung open. He then continued to talk, non-stop, as he let himself in and pulled up a chair directly across from Jordan." How was the braised pork? A little oversweet, wouldn't you say? I always tell Old Lee to go easy on the sugar, but she never listens.

Must be hard of hearing in her old age, or so I tell myself instead of facing the reality that she simply doesn't respect me. Speaking of respect, please rest assured that your companion yet sleeps soundly in a separate guest house… and that your Vessel is safe in my room, every drop of its impressive reserves untouched and accounted for. It's all standard precautions, you see. And as soon as any misunderstandings have been cleared up, you'll have your cauldron back and be on your merry way.

How does that sound, Gatekeeper Yu?" The man smiled from across the table, not even a little out of breath despite the overlong spiel. He was a rather ordinary-looking young man, utterly unremarkable if not for his striking black robe and pale skin that appeared almost translucent by contrast. Jordan had been just about ready to pass judgment. Oh yeah, this NPC is a classic people-pleaser. Should be a piece of cake to get him to fork over whatever I need to advance my quest. That was, until he saw…

<Character Sheet> Name: HANZA PADMA Race: Human Age: 30 Class: Shaman, Lv. 20 (MAX) Vessel: Box of Remembrance