The Paladin in the Abyss-Chapter 757 - 687: Camping

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After the Scholar dispelled the spell that maintained the breeze, the fire in the woods quickly diminished, and extinguished at a much faster rate than naturally possible, seemingly the pervasive shadows of this plane themselves possessing the power to suppress flames. The group did not linger at the spot, and promptly set off after a brief organization.

As Kalalin had previously described, the Fallen Shadow Netherworld was a sort of dark, twisted reflection of the material plane, and thus there were roads and bridges here as well. Relying on the observations of little Isha, who transformed into a bat and flew up high, they quickly found a broad road and thereafter, Lancelot, Kalalin, and Alamir each summoned their own mounts and proceeded along the road towards the location where those ghosts had captured souls not long ago.

Even on the Prime Material Plane, roads in the wilderness were not particularly safe, plagued frequently by robbers, wild beasts, or malevolent wizards, and this plane was even worse. The group hardly traveled a few miles without encountering a battle, mostly with roaming undead creatures, which, much like the Low Rank Demons of the Abyss, were ubiquitous, only here, their numbers were greater, and Lancelot could not scare them away just by exuding his presence.

Fortunately, although the skeletons and zombies were irritating, they were not truly a threat to the group—Lancelot aside, the Dwarf’s and Elf’s hammers served as excellent blunt weapons against the undead creatures, not to mention little Isha who was continuously signaling from the air; otherwise, the efficiency of the battles would have been even higher.

Occasionally, they also encountered some less aggressive passersby: once, they came across a small parade of undead led by a Death Knight riding a skeletal warhorse. Lancelot and his companions were ready for battle, but the other party calmly passed by them. The Death Knight even gave Lancelot a cold nod in greeting, and then disappeared into the mist along the road.

"That’s really rare," Bruto turned his head toward the direction where the undead had vanished, "Back on the material plane, we’d probably be beating our brains out..."

"In Candle Castle, there’s an Archmage named Ulrand who wrote a book called ’Ulrand’s Guide to the Fallen Shadow Netherworld.’ It starts off with, before you continue reading this, repeat this sentence until it is ingrained in your minds: ’I do not understand the Fallen Shadow Netherworld, and I never truly will,’" Kalalin softly told his companions, "The danger of the Fallen Shadow Netherworld lies in that, in many places, it looks very similar to the Prime Material Plane, and our subconscious might unconsciously assume that things will proceed in the way we are accustomed to, whereas the actual situation can be drastically different."

"Uh, sounds complicated," the Dwarf gloomily gazed at the Scholar, "Can you explain it in a simpler way? Assume I’m a five-year-old..."

"Remember that headless mastiff that could still attack?" the Elf Priest patted his companion’s shoulder, "Every time you think you’ve defeated an enemy, recall that scene to make sure you haven’t done enough."

"Got it. That’s the kind of answer I need." freёnovelkiss.com

Due to constant interruptions by battles, the group made halting progress for another three hours, advancing about twenty-five miles, and were now only about six miles from the location predicted by Kalalin’s magic. However, Lancelot halted his companions, declaring the day’s adventure over, and the team prepared to camp.

The most vehement reaction came from Bruto, who was so close to the target and didn’t want to wait even a moment longer, but Lancelot sternly refused the Dwarf’s suggestion—the group was exhausted, the Priest, and Scholar’s remaining spell uses had dropped to a dangerously low level, even Bruto himself could no longer enter a berserk state, and charging into battle against a strong enemy in such a condition was not wise.

Although Bruto was desperate to save his father, he was still reasonable. Once it was confirmed that they could not proceed, he silently began to clear the campsite. The companions located a small hill far from the road, set up a campfire on the lee side, Alamir and Kalalin joined forces to erect a large tent that could accommodate three people to rest simultaneously, while Lancelot set up a formation that concealed scent, sound, and light, hoping to reduce the likelihood of a night raid.

Before resting, Lancelot had Kalalin cast a Third Circle Message Spell to contact his lover, a Succubus from the Abyss. The spell could only convey twenty-five words, so he merely informed her that he had encountered the King of the Dead, found clues in the Gloomy Shadow Underworld, and indicated the suspects were three witches. Tijana’s response was simple: all witches were notoriously cunning and dangerous creatures, suggesting ’kill first, investigate later,’ and to take care.

The Gloomy Shadow Underworld, a plane without day or night transitions, was always enveloped in a gray gloom, which could easily lead to a loss of the sense of time. Apart from Lancelot, the other four team members took turns keeping watch (three slept in the tent, little Isha slept in Lancelot’s Dimensional Bag), while Lancelot, meditating by the campfire, stayed alert to the surroundings with a hint of Divine Sense.

Lancelot’s formation perhaps indeed had an effect; they spent seven hours safely, with everyone getting adequate rest. Kalalin and Alamir spent an hour preparing spells or praying to their respective goddesses, even little Isha mimicked them whispering in a corner, and Bruto, who was on the last watch, crawled back into the tent for some more sleep.

When they set off again, everyone was in their best condition, although everyone seemed to be in a bit of a mood, all mentioning that although they couldn’t recall the details, the oppressive atmosphere from their dreams still lingered in their minds.

They rode for another hour and a half, experienced two low-intensity encounters, and finally arrived at their destination. But as Lancelot had anticipated, the witches had already left; only a stone circle, identical to the one seen in the prophecy magic, proved they hadn’t misplaced their search.

"What do we do next?" Bruto looked discontented at the others, "Kalalin, should we try that spell again? This time I can get you more blood..."

"No need," Kalalin shook his head, "Three witches are not creatures you encounter just anywhere; they must have some sort of base nearby. Let me find someone to ask..."