'Who's trying to harm me—Delira, Jiandar, or the Traveler's Rest?'
Anser's mind raced as he rapidly reviewed everything he had done since entering the Traveler's Rest. He detected nothing unusual.
The Traveler's Badge had remained inside the dragonhide pouch the entire time. No one had touched it, nor had anyone had the chance to tamper with its internal teleportation coordinates.
The only person who had come into contact with him during that time was Delira, but with his level of control over magic, he hadn't sensed any fluctuations at all. The dice hadn't issued any warning either.
'There might be an ambush or traps.'
He stepped away from his spot, scanning his surroundings with vigilance.
This wooden dock was quite peculiar—half of it connected to land, while the other half extended into the void. It was equipped with numerous cranes, and people bustled back and forth, making it very lively.
The city itself wasn't large. It resembled a mountain city; looking out, the terrain gradually rose, and the buildings grew taller the higher one went.
Avoiding the crowds, he walked along the hard rock ground toward the noisy urban district. He wasn't attacked along the way, though occasionally someone would glance at him a bit longer than usual.
'There's a gravity plane, an atmosphere, and many different races…'
He silently observed his surroundings, concluding that he was likely on the outer edge of some Wildspace system.
Through the endless void, the Astral Plane could be faintly seen.
After walking several dozen meters, a district appeared ahead to his right, connected to a series of storage caves. At last, there was some color here. Around the low doorways were pots of strange plants, all carefully trimmed, and most of the residents coming and going were halflings.
Anser changed direction without hesitation and entered the district, activating Detect Evil and Good at the same time.
Halfling settlements were generally friendly—this would be a good place to lay low for a while.
As soon as he stepped into the street, several gazes fell upon him, mostly filled with caution and curiosity.
An elderly halfling who had been trimming some climbing flowers by his doorway stopped what he was doing and carefully examined Anser and Maeve for a moment before waving at them.
"Outsider, are you looking for someone?"
He spoke Common, with a slight accent, but it was easy to understand.
Anser relaxed slightly, immediately stopping and shrugging.
"I got lost. Not sure where I should go."
"Then you've come to the right place."
The halfling pointed his scissors at the faint carved words above the stone doorway.
"Burrow Tavern—the friendliest tavern in City of Bral. No one dares cause trouble here."
"If you don't have money, I can treat you to a mixed cheese hotpot. You can even sleep on a bench for a few nights—sooner or later, you'll catch a ship. Though, judging by how you look, you probably aren't short on coin."
Anser's heart jolted—he knew the City of Bral.
The City of Bral was built on a small asteroid in the Tears of Selûne of Realmspace. The asteroid itself was tiny, only a few kilometers long, far removed from Toril and surrounded by endless starlight.
It was said that the city had originally been founded as a refuge by a pirate captain named Bral. As it prospered, it gradually developed into a small kingdom and became an extremely important hub in Wildspace.
The good news was that Rock of Bral wasn't too far from home. With a spelljamming vessel, he could return to Toril relatively quickly.
"What's mixed cheese hotpot?" he asked, feigning curiosity, intending to gather information about the city first.
The odds of the Traveler's Badge malfunctioning were extremely low. If someone had tampered with it, they could most likely track his location. He needed to prepare as soon as possible.
"Haha, mixed cheese hotpot is a must-have during halfling festivals. Once you try it, you'll never forget it…"
The halfling stopped trimming the plants, pushed open the wooden door, and invited Anser inside.
Anser followed behind him. The doorway wasn't tall, but it wasn't low enough to bump his head.
Inside was a short flight of stairs leading downward. After walking for a dozen steps, they entered a fairly spacious tavern—bar counter, wine cabinets, barrels, long tables… The style was warm and cozy, though there weren't many people.
"No wonder it's called the Burrow Tavern—it's underground," Anser said with a smile.
At that moment, he felt extremely grateful for his extraordinary Charisma. Even if halflings were friendly, they would still be wary of strangers. Most people wouldn't be accepted this quickly.
"You don't know, do you? This whole place is called the Burrow District—we all live underground…"
The halfling went on at length.
"Oh, right. My name's Alton, owner of the Burrow Tavern. What's your name? Where are you from?"
Anser narrowed his eyes slightly and replied with a smile, "My name is Fabian. I'm from the continent of Faerûn."
"Oh? Quite a few people have been coming from Faerûn recently. I heard disasters have been happening there—true?"
Alton didn't seem too surprised. He gestured for Anser to sit at the bar and poured him a glass of wine.
"Yeah, things have been pretty chaotic lately."
Anser took the glass and gently swirled it. The rich aroma filled the air—full-bodied and complex—but his attention wasn't on the wine.
The dice rotated slightly and displayed a message:
[Alton, Halfling, Level 10 Rogue (Fey Wanderer)]
'A tavern owner with this kind of strength…'
He was secretly surprised.
Seeing that Anser didn't drink, Alton didn't mind. He poured himself a large mug of ale and gulped down a big mouthful.
"It's still early. Wait until evening—this place will be packed."
"I just arrived and would like to learn more about the city. Could you tell me about it?"
As he spoke, Anser took out a gem of decent quality from his Treasure Coin Pouch and placed it on the bar.
"No need to be so polite."
Alton laughed heartily, picked up the gem with his furry hand, examined it under the light for a moment, then slipped it into his pocket.
"You've come to the right person. I've lived here for decades…"
The city of Bral had a unique structure, divided into an upper and a lower section.
The upper section consisted of the Upper City, Middle City, and Lower City. The Upper City housed the royal palace, the starport palace, and the residences of nobles. The Middle City was the financial and commercial center. The Lower City was the common district, where the docks and the Burrow District were located.
The lower section was governed by a prince. Non-official personnel were not allowed to reside there, including the most important farmlands and the headquarters of the navy and army.
The permanent population of Bral City was only a few thousand, but every year, a large number of spelljamming ships and adventurers from various worlds passed through. Wealth flowed constantly—but so did chaos.
There were three magistrates in total, responsible for the Lower City, Middle City, and Upper City respectively. However, unless absolutely necessary, the guard forces would not deploy, nor would they patrol.
As Alton put it, everyone stuck together for warmth—self-policing, self-reliance, and minding their own business.
Anser listened carefully. The information was quite general, making it difficult to determine who might be targeting him.
"I'd like to find a safe and quiet room to meditate. Do you have any recommendations?"
He didn't want to wait passively. He wanted to enter Holrewen as soon as possible.
That extraplanar space was protected by divination magic—it should be able to block tracking and detection.
"I've got two empty rooms here. They used to belong to my son…"
Whether it was the gem or Anser's high Charisma, Alton quickly arranged a room for him, located beneath the tavern.
The room wasn't large, but once the door was closed, it was indeed very quiet.
Anser cast Arcane Lock and Alarm on the door, then took out the Rod of Security and teleported to the astrolabe ritual array beneath the black tower.
He closed his eyes and began meditating, examining himself. He detected no suspicious magical fluctuations or marks—which was normal, since the dice hadn't triggered any checks.
'It shouldn't be Delira… could it be that the golden gem from the Arcane Research Society is the problem?'
He took out the Traveler's Badge and reappraised it. Everything seemed normal.
Then he checked the batch of gems, the Robe of Stars, the arcane cannon, and the two Deck of Many Things cards. Aside from the cards only revealing a name, nothing seemed wrong.
'Meow… Some strange items can track a specific magic item they've come into contact with. The higher the item's grade, the easier it is to track. Then, when you teleport, they interfere through that connection…'
Maeve crouched beside him, analyzing seriously.
'Then it can only be these two Deck of Many Things cards. Could someone be using them as bait?'
Anser pondered.
At that moment, he sensed that the Alarm spell he had set had been broken.
Someone was forcibly destroying the door of the room in the Burrow Tavern.
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