Chapter 237. Guulrahn

With sandwiches and smoothies safely packed in his inventory, Michael stopped in front of the Waypoint to check his MAP and Quest interfaces.

'Based on what Lorath said, the location we should meet at today is the capital city that Elias messed up after they refused to hand over the governing rights. And with good reason... Letting that crazed AWOL Horadrim become responsible for the lives and deaths of thousands of people would be absolutely insane. Unfortunately for the 'upper echelon' of Guulrahn, their agreeing or not didn't change the end result.'

As expected, the Quest Area marked by the Sanctuary was still in the Dry Steppes but in a part yet to be explored by the Necromancer.

Without a better choice, he could only teleport to the closest location to this city, which was surprisingly Nostrava, and then ride on horseback from there.

Moving through the Frostbite Trails, he noticed that even in the mountainous area near Nostrava, snow was mostly gone.

It was already mid-April, and spring was almost here.

Since it was early in the morning still, he made it to The Forgotten Wastes by 8 a.m., crossing a huge wooden bridge overlooking a deep canyon. 

He stopped there for a full ten minutes to take in the beauty of the scenery until his horse got bored and began snorting at him while stomping with his right hoof on the ground.

"Okay, okay! Let's get moving, then. *Sigh* You've become more energetic after that R&R session at Under The Goose Inn..."

Patting the beautiful animal's mane, he saddled up and continued his ride, following the tracker placed on the MAP.

As soon as he reached the Foothills of Saraan, halfway to his destination, he immediately saw a plentitude of demons and undead swarming the desertified plains. Without a better choice, he summoned his minions and had them deal with the trash.

Among them, only the Opressor, a large winged demon towering even over his Quarterback, posed somewhat of a problem, mostly due to its size. Still, he simply cast Corpse Tendrils, Decrepify, and wrapped it up with Corpse Explosion before it could come any closer.

He later encountered an Elite Succubus performing some strange ritual on a captured local, but unfortunately, Michael was too late to save the man. 

Since that was the case, he could only avenge the poor person. The fight turned a bit too loud and drew in a large horde of demons from nearby, shocking the Necromancer.

A bit stumped, he unsummoned his mount and prepared for a long-ass struggle. It took him over an hour to clean up the incoming mobs, and he ended up with only two Rare item boxes as a reward and lots of gold coins.

After counting the gains, he realized he must've made around 30,000 just from this fight alone.

'I am almost at a million again—962,511, to be exact. After I am done with this Main Quest, I need to grind five 'small goals' and get myself a house. I can't keep crashing at Helen's place, or more weird stuff might happen—like last night. It's not that I mind, but it makes me feel like I'm living off my face alone.'

A bit confused and struggling not to smile after remembering the past night's events, he coughed to distract himself from remembering the alluring marshmallow and continued riding toward the Quest Marker.

Reaching the Trail of Bones, he found some caves hidden on the right side of the road, and the MAP actually showed a hidden Waypoint there, which he immediately went to investigate.

The cave was called the Hidden Overlook and it was soon that Michael found out why. He could see a large city below, most likely Guulrahn.

[Oh, she's gone. I can't believe it! Ahh, thought I had her tied up good to that tree!](?)

[*Sigh* Khenbish, you old fool. I'll go look around and see if she's around.](?)

Watching two men argue, he saw Lorath a bit further ahead, looking down at the city with a pondering expression on his face.

Curious about these few tens of people living in this cave, he approached the man who just lost his horse. 

'He's definitely talking about his horse, right? Right!?'

"Tied who to a tree?"

[Huh? Wanderer? Oh, right... *Sigh* I mean my horse. She's the only thing I have left. Or... had. My market stall. My wares. All of it lost in Guulrahn.](Khenbish)

"I'm sorry to hear that, and I hope your friend finds her. What exactly happened here? In Guulrahn?"

[Tyrant Brol and his damned cannibals. They stormed the city like wild animals. Guards never stood a chance.](Khenbish)

It wasn't new intel by any means, but it was always best to confirm the rumors with one of the locals rather than foolishly believing in what you hear from others.

Approaching Lorath, he saw the places he was looking at. On top of the tall buildings, strange things were placed as if decorating them.

Seeing the red color and squinting with curiosity, he immediately realized that it was bodies - bodies that were placed on wooden constructs, defiling the corpses even after their death.

It wasn't enough that most of them were missing limbs and organs, now, the dead would have to suffer the indignity of becoming food for the carrion.

Lorath stood in front of a ladder descending the high cliffs and dropping straight into the city infested by cannibals. Taking a deep breath to calm his mind, he approached the ex-Horadrim.

"I'm here."

[Good of you to come. Pity you didn't bring an army. Or siegeworks.](Lorath)

"You didn't say they were needed, or I might've worked something out."

[Right... You know the Wanderer Representatives. Still, it's better not to let this devolve into a full-blown war yet. Stealth might be a better approach.](Lorath)

"Is Elias here? Were you able to confirm it?"

[Mhm. Gone to the palace, no doubt. Behind the High Wall with the gates barred behind him. We can't get through.](Lorath)

[You know who can.](?)

Hearing the sound of the weapon sharpening behind them suddenly stop, Michael turned to find a woman glaring at Lorath.

The man also seemed exasperated after hearing her words.

[Enough, Zolaya.](Lorath)

[*Scoff* How many messages did I send, huh? How long has Oyuun been missing, trapped in there with those butchers? She may be the only one left who knows of the tunnel.](Zolaya)

Rolling his eyes while adding, 'Of course, she's the only one that knows of the tunnel' in his mind and raising a questioning eyebrow at Lorath, he saw him sigh and approach the woman.

[IF she's still alive. IF this tunnel exists at all.](Lorath)

[*Scoff* You don't trust me.](Zolaya)

[Of course not, you're a thief. Useful years ago, true, but it's clear you have some other reasons to seek this 'Oyuun.'](Lorath)

[Hmpf! None of your business.](Zolaya)

"Enough, Lorath. We do not have the time for this. Unless you prefer smashing the gates with an actual army and losing countless lives in the process, this sounds like the best alternative. Miss Zolaya, if I were to look for Oyuun, where would I start?"

Seeing Lorath snort but remain quiet and the ex-thief look at him in surprise, the Necromancer inwardly complained at the duo's poor acting skills.

It was obvious that they couldn't find Elias without this Oyuun, but neither wanted to go to the city below to search for her.

One was an old man capable of maybe some spells and taking on one to two cannibals in a direct fight, while the other appeared to be more of the scout type, capable of reconnaissance.

Therefore, it was best to use a 'disposable pawn' like himself for such a risky venture.

[She has a house in the Market Square. We were supposed to meet there before, but I couldn't get close...](Zolaya)

"Too many cannibals?"

[Yes.](Zolaya)

[Well, if you go, try to come back alive. There is still much more we must do.](Lorath)

Resisting the urge to give the man the middle finger, Michael simply nodded and prepared to descend the ladder after inspecting the ground below and making sure it was clear and safe.

It wasn't... a thick layer of smoke and dust covered the space above most of the city, making it impossible to see below the tall buildings.

[ Main Quest complete - Brought Low

Reward 1: 33,792 experience points

Reward 2: 2,600 gold coins. ]

[ Main Quest issued - The City of Blood and Dust

Objective: Enter Guulrahn and search for Oyuun

Description: Oyuun is the only person who knows the secret entrance into the palace where Elias is headed. You must find and rescue her. ]

Realizing the implied meaning of the Sanctuary, he sighed in relief, knowing that the woman he was looking for was still alive, even after the city was overtaken by the cannibals.

[I'm still not convinced this Oyuun is worth the risk, but perhaps you'll prove me wrong.](Lorath)

[Have a little faith for once, old man!](Zolaya)

Hearing the duo still bickering, Michael immediately descended the ladder, prepared to deal with the human-eating humans below rather than this annoying bunch.

Thanks to the 'fog' blanket below, he safely managed to descend. Unfortunately, just like others underneath couldn't see him, he couldn't see them either. 

Luckily for him, the place Lorath chose stopped on top of a house, from where he could take in the situation before moving forward.

'As expected of a city called 'capital' of the Dry Steppes. The quality of the buildings is not at all inferior to Kyovashad or Ked Bardu's. It's only the blood, fire, smoke, and 'decorations' that ruin the atmosphere. Now... do we go assassin mode or full Rambo on these little shits?'

Glancing at his inventory, he unequipped his shield and grabbed a dagger for his left hand.

[ Ritual Dagger of Elements

Legendary Dager

583 Item Power

-----------------

500 Damage per Second (+500 when compared to the currently equipped item)

* [334 - 500] Damage per Hit

* 1.20 Attacks per Second

* +11.5% Damage to Close Enemies

------------------

* +13% Damage to Distant Enemies

* +15% Damage to Injured Enemies

* +8.5% Ultimate Skill Damage 

* +4.5% Damage to Crowd-Controlled Enemies.

Legendary Aspect: Gain 23% increased damage to a set of damage types for 7 seconds. This effect alternates between two sets:

* Fire, Lightning, Physical

* Cold, Poison, and Shadow. ]

Deciding to have a bit of fun, Michael didn't summon his minions yet and began prowling on top of the house, surveying the area.

Fortunately, it was close to noon, and the city was filled with noise, so he should have a decent chance at sneaking about even with his clunky armor.

Hiding behind buildings in their shadows, through the bushes, next to the trees—it was a rather interesting experience. Unfortunately for the Necromancer, his Class had zero stealth-related skills and was immediately discovered.

[Intruder!](?)

[Get him!](?)

[Cut him to pieces!](?)

"..."

Annoyed, the Necromancer immediately summoned his minions and replaced the dagger with the shield.

The cannibals were split into two types by the Sanctuary. The first ones were Maniacs, while the second were Executioners. 

Maniacs were literal retards that ran head-first into his Reapers only to get cut to pieces, while the Executioners surprised him with their jumping ability.

They managed to vault over the defense line created by Quarterback and the Reapers, only to be greeted by an intense ice spells barrage from the Accountants.

"Well... Rambo-style it is, then."

Since stealth failed, go in guns blazing! After all, if nobody was left alive to recount the assassination, it was a successful mission!

Mentally reassuring himself, he continued searching for this Market Square. The Sanctuary deemed this location as a temporary Dungeon, therefore his MAP was no longer showing the entire city.

Still, he had no better alternative than to move through this place as if it were an actual Dungeon, inspecting every corner of it.

With the exception of two BloodHawk Elites - some flying-type monster birds - the rest were pitiful Minion-level mobs, which he easily cleaned up.

It took him fifteen minutes or so to find the Market Square, and when he did, he climbed up one of the buildings using a ladder next to it.

'Since the Sanctuary is pointing it out, then the woman should be somewhere up there. Hmm... makes sense on second thought. Since the ground level is filled with these idiotic cannibals, staying above ground might be safer.'

Moving between buildings and jumping from one to another made him feel as if he was playing Assasin's Creed but in real life.

His fun was interrupted by a woman screaming and running for dear life.

[No, no, don't let them get me!](?)

Seeing Michael, she bolted toward him at full speed, leading a group of five Executioners to his location.

Rolling his eyes at the woman, he had his minions deal with the trash as he approached the lady who had just stopped on the edge of the building as if preparing to jump off in case the Skeletons couldn't stop the enemies.

"They won't get you, don't worry. Since I saved you, how about you help me with something in return? Have you seen someone named Oyuun?"

[I... I don't know. The cannibals are rounding everyone up. Killing. Feasting. But a few, they drag away. The prisons, I heard.](?)

"Interesting. Why would these monsters keep anyone alive? The prisons, is it? Maybe there's a chance Oyun is still alive and kept there."

Pointing to the location where the ladder he used to climb down was, he had the woman return there alone.

Since he had cleared the buildings and roads already, there shouldn't be any danger to face. As for him, he couldn't waste another half an hour going back and forth.

The sooner he found this woman, the sooner they could locate Elias and deal with him.

Then, he could return to Kyovashad and lead a peaceful life surrounded by perky peaches and marshmallows.