Chess Mage of Faerûn

Chapter 192 Woodland Council

Secretly, he made the little deer, which was turning its head to look around, turn to look at the other party who was being very attentive, and even smiled and nodded, which made Bransana's face turn a little red with excitement.

The mage, who found it somewhat amusing, was also a little disheartened. This feeling of bullying an honest person wasn't exactly exciting, but then he thought of Münster in his party... hmmm
Presumably taking into account the difference in height and leg length between the antelope and the dwarf half-human, the entrance to the council chamber was a ramp instead of steps.

Two very strong-looking half-antelope stood on either side of the entrance. After Bransana stepped forward and negotiated for a while, one of them looked at Zhang Yuan and said in Elvish, seriously but politely:

"Welcome to the Misty Woods, traveler from afar, but please respect the rules here."

Then he looked at the deer, his expression and tone much gentler this time: "Welcome to our distant people. Feel free to ask me any questions you may have."

Upon hearing this, Bransana, with a thud of his hooves, stepped between the deer and the guard, patting his chest:
"Don't worry, I've explained all the rules. I'll help them with any problems they may have."

Another, more mature-looking half-antelope guard had already opened the gate, looking somewhat helplessly at his two kinsmen while gesturing for the group of visitors to come in.

As Bransana led everyone inside, he kept glancing back at the guard with a suspicious look, which made the guard roll his eyes.

The council chamber was well-lit and bright, with no chairs or benches, and no luxurious decorations. There was only a round table in the center of a circular depression, surrounded by tree stumps, presumably for use as benches.

There weren't many people inside, just a few elderly half-antelopes and dwarfs chatting and joking around. It was just a village, after all, and there weren't many things to discuss in meetings on a regular basis.

Bransana led his group straight to an elderly half-antelope man with a long, white beard. Well, if his body were painted blue, he would look no different from an old deer suffering from torment.

Old Deer was dozing off at this moment. It was early in the morning, and perhaps because he hadn't slept well last night, his head was bobbing up and down, and he was smacking his lips from time to time.

They must be old acquaintances; calling out twice yielded no response, but a faint snoring sound did come in reply. Frustrated, Bransana grabbed the other's slender, branch-like arm and began shaking it.
"Elder Sena, Elder Sena."

After a long while, the old, wooden-like man finally opened his sleepy eyes a crack, revealing a somewhat cloudy gaze:
"Stop shaking them, or my old bones will fall apart. Kid, are they the guests you brought this time?"

The elder's tone carried a hint of helplessness as he dealt with Bransana while slightly widening his eyes to observe the Canaanite group.

"Ok?"

The gaze that had initially been fleeting was now fixed on the deer. The sleepiness vanished instantly, leaving only a few dry, yellowish eye boogers stubbornly holding their ground.

"An outsider, a half-antelope? No, that can't be right?"

Elder Sena's previously relaxed demeanor suddenly tensed, and his gaze as he examined the fawn became increasingly serious: "This is not one of our kind. It does indeed look no different from others, even perfect, however!"

The elder then looked at Zhang Yuan, who was dressed as a mage: "Sir, could you explain why this creature, which looks like one of our people, shows no signs of life?"

Sena's tone was subtly impolite. The fact that the other party looked no different from his own people but was a lifeless and soulless shell gave him a very bad feeling, coupled with the fact that the other party was a spellcaster.

For a moment, terrifying thoughts like flesh golems and living puppets popped into his head, and Sena even prepared to forcibly keep the other person there. "I don't know how she got here. I only know that she is my summoned creature. She has her own thoughts and judgments, but she is not yet able to communicate normally with others."

Skipping over the key points, Zhang Yuan was quite frank and straightforward: "As for whether it is a product of so-called evil magic or spiritualism, I think you, as a member of the Chosen of Nature, certainly have your own judgment."

Yes, this unassuming old man was no ordinary person in the eyes of Zhang Yuan, who was also a spellcaster. Clearly, his knowledge and the aura he exuded were far beyond that of ordinary people. However, under the inspection of arcane vision, apart from the spiritual light emitted by a few magical items on his body, he was actually quite ordinary.

Even in Zhang Yuan's perception, the other party was standing right in front of him, yet he was no different from the grass and trees.

Perceptual suppression!

The idea popped into Zhang Yuan's mind: the other party must have gone quite far in the field of divine arts, and could even conceal and mislead people with arcane vision.

However, he had a clear conscience. Although the origin of his summoned creatures was hard to explain, there was nothing about them that could not be brought to light.

Indeed, that was the case. After carefully observing and examining the Enchantress, Sena's attitude softened considerably, aside from his initial amazement.

"Incredible. It is not a living being, yet it has its own intelligence and consciousness, and its body is not much different from ours. It can even grasp some of the power of nature. Could this be the legendary activation of a construct?"

No wonder he was so surprised. What normal construct would be so lifelike, yet not an undead creature created by necromancy?

However, even experts and high-ranking mages in this field might not be able to figure out this problem, and Elder Sena, who was completely unfamiliar with the field, could only guess.

Having confirmed that the other party had not done anything heinous, Sena was no longer as stern as before, and his tone held a hint of amusement:

"That's interesting. You must have come prepared with such a summoned creature, right? Look at this good-for-nothing little guy, he's completely bewitched."

Looking at her from the side, Bransana, still immersed in the conversation and unable to process it, was completely different from her previous lively self. She was practically ashen-white, and just one glance exuded a strong aura of a defeated dog.

However, the troubles of Bransana's teenage half-antelope were clearly not the elder's current concern. Zhang Yuan had just given him a sympathetic look when he saw Sena staring at him, waiting for a reply.

"Our squad was attacked by greenskins near Troll Mountain. After defeating them, we took down the trolls' lair."

Zhang Yuan methodically and selectively recounted the events of the initial attack and counter-attack to the other party. The fact that he had managed to defeat a medium-sized troll tribe with a two-headed troll leader and a Mara priest with such a small force made Sena look at him with new respect.

"After disrupting the Blackblood Beast King's sacrificial ritual, we obtained something very interesting."

After so much buildup, the mage has finally revealed his true intentions!

(End of this chapter)