Chess Mage of Faerûn

Chapter 205 Drinking water at the stream, it seems to be the old homeland; the wind and clouds change color, as if a god were displaying his power.
"Hey boss, I remember there's a small river up ahead, we can hear the water. Why don't we rest by the river for lunch?"

Kegan’s loud voice came from the carriage behind them. Zhang Yuan, who had no objections, instructed Münster to move aside to the left and gestured for Kegan to lead the way.

"Huh~ cool!"

After taking a hearty drink from the river, Kegan shook the water droplets off his beard, feeling extremely content.

Having tasted the clear, sweet water earlier, Zhang Yuan nodded in agreement, and at the same time took out his water pouch and filled it one by one.

The water quality of this small river, which was only slightly larger than a stream, was surprisingly good, far superior to the pure water from the water elemental realm that they drank daily.

"This river looks small, but it's sweet water flowing from a mountain spring in the distant forest."

The dwarf brother, who was talking about this, pointed eastward with his hand. Zhang Yuan looked in that direction and saw a lush, green landscape, unlike the empty wilderness on the west side of the road.

Its appearance is somewhat similar to the Misty Forest, with dense trees and vines, and thin mist can be seen floating in the depths of the forest. The small river in front of you flows out from there and flows westward into the sea.

“The forest is called the Vision Forest, and the river originates from this woodland in front of us and is called the Adip River.” Kegan’s voice came from beside him: “This forest is not a safe place, boss. Let’s rest and then we’ll get going.”

Zhang Yuan nodded, packed up his water pouch, took out some dry rations and snacks, ate with his teammates, then turned and led the team away without looking back.

The monk had no personal experience or understanding of the woods ahead, but he still had a considerable amount of knowledge about it theoretically.

As Kagan said, it is by no means a good place!
This forest is also known as the Addip Forest by its inhabitants, the moon elves. It must be emphasized that Addip and the Addip Forest are not the same thing.

This story begins with the history of the elves in the Sword Coast. The most well-known elven kingdom ruins are the ruins of Ilfaran, which are adjacent to Neverwinter in the Northlands and are also the birthplace of the Shadow King.

In the ancient elven era, the moon elves also established their kingdom of Addip in this area. At that time, Addip was not just a small patch of woodland as it is today; it extended from the Krypt Garden Forest in the north to the Troll Mountains in the south, encompassing almost the entire central region of the Sword Coast.

However, these long-eared people went completely mad in that incredibly brutal civil war—the War of the Crown. They even cracked the continental shelf, let alone a single country.

The exact circumstances of that time are difficult to verify, but one of the remnants of that war is that the once vast forest that once dominated Sword Bay has been transformed into several large and small woodlands, such as the Adip Forest and the Misty Forest.

As the former Royal Dome of Adip, now the location of the Deep Moon Cave, it naturally inherited the name of Adip. Within this region, various ancient ruins are found, including the old palace, mage relics, desolate fortresses, and even the rumored passage to the Underdark.

Adding to the matter that Galas had casually mentioned earlier, the distant forest in front of them seemed tranquil and peaceful, but in reality, it was shrouded in shadows. Zhang Yuan really had no interest in joining in the fun.

Having made up their minds, the Canaanite squad did not linger. After a short rest, they set off again, crossing the Adip River and heading towards Waterdeep, which was not far away.

The monk sitting in the car did not engage in his usual reading or meditation, nor could he. As they drew closer to the legendary city, the atmosphere in the carriage grew increasingly enthusiastic.

Nancy and Kagan, well-traveled and having even been to Water Deep, were naturally quite talkative, endlessly boasting about their experiences and observations. It was hard to tell how much of it was true and how much was just nonsense. Zhang Yuan listened silently to his teammates' conversation, recalling what he knew about Water Deep. Time slipped away quietly in this noisy yet tranquil atmosphere.

As the sun began to set and the evening glow painted the sky red, the Canaan group, seeing an inn not far ahead, prepared to rest and regroup before ending their day's journey.

Crack! Boom! A thunderclap erupted from the ground!
The clear evening sky, which was originally covered with rosy clouds and shimmering with gold, was almost instantly covered with dark clouds. The dark clouds, which looked like mountains collapsing and hanging down to the sky, were filled with intertwined streaks of lightning that constantly burst forth with dazzling light.

A short while later, the thunderclouds, which had been gathering power, poured down like a celestial river, and the thunder pool was upside down. Hundreds or even thousands of bolts of lightning descended from the clouds, like the spear in the hand of the Lord of Storms, piercing straight into the ground, heading directly towards the Adip Forest!

Lightning flashed and thunder roared, like dragons and snakes rising from the land;
The wind howled, like the breath of a god.

Just moments ago, the twilight was peaceful and serene, but now it felt as if a natural disaster had struck and divine punishment had arrived.

Lightning ripped across the sky, its incandescent trail illuminating the gloomy sky beneath the dark clouds in an instant. Occasionally, fires would blaze in the woods, presumably from trees struck by lightning.

It was autumn, and the endless withered branches and fallen leaves were swept up by the storm, howling and swirling above the distant forest, reflecting the flashes of lightning, revealing a scene of impending doom.

"Why did the weather suddenly change? This thunderstorm doesn't look like normal weather."

Kegan stood on his seat, gazing out at the forest, and muttered to himself.

Kegan wasn't the only one puzzled by this obviously abnormal celestial phenomenon; all the Canaan team members with some knowledge wore solemn expressions on their faces when they saw this.

"Don't overthink it, let's keep going and talk about it when we get to the inn."

Zhang Yuan's voice pulled everyone out of their shock and awe at the scene. Although they still chatted occasionally, they were no longer as distraught as before.

However, the mage was not as nonchalant as he appeared; in fact, he was even more shocked than his teammates.

With his exceptional vision and having already reached the intermediate level of spellcaster, Zhang Yuan saw not only the overwhelming aura of dark clouds pressing down on the city and threatening to destroy it, but also the deep, boundless flow and gathering of energy that even caused some pressure and distortion to the magic network in this area.

In addition, Zhang Yuan sensed something interesting.

The extraordinary power capable of creating this scene is considerable. This thundercloud, which looms over the distant forest, seems to be mobilizing the power of this realm through natural divine magic, rather than directly expending divine power to condense lightning like the Chosen Ones of Talos.

To reach this level of divine magic, one must be at least a legendary druid or one of the chosen people of nature.

How could such a coincidence happen in the world?
The moment that old geezer Garas said he was going to Farview Forest, a great druid suddenly appeared, wielding immense power.
Is this how the old man got his nickname "Wrath of the Heavens"?

(End of this chapter)