Chess Mage of Faerûn

Chapter 263 Now, please welcome our lucky guest.
The table was covered with sheets of paper detailing the various gangs in Luskan, and scrutinizing eyes scanned them back and forth, waiting to see which gang would be the lucky one to gain the help of these brilliant minds.

Excluding the Bloodsail Gang, there are four more gangs left, and then the infamous "Rat Gang" is eliminated.

This gang, led by Captain Balam, engaged in far more than just piracy, plunder, or extortion.

As one of the five captains, Balram was the oldest of the five senior captains when he joined the Luscan City Council, which was established in DR1361, and was nicknamed "Merciful Balram".

This is interesting. The five captains were not chosen based on votes, but on their abilities and value—the value in the eyes of those mage masters.

Although the five captains, including Balam, were all notorious pirates and high-level professionals, the blood on their hands could probably stain the sea red.

Since one is to pledge allegiance to someone as a figurehead but actually a henchman, one must sacrifice certain things.

Balam suffered particularly heavy losses.

Rumors circulated that Balam's henchmen were mostly half-human, half-rat spirits, which is the origin of the name "Rat Gang."

Even more extreme, some claimed with certainty that they had witnessed large numbers of undead roaming in the rat gang's lair.

Hmm, merciful...

Based on Zhang Yuan's own knowledge and the intelligence at hand, these rumors were by no means unfounded. The shadow cast on this chaotic land by the experiments on beastmen and the sorcery of spirit communication had probably never dissipated.

Think about it, who is the leader of the beastmen?

It's Mara!
Who is Vesalon?
The Lich God!

No matter what, Zhang Yuan didn't want to get involved in this mess.

The remaining three options are actually quite clear. First of all, Risno is not someone to be trifled with. He is powerful and has almost stepped into the threshold of becoming a great warrior. He is on par with Kurze in terms of strength, even though he is distracted by his part-time job as a thief.

What's even more frightening is that Risno is said to be a member of the Kraken Society, an evil organization lurking in the northern Sword Coast that remains largely hidden, like an iceberg with only a small part showing.

This is the scene where the harpist and his allies clash and are defeated.

As for Tyre, he was a great warrior, Luscan's public face, and the first pirate to be selected as a senior member of the city council. He was usually inconspicuous but held a very high position.

That leaves only Suyak.

Captains Suak and Risno are cousins, so many people scornfully claim that he rose to his position through connections, as his strength, barely reaching the level of a high-level professional, is hardly convincing.

Not to mention that it's a Wanderer serial number that isn't known for its combat prowess.

"Isn't a leader's personal ability necessarily equivalent to the gang's power?" Lawrence objected. "As far as I know, there are quite a few people who are individually powerful but have made a mess of their organizations, and vice versa."

“You’re right, but based on the information we have, the other four captains have been working in Luskan for a long time and have deep roots. The committee established a few years ago was just to put them in the spotlight.” Zhang Yuan recounted the political upheavals in Luskan over the past few years and finally pointed out the key issue.

"The current administration of Luskan is based on the committee established three years ago, but in the final analysis it is actually a reshuffling and unification of the pirates' own power. Suak's power is already inferior to the other four, and he is limited by his strength and lacks appeal."

The monk chuckled mischievously, "So this guy may look like he's one of the top five captains, living a life of great prestige, but in reality, he's sitting on a hot rock, feeling restless and uneasy."

“Kulze and Balam have been eyeing his territory quite a bit. If it weren’t for Risno’s reaction, it might be a battle for the Four Emperors right now.” “Then we can take this opportunity to sneak in, but how should we explain our background?” Nancy asked, her delight mixed with a hint of unease.

"be honest."

"Huh?" The female thief clearly hadn't expected this answer.

"That's strange. Baldur's Gate was established by the legendary pirate Baldur's Gate, and it had at least some overt diplomatic and trade relations with Luskan. As for their identities..."

As he spoke, Zhang Yuan pulled out a badge from his pocket: "Look what this is."

His teammates, who were from the Flame Fist faction, recognized him immediately.

"Seven Suns Alliance!!"

When you're navigating the world of martial arts, you can't be without an alias.

Zhang Yuan prepared several different versions of documents just for proving he was a spellcaster, and they were all genuine.

They went to Naxikai under the name of the Seven Suns, and afterwards he kept a set of documents and badges. Then he had several coats of arms made to imitate his designs. Who would dare to say that they were not from the Seven Suns Merchant Alliance?

Without further ado, Zhang Yuan tore out some robes and strips of cloth and, with the help of the experienced Lawrence, used magic tricks and dyes to carefully draw the heraldic pattern on them.

Finally, two ladies took the lead, and after some modifications and weaving, a batch of counterfeit clothing was freshly produced.

Thanks to the monk, the few days of sailing did not bring any fatigue or exhaustion. Dressed in these clothes and costumes, the group of outsiders wearing seven-sun vests swaggered back onto the streets of Luskan.

Their hotel was located in the northern part of Luscany, right next to the Mirar River and the market area.

In a similar way, just like Neverwinter, Luskan is also bisected by a river, the Mirar River, which divides Luskan into two districts, north and south.

The most bustling streets, real estate from all walks of life, commercial hotels and other businesses are clustered in the South District, which is also much larger than the North District, several times larger.

The northern area is mostly factories or gang strongholds, with few residents and businesses settling there.

The City Council is located in the southeast corner of the South District. This high-ranking captains' council building has white walls and red tiles, and its overall design is somewhat similar to the European royal palace of my previous life, only much smaller in scale.

Ironically, while almost the entire city was rife with chaos and disorder, a rare order and peace emerged only in the very heart of this region, the core of Luscan's vortex and the source of the chaos.

In fact, many businessmen had already seen this and moved in to buy property. The area surrounding the parliament building is full of shops and trading posts, making it a true prime location in Luscan.

Starting from the Parliament building, they traveled west along Half Moon Avenue to the dock where they landed, a place called Dragon Coast.

To the north of the dock lies the mouth of the Mirar River, a funnel-shaped area dotted with several islands. The two largest islands are connected to the southern area by bridges, but are under martial law and locked down year-round, preventing ordinary people from approaching.

The island is dotted with several tall towers and even a college. This is the arcane district of Luskan, the residence of the city's true master.

(End of this chapter)