Chess Mage of Faerûn

Chapter 432: Loyalty is Unspeakable
Nibel's Wrathful Punishment: He whips the mind of the victim, causing severe damage; the intense pain may even tear the soul apart and lead to death.

Such consequences are clearly not something a junior pastor can bear.

That's not all. The Silence Collar around Aeryma's neck was also slightly modified by Barath, gaining a small additional function.

"Silent Whisper Collar (Cursed Item)"

"Silence: The collar owner can activate this function at any time through incantation or silence, causing the wearer to lose the ability to speak and preventing them from casting spells."

"Suggestion: The wearer will be continuously influenced by suggestion, thus becoming obsessed with or ignoring a specific thing."

This is a great thing. If an ordinary person wears it, the implied effect is enough to turn the other person into a loyal dog.

However, since the target is a drow priest, the effect will inevitably be greatly reduced. Complete control is out of the question, but it can play a guiding role.

Old Master Zhang was quite cunning. After learning about the effects of this thing, he first signed a "labor" contract with Eirema, which mainly contained two points:

Firstly, the priestess, as the temporary representative of the Aberre family, entered into a cooperative relationship with Highcliff. The initial three years were designated as a trial period for cooperation, during which Eerima was prohibited from causing harm to the interests and personnel of Highcliff.

Secondly, Eerima must accept the assignments and commands of the Highcliff Lords as the price for regaining his freedom three years later.

The contract wasn't complicated. Although the conditions seemed harsh, they were much better than a slave contract. And it was only for three years. They could grit their teeth and get through it. For the immortal race, it was like being bitten by a dog and having to stay in bed for a few days.

But things are not that simple. The so-called cooperation and the three-year period mentioned in these terms are just to reinforce their expectations and lay the groundwork for subsequent suggestive tactics.

The implied meaning is roughly as follows:
As the representative of the Highcliff, Eerima's primary task is to appease the Highcliff Lord in order to prepare for a possible escape, or to reach an agreement to secure tangible benefits for the family. Viconia is merely an insignificant secondary target and should not be allowed to affect the overall plan.

Such thinking may seem absurd, but it has its own logic. However, this logic has great limitations, just like getting stuck in a rut and finding it difficult to see things from a different perspective.

This is precisely the function of suggestion. It is not like commanding magic, which forces the other party's will, nor like bewitching magic, which manipulates thoughts. Instead, it subtly and gradually distorts the mind.

What should be done when the contract, which serves as the basis for this rhetoric and mental prison, has to be fulfilled three years later?
By then, Eerima, who has been away from her family for several years, will likely have been forgotten and marginalized as a dead person, and it will be a pipe dream for her to try to climb into the core of power through so-called cooperation.

It was all just a facade. The Drow priestess, who was nominally a partner but in reality a tool, had no reason to expect the High Cliff Lord to be her political capital.

Unless his power as Master Zhang makes a leap forward and he wants to further seize the rich resources of the Underdark, he might use his identity as Eirimar to act. If that happens, it's not impossible for him to slip some things through his fingers as a reward.

And now? The finally transformed Taebien and Eirima have been reorganized into the foreign intelligence agency under the leadership of Viconia, whose function is similar to the CIA in the previous life, stirring up trouble and causing chaos on other people's turf.

Regarding the name of the organization, Viconia suggested names such as Dark Night Dagger and Shadow Hand, but they were all rejected by Master Zhang.

Given that most members of the organization, including even its leader Viconia himself, were more or less bound by the oath spell, the mage lord ultimately bestowed upon him the title of unwavering loyalty:
Those who cherish words.

Regardless of what kind of waves this organization will stir up in the Northlands, the Sword Coast, and Faerûn in the future, the Word Bearers, who currently have no overseas missions, have taken on their first glorious task: scouting.

The Word Bearers who went to High Cliff Castle worked together with several chess pieces sent by the mage to basically wipe out all the monsters that roamed the castle, leaving only the last one lurking in the underground ritual hall.

"The forces within the castle are mainly undead creatures, with skeletons, zombies, and other physical undead being the majority, as well as shadow creatures and ghosts wandering among them, but they are all minor characters. The source of the trouble should be that being in the underground hall."

"Its perception ability is quite extraordinary. Almost as soon as we stepped into the underground level, we were besieged by many shadows and soul-binding creatures. There were even high-level shadows and soul-binding creatures mixed in. We didn't last long before we had to retreat. Fortunately, most of them didn't seem to want to leave that hall."

"However, I always feel a sense of familiarity and closeness, which seems to be related to the powers of Lady Mystic Night."

Viconia
"So you came back without even figuring out the most crucial part? If it's just about clearing out the perimeter, I don't think there's any need to set up a separate organization. Mercenaries and adventurers would be just as happy to take on this kind of mission."

Nancy didn't mince words in her criticism. The female thief had a natural aversion to this newly established intelligence agency, which was completely independent of the existing team, and a dissatisfaction that was difficult to express.

Although it was said that the direct lord was specifically responsible for taking action against external forces, everyone knew the reputation of the drow. Allowing them to form an almost independent team caused some doubts among the other people in the territory who knew about it. However, since the mage had already made the decision, it was inconvenient to express their opposition directly.

Nancy didn't have many scruples, especially when she saw the two female drow who were the leaders giving their reports while their eyes were brimming with flirtatious glances, almost as if they were flirting with Zhang Da Guanren and inviting him to drink some sweet soup. She became even angrier.

"Don't get agitated, I was the one who ordered them to retreat."

The mage spoke, gesturing for Viconia and Eirima, those two still playing with fire, to step back.

"Dealing with that being in the underground hall is still too much for the current Word Bearers, and even if they defeat it, it won't solve the problem."

The joint team sent by the temple and the Wudong Academy was the one that quelled the Gaoyabao Incident back then. The relevant archives kept by the academy had long been retrieved and thoroughly examined by Master Zhang, who was planning this matter, and the situation was not optimistic.

The fact that the hidden dangers of Gaoyabao have persisted for many years and remain in a state of urgent need for resolution has its reasons. If it were as simple and brutal as in the game, issuing a clearing mission, offering a hefty reward, attracting a few adventure teams to rush into the dungeon and kill, and everything would be fine...

Why would the allied forces, with their complete strength, leave this calamity until today?
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(End of this chapter)