Equipment Printing School Mage

"What is this?" Aimiya asked.

Mars lowered his voice: "...This is the holy emblem."

"The holy symbol of Baal, the god of murder."

Now, this matter has nothing to do with them anymore.

In today's Faerûn, the Sons of Bhaal no longer represent a group of people, but only one person.

Apodel Adrian.

Ten Flame Fist (I)

Despite this, Emilia still had no intention of covering up the matter.

If Apodel Adrian were someone else, he might have to avoid suspicion for at least a period of time - but he was a paladin.

Paladins often face a vast array of demanding tenets. Even beyond this baseline, many still adhere to even more stringent requirements. Therefore, many paladins' lives are essentially a tightrope walk on the edge of breaking their oaths.

...Although if you ask Emilia, Mars is obviously one of those rare crazy tightrope walkers. Although he never does anything that crosses the line, because he doesn't demand extra of himself in many areas, he actually seems to be incompatible with the traditional image of a paladin - but no matter what, he has never done anything to break his oath.

In this case, the identity of a paladin itself is the biggest pass - before the paladin breaks his oath, even the evil god would only dare to say that the paladin is duplicity and self-deception, and would never dare to say that the paladin is hypocritical.

Paladins must practice what they preach; this is a requirement of their profession and also their honor.

As long as they are still holy knights, all slanders are tricks that can be seen through at a glance - and it is precisely because of this that those involved are quite indignant about the exile that Apodel suffered in the past: there was no rationality in that private exile, it was just the arbitrariness of power.

Mars saw the holy emblem and didn't even think about doubting his teacher. He sneered and said, "A hundred years ago, Rita, the president of the Iron Throne of the Armed Chamber of Commerce, held a secret meeting in Candlekeep. The meeting was so secret that even Candlekeep was not informed. However, because of this, he did not receive the full protection of Candlekeep—and therefore died in Candlekeep."

"Strangely, everyone present unanimously accused a swordsman from Candlekeep of assassinating Rita. At the time, the Evangelical sect in Candlekeep hoped to use this incident to expand Candlekeep's influence, so they fully supported the accusation and took the initiative to help search for evidence."

"Although a large amount of evidence contradicted each other, some clearly pointed to the defendant, while others proved that he was completely absent. However, the Evangelicals, eager to gain merit, chose to continue the accusation. Unfortunately, the defendant publicly revealed his identity as a paladin for the first time at the trial inside Candlekeep, and thus won the trial without a fight. Candlekeep was not crazy enough to accuse a Mystra paladin of murder - and the Evangelicals' reputation was ruined because of this, and they have never recovered from it in Candlekeep."

Mars said coldly, "This incident was directly listed by Candlekeep as the greatest disgrace in its history. They also began to prioritize the accuracy of information and acted more conservatively."

Naturally, the defendant in that trial was Apodel Adrian, son of Baal.

Emiya hesitated for a moment, then whispered, "I don't think this is a frame-up. Framing a paladin is foolish. Judging from their methods, I don't think the mastermind is stupid. I think this is a notification... or a show-off?"

The question is, who to notify.

Could this matter be concealed? Even putting aside the still-unknown identity of the deceased, Emilia didn't think it could be concealed. All Gutenberg wanted to do was suppress the connection with the Gund Church.

It was almost inevitable that this matter would spread in Baldur's Gate, and Lady Adrian would almost certainly know about it sooner or later, and she would certainly inform Apodel of it.

If this is what the planners wanted, then Apodale may have hidden his identity, but there are still enemies waiting in the wings.

If that's the case, it's strange that the enemy would reveal the reason for their existence.

There are so many clues, but there are still too few.

Emiya shook her head and walked to Yin's side first: "Can you preserve the state of the corpse for a while?"

Yin looked frustrated and muttered, "These odd jobs are all I can do now anyway. If I could retain even one out of a hundred of my memory and spellcasting abilities, you wouldn't have to boss me around."

Although the power of time is irreplaceable even if there is only one of it in a hundred miles.

Yin didn't even need to recite any spells when casting the spell. He just waved his hand slightly towards the body of the deceased, and even the drying and oxidation process of the blood stopped silently.

The two Flame Fist soldiers didn't react much - it seemed that there were powerful mages among the Flame Fist, and they had seen many miracles in their daily lives.

The somewhat portly Flaming Fist soldier had now recovered somewhat from his panic. He shook off the cold sweat from his forehead and muttered softly, "No matter what, this kind of thing can't be concealed. My entire family is in Baldur's Gate and has never been far away. There's nowhere to escape. So, we can only report it according to the procedure."

"I'm new here. Is the Flame Fist procedure a secret?" asked Emilia.

The two soldiers replied, "...We're not told it's confidential, but we generally don't tell anyone about it, and of course, no one's interested. If you want to hear it, there's no harm in sharing it. Anyway, the deputy commander's methods are indeed useful, but they're also troublesome—and they're also really expensive. We feel bad about spending public money."

"Deputy Head?"

"A mage." The portly soldier glanced around the hall, trying to find a container to store the corpse, and casually said, "We Flaming Fist always have two deputy leaders. One is a warrior, often a popular candidate for the next leader. The other is almost always a mage. It's been like this for over a hundred years. The current deputy leader is particularly powerful. I don't know what connections the old leader had, but he pulled a famous mage from Waterdeep to be the deputy leader of the Flaming Fist. His name is Ai... Ai... Oh my god, these names of nobles are so hard to pronounce!"

"Elios de Carcorros," his companion reminded.

"Who cares? I'll just call him Deputy Commander anyway! After he arrives, he'll be in charge of all matters concerning the mages and priests in the Flame Fist. For murders like this, especially those where... the head is still there, he demands we drag the body back to Wangyang Tower headquarters promptly," the portly soldier said. "Even though I don't know what happened there, he's said to be pretty accurate."

Hearing this, Emiya narrowed her eyes. "...So, as long as someone dies, they'll be brought back to headquarters?"

"That's not the case. But this is clearly a murder. Just take it back to headquarters."

It was obvious from the description that the deputy commander intended to have the priest solve the problem by talking to corpses - but for ordinary soldiers, it was not necessary knowledge to know which spells the spellcaster could cast.

"...making talking to corpses a routine procedure," Mars whispered. "It's theoretically feasible. But in practice, it requires a lot of coordination skills—the relationship between mages and priests isn't exactly good. Furthermore, the cost of having a priest talk to a corpse once might be more than the deceased earned in his lifetime."

Although Mars deliberately controlled the volume, the two still heard some of his words -

At the mention of money, the two men jumped up. "Everyone! I have a few things to make clear. The perimeter of Wangyang Fort is open to outsiders. But there's one thing: don't mention money there, or no one will treat you well!"

Emiya was stunned for a moment: "...Flame Fist prohibits bribery?"

"Oh, of course it's forbidden on paper, but that has little to do with this. We can't go into details, but in short, don't even mention the word money! No one wants to hear that right now! If everyone else gets mad, it won't be enough for just the two of us to talk!"

Author's Note: I'm sorry, I've been so busy these past two days. I've been up so late, I had to finish writing the extra content and go to bed, and then I'll update when I wake up.

Eleven Flame Fists (Part 2) Prying Eyes

In this world, it's common for people to have some taboos, but not being allowed to talk about money is unheard of.

After searching for a long time, they couldn't find a body bag. In the end, Emilia secretly used her magical skills to dismantle the heavy clothes on the deceased into a body bag, and finally put the body into the container.

It was night now, and the streets of Baldur's Gate were quiet.

But at this time, they were walking on the street with corpses... It was inevitable that people felt uncomfortable - as if they were really murderers.

As its name suggests, the Ocean Tower is located on the edge of the Lower City, built at the end of one end of Baldur's Gate Harbor. The towering building can overlook all the ports in and out of Baldur's Gate.

It's quite curious that the Flame Fist's two main fortresses, Feilong Rock and Wangyang Tower, are both built on a small island in the center of the water, connected to the outside world by bridges—except that Wangyang Tower is actually on the edge of the city, making it much easier to screen people coming and going.

The streets were quiet, but the lower town was a different story. Along the way, the lights in the taverns remained on all night long—which was understandable, as Baldur's Gate was a port city after all. Even though the Flaming Fist had once dared to strictly inspect visitors, they still didn't have the courage to outright ban ships from entering the port.

The port only exists in the lower city - so no matter how strict the inspection in the outer city is, the sailors are free in the lower city.

Sailors rarely sailed at night, so naturally, night was the time for them to indulge in song and drunkenness. Theoretically, the Ocean Tower was one of the most feared places in all of Baldur's Gate, but after a drunkard had forgotten his own name, why would he care?

Therefore, the biggest conflict they encountered along the way was just quarreling with those drunkards.

The worst of all happened when an entire merchant ship's crew gathered in a tavern. One sailor emerged drunk, and the already preoccupied Flaming Fist soldiers couldn't help but curse back. The rhetoric was so vulgar, sharp, and connected that it truly opened the eyes of the sailors, who rarely ventured ashore.

The drunken sailor didn't even scold the two Flaming Fist soldiers who led the way. Instead, he stumbled back to the tavern and called for help. In an instant, the clamor from inside the tavern spread out into the street. If they hadn't quickened their pace, they would have disappeared long ago. Emiya might have been forced to use magic to resolve the conflict.

Finally, after turning left once along the street, they reached the coastal part of Baldur's Gate.

Sword Coast, Sword Coast. This, of course, refers to the western coast of Faerûn, bordering the Sword Sea. At the harbor of Baldur's Gate, the roar of the Sword Sea's waves finally drowns out the nighttime clamor of the city.

However, to Emilia's surprise, the intersection in front of Wangyang Tower was much narrower than his - on such a night, there were actually two other people walking towards him.

To be more precise, two children.

When they arrived at the fortress of the Sea of ​​​​Wanyang, the two children happened to be tiptoeing out of the bridge connecting the Sea of ​​​​Wanyang with the lower city of Baldur's Gate. The design of the Sea of ​​​​Wanyang's bridge was completely based on strategic considerations, and there was no cover on it. As a result, the two children were caught red-handed.

One was a human, a boy, and the other was a red-skinned tiefling—presumably a girl.

When the two Flame Fist soldiers saw the two figures from the lanterns on their waists, they could hardly believe their eyes. They could no longer care about their own safety, and their professional instincts as Flame Fists made them immediately alert.

They both waved their hands back, signaling for silence. After they had slightly distracted the two children, they immediately shouted, "You two little brats in front! Stop! Who told you to come here?"

In the silent night, two thunderous roars like thunderbolts from the blue sky frightened the two children who were still looking around, and they almost fell to the ground. However, they reacted immediately.

The little boy immediately picked up a stone and threw it at the portly soldier in the lead, making a dull thud on his chainmail. He then gave his companion a shove, pushing her in the other direction. "Kalak, hurry up! I'm here!"

It was clear that these two little guys were exceptionally skilled. The little tiefling girl didn't hesitate at all, turning around and running toward the side of the street. The little boy simply rushed towards them, yelling.

"..." Emilia hesitated for a moment, stretched out her hand, and waved in the direction of the little girl. A tiny fireball whizzed out like an arrow, hitting the path that the little girl had to pass, creating a small pit and instantly turning the weeds on it into a ball of charcoal.

Although there is some suspicion of bullying children, the actions of these two children are indeed a bit suspicious.

"Stop!" Emilia shouted, "or this spell might fall on you!"

This basic intimidation obviously couldn't scare her. She hesitated for a moment, then changed direction and tried to escape again.

However, just as she turned around, the second fireball narrowly missed her feet.

This time, the flaming arrow was really only inches away from her.

"If you don't stop, I'll have to suspect you have some secret!" Emilia's voice became even louder. "Think about it carefully!"

While the little girl named Kalak was still hesitating, Mars rushed up behind her with the sound of armor clashing. This guy, who was not burdened by the image of a paladin in his daily life, picked the little girl up without any hesitation and said in a muffled voice, "If you want to bite me, go ahead, but be careful not to bite your teeth off."

On the other side, the little boy ran headfirst into the main force - although the two Flame Fist soldiers' physiques could not be compared with Mars, it would be ridiculous if two fully armed strong men were injured by a little boy who was almost a beggar.

The two children were lifted up in their hands, and they gave up struggling. The little girl said nothing, and the little boy simply took the initiative: "Fellow Flame Fist masters, are we going to be imprisoned just for strolling around Wangyang Tower? What crime?"

The fat soldier was stunned for a moment, then said angrily, "This side of Wangyang Tower is a forbidden area. No outsiders are allowed to enter!"

The little boy rolled his eyes and said immediately, "What are you talking about? Although Wangyang Tower is located in a remote area, there are still people living nearby. We just wandered onto the bridge in the middle of the night. The gatekeeper yelled at us, and we knew we were in trouble. We were about to run home when we were caught by you gentlemen. That's what happened."

Some skinny soldiers sneered, "Schwartz, this guy doesn't even look half your age, but his ability to talk is several times better than yours."

"You're still making fun of me at this fucking hour!" The fat man named Schwartz's eyes widened. "You're talking lightly, you little brat. Okay, where do you live?"

The little boy rolled his eyes and replied, "My friend and I are from the Ilmat Church..."

Ilmater is the god of suffering, and is often the church of those in the city who find themselves in difficult circumstances. Naturally, because of this, the Church of Ilmater often raises orphans with nowhere else to live. This mission naturally makes the Church of Ilmater generally difficult to maintain.

The two children were from the Church of Ilmater, so on the surface there was naturally no problem.

The fat soldier hummed and asked, "Okay, what's your name?"

"Gotash."

However, this time Schwartz was furious. "You damned bastard! I'm from the Church of Ilmater in the Lower City, and I go back every year to visit. How come I've never heard of Gortash in all these years?! You can't be from the Church of the Suffering in the Outer City. If you did, there's no need to come all the way west and across Baldur's Gate. I'd say you're most likely from the Thieves Guild, right?"

The little boy was stunned for a moment, then chuckled. "I'm certainly not from the Church of Ilmater, but the second half of your sentence doesn't make any sense. You can just beat me up and throw me out on the street. The Thieves Guild won't come out to get me back anyway. I'll just disappear for a few days and then be back in front of you alive and kicking."

"your--"

Just as the fat soldier named Schwartz was furious, Emiya was pondering.

It was clear, though the wording might not be accurate, that this little boy was quite capable and shrewd, with wisdom beyond his years.

From another perspective, although he is not very old at the moment, his tender body may be the best cover for this child.

Well, it's better to think about it from a more despicable perspective.

It is straightforward to assume that Gotash and Kalak came to Wangyang Tower on purpose - were they trying to sneak into Wangyang Tower?

Thinking of this, Emilia whispered to her companion: [How are their skills?]

"I've had some training, but only a little. It's about the same for me." This was Mars's reply.

[They can't cast spells, and it seems they don't have the talent for it. Both of them are like that.] This is silver.

While not every Flame Fist soldier could tear a tiger or leopard apart with their bare hands, they were well-trained and experienced. Furthermore, since they were generally local tyrants, they were quite capable of serving as city guards.

It would be too ridiculous for such a pair of people to sneak into the Flame Fist headquarters.

Therefore, they almost certainly have other things to rely on.

...For example, an insider.

Emiya pondered for a moment, then whispered to the thinner soldier using the communication technique: "Excuse me, is Wangyang Tower really completely off-limits to outsiders?"

The skinny soldier paused for a moment before replying, "That's true in theory... But honestly, when things aren't so tense, family members still often come to visit with meals. The canteen at Wangyang Tower provides ample food, but the food is truly bizarre and difficult to swallow. Plus, sometimes we're on a double shift and can't go home."

[…Is it possible that these two children are [family members]?]

The thin soldier was stunned for a moment, and his eyes suddenly lit up.

He walked quickly to Schwartz's side, pulled his shoulder, and whispered, "Hey, Schwartz, there might be a solution tonight. Is the centurion on duty at Wangyang Tower Hope? The one from the Residence of Hope."

Author's Note: A bit of a rambling about this chapter. Many demons from the Lower Planes are actually able to teleport themselves, possessing advanced teleportation, but they can only teleport themselves. This ability is powerful, but they can't teleport to other planes. Therefore, they are usually limited to their home worlds, and it's difficult for them to reach the Material Plane. This also leads to the emergence of numerous demon summoning rituals: without a summoning ritual, demons truly cannot reach the Material Plane.

Therefore, in this book, demons cannot freely move between the Lower Planes and the Material Plane. If a demon suddenly appears, it can only mean that it has already arrived in the Material Plane.

One second they're in the material plane, the next they drag you straight to hell... I think the number of demons capable of such a thing is probably only in the double digits, all of them with names. Even many of those with names can't do it.

Many settings in the game are for dramatic effects, and some performances inevitably conflict with the background settings. In this case, I will choose to adjust in the direction of background and rationality.

Author's Note 2: This book's timeline focuses on a fight between a punching attack on the Nanshan Nursing Home and a kicking attack on the Beidou Kindergarten. However, due to this, the intensity and power limit of the battles are much higher than in bg3.

Twelve Flame Fists (Part 3) Entering the City

Perhaps what Emiya said worked, because the pace of the two Flame Fist soldiers suddenly became lighter.