Some people say that the critical point of life and death can completely change a person. Others say that people who escape death can often see clearly. Regarding these two points, Gawain believes that Viscount Andrew at this moment has a deep understanding.
During the few days when he was controlled by the cultists' magic, Viscount Andrew was always awake - his consciousness was trapped in a weakening body, and he accepted the crazy thoughts of the cultists all day long. Eroded and tortured, he watched helplessly as "himself" promulgated martial law in the city, watched his family and servants in his castle were captured by cultists, and watched this glorious family castle sink into darkness and distortion day by day. In these days that seemed as long as a hundred years, he realized that the king far away in the world could not save him, and the small churches in the town that claimed to be blessed by God could not save him. Not even the hundreds of glorious Leslie family members could save him. Years of inheritance can't save yourself.
The person who finally rescued him was the ancient Duke from seven hundred years ago who came from the lower reaches of the Baishui River.
Destiny is really a mysterious thing. A bold "investment" a few months ago has now received an extremely generous return in a completely unexpected way - a life.
In the lord's chamber where a large hole was opened, Viscount Andrew, who had regained some strength, sat on his large chair and told the truth that caused the disaster with a wry smile: "Because it was found in the mine. I found a new crystal vein, so I sent people to dig a new mine tunnel. As a result, the mine tunnel collapsed during the excavation. The supervisor reported that a large space was found underground in the mine tunnel..."
Gawain was moved when he heard this: It turns out that Viscount Andrew discovered the secrets under his territory?
However, my previous judgment was correct. The Viscount did not know the existence of those Gondor ruins before. It was only recently that he discovered that there was another world under the mine...
And Viscount Andrew's narration continued: "Those are some ancient ruins, with ancient, stone-like walls and supporting structures. They are as wide as the cloisters in a palace, rather than narrow and cramped tunnels. Most of them They all collapsed and were buried, but there were still some well-preserved places. I sent people to explore the ruins, and later they found a tightly sealed room - the magic seal in the room failed, so the magic in my territory The master easily disarmed the mechanism in the room, and later we found some antiquities there...including fragments of an eternal stone."
Gawain is no stranger to this, it is said. All the secrets about the gods in this world come from the mysterious eternal stone tablet. In the ancient times, when mortals had not yet come into contact with miracles, the Eternal Stone Slate was a complete piece. Later, the sages of humans and other races discovered that stone slab. At the moment of contact with it, knowledge about the gods poured in. The heads of those people include the inheritance of divine arts, the distribution of divine positions, the names of gods and priests, etc. The first batch of sages who came into contact with the Eternal Slate became the earliest "apocalypse" among mortals.The first popes and Holy Sees.
The Eternal Slate fell into pieces soon after, as if the gods did not want mortals to be exposed to divine grace that exceeded their ability to bear. The infinitely powerful slate turned into countless fragments. And scattered into the world.
In the years that followed, several major sects that were rapidly rising among mortals found some fragments of the stone slab. These sects include the most powerful Church of the God of War, the Church of the God of Holy Light, and the Three Churches of Abundance. The Church of God regards the fragments of the stone slab as sacred objects and keeps them in their respective holy places. Only the highest-ranking members of the church have the opportunity to touch the stone slab and receive enlightenment. Although the stone slab has been broken, the remaining power is still there. There are many more that mortals can comprehend knowledge related to God after coming into contact with them. Half of the reason why several orthodox and powerful churches have been able to maintain their strength for thousands of years is due to these fragments of stone slabs.
According to each church, the "sacred knowledge" has been collected by major sects, and the stone fragments are currently under the control of several powerful churches, but Gawain knows very well that what the church has collected is also It's just the largest fragments of slates. God knows how many fragments there are scattered in the world. Some of them are secretly collected by small and medium-sized churches, and some small fragments have fallen into the hands of kings, dukes, and even kings. In the hands of big collectors, it’s just that these small fragments seem to contain very little “divine grace”, which is far from enough to improve a person’s magical level or to gain complete knowledge of gods. That’s why they can be kept semi-publicly among the people. , instead of being desperately retrieved by major sects.
Gawain just didn’t expect that Viscount Andrew would be so lucky (or rather unlucky) to find a fragment of the eternal slate scattered outside.
Immediately, he thought of the ancient ruins in the Dark Mountains, as well as the experiments from a thousand years ago mentioned by Nicholas Egg, those "locally unearthed samples", those about "divine evil" "Conjecture.
So, that fragment of slate was discovered by the Magisterium of the Gondor Empire and buried in this underground ruins? Could it be that the samples excavated locally mentioned by those researchers back then were fragments of the Eternal Slate? No, probably not. Although the Eternal Slate is precious, the Gondor Empire was at its peak back then, and several major churches did not dare to confront the imperial authority. Gawain did not believe that the emperor in the Spark Era would have few pieces in his hands. As if it were an eternal slate that Wen was playing with walnuts, then the fragments of the eternal slate buried deep in the earth might just be part of the excavations...
Gowen's mind was racing, but this was just a moment. In an instant, his face showed just the right amount of surprise and he looked at Viscount Andrew: "So the cultists are eyeing the eternal slate in your hand... That's right, the Death of All Things evolved from the Druid Church. They maintain twisted beliefs, and it is normal to be paranoid about these divine items, but how did they get this news?"
"My butler," Viscount Andrew said with a wry smile after a moment of silence.I should have known, when he found all kinds of magic potions for me, and when he showed his understanding of occult knowledge, I should have known that he was already a member of the Society of Death! "
Gawain was startled, and then he remembered who the housekeeper was - mainly because he remembered that Amber had stolen a watch from someone else, which was really impressive.
Amber was also next to him. He touched his chin and muttered: "Then it seems I don't have to return the watch to him. ”
Viscount Andrew’s own magic talent is not high, and he does not have any talents for extraordinary professions such as knights and wizards. However, as a noble, he must ensure that he has the basic “extraordinary qualifications”, so he He has always been interested in magic potions, mysterious rituals and other things that can enhance extraordinary abilities. The butler around him has been following him for many years and is a knowledgeable person who has some knowledge of mysticism. He can always get all kinds of interesting things on weekdays. The effective potion won the trust of Viscount Andrew, but who would have thought that such a butler who had not shown any flaws for decades would actually be a minion of the Death Society of All Things?
What a pity? , this minion escaped earlier - after the cultists initially took control of the castle, the butler disappeared from everyone's sight.
Based on these fragmentary intelligence, Gawain guessed that the "butler" was very mysterious. It may be that they are "peripheral personnel" specially trained by the Society for the Death of All Things. They themselves do not have any extraordinary talents and have certain knowledge of mysticism. Therefore, they can easily gain the trust of the nobles and are not on guard against them. Once all things die, If the dead believers take action, such peripheral personnel will quickly evacuate. They may change their identities and lurk around other nobles, or they may move deeper into the organization...
What Gawain is really worried about is this This situation is probably not a special case.
Viscount Andrew is not a prominent family that can influence the situation in the kingdom, but the Society for the Death of All Things is a behemoth that has developed into many countries. It is unlikely that this cult organization will. The only explanation for placing an informant who has been lurking around a Viscount of Anzu for decades is that it is normal for them to place eyes on nobles.
This Drew who fell seven hundred years ago. What kind of monster has the Yi Cult become now?
And soon, Gawain knew why the cultists controlled Viscount Andrew to issue martial law.
"I told him that the Eternal Slate has been dedicated to the king by me, and I have already arranged for people to transport it out of the castle," Viscount Andrew said slowly, with a happy smile on his face, "His magic can control my limbs. , can control my tongue, but not my mind. He can make me speak according to the lines he arranged, but he can't make me say what I know in my heart - so he has no idea that I hide the slate in Somewhere, the whole city can only be put under martial law, and then they can search from house to house in my name, and he doesn’t dare to let me die before the things are found..."
So that’s it... Gawain He nodded in understanding. The fallen druids did have the ability to control people's words and deeds, but that was not the intention of the undead faction.Spirit control, but a more superficial limb nerve control, is twisted and transformed from the original Druid spell "animal control". In the face of this spell, as long as you have the tenacity to fight against it, you will not be able to control it. He was forced to speak by the cultists.
Gawain just didn't expect that Viscount Andrew, who looked like a sick man after taking too many drugs, would have such a tough mind.
"So the cultist buried the people in the castle in the atrium to extract their thoughts in order to torture out the whereabouts of the stone fragments..." Amber also reacted at this time and looked at the weak Viscount with some surprise. "But they don't know where the fragments are at all. You are the only one who knows about this. Which means...could it be that you didn't send that thing out at all?"
"Of course you didn't send it out? ," Viscount Andrew struggled to laugh. Although he was weak, he still tried to hold his head up. "I am a descendant of the Leslie family. Even if I starve to death, die outside, or jump out from here, I will never succumb to an evil spirit. Cultist!"
Although the sentence structure felt a little bit familiar, Gawain still looked at this weak traditional nobleman with admiration - this is the nobleman of this era, he is indeed outdated, indeed Lagging behind, there are indeed some foolish actions from God's perspective, but he also has a so-called "aristocratic spirit", which supports an almost unreasonable pride, and this pride makes him, even if he dies, Nor will I bow to the cultists.
"Then where did you hide the fragments of the Eternal Slate?" Gawain couldn't help but asked curiously.
"Ha...haha..." Viscount Andrew laughed happily, even until he coughed violently, "It's been right under that guy's nose! Right under his nose!"
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As he spoke, the viscount climbed up from the chair with great effort, and then lifted up the thick cushion.
"That fool opened my treasure house, rummaged through my room of magical materials, searched my bedrooms and attics, and pried open every locked chest and cupboard in the castle, but he Never, never would I have thought that I would just sit under my butt!"
After the thick cushion was lifted, Gawain saw it.
It was lying quietly on the seat. It was only the size of a palm, and its thickness was not even half a centimeter according to visual inspection. What was even more different from what Gawain had guessed was that this so-called eternal "slate" turned out not to be slate.
It is a pale golden metal plate with an extremely smooth surface and mysterious lines.