The Paladin in the Abyss

"I understand your thoughts, and we completely understand," Half-elf Jester immediately responded. Though he looked younger than his human colleagues, he spoke with more sophistication. "In fact, what we value is the knowledge recorded in the Scroll of Darkness, not the scroll itself. If you truly find a Scroll of Darkness, please allow the Kalalin brothers to transcribe its contents. We would pay them for the transcript just the same."

Upon hearing this, Lancelot turned to look at Kalalin, whose expression was quite tense at the moment. Facing Lancelot's gaze, he simply nodded briefly.

"I understand," Lancelot said as he pulled out a Gold Coin and placed it on the table, then stood up, "I'll pay for this tea myself. It has been a pleasure speaking with you, but I have more important matters to attend to, please excuse me."

"I will go with you," Kalalin also stood up, "Goodbye, colleagues. I look forward to our next meeting."

"Once the Cult completes the assessment of your work results, we will immediately let you know," said Jester and Hazel, also standing. The half-elf picked up the bounty list left on the table and handed it to the Human Knight, "Sir, please take this with you. At least when your backpacks are nearly full, you can use this to evaluate which spoils are worth keeping."

Lancelot thought it over and did not reject the suggestion, reaching out and taking the scroll.

"Thank you, Sir, and I wish you all the best," the half-elf politely bowed to Lancelot. "As for me, I plan to spend the remaining hours to properly explore the long-famed Twin Bridges Town. I hope to have the chance to meet that legendary Succubus Lord. Hehe, what do you think, is there a chance she might fancy me?"

"Good luck to you," Lancelot smiled warmly and left the tea shop, with Kalalin closely following behind him. After walking some distance, Kalalin, looking rather nervous, spoke:

"Lancelot, I too only recently heard about the Scroll of Darkness, but are you really not considering it? That is a Divine Artifact after all..."

"Kalalin, I understand that thing is nearly a Holy Relic to your Cult, but aside from its symbolic importance, you must consider the risks involved," Lancelot shook his head and continued walking along the shadowed side of the street. "That half-elf said that compared to the Scroll of Darkness itself, what you value more is the knowledge inside, correct?"

"Yes, of course."

"What exactly is the knowledge inside?"

"Mostly it's about Amun and his disciples' explorations and observations in the Abyss, including the names of the realms they visited, maps, important locations, as well as records of common demon fighting techniques, ecology, society, and even some detailed intelligence about various Abyssal Lords, their servants, and enemies..."

Kalalin, while talking, suddenly paused as he understood what Lancelot meant. Being a disciple of Amun himself, wasn't he now creating his own Scroll of Darkness?

"It seems you've understood," Lancelot smiled, "So, do you still think it's worth risking your life just to pursue someone else's research?"

"Thanks for reminding me," Kalalin gratefully looked at Lancelot. "I had never thought before that I could also achieve something as great..."

"Glad you've realized that," Lancelot winked at the scholar, "Just now, I passed by a shop selling blank spellbooks, where some thick volumes were beautifully bound, featuring hard covers made from dragon scales, adorned with small gemstones and demon antlers. Each page inside was of the highest quality parchment. Of course, such a book is somewhat costly, but it is worthy of the knowledge you will record in it, isn't it?"

"You're absolutely right," the scholar expressed with a longing look on his face, "Where is that shop?"

"Follow me," Lancelot replied with a slight smile, "and help me appraise some other items while we're at it..."

In the end, the scholar purchased his large books and scrolls, and little Esha obtained a Ring of Shadows. This ring, worth three thousand Gold Coins, was a rare magical item with the ability to deflect light, allowing its wearer to blend better into darkness. Its primary purpose, however, was to slightly reduce the discomfort vampires experience during the day and to a certain extent, prevent accidental burns from sunlight.

After completing their purchases, Kalalin headed back to Hagrid Manor first, while Lancelot continued towards the Blacksmith district. He wasn't really going to meet with Bruto; the dwarf wouldn't have any trouble among his kin other than a hangover. Instead, Lancelot intended to order a tool for forging magic artifacts. Although in theory, a high-temperature resistant iron pot could serve his purpose, Lancelot decided to craft a vessel named 'ding', as described in the small bamboo scroll—a pot with three legs and two handles.

Upon entering the Blacksmith district, Lancelot immediately noticed many dwarfs gathered around a huge announcement board in a small square, engaged in a heated discussion. Lancelot concentrated on the announcement board and saw a large notice made of several patches of leather sewed together, the corners fixed by finger-shaped bone pegs, written in the Dwarvish language—a language Lancelot could understand but not read.

From the conversations among the surrounding dwarfs, it wasn't hard to guess what was written on the notice.

"Forming a Dwarf legion, what does that mean? Are all dwarfs to be members?"

"Are we being conscripted? What about our orders?"

"Toiling for demons is bad enough, I don't want to serve those Tanari!"

"The notice doesn't specify how to go about it, who are we supposed to fight? And who will be the Commander?"

Lancelot stood there listening for a while, quietly noting the dwarfs' grievances and questions. It seemed the Succubus Lord had only vaguely announced the decision to form a standing army, and many details had yet to be settled. He could discuss this thoroughly with Tijana when she visited that evening.

A moment later, several foremen from the Craftsmen Committee dispersed the gathered dwarfs, ordering them to return to their respective workstations. Lancelot decided to first locate Bruto to ask who he should approach to commission a 'ding', and what materials were needed.

As he had expected, Bruto was fast asleep in a dormitory common room (which also served as a tavern for the craftsmen) and smelled awful, like a rat drowned in ale.

"Good morning, Miss Gondar," Lancelot greeted the barmaid behind the counter, a robust female dwarf, "How long has that guy been sleeping here?"

"Long enough," the female dwarf looked at Lancelot with an amused gaze, "He sure told a bunch of wild stories last night."

"My lady, I assure you, most were not true," Lancelot shrugged, "Could I have a glass of water, please? With ice."