A druid telling an undead that she would help him for free and was even willing to risk her life to protect him.
The absurdities in this scam were too numerous for Ambrose to count.
Ambrose snorted coldly. "Don't bother with such pointless lies. The most expensive things in this world are the free ones. Tell me your real objective, and then I might consider working with you."
The druid girl glanced around. "We could talk somewhere more private."
Ambrose snapped his fingers, and a pitch-black barrier enveloped the two of them.
"It's soundproof and lightproof. Standard scrying spells won't penetrate this ward. You can speak now," Ambrose said.
The druid girl stared in shock at the black curtain. As a spellcaster herself, she could tell how formidable Ambrose was from that one spell.
Casting required incantations and gestures; that was fundamental. Silent casting was already an advanced skill. Ambrose had not only dispensed with the incantation but had also conjured the ward instantly. In a battle, how fast could this man sling fireballs? The legendary Three-Fireball Sect, famous throughout the continent, could only manage three fireballs in six seconds.
This undead was far more powerful than she had imagined.
She had definitely found the right person.
The druid girl took a deep breath. "Sometime ago, I was exploring the sewers of the City of Alchemy with my kinsmen. We encountered something terrifying, and my people were trapped inside. I need to rescue them."
"Your entire group was trapped, and you think you can save them alone? If you want my help fighting, that's not part of the 'free guide' package. That will cost extra," Ambrose said, intrigued.
"That won't be necessary. I have my own way. You just need to help me find them. As an undead, you should be more sensitive to the light of life from a druid. You can pinpoint their location in the sewers. In exchange, I'll help you find the slimes you need."
Ambrose pondered for a moment. "How long have they been trapped?"
The druid girl fell silent for a moment before answering, "It's been over two months."
Ambrose: ...
Two months? Their bones had probably turned to dust. What 'light of life' was there left to find?
As if sensing Ambrose's thoughts, the druid girl said anxiously, "My people are capable of protecting themselves! They're just trapped! If I can find them, I can help them escape. They must still be alive!"
The last sentence sounded more like she was trying to convince herself, her voice already trembling on the verge of tears.
Ambrose was now even more interested in the sewer's secrets. This damned place had attracted not only a paladin from the Ryan Empire but also druids... There couldn't really be a legendary dragon hiding in the sewers, could there?
"What did you encounter down there?" Ambrose asked.
The druid girl knew the value of this information. "You have to agree to help me first, or I won't tell you any more."
"Fine. We can sign a contract right now. If your kinsmen are not yet dead, I will do my best to help you find them."
After some thought, Ambrose didn't refuse.
This druid girl was, by any measure, a much better value than the other two guides.
The dangers of the sewer wouldn't change based on his choice of guide. On the contrary, this girl had already witnessed the horrors within, which was actually an advantage.
The druid girl eagerly signed the contract with Ambrose.
Naomi Watts. Only now did Ambrose learn the young druid's name.
That surname didn't sound very druidic. Most druid surnames were related to nature, often with specific adaptations based on their circle. For example, 'Eclipse' was the ancestral surname of a rather famous branch of the Circle of the Moon druids.
Watts... sounded more like a human noble's name, likely one with some connection to lightning.
It seemed this druid girl had her own share of mysteries.
But Ambrose wasn't interested in gossip. He just wanted information about the sewers.
"Now, please tell me what's really down there, Miss Watts."
Naomi recalled, "I can't be sure what kind of monster we encountered. We were exploring the sewers in the southern district when the filthy tunnels suddenly transformed into a beautiful garden, just like our home..."
The druid girl described her experience in detail. To Ambrose, it sounded like a massive, high-level illusion. Within this illusion were many camouflaged dangers, like apples that would bite and sheep that would suddenly sprout sharp claws.
Though insidious, it didn't sound overwhelmingly powerful. The druids were merely trapped, unable to leave. As for Naomi, the others had pooled their strength to push her out of the illusion so she could go for help.
"And you came back alone? Where are the rest of your people? Surely your entire druid tribe wasn't in the sewer, were they?" Ambrose asked.
"That's not relevant to our agreement."
"Heh, fine. I won't pry. But based on your description, this monster shouldn't be too difficult to deal with."
A large-scale illusion was impressive, but having to rely on it to trap people suggested the creature lacked strong direct-combat abilities. A mage from the School of Evocation, a specialist of the Three-Fireball Sect, would have turned the whole group to ash in six seconds and probably collapsed the sewer in the process.
Ambrose mentally ran through a list of monsters known for their illusion magic. He felt confident he could handle it.
"Then let's not waste any more time. We'll set out now."
Ambrose dispelled the ward and registered the contract at the tavern to have it officially witnessed. All taverns that served as adventurer hubs offered this service to reduce disputes, and most city-states recognized the legal validity of such adventurer contracts.
If it weren't for services like this, watered-down sour ale and the caterwauling of dwarven bards wouldn't be enough to draw so many customers.
Once outside the tavern, Naomi was eager to lead Ambrose to the sewer entrance.
But Ambrose grabbed her arm and cast Greater Invisibility.
Both of their forms quickly turned transparent, finally vanishing completely into thin air.
Naomi was startled, unsure what Ambrose was doing, but she soon saw two male adventurers exit the tavern. It was the rogue and ranger from the interview earlier.
From the way they acted, it was clear they were working together.
The moment they stepped out of the tavern, they began looking around, obviously planning to follow Ambrose and Naomi.
The ranger even summoned a hound, trying to track them by scent. But the hound just circled a few times, unable to find any trace of them.
As a druid, Naomi was one with nature, her scent blending perfectly with the environment. As for Ambrose, despite being a lich, he was meticulous about cleanliness. Any unusual smell represented contamination, a potential flaw in his experiments. Thus, even his lich form was completely odorless.
Still, the two didn't give up. They headed in the direction of the sewer entrance, apparently intending to keep up their pursuit.
After they were gone, Ambrose dispelled the invisibility.
"What are those two trying to do?" Naomi asked, confused.
"One acts like a clumsy con artist, the other quotes a seemingly reasonable but inflated price. It's an old trick," Ambrose explained. "Since they failed to fool me, they planned to follow us and pick up some scraps. If we ran into trouble in the sewers, they wouldn't hesitate to kick us while we're down and take everything of value."
That was the nature of adventurers. In lawless places, their moral floor was no different from that of bandits.
"So what do we do now?" Naomi was clearly an inexperienced rookie. Otherwise, she wouldn't have waited so long in the City of Alchemy without finding suitable teammates, to the point of desperately turning to an undead like Ambrose for help.
"We follow them, of course," Ambrose said, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. "They won't give up; they'll definitely go into the sewers. They want to leech off us, so why can't we leech off them?"
Ambrose broke into a gleeful smile. He had missed one chance to prey on the predators, but now he had another. Thank you, God of Destiny, for delivering these fat sheep.