Patches helped Bai Shi draw the map.
It had to be said, for soone who road far and wide and always managed to get away in one piece, Patches was surprisingly reliable in this regard.
The map was drawn with considerable detail, almost a perfect replica of the one Raya had.
He claid this was a skill he prided himself on, a technique for forgery.
Patches desperately wanted Raya to guide him, hoping to hitch a ride straight to Volcano Manor.
However, Raya had to remain in Liurnia to fulfill her duties as a recruiter, so Patches's plan failed.
In the end, Patches had to search for the tunnel to the plateau on his own.
anwhile, Bai Shi, map in hand, headed for the eastern shore of Liurnia.
He needed to go northeast, crossing the great bridge near the academy's gate town to reach the eastern shore of Liurnia.
From there, he would simply travel north along the shore, where his destination lay.
Bai Shi continued his journey northeast.
Along the way, a group of strange creatures gradually appeared.
They had rounded heads and bodies, with large, dark, shining eyes.
Their skin was silvery-white and reflected the light.
Most wore simple clothing, while a few larger individuals were bare-chested.
The weapons they carried were extrely crude, mostly just wooden clubs and shields.
Across the entire Lands Between, only the Albinaurics matched this description.
Albinaurics were artificial life, beings not recognized by the residents of the Lands Between.
From what was known, the Albinaurics were created by the Raya Lucaria Academy after they acquired leftover technology from the Nox Dynasty.
Their flowing platinum blood and the Silver Tears likely shared the sa origin.
The first-generation Albinaurics were at least still humanoid.
They possessed all the abilities of a normal person and could communicate properly.
Moreover, they had special talents, such as in sorcery and archery.
Their archery, in particular, was exceptionally skilled.
However, their legs would continuously atrophy with age until they were paralyzed.
These frog-like Albinaurics, on the other hand, were the second generation.
The second-generation Albinaurics were created as cheap, expendable cannon fodder.
And they certainly lived up to the labels of "cannon fodder" and "cheap."
Perhaps due to a lack of investnt, their individual strength was generally weak.
To cut costs, not only was their appearance haphazard, but they even lacked the ability to speak.
They were truly the lowest of the low in the Lands Between, a rather pitiable existence.
This group of Albinaurics waded through the lake in a large procession, their purpose unknown.
Bai Shi observed them from a distance.
Soon, they converged with another group of their kind.
That group of Albinaurics was gathered in a circle around a woman lying on the ground.
Bai Shi took out his spyglass for the first ti in a while and looked over.
The woman on the ground was a corpse, with the features of a normal human.
She wore the typical attire of a first-generation Albinauric, and a bow lay beside her.
She too was an Albinauric, and a first-generation one at that.
The second-generation Albinaurics surrounded her, protecting her body and beginning to perform mournful gestures.
It seed that despite their completely different appearances, they still recognized each other as kin.
Bai Shi did not disturb them, quietly taking a slight detour around the group.
Although this trip to Liurnia was for Ranni, it had also given Bai Shi so new ideas.
Thinking back on those round-headed Albinaurics, a bold thought ford in Bai Shi's mind.
Since the Lands Between possessed various technologies for creating artificial life...
Then, wouldn't creating a person be a problem?
lina currently had a soul, but no physical body.
So, was it possible to create a body she could use?
Setting aside how lina's soul would control the body, just considering the creation of the body itself...
Bai Shi felt it seed entirely possible.
The manufacturing technology for Albinaurics was far too crude; Bai Shi would never let lina use such a body.
The other thods were the Mimic Tears of the Eternal City and the Great Rune of the Queen of the Full Moon.
Both of these thods were incomplete, each with obvious flaws.
But compared to the Albinauric creation technique, they were vastly superior.
Mimic Tears were unrealistic. It was a lost technology, and the remaining Mimic Tears even went off on their own journeys.
As for the Amber Egg that Queen Rennala of the Full Moon cradled, it could grant rebirth.
But the price of rebirth was the destruction of one's mind, resulting in a short and fragile life.
This was because the Queen of the Full Moon's "rebirth" was incomplete.
Though he didn't know the principle behind it, if he were just to create a temporary, soulless body, there might be a chance, right?
After all, lina's soul wouldn't have to undergo rebirth, so it wouldn't be affected.
Could he simply use this thod to create a body and have lina inhabit it?
The more Bai Shi thought about it, the more feasible it seed.
The Great Rune of the Unborn within the Amber Egg could make "rebirth" whole.
If he could activate that Great Rune, he should be able to create a complete body.
After that, as long as he could solve the problem of getting lina to inhabit it, everything would be fine.
Although Bai Shi also enjoyed his current soul-to-soul communication with lina...
If possible, Bai Shi would much rather they journeyed together in the flesh.
However, this matter required long-term planning to ensure it was safe and viable.
For now, it was better to think about the Platinum Village.
Having seen the Albinaurics, Bai Shi was reminded of the tragedy at the Platinum Village.
It was ti to send soone to check on the situation there.
For the sake of the Haligtree Secret dallion, Gideon had orchestrated a massacre, leading to the complete destruction of the village.
The slaughter of innocent and weak civilians was the most detestable act.
Bai Shi did not want to see a repeat of the tragedy at Castle Morne.
Furthermore, it was best not to let Gideon get his hands on the Haligtree Secret dallion.
The ga never specified what would happen if Gideon obtained the dallion, but it surely wouldn't be anything good.
Bai Shi's wandering thoughts were brought back by a cry for help that reached his ears.
"Help , please..."
The cry was faint and weak, suggesting the owner of the voice was not in a good state.
Bai Shi looked in the direction of the voice but, at first glance, couldn't see who was calling.
He had now reached the vicinity of Liurnia's eastern shore, and the voice was coming from a rocky cliffside.
A wisp of gray mist suddenly dissipated from the cliff face, revealing a narrow crevice where a pale-faced woman was leaning.
The woman had been using the crevice and so magic to hide her form, only dispelling the spell upon seeing Bai Shi.
This kind of magic was a re trifle, similar to the spell Boc's companions had used to turn him into a tree.
This woman was soaked through with lakewater, her face gaunt and haggard, with yellow hair ssily plastered to her face.
She was actually quite young, but her poor condition made her look older than her real age.
For a Tarnished, she was still very young, probably only in her late teens or early twenties. She didn't look like a warrior, more like a naive child who had seen little of the world.
To be honest, Bai Shi had absolutely no mory of this girl.
But since she needed help, he might as well lend a hand.
It wasn't his style to stand by and watch soone die.
Bai Shi rode his horse over, approaching the stone crevice where she was hiding.
"What happened to you?"
The girl was flustered, her words bordering on incoherent.
"I... I was attacked. Soone who had been so kind before... suddenly tried to kill ..."
Bai Shi dismounted and placed his hands on her shoulders to calm her down.
"Calm down first. Don't worry, no one can harm you while I'm here."
"What's your na?"
The Tarnished before him finally cald down a little.
She took a deep breath, her face still filled with terror.
"My na is Lanya. I'm Lord Diallos's attendant."
"I was reunited with him earlier, and we ca to Liurnia together."
"But we were separated again in the lake. It's been several days, and I've been lost around here ever since."
"I t a Tarnished who seed very kind, but he suddenly attacked . He nearly took my life."
"With a few little tricks, I managed to escape."
The na Lanya was completely unfamiliar to Bai Shi, but the Diallos she ntioned was soone he knew well.
He was a character with a side quest in the ga.
In that case, this girl must be the attendant Diallos was looking for.
From Diallos's words, it was clear they had a good relationship, a sort of childhood sweetheart bond.
Bai Shi glanced at the spot where she had been hiding.
A large pool of blood stained the stone, already blackened and coagulated. It seed she had been hiding there for so ti.
It appeared the wound was on her back, and it was not a light one.
Bai Shi took another look at the girl.
As a character in a side quest, information on Lanya was scarce.
When players found her, she was already a corpse.
Just like his own Finger Maiden.
Based on later information, it was likely she was killed by soone from Volcano Manor.
But now, he had managed to save her. This was great; he had saved another one.
Speaking of which, why were there so many people in this lake?
Did everyone just enjoy soaking in the water?
"Alright, I roughly understand the situation."
"Turn around for a mont. I'll apply so dicine for you."
Hearing Bai Shi's words, Lanya instinctively trembled in fear and refused him.
It seed being attacked from behind had left her with trauma.
Perhaps that Tarnished from Volcano Manor had first gained her trust before backstabbing her.
Bai Shi couldn't help but marvel at her luck for having survived a sneak attack from behind.
Bai Shi took out a healing perfu from Torrent's saddlebag and let her apply it to herself.
Lanya's injuries began to heal slightly, and the color started to return to her face.
"I'm sorry, I... I was attacked before. I'm very scared."
"It's okay. Rest for a bit, then tell
what happened."
Bai Shi put the perfu bottle back in Torrent's bag and gave her his waterskin and so portable rations.
Lanya accepted them but held them in her hands without eating.
"After Lord Diallos and I were separated in the lake, I went to that cluster of buildings over there, intending to wait for him."
"There, I t a Tarnished who offered to help. After gaining my trust, he suddenly attacked ."
"But luckily, he wasn't very strong. Even soone like
could escape from him."
"That's probably why he chose to attack
from behind."
"After that, I fled and hid until I reached this place. I was lucky to have t you; otherwise, I would have died from my injuries."
Lanya gave a bitter laugh.
"I was afraid at first that you might be like him."
"But if I didn't ask for help, I don't think I could have held on much longer."
"It was just a choice between being killed or dying from my wounds."
Bai Shi nodded.
He understood the general situation.
In that case, he would make a trip to the Roundtable Hold and see if Diallos was there.
Every ti they were separated, he seed to go to the Roundtable Hold to ask for news of Lanya.
Finding the nearest Site of Grace, Bai Shi told Lanya to wait nearby.
Since Lanya couldn't see the Sites of Grace and couldn't travel to the Roundtable Hold, Bai Shi took out his Spirit Calling Bell for the first ti in a while.
As the bell chid, Bai Shi's magical energy flowed into the ashes of Banished Knight Oleg.
The magic ford a gray, transparent body, and Banished Knight Oleg was brought back into the world.
With Oleg on guard, Bai Shi felt mostly at ease.
How much power Spirit Ashes could exert depended mainly on their resonance with their master, and spirit tuning was a thod to harmonize that relationship.
Bai Shi's resonance with Oleg was already quite high, enough for him to display sixty percent of his forr strength.
As one of the top Banished Knights, sixty percent of his power was more than enough to protect Lanya.
Using the Site of Grace, Bai Shi teleported to the Roundtable Hold.
But after searching the entire place, he couldn't find any sign of Diallos.
Bai Shi guessed he must still be in the searching phase.
So he had a Tarnished who had pledged loyalty to him stake out the Roundtable Hold and keep an eye out for news of Diallos.
There were quite a few Tarnished at the Roundtable Hold who had sworn allegiance to Bai Shi; after all, it was here that his fa had first spread.
Leaving the Roundtable Hold, Bai Shi decided to bring Lanya along for the ti being.
He planned to take her sowhere safe, and then once soone located Diallos, he would have him co and claim his childhood friend.
As for a safe place?
Bai Shi actually had a place in mind—for instance, the Church of Vows, which was on his route.
Inside the Church of Vows was the great turtle teacher, Miriel, Pastor of Vows.
As the saying goes: a tortoise lives a thousand years, a turtle ten thousand.
As the one and only great talking turtle in the Lands Between, Miriel was very special.
Not only did he have an incredibly long health bar, but his status and standing were also not to be underestimated.
Miriel had witnessed the union of 'Red-Haired' Radagon and 'Full Moon' Rennala.
He had also served as the pastor of the Church of Vows, a place of great significance to both the Golden Order and the Moon, all this ti.
This was not sothing just anyone could achieve.
Furthermore, he could teach both sorceries and incantations.
Bai Shi would not believe it if soone told him Miriel had no combat ability.
If he couldn't use sorceries and incantations himself, how could he possibly teach others?
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