Death Notice Book 8: Chapter 38: Yespak

Release Date: 2026-06-11 05:23:13

A+A-Light Off<!--

«Volume 8 Chapter 31: Prince Milleras’s Scheme

None »

“Oh, oh…” A bird with a tuft of white fluff on its head traced a graceful arc above the merchant ship, flapped its wings, and came to rest on the main mast’s crossbar. It stood in a row with several others of its kind that had been there earlier, tilting its little head to stare at the ship’s bow.

This type of white-headed demon gull, with its hooked beak, was the most common carnivorous bird in the Glorious Sea and the Steaming Lake. They were not very large and lived on shallow-water fish. Before storms arrived, they often flew in groups over the sea, emitting high-pitched, clear cries. This allowed sailing ships on the sea to avoid the storms in advance, and they were considered a lucky symbol by sailors who made their living on the sea year-round.

However, the group of white-headed demon gulls now perched on the main mast’s crossbar had not gathered because of a storm. Instead, it was because someone at the bow, feeling bored, was fishing to feed them.

“Firal, hunting lives for amusement goes against the teachings of Rillifane. You should stop this blasphemous behavior now!”

Seeing Qin Lun pull up the fishing rod again and toss an Aria bluefish into the air, letting the group of white-headed demon gulls fight over the prey, Iristin flushed red and indignantly tried to stop him.

“By the way, where is that guy Milleras?” Qin Lun stood up and poured the seawater from the fish bucket beside him over the ship’s side.

“He’s in the cabin, throwing up and unconscious again!” Iristin shook her head with a bitter smile. “The other four Sun Elven Rangers are in a similar state.”

“Poor guys. It’s been three days on the ship, and they still haven’t adjusted. I really don’t know how they crossed the Sea of Fallen Stars. That sea is five or six times larger than the Steaming Lake. Could it be that the sea monsters of the Cannes fish-men are much steadier than this merchant ship?” Qin Lun rubbed his chin, shrugged, and looked back at the deck behind him.

The sea vessel they were currently on was a medium-sized three-masted merchant ship. It had a flat bottom and a square stern, with the main mast rigged with square sails, making it very suitable for sailing on inland seas like the Steaming Lake, where the winds and waves were relatively small. Although its speed was not ideal, its high forecastle and sterncastle, along with its spacious cargo hold, allowed it to carry a lot of goods, making it the best value-for-money merchant ship among medium-sized vessels.

“As long as a fish-man priest casts an underwater breathing spell, travelers can ride tamed sea monsters to travel underwater, which avoids the turbulence of wind and waves. With larger sea monsters, travelers can even be swallowed into the gill sacs inside their bodies. It’s almost like a luxurious carriage, making long journeys much more comfortable than on our kind of merchant ship!”

A middle-aged man wearing a triangular captain’s hat walked up behind Qin Lun. While casually explaining, he cautiously asked with an ingratiating smile, “Lord Firal, we’ll be close to Yespak in half a day. Do you still plan to disembark as originally planned?”

“Yes, but we won’t get off at the port. Just find an uninhabited beach near Yespak for us!” Qin Lun’s eyes glinted, and he smiled as he patted the captain’s shoulder. “We’ve troubled you these past few days. I wonder if the gold coins were enough to compensate for the delayed voyage?”

“They were, they were! They were enough to buy all the specialty goods on our ship. You truly are a generous lord!” The middle-aged captain wiped the sweat from his forehead and forced a smile as he flattered. As for whether he was actually cursing Qin Lun in his heart, only heaven knew.

Compared to the gold coins he had received, this human captain was really worried that these unruly mercenaries would kill them to silence them after going ashore. Now he deeply regretted allowing Qin Lun and the others on board out of greed.

It had to be known that his ship was not originally on this route but was supposed to cross the Steaming Lake to the port of Derlask in the Kingdom of Xia Ya on the northern shore. Now, sailing west along the southern shore to Yespak was completely the opposite direction, a total detour.

Having traveled north and south for so many years, the middle-aged captain believed he had a good eye and normally would not have risked allowing a mercenary group of over twenty people on board. But this mercenary group had many Elves, and the two leading Elves seemed like important figures of high status, completely unlike vicious pirates. That was why he had given in to greed.

Unexpectedly, shortly after leaving shore, these mercenaries turned hostile and took action. Relying on their formidable force, they overpowered the more than thirty sailors on board, forcing them to change course and head to Yespak.

This was also part of Robin’s plan. Since the Zhentarim did not know which route they were taking or which merchant ship they were on, the possibility of interception at sea was minimized.

Thinking about the meticulousness of this sailing plan, even Qin Lun felt some admiration for this female leader’s careful thinking. Even if he had been in charge of the arrangements, he probably could not have done better.

“Firal, aren’t we being a bit too harsh by doing this?” Seeing the middle-aged captain walk away filled with worry, Iristin asked with some guilt.

Qin Lun turned and looked at the calm sea, which resembled a pure blue gemstone, meaningfully replying, “You’re overthinking it. We Elves are not in a position to pity humans. They are the rulers of Faerûn.”

Iristin was taken aback, and the worried face of Elder Adeline, who had repeatedly urged caution before their departure, involuntarily crossed her mind. The Elven Druid’s expression became dazed for a moment, and she fell silent. Qin Lun was right; compared to the mission on their shoulders, some thoughts were rather unnecessary.

…

Three hours later, before sunset, Qin Lun and the others finally saw a stretch of rocky shoal full of submerged reefs on the horizon. Beyond the rocky shoal was a line of cliffs that stretched endlessly along the coastline.

After seeing this scene, everyone understood that they had probably reached their destination. Along the shores of the Steaming Lake, only the Alamir Mountains on the Amruwen Peninsula had such seaside cliffs.

The waves shattered against the grim black-brown reefs, the rumbling sound echoing in their ears like muffled thunder.

“Robin, is this the right place?” Kelly looked at the reef-ridden shore, which resembled crouching monsters, and frowned slightly.

This kind of place made it impossible for the ship to dock. Although it wasn’t a problem for them, once they went ashore, this hijacked merchant ship would surely flee. Once they landed, there was no turning back, so they naturally had to confirm their destination.

Robin lifted a strangely shaped triangular instrument, carefully aligning it with the setting sun on the horizon for a while before cautiously replying, “That’s right. Judging by the data from the star instrument, this is indeed the Amruwen Peninsula. Compared to the map provided by the Anke Elf Court, it should be near Yespak.”

“Then let’s start the action!” A look of relief appeared on Kelly’s face. She crouched down and looked at Milleras, who was leaning against the ship’s side with a pale complexion. She grinned and patted his shoulder. “Endure a little longer. I’ll take you ashore now.”

“Ke, Kelly, could you let, let I, Iristin take me ashore! Ugh…” The Sun Elf Prince made a pained face, dry-heaved twice, and spoke breathlessly.

“What? You have a problem with me taking care of you personally?” Kelly’s willow-like eyebrows raised, and she unhappily crossed her arms.

“No, that’s not it!”

“Then let’s go!” Kelly, with her small hands in fingerless boxing gloves, reached out, hoisted Milleras over her shoulder, and leaped off the ship’s deck. A pair of Battle Qi Wings instantly expanded behind her as she jumped toward the distant reefs.

The group on the deck watched as Milleras, slung over Kelly’s shoulder, dry-heaved from his abdomen being pressed. They couldn’t help but mourn silently for the unlucky Sun Elf Prince. The violent woman clearly didn’t understand what it meant to be gentle. She had made him suffer quite a bit along the way.

“Lord Firal, we’ll go ashore first!” Stark threw a meaningful glance at Qin Lun, then grabbed a Sun Elven Ranger who was half-dead from seasickness and jumped off the ship. He didn’t have Kelly’s Battle Qi Wings, but it was less than a kilometer to the shore, so swimming would suffice.

“Iristin, let’s go too!” Qin Lun turned and smiled at the Elven Druid.

“Mm!” Iristin leaped into the air and transformed into a huge giant eagle. Qin Lun jumped lightly, grabbed one of her claws, and was carried toward the shore.

“Leader Robin, what about these people…” Seeing that the storyline Elves had all left, Philip glanced at the trembling captain and sailors on the deck, moved closer to Robin, and asked quietly.

Robin frowned slightly, a cold light flashing in her eyes as she looked at the sailors on the ship. But after pondering for a moment, she shook her head. “Forget it. The chance of these people having any connection to the Zhentarim is almost zero. The storyline Elves really dislike wanton killing. Leaving too bad an impression on them would be detrimental to our future cooperation.”

…

“We’ve reached Calimshan!” Gazing at the Alamir Mountains looming under the moonlight, Milleras tightened the blanket around himself with some emotion.

“Milleras, have some hot soup!” Qin Lun smiled, stood up from beside the campfire, and handed him a bowl of clear broth.

“Firal, did you know? I never thought I would make it to Calimshan alive. I thought Qiongda’er or Ank Forest would be the end of my life!” Milleras stared blankly at the blurred reflection on the surface of the clear soup, muttering to himself.

“We will keep going until we complete the miracle of retracing the Ancient Path!” Qin Lun pointed at the steep mountain peak in front of them and said with a smile, “I heard there’s a Dwarf castle in the Alamir Mountains. Don’t you want to see the ancient Sannata civilization? Maybe we can even find some treasures that haven’t seen the light of day for tens of thousands of years in the castle ruins!”

“Haha, hearing you say that really lifts my spirits!” A faint blush appeared on Milleras’s pale face. He tilted his head back and took a sip of the hot soup, then shook his head and laughed. “Firal, you really don’t seem like a sentimental Moon Elf. Now I’m starting to really like you!”

“Milleras, that’s… really awkward! You know, I only like beautiful female Elves…”

«Volume 8 Chapter 31: Prince Milleras’s Scheme

Index

None »