MELLING AT THE VALLEY OF DEATH
"What have you found out?" I asked Asterix.
"Our drones have scanned the city and the surroundings. I have the sites for all the burial grounds identified and located", Asterix replied to me.
"Why are you looking for burial grounds, master?" Meera asked me.
"I want to prevent the Skeleton King from being awakened again in this bloody city", I replied to her.
After we defeated the Skeleton King in Tarah city, I've found his strongest strength and also his greatest weakness. He needed bones in the ground to empower him and once empowered, he could become almost indestructible.
After that battle, I scoured every part of Tarah city for burial grounds before sending my Malevolent Slaves to take their bone magic.
That ensured the Skeleton King would not attack Tarah city again.
Besides Tarah city, I travelled to all the other major cities in Drachia kingdom to clear them of bone magic in their grounds.
After that, the only place with bones in the ground was in Trogdol kingdom. One of the reasons that I came to Uralis city was to rid the ground of bone magic.
"Gagarine, do you know of any mass graves in Trogdol kingdom? I need to clear the kingdom from sources that can revive the Lich King or the Skeleton King", I asked Gagarine.
"You have cleared all the graves in the cities of Trogdol to my knowledge", he replied to me.
"These Trogdols are rooted in skeleton and undead magic. They might have some reservoir of magic hidden somewhere that we do not know. Remember the Tree of the Sun", Ratatouille told us.
Gagarine thought about the matter for a while before he realized something.
"There is a place in the northwest mountains of Trogdol which is the site of the ancient battle between Trogdol and Drachia. Many people of both kingdoms died there without proper burial", Gagarine told me from his kingdom's history.
"Where is that place?" I asked him.
"It is at the mountain pass near the abandoned Temple of Dragons although I don't have the map to that place", Gagarine told me.
Suddenly, someone offered some valuable information to me.
"After we scanned all the books in the library in Uralis city, I have all the maps in this kingdom including several copies of the map to the Temple of Dragons", Asterix told me.
"Good, I'll be going to the Temple of Dragons", I told them.
"You must wait for Sara. She's coming with you together with the Mistress Rinna", Asterix told me suddenly.
"Why are they coming?" I asked her.
Sara accompanied Rinna back to Istiopolis city to manage their business and I didn't think they would be interested in joining me in the current quest which was nothing more than a burial sweep.
"Sara received my transmission that you are going to the Temple of Dragons. Rinna wants to come too", she told me.
Asterix and all Sara's drones were connected by instantaneous communications. What Asterix experienced here in Uralis city was quickly reported to Sara and Sara related it to Rinna immediately.
"Damn, there is no secret anymore with you drones around", I complained to Asterix.
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"Rinna, why are you interested with the Temple of Dragons?" I asked Rinna.
"It is a coincidence probably. I've been having strange dreams about dragons in a strange chamber or temple ever since I took upon the curse of temptation in Delirium", Rinna told me.
"What is the meaning of your dreams? Are they troubling you?" I asked her but she couldn't interpret the dreams.
"Sara mentioned to me about the Temple of Dragons that you are going to. I thought I might go there to see if there is a connection with the dragons in my dreams", she explained to me.
"Alright, we'll go once the preparations are made", I replied to her.
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We flew toward the northwest of Trogdol kingdom, passing through mountains and canyons. This terrain was difficult to navigate on foot.
Fortunately for us we travelled by air.
"Few people come to this place, only merchants traveling to Drachia kingdom will tread this path", Asterix told us.
"Why is that?" Chash asked.
"Trogdol is a remote kingdom surrounded by mountains not unlike Nyx kingdom. The only land access to the outside world was through a mountain pass called the Valley of Death", Asterix explained to us.
"Why is it called the Valley of Death, the pass?" I asked her.
"The valley is the site of many battles between Trogdol and Drachia since ancient times", she replied to us.
"Right, this is the place I'm looking for", I said to them.
"Why are you looking for this place? I thought you came to look for the Temple of Dragons," Rinna asked me.
"I need to cleanse the land from bone magic to prevent the Skeleton King's revival again", I replied to her.
"Why will cleansing the land stop the Skeleton King?" Cassandra asked.
"Because that is the source of his damn magic, the bloody skeletons", Sara replied to her.
"There is a city in the Valley of Death with plenty of activity", Chash told us suddenly after he discovered a city in the valley.
"That is the city of Melling, the border city of between Trogdol and Drachia in the Valley of Death", Asterix told us.
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The bustle of Melling city filled the air, a stark contrast to the desolation that plagued much of Trogdol kingdom.
Perhaps it was its distance from the fateless grip of Uralis, the seat of the tyrannical Lich King, that spared Melling from ruin. The Lich King destroyed his own kingdom and killed his own people to gain secrets of immortality.
Here, amidst the cobblestone streets, wagons trundled by laden not with goods, but with the solemn cargo of the dead, their bones.
Melling stood as a silent witness to the ancient clashes between Trogdol and Drachia, a battleground where countless lives were lost and their remains left to rest for centuries, even millennia.
Yet, for reasons unknown, the inhabitants now sought to unearth and reclaim these long-forgotten bones from the earth's embrace.
As we stepped into the city, the atmosphere shifted palpably.
Suspicious glances followed our every move, whispers dancing on the lips of the locals like eerie specters. Strangers were not welcome in this place, that much was clear.
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