Now, Kreyn had only two choices: flee to the Frost Ridge or try to resist the Wurhen Family.
If he wanted to run, he would have done so right after waking up. That wasn't his way.
'If I keep running away, I'll never build the foundation,' Kreyn thought. 'Defeating the Wurhen Family will be a difficult task, but considering that all the resources in this region have belonged to them for decades, they have gathered a fortune.'
Kreyn's greed would not allow him to abandon this endeavor, but now he had a more significant problem...
Slowly, he lowered the map as an unpleasant smell reached his nose, causing him to frown.
Ahead, as far as he could see, stretched the Cinder Swamps. Murky, green water, dark trees with massive roots, mud and moss covering the banks, and black trickles coming out of the ground like an extinguished campfire — they smelled particularly bad.
'First prison, now the swamps?' Kreyn raised an eyebrow. 'Well, it's still better than utopia, but I can't think of a lower starting point.'
"So, you said there's a village beyond the swamps, right?" Kreyn turned to Daren, who was standing on his right, smoking as usual.
He nodded. "Yep. If you want to find someone who will buy the Worm Crystals, it's the Boneveil Village. By the way, though only one, we have a whole Arakta Worm at our disposal, and they are worth quite a lot."
For those with whom he would be working a lot in the future, Kreyn created a truthful story that he had arrived from beyond the Frost Ridge and was immediately captured and thrown into prison. Oddly enough, his ability to lie well did not matter much in this case.
If there were any inconsistencies or Kreyn did not know what to say, the answer immediately came to his mind. The same thing happened with Azura, Groza, and Liam. As a last favor, the world energy helped them become part of the Great Lands without arousing suspicion.
"Hey..." Liam muttered from behind. He hesitantly touched the green puddle. "Are you sure I should go with you?"
Kreyn turned the map several times and nodded.
"Of course! Almost a third of the prisoners in this prison are women. Do you think any of them will work while you're in sight? They're drawn to you like moths to a flame. Right now, we need all the help we can get. What's more, we could use the Veyr Type in this place."
It was a strange and confusing reason, but Liam couldn't argue with it. Before leaving, Kreyn left Azura in charge and gave her a bunch of instructions.
The main value of the Dark Hand Prison was in its mine. For the plan to defeat Enor, they had blocked the mine, so to get back to work, they first needed to clear the passage.
Sure, the prisoners were in high spirits, but as time passed, their anxiety would grow as the Wurhen Family's revenge drew nearer.
Kreyn understood this. Panic in the prison was the worst possible outcome, so he acted quickly.
Step. Step. Step.
Step by step, they moved forward, and even Liam had resigned himself to the fact that staying clean would be impossible. With difficulty, but Kreyn figured out how to navigate the map.
Suddenly, a rustling sound broke the usual silence of the swamps.
"Hmm?" He raised an eyebrow.
A beast showed itself from behind a root, a green rabbit with four hanging ears and large, terrifying fangs.
It wasn't the first beast they had encountered on their way, but all the others had run away.
"It..." Liam touched his lips. "What is it doing?"
Daren narrowed his eyes when a crooked amber crystal covered in soot appeared in the rabbit's paws.
"That's the Cinder Root, a valuable thing."
As soon as Daren said that, the rabbit darted away.
"Tsk. We should have chased after it, we could use all the help we can get right now."
"Oh?" Daren looked surprised. "Is that what you want? Well, I think this is a great moment to show you this. After all, it's thanks to you."
Without wasting any time, a fang appeared in Daren's hand from energy, which was actually a whistle.
Fweeeeeeeet!
A piercing whistle rang out across the empty swamps as two wolves appeared next to Daren.
'Is it a Norx Type, the same as Enor had?' That was the first thing Kreyn thought, but then he took a closer look at the wolves. 'Wait... Their bodies are transparent, they're like ghosts. Could this be some kind of a subtype, or is this normal?'
"Go! Catch that beast and bring me the crystal!" Daren waved his hand.
Without hesitation, the wolves rushed forward. Moreover, realizing that their speed was insufficient, they merged into a single wolf with four eyes, its powerful leaps creating ripples across the swamps.
Crack. Crack. Crack.
Each time the wolf clenched its jaws, the rabbit managed to dodge at the last moment, as splinters from broken roots flew in all directions.
But, on the fourth attempt, the rabbit gave up and threw the crystal aside, deciding to save its life.
"Hah, good decision," Kreyn said as the Cinder Root was soon in his hands. "I understand that these grow under this mud?"
Daren nodded. "They are not as valuable as the Worm Crystals. They are rarer, but you don't have to risk your life to get them. At Boneveil Village, we'll definitely be able to trade it for something."
"Well, we won't have any money problems at first, but this root..." Kreyn looked at the twisted crystal. "It'll help us with our reputation."
...
The Cinder Swamps were large, but as with any territory, knowing the way and having a map, it was possible to reach the other side fairly quickly.
The sun had not yet reached the horizon when they approached the border of the swamps.
With a heavy sigh, Kreyn could finally put away the map and forget about the unpleasant smell.
"Finally! Hurry up!" Liam exclaimed, stepping onto solid ground first.
Kreyn stretched his shoulder. "That took a long time. I hope this Boneveil Village is worth it. Damn, what kind of weird name is that anyway?"
"Hah." Daren grinned, pointing ahead. "See for yourself."
"Agh...?"
A few hundred meters ahead was a simple-looking village with several dozen houses, and someone had already lit fires.
There was nothing remarkable about it except for one detail — a giant skeleton, or more precisely, a spine with ribs stuck in the ground, covered the entire village, hiding part of it in shadow and bathing the other part in sunlight.
Liam gulped in fear, but Kreyn just grinned.
"Alright, I've changed my mind. This is a cool village! We'll definitely find someone capable now, I'm sure of it!"