Broad World

The bridge area is the third most chaotic place in the city after the dock area and the slums. Most of the people living here are small traders and ordinary people whose income is not too much, but enough to maintain their lives. However, a vicious case happened here recently. A large number of beggars were inexplicably killed, and the skin on their bodies was stripped clean.

Captain Iggiesfield, who was in charge of security in this area, felt that he was going crazy, and when he saw every new face, he felt like a criminal. He couldn't figure out the murderer's motives. Does human skin have any unknown functions? Or is it some demon-worshiping madman performing some sort of sinister ritual? If no results are found within a few weeks, it is very likely that it will inevitably cause widespread panic, and once a large-scale evacuation of residents is triggered, the consequences will be unimaginable.

Suddenly, a group of strangers came from a distance. Judging from their fully armed appearance, they were undoubtedly experienced adventurers. Especially the dwarves walking at the front always put their hands on their sides subconsciously, and they will definitely draw out their weapons in an instant if there is any trouble.

Iggiesfield felt that it was necessary to go up and warn, and see if he could hire these people to help investigate the case. Anyway, if a dead horse is treated as a living horse doctor, you may be able to find some clues. He raised a hand and shouted, "Hello! Travelers, I'm Iggiesfield, Sheriff of the District. It's not a peaceful night, so...be careful."

"I don't like your hints, let's just say it, what happened to the ground?" Henry asked, frowning. He really couldn't imagine that after the death of the vampire queen Bodhi, there would be people rushing to make trouble on the street, wouldn't he be afraid of revenge from the Shadow Thieves Guild?

Rubbing his forehead, Iggiesfield sighed and replied, "Uh... Now that you've gotten to the point, I'll tell you the truth. Recently, a pervert has been killing beggars. Judging from the corpses found, he's been collecting human skin. You'd better be careful, this guy is obviously not an ordinary killer."

"Ha! It sounds like a good phenomenon to drive out the beggars. Anyway, these scum can't create any value, and they can save a lot of food if they die early."

No need to ask, it must be Viconia who can say such a thing. Her attitude towards the weak has never been very friendly. Perhaps it is because of the influence of the values ​​​​of the dark elves' cities. Maybe it's because of her own experience, but when she mentioned these people, she seemed to be in a rebellious period. Some cynical little girl.

Iggiesfield nodded with a wry smile. "That's right, I expected the murderer himself to say something like that... but... I don't think even you can get rid of this... monster-like crime."

"Don't worry, dear Mr. Captain. We have enough force to protect ourselves, maybe we can help. Oh. By the way, there should be a bounty if this matter is solved? Although I don't mind too much, these teammates still need some money to buy wine." Henry said half-jokingly.

He had already remembered that this was the skinning murder case at Youqiao Bridge, and the Zhentarim Society was behind the scenes. They tried to create a powerful and evil human skin armor, and the murderer was the boss of the leather merchant. But now is clearly not the time to intervene. After all, the first goal of coming out this time is the Magic Talisman Club.

"Of course, the bounty is quite generous. Anyone who provides valuable clues can get fifty gold coins. If the murderer is caught, the city hall will give out a one-time reward of two thousand gold coins. Here is a list related to the case. You can ask them for specific information. Remember, you must notify me when you find evidence, and don't act rashly. You must know that this guy is an extremely vicious murderer. I don't want to see your corpses in the river."

After speaking, Iggiesfield took out a small piece of dirty parchment, on which several names and locations were simply recorded. Including a child who witnessed the skinning process, an old beggar who almost became a victim, and finally a hot girl who often stood in the street at the Five Flagon Inn.

Henry carefully put the parchment into his pocket, and solemnly promised: "Don't worry, I will bring back the evidence of the murderer's crime together with his head before nightfall."

In his view, the Zhentarim's approach has clearly crossed the line. Making magic armor is nothing, the big deal is spending some money to buy a few pieces of human skin. I believe that many poor people will be willing to donate a piece of skin in exchange for a few months of living expenses. There is no need to kill people for this. Maybe these guys think that the pain and wailing of people before death will add extra power to the magic armor, so they take the method of skinning alive to obtain human skin.

This kind of behavior has touched Henry's bottom line, and maybe he won't react before he absorbs kindness, but now he thinks it is necessary for him to stand up and give the murderer the punishment he deserves. You must know that it is nothing if you kill adventurers, soldiers, priests, or even paladins. After all, they all have the ability to fight and are ready to die at any time.

But commoners and beggars are not. They have no fighting ability at all, and just want to live their lives in peace, even if they have to endure poverty and hunger. But the reality is cruel, and even such a humble wish is hard to come true. The battle among the gods affects the mortals all the time, and the open and secret fights between various churches and the war of underground forces may destroy a family at any time.

Henry has never considered himself a good person, and his attitude towards gods and beliefs is also quite extreme. He believes that the turmoil in this world is entirely the fault of the gods. If these guys are all dead, then the powerful state violence institutions will surely keep the society in a relatively stable state. Of course, human nature is greedy, and open and secret struggles are definitely indispensable, but there will be a long buffer period before natural resources start to be scarce.

For ordinary people, Henry has always maintained a sympathy, which can be seen from the taxation. Although the commercial tax has never been lowered, the agricultural tax, poll tax, and city entry tax have all remained at a relatively low level. If all the gods could fall at a very small price, he certainly wouldn't mind giving it a try. Anyway, this world was bad enough, and it couldn't be worse.

Seeing the burning anger in the young mage's eyes, Iggiesfield smiled wryly and shook his head. "If you insist, fine. Try to be careful. Come to me if you need help."

"Wait for my good news!" After speaking, Henry waved his hand and continued walking forward without thinking.

Just like the name of the bridge area, all residential buildings, hotels, markets, temples, and shops are built on a huge stone bridge, and the river flows continuously below. Keep looking west until it flows into the sea. Because the land here is very limited. So all the streets are very narrow in order to make the most of every inch of space. And near the river, you can see intricate stairs and small docks everywhere.

It can be said that the environment here is even more complicated than the pier area controlled by Shadow Thieves. People who are not familiar with the situation will be dizzy within a few minutes. Fortunately, Henry had been prepared and asked Anisha to send a thief who was familiar with the road conditions to wait here in advance. But this halfling named Barto was obviously a little too enthusiastic, and he never closed his mouth along the way.

"Look..., but I heard that the nobles living there don't have any good things. Opposite it is the Merchant Square, where you can buy weapons, armor, food, and drink as long as you have money. Behind the square is the famous Five Flagon Hotel. There is a good theater on the basement floor there, and there are often theater groups performing interesting stage plays..."

In the end, Korgan couldn't help but pulled out his ax and threatened bitterly: "Hey! Boy, if you dare to say more nonsense, I guarantee you will be shorter than you are now. Because this sharp ax will completely cut off the part below the knee."

"Oh...Don't be so irritable, dwarf, I promise I won't say a word from now on." Barto made a motion of pinching his lips, expressing that he would never say a word.

Seeing this scene, Henry smiled and shook his head. Both halflings and gnomes are warm and cheerful races. A series of negative emotions such as despair, depression, and pessimism are rarely produced. However, their hands and feet are generally not too clean, petty theft is simply commonplace. These little guys are born thieves, especially when it comes to stealth, pickpocketing, picking locks, and dismantling traps.

"Why were you angry just now? Could it be because of the dirty beggar?" Viconia asked quietly while the others were not paying attention. She is a little confused by the anger shown by her (lover).

After slightly sighing, Henry explained in a low voice: "You don't understand, I can kill thousands of monsters, soldiers, adventurers, and even paladins without even blinking an eye, but ordinary people can't. It's not that they can't be killed, but that they can't die. It's worthless. Obviously, this perpetrator only wants a few human skins, and there is no need to kill so many beggars. This matter touched my bottom line, so he must die."

"I understand. You treat ordinary people as a resource that can be used, but it is absolutely not allowed to be wasted." Viconia immediately understood the meaning of the words, although it was a little off.

Henry smiled and said: "In general, this is true. Do you know? In fact, no ruler in this world is aware of this problem, that is, the wealthy civilian class can bring more benefits. They don't understand that wealth will become more and more when it is circulated. They just want to collect all the money in their own hands."

"Well, although I don't quite understand what's going on, it sounds quite powerful. But it's best to save these words to the goddess of wealth, Wojin, maybe you will get a voter Dangdang. Oh, I almost forgot, she is still imprisoned in the palace of Grazt, King of Darkness. If you want to see her, you have to go to the bottomless abyss first."

Viconia sneered after she finished speaking. Obviously, she didn't like business-related things very much, and even the goddess was implicated for no reason. In fact, Henry thinks that Woking's teachings are not bad, although to some extent it will breed some dark forces (because she is the god of wealth, so everything is based on money, whether it is legitimate transactions or black market transactions, all are protected, and will help some criminal organizations sell stolen goods).