Aozaki Aoko Case File [479] (Patreon)

On the day of the High Sun Games.

Dignitaries from various lord alliances, including those from Mornbryn's Shield, Baldur’s Gate, and Waterdeep, as well as ordinary spectators coming for the spectacle, were all gathered in Neverwinter City at this moment.

They crowded the streets, picking out exquisite goods crafted in the Neverwinter and sampling delicious foods only available during major festivals. The streets and alleys were filled with a joyful and harmonious atmosphere.

But beneath the calm surface, both the Thayans and the Neverwinter City resistance coalition were engaged in tense action.

About three hundred elite Thayan assassins had been smuggled into Neverwinter City in advance and were lying in ambush. This was the limit without alerting other factions besides the Lord’s Castle. To avoid the sight of some soldiers, Sofina even led a team to kill a batch of Neverwinter Castle guards.

However, what Sofina didn’t know was that the various experts in Neverwinter City opposing them had already been warned and prepared in advance by the Harpers.

Once the Thayan forces showed themselves, these defenders would immediately take action.

However, these high-level adventurers who resided in Neverwinter City didn’t have a unified organization; they usually acted on their own and were like a loose pile of sand. Even with prior notice from the Harpers, they couldn’t act as efficiently as a formal organization or army—just a bit better than nothing.

But the mages of the Arcane District were different. A mage who knew their enemy in advance and prepared accordingly was a completely different beast from one without information or preparation.

Thanks to Aoko’s advance notice, the mages of the Arcane District spent great effort to reinforce their district with layered rituals to protect their businesses and property in Neverwinter. The president of the Mages’ Guild even prepared a temporary maze-lock ritual to counter possible invasions.

While this might seem selfish, compared to the disorganized adventurers, the Mages’ Guild's preparations and responses were adequate and timely.

After all, they had to ensure the safety of their own property before having the time or energy to protect the residents of Neverwinter—a perfectly normal attitude in Faerûn, since not everyone is a paladin.

In addition, Aoko, having just acquired her status as a cleric of Mystra, and with Xenk’s help, notified several good-aligned churches.

But even though the Neverwinter branches—including the Church of Lathander—agreed to prepare in advance, their armed forces were insufficient. Most could only ensure their own safety, not go on the offensive.

Some churches, like the Church of Sune, had to temporarily seek refuge in the churches of friendly denominations, as their own forces were too weak.

Although Aoko’s efforts didn’t greatly strengthen the resistance, they undoubtedly increased the goodwill of Neverwinter’s churches towards her, spreading her reputation throughout the city.

Still, Aoko had a feeling that the scale of trouble the Thayans were stirring up in Neverwinter wasn’t as big as she’d imagined. At least Szass Tam and his patron, the god of tyranny Bane, hadn’t invested much in this operation. It felt more like a take a shot whether you hit or not situation.

This might be why Mystra didn’t treat this as a major incident—she only tipped off her newly recognized daughter Aoko, with a vague instruction: “Do well and you’ll be rewarded, fail and there’s no punishment.”

Very casual.

If this had really been a Faerûn-level apocalypse, the Seven Sisters of the North, the Blackstaff, or Elminster would have already been deployed.

Having reached this conclusion, Aoko, who was now infiltrating Neverwinter Castle with her teammates, felt extremely calm—she knew the sky wasn’t about to fall.

Using a series of illusion spells, Aoko led Xenk, Edgin, and Holga into Neverwinter Castle during the busiest time of day. However, it wasn’t all smooth sailing.

Some guards had indeed received strict orders like “No one is allowed to enter under any circumstances.”

Aoko had to use spells like Sleep or Mind Fog to control them and prevent triggering a large-scale alarm.

Truthfully, Aoko herself preferred to kill any guards who got in her way—she’d seen them do evil at Forge’s command and felt no moral burden in killing them.

However, both Edgin and Xenk opposed this, so she had to temporarily restrain or avoid the guards instead.

Meanwhile, Simon and Doric, using one of Forge’s money-laundering wagons and a portrait of Palvaro they’d bought, sent one end of a teleportation staff’s portal to a storage room near the castle’s treasury—a makeshift transit point.

But when Simon and Doric entered the castle via the teleportation staff, they found themselves far from the real treasury. The room contained only a small portion of the treasure, and even the entrance to the actual vault was unguarded.

“What’s going on, Doric? Did we come to the wrong place?” Simon asked nervously, glancing around.

“This doesn’t look like the room with Mordenkainen's arcane seal I saw last time,” Doric said, frowning. “Seems like our portrait wasn’t good enough to be put into Forge’s vault?”

“So what do we do now?” Simon asked, looking out at the view. “Looks like we’re near the docks?”

“This should be the castle’s rear dock,” Doric said. “Use that invisibility scroll Aoko gave you, and we’ll hurry towards the real vault—I know the way, we’ll make it!”

“Okay!” Simon quickly pulled out a scroll from his pouch. A magical glow enveloped them, and they vanished from sight, leaving only faint footsteps behind.

…

Back with Aoko, she suddenly received a message via Sending: “Looks like Simon and Doric failed. The portrait was sent to a storage room near the castle dock. They’re heading for the actual Mordenkainen's arcane seal location now.”

“I told you that fake painting you bought with three gold dragons was no good,” Holga quipped at Edgin. “Even Forge could tell it was fake at a glance.”

“Doesn’t matter, as long as it got Simon and Doric past the outer guards,” Edgin retorted. “But why is there a treasury near the dock? Could it be...?”

“Are we almost at your daughter’s room?” Xenk interrupted, looking at Edgin. “Should be just past this corridor.”

Edgin checked the map, then nodded nervously, praying that everything would go smoothly so he could return to the simple, happy times he once knew.