As the party split up Liam teleported to Svebrial. The city was incredibly lively. With all kinds of services, it had become a hub for the players, lacking nothing.
Profession players and combat players alike found everything they needed.
Not keen on drawing attention Liam donned his shadow cloak as he strolled through the streets. He reached the auction house, even more luxurious than the one in Duabalis, decorated with golden engravings and exuding a magical atmosphere.
But Liam didn't linger, entering a side street. In the shadow between two houses, he found an old shaft. Descending through a ladder he entered the familiar canalization below Svebrial.
The sound of dripping water and scurrying rats accompanied him as he walked through the corridor heading for the black market.
To his surprise he soon heard a few other steps. Obviously the first players had begun to explore the canalization.
When he finally reached the black market he noticed a few mask-wearing players mixed among the NPCs hoping to discover some hidden treasures.
His arrival drew a few curious glances but with his shadow cloak no one could tell whether he was an NPC or a player. But Liam froze as he stared at a particular pair of eyes looking through the holes of a cloud patterned mask.
Brillant and clear they surprisingly belonged to Cloudless, the player Liam gave directions to the black market to, a while ago.
Liam marvelled at the coincidence, but he didn't strike up a conversation. Cloudless also didn't recognize him, turning his head back to the merchant.
Ignoring everyone else Liam directly approached a group of cloaked figures sitting on blankets at the centre of the market without displaying any goods.
His actions drew some attention form the players. Many had tried to trade with these enigmatic figures, but they coldly sent all the players away.
Now that Liam walked towards them, the other players exchanged amused whispers.
"Another newcomer?"
"Does he think he is smarter than all of us?"
"What a joke..."
Liam perceived some of their voices, smiling faintly behind his cloak. But he didn't mock these players. How could they know the black market's rules as well as he did?
It wasn't easy to figure out how to deal with these mysterious merchants who appeared not to have any goods.
In reality these people where the most daring merchants in the black market. Their goods were prohibited and couldn't see the light of day. Thus, they weren't displayed openly.
Only if you had the necessary knowledge could you trade with these merchants. Liam wasn't surprised that no player had figured this out yet.
As Liam strode to the enigmatic merchants some players remained dismissive, some amused, and some offered advice, but nothing could move the veteran.
He came to a stop before a certain individual. Cold eyes stared at him behind a black mask, as if the merchant was ready to commit murder if Liam said one wrong word.
Naturally the young man wasn't intimidated. He rummaged through his memory remembering a certain phrase. A low whisper left his mouth, impossible for the other players to hear:
"Sun, moon, mountains, and seas. Capture all but nothing remains. One move, one change, embodiment of vanity."
Suddenly the coldness disappeared from the merchant's eyes as he nodded his head slowly. This subtle movement startled all the players.
"What's happening?"
"Did they communicate?"
"I think I heard a whisper."
"Did he actually succeed?"
The surprised voices caused a clamour in the black market while Liam continued the interaction. A hoarse, clearly artificial voice poised a question to him:
"How many?"
"Three. Give me your biggest."
A flash ran through the merchant's eyes, but he didn't comment, rather stating a price:
"Five gold!"
"One."
"Four."
"Two."
"Three."
"Deal!"
Liam was surprised by the smooth bargain, inwardly thanking his championship ring. He swiftly exchanged pouches with the merchant, letting the received goods disappear in his inventory.
The action shocked all the players. Their curiosity almost made their brains explode. Someone managed to close a deal! How? Why? What?
Liam noticed the shift in the atmosphere. He hastily escaped before everyone would overwhelm him with questions.
When the players reacted and tried to follow him, they soon got lost in the complicated corridors. The small scene was quickly discussed in various chats, eventually even finding its way into the global chat.
From this moment on the black market became well known among the players.
But Liam didn't care about the commotion he had caused. He emerged somewhere at the edge of the city, taking off his shadow cloak.
There weren't many players here so Liam could avoid being recognized by fans. He sneaked through the streets, the goods he just bought weighing heavily. If an NPC were to discover them, he would be thrown into jail without questions.
Luckily the NPCs had to reason to search his belongings. Thus, Liam managed to safely leave the city. He followed the main rode for a while approaching a prominent mountain outside of Svebrial.
The mountain was an imposing sight, reaching towards the heavens. When the city's inhabitants gazed at the mountain they would feel and a sense of security since this mountain housed the empire's core military.
An impressive fortress grew along its side, large enough for thousands of soldiers. As Liam came closer, he gazed at the imposing grey walls, tall enough to make any potential enemy despair.
Combined with the empire's elite army stationed in the fortress called Skyguard this place was commonly acknowledged as impenetrable.
Yet this wouldn't be enough to make this place famous throughout all of Crunaboul. The real power lay with the beasts living on the mountain as this was the place where the empire's name-giving guardian beasts, the basilisks, lived.
Observing the mountain Liam could spot a lot of the mythical creatures. They appeared quite lazy at the moment but every faction in Crunaboul has records of their exploits.
Basilisks were the reason why the Rising Basilisk Empire could become the biggest empire on the continent. They were the most powerful creatures willing to make contracts with others.
Only someone suicidal would dare to mess with them. But this was exactly what Liam was here for.
The veteran travelled past Fort Skyguard, constantly observed by the watchful soldiers. Skyguard was a restricted area and not even Liam would be able to get inside.
Thus, he had to circle the mountain until he found an obscure path doused in shadows. Liam looked upwards and sighed before beginning the arduous climb.
He walked along the rugged mountain path. Rocks and roots tried to trip him making the journey anything but enjoyable.
Usually, only basilisks used this path. They didn't care for the branches coming from all directions, but Liam couldn't help but get annoyed.
Yet he persisted. At least there were no basilisks close by. The vane, lazy beasts liked to bask in the sun and would avoid the shadowy side of the mountain.
Thus, Liam only needed to fight against nature until he finally reached a cliff face obstructing his path.
The veteran wasn't surprised. With the assistance of Refresnim's Orb of Flight he swiftly left the obstacle behind. Landing on solid ground he looked for another path.
Liam trekked the mountain for a while until the same scene repeated twice more.
When he arrived below the third cliff Liam had already been wandering for more than two hours. Fortunately, he profited from his enhanced body, not suffering from exhaustion despite advancing at a brisk pace.
Now he was close to the top of the mountain. The air was noticeably thinner but had a certain magical quality to it. The mana was dense, as if something at the top of the mountain attracted it.
Lima took a deep breath. Using the last charge of his item he shot into the sky. The view was breathtaking, but Liam didn't have the mind to care as the atmosphere became more and more oppressive, forcing him to focus on his flight.
Finally, he made it past the cliff. Liam expected the shadow to recede and the sun to welcome him, but this wasn't the case.
Instead, he was met with a pair of large, playful eyes. They belonged to a massive body which plunged Liam into darkness, causing his blood to freeze and his scalp to turn numb.
Liam forced himself to remain courageous as he looked at the creature before him. It was a moving hill with two legs, its body ending in a snake's tail bigger than a tree, which assisted in propping up its body.
It had its vast wings opened wide, displaying the colourful leathery wings, which sparkled in the sun, more beautiful than even the most intense rainbow.
Feathers grew from its torso upwards moving in the wind, decorated with all kinds of golden jewellery.
On top of its long neck sat the head of a proud rooster with mysterious red eyes and a beak sturdy enough to shatter mountains. It had the red crown typical of a rooster but on top of it sat another bigger, golden crown.