Epic Of The Demonic Sage

Lucius was quite interested upon hearing the existence of a group such as the Bergan's Band. He reckoned they were similar to the criminal gangs that existed in his past life that was secretly supported by politicians for their gains.

"Can you tell me more about them?" Lucius questioned.

"Sure. But I think it would be better for us to leave first." John said.

Lucius looked around and nodded his head.

"Let's mark the area for the kingdom's team that will come to clear this place out. We will send a message in the nearby town and they should take care of the rest." Lucius said.

"I didn't expect that we would be done so quickly, but since we're here, we may as well camp out for the night." Kiana suggested.

Lucius thought over it and nodded his head.

"Sure, though we need to spread the beast repellent powder first. Can't have them coming here for the dead bodies. They are bound to be attracted due to the scent." Lucius suggested.

"we'll get to it right away." The guards replied.

"Thank you," Lucius said with a nod.

The six guards soon spread around and got to sprinkling the beast repellent powder. This was a rather expensive item that cost about five gold coins for a kilogram of it. It would repel most of the beasts from approaching it.

Lucius had seen the powder and guessed that it should have been made from a mixture of dried beast dung, urine of predatory beasts and some herbs that are repulsive to the sensitive noses of the beasts.

Lucius even though that he may be able to make a better version of this at a cheaper cost if he was able to find out the exact ingredients used in it. Sadly, the recipe for it was in the hands of the Beast department of the Artificers guild.

Kain was the one who suggested that he take this powder with him, as it may come in handy when camping out at night. It was also an Alumni of his department of beasts that had come up with the beast repellent powder over a hundred years ago.

Since then it had become a staple item to take when traveling for merchants, mercenaries, and caravans. Lucius could only guess how much profit this brought them, though he wondered if the ingredients even cost that much to manufacture it.

While he was thinking of this, the guards had finished spreading the powder and Kiana, along with John had set up four tents. One was for the six guards, while the three others were for Lucius, Kiana and John each.

While Lucius could very well sleep in the carriage, he reckoned the extra leg space in the tent would be better. After all, he would have to sleep sitting up in the carriage since it didn't have a long enough seat.

They had not taken the bigger carriage that was luxurious and had instead taken a smaller one that was faster. 

The sat around the campfire which had been burning here since before they came and relaxed for a bit.

"So what more do you know about the Bergan's Band?" Lucius questioned.

"Ah, yes. Bergan's Band was started about thirty years ago by a mercenary called Bergan. It was originally a small mercenary group and only had four members. But under the strength of Bergan who had an Epic Ranked gift, it soon gained a lot of members in the coming few years. 

In ten years they reached a point where they had four mercenaries with Epic Ranked Gift in their members. Still… they were well behaved back then. They followed the laws and took jobs from the mercenary commission. Their reputation was also good back then." John answered.

"What made them turn into outlaws then?" Lucius questioned.

"Hmm… the exact reason is something people have guessed for a long time. Some say that Bergan just got greedy and started to take assassination jobs and other criminal jobs, while some say he was plotted against by a noble and was forced to become an outlaw.

Though there are some crazy theories that say Bergan was killed, and some imposter took over his place. But these are just false, as if an imposter took over his place, there is no way he would be able to replicate his gift too." John answered.

"What gift does this Bergan have, do you know?" Lucius questioned.

"Began has the Infamous Epic Ranked Gift, Toxic Touch. Anything he touches can be turned toxic and that toxin is very dangerous." John answers.

"Just a toxin? Can't the Priests of Alana do something to it?" Lucius questioned.

"They can, but most people die before that. Still, that is not even the most terrifying part of his gift. The most terrifying part is his control over it. He can make toxins that take a long time to act. He can, for example, touch a surface and make it toxic. Whoever touches it would get poisoned, but this poison would not act for days, weeks or even months. 

Due to the long time it takes for it to act, more people would touch the surface and it would go completely unnoticed. Until… Bergan decides he doesn't need to hold back and activates the poison hiding in their bodies." John explained.

Lucius's brows narrowed upon hearing John's explanation and felt that the man Bergan deserved his reputation. He definitely did have the means to cause terror among the masses. Though there were some doubts that Lucius had.

"There should be some limit to Bergan's Gift, right? It can't be that the toxin just lasts on the surface indefinitely. And what about the people who have been poisoned, can he kill them from any location or does he need to be close to them?" Lucius questioned.

"Hmm, I don't know fully, but I can tell you about the first part. He can basically keep the poison active on the surface depending on the amount of Aether that has been infused in it." John replied.