After a full night's rest, the Leylin's mage team received a new mission.
Due to the battles ahead, the transport of supply between the Sanctum of the Sun and Tranquillien was halted. Food could not be delivered from Tranquillien, and the Farstriders Enclave was unable to resupply its soldiers.
Silvermoon City was forced to transport food to the Farstriders Enclave by water. Although the distance was long, it was the only viable option.
Before dawn, Leylin's team, led by a small group of twenty soldiers, boarded several dilapidated boats and headed to the center of Lake Elrendar.
The morning mist thickened the lake, and with the help of Aminel's [Far Sight], the team slowly sailed forward.
The team was small, and to maintain strength on the front lines, Thalorien Dawnseeker could not assign more soldiers to this mage team.
Honestly, this mission was the most unsettling of all Leylin's missions. East of Lake Elrendar lay the troll territory. While there were no troll camps there, it was within their sphere of influence.
Leylin was worried. Troll scouts knew the food shipments were going from Lake Elrendar to the Ghostlands, and they might launch a surprise attack.
The trolls weren't fools; they understood what was most important in war.
Leylin believed that if the trolls didn't also need to drink the water from Lake Elrendar, they might have directly spread voodoo into the vast lake.
"Our destination is the Isle of Tribulations. Using this island as a base, we can quickly receive our transport fleet." Leylin spread the map across the wooden boat, channeling his arcane energy and using magic to determine his current location.
After nearly four hours of sailing, it was already noon when the entire team arrived at the Isle of Tribulations. Having anchored the boat near the island, Leylin began to survey the island, which stood tall in the lake.
This was the first time for all the team members present, including Leylin, on this gloomy-looking island.
It wasn't very large, and the other end was vaguely visible. If I had to compare it to a specific place, this island would be similar to the Windrunner Spire I'd visited before with Vereesa.
The soldiers' mission differed from the mages'; they were to perform guard duties. After landing on the island, they dispersed and stationed themselves.
The elven soldiers' spacing was meticulous, ensuring that each soldier could see at least two of their companions.
"Leylin, you and Aminel will go to the east side of the island to cast [Scout's Eye]. Frank and I will go to the west." Tyr'ganal said, handing a magical package to Leylin.
"No problem, but while carrying out your mission, try to stay within the soldiers' sight."
Feeling a certain eerieness about the island, Leylin had to be wary. With a gesture of "all right," Tyr'ganal patted Frank's chest and set off.
Leylin glanced at Aminel, and they began to head east. The island's shape was odd, with the eastern landmass more open, even protruding dramatically.
"This is the perfect spot to cast [Scout's Eye]. We could easily detect or identify any incoming creatures." Leylin opened the magic package and took out a crystal ball with a purple glow.
This crystal ball was permeated with a special magical energy. The images it could see could be connected to the mage's mind through the mage's divinity.
However, mages had their own spell that could be used for observation but in the current situation, [Scout's Eye] was the better solution, it helps tracks any nearby humanoids.
Plus with the crystal ball enchanted with that spell makes things easier. Casting [Scout's Eye] four times in different directions, Leylin and Aminel began their work.
To ensure the [Scout's Eye] had the best possible view, the two mages placed the crystal balls on elevated ground and used subtle binding spells to secure them in place, preventing other creatures on the island from knocking them elsewhere.
Continuing eastward, Leylin and Aminel drifted slightly further apart.
As Leylin diligently searched for a location to place the [Scout's Eye], he suddenly heard Aminel's cry.
Alerted, Leylin immediately turned and ran towards Aminel, only to find her left arm entangled in a dense spiderweb.
"You scared me to death." Leylin sighed with relief.
Aminel blushed slightly, and seeing Leylin's nervous expression, her heart warmed. "I was just careless. Who knew there would be such a huge spiderweb here?" she chided Leylin, tearing at the web.
Knowing that Aminel's fire magic wasn't very skillful, Leylin raised his hand, and scattered flames leaped from his left hand, soon consuming the entire web.
As the two mages were about to leave the dark corner, a rustling sound suddenly emanated from above the boulder. The dense sound reached Leylin's ears.
Leylin looked at the spiderwebs at the bottom of the stone wall, and combined it with the sounds from above, it became clear that this island still had some living creatures.
As expected, there was a Spindleweb Spider Cave some distance from where Leylin had landed on the island.
Perhaps having just touched the spider web, the Spindleweb Spiders thought they had taken prey.
Unfortunately, their prey turned out not to be their lunch.
Without waiting for the spiders to attack Leylin, a raging flame erupted from a dark corner. Almost instantly, several spider critters tumbled to the edge of the lake, burning.
"It tastes pretty good, no different from ordinary spider meat." Leylin and Aminel said as they emerged.
They looked up and saw nearly a hundred spider soldiers swarming out of the cave above the boulder.
"The trouble doesn't look big." Aminel said with a smile.
Aminel raised her hands, mobilized the magical energy of the frost element, and chanted a [Blizzard] in the area around her.
These spindleweb spiders were very unfortunate. They had no means of long-range attack. When they wanted to get close to the two mages, they were restricted by the cold temperature and frost.
After the [Blizzard], it was not over yet. Leylin used two [Flamestrikes] at the same time to directly burn these spindleweb spiders. Very easily, these spindleweb spiders were wiped out after a few spells.
However, the battle was not over. Leylin and Aminel looked at the green light of the spindleweb spider cave curiously. This was a light that could only be produced by a strong magical aura of witchcraft.
Could it be that there is a troll witch doctor here? It is hard to imagine why these spindleweb spiders can mix with a troll witch doctor.
This made Leylin and Aminel very puzzled. The answer remained elusive, hidden behind the tangled web of their mysterious alliance.
The scene challenged their assumptions—it was a curious puzzle, one that hinted at a deeper, more complex witchcraft at work.