Near the junction of the forest on the bank of the Rhine and the northern lowlands, several people wearing dirty light-colored civilian tunics pushed aside the dense branches of the bushes and carefully observed the muddy road in the forest that was full of footprints and ruts. .
"Hey," Cliff, who was leading the donkey, had nervousness and anxiety on his face. He looked back from time to time, "We are wearing inconspicuous civilian clothes, and there is no one on the main road. Why are we marching so slowly?"
"Shut up, you idiot who doesn't understand anything." The leader of the bearded bandit had an eye-catching burn scar on his face. He pressed down on Colliff's head. "If I were as stupid as you are now, I guarantee that we He won’t survive more than three days.”
Cliff had no choice but to suppress the sense of urgency in his heart, comfort his donkey, and wait honestly with the bandits.
When Cliff closed his eyes with thick dark circles, endless regret came to his heart - he really brought it upon himself and lost everything.
Not only did he fail to get back a silver denier coin given to Duden that night, but he also became a wanted criminal in the territory. He was forced to abandon his precious mill and head to a cold and wet place with all the valuable belongings he could take. To spend the rest of my life in a strange place.
"Ah sneeze!"
"Damn it." Cliff sneezed, muttered, rubbed the snot flowing out from the bottom of his nose, and wiped it on his clothes.
Last night, Cliff found the group of bandits entrenched in the northern part of the Deheis Forest.
The bandit boss was horrified when he learned from Colive that Baron Simon had several hounds with keen sense of smell. Regardless of the cold night wind, he insisted that the Colives take the donkey to take a bath in the Rhine River first, and then put the donkey to the Rhine River for a bath. Throw away all your clothes before going on the road with them.
Cliff had no choice but to walk towards the cold Rhine River while secretly cursing. After he and his wife took a shower, changed into new clothes and joined the bandits on the road, Colliff gradually felt that his breathing was not so smooth as he walked, and the sticky mucus was slowly encroaching on him. of the nasal cavity.
"Lord, I hope I can reach England safely." Cliff blew his nose, spit on the ground, clasped his hands and prayed to God for comfort.
"rustle……"
There was movement in the grass on the other side of the main road, and the bandits nervously drew arrows and nocked their bows. After a while, a thin guy wearing a shabby sweatshirt, a gray hood, and carrying a basket on his back, dressed like a woodcutter, appeared in front of everyone.
"Boss, I have conducted reconnaissance. There is no ambush ahead of me, and there are no noble private soldiers blocking the road for investigation. We can keep walking along the main road until we leave the Barony of Arnhem." The guy dressed as a woodcutter wiped his hood with his hood. Wiping the sweat from his head, he gasped and said.
"If I remember correctly, go all the way north, past the Barony of Arnhem, to the port of Abeldoorn?" the bandit leader said, inserting the ax back into the belt around his waist.
"Yes, there should be many merchant ships from England there. Generally speaking, as long as the captain is given some benefits, he will agree to take these two guys to the other side of the sea."
"Of course," the bandit leader changed the subject, "But you know, we can't go there."
"Why!?" Cliff, who was standing by with his ears pricked up, looked anxiously and interrupted the conversation between the two. "Didn't you promise to send me on a ship to England?"
"Shut up, you uneducated country bumpkin." A bald gangster slapped Cliff in the face, leaving a clear red slap mark. "If you keep talking, believe it or not, I will tie you to this tree." Feeding wolves in the trees?”
"Count me in," the minion next to him rubbed his hands with a smirk, and then pulled out the rusty dagger from the scabbard, "I'm almost fed up with this noisy guy, he's more annoying than the fleas on my back. .I propose that we play with his wife in front of him before you tie him to the tree."
Cliff was so angry that he trembled all over. He protected his wife behind him, and his hand touched the handle of the short ax at his waist. He thought that if these two bastards made any rash move, he would mercilessly split their heads open.
"Have you had enough trouble?" The bandit leader's eyes were full of coldness. He looked at the two bald men and then locked his eyes on Colliff, "I'm not someone who doesn't keep my word. We can go The nearby Redburg boarded the ship. Now, you all put away your weapons. Our weapons should be used to shed the blood of the nobles and their lackeys, not to kill each other!"
Both sides put away their weapons angrily, but Cliff noticed that the bandit leader patted the bald robber on the shoulder intentionally or unintentionally, which was recognition of the bald man's defense of him.
Cliff broke into a cold sweat.
It seems that if it weren't for the promise made by the bandit leader last night, he, a daredevil, would have lost his life just now.
The group continued on the road, pulling donkeys and a cartload of goods, just like the villagers going to the town to trade.
On the way, the bandit leader also explained to Cliff why they could not go to Abeldoorn Port.
In addition to being easily exposed due to the large number of eyes, the bandit leader did not shy away from telling Coliff about the bad things he had done in Abeldoorn Port, including kidnapping local businessmen for ransom, assassinating people, and others. They fought against security guards and carried out many successful burglaries.
The mayor of Port Abeldoorn still had a wanted bounty on him. He was not a fool who surrendered himself to a trap, so they decided to take a detour to Redburg, where there was also a small pier.
"Drive, drive!"
While chatting, Cliff noticed a faint sound of horse hooves coming from the main road behind him.
The bandit leader squinted his eyes and looked back cautiously - there was only one person coming, riding a chestnut traveling horse, wearing a thick stuffed leather coat, and carrying a cowhide bag on his shoulder.
"It's the messenger, don't panic, get out of the way." The bandit leader waved calmly to the bald man, who drove the carriage to the side of the road with a riding whip.
Sure enough, the man on horseback obviously had no interest in these poor "peasants", nor did he say any greetings, but passed them directly to the north.
"You stinky errand boy," the bandit leader spat on the ground and said viciously, "Who are you looking down on? If I hadn't been able to attract attention now, I would have thrown you off with a horse rope!"
Perhaps it was because their clothes were too cheap and too slovenly, but he could clearly feel the contempt and disdain in the messenger's eyes the moment he passed by. But thinking about it from another perspective, this also proves that their disguise is quite good.
"Could that be Baron Simon's messenger?" Cliff asked the bandit leader anxiously.
"Impossible, you must be overthinking," the bandit leader said decisively, "We crossed the ferry and are now on the other side of the Rhine. Moreover, this is the Principality of Friesland, and that young Baron Simon is unlikely I’ll get to know the nobles here.”
"I hope..." Cliff was still a little uneasy.
"If you know those nobles, you will know that those guys who have nothing to do all day are willing to let the clerk write a letter, no matter how boring it is, and have their courier send it to another noble. It is nothing more than greetings. That's all bullshit. The messenger just now was probably the messenger of some local noble."
"That's it." Cliff breathed a sigh of relief.
After evading toll checkpoints in several small territories, they arrived at Redburg with little risk in the evening.
Redburg is located on an artificial hillock in the lowland seaside plain. It is a square wooden fortress.
The bandit leader who was leading the way saw a simple catapult on one of the castle towers. What he didn't know was that the catapult was made by Simon himself during the Baron of Iser War.
Several large bucklers with Viking patterns hang on the wooden doors of the castle, which is the best evidence that Baron Red has defeated Viking raids one after another.
"No one should catch us here," the bandit leader couldn't help but relax as he looked at the unfamiliar faces coming and going. "Let's go to the tavern to have something to eat, and then go to the dock to find a boat to England."
"That's great." Colliff, who was frightened all the way, finally laughed from the bottom of his heart - he would be able to get rid of Baron Simon's pursuit in no time.
He couldn't help but feel proud. He thought, maybe that idiot Simon was still leading his henchmen in circles in the Deheis forest. No one knew that he was about to fly away on a sea ship.
As for losing the mill, to be honest, Cliff didn't care that much anymore. The thrills along the way made him understand that only living is the most important thing.
Smelling the salty and cool sea breeze, they came to the market by the sea.
The bandit boss opened the wooden door of the tavern with a clang, and it was filled with laughing sailors and traders finishing their work. No one paid attention to these guys who had just entered.
Cliff, who had never been to such a distant place, decided to enjoy himself. He ordered a can of fresh milk, a large smoked sausage, a plate of white bread and a whole roast chicken. This cost him nearly seventeen copper coins, which was equivalent to the income of a farmer working hard for several months.
After enjoying the most comfortable meal since his escape, he also bought a large piece of cheese as dry food on the road.
"Let's go to the dock. Once we pick the boat, I'll give you the other two Denier silver coins I promised." Cliff said to the bandit leader who was still drinking heavily.
"Boss, let's send this annoying guy away quickly and get the reward." The drunken bald robber raised the old wooden cup filled with mead. "After we get the money, we can still find a girl tonight." Enjoy it and enjoy it.”
"Okay." The bandit leader stood up and opened the door of the tavern.
There is no sound in the market area at night except for the sound of waves, the chirping of seagulls and the frolic coming from taverns and bathhouses. The strong wind blowing from the sea lifted their hoods.
Perhaps because he disliked the strange smell of the hood that kept getting into his nose, Cliff boldly took off his hood in the dim light, comforting his wife and constantly saying that they would be free soon.
"Hey, stop right there!"
The sudden sound made Cliff's hair stand up. He turned his head stiffly. A man dressed as a tax collector and several armed soldiers holding torches were walking towards them.
Cliff instinctively wanted to run away, but didn't this make it more solid that the group of them had ulterior motives?
"Don't run away, he is a tax collector. This is a misunderstanding. He probably thinks of us as smugglers." The bandit leader said to Cliff in a low voice.
"I've never seen you before, what do you do?"
The tax collector's harsh words made Cliff's heart tremble, but what comforted him was that this man probably didn't know that he was now a wanted outlaw.
"Dear Sir, we are definitely not damn smugglers. I am here to send a friend to England." The bandit leader put on a flattering smile, completely different from his coldness during the day, "I follow the rules." knew."
As he said that, the bandit leader winked at Cliff and whispered "twelve".
After understanding what he meant, Cliff took out twelve copper coins and stuffed them into the tax collector's hand with a pained look on his face.
"This dock belongs to the great Baron Red. Anyone who uses this masterpiece of the world must pay a usage fee. As for the extra copper coins, let me treat you to the tavern for a cup of hot wine to warm yourself up." The bandit leader said He is a man who is both coarse and fine, and what he added makes it impossible for anyone to find anything wrong with him.
"Very good," the tax collector took the copper coin from Cliff's hand with satisfaction, nodded, and saw Cliff's face clearly through the light of the torch in the hands of the soldiers behind him, "Where are you from?"
"I, I..." Facing the tax collector under the firelight, Colif was a little incoherent for a moment, and replied nervously, "Geldenburg from Held."
Cliff didn't want to involve his hometown and nearby areas. After all, he was still afraid that the postman during the day was carrying his wanted order, and he didn't dare to gamble with his own life.
But he knew too few place names in other places, so he had an idea and cleverly used the place where the owner of the Stump Tavern, Herta, often traveled to buy goods as his hometown.
"No, you are lying," the well-informed tax collector frowned, "I have been working at this dock for decades, and I have seen many people from Geltenberg. It is obvious that they talk His accent is different from yours. Your accent sounds more like you came from the Earl of Loon, which is said to have now become the territory of the Principality of Cologne."
"Ah...ha, you are right. I was actually born in Geldenburg, but my father brought me to live in the Earl of Lowen since I was a child, so I have the accent there." Cliff's head was spinning rapidly. He explained in a self-explanatory manner.
"Really?" The tax collector, who had seen countless people, smelled something amiss like a keen hound, and he began to carefully examine the face of the suspicious guy in front of him.
At the same time, Cliff noticed that several soldiers behind the tax collector were pointing and muttering something to him, his wife and the donkey carrying the luggage.
For a moment, Cliff had a bad feeling.
"It's him! Take them down for me!"
Suddenly, the tax collector took out the iron rod from his waist, stepped forward and knocked down Colliff, who had not yet reacted.
"run!"
At the screams of Colliff's wife, the bandit leader, who was originally in a slightly tipsy state, was frightened and woke up completely. After giving the goons the order to retreat, he quickly disappeared into the empty stalls of the market.
He knew that Cliff was done. There was no need for him to attack tax collectors and soldiers at the risk of being chased by Baron Red's troops. If things get too big, he will have to follow suit.
The soldiers behind the tax collector swarmed up, but they only caught the drunken bald robber and another unlucky gangster. The others had disappeared into the night.
"Don't worry about the escapees, first take these two suspects from the Earl of Loon to the dungeon." The tax official took out a rope and tied Cliff's hands and feet, and said to the soldiers, "I have to take Red The baron's friend asked the courier to send a wanted notice today for comparison. If it is really these two people, I will definitely treat you to a drink."
"No need to doubt it, Lord Leo, you have ordered this drink. A middle-aged strong man from the Earl of Loon, his wife, and a donkey. My God, I really can't find anyone except them. The second one is more consistent." A soldier who was escorting Colliff's wife said with a smile.
Hearing this, Colif's heart was already cold. Looking at the ships docked in the port very close to him, he burst into tears out of anger and unwillingness.
"Just a little bit, damn, just a little bit close!"
You are a genius, remember in one second: Red Oasis:
