The Valley of Sleep is not very famous in the Four-leaf Territory because the mysterious creatures keep it secret, and the knights loyal to the lords and minor nobles are also reluctant to say more. Even the mercenaries and rangers don't mention this place much.
Adventurers like to brag that a bottle of ale can make them vomit out how many pairs of underwear they changed last night; these cunning and profit-seeking old fritters don't like to be embarrassed. No one likes to be embarrassed, but the thing more terrifying than losing face is losing one's life, so They also said nothing about the valley in the Four-leaf Forest.
"This is not good, I suggest a detour."
When Joey proposed to take a shortcut, Dwarf and York rejected it in unison. At this time, they had forgotten the contrast in power between the two. The former could easily turn the mercenaries into crystal-clear wilderness watchers.
"Think about it before you speak." The young man lowered his head because Painter had not yet gotten up from the ground when he spoke.
He was obviously a little annoyed, so he turned a blind eye to York's little move.
“None of the adventurers in Eastman will go there—” The big-nosed dwarf stood up under Joey’s gaze. As soon as he said a word, his pants fell down. This caused all his subsequent words to get stuck in his throat, turning into an angry and embarrassed roar.
York couldn't care less about supporting him anymore. He was laughing so hard that he couldn't breathe. The apprentice and Sauron were even more happy.
"York!" Painter locked the target directly, and he was so angry that his beard almost exploded. The dirt suddenly flew up and hit the orange-faced man. The light element was caught off guard and was immediately embarrassed. This was not enough to satisfy his hatred, so the dwarf took advantage of the chaos and snatched York's kettle and poured all the coffee in it.
The latter looked distressed and said, "Lucia, what have you done!"
"Let you understand that respecting your companions is more important than drinking coffee." The dwarf's nose was still red. His legs were so short and thick that no one could see his underwear for a moment. This is undoubtedly a blessing for the dwarves.
But Sauron was not among them. He was drawing pictures with coffee on the ground with great interest. But before Painter could get angry, the elemental life York couldn't stand the waste of "brown and black Abi gold coins". He thought it was a stain.
"Why didn't I find your fin?" Painter crushed the thin ice and turned to taunt York.
Non-human beings are sometimes much more exaggerated than humans. Just like the white candle is a symbol of the god of the sea. If someone dares to cut the white candle as a radish, or light it with an unblessed flame, then the fish-man Nagas Will blow his head off with a sharp chisel. This barbaric behavior makes mysterious creatures who have no similar customs very disgusted.
Joey looked on coldly, as if the ring was not on his hand.
"Why is this?" Uriel couldn't help but ask after laughing.
"You know mercenaries love to talk about their adventures."
"The Valley of Sleep is a great place for adventure."
The dwarf grinned: "A place that has been visited is considered a good place. Everyone knows that there is basically no return to that valley. There is a dangerous place in the Four Leaf Territory that one dare not go to. For mercenaries, this is very embarrassing. thing."
"It's even more embarrassing to admit that I don't have the guts," York added.
Uriel said in astonishment: "Is it scarier than Gavash?"
"Gavash? A group of skeletons and maggot-infested corpses-" Big Nose squeaked, "I can guarantee that no adventurer will shrink in front of the undead."
"Unless it's the Sea of the Dead." The orange-faced man added. "But the Valley of Sleep is different. No one who comes close to it comes back from the forest. Whether mercenaries or knights, they are equal there."
On the way out from Frostleaf Castle, the two genuine mercenaries did not let go of him, the only audience. Uriel was forced to endure their turns of boasting, knowing the details of the Battle of Hercule Street better than any of them by now. However, the two guys' open-minded and frank attitude towards death and separation also greatly encouraged the apprentice, otherwise he would definitely be immersed in sorrow for a long time.
"We are mercenaries, and mercenaries take risks every moment." York said, he was sad but still calm. "We choose this life, and death is our fate."
The dwarf Painter's answer was more relaxed: "He is right, sooner or later we will die anyway, so we might as well be bolder in our approach to life."
Uriel knew that Cecilia was not a mercenary. She was murdered by the Necromancer, along with most of the civilians in the city. However, there are as many people in the world who cherish their lives as they enjoy death.
It's just that the two deaths are different after all, so that he is still sad for his Miss Carrot alone.
Until Joey's voice brought him back to consciousness——
"I guess there must be no empty realm in it."
There was no contempt or pride in the young man's voice, as if he was stating a fact. He is very confident in his own strength, but this confidence does not entirely come from strength.
"You are right, Lord Messenger." The dwarf did not retort, "But it is not worth taking such a risk - adventurers enjoy excitement, but will not give up everything for excitement. We just need to bypass the damn valley and follow the edge of the Four-leaf Forest If we follow the trade route, we can reach the south of Whinworth in seven days."
It's the south, yes. Uriel got a map of the south of the kingdom before leaving. He discovered that there was a vast and dense forest that stretched between the wilderness and the polar regions, and that Veniawaz was located at the border of the forest, opposite to the wilderness; and what was very unfortunate was that the forest belt separated the Four-leaf Territory and the Ice Territory and continued. It extends and curves to form a semi-encirclement trend towards the ice-covered Whinneys.
This is also one of the fundamental reasons that restricts the development of the Ice Territory. Compared with food grown, monsters and beasts in the forest are easier to obtain.
"The Crusaders of the Church and many Silver Eagle Knights are stationed on the trade road. It is the only passage through the Four-leaf Forest." The dwarf concluded, "The Sky Realm does not need to know this. With Croyta's permission, they can Fly directly over the forest. But we can't."
This sentence refers specifically to the apprentices. After all, the two mercenaries are just traveling with them. Of course Joey could fly through the forest, but Uriel could only walk on his legs.
What he said was reasonable, but the apprentice knew that the messenger would not agree. Although trade routes are better for spreading messages, they are too slow. They had to go to Iron Claw, and they were just pretending to be in Whinworth.
"Entering the forest towards the Valley of Sleep, we can reach Winnie Watts in two days." Joey said so. At the same time, he glanced at the apprentice and signaled him not to talk too much.
"I will take you across the valley and reward Eds Haynes for his service by giving his friends a glorious deed worth bragging about for years to come."
If Joey hadn't told him in advance last night, Uriel felt that he would probably have believed what he said. York and Painter were surprised, but he asked first, "Do you really plan to do that?"
Joey looked directly into his eyes, "Can't you?"
"But... you didn't ask Mr. Eze for his opinion."
"That's an added bonus. His share of Demosis will be given to him."
"But it's too dangerous." After Cecilia's death, Uriel finally realized how fragile life is. Eze has lost his mysterious favor. Who can guarantee that Painter and York are safe and sound?
"I am your mentor and I will not let you die in the valley." Joey promised seriously.
Uriel did not feel relieved about this. He himself was eager to go to the Valley of Sleep, but the mercenaries may not think so. He couldn't put the two of York in danger just to shorten the time to get to Iron Claw City.
It's just that Joey is not an arrogant person. He must have some kind of strength that he doesn't know as support: "Are you sure about it, Bai?"
"Your magic could come in handy."
"Except?"
The young man paused and stared at the apprentice with a strange look. The latter suddenly realized something and couldn't help but hold his chest. There is a close-fitting pocket, and inside the pocket is an ancient parchment roll.
"Scroll of Oath."
…
Uriel didn't know how he could agree with Joey's explanation, but now they were standing outside the valley. York and Painter were even easier to persuade than him. With the Mystic from the Sky Realm leading them, there was no reason for the two adventurers to refuse with excitement flowing in their veins.
"I think—" He was about to speak when he felt Painter tug at his pants. The dwarf glared at him and said, "Shut up." He lowered his voice so low that the apprentice, who was used to his loud and rude voice, could hardly hear what he was saying.
There are many insects, ants and monsters in the forest, but Uriel has not seen any of them along the way; when he crawled through a beech tree, he woke up the gray snake coiled on the branch, and it did not coil up and hiss. Instead, he silently crawled behind the group of people. There was no sound of birds flapping their wings or wind disturbing the branches and leaves nearby. The trees were silent, and the rustling footsteps were the only companions of the silence.
These can make apprentices realize something is wrong. But they haven't entered the valley yet, so they won't offend the mystery inside.
Uriel couldn't help but retreat. He shouldn't have come here because of a moment of confusion and overconfidence. The Scroll of Oath is also mysterious, and the apprentice is not sure that it can deal with the "Valley of Sleep"; as for his own magic - maybe it can also be regarded as one of the dangers.
But it's too late to say anything. The mysterious valley is right in front of us.
There were four of them, with Joey flying in the air and clinging to the stone wall; below were York and Uriel, who were forced to squeeze into a narrow stone crevice. The big-nosed dwarf was at the end. His small body was nothing, but if he added a hammer, he would not be able to get in even if the opening of the stone gap was twice as big.
The crevices between the stones were filled with wet moss, and Uriel felt greasy and slippery between his fingers, as if he had grabbed a handful of butter from the kitchen or the moldy fur at the bottom of the cabinet - when he was cleaning the Knox Bar. , he dug out such a pile of things.
The valley is not cold, but it is deathly silent. The narrow bank is covered with fluffy greenery, covering up the jagged thorns; a clear spring flows out from under the broken roots of dead trees, pours into the cracks in the ground, and overflows through the mud path. The top of the cliff is covered with maples and firs, with a few stone olives clinging to their feet.
All this is quite ordinary, if it were accompanied by sound.
