Holly Town welcomed a strange traveler in the early morning. He was wearing a cloak and riding a horse through the green space by the river. There is a river that flows into the sea next to the town. Most people come by boat because the waterway is gentle, but the wilderness is full of dangerous beasts. More bandits are spread throughout the cracks that the kingdom's legions cannot search, and the guards must be vigilant about people trying to enter the town to avoid getting into trouble. Under the fence he took off his hat as required, revealing a stubbled face. When the Night's Watch came to watch and asked where he was, he told them that he came from Ironclaw.
"It's not a good idea to travel all night." One of the guards said more.
"Exactly. But the news waits for no one."
"The Adventurer's Tavern is next to two date trees, and its signboard is a monkey." The traveler was right. For this news, the night watchman earned a Black City coin before his shift.
"Thanks, man. Can you tell me how to get to the church?"
The guard accepted the second coin. He happily stretched out his hand and pointed at the buildings by the river. "Don't go too early." He added an instruction. "The priest in charge of baptisms and confessionals is the same person. He usually gets up very late. You'd better go to the tavern first. Gaia bless you, brother." He felt the other person tremble at his last name. Mostly an illusion.
The traveler put his hat back on, covering his head and face. The movement drew the guard's attention to the mail and iron sword beneath his cloak. Most adventurers were dressed like this, so there was nothing worth paying attention to... However, the sword was surprisingly large, and the handle shone with light. Before the guard could take a closer look, the traveler passed the level. Another Gaia believer. He stuffed the gold coins into the folds of his clothes and took over with the oncoming guards.
The tavern’s monkey sign is made of black iron, with a tattered and faded flag hanging from a thin pole. Two crows landed on the eaves. Even in the early morning, there are many customers here.
The traveler took off his cloak—completely this time, cloak and all. But he didn't take off his gloves. He threw the dirty coat on the chair, and the ice blade immediately attracted the attention of many guests.
The bar was just as he imagined, filled with the pungent smell of alcohol and perfume, and most of the people who spent the night here were adventurers. The environment here is like a warehouse: there are only a few tables and the benches are all crooked. Sand mixed with muddy water covered the ground, and in one corner were piles of empty wooden barrels covered with insect infestations. But behind the bar hung a dart board, and two mercenaries wearing crab armbands were betting on who could hit the heart first. The woman wore a patterned skirt, exposing her arms and legs, not caring at all about the cool breeze of the Harvest Moon. They smile at everyone who comes through the door. This is not what a warehouse should look like, even if the walls still retain traces of the accumulation of debris.
The store owner was an old, lame retired mercenary with a pipe in his mouth. Adventurers' taverns are always owned by their own people. "What do you want?"
"Is there water?"
The old mercenary glanced at him. "There is water. Some are red. Some are yellow. If it is transparent, you can drink it from the river outside the door."
"I'm going to church soon," he explained.
"Then you should choose red." The boss gave him a glass of hot lemonade. "Perhaps the priest will welcome you. There have been vampires coming to the church these days - it's opened my eyes. Fortunately they didn't cause trouble. Otherwise, I would have eaten the birds in the rafters."
"So you received them."
"It's not just reception, I welcomed them." The old mercenary asked him to pay the bill and sold the lemonade for the price of ale, and then told him: "They want two cups of fresh human blood, and I don't sell this stuff. Of course, I admit that the products in my store are not as rich as those in big cities, but this is not the reason for them to cause trouble. My nephew cut off the finger of one of the idiots, soaked it in wine and handed it to them. This is the cup." He looked at the travelers carefully. . "My nephew is a serious patrol knight. Really. These idiots don't even dare to fart."
"Then," said the traveler, "you let your nephew follow them?"
"Anyway, they paid for that glass of blood wine." The old mercenary knocked on the cigarette rod proudly. "I haven't asked about the price yet."
The traveler finished his drink, but the expression on his young face did not change. "What do they go to church for?" he asked.
"Everyone is curious," the old mercenary said, "but I won't tell them the answer. Of course, except for you, kid." Under the temptation of an Abi gold coin, he immediately changed his mind. "These two idiots are not completely stupid. They did not go there in person, but relied on two street boys to deliver the news. They planned to sell goods in the town. You must know that the church has the right to sell atonements to merchants who do not believe in Gaia Voucher.”
If the lords taxed the people because they provided them with land and protection, it was reasonable; then the indulgences of the Gaia Church were completely the product of noble compromise and were essentially plunder. Indulgence originated after the Dawn War. At that time, the Gaia Church had just left the mysterious realm and was nominally free from the control of the wizards of the Silent School. The church was in urgent need of using things other than faith to attract believers and expand its scale. Indulgences, under the banner of "paying off sins and redeeming bad debts," are actually controversial as a tool for the church to make money. Later, the first pope stepped down, and the Silent School regained control of the church and carried out internal reforms. However, the increased military needs of the Crusades forced the ascetics to acquiesce in the existence of indulgences. It's as if they can't think of any other way to make money besides profiting from the price difference of the paper.
The church preaches that people do not do evil, but people do make mistakes. In order to erase the record of their evil deeds, people must pay a price. It goes without saying what the price is. In Eastman, this decision was even more serious, but it was supported by the nobility - businessmen are the best at deception, so they must regularly purchase a certain number of indulgences from the church to "pay their conscience debts" and be responsible for supervising their natural affairs. He is a local noble.
"So they went to bribe the priest?"
"Is there any other reason?"
The traveler seemed to agree with this answer. "I hope the quality of their goods is better than what I pick up casually. What can the vampires sell? Different flavors of blood wine?"
The old mercenary laughed. "Brew-making is not suitable for the Night Nobles. They should use hoes. The Oath Keepers Alliance is the most in need of money, but there are also races that are extremely poor... The Vampires cannot dig out gold mines in their ancestral land, but they found it in the human kingdom. I see this kind of people everywhere, and their noses are specially designed to smell the smell of gold coins. Have you heard of the disaster of the undead in the Four-leaf Territory?"
"I just heard it."
"Do you still want to participate? It is said that a large local mercenary group has lost nearly half of its personnel, not to mention the mortals." The old mercenary glanced at him sideways, "Just listen to this kind of thing, don't always think about going up. Minato. What do young people know about adventurousness? It's just recklessness. I understand you, and so do my legs." He patted his lame leg. "The crazy necromancer developed an alchemical potion and tried to poison the Four Leaf City to destroy it. There are rumors that he is the devil of the starless night. Of course, the final incident alerted the Sky Tower, who was responsible for peacekeeping in the country. Lord Messenger is a famous demon hunter, and that lunatic was dead in just a few strikes."
He talked for a long time, but didn't get to the point.
But there was no need for him to explain clearly. "A vampire got the potion recipe, didn't he?"
"A few guys are still very keen. Anyway, a new type of tobacco has come out of their workshops. The taste is no worse than black twine, but the price is only one-third." Black twine was originally the highest quality tobacco, and it was once used in Binzhou. There was a wave of enthusiasm on Nia'aio. People competed to grow tobacco, and even developed a trading city dedicated to selling black twine tobacco, with a unique trading currency. This is where the Black City gold coins come from.
The traveler’s questions are over. He ordered another glass of ale and sat down beside his cloak. Since lemonade is equivalent to wine, there is no need to choose the former even if you don’t drink it. The folds of the cloak were a little different, and it was obvious that the thief who had fumbled with it had not gotten anything out of the pocket and had not bothered to restore it to its original shape. He didn't mind.
"..."
"I thought your purpose would be more clear." A line of words appeared on the side wall of the cup.
Uriel said: "Isn't it obvious enough?"
"The way you are looking for someone, you should go directly to the door and question them. It seems that the Iron Claw Church has taught you a lesson, right? 』
The church in Iron Claw is as good as the branch, and the number of Cross Knights stationed in it is even greater than that in Brumnot. Most of the priests are mysterious creatures of the ring level, and there are also quite a few priests among them. The Archbishop of Eastman, Peyton Forest, is no less mysterious than the tower's original resident, Mr. Eads. Of course, the apprentice did not see this respected spokesperson for the goddess. In the royal capital, he could not find any whereabouts of the baby. In fact, he didn't even get a chance to enter the church's backyard.
From there, he realized the way he followed leads needed to change.
"This is good news." Uriel still thinks so, "Not all Gaia believers are involved in the transaction."
"But you can't tell who is involved unless you ask," Sauron pointed out, "There are not many opportunities like this."
"So, although it is possible to hit the target directly, it is not very efficient at the moment." Uriel said, "Of course I can do this in Holly Town. But the children are not here, and I don't need to hold on to the church. “It’s important to find the rotten branches in the church, but what’s even more critical is where those children are. "The Vampires belong to the buyer's side, I might as well get some news from them."
"Not everyone is willing to tell...wait, you used magic on that old guy?" ” The ring was shocked and punctuated. "You didn't use the Scroll of Oath"
"It's a divine spell. It can make people more honest." Uriel explained uncomfortably. "This is an equal mystery, and I also have to pay the price. It's that gold coin. It's the only way to exchange what he desires for the news I want."
"Where did you learn this trick?" Sauron felt that his position was threatened.
The apprentice felt even more uncomfortable. "Give me that copy of Gaia's teachings for free."
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