But now all this is ruined by Loris.
The old knight looked at the unruly young man in front of him and sighed.
Sir Vaquier just shook his head but didn't say anything. He motioned to Little Billy to take off the package and let the horses eat some weeds. The trek for several days had left him physically and mentally exhausted, and now he just wanted to take a good rest. The pond is surrounded by a mangrove forest that extends northward along the water. Except for the banyan trees, most of these trees are made of white bone soil, and some smelly jasmine and eryngium trees occasionally grow among them.
Sir Vaquel took off his heavy chain mail under the service of Little Billy, bent down and picked up a handful of water to wash his face. Water droplets accidentally slipped into the corner of his mouth, and his taste buds were immediately occupied by bitterness. Vaquier frowned, confused.
"Ah, by the grace of Poseidon, this is actually sea water!" Before he could speak, Loris was the first to shout. "Dear Mr. Vaquier, maybe we have gone in a circle and come back again!" Loris's sinister tone made Vaquier a little unhappy, but he still looked in the direction Loris pointed. There is a small fan-shaped mouth in the north of the pond, and beyond the small mouth is a vast ocean.
Vaquier certainly knew what this meant. Logically speaking, they should have crossed the Linman Strait to the vast inland to the south, and the dark forest should be deep in the continent, but they kept walking north after turning the Golden Sheep's Horn. . Damn Lando! At this moment, he finally realized that this well-educated bachelor had never been to the vast continent south of the Lingman Strait, so he only hastily marked a few landmark buildings on the parchment map he drew as a "guide." ".
"I have told you before that that old guy has never been to the Southern Territory, the Dark Forest? Hey, maybe he heard this name from a few Visser merchants!"
Loris was already furious at this moment. There was such a shameless person in this world. The old guy only needed to talk in front of the lord, and he could arrogantly appoint others to go to the wild southern border as envoys. What’s even funnier is that he didn’t even know this. Where exactly is the place.
"So we should be in Qianwan now..." Although he deliberately remained calm, there were still waves of fear in Sobotu's voice. Judging from the map, Qianwan is located in the northeast corner of the southern border, isolated from the entire continent. It is a peninsula surrounded by sea on three sides and mountains on the back. They should have arrived here along the wasteland to the north. When he was young, he traveled around for martial arts competitions and once met a mercenary knight from the south. The knight told him that even the bravest knights would not dare to set foot in the shallow bay. According to legend, there are man-eating and bone-eating beasts there, which are far more terrifying than the thieves and trolls.
"We must leave here immediately!" Sir Vaquier's voice was sonorous and powerful, leaving no room for doubt. He is the envoy chief of this mission and has the obligation to bring everyone on the mission safely back to the land of Allen's electorate.
"Now that we're here, why bother leaving in such a hurry!" Loris didn't get what Vaquier wanted. He lay down on his back and hummed against an oval pebble.
Vaquier was about to have a seizure when he heard a loud noise, followed by a rustling sound from the surrounding eryngium trees, and a warm current rose in the air from the north.
"Dragon, it's a dragon!" Little Billy exclaimed first. He saw a black dragon galloping from the bay. It skimmed low over the sea, its outstretched wings almost covering the entire sky. The giant dragon roared loudly and emitted steaming hot air from its mouth from time to time. It was obvious that this was its territory, and Vaquier and his party were regarded as intruders.
"Run! Loris!" Sir Vaquel had already recovered from the shock and kept shouting at Loris.
"Dragon? Haha! Mr. Vaquier, you said there is a dragon here?" Loris found it very funny and slapped the water surface one after another, causing ripples.
"When the dragon comes to the world, darkness falls, and three fireballs light up the night sky. Trolls and elves engage in a decisive battle, orcs and the shadow of the plague invade the continent of Ellen Lore, and flames and death follow them... In the prophecy of the old wizard What else is coming?"
He imitated the wizard Vschenka and closed his eyes tightly to recite the prophecy, but when he opened his eyes again, he found that there was no one in front of him.
Loris saw a huge black shadow in the water. The black shadow grew bigger and bigger, and gradually covered the entire pond. The temperature of the pool water rose sharply, and it was actually a bit hot at the moment. Loris felt a burst of hot air blowing onto his shoulders, which was extremely hot. He stood up from the water with a start, but when he wanted to turn around, his shoulders were pulled by a huge force.
ah!
Loris wanted to shout for help but couldn't make a sound. He only felt himself being pulled back by this huge force. White bone soil, eryngium and stinking jasmine passed quickly by him, followed by the big banyan tree that had grown for unknown years... The scene around Loris's eyes gradually became illusory, and he felt a lump in his throat. It actually flew lightly.
The hot wind blew across his cheek, stinging endlessly. The things in front of him suddenly became insignificant, like a miniature landscape on a sand table.
The blazing flames passed through his body, burning the velvet and silk with crackling sounds. His pupils suddenly dilated several times, staring closely at the mangroves and shallow bays where the blazing fire was burning.
ah! ah!
His vocal cords were distorted, and the cry he made was more like the strange cry of a civet cat at night.
"I want to see the black dragon, Uncle Madeo!"
A clear voice flashed in his ears...
A stone street appeared in front of Loris, with pink carnations planted on both sides. In front of an old mill, a man in black robe was performing a puppet show, and many barefoot boys were sitting around him...
"I want to see the black dragon..."
The sound disappeared in an instant, and the scene in front of him was blurred and distorted. After a while, only the endless sea of fire remained.
...
...
The dazzling sunlight passed through the yellowed white canvas and sprinkled dots on the thatched bed.
When Luca woke up, Barbara had already placed a "lavish" lunch on the table. Today's staple food is kippers and fried potatoes, which she specially prepared to reward the boy for his excellent fishing performance yesterday.
Luca is fourteen years old this year. Although he is still half a child, he is already five feet tall. Although he is a little thin, he can at least carry four or five stones of sea salt. In Valaifahan, a place close to the sea, you can already drive a fishing boat out to sea alone at this age.
Barbara plans to arrange a marriage for Luca. The girl is from the blacksmith Arnold's family. Although she is not beautiful, she at least knows her roots. Finding a reliable girl to live with is better than anything these days, and even the most benevolent Sylvia cannot deny this.
Luka rubbed his sleepy eyes, reluctantly climbed up from the thatched bed and stretched himself. Boys at this age are the most sleepy, especially after fighting the waves for half a day and being exhausted.
It must be said that Luca is an energetic young man. He has regained his energy after a night's rest and is currently playing with the puppy "Puffy" in the yard.
He picked up this dog from beside the church in Jiwanjiao. The puppy was covered in blood and dying when Luca met it. The boy took it home and raised it for ten days before it got better. Therefore, "Puffy" is very loyal to Luca. Whenever he encounters danger, "Puffy" will rush forward to protect his master. This is better than some knights.
"Luka, go to dinner quickly. After dinner, give this letter to your Uncle Zeman."
Barbara is a mother of three children. Her husband died in a storm at sea fifteen years ago. Her eldest son Sandro followed the "Pilgrim" Masda'an in the uprising and fought fiercely with the army of "Dark Eyes" Fabio and died in In Karlsberg, the second daughter married the nephew of the Minister of Finance, but died of heavy hemorrhage during childbirth, leaving only one daughter. Luca was the youngest in the family and a posthumous child. Barbara only had one expectation for Luca, that is, to be mediocre. Live peacefully.
Luka nodded and sat down at the table obediently to eat lunch. For as long as he could remember, his mother had told him that his father had died in a storm at sea, that damn storm that had killed almost a third of Crab Island's fishermen. Of course he had no impression of his father, but from Barbara's brief description, Luca guessed that he must be a strong, dark-skinned man like other Crab Island fishermen. The pickled fish meat was very salty, so Luka ate it with a piece of black bread and said, "I'm staying at Uncle Zeman's house today, mom."
Fried potatoes are Luca's favorite, and the teenager likes to eat them with blackberry sauce. Wild blackberries are everywhere in Vallefahan. If you like, you can take a bag full of them home and enjoy them slowly.
Barbara frowned slightly and hesitated for a moment: "Then you will come back early tomorrow morning... Oh, and by the way, see if there is any fresh cheese."
"Okay!" Like all boys, Luca jumped up excitedly after receiving the permission: "I'll go deliver the letter right now!"
The boy stuffed the letter into the bag and trotted out of the yard.
Valaifahan is a coastal mountain city. The city is built according to the terrain, with one side facing the sea and the other side backed by a cliff. The royal palace is built on the high hill of Hass and is a symbol of the city. Below them are the residences of noble knights and the other courtyards. These buildings are also within the royal city, with three gates and guarded by royal guards. The Crab Island where Luca lives is at the lowest level of the city, where most fishermen, blacksmiths and merchants live. Zeman works in Count Botticelli's palace, and if Luca wants to meet him, he has to travel across the entire Crab Island.
The air was filled with the smell of rancid fish and shrimp, mixed with the hawking of the shady vendors, which made people sick.
Luca was extremely familiar with everything here. He skillfully jumped over the stalls selling sea fish, squeezed past the leather merchants, carpenters and gardeners, and arrived in front of the sacred forest gate before the checkpoint closed. There were four royal guards standing in front of the door. Even in the middle of summer, they were still wearing uniform sets of gold-plated armor, looking extremely majestic. Luca carefully handed over the pass document, and as usual, he placed four copper coins underneath.
The leading royal guard accepted the copper coins tacitly and nodded to Luca.
Luka did not dare to delay, thanked the leader of the guards and quickly passed through the city gate.
It was midsummer, and the streets in the royal city were lined with violets, which looked like a blue sea from a distance. Luca, who was wearing shabby cloth shoes, was not in the mood to appreciate the beautiful scenery and could only run quickly on the street.
Count Botticelli was a famous playboy in Vallefahan, and it was said that the women he had fucked could be lined up around Crab Island. The earl is not only young and romantic, but also spends a lot of money. Even the most mean and sharp-tongued madam in the city would be happy for such a noble person to visit his happy place. When Luca's Uncle Zeman first went to work in the Earl's Palace, the laborers on Crab Island could not help but talk behind their backs. Although Zeman was dissatisfied, the generous salary still allowed him to stay.
Luca walked quickly across the seventy-seven steps and stopped in front of a luxurious Lore-style mansion. He wanted to go forward and knock on the door, but he couldn't help but shuddered when he remembered the last time he was scolded by the one-eyed monster Ravel.
"Young people should be polite. A noble young master will definitely not knock on the door by himself. This is degrading. Usually he will ask the attendant to report... Oh, I forgot that you smell like salted fish. You should at least shout aloud. …”
"Master Ravel, I'm here to visit Master Zeman."
Ravel is just a concierge, and Uncle Zeman is just a painter, but he likes to hear these flattering words, Luca thought.
All that's left is to wait. It's not easy for an elderly concierge to hear the announcement outside the stone gate, especially since the concierge is somewhat deaf.
Luka would be a little nervous every time. The young man bit his lips tightly and subconsciously twisted his hands behind his back.
"Oops, it's you little brat again!" The giant door opened, and Ravel leaned half out from behind the whitewashed stone door, looking impatiently at the thin young man in front of him. In his opinion, this fishy brat was no different from the illegitimate friends on Crab Island. If Count Botticelli saw that he allowed such a brat of humble origin to enter and leave Yuci Mansion, he would definitely You will be severely reprimanded and half of your monthly payment will be deducted.
"It's Uncle Zeman...no, it's Master Zeman. I'm here to see Master Zeman, Master Ravel."
Luka twisted his hands together behind his back, and his pink cheeks had already turned red.
"Hey, everyone in Walai Fahan knows that he is your uncle!"
Ravel gouged out Luca but still let him in. The old guy shook his head and babbled: "You have to leave before dinner. The Earl will come back early today. If he meets him before taking a bath, A boy like you, hey, that will ruin all the fun...You just met me, boy, good man Ravel - the most enthusiastic person in Vallefahan, you have to remember, if it were anyone else No one will let you in."
"As you wish, my lord." Luka stuck out his tongue at Ravel, feeling secretly happy. Although he told his mother that he would stay at Uncle Zeman's place tonight, it would be nice to sit on the cliff bank of the Royal City and watch the sea and stars.
They walked through a long corridor covered with purple vines, walked around a hexagonal marble fountain, and stopped in front of a low wooden building.
...
...
