The adventurers did not cross the Windwhispering Forest again, returning to the road from Cam to the northern ice fields. Mork told them about a path through the mountains that led to the ice fields.

It was a hidden valley, tucked away among the mountains, through which you could reach the Kastan Forest, where there were Anktann villages, and beyond the forest, a vast, cold ice field.

Mork had walked that road decades ago, and in some places it was damaged by collapsing rocks, but it was still passable.

"I don't know if it's still going to go, but you can go and see it first. From there, it only takes two days to cross the mountains, and five days to walk through the Windwhispering Forest to Cam. The dwarf said.

"But I've heard that only at the mouth of the Kuz River can we find a guide who can take us to the ice fields. "Ed had heard that without a guide, they would not be able to move an inch in the ice fields, where it was easier to get lost than in the forests and mines, and that the barbarians were not a friendly race.

But to get to the mouth of the Kuz River, they had to cross the Windwhispering Forest and continue north along the Vinez River.

Mock shook his head: "Most people think so. You can indeed find a guide at the mouth of the Kuz, and they will indeed take you away from many dangers, but at the same time, they will only take you around in circles to make you think that you have traveled through the entire ice field, and then take you back to the mouth safely, and get his reward - with such a guide, you will not find anything. ”

Ed gave Naria a slightly embarrassed look. Naria's raised eyebrows and pursed lips indicated that she was angry, but Ed knew it wasn't directed at him.

"Looking for a guide at the mouth of the Kuz" was indeed what Ed had found out, but Alan Cavo had no objection to it. Either he didn't know what was going on, like "most people", or that was his real plan—he didn't intend for them to find Is, he just let them go out for a walk, and then come back with nothing to be found, dejected, and never to have any stupid and childish thoughts, lest his stubborn, disobedient daughter do anything more dangerous behind his back.

Ed was willing to believe that Eren was really unaware, but judging by Naria's expression, she was more inclined to believe that Eren had cheated on him again.

Tess secretly pinched Norvi, a snicker on her lips, but the elf could only sigh quietly in her heart. Serious good dwarves are purely well-intentioned. And at this point, if he insisted on going the same way, it would only make Narya more suspicious.

It would not be wise to let Ed and Nalya know at such a time that he was also involved in the "conspiracy" of Eren and Valla.

"You should go to the Giant's Axe. "That's a dangerous place -- maybe I shouldn't have told you at all." Underneath the Giant's Axe, near the Castle Forest, there is a small town. It can be found by walking northeast along the border between the forest and the ice sheet through the Kasdan Forest. It belongs neither to the barbarians nor to Anktan. No one has jurisdiction, no one restricts them, there are no rules to speak of, and there are gathered barbarians who have been expelled, and criminals who have no place elsewhere...... Robbers, thieves, murderers, and some barbarians and human hybrids. But that's the only place where you'll find a true guide. ”

"Sounds like you've been there before. "Have you dealt with the barbarians?" said Ed...... Like the legend...... Is it savage?"

Mock pondered for a moment before giving him an answer.

"They call themselves 'Isa,' the sons of giants. They are godless, they are not afraid of death, they are fierce and aggressive...... But they also have their own civilization, their honor and pride. Ed, as far as I know, most barbarians have a lingua franca, at least able to understand it, while humans ...... Even among the elves and dwarves, only a handful knew the language of Isa. We know too little about them, too little to judge if they are truly barbaric...... Maybe you'll find out. ”

Ed nodded earnestly, a thought flashing through his mind.

"Why don't you come with us?" he blurted out, then immediately realized that it was impossible.

Sure enough, Mock rejected him with a smile: "I am happy and honored. I have a hunch that your adventures will become a legend - but I have my own responsibility, but at least, I can give you a ride. ”

Travelers accepted the advice. They were led through a labyrinth of rocks by Mork and found the entrance to the road. The towering rocks slope inward, forming natural domes in many places, with very little snow on the ground and a bit warmer than outside.

"Well, then, I wish you all a safe journey. Mock said goodbye to them, "While I doubt that even if you find the dragon again, there is nothing you can do to change it, but it should be thankful to have a friend like you. ”

Mock grudgingly agrees that a dragon might not be evil, but he doesn't think they can convince others to do the same.

"Don't do that, you dwarf, maybe we'll bring him back to visit you someday!" said Tess with a grin.

"No, thank you. Mock remembered the big hole in the pit that hadn't been repaired yet, "At least, don't let him enter the pit again, it's really not a place for a dragon." ”

They will smile and wave goodbye.

The dwarf looked at the backs of his newfound friends, remembered the life he had once wandered around, and suddenly missed a little of the freedom he had been without worries.

But that's just a moment of nostalgia.

Mock Bronze Flame, when he took this surname, had already decided to say goodbye to the past. Now, he has a harder road ahead.

"You know, Mork was right. Norway said to Ed.

By then they had stopped and lit a bonfire. Naria was cooking, and Tess and Akan crouched beside her, salivating and waiting.

The day's journey was easy. The water that runs through the valley is frozen, but the rocks on both sides stretch gently upwards like a natural staircase. There were places in the middle that were blocked by huge rocks tumbling down from the mountain, and they could easily borrow Akkan's brute force to pry the stones aside. Akan did not ride a horse, but followed them with ease with a hammer, dressed in the clothes that Narya had made for him, looking happy and content.

"We've come so far to get here, we're going to have to try anyway. Ed knew what the elf was talking about, "At least, we've got another dwarven friend, and the next time Isis flies over the Silver Tooth Mountains, the dwarves probably won't be shooting arrows at him without thinking about it." ”

"You never thought we could fail?" asked Norway with a smile.

"If it fails, it must be because the method is not right, and I will try again in a different way. Without hesitation, Ed replied, "All the right things can be done!"

So naïve. Innocent and fearless - there was a hint of surprise in Norvi's smile. It's something that will eventually wear away with time, but it's all the more precious because of it.

"How can you be sure that this is the right thing to do?" he asked softly.

"I can't think about it that much. But that's Is, my friend, and I don't want him to be hurt, and I don't want him to hurt anyone. If even that's wrong, then I don't know what's right. Ed's voice lowered.

They had gone to see the corpse of Silver Fang, and then he had nightmares all night in which he dreamed that it was Is, and in the cold moonlight, the ice dragon had changed back to the form of a young man he remembered, and looked at him quietly with lifeless eyes, as if some kind of silent accusation.

He definitely didn't want to see that actually happen to him.

"Besides," Ed looked at the black-haired girl by the fire not far away, "if I don't do something, Narya will sneak away to Is, and no one can stop her...... I can't let her go on an adventure alone. ”

In the firelight, Naria's cheeks flushed and she was smiling heartily, just as she had been when they first met a few years ago. Nalya didn't give him a good look at that time.

But now they are friends.

He, Naria, Is, they will be friends for life, that is the arrangement of fate.

And he shouldn't have asked for more.