It's back, and the work is fulfilling. First published in:

The early spring sun was shining on Saranos, and the people of this plain with the snow-capped mountains of Kosarn had finally survived the long and difficult winter, and it was time for them to leave their house made of thick stones, coated with thick clay, and with a boiling fire in it, and go out to work.

Despite its location in the north, Saranos is not as barren and inhospitable as some in the south think, on the contrary, agriculture in this area is even more developed than in the south, thanks to the irrigation and moisture of the melting snow of the Kosarn Mountains, and the cold climate that makes it impossible for most pests to survive here, and although it is only farmed once or twice a year, it is no less productive than those rich lands that can sow three crops a year.

A young man in a robe skimmed briskly across the muddy ground as the snow melted, and walked along the road that led to the only tavern and grocery store in the village, where not the slightest muddy water could touch his body or even the upper of his shoes, and all those who met him stood aside respectfully along the way, and did not continue on his way until he was far away.

Northam was pleased with the reaction. Although he was well aware that most of the men's attitude towards him was motivated by his teacher, the mage who had helped them destroy the hordes of ogres — in fact, Norsen had always privately believed that Rhaegar did it because the ugly ones had provoked him when he was in a bad mood—the young apprentice mage was happy to see the awe on his face. At this time, he would feel proud of the right choice he had made, he was already a fifth-order apprentice mage, according to his teacher, he would be able to successfully become a full-fledged mage in a few years at most, and no matter where he was, a full-fledged mage with powerful magical powers would undoubtedly be treated ten thousand times better than when he was a guard in that small village.

"Welcome," said the owner of the town's grocery store and tavern, a balding fat old man, who greeted Northon with his most respectful attitude, "What do you need?

Northon nodded reservedly, he was now a mage on an equal footing with any nobleman, and he had to maintain his dignity and demeanor in front of these commoners like his fellow villagers in the past.

Despite his age, the grocer was still nimble, and he quickly prepared the things that Northen needed, wrapped them up, and delivered them to them like a courtier offering treasures for the king. Starting

"Please bring these things to Master Leigar," he said earnestly, "this is our heart. ”

"My teachers will be grateful to you. Northon casually took the package, said nonchalantly, and then turned and walked out the door.

The contents of the package were worth at least as much as a day's income for the small shop, but Norsen didn't see anything wrong with taking it like that, the villagers would undoubtedly still be living in the shadow of ogres without his teacher, and as a student of the teacher, he had the right to receive some payment on behalf of the former - although quite a few of the things were for him.

"Help!" a terrible cry came from this moment, and at the same time, a stumbling figure ran from a distance.

"Help me," the bloodied villager finally collapsed a few paces away from the tavern, but he still kept crawling forward, shouting loudly, "The thieves are coming, the black hurricane has ransacked the village of Sot ahead, and it will be here soon." ”

A pair of clean boots, extremely out of proportion to the muddy ground, appeared in front of him, "Don't worry," said Northon gently, not nobly, "you'll be fine soon." He whispered a spell, and the light of magic shot from his hand onto the badly wounded villager.

"We need to get out of here," said the tavernkeeper, pale, to the other villagers who had rushed to hear the news, "I have heard from the explorers of the tavern that the thieves, who were originally operating further south, would snatch every valuable thing they saw and kill anyone who dared to resist. ”

His words sent shivers down the other sidelines, these villagers may not be afraid of ferocious beasts, but in the face of their cruel kind, the only thing they think of is escape.

"I think you've forgotten something," Northon kept his voice calm as he tried to make his words as clear as he could, one of the etiquettes he had learned about nobility from books - not to be rude to amplify one's own volume at any time, "this is not like any other place, this is not just your home," a certain light flashed in the young mage's eyes, "and it is also my and my teacher's residence, and anyone who disturbs our peace will have to pay a price." ”

Northon's words alerted the villagers, and one of them cautiously said, "Maybe we can ask Master Rhaegar..."

"Don't be so troublesome," Northon interrupted him unceremoniously, and he said confidently, "just some thieves, I'll deal with it." The apprentice mage looked around at the villagers, then turned around in his most dashing posture and walked out of the village.

"Keep the package for me," he said to the tavern keeper behind him before leaving, "I'll be back by the evening at the latest." ”

The leader of the Black Hurricane, Nauwindos, was in a bad mood.

He wasn't the largest of the thieves in the northern plains, but he was undoubtedly the one of the best thieves to live without. Ever since he learned the word "tree big wind" from a traveler from a distant land, he had deliberately kept his men at a fixed size, while carefully avoiding those who might have strong defenses. Although he remained regarded as a second-rate player among the thieves, he managed to avoid the attention of the authorities and other powers, and for more than twenty years, he watched countless famous thieves fall at the hands of the authorities or his peers, while he has been enjoying his life at ease.

But this life had been ruined by himself, and if he had the chance to do it all over again, Windos swore that he would never touch a finger of the caravan, no matter how harmless and rich it seemed—no one would have imagined that it would be a business invested by His Majesty. For a month, the kingdom's armies had been chasing him like hounds, and he had to give up most of his men and all his provisions in order to survive, and now he had to hide in this wilderness with a few of his most loyal men.

"It's cat pee!" said Ventos, cursing hatefully, and threw the glass to the ground, the wine made in such a small place could barely be eaten, but then he regretted it again - there was not much wine in the group.

"Go get me the wine again!" said Windos, his bloodshot eyes wide, as if he was waiting for his men to disobey his orders and punish them.

Watching a few of his men running to the horses not far away with wine bags, there was a smug smile on Vendos's face - at least he had absolute authority over the few people in front of him, no matter what.

Several glittering magical arrows whistled from afar, striking several of Inndos' men with precision, and the thieves' corpses tumbled in the air, slamming down on the trees in the forest, and the dry leaves drifting down. Before the first leaf fell to the ground, Narvindos had scurried into the dense forest on one side like a herbivore hiding from a predator.

"Damn the king!" cursed Nawendos, who thought that no one would send a mage to deal with a petty leader of thieves except the king who had been robbed by himself. He tried his best to keep his body down, sliding like a snake on the ground where the snow had not yet melted, fleeing into the distance under the cover of the trees.

The leader's flight made the remaining dozen thieves lose their fighting spirit, and they fled in all directions, only to be entangled by the vines that suddenly burst out of the ground, and then shot through by the flying energy arrows one by one.

Northon easily followed the fleeing leader of the thieves, allowing the other side to flee deep into the woods—tracking magic had already locked onto the other party's location, and he could catch up if he wanted to, but that would undoubtedly make the battle to be told seem too dull.

Windos didn't know what the other party was thinking, the leader of the thieves just wanted to get out of here as soon as possible, and his perennial body was showing its amazing potential at this time, and the trees flew close to him, and he was left far behind. In the space of nearly an hour, he had already run dozens of kilometers, and the dense forest was long gone, and he was now in a valley full of jagged rocks.

Norson finally decided to end the chase - the story of a mage, who fended off a horde of bandits alone to help the weaker villagers, chased their leader for a long time, and finally eliminated him, was enough to make his name as popular among the people as the legendary knights. Chanting the incantation quickly, his speed suddenly increased several times, and in just a few minutes, he managed to close the distance between him and Nawendos, and the panicked figure of the black hurricane leader was in his sight at this moment.

However, just as he was about to make a move, the leader of the thieves, who was on the run, suddenly turned around and ran towards him faster than before, and Northon could clearly see the panicked expression on his face.

"It's a monster!" shouted Windos, running as hard as he could. He didn't kindly want to alert the mage who was chasing him, but he hoped that the latter would recognize the greater threat and let him go.