Early one morning, before the sun shone into the cold ground of the stone prison. The four Athore soldiers then arrived at Zif's prison. They opened the cell door and walked in. Ugunelli, who was still asleep, was awakened by the sound of the soldier opening the door, and he hid in the corner and shivered.

As the soldiers approached the cell, they grabbed Ziv and Vimos, who looked dazed. It seemed that the soldiers were going to take them away. Koulibaly also watched the scene nervously, and when Zif and Vimos were escorted by the soldiers, they walked past him and walked out of the prison door, Koulibaly's lips moved, and then whispered in the Huron language he had learned from them, "Hope." ”

Ziff froze for a moment and glanced at Koulibaly, but before he could say anything, the Athore soldiers jerked him out of the cell door.

Ziff and Vimos were escorted out of their prison by soldiers. After they had been escorted to a clearing in the valley of the quarry, the soldier who had led the way at the front stopped.

Ziff stayed where he was, and although he couldn't understand what the soldiers were talking about, he felt that it didn't seem good to stay in an open field. He glanced at Vimos instead, and saw that he was muttering a prayer to the heavens.

Soon after, slaves were escorted from other quarry prisons in the valley by soldiers. Through their appearance, Zif found that the slaves who were brought out were all Hurons, but it seemed that not all of them were the same captives who had arrived with him and Vimos about half a year earlier.

Huron's slaves gathered in the clearing, and finally gathered into a team of more than thirty people. When the team was assembled, the same number of Athore soldiers escorted them to the canal dock in the valley to transport the stones.

Ziff didn't know why these people, including himself, had been taken to the docks, but at least now he felt like he was leaving the clearing, and the Yasol soldiers didn't look like they were going to be put to death. He knew that if a few slaves were to be executed, the soldiers of Atholl would not have to go to such great lengths, as long as they had just started in the valley and then found a random place to bury them.

The leading soldier led the slaves through a large number of rocks to be transported, and came to the docks. He got on a boat first, then beckoned to the soldiers. When the soldier saw him waving, he immediately pushed the slaves aboard the boat.

The ship was not large, but it was clearly not a stone carrier used to transport stones. In order to facilitate loading and unloading, stone carriers usually have their decks flattened and pulled by human or animal power on the riverbank. And the ship not only did not have a flat deck, it also had pulp and a stool.

The soldiers pressed the slaves to the benches, and each slave consciously picked up the oars beside him. Under the command of the leading soldiers, the boat rowed along the canal where the stones were transported, towards the Yongliu River.

The river was a little turbulent at first, but after some distance from the quarrying area, the water began to become much gentler and the river became wider.

Zifu paddled as he carefully used his peripheral vision to look towards the riverbank. He saw that there were many aqueducts on both sides of the river, and there were also many artificial hanging baskets for taking water. A couple of Yasol children are playing by the river. As the boat approached, the mischievous child threw stones into the river near the boat and burst into laughter.

At noon, the ship turned into a narrower tributary. After a short time of rowing, the ship finally anchored at a pier, after which Zif and the slaves were dismounted by the soldiers and made their way to the shore.

The dock was full of huge stones, and Zif looked at the number of stones and realized that the stones they had mined had been transported here, at least partially, by water. As he and Vimos stood among the boulders and looked around, Zif suddenly noticed that the Huron "traitor" was walking slowly towards them not far away.

This time he was still wearing the same gray linen robe, but he didn't wear the gold badge with the strange pattern on his chest.

"Come with me, Huron people." The traitor shouted at the slaves from afar, and then he waved to the crowd to follow him.

"Phew!" Ziff heard Vimos and the other two, whispering in disgust at the traitor.

Soldiers drove slaves along an artificial aqueduct to follow the "traitors". After walking outside the gate of a camp that resembled a barracks, the "traitor" stopped. He turned his slightly hazel, slightly chubby cheeks, and said to the slaves, "Fellow citizens, you are all excellent stonemasons in Huron, and your skills will be buried in the quarry, so I have secured a better job for you before the oracles, and here your skills will have more room to be used." ”

It's just a different prison, Ziff thought to himself, maybe he could see Sammy here. Thinking of Sammy, Zif felt a little more anticipation for this place.

The "traitor" led the people along the canal into the camp, and Ziff was amazed to see that the camp was filled with people of all colors and costumes. And it's also a person who walks around freely.

"Why are there so few soldiers here?" Wiemos whispered to himself in surprise. Indeed, apart from a few shifts of soldiers standing guard at the camp gates and on both sides of the waterway, there were very few Yasol soldiers in the camp.

The "traitor" led Ziff and the others to a row of newly built barracks, and then, pointing to the first barracks, he said to the slaves, "Now, you line up and go into the house, go inside and change your clothes." ”

Zif entered the barracks behind Vimos, and upon entering the house, Zif was surprised to find that the walls of the barracks were covered with all kinds of finely made costumes. The other Huron slaves who came in were also amazed at the variety and quantity of clothing in this room.

When an old tailor of Azor brought out a stack of garments from the inner room and spread it out on the long table in the room, the stonemasons invariably let out another cry of amazement. The clothes at this table are typical of the Huron men's clothing.

Ziff couldn't help but feel his eyes heat at the sight of the chin-obscuring front turtleneck, the seven-point short-sleeved blouse, and the white robe that hung below the knee on the table.

"God, is this true?" Eventually, Vemos stepped forward and touched his clothes gently, and then said, "The last time I wore such clothes was when I got married. Borrowed from someone else to wear. ”

"Brother Vimos, this, this is unbelievable." Ziff watched intently as one of the slaves first took off his tattered and dirty cloth coat, and then excitedly put on a new coat.

"Unbelievable." "I didn't expect them to dress us in such a nice outfit." What are they doing here? ”

"I don't know. Hopefully it's not a conspiracy. Ziff said.

"Anyway, let's change into these clothes first." As he spoke, Vimos picked up a piece of clothing from the table. He happily took off his tattered clothes and put on new ones.

When everyone had dressed themselves in their new clothes and came out of the house with a pleasant face, the "traitor" smiled softly at the people and said to them, "All right, Huron stonemasons. Now I'll show you your new dwelling. ”

With a wave of his hand, he beckoned the people to follow him to the end of the camp. When he led the people to a row of brand new barracks. He took a few quick steps, first pushing open the door of one of the rooms. Pushing open the door, he beckoned four Huron slaves into the house.

After that, he pushed open another room and beckoned Ziff and Wiemus to two others.

Ziff hesitated, then followed Vimos into the house as he was greeted by the traitor. When he approached the house, he found that there were four beds neatly arranged, each with pillows and storage compartments at the head of the bed. Ziv cautiously walked to a bed, he reached out and touched it, and then he said in a somewhat trembling voice to the still dazed Wiemos: "This is... This is.... Wool blankets. ”

"Woollen blankets... Oh, my God. When Vimos came to his senses, he knelt down in front of the bed, and he put his hands on top of the blanket, and he gently stroked the blanket and said softly, "They actually let us cover the blanket?" Oh, my God. ”

"In the morning, I thought they were going to kill me." A middle-aged stonemason with curled hair and a hooked nose also said excitedly, "I didn't expect that now I have changed into new clothes and lived in such a good place." ”

"Alright, now come out and assemble." The traitor suddenly shouted loudly outside the house in a loud voice.

Ziff and Vimos quickly walked out of the house, and Huron's slave stonemasons regrouped.

"Before I take you to the place of work, I think I'll tell you my name first." The traitor said: "My name is Gutriv. Remember my name, and if you guys have any problems that need to be solved later, then you can find the soldiers and tell them my name. ”

Zifu was stunned for a moment, he and Wiemos looked at each other, and then whispered, "Could it be that we will be in the future... Are you really going to live here and work with him? ”

"I don't know." Vimos replied quietly.

Led by Gutrief, the group of slave stonemasons left the barracks area, and they walked through the camp to the other side of the camp. Ziff found that most of the people in the camp, regardless of nationality or color, talked and worked calmly and equally, and from their demeanor, it did not look like someone was forcing them, but more like they were voluntarily doing their hand work in the camp from the bottom of their hearts.

The canal for transporting the stones passed through one side of the camp and then exited at the other end of the camp gate to the west. After exiting the gate of the camp, the group walked along the aqueduct to the west. A few of the soldiers who had been guarding them had not followed since the group left the camp gate, and on either side of the masons of more than thirty men, only four of Athore's lightly armed sword guards remained. Seeing this, Vimos couldn't help but think in his heart, if he suddenly snatched the guards from the weapons now, and called on the slaves to unite to deal with the remaining sword guards and the traitor Gutrif, they might have a great chance of victory. Even if some people are injured or killed in the process, many more will be able to flee and have a chance of survival.

But Veymus had this idea, but it was only a thought in his head, and now he knew he wouldn't do it, and no one else would do it. He was now in the same mood as Zif, and he wanted to see what kind of work Gutrive was going to take them to when he provided them with good living conditions.

The aqueduct went around behind a low mound. Gutrive left the side of the aqueduct and walked up the mound instead. Standing on the mound, he looked into the distance without saying a word, and after a while, he raised his hand backwards and waved it to signal the people to come forward. At first there was some hesitation, but after looking at the guards and seeing that they were relaxed and seemed to have no intention of restraining them, someone tried to walk towards Gutriff and the small hill where he was. With one of the slaves, Vemos broke away from the group and walked up the mound, and after climbing the hill, he stood beside Gutriff and looked into the distance. Then everyone went up to the top of the hill and looked in the direction Gutrive was looking.

As Zif walked up the hill, he looked into the distance. He was astonished to find that in the distance, a magnificent sight like a miracle appeared on the flat earth, a huge circular canal. Ziff saw the canal beneath his feet stretch into there, into the huge, circular canal. The circular aqueduct descends on the land like a full moon on the plains of the "Land of Listening", covering a vast land.

Ziff also saw that in the large circular canal, except for the area at the center of the circle, was separated by a high wall, and on the large area of land beyond the high wall inside the canal, huge stones were densely placed like a forest, and countless tents and wooden facilities were dotted among them, where tens of thousands of people were toiling like ants!

Zif, like everyone else, was speechless by the huge engineering scene in the distance. Vermos even opened his mouth wide for a moment, and his eyes were a little dull, and he stood on tiptoe and looked there stupidly.

It wasn't until Gutrive spoke, that the crowd suddenly came to their senses from the shock of the distant sight of the project.

"What is being built here is the greatest project that has ever been done in the world. It will be an incomparable miracle that the world's best wisdom and power have been brought together here, and you will have the privilege of joining me in this great construction. Gutrive said suddenly, arrogantly.

People were still shocked by the scene in front of them for a long time, and after hearing Gutrief's words, Zif felt a long-lost blood begin to surge.

"What's built there?" Someone asked in an exclamatory tone.

"Since you all want to know, follow me there. There, I'll tell you all slowly. Gutrive pretended to be relaxed and pointed to the large water ring in the distance.

The group followed Gutriff across a large wooden arch bridge across the water ring, under which a large raft carrying stones was being towed by a mule team. Ziff also immediately understood the role of the water ring.

As Gutrive enters the water ring, he travels through this new world. Ziff saw workers digging deep trenches, carpenters scaffolding trees, alchemists boiling tar in cauldrons, and blacksmiths forging heavy iron plates. People are busy with passion. The people in the whole construction site are full of enthusiasm for their work.

Gutrive led the group through the water ring for a while, and then led them into a large tent. Ziff saw that the place was spacious and bright, with dozens of long tables and benches neatly arranged in several rows, and clean plates on the tables.

Gutrive motioned for everyone to take their seats, and they looked at each other, and after a few moments, they sat down on the bench along with the four sword guards who had accompanied them all the way.

It wasn't long before the freshly baked hot bread, the dried meat poured with honey, the fruit made with yogurt, and the two fat geese grilled over charcoal were brought to the table by servants from the southern continent.

Zif heard the sound of Vimos swallowing in his throat, and he almost got drooling from his mouth to the ground when he smelled the roast goose.

Everyone tried to take their eyes off the fat roast goose and try to see Gutriff. Gutrive smiled loudly and said, "Let's dine." ”

After the four sword guards had taken the portion they needed from their plates, the stonemasons could no longer control their appetite and swept away everything on the table.

Gutrive waited for everyone to have their fills before he slowly spoke, "I was asked what was built here. Now I can tell you something you should know. But there are some questions that I won't say if they're not relevant to your work, and you'd better not ask them again. ”

Everyone looked at Gutrive, and a few nodded.

Gutrive continued: "Even if I don't say what is being built here, it won't be long before you, as stonemasons, will find out for yourselves. So, I'm telling you right now, a huge stone structure will rise from the ground. ”

Slave stonemasons whispered.

"That is, if it is a stone building, then, as a stonemason, will be the core staff of the whole project. And you, as the best stonemasons of my Huron, will play a more important role here. Gutrive continued.

Suddenly the people stopped whispering, they all understood, and they began to become quiet.

"I hope you will see this work as a great cause, for the sake of the gods in your hearts, and for your own sake. Here you will be treated on an equal footing with the craftsmen of Asol, you will be able to live according to the Huronic way of life, you will be able to speak the Huron language as you please, and you will be able to wear Huron costumes. These are all granted by the "Great Master". There is only one thing that you must remember. He doesn't want anyone to run away, he doesn't want anyone to be lazy. That would be the greatest insult to his generosity and kindness. Believe me, no one can run out of Athore, and even if someone does, there is nowhere to go. The realm of Atholl is now beyond your imagination. ”