Chapter 736: Falun (6)
"Stinky Fish" sometimes finds it strange that he is still alive and well, and this is a huge mistake, so bad that even if the devil lands in front of him and takes out a contract that he has no memory of, he will not be surprised, but will be relieved. You see, he was forced to be reduced from the son of a little craftsman (his father was a tanner, so he knew how well to concoct an intolerable smell) to a beggar, and from a beggar to a thief who was lucky enough to make the poor worms who had suffered like him, but not survived to this day, jealous. It was a miracle that he had been able to extend his life to forty figures, how many dangerous and terrible things he had encountered that could not be counted even if he had plucked out all the hairs on his body, his body was covered with scars, there was not a good place, and in the worst case, the charcoal fire used to roast the rats had been lit (a local punishment, the pot was put on the stomach of the criminal, and a strong rat was placed in the pot, and the charcoal fire was lit outside the pot, and the rats frightened by the heat would dig out the belly of the criminal, and he was pardoned because the lord suddenly needed a thief, which was not very smelly at that timeWhen the "stinky fish" was lowered from the torture bed, its stomach was already covered with bloody wounds from rat scratches.
Later, when the "Silver Finger" guild came to recruit their group of guys, "Stinky Fish" was not very reluctant, as he once described, he didn't think he could get much benefit from such a large guild- The high places have been firmly controlled, and he is surrounded by young, impatient, ambitious little ones, like him, old, but with deep experience and skill, the most likely is to be used as a teacher, or a pawn on the surface, if it is the former, it is fine, in the years before the apprentice has given birth to fangs, he is still safe, but if it is the latter...... When the guild and the local lords, or mages, in short, the guilds are unwilling, or too lazy to deal with them, they will be thrown out, and the result can be imagined, "stinky fish" does not think that every time there will be a lord in need of thieves. Of course, the intermediary working for the "Silver Finger" guild was so unhappy with this that he was almost thrown as a sacrifice on the altar of Marsk, and it was the owner of the "Scaly Pen" tavern who saved and sheltered him.
Therefore, it is not wrong to say that the owner of the tavern saved his life.
He also wondered why he would return to the "Scale Pen", at that time, the "Scale Pen" was no longer safe, to be precise, it had become a quagmire that summoned disaster, but even the "Stinky Fish" did not expect that he still had some emotion, although this emotion almost made him die, and until now he still regrets it a little- It is said that Laurie is dead, and the whereabouts of his wife and unborn child are unknown, but it is reassuring to know that Tara's new king does not seem to have any intention of embarrassing them, and of course, it is possible that he was unaware of their existence at all.
It was the "Silver Finger" guild that didn't forget the "stinky fish", they found the "stinky fish", this time, the "stinky fish" didn't say anything, and accepted their solicitation, but he was very strange, because of his previous behavior, any thief guild should be punished, killing chickens and monkeys is, but his surroundings were unusually calm, and finally a strange knight gave him the answer- Laurie was indeed dead, but he was no longer a criminal or an exile without a surname before he died, and he was buried as a prince by the grace of the new king, and before, except for his wife and unborn children, Laurie had only one request, and that was to use a portion of the inner treasury that belonged to him as a ransom for them.
But from the bottom of his heart, the "stinky fish" thinks that he is still being used quite effectively, and he can't accuse the "Silver Finger" guild of not keeping its promises, after all, he is here to get paid, and sometimes to spend several nights lazily and idly in the tavern (the new scale pen), as far as the danger is concerned...... Can the work of thieves and assassins be separated from these two words? Sometimes, "Stinky Fish" also wondered if he could spend his last days in Tara with Laurie's name, like an ordinary person, but he still vetoed it in the end, even if there was no "Silver Finger" guild, he would not suddenly become a good person, all his kindness has been used on the fat guy who saved his life, Laurie thinks so.
It's just that the latest task he received made "Stinky Fish" a little uneasy, and he was only told that he was going to greet two extremely distinguished guests, to what extent was it noble - probably that the "Silver Finger" guild would be willing to exchange an entire guild branch of people for their favor, as for "Stinky Fish", of course, it was even less worth mentioning. There were young, handsome and well-spoken people in the guild, but the leader pointed out the "stinky fish" and ordered him to complete the task, which for unknown reasons and specially given the task often represented a subtle punishment in the guild - the "stinky fish" suddenly felt that he was not surprised at all, but he ignored the gloating gaze - his instinct told him that it might not be a bad thing. This instinct, which he had obtained from thousands of cold swords, from the poison held by his soft fingers, from the stinking prisons and spiked shackles, by virtue of which he had escaped the scourge of death, even he could not remember.
And last time, it was Laurie who made him feel that there was still a little hope for the "scale pen". As it turned out, he, and his companions, had indeed taken their lives in the momentary mercy of the powerful spellcaster.
He dressed up, and after removing the lingering stench, the "stinky fish" put on a long white underwear, a crisp and bright brown short robe, leggings, a belt, and a cloak, and hesitated for a long time when choosing a weapon, but finally decided to hang the dagger and the runes disguised as a necklace on his waist and neck, respectively, and finally he put on his hat, the wide brim of the hat cast a shadow on his face, as long as he lowered his head slightly, no one could see his expression.
When "Stinky Fish" walked out of the guild, outside the door, and the thieves on the street, they didn't even notice his departure, and occasionally one or two colleagues walked past him, and their eyes only fell on his money bag and weapons, and no one noticed that he was "Stinky Fish" - "Stinky Fish" smiled at a girl and got a shy face like a rose in the night - his facial features, hair color, and figure were certainly mediocre, but the best place was also mediocre, like a blank piece of drawing paper, which could make "Stinky Fish" He cut his shoulder-length curls short, dyed them black, and decorated his face with women's rouge, lead powder, and mineral powder, and a few small tricks turned him from an ordinary thief who saw and forgot to a traveling merchant who would make people feel good, unlike the elves he had seen before, and the spellcaster, the current appearance of "Stinky Fish" was full of affinity, and people couldn't help but let down their guard at a glance.
I just hope it will serve the same purpose for the guests he will be greeting. "Stinky Fish" thought as he walked towards the secluded and cramped port.
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"Maren?"
"Yes, I'll be right away," Mullen said, rolling up the scroll on the table, he was leaving the Seventy-Seven Islands for the first time, for the ...... he was about to face Even if you are conscious, you still feel at a loss. But to ask him if he regretted it, he had to say no, if he hadn't chosen this evil and dangerous shortcut, he might have been buried in the vast yellow sand outside the royal capital of Grenadaβ He was also only a human being, and, at that time, so young, he had never hated his mentor, the old female Grey Robe, although the other disciples on the Seventy-Seven Islands agreed that the Grey Robe must have been his handiwork, but this speculation was not intended to be wrong, he knew from a very young age that nothing could be obtained without payment, and what human greed would distort them into.
He was undoubtedly gifted with necromancy, and it was for this reason that after his mentor's failed transformation, the mentor of his mentor, the uncrowned king of the formidable Seventy-Seven Islands, a disciple of the demigod lich Ederna was willing to teach him himself- He was also fortunate that the lich had no disciples by his side except for his mentor, and he was spared from many poisonous hands catalyzed by profit and jealousy, but he still felt a little pain, because as a disciple of the undead, destroying the good and playing with life was almost his daily obligatory lessonβ It's just that this kind of pain has become very indifferent and vague, just like the immortal said, negative energy will not only eat away at his skin, muscles, blood and bones, but also eat away at his soul, and his heart will become more and more cold, but he doesn't know it.
Perhaps by the end of the journey, when he had gathered enough gold, materials, and the most important sacrifice (soul and life), he would accept the arrangement of his current mentor and transform into another cursed immortal.
Mullen stood up, and before leaving the cabin, took one last look at the mirror embedded in the wallβ Perhaps this chamber once belonged to a pirate who was very fond of dressing, and the back of the mirror surrounded by brass openwork was silver-plated, the surface was smooth as ice, and the inside was as pure as water, so that everything it could find was so unmistakable, Malen saw his own face, a face as thin as a skeleton, cascading skin hanging from bones, lips covered with a lifeless dark purple, hair and eyebrows were white as frost, only the eyes were still shining brightly, like sparks that occasionally jumped out of the embers of a charcoal fireγ
He turned away, no longer looking back.
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By the time the "stinky fish" arrived at the port, it was already late at night, the merchants had long since left, and the guild members were wise not to approach it.
Just as the "stinky fish" was repeatedly searching for those familiar ships, as if slowly sneaking out of the darkness, a three-masted ship with no sails and no oars to stick out quietly appeared in front of him, "stinky fish" Startled, his right hand rested on the hilt of the sword and suddenly put it down, and at the same time, he felt a cold breath rushing towards his face, like the abandoned mausoleum where he had searched and lodged, and when he cut the vines, lifted the cracked stone bricks, and burrowed into the corridor, he smelled this kind of smellβto describe it, it was very clean, clean as death.
He cautiously took a few steps back, bowed his head slightly in respect, and his eyes went up to see the three-masted ship entering the harbor with the same grace and calm as it had been steered by a dozen experienced sailors, but after a slight shaking of the water, after which the "stinky fish" could not hear the sound of anchoring and lowering the gangplank, he raised his head a little, and saw an old man on the deck, who could only be described as dying, appeared on the deck, he was dressed in a robe, but in the dim daylight, "stinky fish" I couldn't make out that it was a black robe that had been washed so many times that it turned white...... Or is it a ...... Grey robe......
The "stinky fish" thought he would tremble immediately, but he didn't realize that he was stiff until the old man had crossed the side of the boat and landed gently, like ashes, on the stone floor, and he wanted to say something, but the cold air almost condensed his tongue.
The situation did not improve slightly until another caster appeared, it was a young mage, dressed in a pitch-black velvet robe, the end of the robe jumped with dots of light, and the gems on the necklace were intertwined, a little too ornate clothing made this spellcaster look more like a vassal and elegant nobleman, he glanced at the "stinky fish", and showed a gentle smile: "Are you the one who came to greet us?"
"Stinky Fish" gritted his teeth and nodded.
"Great," said the young mage, "you are punctual, and that is a commendable virtue. He glanced at the face of the "stinky fish", and the premonition of death that haunted the "stinky fish" and made him feel as if he was facing an abyss finally disappeared, and the "stinky fish" quickly moved his hands and feet, feeling like he was reborn again.
When "Stinky Fish" turned around, he heard a slight laugh behind him, but it was the young mage who was in the old gray robe, and "Stinky Fish" couldn't help but be full of curiosity, was this young mage stronger, or was he the gray robe's employer?
But he had better not think about it, he finally knew why he had been sent to meet them himself.