The first dinner after leaving Dorin was quite hearty—the eggs and berries that Leona found, the pine cones that Carey had traded for linden sugar and squirrels, some wild sweet potatoes that Berdwin had dug up, and Gülen's mother for the eggs.

Leona found a brown cotton robe from her bag, and a long sleeveless waistcoat with a lamb's skin lining and brown satin, and in any case, the priest of Flo could not be allowed to follow them half-naked, and even if Memmy didn't care about being seen, it was still cold at night in the Highlands Normans. Berdwin and his companions gathered around the lit campfire, the sky that covered the earth had turned a deep sapphire blue, the stars were shining, and the aroma of food wafted through the air, and if it weren't for the strange atmosphere that Plum and Leona had had before, they should have enjoyed such a hard-won relaxing night.

Mame hadn't said anything since she had been allowed to return to Berdwin, and besides thanking Leona for the gift, Flo's priest was silent as if her tongue had been cut out, and she ate two eggs and a few berries and never stretched out her hand again, but hugged her knees— As she had waited outside the room where their ritual had been held, she quietly hid her scarred face in the shadow of her arm, and Leona, perhaps a soul from another world who was not very well versed in feminine relations, did not see anything strange about the Norman princess of the Highlands, and although she loved Baldwin, she did not have the slightest grudge against Memey, nor was she angry or humiliated by their intimate past.

It's not out of kindness or cowardice, the souls of the other world vaguely feel it, it's a different way of showing indifference and cruelty - in his plane, many times, the more in high positions the more gentle and tolerant, but some people who are worthy of being out of the original class will instead shout over some small things, but this does not mean that the former should be more sensible and polite than the latter, they just don't want to be reduced to the same position as you - for whatever reason. No one but a madman would quarrel with a tiny speck of dust.

The same was true of the Norman princess of the Highlands, and even though she did have a great affection for Berdwin, and was willing to give up her family name and domain for him, and to walk with her as a warrior rather than a princess, she never thought that a priest of Flor could shake her emotions, and although she did not call Plum as Flor's instrument as plainly as Mullen's uncle, her lineage and status had put Plum in a position of almost transparency. In her mind, everything about Memi was based on Berdwin. She respects her, thanks her, talks to her, and reaches out to her, just because Memy is a companion to Bedwin and takes care of him when he is alone.

But she would not be jealous of Memi, for only a woman approved of the princess would alarm her, just as a noble and young prince would never want to compete with a lowly and senile outcast.

Memi is at an absolute disadvantage in this invisible war, and she is fully armed. The day and night were restless, hoarse, and her opponent was so stingy that he would not throw a single glance - the thief Glenn tore some meat from the chicken breast and put it in his mouth, looking at the ridiculous and poor little fool obediently. She huddled around the campfire, still shivering from time to time, as if the heat from the flames could not penetrate her heart or her body.

So the first half of the night was coming to an end, and it was Gülen's turn to keep vigil. He was not surprised to see that Memmy had gone to Baldwin again.

There were no tall trees in the area they dwelt, only scattered shrubs and dense grass, and the elves only used their talents to make some of the thin grass that was already knee-high grow taller. Barely past Baldwin's waist, the last part of the grass crept down to form a warm, dry nest, and the grass hung down from the tips of its leaves, obscuring both the night breeze and the enemy's view, making it difficult to spot them even from above.

The thief sitting on the top of the hill spotted Plum Mie as easily as a piece of candy, she lowered her body and made her way through the grass quickly and lightly, the tiny jagged blades of grass swaying and whipping her face, leaving a wound as thin as spider's silk, and she couldn't care so much about it, she needed Berdwin more than ever.

In his nightmare, he heard the sound of fabric rubbing against blades of grass, and the sound brought him back to reality in an instant, and he grasped the broadsword that he held beside him.

But then he smelled the familiar sweet aroma, and as every priest of Flor did, they used a spice made of musk and poppy if they could, and the spice was mixed with whale oil, and rubbed on the lips and skin, and sometimes they added it to their food, so that when kissing their lover felt like they were in the midst of a rich and soft flower—a wonderful taste that Berdwin had tasted more than once, and he raised his hand and took it exactly on the shoulder.

"What are you doing, Plum?"

"I'm here to serve you," said Memmy, "just as before." ”

Bodwin sighed softly, Mei Mi was still wearing Leona's clothes, this dress was too big for her, even if the waist could be tied with leather ropes, but the neckline was open enough to see the collarbone, and the sleeves also covered the back of the hand, it looked like a child wearing her parents' clothes: "No, Mei Mi, no. ”

"Because you already have someone else, don't you?" said Meemy, biting into Berdwin's ear, a faint stream of air ruffling the hair on his sideburns, and his ears getting hot for no reason.

"She's not the same as you. ”

"Of course," said Memi, trying not to carry too much resentment in her voice, "of course we are different, but what is the hindrance? Your Highness will not care...... She is a good person with a generous personality. ”

"But I don't need it anymore," Berdwin sat up and pushed Mei Mi away, "I'll take you with me, just as I promised, you'll have my protection, and when you get to the Dragonfire Islands, you can go wherever you want." ”

Baldwin thought that Mammie would cry out as desperately as she did in Doling, but she didn't, she sat quietly on the ground, suddenly straightened the corners of her mouth, and smiled slightly, "Well, I can't go against your will—but if you need anything, remember that Mame is there for you." ”

She said so. Then he stood up and pulled the open neckline, "Good sleep," said Flo's priest perfunctorily, "my love." ”

&&&

"If you follow your route," said Gülen, "then we need to cross the snow-covered swamp." He kept his head down, the elven map was much more detailed than that of humans, and he only needed a simple estimate to know that the route was indeed much faster than going around the Snow Cover Swamp and over several mountains and an entire plateau, and the problem was that the Snow Cover Swamp had such a beautiful name. Not because it is frozen all year round, but because in the swamp grows a plant called white velvet, whose flowers resemble dandelions, but are twice as large as dandelions, and bloom at the beginning of each month, and the wind that passes through the swamp tears them apart and blows everywhere, so that everyone who sees the snow cover swamp for the first time mistakenly thinks that it is covered with a thick layer of snow and ice - they completely hide the most deadly part of the swamp, the mire.

In the past, if people had to walk through a swamp, they could walk along a place where there were trees or heather. They only grow on hard ground, and they can be careful to avoid areas where there is no grass or green moss, but neither of these methods can be done in snow-covered swamps. Because there are no trees growing in the snow-covered swamps, heather is rare, and white velvet flowers cover everything you can see - someone wants to throw stones, or knock on the ground. Check to see if the ground will shake to determine if the road ahead is full of danger, but while this method can identify the location of the mire, it is also likely to anger the monsters lurking in the mire.

Other than that. Due to the lack of markers and the fact that all directional magic tools and spells are out of order in the Snow Cover Swamp, it won't be easy to fly over the entire swamp - its narrowest point is beyond the reach of a teleportation spell.

But because it does save a lot of distance and time, there are still merchants and adventurers who want to cross the swamp, and they hire black-footed halflings in the snow-covered swamps as guides, black-footed halflings are no different from other halflings in other places, childlike figures, round faces and restless fingers, the only thing that is more unique is the feet covered with black hair, which look like moldy bread for a long time, and accumulate a lot of fat in them, so that these halflings can walk around in the cold mud without feeling cold, and they weigh only one-third of the weight of humans, so they can climb out on their own even if they fall into the mud, so they can walk around the entire snow-covered swamp without any scruples, exploring every strange place.

"They are not cheap," said Gülen, "and they are surprisingly bold, perhaps because they do not think it is worthwhile to give their lives for a bag of gold, so those who enter the snow-covered swamp must keep a firm watch over their guides," the thief remembered the drunken grumble of a drunken merchant in Jaw Harbor: "Even a loach will jump up in fright and run away without looking back." ”

"Sounds terrible. Carey Ben said.

"Not really. ”

"I think we can skip this step," said Kerribben, "I've crossed the snowy swamp three times, most recently twelve years ago, and I think I remember how to go." The elf's fingertips slid over the map that could fit a boar when opened, and Glenn watched it, and after searching for its direction, he turned the silver coin in his palm several times between his fingers with a little surprise: "Starlight River?" he asked.

"It's the fastest way to get out of Highland Norman...... One. The elf said less modestly.

"Only the elven ship can sail on the Starlight River," Leona said, "but I don't want the Silvercrown Jungle to get involved, Berdwin?"

"It would only be a ship that had been accidentally lost by the elves," Carey explained earnestly, "and unfortunately, it ran aground somewhere. ”

"Where we're about to go......," the thief added, before pouting, "to be honest, I didn't think elves would play such a trick." ”

"Obviously," Carey said, "the idea is wrong. ”

However, this topic can be postponed slightly, and they still have a long journey ahead of them before they reach Starlight River. A few days later they came to a small village, almost as big as the Horn, but richer than the Horn - everyone in the village was very good at raising goats and sheep - and this was the reason for their sorrow, because for some reason a flock of damned goblins was plundering their flock, and the villagers fought with the goblins, almost winning but not being able to expel them, and then one night their sheepfold was suddenly empty, and there was not a single wool left.

They searched the woods, the hills, and even the small lake at the edge of the village, but they could not find their sheep.

"You're adventurers," the village chief looked eagerly at Berdwin's broadsword and elven longbow, and Plum Mie's chest, "and we're willing to pay fifty silver coins to retrieve our sheep and drive out the goblins, plus ten more silver coins if we can kill all the hateful goblins, but the goblin cave is ours...... Well, almost all they stole was from the village anyway - we had to get our stuff back, and if you only got the sheep back, then it's only twenty silver coins, and the number of sheep must not be less than a hundred. ”

Glenn sneered, "Each sheep can buy as little as ten silver coins in the market, and the reward you give is really too much." ”

The village chief shrugged his shoulders and spread his hands, "There are only so many of us, and don't you have any followers of Tyre or Rosada or Su Lun?"

Among them is a believer of Suron, and a paladin of Tyre, although the task is a bit ...... It's hard to describe, but in the words of a thief, it's at least better than dealing with a half-demon or a devil, except it stinks a little.

The Elven Ranger found the trail of the goblins with little effort, most of them were old, and the freshest ones were three days ago.

They followed the trail of the goblins and found their cave, the entrance to the cave was small, after all, the goblin was only half the size of a human, and thieves could enter it, but he thought that he would suffocate to death as soon as he entered it - the gods were above, even standing a dozen feet from the entrance of the cave was unbearable, and finally it was Cremar who summoned his fire elemental servant, and the little eight-eyed creature could be said to have accepted the task with great urgency - Asmodeos, the unscrupulous little devil, gives it a deep sense of crisis, and it doesn't want to lose its job at all!

It rushed into the dark cavern with a pair of chelicerae held high, and the stench became more vivid and "mellow" in the heat, and Kerry made a gesture to make his companions aware that he had found several other exits, lest any goblins escape- Goblins don't have a good memory, but they don't forget the people or things that hurt them for a short time, and the Ranger has seen villages or cities that have been retaliated against by goblins more than once, throwing excrement, poisons, and fire at walls and houses, taking children away when their parents are not looking, maliciously leaving a finger or a nose in the cradle, and even worse, bringing plagues, monsters, and demons.

But this time, until flames erupted from those exits, they couldn't see a goblin. (To be continued......)